New to Princess help please

[Tony1878]

Hi All,

just booked my very first Princess Cruise on the Royal going to the Baltic in 2015.

I'm looking for tips and advice on how to get the very best value out of the cruise.

Any tips no matter how small would be appreciated.

Am I likely to be bombarded with upsell phone calls?

I am in the UK, so I'm not sure if things are different here.

Looking forward to see your replies.

[paul929207]

I have been on 32 Princess cruises and never got an upsell phone call.

[Cruisin' Chick]

I haven't either. I have marked our last three cruises as a "no upgrade" request. So other than "move over offers" that I got for my first Princess cruise (that was left on our answering machine the day before our cruise in 2003) and for our most recent one (via email), I only got the emails about excursions being available to book and about entertainment, dining,etc. on our cruise.

[Pia1913]

I have been on 32 Princess cruises and never got an upsell phone call.

 

And our total is 75 and we've never gotten one either.

[shredie]

I have been on 32 Princess cruises and never got an upsell phone call.

 

Does an upsell email count? :)

[Treven]

Although I don't have as many cruises under my belt as Pia, and will never get there, I've never gotten an upsell offer either. Guess too many people higher up than I take advantage of the offers.:) Welcome to Princess by the way.

Edited November 1, 2014 by Treven

[dplusd]

A couple of suggestions for value.

 

The coffee card costs about $33 USD and you get 15 specialty coffee drinks and unlimited fresh brewed coffee for the entire cruise. (Many like the fresh brewed coffee over the free stuff which is made with a syrup concentrate).

 

We also find the non-alcohol drink package a great value on Princess at about $8 USD/day. It includes soda and any non-alcohol drink. We don't drink wine and enjoy maybe one alcohol drink a day, so this works great for us.

 

Princess also has great causal dining options that are complimentary. The International Cafe is excellent anytime of day. There is great pizza (best at sea IMHO) and fresh cooked burgers and hot dogs at the poolside Trident Grill. I'm not familiar with the Royal, and I bet there are even more complimentary casual dining options.

 

The Baltic is one I look forward to someday...enjoy it.

[bigenna]

Welcome to Princess.

As well as the complimentary pizza on the Lido deck, on Princess ships with an Alfrededo's (just off the Piazza) we have enjoyed the complimentary individual pizza offerings there. What I like about Alfredo's over the Lido offering is that with it's linen tablecloth and more formal table service, we feel more comfortable there after we are dressed for the evening. You order pizza from their menu and it is made just for you.

Sheesh, just got home from our last cruise two days ago and making my mouth water.............

[bigenna]

Another thought, you may want to know that in addition to paying to have laundry done for you there are several pay washers and driers if you choose to do your own.

[bigenna]

If you join the roll call for your cruise you can often find others that are planning private shore excursions, which are often good value and smaller and more intimate than some of the large ship excursions.

You did not say you were new to cruising, just new to Princess, so you may already have your own knowledge and ideas about this.

[2pbears]

We did the Baltic cruise on the Royal this year and it was a wonderful trip. As far as dining options on the Royal, they also have Alfredo's which is a Pizza/Italian restaurant at no additional charge. It was very good and we ate there a couple of times. We are not really buffet people but I must admit that the buffet on the Royal is huge and a viable option when you don't feel like going to the formal dining room.

 

Be aware that the Scandinavian countries are very expensive. Whenever possible plan to eat your meals on board the ship. The Royal is so big that in many ports they must dock quite a distance from the center of town so eating lunch on board is not always possible. If you pick up a copy of Rick Steves' cruise ports guide he has many recommendations on grocery stores or delis where you can pick up sandwiches for lunch and eat "picnic style" to avoid the high cost of restaurants. We were a little taken aback in Oslo when, after hours of walking and sightseeing we decided to stop at the little outdoor café right by the ferry dock for a beer. It tasted so good we ordered another. When the bill arrived the total for four beers was the equivalent of 44 US dollars :eek: So be prepared.

