New to Princess, couple of questions

[omc329]

4 of us will be sailing on the Coral Panama cruise this autumn. I have a few questions, perhaps someone can help me with as we are new to Princess. I have also posted the questions on our roll call, but as there are currently only 4 members there, I thought I would also post on the general board.

 

Shore excursions - The prices I see showing on the general site seem off, like snorkeling and catamaran in Aruba for $49 per person???? I have tried looking through my booking for more accurate pricing, but it says excursions not available? Any idea when I might be able to get into those and prebook them? We have a load of obc I want used on shore excursions, and without pricing or ability to book, it has me stuck.

 

Dining - We have requested early seating with a table for 8, desiring a bit more company. I see formal night on the general boards to be a point of contention. Ds and dh will be wearing shirt and tie that night, no jackets. Should I change our request to a table of 4 to avoid ticking anyone at the table off? Also, does Princess check demographics when assigning tables, or is it willy nilly? I am concerned for our adult son with the assumed age demographic on this itinerary and would welcome a younger couple or something at our table. Am I dreaming or will they look at that sort of thing when assigning tables?

 

We sailed Carnival some years ago, and have been strictly NCL for years now. Princess will be a new experience for us. I am looking forward to the opportunity to experience something different. Any advice on differences?

[Colo Cruiser]

You are worrying too much, just go and enjoy!!

 

 

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2262278

[cherylandtk]

Shore excursion bookings will eventually show up in your Personalizer, just keep checking until they do and pre-book them at that time. The pricing may be slightly different, but in my experience the general site is kept reasonably up to date.

 

Don't fret about the dining. You get what you get as far as table mates go and table size won't matter, nor will demographics.

[skynight]

4 of us will be sailing on the Coral Panama cruise this autumn. I have a few questions, perhaps someone can help me with as we are new to Princess. I have also posted the questions on our roll call, but as there are currently only 4 members there, I thought I would also post on the general board.

 

Shore excursions - The prices I see showing on the general site seem off, like snorkeling and catamaran in Aruba for $49 per person???? I have tried looking through my booking for more accurate pricing, but it says excursions not available? Any idea when I might be able to get into those and prebook them? We have a load of obc I want used on shore excursions, and without pricing or ability to book, it has me stuck.

 

Partial or Full transit? If you are taking a partial transit any tours in Panama must be Princess tours. You will not be able to tender off the ship in Gatun lake unless you are on a Princess Tour. These tours may use up your OBC. To see approximate pricing for Princess tours go to the Princess web site, select 'Plan a Cruise' select your cruise and then look at the ports and excursions tab. You will see tours and pricing. Note the pricing is the current pricing, and may change a little. This will give you a good idea. Princess probably will not have final pricing in the Cruise Personalizer until maybe 3 months prior to the start of the fall/winter Panama season, but you never can tell, keep checking.

 

Dining - We have requested early seating with a table for 8, desiring a bit more company. I see formal night on the general boards to be a point of contention. Ds and dh will be wearing shirt and tie that night, no jackets. Should I change our request to a table of 4 to avoid ticking anyone at the table off? Also, does Princess check demographics when assigning tables, or is it willy nilly? I am concerned for our adult son with the assumed age demographic on this itinerary and would welcome a younger couple or something at our table. Am I dreaming or will they look at that sort of thing when assigning tables?

 

It's up to you if you want table for 8 or 4. I don't believe the shirt and tie will be an issue no matter what size table you wind up with. Tables size is just a request and never assured. In general service is slower at a table for 8 than smaller tables, 6 & 4. The Maitre'd will have hours in the afternoon of boarding day and you can speak with him. Time & location will be listed in the Princess Patter.

 

We sailed Carnival some years ago, and have been strictly NCL for years now. Princess will be a new experience for us. I am looking forward to the opportunity to experience something different. Any advice on differences?

The Coral Princess is one of the nicest ships in the fleet, with around 2,000 passengers and lots of public space. You should enjoy it. In addition to the MDR's you will find free dining International Cafe 24/7, Pub Lunch on some sea days in the Wheelhouse Bar, Horizon Ct. Buffet open from around 6am to 11pm never closes during that time, The Princess Pizza and Bar & Grill by the Lido Pool, open 11am to 11pm, room service. If you wish to try one of the surcharge restaurants, Bayou Cafe or Sabatini's (both $25/pp), visit them on boarding day or call the DINE line to make a reservation. Reservations can only be made on board. Enjoy espresso drinks take a look at the cafe select card which contains 15 punches for espresso drinks plus unlimited brewed coffee and special teas for the voyage. The punches never expire and unused punches can be used on the next voyage.

