First cruise random questions

[teddie2]

So I will be going on the Island Princess in July first time cruising. I have a few random questions.

Luggage tags  or covers. I read a tip it's advisable to buy some before the trip but seems you need to know which ones princess tags will fit in. Where can I find these?

Are the ships cold inside in the restaurants and other indoor venues? Trying to decide how to dress in the evening. We tend to run cold. We were on a small 30 person ship this past summer and it was freezing on board. We had to turn off our AC in the cabin it was so cold. 

Do people often put things on their doors to decorate them?

I know more questions will come up but that's it for now. 😊 Thanks!

Edited November 30, 2023 by teddie2

[EDDY0827]

These are the "ticket":

 

https://www.amazon.com/Carnival-FUNMCAN-Waterproof-Essentials-Accessories/dp/B0C6MW9HRX/ref=sr_1_7?crid=OTOH6O2MQ7GO&keywords=luggage+tag+holders&qid=1701316380&sprefix=luggage+tag+holders%2Caps%2C191&sr=8-7

[karatemom2]

We just print, fold and staple the luggage tags as instructed and have never had an issue, but many here swear by the plastic tag holders. 
 

The dining rooms and public areas can be quite chilly at times, so I tend to have a sweater or shawl handy. 
 

A handful of people decorate their doors. It’s not terribly common on Princess but we always spot a few decorated doors on every cruise. 

[hllwdcruiser]

We finally bought the plastic tag covers from Amazon, but used the clear packing tape method for years and it worked just fine. We folded per the instructions on the printed tag, and just covered them with clear packing tape before stapling.
I tend to run cold as well, but I often walk around the ship, go to dinner etc in sleeveless tops or dresses. I don't remember feeling cold at all. To give you perspective, I always feel cold in Florida restaurants due to their a/c and bring sweaters whenever we do out to eat. You may want to bring a cardigan or two on board just in case.
On the ship, I do get chilly out on the deck in the evening so I do bring a cozy sweatshirt to wear when we watch MUTS or when we take an evening stroll.
Folks do decorate their doors, but they are definitely not in the majority.
 

Edited November 30, 2023 by hllwdcruiser

[reedprincess]

I simply fold and staple my luggage tags on the morning of the cruise. In countless cruises, I've never once had them come off. They're tri-folded and stapled in a couple places, pretty darn sturdy on their own..

Others swear by buying something to hold them. Your choice.

 

Ships are ambient. In the 70-72f range. Some will find it cold, some will find it warm, some just right. It also makes some difference what the outdoor temps are, as to how hard the AC has to work, added humidity or heat as doors open/close, etc.   Take a wrap or pashmina or light sweater or such.  You can ask your room steward for an extra blanket if you're too cold..

 

Do people often decorate their doors? No. Yes. Somewhere in between.  Holiday sailings see more decor. Some few do on every cruise. Some never do.. If you want to, go for it.. nothing that will damage or leave marks on the door, obviously.

 

Happy sails. 

[travelin.sisters]

we do take layers, sometimes the dining rooms are quite chilly sometimes not, so best to have layers that you can take on & off as needed

 

we also like to put something on our doors (I have made 8x11 car magnets that we use each cruise), it is nice to have something so that our doors stand out amongst all the matching doors...we don't have to fly to the port, so I always bring some decor for inside the room too. 

 

some other suggestions, magnets are great for hanging things in the room, bar soap if that is what you use since they now only have liquid soap in the bathrooms,  a non-surge protected outlet splitter or cord as there are not enough outlets in the cabins, you can order water bottles before sailing if you don't have a package, 

[Cruisintimer]

2 hours ago, teddie2 said:

So I will be going on the Island Princess in July first time cruising. I have a few random questions.

Luggage tags  or covers. I read a tip it's advisable to buy some before the trip but seems you need to know which ones princess tags will fit in. Where can I find these?

Are the ships cold inside in the restaurants and other indoor venues? Trying to decide how to dress in the evening. We tend to run cold. We were on a small 30 person ship this past summer and it was freezing on board. We had to turn off our AC in the cabin it was so cold. 

Do people often put things on their doors to decorate them?

I know more questions will come up but that's it for now. 😊 Thanks!

We purchased luggage tag holders on Amazon and we secure with neon shoelaces through the holes, makes luggage easy to spot when we disembark.

 

We have decorated door for Hawaii cruises but not recently.  Enjoy your cruise. 

