FirstCruiseBeth

Hello Cruisers!

 

I have a last-minute job interview tomorrow with a recruiter for a Junior Assistant Cruise Director role with Princess! I've cruised before, but only with Royal Caribbean (don't blame me, I was with my family!). My background is in musical theatre, and I've done lots of event hosting.

 

I need some help! Please tell me about your favourite activities that involve the cruise director's staff! I'm looking for names and details of games, shows, and other activities, along with venue names and other Princess-specific details. Any help or tips you can provide would be appreciated! What do you love about Princess?

 

Happy Cruising!

Jim Proudfoot

Hi Jim

We enjoyed the stargazing activity on our Panama canal cruise. It was around 10.30pm and the Asst CD and a couple of other staff took a group of about 30 of us on one of the upper outside decks (can't remember which) and all unessential lights in that area were turned off for a while. The Asst CD used an app on his tablet to point out various stars with a laser pointer and we all wore headsets so we could hear what he was saying. There was also a member of the navigation crew answering questions which was really interesting.

As non dancers we enjoyed the ballroom class held at lunch time on sea days in the Wheelhouse Bar on the same cruise. A different dance each day so it didn't matter if you had missed previous sessions. The CD staff (shame on me for not remembering their names) made it simple enough for us to feel we could make a decent attempt at the dance by the end of the class.

Good luck with the interview!

Will the customer services desk on board break larger denomination $ notes ($20 or $10) into singles for tipping on a Norwegian fjord cruise? We've been able to do this in Alaska and Panama Canal but not sure if they will do this on a European cruise? I already have notes to use up from previous trips or I would order singles from my usual exchange bureau.

Thanks

FWIW, we just got off a wonderful 14 day cruise on the Crown last week. Main dining room menu and service was among the best we've had. Headwaiters were always checking with guests. Had planned to try a burger at Salty Dog, but couldn't find a reason to skip MDR. Shows mostly good to very good. Vines was a frequent call and service was very friendly and excellent.

Cabin steward was also friendly, helpful and on top of his game.

Guest services were friendly.

Just an alternate opinion for those that are wondering about the Crown. Would not hesitate.

Thank you jimmieg. We are sailing on the Crown next month and, although we had a wonderful cruise to Alaska on the Crown a couple of years ago, I was beginning to wonder if we had made a terrible mistake. We don't cruise that often, this will be only our third. We like to eat in the MDR and are happy to flex our schedule to avoid long queues for dinner or the shows so I'm hoping that we'll have just as enjoyable time this year.

Unfortunately the only time we can cruise the Panama Canal is when the Island is the ship going there. I wonder if it's worth waiting until there's a better time for us on another ship???

We did the Panama Canal full transit on the Island in February 2016 and had a wonderful time. We did see queues for early ATD and especially for the 8 o'clock show in the theatre. But by going to the early show we could walk in and find good seats 5 mins before the performance and never wait more than 5 mins for a table for dinner around 7.30pm.

While it might have been nice to be able to walk whole circuits on the promenade deck, it wasn't really an issue to cut through the corridor at the aft end or reverse direction.

If the itinerary was what I wanted I wouldn't hesitate to sail on the Island again.

It's something over a mile - within walking distance, and there's no restriction on walking in the docks.

But most of the route inside the docks has just a yellow line dividing the sidewalk from the road - cars & coaches heading to the terminal, and heavy trucks & other vehicles heading to the commercial berths and Ro-Ro ships.

So taking a taxi is a matter of safety rather than convenience.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/50.8857707,-1.395744/50.8968147,-1.4052467/@50.8921717,-1.4051733,1230m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!4m1!3e2

 

A taxi probably won't cost more than the £5 minimum. I don't know about the private-hire operators (like Uber) but the licensed & liveried taxis hailed in the street or at a taxi rank can't (and don't) refuse any fare within the city limits.

If a private-hire taxi refuses the job, there's a liveried taxi rank on Town Quay, across the street from Ennio's

 

JB :)

Many thanks, JB, looks like a taxi is the sensible way to go.

