trishh

When my family first started cruising I had a toddler and a 5 year old, and Princess used to set up a few tables for the kids, in the main dining room, and would serve sandwiches for the kids for dinner (most of the time it was all they wanted or needed). Then we were able to drop the kids off at kids club and have dinner alone.

Trish

Princess said that there is 24hr room service. Then I read that there is an additional charge for using it ($45.00 for breakfast).

 

Can so some please explain this for us? This is our first trip and my Mom and I keep coming up with questions. We have found several answers on here, and we both thank you all so much for all of your assistance.

Hi RhondaL,

I think what you're referring to is the Ultimate Balcony breakfast at a cost of $45. You get heaps and heaps of food and some champagne. In my opinion it's not worth doing, however I have done the Ultimate balcony dinner which is well worth doing. Back to your original question-room service is free except for some items such as coffee (I think) and Pizza. I hope you have a wonderful cruise.

Trish

I'll be checking with my Dr and pharmacist, but just wondering if anyone could recommend some good options to prevent / deal with seasickness for a 3yr old.

Thanks

Hi,

as you said check with your doctor, but I've been sailing with my kids since my daughter was 3 years old, and we've always given the kids Phenergan. If you go and see the doctor on board that is exactly what they give the kids (in syrup form), and then they charge you $150. I now buy Phenergan at the chemist, and give my kids half a dose just after boarding and it usually helps things. My daughter still gets sea sick but with the half a dose she feels fine. She also doesn't get any hyperactivity.

Trish

We are considering a voyage on the Caribbean Princess but since it only a few weeks from now there are limited cabins available. Decks 10 & 11 have an inside aft available but they're practically facing the door at the end of the hallway that leads to the outside. (B747, C745)

 

We've sailed on another grand class ship (Diamond) but don't recall seeing those doors. Are they used often and therefore would be a noisy headache at night? Where do they go?

 

Thanks for info you could share on these areas.

Chris

We've stayed in those locations on the Diamond and the Golden and didn't notice any noise.

Trish

We are considering booking room D741 (we are currently booked in A744) for the Aug 2016 sailing and would like to know if the bad-smell-on-the-balcony (from the kitchen food grinder exhaust fan) is still an issue. The ship was in dry dock for major upgrades in April 2014 and we are hoping they addressed this issue. There are earlier threads on this room but I could not find any current.

The only help I can give is that we were on E743 on The Diamond last year and didn't smell anything.

Trish

I was reading another thread about Move Over offers and it made me think about the Staterooms that were needed.

 

If you have received a Move Over offer what type of Stateroom were you in when you received the offer?

When we were on the Golden last year our kids who were booked in an inside cabin got the offer. I rang and asked if they would offer it to the whole family (we were in a balcony) but Princess said no.

Trish

I disagree that this benefit can be extended to anyone in the cabin. It's an individual perk for reaching elite status and no where does it say you can share this benefit.

 

I doubt your cabin steward would ever say anything, but my opinion is that you're breaking the rules.

My husband and I are both Elite, and my kids would be too if they were both 18. I check with my cabin steward each year when I cruise whether or not I can also send out the kids clothes and I'm assured it's absolutely fine (the kids and I are in separate cabins).

Trish.

OP is asking about doing this without any punches being used.

Can I order two coffees (at the same time) with the card, one for me and one for my wife ?

This is the original question. No mention of not punching the card.

Can I order two coffees (at the same time) with the card, one for me and one for my wife ?

Yes of course you can. The card gets punched with each coffee purchased so if you buy 2 coffees it will be punched twice.

Trish

Caribe Deck on Caribbean Princess

 

My TA got us a upgrade to a Cat BD on Aloha deck (12)

I see there are cat BD on Caribe deck (10)

If she could move us to Caribe deck should we move?

I have heard Caribe deck is the place to be.

Is this true and would you move there?

Or would you stay on Aloha deck

I can't comment on Deck 12 cause I've never stayed there, but I've been on Caribe deck on the Golden and the Diamond. As others have said the balcony is much much bigger, and is half covered. That works beautifully for me to stay in the shade with my Scottish skin, and for my Aussie husband to be getting a tan! Our favourite cabins are the very 2 last aft cabins (without being completely aft) which have even larger balcony's, or the two completely aft cabins which have a brilliant view. We had a balcony dinner last year and I can't imagine doing it on a smaller balcony.

Trish

We have pre registered our children for the clubs for our upcoming trip. The eldest- 14 - is allowed to sign his younger brother (11) out with our permission.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I think you'll find that your 11 year old can sign himself in and out of kids club (with your written permission), but the only other people that can sign him out are family members over the age of 18 who have been nominated by you.

