JohnS43

Yes, now with the new *ostco charge card I've been checking out prices and they are beating Discover with the OBC. I may be switching soon...very soon. Going to apply on the 16th as that's when the new Citibank cards will be available at *ostco. I'm up to looking at all options. Looking for Hawaii specifically.

The new Citibank Visa card that will be replacing the AmEx card bumps the travel rebate percentage up from 2% to 3% (beginning 6/20/16, when the card is effective.)

I submitted my fax (as a first-time shareholder) on a Sunday, and when I checked my account on Princess on Tuesday, the OBC was there. So everything worked out fine, but I wish Princess would send some kind of confirmation email acknowledging receipt and approval of the submission.

Yeah, it's kind of amazing that after only two solo cruises on Princess (one in an inside, and one in a suite) I'll already be at Platinum level. I wish they gave double-double credit for a suite, but three credits is nice.

I wonder if any more cruise lines will start using the Long Beach cruise terminal anytime soon. I've only used it once, for Carnival -- I think most everything else is in San Pedro. My only complaint about the LB terminal was the parking -- it took an hour to get out of the garage post-cruise. Seriously understaffed.

They offer tours if you have a guest who's participating in the Bon Voyage program. He/She also gets a free lunch in the main dining room and a free photo.

On the PDF document linked above, it says the following under "Horizon Court:"

5:30pm - Midnight

(closed for dinner Caribbean, Crown,

Emerald & Ruby Princess

Does this mean they're no longer serving dinner in the buffet on those ships? I was just on the Crown and the Horizon Court was busier than the dining rooms at dinnertime. Or am I misunderstanding what they're trying to say?

Thanks to everyone for their responses. So it sounds like the only two options for specialty dining (on the first night, with the suite benefit) would be SHARE and the Crown Grill. As I mentioned, I did the Crown Grill on my last cruise, so I'd be interested in trying SHARE (and the menu looked tempting), but I wonder if it's appropriate for a solo diner. Any thoughts?

I would definitely like to try the Salty Dog this time, but I gather it's one of those places you don't reserve in advance, but rather just show up during the appropriate dining hours.

I'm going on a 14-day cruise in July on the Emerald. I'm a solo, and have a suite. So I gather that I'm entitled to a free dinner at a specialty restaurant on the first night. I've tried the Crown Grill on the Crown Princess, and it appears that the only other specialty restaurant on the Emerald is SHARE. (It doesn't look like they have the Salty Dog, but I can't tell for sure.) So is SHARE something that would be OK for a solo diner?

(I guess I'm kind of surprised that there aren't more specialty dining venues on the Emerald-- but maybe they do the Crab Shack on certain nights? Or something else?)

You eat with the crew on Tuesday night in the galley :eek:

I actually think that would be both fun and interesting. For one night anyway!

You may not consider a Scandinavia, Russia, Iceland and Greenland cruise to be long enough or exotic enough, but Holland America's Zuiderdam has a 29 day Copenhagen to New York leaving this August with a 25% supplement. It's about $5600 including taxes for an inside, or just under $200 a day. OV, balconies and suites also 25% supplement.

 

There's also the Emerald Princess 48 day leaving this September 28th from London, ending in Sydney going through the Suez Canal for about $8600 with tax (inside), and is about the same per day as the Zuiderdam. The 41 and 46 day sailings from London are sold out so there may not be that many cabins available.

Thanks for that info! The first cruise sounded great, but unfortunately I'm not available for its departure date. And there's only one sailing. I checked for 2017 and they'll be doing it again, but no discounts yet. But maybe closer to the sailing date they'll start offering discounts again.

The second one sounds like a great itinerary, too, but definitely no solo discount on that one. For a cruise that long, I'd probably want a suite (I don't think I could take one of those cramped showers for nearly two months!) And the suites are pretty pricey.

Probably a foolish question, but are there ever any solo discounts on world cruises or some lengthy "exotic" trips? I was looking at Princess's world cruise the other day and while I could afford the time (it's 111 days!) and the money for half the full fare, the full (double) price is pretty outrageous.

Some phones and some carriers allow you to make calls over wi-fi instead of over a cellular network. Is the ship's wi-fi able to handle calls made over wi-fi? If it is, you might save money by using this service if you've already purchased (or received) an internet minutes package.

Is the cruise card holder/wallet something you wear around your neck, or is it something you keep in a pocket or purse?

