saurian

We are on the same trip and I used this website. It estimates 85$.

https://www.taxifarefinder.com/main.php?city=LA&lang=en

Rats! Thanks!

Can anyone enlighten me if the showers have a rod for the curtains or if they are on a track in the ceiling? I have a cloth shower rod caddy to keep soap, etc. organized and don't want to bring suction hooks if i don't have to, like I do on RCI. Looking forward to our first Princess trip in a week!

My apologies, it is on Star.

Fishywood- Thank you!

So I have never had an upgrade before, and I am concerned, as we have been. We have been moved to L312 from a BF location on E. Is this a bad location? I'm a little nervous about where it is located and could use some reassurance.

I am also the planner, and every time I try to sit down with DH he nods off or gets bored. We are leaving Dec 14th, so I hear you on the holiday stuff having to be all set before we go. I am also the packer, and have to force him to set aside things so I can pack them away. For all my pre-trip planning and organizing that goes unnoticed, while we are in route or going through check in, I do get a lot of thanks and appreciation when I have everything in order or can name exactly where something was packed that is needed. It is frustrating and stressful though, and I also don't relax until we are at the pier, checked in. The night before, I can't sleep at all and check the weather every 5 minutes, or make sure our things really are packed. At least he eventually shows appreciation, though it would be nice if he helped more with the packing!

I almost think someone should stand inside the public restrooms on the ship and do the washy washy!!!!!!!!

I have seen them do this!!! According to my husband, it happens in the men's room more often than the ladies, but I have seen crew just stand by the door and watch everyone and politely send the non-washy or water only washy people back!

Handrails on stairs. 😉 😱

 

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As someone who always wears long skirts, I never use handrails!;p

We are also on the Dec 14th sailing and this is feeling a bit unnerving. I keep seeing how people are talking about the elevator buttons, so I guess we will be taking a lot of stairs in addition to constant washing. I feel terrible for the crew, this is a hard time of year to be away from home, and now they have extra work to do because people are gross.

I think we would do this, yes. We often ask them not to constantly replace our towels, as it's such a waste to use them only once. Also we feel bad when we sleep in and they almost seem to lurk, waiting for us to get up, and if gets just too late, they seem to go into hyper mode in the evening to make up for it. I know a lot of people like this kind of upkeep, but we would enjoy a credit of some kind much more. How much? 50 or more probably, it's hard to do much for less, or something like 10/day of the trip. But I would also wonder if people might give less/none in gratuities, which is a low thing to do. My last concern is that rooms like this might take more time to clean on turn-around day, which would delay an already insane day for the crew. Certainly an interesting idea though.

Princess has an Hawaii program with Hula & uke instructions and other activities.

Muster drill is inside in the deck 6&7 public areas. Carry, don't wear, your life vest to the muster. You will be instructed to put it on at the end of the drill. Arrive 10 to 15 mins early if you want a seat.

Thank you so much! She will love the Hawaii program, and on RCI we are used to NOT bringing the life vest at all! That was very helpful!

Hello All!

I am new to Princess. My mother's health is starting to fail, and she has always wanted to see Hawaii (yay bucket list!), and it needed to be round-trip from the US in March, so Princess was our only (affordable) option. I have previously only sailed on Royal Caribbean, and was just looking for any tips or suggestions, or what to expect that might be different (or the same) on Princess that might make traveling easier for her. Also, yes, we have travel insurance. She simply wants to be pampered, saying "I don't want to cook, clean up after anyone, or have a routine. I want to sleep when I want, and be up when I want. And a luau, and maybe a volcano."

We are assigned a traditional early dining time. Is there anyone to contact to request dining table size? We don't mind sharing, but those large tables of 8-10 are too big for us.

 

 

When we booked they asked if we wanted a table for two or the traditional type.

Thank you! ::bows in appreciation:::

What they told me was there was no MDR, so I guess where do we go to eat?

Perhaps I should clarify, we have a set time (8:15), however when they explained it to me today, they said we changed resultants in a pattern. It is possible I misunderstood, of course.

Hello Kind Tribe,

We have sailed RCI since the '90s, and just booked at trip this winter on Anthem. I am trying to understand the dining set up there. The 'newest' class we've sailed until now is the Freedom Class, for reference. When I booked, they mentioned we would move from restaurant to restaurant, and our waiter would follow. How does this work and which restaurants does this include? I am sure you've been asked this a thousand times, so please have mercy on me.

absolutely do not put your travel plans on FB!!! Especially if his page is public! Your address may not be public, but do you have photos on your or his wall that might show part of your yard? do you have pics taken on your phone? those pics include data on your location! so if you have a pic of opening christmas presents in your living room that was taken and posted with your phone, those GPS coordinates are right there for the taking.

Are your FB friends all people you would trust with watching your house for a week, or watching your kids? do you both know who they are? If the answer is no, even if you post on your wall, restricting him so his public wall stays out of the picture, those people know your house is an open target.

