Michael Kays

REI makes several waterproof bags in various sizes.. I attach my bag to a childs inflatable ring with a benji cord, then attach the ring to my ankle with a smaller gauge cotton cord.  Adjust the cord length for the depth you want to dive so you dont pull the bag and ring under.

we are wanting to book Panama Canal for October 2020 on Emerald Princess we want to experience the bigger ship through the new canal.  We were told by our TA it will open in spring of 2019. 

we have cruised on both Island Princess and Coral Princess for two Panama Canal sailings..first off, Island Princess and Coral Princess are two of the oldest Princess ships still sailing.. if compared to newer, bigger, better designed Princess ships, in my opinion the general flow of passageways has improved greatly with the newer designed ships..more people but seems less crowded.

  We have sailed in aft minis both cruises.  The constant opening and closing of passageway doors leading to aft observation areas was quite annoying.  Also the continuous intrusion of passengers looking around the bulkhead that separated our cabins balcony from the observation areas was irritating. 

So there is give and take, if you prefer aft balconies there are more of them with more privacy, if you prefer interior or ocean view cabins and use the observation decks there are less areas.  More cabins means more passengers and more $$$ for Princess, while I am sure Princess also takes into consideration passenger concerns for these modifications.

To each his/her own, we all have priorities. 

By definition a cruise in my opinion is a wonderful serene getaway, and is meant to be enjoyed~  with all the options available we should all be able to find something we can tolerate for a few wonderful days at sea.

we have sailed on Grand several times out of SFO both old pier and new pier..I've only seen bow facing Bay, as far as how they get that way I'm thinking they come in aft first parallel to dock, backing into slot them side thrusters to move her to pier.

go into the crown grill and introduce yourself when you get on board.....the rib eyes are not on the menu but they will make accomodations~

We have taken advantage of this perk on several Princess cruises..  now that its in the Crown Grill  my favorite is the rib eye steak and eggs..have it almost every morning while onboard. 

thanks for the post..that makes more sense..so I'm hearing there is still breakfast in Sabatinis? My wife loves that perk. It does make sense to change to anytime dining thus freeing up two spaces for traditional 6pm in MDR..and like you said if we want 6pm we still have it:cool: BTW we are on the Grand Princess, already checked and they do have the CCD but the suite perk breakfast at Sabatinis is awesome glad its still available.

I am in a suite for our Alaska cruise coming up next week..I called Princess regarding club class dining..my current dining status is comfirmed traditional 6pm..I was told I needed to change my dining status to "anytime dining" in order to "qualify" for Club Class dining? Also, per Princess, morning breakfast perk is only if you have Club Class Dining..so if I decide to keep my 6pm tradtional dining time I will not be able to go to breakfast which we enjoy very much..that doesn;t sound right..but I was on hold three times for over 15 minutes while we sorted it out..still doesnt seem right that I cant go to breakfast unless I am anytime dining with club class perk..

any insight greatly appreciated..

Legal in other countries or not......why would anyone wear camo clothes on a cruise?

camo hats. shorts, shirts all very popular in many states..why wouldn't they wear what they usually wear while on vacation? Do you change your wardrobe fav's when you travel? I mean I'm not saying polar fleece camo in tropical climates. but I have all kinds of Underarmour and other named brand athletic clothing that is perfect wicking for tropical areas..

I have been known to bring on a case of diet pepsi. also a few monster drinks

we have always enjoyed aft balconies and get them whenever we can..the new Royal we had deluxe aft and the soot was a huge issue..but it has been the only ship we have noticed soot problem..it is very convenient for conventional dining as you just walk down a few decks from aft center staircase..one benefit that I have not seen discussed is most of the aft cabins are suites, thus you have exceptional steward service. there is vibration only when thrusters are employed for arriving or leaving dock...wind is non existant..and the view incredible.

I have been in both E728 and E729 and you do not get that much noise from the bandstand below in E728..E727 has a dinky balcony compared to E728 and dophin deck balconys although good sized are not wrap around and they do not have overhead, you are completely exposed to Caribe Baja and Aloha deck balconys above you..stay where you are in E728 you will not be disappointed

we considered the weather, or rather the lack of being able to predict the weather when cruising in Alaska, we have made sure our balcony has a overhead so that we could use it in inclement weather..also we chose aft balcony's because we had several at sea days and the aft balcony's are almost wind free while underway.

Next cruise to Alaska is July 2015, on the Golden Princess r/t San Francisco..going under the Golden Gate Bridge is right up there with sailaway on the Grand Canal out of Venice..we chose an aft suite so that we could be on our balcony wind free and enjoy the scenic views.

I was surprised by the dismissive responses .... to clarify:

 

• we have looked at alternatives and obviously people do not know what they are talking about because there are none .... it has even been indicated that it will be difficult to even to get out of the port on your own ... and there is nothing in Le Verdon
  
• I get the feeling that some of the responses are from people who have paid these extortionate fees for other similar jaunts and feel they are being exposed for being silly enough to pay up ..... there is always this excuse 'oh, you are guaranteed to get back to the ship', and other such nonsense.
  
