Princess Tips

[thepow]

After many voyages with Princess and several hours reviewing this site, I have put together a number of tips which work for me. Good ideas from others have been pasted here in one place. Hopefully, this may save some of you time.

 

Princess tips

 

We were on the coral princess several years ago that had a outbreak of norovirus that the cdc said affected approx. 15% of passengers. It was a horrible experience for those that got the virus and for those of us wondering if we were going to be next. From what we were told a group brought it onboard the first day and spread it by going to the horizon court for lunch. Fortunatly, we had followed our policy of never going to the buffets the first couple of days.*

 

International Cafe has wonderful cookies, small desserts, sandwiches, quiche and soup. It is open 24 hours a day. No charge for anything except gelato, which is also quite good. The tiny cheesecakes and chocolate pot de creme are my favorites. Specialty coffees and teas and brewed coffee are available for a charge from the IC; you can buy a coffee card.*The best thing about the International Cafe are the breakfast muffins. Ham egg and cheese.*We dine in the International Cafe for our embarkation lunch. It is much less hectic than the buffet. Both the shrimp salad and chicken salad are awesome! *The panini sandwiches are awesome as well, you can get them toasted as you order plus*fresh baked cookies served in the afternoons. We avoided the buffets on purpose, and had breakfast each morning at International Cafe Deck 5. Glad most people don't go there or assume there are extra charges - there were never more than 10 people there, no lines, and we had yogurt parfaits and various danishes each day - perfect start vs. loading up on grease & extra calories food was really good. Great*Yogurt Parfait*available in the morning at breakfast

We used the IC for lunch probably 4 days of our week cruise. We weren't impressed with the buffet and coming back to the ship for a late lunch, found the choices more than adequate at the IC.*TIP:...KEEP A TRAY IN YOUR ROOM DURING THE CRUISE......THIS MADE IT REALLY EASY TO LOAD UP ON ALL THE GOODIES, SALADS, SOUPS, ETC AND BRING IT ALL BACK TO THE ROOM ON A FEW OCCASIONS.....

"Just Order a Bucket of Ice from Room Service and Have them Leave the Tray....Also Tell your Cabin Steward Not To Take It when cleaning up"...

*You an get ice water at the lobby bar*next to the IC anytime. In fact had

glasses made up all ready at lunch time.

 

One nice meal to book as soon as you get on board is the Chef's Table. The charge is $95/person (less if you don't drink wine) and is totally worth the experience. You get a tour of the galley while in action for dinner and a special meal prepared by the chef and the service is wonderful. You also get a cookbook to keep. The dinner is kept to 12 people at a time. Because space is limited, you must sign up as soon as you board. You can call the Dine Line to do that.

 

We did a Med cruise last August on the Ruby, our passports were taken when we boarded the ship in Venice and returned the night before we disembarked in Barcelona. We had copies that we carried with us..... photocopy of passport and drivers license

 

Ask for*egg crate topper for bed, also robes.

 

Bring a few "Purex 3-in-1" sheets for laundry, get quarters at desk, change machine in laundry, or casino. We brought a roll of quarters with us just for this purpose.

 

They served the french toast in the dining room on debarkation day on our Ruby Princess cruise a couple weeks ago.

* *

Ask for escargot in the dining room.

 

You can order a complementary plate of assorted stuffed olives at the martini bar. *Ask for*Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice in the MDR at breakfast. Much better than the frozen concentrate*

 

Waffles are available at the Pizza/Ice cream area every morning until about 11:00am , and the omelettes are made to order in the HC.

If you *want cranberry juice and don't see it, ask it is available.

 

On the larger ships, such as the Ruby, Emerald, Crown, etc., there is a secret door that leads out to a deck above the bridge. It's a great place to be during sailaway. Just go to the Lido deck and go all the way forward. You will see an unmarked door on either side. Go through those doors to another door that leads to a few steps leading to this deck. However, these doors are locked while at sea. It's way too windy and therefore dangerous.