Right, but they're subject to restrictions by the US Government, I wondered if the cruise ships would not want to be accused of facilitating the circumvention of US laws, which could potentially have serious repercussions. (Although with the gradual easing of restrictions, this is probably less of an issue than it would've been a few years ago.)

So for those Americans who'd like to visit Cuba but do not want to be subject to the rules about education, people-to-people humanitarian outreach, etc., they can just do a non-Fathom cruise that originates in another country?

Thousands of non Americans have been travelling to Cuba by ship or air each year. Those who fly mainly go to one if the many AI resorts. Cruisers have usually been on the smaller ships of TUI group or P&O from Europe.

So do they preclude American citizens from these cruises? Or do they just not let them off the ship in Cuba? Because Americans would be subject to many restrictions that would not apply to the rest of the passengers.

Is there some reason that cruise ships that don't carry US passengers haven't been traveling to Cuba without such restrictions for some time now? Are there not enough non-US passengers to make such trips economically feasible for cruise lines? I know that many Canadian and European tourists fly to Cuba for vacation-- would they not also be interested in cruising there?

I just plain do not like to dress up. So on formal nights, I just avoid the MDR and stick to the buffet or the specialty restaurants. I will say that I was pleasantly surprised to find that NCL had completely eliminated formal nights. I'm wondering if that's a trend that will be expanding to other cruise lines.

My favorite Princess tip: On ships with Skywalker's Lounge, it's a great place to go for some peace and quiet during the daytime and early evening hours. It's usually completely empty, or with just a few other people. Nice, comfortable place to read or just relax-- especially if you don't have your own balcony.

Question about the non-alcoholic beverage package: I had it on my last cruise and the tumbler showed up in my room on the second day, but I had no idea how I was supposed to use it. I just ordered my sodas and other drinks from the wait staff at the buffet or at various bars and they were served in regular disposable cups. Are you supposed to take it with you and have your drinks served in the tumbler?

And a comment about bottled water: I think Princess's bottled water delivery option is reasonably priced and is a lot more convenient than lugging a bunch hof heavy water bottles on board. I pre-ordered it and the water was already in my stateroom when I arrived.

So has it been definitively decided that there's no free bottled water in the suites? The only reason I want to know is that if I'm sure there is NOT, I will order the bottled water delivery ahead of time. I did that on my last (non-suite) Princess cruise and it was very convenient to have the water there in my room waiting for me and not have to try to buy some water in every port.

Also -- on one of the amenities lists there's a mention of a cruise card holder. Is this still being done? Again, I'd like to know because I was considering buying one for my next cruise. (I usually keep my card in my wallet, but I saw so many people wearing them on lanyards that I realized it was probably more efficient that way.)

Pardon me for tacking this question on to this thread, but I didn't want to start a new one and since this is a suite amenity-related question, I hope this as good a place as any to ask: For the complimentary embarkation evening specialty restaurant offer, does one have to make a reservation? And, if so, how far in advance should this be done?

I've only sailed on Princess in the US but will be doing a Mediterranean cruise (originating in London) in a few months. Does Princess vary its menu for the dining room and the buffet based on either the itinerary of the cruise or the predominant place of origin of the passengers? For example, since this cruise begins in London, would they tend to cater to British passengers, since they may constitute a majority of the passengers? Or would the cuisine represent the Mediterranean region? Or is Princess generally consistent with its menus irrespective of the destination and passenger makeup? That is, a menu that would generally be familiar to American passengers.

I'm not a fussy eater and will be happy with whatever is served, but I'm curious.

The "hardware acceleration" fix didn't work for me. Still freezing up using Firefox in Windows 10. Works fine in Microsoft Edge.

Thanks for all the responses, but I'm still not clear on why I wouldn't get four credits -- two for the solo paying double and two for the suite. Especially since the Captain's Circle rep told me I would unless it was not a full suite. Is there some rule that limits the number of "bonus" credits that she was unaware of?

I recently booked a Vista Suite as a solo (so paying the full fare myself.) While aboard ship on another Princess Cruise, I asked the Captain's Circle rep whether I would get four credits for that cruise (i.e., two for solo paying double and two for suite.) She said I should, but when she checked the actual booking, she said it only showed THREE credits. When I asked why, she speculated that it must be a mini-suite. But everything I've read seems to indicate it's a full suite.

Can someone verify this? I'm not only concerned about the CC credits, but also about the other suite-related perks (laundry, etc.)

Thanks!

Sorry-double post.