Trish

OK, obviously I did not include enough info. :D

 

I am cruising Vancouver to Hawaii, Hawaii to Sydney in (US) Fall 2017. The cruises that go the opposite direction don't happen until (US) Spring. I would love to be able to get on a ship to go back, but I would have to stay 6 months to wait for the ship. :)

 

I live in the US but I do not want to fly back to the US from Vancouver, Hawaii or Sydney. I want to leave Sydney and go to Europe.

 

For those who have traveled from Australia to Europe, how much of it were you able to do by cruise ship?

 

Flying has become very difficult for me. I won't even fly from the US to Europe anymore, I go by ship. Time is not an issue. Where in Europe doesn't matter. Once I get to Europe I can travel by rail, and when I'm ready to go back I can take a ship from Europe to US.

 

I have searched for this including "cruise timetables" but all I have found out is it is impossible to make the whole journey from Australia to Europe by ship.

 

Adidas4fun and icat2000 you must have thought I was daft. :)

 

lyndarra I agree, I would not want to fly in/out of Dubai.

I cruised from Australia to Europe 8 years ago. We went Sydney to SF, New York to Southhampton. On the way back we cruised from Ireland to New York, and then SF to Sydney.

Not when sailing to and from Aus,.

I have only sailed on Princess ships for the last 6 years out of Melbourne to NZ and there has always been a gratuity automatically added for bar staff which is why we've never tipped them.

Trish

Morning all, with the Dawn /Sun/Sea/Diamond Princesses and soon Emerald Princess having AUD as on board currency and no tipping, has anyone noticed if bar prices, e.g. beer, spirits, wine, cocktails, have risen in price to compensate for the USD/AUD comparison and no 15% gratuity on drinks? Surely they must have.

When did the 15% gratuity disappear-I was onboard at Christmas and it was still there?

We are a family of 5, 2 adults and the childen will be 10, 4 and 2 when we cruise.

 

We wanted to book the Grand suite for all 5 but princess will not allow 5 in the suite. They offered us the family suite, which is basically a minisuite with an added inside and in our eyes is far from ideal for what we want.

 

I'm now looking at an S3 with the inside next to it, B753 and B749. As there are good benifits for having a suite I want to book 2 adults and 1 child in the suite and the other two children in the inside. Will Princess allow us to book it like this?

 

We plan on all of us using the suite to sleep and using the inside in the evenings if one of the adults wants to stay up late without disturbing the others.

 

Will Princess allow us to book two children in the inside next to the suite?

They won't let you book the kids in a cabin by themselves until the oldest child is 16, however as others have said once your on board you can configure the cabin however you like. We started putting ours into their own inside when they were 12 and 10, but I do have friends who's kids were much younger and in a cabin alone. The cabin stewards don't seem to care or mind.

Trish

I had never noticed that number. Just looked at the card from my last cruise and saw "5A" just as you gave in your example. Everyone in my group was an adult so I have no way to compare that with a child's card.

 

Does anyone have a recent cruise card that was for a child?

I have childrens cards from the last 10 years and there is nothing indicating Child.

Trish

Hi all,

 

I have a question. So yesterday I received a marketing email from Princess AU offering special deals over the Xmas period. I happen to be booked on one of the cruises advertised and have been following prices pretty closely.

 

When you click on the "view deal" link, the prices on the site are the same old prices that have been there for months. The "sale" fares in the email don't exist. What bothers me is that they didn't ever exist. It's not like I missed out on them... they have never been there.

 

Why would Princess do that? Well, I know why... but isn't it a bit cheeky... or even false advertising? Not that I care a lot. I'm booked and going already, but with 23 of us booked on the cruise the advertised price difference of $200pp would make a big difference if any of us were able to get it!

 

FYI - I am posting this on the ANZ board because if it was posted on the main Princess board I would be attacked for questioning Princess :cool:. It's scary over there :eek:!

I got the same email and the price is exactly the same as I have and I made my booking in Dec 15.

Trish

Imagine the scene aboard the Emerald Princess at 1.30.pm last Friday (13th May). Following a cloudy morning at sea, the sun broke through and the prospect of a nice sunny afternoon was a reality. As I was one of the first to venture out into the glorious sunshine I chose a lounger on the Sun Deck.

 

A few minutes later I noticed a lady struggling up the steps laden down with towels and she put a towel on each of six loungers laid out in a row. She then went back down the steps and returned with a further six towels, each of which she draped over the backs of each of the chairs. She then walked away and despite me staying on my lounger until 3.15.pm, the lady never returned and not one person sat on the six "reserved" loungers.

 

As I left I went to the deck steward and pointed the woman's action out to him as there was by now a distinct lack of available loungers and suggest that he threw the towels in his used towel bin.

 

The utter selfishness of some people on cruise ships never ceases to amaze me, I don't hold out any hope that this SELFISH creature will see this posting, but I certainly feel better for having written it.