 

Opt for in-cabin bottle service. “Some of the lines offer bottles of liquor via room service,” writes Scott. “So we often will order a bottle of vodka, and a six pack of seven up or sprite, and mix our own vodka-seven cocktails. It actually can save a lot of money, and you can have a cocktail in your room instead of having to go find a bar and wait in line.” Not all lines offer this bottle service option, but those that do include Oceania and Princess.*

 

Buy yourself the gift of liquor. “On Princess, we always buy ourselves a ‘Bon Voyage’ gift or two,” writes Kim, referring to the pre-cruise order options, which can be delivered to your cabin. “Liquor is a particularly good deal. Extra bonus — when the gift is set up in your room, it includes a nice set of glasses to use during the cruise. Save tons of money rather than buying drinks at the bars,” writes Samantha. *Call the line’s Bon Voyage department*1.800.774.6237

 

Cocktail soup? “On Princess they served a ‘Pina Colada Soup’ with some dinners,” says Art. “This ‘soup’ is remarkably cold and full of alcohol. For those who still haven’t caught on, IT’S A FREAKIN’ FREE PINA COLADA!”

 

Deck 15 by the Neptune pool: Pizza: The margarita pizza is the best!*

 

We also spent time most every evening at Vines, the wine bar. *In addition to an extensive wine list they also serve sushi, cheeses and other appetizers that

 

Dramamine is dimenhydrinate and is sedating.*Bonine and Dramamine Less Drowsy are meclizine and are typically nonsedating.*If you want to be up and around meclizine is a good choice.*If you are seasick and it is bedtime, go with the dimenhydrinate. I wouldn't combine this one with alcohol. And be forewarned that you will get more mouth dryness with this one. *fyi - Meclizine is the generic medicine in Antivert (Rx med) for vertigo. It typically will work in a short amt of time but maximal benefit may be obtained by taking for 24 hrs prior. Or ginger pills can be very effective with no side effects

 

Bring small Binoculars,*Flash light/night light, small alarm clock, power strip/extension cord,*Duct tape,*zip-lock bags, a few plastic clothespins

 

Any *pasta item on the main menu CAN be ordered as an appetizer. Just ask.

 

Self disembarkation is FASTER

[wineforhealth]

Thanks so much for putting some of the tips togeather.

[Cruisin' Chick]

There is a really long thread someplace on this board about Princess tips. I thought it was a sticky.

[gerbobs2]

Thank you I found this very helpful....

[pris993]

The number one tip for staying healthy on a ship, is wash your hands all the time and especially before you eat.

 

We also avoid public restrooms as much as possible, would rather make a trip back to the cabin.

 

We pick up items from the buffet and take them back to our cabin for breakfast and lunch. We prefer the peace and quiet of eating in the cabin over the buffet area. Sometimes we find a spot on deck or go to the IC.

 

We also adjust the cabin temperature at night before we retire, so that it is set at the lowest temperature for heat, so that we do not have cool air blowing on us all night while we sleep. Once we started doing this this we have rarely gotten a cold during or after a cruise.

[Kinkacruiser]

We always carry our driver's licence ashore, but never thought to take a photocopy of passports . Thanks for posting these tips.

[TracieABD]

We have a clear plastic "over the door" shoe holder. This works wonders for keeping small items organized and visible (e.g. bandaids, reading glasses, laundry sheets...). At the end of the cruise we just fold it up and save it for the next cruise.

 

We hang a small wreath or object from our cabin door using the 3-M removable door hooks. This makes our cabin much easier to find (as the Upgrade Fairy has yet to grace us with a suite upgrade!:p).

 

If you get confused about which side your cabin is on-- Look down. There is a red stripe on the port side and a blue stripe on the starboard side. The waves on the carpet will point to the front of the ship.

