sciteach11

6 hours ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

we got covid on 2 out of 6 cruises (June 2022 and April 2024).

Thank you!

Thanks for sharing your experience! When we had covid it was much milder for our kids too. I'd love to avoid getting it again, but I think noro is the one I'm really worried about. 4 year old got it at a birthday party once and that was not a fun week in our house 😞 So good to know your son has cruised without getting sick!

If you don't mind sharing, how many times have you cruised vs. gotten covid? My aunt and uncle have cruised twice since 2020 and gotten covid both times...

20 hours ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

it's the age. Mine was sick all the time from the time he started preschool at 4 and until about 2nd grade.

He started cruising when he was 3 and only got sick on a cruise once, and it was our own friends' kid who got him sick (their kid was still sick when they boarded the ship with us). 

 

I do make sure to give him his regular vitamins and probiotics every day on the cruise, and take ALL imaginable meds with us as well. He also never sucked on his fingers.

 

Oh, the "funny" thing is - we got covid on a cruise twice already, but our kid didn't.

I know there is an increased chance of catching certain bugs (noro, covid) on cruises, but as an adult I have (so far!) been lucky enough to avoid getting sick on cruises by following good hygiene practices. However, it's been 5 years and we are now considering cruising with our 3 and 6 year olds next year (currently 2 & 5), who seem to be germ magnets at school. The little one still sucks his thumb and has brought home everything from preschool. If we try and take a 7 day cruise as a family are we guaranteed to get sick? Have some of you managed to keep your kids healthy and enjoy the whole week? Should we just wait till they're older?

Just got this message from Princess for our upcoming cruise June 8, Vancouver to Whittier. I guess we got lucky since at least one earlier sailing had to skip Seymour Narrows and go on the West side of Vancouver Island. It will be interesting to see how she approaches some of the other ports.

18 minutes ago, fishywood said:

 

My question is: will registering at ocean.com get the ball rolling or (more likely it appears) just throw a monkey wrench into the situation? Because I will be a tad delayed installing the app: I was planning on replacing my creaky Samsung S4 before starting my various travels late in Summer. Now my first day travelling is earlier--and thanks to the Medallion it now extremely urgent to get a vintage 2019 device for "new" apps not made retrospectively compatible with ancient five year old Androids. It is 63 days before my cruise and from what I hear (again, thanks to Cruise Critic; no thanks at all to Princess) I must request the Medallion to be mailed no later than 60 days out else I will be joining the manual check-in queue-of-shame at Port Everglades. Correct so far?

 

I can’t answer all of your questions, but my cruise is in two weeks, and on Thursday I got a robo call from Princess saying that we could order the medallions to be mailed as late as 12 days before sailing. I had ordered them already, and they arrived by 2-day FedEx yesterday, so there should be plenty of time for you! As for the 60 days, our cruise didn’t even show up in Ocean Ready until we were 58 days out (not the 75 a lot of people have been saying). 

I just posted this on the Ocean Ready board, but it may be more appropriate here. (Admin, feel free to delete if I'm wrong about that!) I tried to look for a summary of the apps on this thread and couldn't find it, but please direct me if it already exists!

I'm trying to understand the differences between them. Would someone please tell me if the below info is correct, and add/correct anything that's missing?

Ocean Ready - use at home to essentially "check in" online and order your medallions ahead of time if you choose, not used on the ship

Ocean Now - at home shows countdown to cruise date and itinerary, on ship used to order drinks and view daily patters

Ocean Compass - on ship used to navigate deck plans and find your way to various locations, as well as locate your traveling companions (if they approve), not used at home

Ocean Casino - use to gamble on the ship outside of the casino, not used at home

Ocean View - use at home or on ship to watch episodes of tv shows about various ports and Carnival ships

Play Ocean - use at home or on ship to play games (trivia works at home, not sure what else there is once on board), also use on ship to earn charms/scavenger hunt, can be used to set your avatar on ship or at home

Is that all of them? What else should we know about these app?

I believe Ocean Concierge is a webpage that loads once you're on the ship.. What is it used for?

Which app do you use to send messages to family on the ship? Does it send a notification to your phone or do you have to log in to see them?

Thank you!

Would this be the right place to ask about the other apps? I'm trying to understand the differences between them. Would someone please tell me if the below info is correct, and add/correct anything that's missing?

Ocean Ready - use at home to essentially "check in" online and order your medallions ahead of time if you choose, not used on the ship

Ocean Now - at home shows countdown to cruise date and itinerary, on ship used to order drinks and view daily patters

Ocean Compass - on ship used to navigate deck plans and find your way to various locations, as well as locate your traveling companions (if they approve), not used at home

Ocean Casino - use to gamble on the ship outside of the casino, not used at home

Ocean View - use at home or on ship to watch episodes of tv shows about various ports and Carnival ships

Play Ocean - use at home or on ship to play games (trivia works at home, not sure what else there is once on board), also use on ship to earn charms/scavenger hunt, can be used to set your avatar on ship or at home

Is that all of them? What else should we know about these app?

I believe Ocean Concierge is a webpage that loads once you're on the ship.. What is it used for?

Thank you!

Search Amazon for laundry soap sheets and you get soap in flat sheets that you can throw in a ziplock and not worry about spilling. I like them too because you can tear off small pieces for hand washing in the sink as well. Traveling with a baby so we do a lot of laundry!

Just in case anyone was wondering, I just learned that passengers 2 and under do not receive medallions. Not that my baby would be using his, but it would have been a neat souvenir. Oh well. 

