Wavelet

Thank you, IECalCruiser. While we’ve never sailed on the Royal we did take a cruise on the Regal. The Regal/Royal ships do have some pluses, but as you and others have stated it seems like the better ship for this itinerary would be the Star. Also, you sailed this region on the Star so you know what it’s like. Thanks again.

Thank you all for your opinions. You gave us a lot to think about.

We are thinking about taking the 30 day cruise around Cape Horn in late 2019-early 2020. I know it’s too early to see this cruise so I’m looking at current options to see what it’s like. My question is this- if the same ships were to sail this cruise (currently the Royal and Star) which would you take? We like the Vista suites on the Star and the club class minis on the Royal, if that makes a difference in your preference. I know this is purely hypothetical at this point in time, but wanted opinions of those who have done this (or a similar cruise). Thanks so much.

Thank you all for the information. I wanted to check and knew cc members would know the answer.😊

We are sailing 28 days in October using a 3 for free promo. Included in this sale were free gratuities, which are showing as paid in our personalizer. There has been an increase in the auto gratuity fee since we booked. Will we be charged the difference, or will the 'free' still hold? I realize it's not that much money, but I figure someone on this board has already experienced this promotion. I'm just curious about what to expect. Thanks.

Thank you chengkp75 for the clarification. I'm surprised Princess doesn't sell the types that are allowed (they sell everything else ).

There seems to be a lot of confusion about acceptable devices. I can see a lot of cruisers not on this board having their residential power strips confiscated.

The reason power bars with surge suppressors or other protective devices is, as was mentioned above, because the way a ship's 120 v electrical supply is connected is different from on land.

 

TL;DR version now follows, for the techies in the crowd:

 

On land, your house has a 240 volt supply that comes into your power panel, in the form of two 120 volt buses and a neutral bus (your ground plug - the third, round one - also connects to the neutral bus). You can see this in your circuit breaker panel by looking at the circuits for your stove and dryer, as both of these use 240 volts, and you can tell because the circuit breakers are paired, with a little rod or tie piece to make them operate together. All the 120 volt circuits are one of the two 120 volt buses and the neutral bus. If you have a voltmeter and you measure from one of those buses to neutral, you get 120 volts. If you measure from one 120 volt bus to the other, you get 240 volts. All good so far, yes?

 

Most electronics these days don't use the ground plug. Instead, they use what's called a 'polarized' plug - one of the prongs is wider/taller than the other, and the receptacle has different size holes to match. This forces the plug to be inserted in only one orientation, unless you've been very, very foolish and filed the larger one down (do NOT ever do this). The larger one is the "hot" connection; it connects to the 120 volt bus. The smaller one connects to the neutral bus.

 

Now, on power bars with surge protection, circuit breakers, etc., the breaker is only on the "hot" side, with the large prong. If there's a problem, the breaker trips, and opens, and then there is no voltage in the power bar.

 

On a ship, however, it's different. On a ship, the power is distributed as two 60 volt buses. There is no neutral bus. The ground connection on the receptacle connects to the hull (it's used as earth, just as an actual earth rod is used with your house's power system)

 

So, if you measured on a ship from one prong to the other, you'd measure 120 volts. If you measured from each of the prongs to the ground prong, though, you'll get 60 volts, each way.

 

Now consider that power bar. If the surge suppression, which is designed to work with a land-based electrical system where it's 120 and neutral, trips the breaker, it will open what it thinks is the hot side, true. However, what would be the neutral side on land still has 60 volts on it on a ship. So the surge protection has NOT completely cut off power to your electronics and there could still be an electrical fire or other problem, because there's no protection on that side of the power bar.

 

It IS possible to buy power bars which have what are referred to as "double pole" circuit breakers or surge suppressors; these open both the hot and neutral sides, so they will protect properly even used onboard a ship. However understandably, Princess Lines and other cruise lines can't possibly inspect all the power bars cruisers might bring on board, nor can the cabin stewards and other hospitality staff be expected to be familiar with every possible brand and model of power bar. So it's just easier to confiscate all power bars in the interest of electrical safety.

 

(This would've been a lot easier to do with some embedded graphics. :D)

Thank you. I'm not a techie, but my DH understood the explanation perfectly. It's much clearer now.