As others have said, some do & some don't.

If you ask your hotel to call a taxi you can ask them to ensure it's one which accepts plastic.

 

Some hotels are an easy walk - even with rolling luggage - to some cruise terminals.

For instance Holiday Inn (Herbert Walker Ave) is just 300 yards from City cruise terminal & also walkable to Ocean cruise terminal. Premier Inn West Quay, Grand Harbour, Ennio's & Pig-in-the-Wall are also pretty close, and Ibis, Ibis Plus and Novotel are also walkable to City & Mayflower terminals.

Though of course if it's raining you might not appreciate the walk. ;)

QE11 terminal is deep in the docks and walking is ill-advised.

 

Thumbnail map of hotels, terminals etc at https://www.londontoolkit.com/travel/southampton_accommodation.htm

Ships & their cruise terminals at http://www.southamptonvts.co.uk/live_information/shipping_movements_and_cruise_ship_schedule/cruise_ship_schedule/

 

JB :)

JB,

We are staying at Ennios and sailing from QEII so I was thinking that, unless it was raining, we could walk (we will each have large rolling case). Is that not a good idea? And would a taxi be prepared to take us such a short distance?

Never sailed from Southampton before so would be grateful for your advice.

Not sure what to do in Edinburgh and whether to go to Edinburgh Castle or Holyrood. We want to go to the Queen's ship and walk around town. We are not big castle people so would be interested in thoughts on Edinburgh and Holyrood and what people's experiences were.

One of the nicest things about Edinburgh is wandering through the streets and alleyways, especially around the Royal Mile between the Castle and Holyrood Palace. If you don't want to do too much walking, I agree doing a complete circuit on one of the HOHO buses would give you a great overview of the city.

if you aren't particularly interested in castles but are interested in history two other options are Gladstone's Land on the Royal Mile which is an example of a tenement building of the 17th century or the Georgian House in Charlotte Square which is an example of an 18th century home. Both of these have entry fees.

An alternative is The People's Story Museum on the Royal Mile which sets out the history of what it was like to live in the city and is free.

Mandatory or not I would not travel without adequate travel insurance. One accident or illness could cost plenty, including hospital costs, hotel charges for family, plane fares, medical evacuation, emergency at home requiring you and family to leave the ship and fly home and more.

Agree. We have an annual policy and had to fill in the name of our insurer plus their 24 hour medical assistance number on our cruise personaliser. We have seen a medical evacuation on one of the two cruises we have sailed on previously and I wouldn't like to think how much that, plus getting home once stabilised, would cost.

Would prefer B2B too.

Agree B2B from Vancouver if at all possible. We did this on the Crown and the weather was terrific in one direction but not great in the other. B2B gave us two chances to enjoy the scenery.

If you do opt for Hubbard Glacier but would like to see College Fjord, the 26 Glacier trip from Whittier goes to the start of College Fjord if you can fit it in before your cruise.

I've never sailed on either ship so cannot comment.

A lightweight waterproof hooded windbreaker is the better option. Juggling an umbrella in an area crowded with tourists can be difficult.

I agree. Personally I can't be bothered trying to manage an umbrella in wind or in crowds / shopping / trying to hold maps etc and then have a wet one to deal with when I get indoors again. I prefer to have the option of a hat or hood.

kaisatsu has the key info: The ship itself puts out too much light that you won't be able to see something subtle like the Northern Lights.

 

We were cruising on Oceania a few years ago and were on the top deck at night and saw the Navigator and he was happy to give us a bit of a celestial tour of the skies. We suggested they could maybe do this in an organized fashion and turn off the upper lights and he agreed it would be fun but that the cruiseline didn't want to make these adjustments.

On our Panama canal cruise with Princess last year they had a stargazing session late one evening on the top deck with a navigator as well as some of the cruise director's team helping us identify stars. They turned off as many of the ships upper lights as possible while we were up there. This summer we are doing the North Cape with Princess so I hope they do the same, although in mid-August it'll probably be too soon for the Northern Lights.

