Q & A for those cruising Princess June 16, 19, 23 & 26 out of Brisbane

[Cbtours]

For those cruising on the first few cruises out of Brisbane on Coral Princess, some people have been asking questions and I (and I presume anyone else cruising) will be happy to find out the answers and post them as we go along. I will list all the questions I have been asked here so we don't have to go hunting through the original post to find the questions). Feel free to add questions here and watch for answers. We are on the first four cruises B2B so can start answering from 16th June.

 

• Elorac123 - would you mind posting if they have the Zumba classes listed in the patter, not for me I’m all zumbered out but I am taking a younger friend on her first ever cruise on the 23rd and know she would be thrilled to pack her Zumba gear.

 

• CDaze71 Here are my HEAPS of questions.

1. Having the 5 green Ticks, did it really make it fast to check-in ? What did you have to show (just the app to show your group plus some vaccination paperwork etc ?)
2. When you arrive at the BICT port, were they very strict with peoples arrival times ? By that I mean did others in later groups arrive early and were they allowed in the terminal and therefore onboard early or were they told to come back at the time your group is supposed to arrive?
3. Did the medallion really work like Princess advertise it will? Was it really easy quick to order a drink from anywhere on the ship? Any issues with it? Any tips?
4. What time were the nightly Theatre Shows? Just want to see about timings of shows clashing with my dinner reservations.
5. Could I please see a copy of the “FIRST SEA DAY Patter Activities?  I want to see the activities being offered on my very favourite day on any cruise, the first sea day.
6. Where did they make you wear a mask?
7. With Princess Plus, did you find there are plenty of drinks in the $16 and under prices?
8. Can you order two drinks at once? My example is I’m sitting in the Wheelhouse Bar with hubby having a pre-dinner cocktail, and I also want to grab a glass of wine to take with me to the restaurant to start with. This way I don’t have to worry the drinks waiter straight away.
9. There is something else you will be able to investigate, DRINK PRICES and price hikes. I wonder if Drink Prices will go up now on our cruise of the 26th, now that Princess have announced the new Premier Package starting on cruises departing after the 25th June and includes drinks up to $22. On your 3 cruises before ours you will be able to see if there are plenty of choices in the $16 and under prices. Julie had a good idea, if you could please post the Crooners Bar prices, Julie can check those against her photos of prices from 2019.

 

 

Edited May 12, 2022 by Cbtours

[CDaze71]

Thank you. 

[OzKiwiJJ]

Thanks Cbtours. I'm sure there will be plenty of questions as the first few cruises kick off.

 

I was just considering starting a "Live from Coral Princess" thread to cover all the restart cruises but this will probably morph into that once the cruises start. 

 

[doenbucket]

Hi, We're not cruising until August 5th on a b2b. Could we trouble you to advise if there is an Australian power point in cabin, also, any USB ports. Many thanks for answering these questions. Your a star.🤩

[LC1950]

Excellent question doenbucket ... LOL exactly what many need to know.

 

I doubt if there will be an Australian power point but hoping there will be USB port/s in the Coral cabins.

[OzKiwiJJ]

4 minutes ago, LC1950 said:

Excellent question doenbucket ... LOL exactly what many need to know.

 

I doubt if there will be an Australian power point but hoping there will be USB port/s in the Coral cabins.

Since Coral is homeporting here for a couple of years or more I'm expecting the 220v circuit sockets to be changed to Australian ones. It's just a socket plate change and they've had 2.5 years to do it. The other ones will be US 120v. 

[LC1950]

4 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Since Coral is homeporting here for a couple of years or more I'm expecting the 220v circuit sockets to be changed to Australian ones. It's just a socket plate change and they've had 2.5 years to do it. The other ones will be US 120v. 

LOL that's why we are relying on you to let us know.  😀  I won't be boarding until 11 Oct so all info from early cruisers will be gratefully received.

 

Mmmm, maybe a "Live From" is just what the Australia/New Zealand Board needs???

[Cbtours]

1 hour ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Thanks Cbtours. I'm sure there will be plenty of questions as the first few cruises kick off.

 

I was just considering starting a "Live from Coral Princess" thread to cover all the restart cruises but this will probably morph into that once the cruises start. 

 

Yes totally agree, I thought the same.

[Aus Traveller]

16 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Since Coral is homeporting here for a couple of years or more I'm expecting the 220v circuit sockets to be changed to Australian ones. It's just a socket plate change and they've had 2.5 years to do it. The other ones will be US 120v. 

I expect there will be Aust powerpoints and 240 volt power in the cabins. This is what they installed on the other Princess ships that home-ported in Australia. Although the power is 240, the cycles per second remains at 60, not 50 as it is in Australia. This is absolutely no problem with most electronic devices. The only issue I heard of is with alarm clocks that are powered by electricity from a power socket. They will run fast. I heard of someone in an interior cabin whose alarm went off, they got dressed and went outside to go to breakfast. They wondered why there was hardly anyone else around until they found out that they had got out of bed a couple of hours too early. 😁 We use a clock that runs on a battery and uses the mains power to light up the time display.

[Cbtours]

1 hour ago, doenbucket said:

Hi, We're not cruising until August 5th on a b2b. Could we trouble you to advise if there is an Australian power point in cabin, also, any USB ports. Many thanks for answering these questions. Your a star.🤩

I am sure there are aussie power points, it was one of the things mentioned on the recent video from Princess about coming to Australia. But I will def confirm it, and also the usb.

[arxcards]

Yes, I am particularly interested in the flow through BICT for embarkation, and if the priority lines are still given a degree of priority.