Thanks, just wanted to make sure before I bought it.

I know this topics has been discussed MANY times before. My question has to do with the Anker 10 port USB charger that has been recommended by several Cruise Critic members. In the description of this charger it does say it has surge suppression. This doesn't interfere with the ship's electrical system? I'm not an electrician, I thought anything that says surge suppression was illegal. I'm having a hard time finding anything that doesn't say some sort of surge suppression or surge protector. Thanks.

We're looking at a 14 day Caribbean cruise on the Regal and trying to decide between deluxe balcony D 411 and mini suite L 206. The price is about the same. We generally stay midship, never forward. I know many have commented about the noise above, but it looks like the sanctuary is above this area. Any thoughts/suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

We flew into Fort Lauderdale independently and were greeted at the airport by a wonderful Princess representative who arranged our transportation to our pre-cruise designated hotel, the B-Ocean. This process went smoothly. Despite the renovations in progress at the hotel, we had a pleasant stay as we went with an open mind and no high expectations. On embarkation day, however, the transfer from the hotel to the cruise ship terminal was a tad chaotic as there were four ships and the hotel staff did not organize the bags accordingly but once we got on the bus and were on our way it was fine as thankfully the bus driver knew a short cut to bypass the horrible traffic jam ahead.

 

Check in was well organized and went smoothly. Please note, however, if it is too late to change your credit card online and you wish to make the change when checking in, please let the attendant know that they should do it for both persons as we ended up with two bills. We had a nice lunch at Alfredo's. The main dining rooms closed at 1:00 p.m. and we didn't want to go to the buffet.

 

We finally made it to our rooms and, almost immediately, our bags arrived. The room and balcony were quite small for a deluxe balcony. The bathroom had a very bad smell but I don't know what our cabin attendant did but the smell was gone and did not come back for the entire week. I was disappointed in the quality of the towels which were discolored and felt like sandpaper and I hesitated using them but had no choice. They definitely do not use fabric softener. The shower gel and shampoo/conditioner was very poor quality. If you are particular about these items, please bring your own.

 

We were also disappointed with the internet. Much too slow, so if you have to purchase it, don't waste your money. The same goes for the ports. The only port where we had decent WiFi was Grand Cayman. The other places advertise that they have free WiFi but force you to purchase something. Once you make the purchase you realize that it is extremely slow and absolutely useless. Call your carrier before you leave as some now have international data plans that may not be too expensive.

 

The selection of food was quite good and we had no problems. We were assigned to the Allegro dining room but did not like the atmosphere or staff there and there was a vibration directly under us. On the second night we switched to anytime dining in the Symphony and ate there every night. The staff there was very attentive and courteous. We went to Sabatini's one night and enjoyed our meal and service there as well.

 

Shopping on board was also disappointing. Did not find one thing to purchase.

 

Disembarkation was perfectly organized and we got off exactly at our designated time and our bags were neatly arranged together. We love Fort Lauderdale for keeping this traditional color-coded system. Miami is a nightmare with the carousel as it can take hours to get your bags. We passed on the transfers to the airport and grabbed a taxi outside. Much quicker than waiting for a bus to be loaded and the cost was minimal.

 

We booked a shore excursion to a Private Island in Roatan that is a wildlife sanctuary and we were very disappointed. To be there for five hours with absolutely nothing to do was not my idea of fun. We asked the lady in charge there if we could return earlier and she accommodated us. We found out we were not the only ones disappointed. The boat ride was quite rough, especially on the return. We went to the Shore Excursion desk to complain and the attendant was quite rude.

 

This was my 24th cruise and my 7th on Princess and overall I give this cruise a rating of 7 out of 10.

I don't know what dates you sailed, but we were on the Regal 12/27 to 1/3 and had a great time. We stayed at Embassy Suites and it was also chaotic, but this was post Christmas so we expected this. We were in our cabin by 2 PM. Not bad considering all the people on this ship. The cruise itself was very good. The staff - from cabin steward to Horizon Court waiters -were great. I even commented to my husband that all the staff were smiling, friendly and courteous. We had originally booked a ship tour in Roatan, but considered the limited time in the port and the fact that it was New Year's Eve, and cancelled the tour. We were glad we did. The internet wasn't great but we found it better than on other ships. The Princess at Sea app was helpful.We did an EZ checkout for disembarkation (Princess gets your airline boarding passes and luggage the day before you disembark. You didn't see your luggage til you arrive at your home terminal) so we had no real need for the last minute Internet.

