Haven't sailed princess since 2017, what do I need to know

[alwalaska]

Hi!  We've only sailed on Princess a couple of times and the Coral Princess to the Panama Canal next Feb is the favorite contender right now out of our final two options. 

 

I plan on booking the regular price and not the plus. We sailed a similar itinerary on the Island Princess 1017, which is our most recent. What do I need to know?  What will we miss by not having the Plus option.  In general, it looks like the cost does not even come close to being worth it for us.

 

Here is a bit about us:

1) We don't drink

2) We don't care about specialty dining, but we do like pizza and burgers by the pool, a decent buffet, a reasonable wait or ability to make reservations for Any Time Dining.

3) We like the shows in the theater and listening to an acoustical guitar or piano player in the evenings.

4) I am very sensitive to cigarette smoke and will get migraines. Are there areas on the Coral Princess for me to avoid? 

[doghog]

10 minutes ago, alwalaska said:

4) I am very sensitive to cigarette smoke and will get migraines. Are there areas on the Coral Princess for me to avoid? 

The casino and any venues adject to it. The smell doesn't stay in the casino. 

[alwalaska]

13 minutes ago, doghog said:

The casino and any venues adject to it. The smell doesn't stay in the casino. 

I'm looking at the deck plans and it is hard to tell where the walls are and if there are any doors. Would this include the International Cafe and the hallway along the photo shop?  Is it all one big room?

[doghog]

2 minutes ago, alwalaska said:

I'm looking at the deck plans and it is hard to tell where the walls are and if there are any doors. Would this include the International Cafe and the hallway along the photo shop?  Is it all one big room?

The casino is a seperate venue, no doors. Poor ventilation system. Fleetwide. 

[mtnesterz]

The biggest change for you, since 2017, will be the Princess App which you may use to select the dining times you mention. We find the App pretty useless other than inputting all those things related to preboarding. Actually, we use the web based version and don't even download the App. You sound similar to us in the onboard preferences you state. If that comparison holds true, then the packages, either Plus or Premium, don't make sense for us. YMMV.

Edited April 13 by mtnesterz

[doghog]

Our last Princess cruise was on the Emerald, 2013. Just off the Enchanted (6 April). New to us was the green lane for embarkation, DMW and the medallion. Didn't use the app while onboard except to complete the muster drill. No muster drill like in the past. You report to your muster station to be accounted for and you can view the muster drill on the app or your stateroom TV.

Edited April 13 by doghog

[alwalaska]

28 minutes ago, doghog said:

Our last Princess cruise was on the Emerald, 2013. Just off the Enchanted (6 April). New to us was the green lane for embarkation, DMW and the medallion. Didn't use the app while onboard except to complete the muster drill. No muster drill like in the past. You report to your muster station to be accounted for and you can view the muster drill on the app or your stateroom TV.

Thanks.  What is DMW? Is that Dining My Way?? If yes, is that different from the previous Any Time Dining?

 

Edited April 13 by alwalaska

[doghog]

6 minutes ago, alwalaska said:

Thanks.  What is DMW? Is that Dining My Way?? If yes, is that different from the previous Any Time Dining?

 

Yes and no. We had DMW reservations for 6:00 PM (made them precruise),same table (two top we requested after the first evening) and waitstaff each evening in the same MDR. 

[spookyfudge]

You will be in shock of all the changes 

[alwalaska]

Someone complaining on another cruise lines forum said that with the Princess app, you could see the menus for the whole voyage so that you could pick which nights you would prefer to do specialty dining or the buffet, etc.  Is this true or an exaggeration?

[davy jones]

On 4/13/2024 at 1:14 PM, doghog said:

The casino is a seperate venue, no doors. Poor ventilation system. Fleetwide. 

That seems to be an issue on most large cruise lines.

[davy jones]

On 4/13/2024 at 1:22 PM, mtnesterz said:

The biggest change for you, since 2017, will be the Princess App which you may use to select the dining times you mention. We find the App pretty useless other than inputting all those things related to preboarding. Actually, we use the web based version and don't even download the App. Y

Web based version??  When I try the web, it tells me to use the app to check in.

 

Please tell more!

[davy jones]

13 minutes ago, alwalaska said:

Someone complaining on another cruise lines forum said that with the Princess app, you could see the menus for the whole voyage so that you could pick which nights you would prefer to do specialty dining or the buffet, etc.  Is this true or an exaggeration?

Many cruise line apps let you see the menus when onboard on your device or the stateroom TV.  I don't know how far in advance of sailing that they can bee seen on the app.

[mtnesterz]

As you go to the Princess website for your booked cruise, there will be two boxes for downloading the App, Android or Apple. Below that it will say try our web version. Click that.