 

See above

[omc329]

Thanks for the input. Another question, on the coffee card, dh needs caffeine free. Do they offer the specialty coffees caffeine free?

[alolewis]

Yes. Decaf is available for speciality coffee drinks at international cafe.

[RocketMan275]

Question: OP wants to use OBC for his excursions. If he pre-books, doesn't he have to pre-pay?

[Loggra]

No they do not have to pre pay. I just got off Coral Princess and selected all of my excursions prior to the cruise, did not pre pay and the tickets were in my cabin when I arrived!

 

Also, another specialty restaurant we did not see on the website but enjoyed on the cruise was The Crab Shack. They close off a portion of the Horizon Cafe 3 or 4 nights in the cruise and offer 3 different seafood pots. It was awesome!

[cb at sea]

Do not worry about your attire...no one else is worried about it, despite what you read on these boards! As long as you aren't naked and/or filthy...you're good to go! Honest!!!

[omc329]

Thanks all for the feedback.

 

So, wait until around maybe the 100 day mark for the excursions, but check now and again just in case. I'm sort of counting on them NOT charging at booking. I don't see what good $800 in obc is if I can't book excursions with it.

 

The coffee card for dh sounds like it might be a reasonable value.

 

Leave the table choice as is and let the fortunes go where they will.

 

The only other thing I can think of currently, is it worthwhile considering purchasing alcohol online prior to the cruise for our balcony? Same price, or cheaper than on ship?

 

Thanks again. Ya'll have been a help. :)

[moki'smommy]

You are allowed to bring a small amount of wine on board to drink in your cabin.

 

If you have a bunch of OBC, I'd hold on everything else and purchase it after boarding. It is just as easy as getting a voucher in your cabin that you then take to redeem for the purchased item and needing to print out and take with you the purchase confirmation in case the voucher isn't there.

[skynight]

Thanks all for the feedback.

 

So, wait until around maybe the 100 day mark for the excursions, but check now and again just in case. I'm sort of counting on them NOT charging at booking. I don't see what good $800 in obc is if I can't book excursions with it.

 

The coffee card for dh sounds like it might be a reasonable value.

 

Leave the table choice as is and let the fortunes go where they will.

 

The only other thing I can think of currently, is it worthwhile considering purchasing alcohol online prior to the cruise for our balcony? Same price, or cheaper than on ship?

 

Thanks again. Ya'll have been a help. :)

 

Each evening there will be a charge of $12.95/night/pp for the hotel charge, auto tip. The charge is $13.95/night/pp if you are in a mini suite or full suite. This will use up a good chunk of your OBC.

 

As far as I know there is no difference in price from pre-ordering or just calling room service after you board. The bottles of spirits are 375ml and not the normal 750ml you see in stores. If you purchase on board the cost will net against any OBC's. You are permitted carry on one 750ml bottle of wine per person 21 & over without charge for use in your cabin.

[Seafoam Green]

Thanks all for the feedback.

 

So, wait until around maybe the 100 day mark for the excursions, but check now and again just in case. I'm sort of counting on them NOT charging at booking. I don't see what good $800 in obc is if I can't book excursions with it.

 

The coffee card for dh sounds like it might be a reasonable value.

 

Leave the table choice as is and let the fortunes go where they will.

 

The only other thing I can think of currently, is it worthwhile considering purchasing alcohol online prior to the cruise for our balcony? Same price, or cheaper than on ship?

 

Thanks again. Ya'll have been a help. :)

 

If you do the ferry through the canal excursion, you need to book it as soon as you see it's available because it will sell out well before sailing. It's a great excursion and a priority for many passengers.

 

The snorkeling catamaran excursion in Aruba sounds like a normal price at $49.

 

You can reserve excursions before the cruise with Princess and they don't charge you until you're onboard. Cancellations must be made at least 24 hours in advance to avoid being charged.

 

We bring our two bottles of wine (1 per adult) onboard for our cabin, but have never purchased alcohol. Do check for happy hour pricing in the Princess Patters. When we were on the Coral, there was an afternoon happy hour and an evening one, which we took advantage of daily.

 

The Panama Canal on the Coral will be a great cruise. We loved it last February.