[notentirelynormal]

Cocktail soup? “On Princess they served a ‘Pina Colada Soup’ with some dinners,” says Art. “This ‘soup’ is remarkably cold and full of alcohol. For those who still haven’t caught on, IT’S A FREAKIN’ FREE PINA COLADA!”quote]

 

Sorry, but I disagree with this one. I've ordered this soup lots of times for myself and MY LITTLE KIDS. The waiter knew it was for the kids. He would not have served a 3 YO and 1 YO alcohol. I also believe it would have been mentioned on the menu that it contained alcohol for those that are unable or choose not to drink. It is the Pina Colada taste only. It is not an alcoholic drink.

[Osnab]

Thank you for taking the time to do this! That was a remarkable list and very helpful indeed!

Felicia

[Osnab]

If you get confused about which side your cabin is on-- Look down. There is a red stripe on the port side and a blue stripe on the starboard side. The waves on the carpet will point to the front of the ship.

 

Well, I'll be darned! I did not know that about the waves! That's great to know, because inevitably, it takes me a week before I know which way to turn!

Felicia

[celie1110]

Thank you so much for posting this. I will be on my first princess cruise 8/2013 and these tips are great!:D

[Texas]

This will be our 7th Princess cruise, and I did not know about the waves! Great tips -- thanks for posting. I like the idea of hanging something on our door. Last cruise, the couple next to us was celebrating something and they had several balloons attached to their mail slot outside the door. Thank goodness, it sure made finding our room a lot easier.

[t60]

snip...If you get confused about which side your cabin is on-- Look down. There is a red stripe on the port side and a blue stripe on the starboard side. The waves on the carpet will point to the front of the ship.

 

Well I knew about the colour coding, but like many others, I didn´t know about the ´waves´ direction

Thanks

Sandy in Spain

[Weluv2cruise2007]

We always ensure we bring our own bottled water or at the minimum a few bottles so that we may re-use the bottles. Other than at the HC, there is no cold water to be found on the ship (even in the gym the water from the fountain is warm!) so if you have a few extra bottles you can always have some in the fridge (unless you want to pay $3 a bottle!). Also, please don't refill your bottle directly from the tap at the HC - it's unsanitary and if staff notices they will - or should - ask you to stop. If you consider it, your mouth touches the opening of your bottle and you could easily have the opening touch the tap - gross! The sanitary way to do it is to use a glass and pour it in.

[Weluv2cruise2007]

I don't think I saw this one: Don't forget, the walls are metal - you can use magnets directly on the wall to hold/organize your paperwork!

[thumper860]

Thanks for all these great tips.

[clo6216]

One tip I haven't seen listed -- Bring closed-toe shoes if you plan on attending the Chef's Table as no sandals or "peep toes" are allowed in the kitchen.

[Blue_bird]

Thank you for taking the time to post these tips...we're on our first cruise this September(Pacific Princess) and have found them a great help. :)

 

Chris & Don

[Cruisin' Chick]

This thread may help you.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1260835&highlight=tips

[tarheelmjfan]

I love the tips threads, but wish a new one was started every year. The older tips thread could then be closed, but remain on the site for anyone who wanted to read them. Some of the posts are outdated & no longer apply. It would be nice to always have more up-to-date tips. It would be sad for someone to get their hopes up based on a tip here only to find out it was no longer applicable on the ship. Just a thought. :)

 

OP, thanks for taking the time to put the list together.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

After many voyages with Princess and several hours reviewing this site, I have put together a number of tips which work for me. Good ideas from others have been pasted here in one place. Hopefully, this may save some of you time.