We've experienced a couple of different types of chair hoggers. Many years ago we were on a cruise with our kids, and we were waiting to see a show in the Vista lounge. Both kids had to pay a visit to the toilet, and while they were gone a couple of ladies came up and try to take their seats, and of course we told them they were occupied. They became extremely annoyed and told us we could not keep the seats, and eventually security had to come because they became so loud (there were plenty of seats for 2 but not many for 4). Security removed the ladies and left us with our seats. Last year on the Diamond my husband and I went to Skywalkers for the Platinum/Elite drinks and sat down in some seats which had a great view and soon realised that the people around us were upset because we had taken their friends seats (their friends didn't show up for at least 45 mins)! We got dirty looks for the entire 2 hours and it upset us so much we went and did it again the next night! :p

Has anyone sailed on both and could comment on how they compare - particularly in terms of size (how easy it is to negotiate ones way around the ship) and noticeable number of passengers.

 

We're not long off Dawn & I found her more than big enough (bearing in mind my preferred watercraft is a kayak or tinny!) - having mobility issues, it's a big area to negotiate and felt like I spent half my time on board waiting for lifts. Also found at times I struggled with the number of people as I'm no great fan of crowds (not helped by the few very rude people who felt they had the right to crack bad jokes about my wheelchair and/or use me as a leaning post in lifts...and worse, take offence when I had a problem with their behaviour :mad:)

 

On the whole, enjoyed it, and we're looking at one of the NZ cruises for next year. Parents are pushing for Golden - as she sails from Melbourne & fares are cheaper for them (no difference to me as third person), plus we'd have no dicking about with airfares, airport transfers etc. But holds some concerns for me her being a bigger ship and at full capacity substantially more passengers. Are those extra people more noticeable? (Thinking particularly if the age demographic is much the same & similar or worse competition for lifts at meal times and on port days) Does the Golden being bigger add much time/distance from Point A to Point B - especially when you factor in that I have no choice but to use a lift?

 

Cheers :)

Hi,

I've been on both and if the Dawn was more than big enough for you then steer clear of the Golden. In saying that I loved the Golden but my husband didn't like it as much, and found it way too big. On the Golden there are plenty of lifts so you might find that you're not having to wait to long for one and although it is big it doesn't feel like there's too many people on it, and there lots of lovely outdoor spaces. We haven't been on the Dawn for a few years now, but we're going on it at Christmas before it gets sold off to P & O.

Trish

Hi all,

I'm planning to take my family on the 15-day Hawaiian cruise on Grand Princess out of SF next spring. I'm looking at the balcony rooms and wondering whether they will accommodate a family of 4 with the Pullman beds lowered and the beds in a king size configuration? Or do I need to go to a mini-suite? Kids will be 8 and 11 at time of sailing.

The last time I sailed on this ship I was in an interior cabin (girlfriend getaway) so either way I'm looking forward to a view of the ocean.

Many thanks! :)

We're also a family of 4 and the minute we started cruising in 2 separate cabins was one of the happiest days of my life. In saying that, you can still have a queen and 2 upper bunks in an oceanview cabin, but not in a balcony. So if you go with a balcony then you'll all be in bunks. We started putting our kids into an inside when they were 7 and 11 and they loved it. I've offered my now 16 year old daughter a balcony for the next time we cruise but she says she loves the inside and doesn't want to change. I agree with the earlier post that says you won't find it costs too much more but it gives you and your husband so much more room. If you do book 2 rooms just remember to mark them as 'no upgrade' so that your cabins don't get separated.

Trish

 

In Melbourne today.

Anyone got the link to the Station Pier webcam? When I changed computers I lost it and its not coming up on any searches so far . Is it still running? Webcams have a habit of coming and going.:D

Someone might have answered this already but they've stopped the web-cams now in Melbourne.

Trish

and here we go.....

 

http://www.angienpaul.com/

Thanks guys I'm looking forward to following your blog.

Hi do you know if the AIBP is available for 7 night cruises in Australia

Yes it was available on a 6 night cruise I was on earlier this year.

Trish

Princess Kids Club = Very So-So (review of four different kids clubs)

 

In reviewing our recent experience with kids club on Princess, I feel like I am now in a position to do a comparison of kids clubs for four different lines: HAL, Celebrity, Princess and Disney.

 

By way of background, I should say our son, now 7, is an only child and also a very outgoing happy sociable type. He has been in kids clubs since he was 4 and has liked all of them. He always wants to go, and we didn’t notice a big difference in his level of enthusiasm b/w the four lines. (not as discriminating as his mother!) Celebrity might have come out marginally ahead for him but I think that is due in part to fact he met an awesome friend Lego-Brother that week, that he still talks about. B/c he likes to interact with other kids, we tend to use kids club frequently, usually mornings, and then again in the evenings. Afternoons we often spend time with him in port, around the ship, or at the pool, as the case may be.