Agree with Bill B that if possible a B2B out of Vancouver could be the best option. We did this 2 years ago and the weather was great the first week, not so good the second week.

But if that's not a possiblity, then I agree that the scenery gets more impressive as you go north.

But, if you decide to go for the southbound cruise and have time for a trip from Whitter before you embark, the 26 glacier trip includes College Fjord. We took that on our turnaround day and it was good to go back to College Fjord with a different perspective from a much smaller ship.

We took the full transit from San Pedro to Port Everglades last year as our second only cruise. We had a wonderful time and didn't feel our lack of status spoiled our enjoyment. To address some of your concerns:

We weren't interested in the Sanctuary or speciality dining so I can't help with those.

We didn't wait unduly long to embark and we made it to the MDR in time for lunch.

Experience of ATD was more dependent on the time you went for dinner rather than status (though this was before the new club class was introduced). Lines were long for early ATD and very long for the 8pm theatre show so we switched our schedule. We saw the early show and ate afterwards at around 7.30pm. That way we could turn up to the theatre 5 mins before performance to find plenty of seats and we only ever had to wait about 5 mins for ATD.

We only had to tender once and we were on a Princess excursion so the timing was all arranged for us. I don't know what it was like if you were on a private excursion.

I hope this helps. I'm sure you will have a lovely time.

Island Princess Fort Lauderdale to Vancouver (April 19) published itinerary shows (after Cartagena departure) arrive at Panama Canal on cruise day 6, full transit at 0600 with departure at 4:30 pm on Monday. The next day on cruise day 7 (Tuesday) arrive at 7:00 am Fuerte Amador Panama (for Panama City) .

 

So, what is going on during the time period from 4:30 Monday to 7:00 am Tuesday ? Does this mean that the canal transit happens overnight ? Sure hope not !!! Hopefully someone who has recently done an east-west full transit on the Island Princess can clarify this for me.

 

Just for info, the days and times listed above are taken word for word from the Princess published itinerary for this cruise.

 

...VTX-Al

We did the full transit in the reverse direction; Long Beach to Florida. We had a day to do excursions in and around Panama (we went to monkey island) and then we were overnight off the coast before starting the canal transit early next morning. There was a deck party that evening which was fun.

We also spent the canal transit moving about the ship to get views and photos from all aspects; the front, the rear and sides. It was busy at the front rails for the first set of locks but by the afternoon and the last locks there was plenty of space everywhere.

Hope that helps.

deleted

Yes, there is. Flybe and Air France fly from Southampton Airport to Paris Orly and Paris Charles De Gaulle.

We'll be flying from Edinburgh to Southampton for our cruise in August. Much cheaper and quicker than train.

Hi

I haven't actually done this transfer myself but as no-one else has replied yet I'll try to help.

Here is a website I found that gives an overview of the options

https://www.londontoolkit.com/travel/southampton_london_transfers.htm

The Traveline website http://www.traveline.info/ allows you to check out specific train times and other options such as coach or bus. But it doesn't give fares or allow you to book tickets. You might want to check out the number of transfers involved in each option (between trains/underground/coach/walking) as you may prefer to minimize those with, particularly, the five year old.

The Trainline https://www.thetrainline.com/ allows you to book train tickets. I'm not sure when you are traveling but tickets are only bookable about 6 months in advance (until the end of July at the moment). For coaches you will need to contact the relevant website - Traveline will give you the name of the company.

I hope this helps.

Beth

We also did the flightseeing and crab feast at George Inlet from Ketchikan through Princess and really enjoyed it. Though our trip was scheduled early and we were served 'lunch' at 9.30am. Worth knowing so you can skip/adjust breakfast.

Hi

I can't help with the Norway part but do have some suggestions for Orkney.