 

Princess tips

 

We were on the coral princess several years ago that had a outbreak of norovirus that the cdc said affected approx. 15% of passengers. It was a horrible experience for those that got the virus and for those of us wondering if we were going to be next. From what we were told a group brought it onboard the first day and spread it by going to the horizon court for lunch. Fortunatly, we had followed our policy of never going to the buffets the first couple of days.*

 

International Cafe has wonderful cookies, small desserts, sandwiches, quiche and soup. It is open 24 hours a day. No charge for anything except gelato, which is also quite good. The tiny cheesecakes and chocolate pot de creme are my favorites. Specialty coffees and teas and brewed coffee are available for a charge from the IC; you can buy a coffee card.*The best thing about the International Cafe are the breakfast muffins. Ham egg and cheese.*We dine in the International Cafe for our embarkation lunch. It is much less hectic than the buffet. Both the shrimp salad and chicken salad are awesome! *The panini sandwiches are awesome as well, you can get them toasted as you order plus*fresh baked cookies served in the afternoons. We avoided the buffets on purpose, and had breakfast each morning at International Cafe Deck 5. Glad most people don't go there or assume there are extra charges - there were never more than 10 people there, no lines, and we had yogurt parfaits and various danishes each day - perfect start vs. loading up on grease & extra calories food was really good. Great*Yogurt Parfait*available in the morning at breakfast

We used the IC for lunch probably 4 days of our week cruise. We weren't impressed with the buffet and coming back to the ship for a late lunch, found the choices more than adequate at the IC.*TIP:...KEEP A TRAY IN YOUR ROOM DURING THE CRUISE......THIS MADE IT REALLY EASY TO LOAD UP ON ALL THE GOODIES, SALADS, SOUPS, ETC AND BRING IT ALL BACK TO THE ROOM ON A FEW OCCASIONS.....

"Just Order a Bucket of Ice from Room Service and Have them Leave the Tray....Also Tell your Cabin Steward Not To Take It when cleaning up"...

*You an get ice water at the lobby bar*next to the IC anytime. In fact had

glasses made up all ready at lunch time.

 

One nice meal to book as soon as you get on board is the Chef's Table. The charge is $95/person (less if you don't drink wine) and is totally worth the experience. You get a tour of the galley while in action for dinner and a special meal prepared by the chef and the service is wonderful. You also get a cookbook to keep. The dinner is kept to 12 people at a time. Because space is limited, you must sign up as soon as you board. You can call the Dine Line to do that.

 

We did a Med cruise last August on the Ruby, our passports were taken when we boarded the ship in Venice and returned the night before we disembarked in Barcelona. We had copies that we carried with us..... photocopy of passport and drivers license

 

Ask for*egg crate topper for bed, also robes.

 

Bring a few "Purex 3-in-1" sheets for laundry, get quarters at desk, change machine in laundry, or casino. We brought a roll of quarters with us just for this purpose.

 

They served the french toast in the dining room on debarkation day on our Ruby Princess cruise a couple weeks ago.

* *

Ask for escargot in the dining room.

 

You can order a complementary plate of assorted stuffed olives at the martini bar. *Ask for*Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice in the MDR at breakfast. Much better than the frozen concentrate*

 

Waffles are available at the Pizza/Ice cream area every morning until about 11:00am , and the omelettes are made to order in the HC.

If you *want cranberry juice and don't see it, ask it is available.

 

On the larger ships, such as the Ruby, Emerald, Crown, etc., there is a secret door that leads out to a deck above the bridge. It's a great place to be during sailaway. Just go to the Lido deck and go all the way forward. You will see an unmarked door on either side. Go through those doors to another door that leads to a few steps leading to this deck. However, these doors are locked while at sea. It's way too windy and therefore dangerous.