 

In St. Petersburg you will probably want to book a tour with a private tour company in order to avoid the hassle and expense of getting a Russian visa. These tours are not cheap (about $300 per person for a two day tour) but they were way less expensive than the tours offered by Princess and were worth every penny.

 

Most of the Scandinavian ports can be done on your own quite easily. We did book a Princess tour for the Vasa Museum as it solved the issue of transportation from the ship to town (which is quite a distance) as well as keeping us from having to stand in the line for entrance to the museum---the lines at the Vasa should be avoided at all costs! They are very long.

 

You are in for a real treat with this trip. If you haven't already joined your Roll Call I would recommend doing so as the roll call provides a wealth of information when planning your days ashore. Enjoy!

[Tony1878]

thanks for all the answers so far, I really appreciate your time.

I have cruised a couple of times, but only with one of the British companies and never on a ship of this size.

I'm not so much looking for bargains (I will take them), I am more interested in how the larger companies like Princess operate, pitfalls that I should be looking for, what to avoid and what I absolutely must see.

What is the typical price of a day excursion with Princess?

I can't access any excursions yet, so have no idea what the cost might be.

[caribill]

Hi All,

just booked my very first Princess Cruise on the Royal going to the Baltic in 2015.

I'm looking for tips and advice on how to get the very best value out of the cruise.

 

Two suggestions:

1. learn more about Princess by downloading the "Cruise Answer Book" on the Princess website. I do not know if this link works in the UK, but in the USA it can be found at https://book.princess.com/captaincircle/brochureRequest.page

 

2. Purchase the DVD about the Baltic Ports by former Princess lecturer John Lawrence. It will let you find out all you need to know about the ports and help you decide what you want to see and do in each one. (I am unable to locate where to purchase it. Perhaps another poster can find a working link.)

[KruzeKrazy!]

Alfredo's is great! Definitely the best pizza at sea - and better than many on-land offerings, too!

[GUT2407]

The laundry is a big plus if you're away from home for anything over a week.

 

Pizza - great

 

I, and the bride, like the grill as they also offer chicken and vege burgers. Though I will sometimes grab some extras off the buffet to really spice it up a bit.

[Gettingwarmer]

thanks for all the answers so far, I really appreciate your time.

I have cruised a couple of times, but only with one of the British companies and never on a ship of this size.

I'm not so much looking for bargains (I will take them), I am more interested in how the larger companies like Princess operate, pitfalls that I should be looking for, what to avoid and what I absolutely must see.

What is the typical price of a day excursion with Princess?

I can't access any excursions yet, so have no idea what the cost might be.

 

Here is a link so you can see the price of excursions, look under Europe-Northern and then the city/town.

 

http://www.princess.com/learn/excursions/index.jsp

 

As suggested before if you join the Princess roll call for your cruise you will find other people organising private tours which might be cheaper. If you are unable to find your roll call, advise the actual date of your cruise and we will be able to provide a link.

Edited November 2, 2014 by Gettingwarmer

[dides]

Also, as a Brit, be aware that your shipboard account will be in dollars. Never choose the option to get Princess to pay the conversion rate when you pay at the end, you will get a better rate from your UK bank or credit card. Alternatively, gift yourself some OBC beforehand - Princess UK usually offer a good conversion rate over the phone I hear.

Edited November 2, 2014 by dides

[paul929207]

Does an upsell email count? :)

Whether I count upsell emails or not, the upsell total is the same --- ZERO

[pablo222]

Hi All,

just booked my very first Princess Cruise on the Royal going to the Baltic in 2015.

I'm looking for tips and advice on how to get the very best value out of the cruise.

Any tips no matter how small would be appreciated.

Am I likely to be bombarded with upsell phone calls?

I am in the UK, so I'm not sure if things are different here.

Looking forward to see your replies.

 

I have never gotten an upsell phone call.

 

I have gotten a few upsell email, including an upsell to

a balcony for a bon voyage experience.

 

I didn't get a 'move over' begging phone call. I didn't accept

the original few move over offers, and a gent called me from

yield management to beg that I move over.

 

I hope someday to play poker with him!