 

Q - How are the alligator ribs in the Bayou cafe? Someone has to try it for us all. Seriously though, are they modifying the menu a bit to fit with local tastes, or is as it currently shows?

[arxcards]

18 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

I expect there will be Aust powerpoints and 240 volt power in the cabins. This is what they installed on the other Princess ships that home-ported in Australia. Although the power is 240, the cycles per second remains at 60, not 50 as it is in Australia. This is absolutely no problem with most electronic devices. The only issue I heard of is with alarm clocks that are powered by electricity from a power socket. They will run fast. I heard of someone in an interior cabin whose alarm went off, they got dressed and went outside to go to breakfast. They wondered why there was hardly anyone else around until they found out that they had got out of bed a couple of hours too early. 😁 We use a clock that runs on a battery and uses the mains power to light up the time display.

Most portable devices now have their own power regulators, and will handle 120-240V and 50-60hz cycles. As we have to take our phone for the app, it will also be our alarm clock.

 

I presume powerboards are still a no-go. With limited outlets, a powerbank with two USB charging ports is very handy to use to connect two mobile devices to the outlet. Usually when they convert an outlet for Aussie pins, they will keep a US outlet as well - still handy to pack a US pin adaptor.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Just now, arxcards said:

Most portable devices now have their own power regulators, and will handle 120-240V and 50-60hz cycles. As we have to take our phone for the app, it will also be our alarm clock.

 

I presume powerboards are still a no-go. With limited outlets, a powerbank with two USB charging ports is very handy to use to connect two mobile devices to the outlet. Usually when they convert an outlet for Aussie pins, they will keep a US outlet as well - still handy to pack a US pin adaptor.

We've taken the Aldi travel power boards on a number of cruises without any problems. The aren't surge protected so are OK on ships plus they come with four plug types so suit amost everywhere. We usually pack it in one of our carry- ons.

[Cbtours]

18 minutes ago, arxcards said:

Yes, I am particularly interested in the flow through BICT for embarkation, and if the priority lines are still given a degree of priority.

 

Q - How are the alligator ribs in the Bayou cafe? Someone has to try it for us all. Seriously though, are they modifying the menu a bit to fit with local tastes, or is as it currently shows?

I can assure you, you definitely won’t be hearing from me about alligator ribs 😂😂😂 but I’ll send a copy of the menu lol

[sewgood]

Checkout the base of the bedside table lamps for the USB ports.

That is where we have found them on our last two Princess cruises.

So that gives you two per room.

[arxcards]

14 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

We've taken the Aldi travel power boards on a number of cruises without any problems. The aren't surge protected so are OK on ships plus they come with four plug types so suit amost everywhere. We usually pack it in one of our carry- ons.

We had a travel pack with a 2 socket board & adaptors that had done shiploads of trips. It got taken by security screening a few cruises back. They are great at knowing what contraband looks like and can spot an extra bottle of wine at 20 paces, but they don't know what is what when it comes to powerboards. We said it was an acceptable type, he said he didn't care what type it was.

[Cbtours]

12 hours ago, LC1950 said:

LOL that's why we are relying on you to let us know.  😀  I won't be boarding until 11 Oct so all info from early cruisers will be gratefully received.

 

Mmmm, maybe a "Live From" is just what the Australia/New Zealand Board needs???

We’re boarding 11 Oct too 🥰🥰🥰🥰

[arxcards]

Churchills cigar lounge is the inside smoking area in North America, off to the side of the atrium on deck 7. What is this area going to be used for in Australia?

[Aus Traveller]

9 minutes ago, arxcards said:

Churchills cigar lounge is the inside smoking area in North America, off to the side of the atrium on deck 7. What is this area going to be used for in Australia?

It might just be a bar.

[Cbtours]

1 hour ago, arxcards said:

Churchills cigar lounge is the inside smoking area in North America, off to the side of the atrium on deck 7. What is this area going to be used for in Australia?

Noted and added to my to do list 😇

[OzKiwiJJ]

1 hour ago, Aus Traveller said:

It might just be a bar.

Or just an extension of Crooners. If they're smart they'll install another espresso machine there and make it a cafe part of Crooners.

[arxcards]

16 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Or just an extension of Crooners. If they're smart they'll install another espresso machine there and make it a cafe part of Crooners.

I hope they do something with the space. The equivalent bars outside the theatre on Diamond & Golden were just left empty and unattended. A shame, because they were also a cosy little sports bar as well as being the smokers bar, and they just had to take away the smoking.

[Elorac123]

Interested to know the temperatures around the ship,

dining room crooners theatre.I remember being quite cool all the time on a sea princess . So comfortable,,, cool,,,,, warm.

Cheers Carole

[Cbtours]

1 minute ago, Elorac123 said:

Interested to know the temperatures around the ship,

dining room crooners theatre.I remember being quite cool all the time on a sea princess . So comfortable,,, cool,,,,, warm.

Cheers Carole

Added to my list 🥳

[OzKiwiJJ]

7 minutes ago, Elorac123 said:

Interested to know the temperatures around the ship,

dining room crooners theatre.I remember being quite cool all the time on a sea princess . So comfortable,,, cool,,,,, warm.

Cheers Carole

I never had a problem with the temps in the public areas but the cabin temps at night were too warm for me in the last couple of years. So much so I now take a fan onboard as part of the problem was the location of the air-con outlet - the cool air didn't circulate through the cabin, it went out towards the door. 

 

Ideally I like a temp of 18C or lower for sleeping. Normally the thermostats in hotels and on earlier cruises had 22C as the mid-point temp but in the last couple of years that was the lowest setting.