Have you been before? If not, I would definitely consider trying to get to the amazing Neolithic remains at Skara Brae, Ring of Brodgar and Maeshowe. You would need to go on an organised tour, hire a car or hire a taxi. I did this by taxi in an afternoon - the driver proved an excellent guide and the price was very reasonable.

Kirkwall is a lovely town to walk around. There's St Magnus Cathedral which has an interesting visitor centre around the back, the Bishops and Earl's Palace ruins and the Orkney Museum on Broad Street is a hidden gem.

I've seen cruise ships berthed right in the centre of the town and also a little further out. In the latter case there was a shuttle bus taking passengers the 5-10 minute trip between the town centre and the ship.

There is lots to do in Edinburgh and quite easy to sort out a walking tour by yourself using guides and maps online. The problem will be choosing what to cover in the time available depending on your interests. The Castle is an obvious choice and wandering around the old town - don't miss all the little wynds and alleyways running off the Royal Mile - is an interesting way to see the city. The National Gallery is certainly an option and if you are interested in history, there are many other museums and interesting buildings such as Gladstones Land, Mary Kings Close, the Georgian House and Holyrood Palace. I live in Edinburgh and would be happy to help with more detailed suggestions if you wish.

Hope that helps.

We never had any problem bringing food from the Horizon Court buffet or the International Cafe back to our room on the Crown during our Alaskan cruise a couple of years ago. Didn't get any comments from anyone who saw us. Lots of people were taking food to the pool area too.

Hi Terry

We took this cruise on the Island last February/March in the opposite direction, LA - Ft Lauderdale. Here are a few comments based on our experience.

We were anytime dining and found it worked very well BUT our routine was to see the early show first and then eat around 7.45 - 8 o'clock. I think there were complaints about queues for those who wanted to eat early. Also, when we came out of the theatre at 7.15pm there were very long queues for the later show. By switching our schedule we walked into the theatre and found good seats five minutes before showtime and never had to wait for dinner.

We took ship excursions everywhere. I would not deny you probably get a better experience with a private tour but we are fairly new to cruising and I'm very risk averse. The only one we were really disappointed with was in Costa Rica where we went to the rainforest with arial trams and we saw no wildlife except one toucan. Maybe our expectations were too great.

Agree about reading the Path Between the Seas. There is also a film about the building of the canal (based on the book if I remember right) which was shown in the theatre and on MUTS - well worth seeing.

The demographics on our cruise were mostly mature/retired -I don't remember seeing any children though there may have been a few.

On the day of the transit we wandered all over the ship. It was an early start (before 6am) to see the entrance to the canal. As we approached the first locks, the viewing spots were pretty crowded. But during the day we took in views from the front, rear and sides and by the time we reached the locks at the opposite end of the canal the crowds had all but disappeared and there was plenty of space to get excellent views.

BTW I've been enjoying your posts on the European ports pages - we are doing the North Cape cruise in August 2017 so thank you for all your help over there.

Hope this helps.

Beth

We went on our Alaskan cruise and really enjoyed it. Great fun and very tasty.

On the Island in February we just picked them up from the pool the day before and I think we just left them in our room for the steward afterwards. I did see some as we left the ship sometimes but not always.

We were on the Island Panama Canal full transit in February and really enjoyed it. We went to the early shows and ATD around 8pm and had no lines for either. We did miss the International Cafe but otherwise had no disappointments and would sail on her again.

Honestly it could be almost anything (apart from snow - that is unlikely!) and there can be more than ten degrees difference between parts of Scotland and Cornwall.

Layers is the way to go; t-shirts, sweaters/fleece, showerproof jacket and a backpack to put them in as you take them off. Shorts and long trousers give you options according to the weather. And if you plan on wearing sundresses, especially in the evening, make sure you have a cardigan/ wrap handy too.

If you are spending time at the beach in the south then you are likely to have warm enough weather for a swimsuit.

Hope that helps. Happy to answer any other questions. Have lived in Scotland for over thirty years but grew up in England and spent many holidays in Devon and Cornwall - beautiful part of the country.