Bit rusty on drinks, and also info on St Lucia?

[Samanthamelody3]

Hi everyone....haven't been on Princess in 5+ years and just have a couple questions.

Looking at 10 Day Southern on Crown Princess next year (have been on Ruby and Emerald previously).

It will be my fiancé's first cruise and also his birthday while on board!  Will the ship do anything to celebrate?  I think the last birthday I had on board there was a cake at dinner, has this changed at all?

What is the limit on liquor bottles in the room?  Since it's his birthday I want options!  We aren't getting a beverage package as neither of us feel the need but I'd like to order a few bottles for the room...375ml x rum, gin, vodka, whiskey etc.  How many can I order for the room?

 

Also...any ideas for St Lucia?  This will be his birthday while there and I have NO idea what to do?  I have a feeling he won't want to do a guided tour, just go out ourselves which I'm okay with as long as we don't go too far from the ship.  I think he'd be okay shopping or seeing a local restaurant or bar before going back on the ship later on.  Any ideas?

 

Thank you!

[chrysalis]

Yes, they still serve a birthday cake, if you ask them. In St Lucia, there is shopping and a couple of bars right at the pier, and you can walk into town if you wish.

 

[Iamcruzin]

I haven't been on a Princess cruise in a few years but when we had celebrations like Anniversary, Birthday, Graduation we would enter the information in the cruise planner and on the day that we selected our door would be decorated. I don't know if they still do that but here is a link that offers gifts and beverage purchases that you can book before the cruise. With in the link there is pricing on bottle service that's delivered to the room. This can also be purchased pre cruise and delivered to your room.

 

 

https://www.princess.com/learn/cruise-gifts-celebrations/gifts-and-services/

[skynight]

19 hours ago, Anarock_Travel said:

Hi everyone....haven't been on Princess in 5+ years and just have a couple questions.

Looking at 10 Day Southern on Crown Princess next year (have been on Ruby and Emerald previously).

It will be my fiancé's first cruise and also his birthday while on board!  Will the ship do anything to celebrate?  I think the last birthday I had on board there was a cake at dinner, has this changed at all?

If you put the birthday in the cruise personlizer you should get a door decoration. Also mention to the head waiter in the DR and you should receive a small cake.

What is the limit on liquor bottles in the room?  Since it's his birthday I want options!  We aren't getting a beverage package as neither of us feel the need but I'd like to order a few bottles for the room...375ml x rum, gin, vodka, whiskey etc.  How many can I order for the room?

No limit. Order as much as you can handle. You will not get mixers. If you want them they will have to be ordered separately, or you can carry as much non-alcoholic beverage on board as you want. Each adult can carry on 1 x 750ml bottle of wine or champange at no charge for use in your cabin. Additional bottles can be carried on an are subject to a $15/bot corkage fee. These bottles can be used anywhere on the ship.

 

Also...any ideas for St Lucia?  This will be his birthday while there and I have NO idea what to do?  I have a feeling he won't want to do a guided tour, just go out ourselves which I'm okay with as long as we don't go too far from the ship.  I think he'd be okay shopping or seeing a local restaurant or bar before going back on the ship later on.  Any ideas?

There are two docking areas. The last time I was there on Princess we had to take the water taxi over to the main downtown shopping area. There are some beaches there. Join the roll call for more information

Thank you!

See above

[nukesubsailor]

There is a good view of the cruise ship terminal in Castries, St. Lucia on the free program Google Earth.

The current satellite photo shows two cruise ships tied up by the terminal and all the shops and another tied up across the harbor.

I always enjoy getting on Google Earth to check out places that I have visited or might travel to someday.  I used the program recently to find a nice restaurant within walking distance from the tender pier in Maui.

[BarbinMich]

We've been to St. Lucia 5 times, starting in 1994 and most recently in Jan 2017.  As we'd done various excursions on past stops there, we decided to just walk around.  As others have said, the ships dock across a small bay from the downtown area.  As we were walking down the sidewalk along the road that serves the port, we encountered a group of 4-5 men who had set their lawn chairs up right on the sidewalk.  They were asking for "donations" to pass by.  We went back to the ship forthwith.  Never had this kind of experience there before.  SL is a beautiful island so would recommend taking an excursion and not do it on your own.  Although we're not beach people, our daughter and her husband spent their honeymoon at a resort north of the port (that's where all the resorts are) about 10 years ago and enjoyed it very much.  I'm pretty sure that's where all the beach excursions go.

[TwoCruisers]

I have been to St. Lucia many times and I think you would be missing one of the best islands if you don’t take a tour here. St. Lucia is rugged and looks similar to a south Pacific island. The twin peaks, the Pitons are located far south of the capital and a full day tour is required to get there. Princess has tours going there. Some of the tour names are something like: “St. Lucia by land and sea”. There are also local tour companies that give great tours. Some of my best pictures have been taken on these tours.

Edited November 4, 2018 by TwoCruisers

[Thrak]

I don't know of any limit on the number of 375 ml bottles you can order for your cabin. If you order in advance the bottles will not be in your cabin when you board. There should be vouchers. Just call Room Service and they will be delivered. I know that on some ships (reported on Royal or Regal a while back) folks had a problem getting the bottles from room service if they weren't ordered in advance. I don't think this is an issue most of the time on most ships but, if you want to be sure, order them in advance through your Cruise Personalizer.