What I have found is to log in using your booking number, so scroll all the way to the bottom. 

Some still have trouble with this, but we have found it is smoother than the app. It is however very slow to respond. I have a new Android, so very recent software and plenty of ram. Good luck.

[mtnesterz]

@Davey Jones Responded to your question above.

[doghog]

46 minutes ago, davy jones said:

That seems to be an issue on most large cruise lines.

Glad Celebrity wised up years ago and did away with all inside smoking. Princess and RC need to follow Celebrity's lead on this. 

[davy jones]

37 minutes ago, mtnesterz said:

As you go to the Princess website for your booked cruise, there will be two boxes for downloading the App, Android or Apple. Below that it will say try our web version. Click that.

What I have found is to log in using your booking number, so scroll all the way to the bottom. 

Some still have trouble with this, but we have found it is smoother than the app. It is however very slow to respond. I have a new Android, so very recent software and plenty of ram. Good luck.

Thanks for the info.  I was using Chrome on a PC.  I will download the app to a chrome book and give it a go.  DW will take the chrome book on the cruise anyway.

[DrSea]

The app is trash, and it is somehow getting worst. 

 

You can locate your shipmate, and that is the only thing useful thing about it.

 

Also, if you use your app to order towels or a sharps container, you will have to pay the 15 dollar service fee. Just ask your room Stewart for it

[Honolulu Blue]

On 4/13/2024 at 1:14 PM, doghog said:

The casino is a seperate venue, no doors. Poor ventilation system. Fleetwide. 

 

19 hours ago, davy jones said:

That seems to be an issue on most large cruise lines.

Agreed, but a couple of cruise lines are doing something about this:

 

* Carnival (the cruise line) has non smoking casinos on some of their ships

* Celebrity doesn't allow smoking in any indoor areas - including the casino

[555]

4 hours ago, DrSea said:

The app is trash, and it is somehow getting worst. 

 

You can locate your shipmate, and that is the only thing useful thing about it.

 

Also, if you use your app to order towels or a sharps container, you will have to pay the 15 dollar service fee. Just ask your room Stewart for it

They want to sell their Plus package or Premium package. 

If you don't then there are charges like the one time $14.99 and if you don't then you can't order drinks or food using the app. It seems to have worked fine last time we used it.

Oh btw, you can locate your cabin mate using the kiosks on every floor, just like using the app.  

[Torfamm]

22 hours ago, alwalaska said:

Someone complaining on another cruise lines forum said that with the Princess app, you could see the menus for the whole voyage so that you could pick which nights you would prefer to do specialty dining or the buffet, etc.  Is this true or an exaggeration?

I have seen the menu for the full voyage once, about a year ago. Since then it’s only been available day by day.

[Torfamm]

7 hours ago, DrSea said:

The app is trash, and it is somehow getting worst. 

 

You can locate your shipmate, and that is the only thing useful thing about it.

 

Also, if you use your app to order towels or a sharps container, you will have to pay the 15 dollar service fee. Just ask your room Stewart for it

There has been no charge for ordering those items in the app or by phone in my experience, nor is there supposed to be from what I’ve been told. If you were charged the OceanNow activation fee, it was in error.

 

That brings me to what I find to be helpful features in the app. Being able to see and screenshot your folio is both helpful and saves a ton of paper.

Also, if you do have any issues, crew chat is a great way to resolve them without having to physically visit guest services.

[Torfamm]

3 hours ago, Honolulu Blue said:

 

Agreed, but a couple of cruise lines are doing something about this:

 

* Carnival (the cruise line) has non smoking casinos on some of their ships

* Celebrity doesn't allow smoking in any indoor areas - including the casino

Royal Caribbean also introduced non-smoking casino floors on some of their ships about a year ago. 
 

I get frequent surveys from the Ocean Players Club and they often ask about smoking. My sense is that the issue is on their radar and they are coming to the conclusion that just like all guests, majority of casino players don’t want to be exposed to second hand smoke. 

[555]

46 minutes ago, Torfamm said:

There has been no charge for ordering those items in the app or by phone in my experience, nor is there supposed to be from what I’ve been told. If you were charged the OceanNow activation fee, it was in error.

The fee is waved only if you have a package from what I understand. Otherwise the first time you activate it there is a $14.95 charge. 

Did I misunderstand it?

[Torfamm]

23 minutes ago, 555 said:

The fee is waved only if you have a package from what I understand. Otherwise the first time you activate it there is a $14.95 charge. 

Did I misunderstand it?

That is true for ordering food and drinks. The example given of a request for sharps container triggering the fee is different.

Edited April 16 by Torfamm