• we went to Rome from Civittavechia for 9 Euros return on a BIRG ticket when the cruise line were charging high costs ( BIRG now costs 12 Euros)
  
• we got a private taxi from Colon in Panama to the Gatun locks for $40 total when it would have cost $120 by the cruise line bus
  
• the responses IMHO are from sheep who just pay up and troop on to the Acollyte Autobusses and feel that the cruise companies are doing them a big favour ??
  
• if I had to get a bust for a similar journey from Glasgow to Edinburgh t would be a fraction of the cost for this trip
  
• These people will continue coughing up these inflated costs because they think it is what you should do ...
  
• Princess no more .....
  

It seems all your examples of alternatives are private vendors that do not provide you guarantee that the ship will be there when you get back..I very seldom book Princess tours, which is my decision..but I also do my homework and thoroughly understand what options I have for every port.

It sounds like you may be upset because you did not understand your options prior to booking. I have been on many different cruise lines and they are are all very similar in pricing for shore excursions, which will almost always be more expensive than you can book with a private tour. You pay for what you get..the cost for peace of mind that the cruise ship will wait for you if you are late getting back is something you have to measure.

we just got off the Royal in January..we had Cat D4 aft balcony's D729 and D731..the majority of the balcony's that I am aware of have been reduced in size to barely accommodate a table and two chairs (9' X 4') EXCEPT the aft balcony's on the Dolphin and I think the Aloha deck..I don't know why they are larger but they are (9' X 8')..twice as big as other aft balconies..and they are half covered..the only issue we had with our balcony was the soot from the ships engine stacks..it is really terrible..to the point that you need to place a small towel outside your door to wipe your feet off before going inside the cabin to keep soot off the rugs..the stewards have a really hard time dealing with this issue.

Roatan is much more laid back..but beware of the no seeums on the beaches!! Once bitten they will itch the rest of your cruise:eek: I used a strong deet insect repellant and still managed to get several bites on my feet an legs at Mahogany Bay.

We did Victor's tours on one cruise and after a great zip line expereince he took us to a beautiful secluded white sandy beach, we were the only ones there..we did not know of the no-seeums and got bitten all over..nice beaches but you really have to use strong insect repellant

Royal Caribbean is the only Cruise Line that I am aware of that uses this new technology of viewing your onboard photos from the comfort of your cabin..as well as viewing most of your onboard activities..dining venues, reservations, etc.

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Note: I have never ordered anything that is not listed on the room service menu for breakfast. Don't want to go there' date=' especially if I discover they will deliver bacon. We try to eat "light" for breakfast. LOL[/font']

Sue from Fairfield, CA

I order eggs served sunny side up with bacon on room service ticket almost every morning. I do this by writing in my order on the ticket. :cool:

We just booked the Royal Princess for Jan 2014, and I'm hoping we booked cabins that will not be affected by the aft configuration changes. We booked category D4 cabins D729 and D731..

We had originally booked Crown Princess aft minis for Jan 2014, but we just got off the Crown and we were in the same minis E731 and E729 we booked for Jan 2014...and I felt the larger corner minis balcony space was wasted because we could not use them on at sea days..way too much wind.

I have to agree with folks that we also book a cruise not just for the ship, but for the cabin as well. We booked the minis because of larger blacony area, the sofa, and larger bathroom.

So booking the Royal in this case it is a brand new ship we have never sailed on, so the ship was defintely one factor. But also the new configuration for the D4 aft balcony's give you a sofa and a larger shower area..and less wind on aft balcony, giving you more usage time while at sea.

I just booked a cabana for Jan 12, 2013 Crown Princess sailing..we will have 4 in the cabana, two will be our mothers, ages 86 and 85..they do walk but slow and careful..has anyone used the chaor lift and can tell me how easy it would be to get them on.?

what happened to the wonderful aft balcony pictures that used to be on the first page of this thread:mad:

thanks for the getback..saw a photo of B748 Ruby Princess and there was a bulkhead door that opened to allow a passage between it and B750..

We had one of the infamous wrap aft balconies on Carnival and the aft balcony next to it and they took out the entire bulkhead between cabins!! We had like 1/4 of the aft to ourselves..it was incredible

We just got off the Sapphire and had two minis on Emerald deck and had the door removed//it wasnt as nice as having the entire bulkhead removed but it made for easy access between cabins without using the hallways

I just booked B748 and B750 on Ruby Princess..is there an access door that opens between the balconies for these two cabins?

great thread..we booked Sapphire Princess for June and were fortunate enough to grab both Caribe aft BB balconies..We have booked these specific cabins before and love view off the aft..plus bonus of having these aft cabins is no wind while underway, and completely covered overheads. So after reading this thread we are packing flannel jammies. securing deck blankets when we get onboard and planning on many breathtaking hours on our deck~

I scored intercontinental 4 nights @ $95 in October 28-Nov 1st. with my Ambassador Priority Rewards status that also gives me a guarantee free upgrade, plus all the amenities I think that is a good deal. I would wait until you are at least 2 m onths from cruise or travel before seriously bidding..I know some folks score with earlier bids but for the majority of the deals the closer you are to travel the better the deal. I always have a plan B hotel that i can cancel within a few days of travel. For SJ it was the Marriott