 

If you are from the US the 375 ml bottle will cost approximately what a 750 ml bottle will cost onshore. If you are from Canada (or actually from Alaska as well even though it is part of the US) the price will be pretty much what you would find onshore.

[Nonnie1975]

We were just there on St Lucia and used Cosol Tours.  They are awesome and cost $75 for  a 6 hour tour.  They have gotten great reviews on Trip  Advisor and Yellow Bird our driver and tour guide didn't disappoint.  You will be meet outside the terminal and escorted to an air conditioned van.  You will be driven through town,  and have many different stops, plus drinks along the way, rum punch, beer, sodas and water.  When you have breakfast, it is a true feast and the food is awesome, some of the  best I have ever had.  You will go to Sourfiere and go for a mud bath.  Be sure a take a camera for a picture, then on to the waterfall.  We then went to a secluded beach to relax and snorkel if  you want. There are many other highlights, go and look them up.    We have been on 10 cruises and by far this is one of the best excursions we have been on in many years.  We went through Trip Advisor to book and you don't pay until the end of the excursion. 

[57eric]

"just go out ourselves which I'm okay with as long as we don't go too far from the ship".  I doubt you'd be happy with this decision.  Book a tour, any tour.  Check out the Aerial Tram.

[Mike45LC]

It has been many years since I visited St. Lucia.  However, my generic advice for all of the Caribbean islands is to get off the ship and find a van that is about to go on an island tour.  Most islands, you will find a large number of private tour operators right there dockside clamoring to take you and your shipmates on a tour.  The price is invariably better than the ship's Island Tour price.

 

Unless I am going somewhere far from the ship, off the beaten path, or something difficult to do on my own, I don't do excursions through the ship.  

 

One of the things I do is to thoroughly research each island we visit, and for each port, I compile a list of the top attractions to visit.  I will find another couple [or two] to join us (usually one of the couples from our dinner table), and the four [or six] of us will hire a van, and discuss the itinerary with the driver before we leave the dock.  This makes for a much nicer tour, and when a group of four people get off the van, the line for the ladies' room is not overwhelming like when 40 people get off a tour bus!!!

 

Enjoy!

 

[Samanthamelody3]

Okay based on what everyone has mentioned I think we will take an island drive tour when we dock, then maybe hit the beach and then back on the ship later in the day....we will definitely be having a good dinner that night!

 

Thank you everyone for your replies, there is some great info.

In regards to liquor...I think we get some with the elite card but I can't remember exactly what it is.  But I definitely wanted to have a great set up for a birthday.

Vouchers are fine with me, I can order from room service based on what we need.

 

[skynight]

1 hour ago, Anarock_Travel said:

Okay based on what everyone has mentioned I think we will take an island drive tour when we dock, then maybe hit the beach and then back on the ship later in the day....we will definitely be having a good dinner that night!

 

Thank you everyone for your replies, there is some great info.

In regards to liquor...I think we get some with the elite card but I can't remember exactly what it is.  But I definitely wanted to have a great set up for a birthday.

Vouchers are fine with me, I can order from room service based on what we need.

 

If you are Captain's Circle Elite you will receive a mini bar set up. This includes, 2 x 50ml bottles each of scotch, gin, vodka and cognac, 2 bottles Dos Equis beer, 6 cans of soda, 2 bottles Perrier or club soda, 2 bottles regular water. Once on board you alcoholic beverages can be exchanged 1 for 1. Alcoholic beverages can also be exchanged for non-alcoholic on a 1 for 1 basis. The entire mini bar can be exchanged for one bottle of wine or two coffee packages. Exchanges are mde by calling room service. 

[centralcalicruzer]

St. Lucia is beautiful, but you definitely need to get out of the port area to really appreciate it. Our first time we took a cruise along the beautiful coastline down towards the Pitons, it also included a short beach/snorkel stop. The second time we did the ziplining, over on the east side of the island, it was a lot of fun, very "jungle-y", and we then made a photo stop overlooking the Atlantic on the way back. Both tours were through Princess and fairly reasonable cost.

[DrivesLikeMario]

I agree.  The first time we were in St. Lucia, we just went to the market in Castries and I think we really missed out on a great island.  The second time, our port stop was cancelled (ship problems) and on our third time, we plan to use Spencer Ambrose who comes very highly recommended from fellow CCers.  When we had to cancel his tour last time, he was very professional about it and I think that tells a lot about a tour operator:   St. Lucia Spencer Tour

[Nebr.cruiser]

We have been to St. Lucia 3 times and will be there in a couple of weeks.  We have always done a tour.  First with Cosol for a boat trip to the Pitons and snorkeling, next with Spencer Ambrose for an island tour, beach, snorkeling, and on another day zip lining and this year we are doing an island tour with Cosol again.  All were very good and enjoyable.

 

My husband and I are pretty intrepid at exploring places on our own and have done some walking around areas that were probably not the smartest choice.  The last time we were in St. Lucia, two years ago, after our tour, we started to walk along the shoreline, just to get out and see the town a bit but turned back quite quickly as there were a lot of  questionable people about who made us very uneasy.

 

This from people who have explored Hanoi, at night, on our own, walked through the jungle from the town back to the port in Costa Maya, and walked all over Jerusalem at midnight.  So we are not chicken; the whole atmosphere just felt 'off', and we trusted our instincts.

 

I'd either go to a beach club or take a tour.  It's a beautiful island, but for us not a DIY.

Edited November 8, 2018 by Nebr.cruiser