 

Opt for in-cabin bottle service. “Some of the lines offer bottles of liquor via room service,” writes Scott. “So we often will order a bottle of vodka, and a six pack of seven up or sprite, and mix our own vodka-seven cocktails. It actually can save a lot of money, and you can have a cocktail in your room instead of having to go find a bar and wait in line.” Not all lines offer this bottle service option, but those that do include Oceania and Princess.*

 

Buy yourself the gift of liquor. “On Princess, we always buy ourselves a ‘Bon Voyage’ gift or two,” writes Kim, referring to the pre-cruise order options, which can be delivered to your cabin. “Liquor is a particularly good deal. Extra bonus — when the gift is set up in your room, it includes a nice set of glasses to use during the cruise. Save tons of money rather than buying drinks at the bars,” writes Samantha. *Call the line’s Bon Voyage department*1.800.774.6237

 

Cocktail soup? “On Princess they served a ‘Pina Colada Soup’ with some dinners,” says Art. “This ‘soup’ is remarkably cold and full of alcohol. For those who still haven’t caught on, IT’S A FREAKIN’ FREE PINA COLADA!”

 

Deck 15 by the Neptune pool: Pizza: The margarita pizza is the best!*

 

We also spent time most every evening at Vines, the wine bar. *In addition to an extensive wine list they also serve sushi, cheeses and other appetizers that

 

Dramamine is dimenhydrinate and is sedating.*Bonine and Dramamine Less Drowsy are meclizine and are typically nonsedating.*If you want to be up and around meclizine is a good choice.*If you are seasick and it is bedtime, go with the dimenhydrinate. I wouldn't combine this one with alcohol. And be forewarned that you will get more mouth dryness with this one. *fyi - Meclizine is the generic medicine in Antivert (Rx med) for vertigo. It typically will work in a short amt of time but maximal benefit may be obtained by taking for 24 hrs prior. Or ginger pills can be very effective with no side effects

 

Bring small Binoculars,*Flash light/night light, small alarm clock, power strip/extension cord,*Duct tape,*zip-lock bags, a few plastic clothespins

 

Any *pasta item on the main menu CAN be ordered as an appetizer. Just ask.

 

Self disembarkation is FASTER

Good tips...

[Ankie3467]

Thank you for taking the time to post this tips. Now I gotta hope to remember them! The red line, blue line and wave is a must to remember! I get off a elevator, I will go the wrong direction EVERY time!

[Cruisin' Chick]

I love the tips threads, but wish a new one was started every year. The older tips thread could then be closed, but remain on the site for anyone who wanted to read them. Some of the posts are outdated & no longer apply. It would be nice to always have more up-to-date tips. It would be sad for someone to get their hopes up based on a tip here only to find out it was no longer applicable on the ship. Just a thought. :)

 

OP, thanks for taking the time to put the list together.

 

Ah, but one can always point out that something has changed on their last cruise (hopefully they can post which date and ship, as sometimes there can be differences among the various ships...and even from cruise to cruise on the same ship). Plus, why reinvent the wheel?

[tarheelmjfan]

Ah' date=' but one can always point out that something has changed on their last cruise (hopefully they can post which date and ship, as sometimes there can be differences among the various ships...and even from cruise to cruise on the same ship). Plus, why reinvent the wheel?[/quote']

 

Those threads can get very long. It's counter-productive to read posts that are out-of-date. A lot of people probably don't read back to the beginning of a very long thread to even notice if a tip is no longer accurate.

 

Those who feel they already know all the tips wouldn't need to read yet another tips thread. It would be easier, if those of us who are new to Princess didn't have to guess if the provided tips are still accurate. Things do change quickly. The odds are definitely in favor of that, when posts are over a year old. If part of that wheel had old technology that was no longer considered usable, wouldn't you want them to reinvent it with the most up-to-date materials? :p People on this board are very helpful. I'd be surprised if they thought it was too much trouble to post a tip in the new thread that they had already posted in an old one. It's 2 or 3 posts in a few years time. I think most people here will post at least that many times. :D If the old one was closed, we would know we were reading the thread with the most up-to-date info. Anyway, it was just a thought I've had as someone who is new to Princess & is reading all I can to make my cruise as nice as possible.

[cdnguy]

The red line, blue line and wave is a must to remember! I get off a elevator,

The Star Princess had blue on both sides in March.