We even have a pet sitter who stays in the house (lights on, people in and out, mail picked up, cars out front, etc.) while we are gone, and we do not post on FB or anywhere else that we are gone. We do post ambiguous things, like DH will post the song "I'm on a Boat," or a nice poem about the ocean ("I Must Go Down to the Sea Again, for example) but we do not ever put travel dates or that we will actually be leaving. We will text our good friends and family, who will know in case of emergency, and of course out trusted critter-sitters, but your 200 friends on FB do NOT need to know. When we return, we post pics and talk about it, not before.

The people who follow your partner will know he is on vacation (someone filling in for him that week) which is bad enough. You don't want to make it even more well known. You are most likely to be targeted by friends and neighborhood people. So if your neighbor 2 doors down see you are gone, she might mention it over dinner, and her teenager overhears, and really wants that new gizmo or is bored and wanting to push boundaries, so breaking into your unwatched home is not a bad option. What you post on FB, no matter the protections, might as well be public knowledge (6 degrees of separation)

In my opinion, an inside would work well. Most of your days will be spent on shore in port. You won't be in your room. Then you come back, get ready for dinner (don't have to worry about closing the shades if you haven't left yet!), and then go to dinner and evening entertainment. Then rinse and repeat for the next day. If you are not the type to wake up super early and watch docking, or like to watch departure in a private place, then there is not need for a balcony. We like to sleep (it is vacation after all!) and like the darkness of the inside. We also agree, that we would rather spend the extra money on something other than a place to store our stuff.

I have never heard of the blanket on the floor thing either. When we do move a blanket, or the duvet, off the bed they usually store it in the room above all the cabinets or closet, but it stays in the room.

The towels on the floor thing is marked on cards in the bathroom, but even though we hang all our towels back up they usually replace them anyway after a day or so (I even stow away the foot towel to get it off the floor), which I think is a waste, as we can easily have towels last us 3 days and save on laundry and energy, not to mention the attendant's precious time!

It's not the same. If you requested this option (sitting with other people you are not traveling with), what are the chances you'd be seated with the same "other people" every night, as you would be with the current method?

We are looking forward to being able to sit alone, but if one does find new people that you become closer with, there is always the opportunity to coordinate schedules and change your reservations to dine again, even coordinating the attending of entertainment and shows. Thus being able to forge stronger friendships than a regular meeting at a specific time, and actually doing more together than just talking about your grandson or cats between courses, but actually doing things together. I am tired of table mates wanting to be your "friend" and out side of the dining room barely recognize you, and never reply to emails or hellos back on land. it was all just small talk to be polite and waste time while waiting for food. I would want to meet real people who actually want to be friends.

Not surprised. Most folks with this kind of income got there by living wisely and within their means. They do not drive expensive new cars, don't have debt, work very hard, and may not see the point of paying so much more for the same vacation. buying expensive cars is investing money in something that is going down in value, at an alarming rate, and a vacation is just that, a vacation. If one can unwind and recharge the same amount, if not with more peace of mind, on a cruise line that is cheaper, why not save the money and invest it in the market or in real estate, thus increasing their net worth. The richest people dont have anything to prove, only those who are dreaming of being rich do.

Also keep in mind that if you don't want to dress up on formal nights but would rather not spend extra money on specialty dining, you can always go to the Windjammer buffet for dinner on those nights. I've never done it, but I've read several reviews that said it's a different (better) atmosphere in the evening. You won't have to dress up or spend extra money, and you'll get the same food you'd get in the MDR -- which is awesome on lobster night. :D

I also echo this. We do go to the WJ often instead of the MDR, as I often do not like the menu there. The WJ is often closed off 1/3-1/2 what it usually is, and there are loads of empty tables. It is quiet and nice dim lighting. There is usually a small sampling of the MDR food, as well as options to custom make your own dish, like Mongolian BBQ. They have a wonderful selection of breads and cheeses, and at least 3 soups, salads, some kind of pasta (or 3) and desserts. The waitstaff are not overworked at night and are very friendly if you want to chat or leave you alone if you want a more personal conversation. Sure, the plates are plastic, and you have to get up for each course, but its actually a pleasant experience, IMO. And if it happens to be a formal occasion for you (anniversary, etc) you can dress up and make it formal on a non-formal night. I see everyone from tuxedos to flip flops in the WJ at night, and no one bats an eye either way.

Personally, I would do Quantum. We have never done Oasis class, but sill someday like to. What I love about QOS is the cheaper airfare, the dynamic dining looks awesome, and the longer cruise. If the extra you would be losing going down in room do not matter to you very much, which they do not at all to me, it's a home run. We have left out of NJ in December, and found it to be just fine. The Explorer was not made for cold weather like QOS, and we still enjoyed it tremendously.