As many have said before, a cruise experience is subjective and everyone's experience is personal. Our experience was very good and I felt it was one of our better cruises.

They are still free, as is the wine if it is less than $10.

If I've already booked a mid-forward cabin and really like it, what would be my chances of getting it re-fared to the lower forward cost without having to move?

The way they determine which ones to put on sale is by going through my bookings and saying "Nope. Not that one." ;):p:D

Mine too! Lol

Hopefully it will include the Australia/South Pacific/Hawaii in 4/17. Even if the price stays the same the prepaid gratuities would be a savings!😊

My husband did the tour last year on the Emerald Princess. He thoroughly enjoyed it. It lasted around 4 hours. it was well worth the price.

Thanks to all for the info. I was hoping it was available for at least part of the cruise. The cruise is almost 2 years from now. As it gets closer, I'll call Princess. Maybe things will change. Thanks again.

We are planning a Transpacific cruise in April 2017 leaving Sydney traveling to Los Angeles. We would like to purchase the AIBP but I see the pkg is not available for ships leaving/returning to Australia. My question is this: would the pkg be available for purchase after the ship leaves Australian waters, or not at all? Any information would be appreciated.

I have heard that the unlimited drink pkg is not available on Australia cruises. My question is this - we are thinking of the South Pacific cruise in 2017 leaving Sydney and arriving in Los Angeles. Is a pkg available for the non Australia part of the cruise? This cruise sails every year so I figured someone out there had experience with this. Thanks in advance.

Thanks Paul and Mike for the info.

We are taking a b2b cruise on CB princess 12/27 & 12/30. We're not planning on using the Internet until the last day when we need to access plane info and check in. Can we 'pay for use' or do we have to purchase an Internet pkg? The smallest pkg is $73 for 120 mins. Also, if we decided to purchase a pkg, could I use the mins for both cruises or do I pay $73 for each?

Thanks in advance. I'm sure someone here has knowledge of this.

I can see the perks for pre purchasing the minutes. Has anyone purchased for a b2b sailing? We are taking a 3/4 b2b in Dec. Can minutes be carried over to the 2nd leg? It appears the smallest pkg is 100 min (120 if pre purchased). Too many mins for a 3 day; it would be fine for the total 7 days however. If anyone has experience with this your input would be appreciated. Thanks.

We are doing a Caribbean b2b in Dec and was wondering a few things.

1. Does any unused OBC from the first leg carry over to the second leg?

2. Can I purchase the AIBP for both legs at the beginning of the first?

3. If I purchase the internet pkg can unused minutes be carried over to the second cruise?

I know there are a lot of CC members who have done b2b before so I figured I'd come to you guys for the answers. Thanks in advance.

We are planning on taking a 4 day cruise this December. While I'm aware that there is no formal night, do people wear formal attire on New Year's Eve?

I also saw somewhere that there is "dress to impress". Is this supposed to be formal? Other than that, I don't really know the difference between this (dress to impress) and smart casual. There have been various discussions on the interpretation of smart casual, so I don't want to revisit this. Just wondering if there is a significant difference. Thanks.

P.S. It's a Caribbean cruise, if it matters.

My TA is a Commodore but I would not book an agent based on that alone. My agent is a high volume cruise agent with most of her bookings being with Princess.

 

To be a Commodore, you have to take several tests (which I have been told in the early days people cheated by having other agents write/print the answers, not sure if this is still true) and I think now to maintain it, they must have a few bookings with Princess. In the past, I met several agents who were Commodores who had never booked a cruise before or been on a cruise and were doing the tests to simply get their graduation free cruise. I think the change to this last part was people coming on CC bragging that they had never cruised or booked cruises and got a free cruise by getting Commodore status. I think this new change is trying to get people who pretend to be agents from doing this.

 

So I would ask more about their cruising experience and how much they book along with the obvious other questions (fees for booking/cancelling, availability), etc...

Thanks, Coral. This was exactly the info I was looking for.