[HaveDogWillTravel]

1 hour ago, travelin.sisters said:

we do take layers, sometimes the dining rooms are quite chilly sometimes not, so best to have layers that you can take on & off as needed

 

we also like to put something on our doors (I have made 8x11 car magnets that we use each cruise), it is nice to have something so that our doors stand out amongst all the matching doors...we don't have to fly to the port, so I always bring some decor for inside the room too. 

 

some other suggestions, magnets are great for hanging things in the room, bar soap if that is what you use since they now only have liquid soap in the bathrooms,  a non-surge protected outlet splitter or cord as there are not enough outlets in the cabins, you can order water bottles before sailing if you don't have a package, 

I could not have said it better. Great suggestions.  

[trbarton]

1 hour ago, travelin.sisters said:

we do take layers, sometimes the dining rooms are quite chilly sometimes not, so best to have layers that you can take on & off as needed

 

we also like to put something on our doors (I have made 8x11 car magnets that we use each cruise), it is nice to have something so that our doors stand out amongst all the matching doors...we don't have to fly to the port, so I always bring some decor for inside the room too. 

 

some other suggestions, magnets are great for hanging things in the room, bar soap if that is what you use since they now only have liquid soap in the bathrooms,  a non-surge protected outlet splitter or cord as there are not enough outlets in the cabins, you can order water bottles before sailing if you don't have a package, 

Here’s what I use magnets for. I don’t travel without them. I also use them for holding door decorations. 
 

Tom😀
 

 

[tml1230]

we are currently on the Island P for 28 days in the Med and the transatlantic back to Florida. All above is great advice and mirrors our current experience. 

If I  may add....we were slightly apprehensive about this cruise based on  some reviews we read. we knew it was an older and much smaller ship, but the itinerary which included stops in Israel sold us on it.

We are well seasoned cruisers, mostly on princess . I measured the downright nasty, hardcore " never again" comments and reviews with some skepticism.

the ship, the crew, and the amenities have all exceed our expectations. we really have enjoyed the small ship feel! Sadly we couldn't stop in Israel, but we are enjoying it so much we just booked 35 days next year and will try again.

Have a great cruise!

 

[Honolulu Blue]

7 hours ago, teddie2 said:

So I will be going on the Island Princess in July first time cruising. I have a few random questions.

Luggage tags  or covers. I read a tip it's advisable to buy some before the trip but seems you need to know which ones princess tags will fit in. Where can I find these?

Are the ships cold inside in the restaurants and other indoor venues? Trying to decide how to dress in the evening. We tend to run cold. We were on a small 30 person ship this past summer and it was freezing on board. We had to turn off our AC in the cabin it was so cold. 

Do people often put things on their doors to decorate them?

I know more questions will come up but that's it for now. 😊 Thanks!

Random questions, random answers:

 

• I'll defer to others on luggage tags as I don't use them
• I mostly find the common areas comfortable in either long or short sleeved shirts, but then again, I'm comfortable in most reasonable indoor temps.  If you run cold, you're probably better off packing more long-sleeved shirts/blouses, and if you're a lady, you can bring a shawl or something similar.  Sweaters is probably overkill unless you happen to be sailing in the Alaska region.
• I've seen many door decorations, but never the majority on any cruise.  Feel free to decorate or not.  A few cruise lines, not necessarily Princess, have limitations on what you can put on your cabin door.  Dig through the FAQs just in case.

Enjoy your cruise!

[SCX22]

8 hours ago, teddie2 said:

Do people often put things on their doors to decorate them?

 

 

Not a door decorator myself.  Don't really want to waste my luggage space/weight on decorations, especially on long cruises.  Some like to purchase a magnet as a memento in every port and stick it on to their door.  Just got off a 22 day Med cruise, and our next door neighbors did this.  By the end of the cruise they had so many magnets because this cruise was so port intensive.

[skynight]

Luggage tags. I just print them out and carry them with me. When I'm at the hotel, or at home if going directly to the pier, the night before the cruise, I fold and attach one to each of the two handles on the luggage and seal them with clear tape. They have never come off. Even if they did the crew would be able to find your luggage by the name tag.

Always bring a cover up, sweater, sweatshirt etc. It can be chilly throughout the ship. Are you going on the transatlantic from NYC which includes stops in Iceland, Greenland and other northern ports? If that is your itinerary bring along layered clothing including rain wear. The Atlantic can be chilly any time of the year.