 

The winner of the four, for us, was Celebrity. We have had two sailings with Celebrity, but only with our son in tow. It was Christmas time, there were many kids on board but the counsellors were super engaged. He came home every day and sometimes every night with a craft item and it was clear that more than a bit of time effort and money had been invested in coordinating these projects – i.e. it wasn’t just a drawing on paper. The week culminated in a talent show put on in one of the theatres. You could tell there was a lot of practicing involved, you could also tell the staff members knew each of the kids quite well as they were announcing each “act”. There was a generally upbeat and family atmosphere among the staff and they genuinely seemed to be happy to be with the kids and with each other. There was very much a feeling by the end that the kids had been at a fun camp all week. Not sitting in front of a video screen. (more on that below) Very positive experience.

 

Very close behind and second in line would be HAL. There have been varying numbers of kids onboard our different HAL cruises, which can sometimes make for a challenge for the counsellors but they adapted really well. The staff members on HAL seem engaged and into it, just like Celebrity. They genuinely appeared to enjoy children and that really showed. Similar to the talent show noted above, the kids had a lip sync contest in one of the lounges one night. Let’s just say there was excellent attendance and a long line up for the microphone. Again, it was near the end of the week and you could tell by the way the counsellors were interacting with the kids that 1. They knew them well as individuals 2. They liked them. One afternoon we wanted some adult time and our son was essentially babysat by a counsellor. When numbers were small the programming did not suffer one bit. The staff were very adaptable to a lot or a few kids. They made a conscious effort (as did Celebrity) to get the kids out and about on the ship, marching around as pirates, going for ice cream, outside for 30 minutes per day playing games , running races on the tennis court etc.

 

Third; Disney; They rest on their laurels a lot. The feeling/vibe they were giving out was: your’re on a Disney Cruise, so of course you are having fun and we don’t need to personally do much to help that along. They tended to put kids in front of a screen for a movie or depend on visits from characters to fill up time. Actual one on one time with a counsellor, which we were accustomed to seeing, seemed to be rare. We once saw a counsellor sitting at a table with a group of girls colouring. That was about the extent of it. The facilities are amazing, clean etc but the care or attention your child is getting seems to be minimal. They are safe and not breaking any rules but that’s about it. I would add that the play facility on the Disney private island is out of this world. Our son did not want to leave. But it was more about the play place than anything any staff member was doing. To me, that is where Disney misses the boat. (bad pun)

 

Last place: Princess. Hard to put a finger on it but the staff here did not appear happy. All their interactions with the kids seemed rote. Parents were not permitted inside the play area you were just dropping off or picking up outside a gate. Counsellors appeared tired, distant, and not that engaged with the children. I inquired about a talent show and lip sync b/c our son is definitely at that exhibitionist stage in his young life, and was told there would be nothing like that rather a “family fun fair” which was not at all similar. Just some face painting and events at a particular location onboard, where you were explicitly told you were responsible for your own child and kids club supervision hours were not applicable during that time blah blah blah. Similarly, on port days the kids club shut down at for 1 or 1.5 hours so staff could take a certain group of kids on deck for supper. This meant no scheduled activities for the late afternoon for children who would eat dinner with their parents later. Struck us as very odd. It really felt the whole week like there was an effort to minimize time they would have to do anything much with your child. Staffing issue? Also our son, who just turned 7 came back very often talking about Mario – first time ever he had this level of exposure to video games while on a cruise. I realize part of that is his age, but I was left with the distinct impression there was very little effort to do anything but that during free play. Not once during the week were the kids taken outside to burn off steam, nor did they even leave the designated play area. Having said all that, he still liked going.

Thanks for your review. My family and I have been cruising on Princess ships since my youngest was 18 months old (she's now 16). Both my kids have said that the kids club is not what it used to be. It really depends on the youth staff on board, how enjoyable kids club is and how much interaction goes on. The kids come back to the cabin now and say it was boring, nothing was organised, it was left to the teenagers to organise thing themselves. Of course then the teens just end up hanging around the ship in groups and people get annoyed with them. A couple of years ago there was a Canadian (male) youth worker who had some kind of teacher training and he was only in his 20's. The kids loved him because he interacted with them, got them all doing interesting activities (including pool games), and really appeared to enjoy sending time with them. There also used to be youth security on the ships looking out for the teens and making sure they didn't upset other passengers (again by getting to know them and chatting them). All of these things made a difference but it has changed now which is a shame.

Trish

I also forgot to say have you spoken to your phone company about getting international roaming? Vodofone wanted to charge us $5 per day for roaming and if that saves a huge bill at the end it might be worth it.

Trish