[skynight]

We just did the Baltic on the Royal: Some random thoughts:

 

*Very port intensive cruise and you get tired. You are up early and out all day. *Join the Roll Call for your cruise and sign up for some private tours. *We did the SPB Walking Tour in Tallinn, nice. *Was impressed with St. Petersburg, but the crowds made the tour less than enjoyable. Also two very long days. *Check out UK visa requirements for Russia. For U.S. citizens a visa OR a valid tour receipt from a tour operator to enter. To just go on your own you must have a visa. Don't know if this is the same different for UK citizens. Entrance & return through St. Peterburg immigration on the first day was slow, 2nd day was just a walk through in both directions. *In Stockholm the ship docks at Nynashamm which is about an hour from the downtown. *Helsinki, we took the local provided shuttle to the main area and just walked around, it was nice, right on the waterfront. * As we were only in Gothenburg from 7am to 2pm we choose not to get off the ship.

 

Dining: Lots of nice, no extra charge dining on board including the MRD's, Alfredo's, Horizon Ct./Bistro Buffet, which we found quite good, International Cafe, plus the Trident grill and Prego's Pizza. Surcharge restaurants include Crown Grill and Sabatini's (Italian), Crab Shack, Fondues. Both the Crab Shack and Fondues are held in a section of the Horizon Ct. Make reservations once on board. There are some special dining experiences such as Ocean Terrace Seafood Bar, Chef's Table, Wine Maker's Dinner and a few other special room service meals.

 

Activities on board, lots of them. Really nice production shows. We also had a nice selection of guest entertainers. I am aware many from the UK like ballroom dancing. This is very limited on the Royal. Only real dance location is the crowded, congested Piazza, not the normal lounges on other Princess ships. Be prepared for elevator frustration, just not enough capacity for 3600 passengers. Where possible use the forward and aft elevators and avoid the central elevators.

 

Avoid cabins facing aft. These cabins still have the soot residue issues from the stacks. I was told engineers are working on the problem, but as of two months ago the issue was still present.

[pmcue]

We were upgraded last year on Royal. Went from regular suite to the top suite in Aft. Huge balcony. They never called or emailed but when I checked in we had new room. There was some sutt but they cleaned it every morning. We enjoyed cruise but Royal is not one of our favorites. But we are cruising her in Caribbean this spring due to Itinary.

 

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[hubofhockey]

Hi All,

 

just booked my very first Princess Cruise on the Royal going to the Baltic in 2015.

 

I'm looking for tips and advice on how to get the very best value out of the cruise.

 

Any tips no matter how small would be appreciated.

 

Am I likely to be bombarded with upsell phone calls?

 

I am in the UK, so I'm not sure if things are different here.

 

Looking forward to see your replies.

 

 

The Royal is no longer doing Baltic itineraries. You probably booked the Regal.

 

A couple tips from me. Don't book a tour for Tallinn. You can walk right into town and do your own walking tour. For lunch, Porgu was a favorite of ours.

 

For St Petersburg, use a private company such as SPB Tours, Alla, or TJ for a two day tour. These cost less and are smaller groups than ship tours.

 

Lots of discussion on other ports on ports of call boards. Enjoy the itinerary and the ship.

[skynight]

The Royal is no longer doing Baltic itineraries. You probably booked the Regal.

 

The Royal is scheduled to do one 12 night RT Southhampton to the Baltic in June.

[Tony1878]

The Royal is scheduled to do one 12 night RT Southhampton to the Baltic in June.

 

Thats the one :) poster had me worried there.

Thanks for all your answers, they are really appreciated.

As for us Brits liking ballroom, not really sure on that one :)

One of the popular tv shows at the moment is strictly ballroom (dancing with the stars in the US i think)

I am more into Motown than american smooth :cool:

[Gettingwarmer]

This seems to be your roll call. Not many people at present but they are arranging tours.

 

 

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2112233

 

 

Cruise FAQ uk site is

 

http://www.princess.com/learn/faq_answer/index.jsp

Edited November 2, 2014 by Gettingwarmer