Doors are 22 inches wide. Yes, some people do decorate their doors. Some simple, some more elaborate, some just to more easily identify their cabin. All walls and doors are steel and will handle magnets. 

[teddie2]

Thank you all for the flgrea t suggestions. I am not for decorations si much as liked the idea of something to identify the door though our cabin is the first one in a line so think it will be easy to find

I like the idea of the luggage tags so thank you for the links! 

Seems the temps vary for some so I definitely will bring a light jacket  just in case I usually do anyway. We will be in southern Europe in July / August so I am more concerned about packing for extreme heat. We even ordered these portable fans to wear around you neck lol

Good to hear Island Princess is a good ship as we have read negative reviews yet we booked because of thecl itinerary.

We also ordered magnetic hooks as some people have suggested but I like what Tom did with the Magners in the room. Great way to keep schedules and any thing else handy

Also getting an over the door shoe caddy to use for storage as well. Some great ideas people have!!

Thanks again! I am surecto have more random questions as time gets closer😉

 

[Paula_MacFan]

5 hours ago, tml1230 said:

we are currently on the Island P for 28 days in the Med and the transatlantic back to Florida. All above is great advice and mirrors our current experience. 

If I  may add....we were slightly apprehensive about this cruise based on  some reviews we read. we knew it was an older and much smaller ship, but the itinerary which included stops in Israel sold us on it.

We are well seasoned cruisers, mostly on princess . I measured the downright nasty, hardcore " never again" comments and reviews with some skepticism.

the ship, the crew, and the amenities have all exceed our expectations. we really have enjoyed the small ship feel! Sadly we couldn't stop in Israel, but we are enjoying it so much we just booked 35 days next year and will try again.

Have a great cruise!

 

Agree with you 100%  We were on the Island for 12 days last month and found her in good shape and had a great time.  That ship does the unique itineraries so if you want to go to those places then the Island is the ship 🙂 

 

We use the luggage tags ordered from Amazon.  We've had the same ones for years and they've held up well.  For the little money they cost they've provided peace of mind that our luggage will not be misdirected.  We also use Samsung Smart Tags in our luggage to track their location when traveling.  These are comparable to Apple Air Tags for Apple users.  It's fun to watch your luggage move along and when they are loaded onto the ship the maps shows them 'floating' in the water 🙂  

 

We aren't door decorators but we've seen people do it over the years.  

 

I find temperature is a very personal thing.  I'd advise bringing a light cover up so you're comfortable in any setting.  

[travelin.sisters]

3 hours ago, teddie2 said:

Thank you all for the flgrea t suggestions. I am not for decorations si much as liked the idea of something to identify the door though our cabin is the first one in a line so think it will be easy to find

I like the idea of the luggage tags so thank you for the links! 

Seems the temps vary for some so I definitely will bring a light jacket  just in case I usually do anyway. We will be in southern Europe in July / August so I am more concerned about packing for extreme heat. We even ordered these portable fans to wear around you neck lol

Good to hear Island Princess is a good ship as we have read negative reviews yet we booked because of thecl itinerary.

We also ordered magnetic hooks as some people have suggested but I like what Tom did with the Magners in the room. Great way to keep schedules and any thing else handy

Also getting an over the door shoe caddy to use for storage as well. Some great ideas people have!!

Thanks again! I am surecto have more random questions as time gets closer😉

 

I personally loved the Island & it is my favorite of the older ships (the new Royal class are like a totally different animal & unlike many I like both)...we did the Panama Canal on her & the only time it felt crowded was the day everyone got up early for excursions in Costa Rica & they announced last minute that they had all been canceled due to severe flooding...the crew was wonderful too.

 

Two things I like to take because I get hot is a fan to put next to the bed for airflow (I have one that switches from around my neck to standing & charges with a usb cord) & my travel clock has a thermometer (sometimes I can't tell if the room is hot or it is just me). We did have a little trouble with it being too hot at the very start of our cruise as it was the first hot weather cruise after the Alaska season but the cabin steward was able to get the maintenance people in really quickly to help with that...your cabin steward is your best friend & can help with almost anything, sk him/her first before trying customer service

[teddie2]

Thanks I plan on getting the neck fans now to try them out. We will be in the heat of the California desert this winter and if they prove useful there we will take them with us.

I am thinking we would more likely be cold rather than hot on the ship with the AC.