Thank you! That picture is helpful. We have requested a pack n play from Princess, but we may have to bring ours for the hotels before and after (they’re saying they can’t guarantee a crib because it’s first come first serve!) so maybe I should just tell Princess we’ll use our own. Or maybe we’ll set it up in the grandparents room! I’m assuming they’ll babysit in our room though, since they have an interior.

i was wondering about strollers. I was thinking I’d just take his car seat with it’s stroller frame so we have an easy way to get the car seat around. But then we won’t have a normal stroller. I’ll have the carrier though and would probably prefer that most of time time anyway. He won’t even be crawling yet. 

Just wanted to share that we will be going on a Princess cruise to Alaska this summer with our 6.5 month old, so I am finding this thread really helpful! Thank you! We are on the Royal with a deluxe (obstructed) balcony so it has a small couch, but he’ll be in a pack n play anyway. The couch will just be nice for my in-laws when they babysit! 😉

9 minutes ago, Astro Flyer said:

April 13 was the official implementation date for MedallionClass on the Royal which based on posts is accurate.

Oh, how exciting! Thanks for the correction. Hopefully they will take our booking number soon then!

I’m also on June 8th and can’t get it yet. Wondering if it’s more delayed since it’s not officially fully rolled out on the Royal yet? Hoping they let us in soon!

We’re 58 days out and still can’t register on the app. The symbol hasn’t changed for us yet. Hopefully it’ll let us in soon!

Thank you both! I just double checked our reservation and we are actually in a deluxe balcony, so we have the mini sofa/futon. Good point about needing a place for the in-laws to sit while they baby watch! 😉 They also just got an upsell for a balcony, but they're not interested in paying any more.

We will be on the Royal in June to Alaska. We booked an obstructed balcony across the hall from my in-laws (interior), who will be on their first cruise. In our room it will be myself with DH and DS (6 months). We were offered an upsell for $250 pp to a mini suite. The plus side would mean more room for the crib, but the downside is we would be on a different deck from DH’s parents since there are no mini suites on deck 8. What would you do? We’ve never been on a Royal class ship, though we were in a mini suite on the Golden and it was nice. Does the per person upsell cost apply to the third person too?

7 hours ago, SnorkelBoy said:

I just checked and my email is the same on my booking and my captains circle acct.

 

Oh no! Sorry, that worked for me. I agree with Colo Cruiser. Hopefully a phone call can fix it!

58 minutes ago, SnorkelBoy said:

when I sign into my account and go to upcoming cruises, I get the message there is no cruise associated with this acct.  I can only access through the booked guests link.  It has been this way since the day I booked and paid in full through a travel agent.

 

its a little annoying cause logging onto my acct the login and password self populates and through the booked guest I have to enter all info every time.

I had the same problem. Somehow the cruise isn't associated with your email address. You can add your email under the Personalizer once you sign in through the Booked Guest link, and it should show up on your account next time you log in once they've processed the email addition.

1 hour ago, nukesubsailor said:

I just tried to buy the book from Princess cruise personalizer for a July Alaskan cruise aboard the Royal Princess.  The book is not listed as a gift on that ship.

It’s not listed for my June cruise on the Royal either. Maybe the Royal doesn’t have it? I found a used copy for $4 on Amazon. I know it won’t have the map, but it’s better than nothing!

1 minute ago, sciteach11 said:

These are the different apps you CAN download, though all of them are optional. The Ocean Ready one will allow you to check in on your phone ahead of time so boarding the ship is a little faster, but you won’t actually use it on board. Ocean Compass you can use on board (for free) to locate your cabin mates, send messages, or order drinks. The other two are for games - one for free little games for kids and adults and the other (casino) where you can actually spend money and gamble from your phone. You will need to create a new login and password for these, but once you've created one it’s the same for all four. It won’t hurt anything to connect your booking number to these. My understanding is you can do that starting 75 days before you sail. Earlier than that and it won’t recognize the booking yet. If you do it and then change your mind and end up not wanting to use them you can still just check in at the port the “old fashioned” way and then put your phone away for the duration of the cruise! Hope that helps! (Note I haven’t actually sailed yet, so all of this is based on what I’ve read, not my first hand experience. I’m pretty tech savvy though.)

Oh, I should mention that all of this is for medallion sailings. If you don’t have the medallion yet, then nothing has changed! No apps, just use Princess and Sea from a web browser on your phone on board (or don’t, and enjoy a tech free cruise!)

These are the different apps you CAN download, though all of them are optional. The Ocean Ready one will allow you to check in on your phone ahead of time so boarding the ship is a little faster, but you won’t actually use it on board. Ocean Compass you can use on board (for free) to locate your cabin mates, send messages, or order drinks. The other two are for games - one for free little games for kids and adults and the other (casino) where you can actually spend money and gamble from your phone. You will need to create a new login and password for these, but once you've created one it’s the same for all four. It won’t hurt anything to connect your booking number to these. My understanding is you can do that starting 75 days before you sail. Earlier than that and it won’t recognize the booking yet. If you do it and then change your mind and end up not wanting to use them you can still just check in at the port the “old fashioned” way and then put your phone away for the duration of the cruise! Hope that helps! (Note I haven’t actually sailed yet, so all of this is based on what I’ve read, not my first hand experience. I’m pretty tech savvy though.)

Yes! It works very well. We did it both directions for a cruise last February. We prefer Lyft. They often have discounts for first time riders or if you haven't used them in a while. Oh, and if you have an iphone you can use Apple Pay so you don't have to give them your credit card info. (That might be possible with Android, too. I don't know.)

38 minutes ago, WisCruiser2 said:

OP, here are a couple of ideas for using the OBC left after you deduct for gratuities and beverage, etc. purchases: specialty restaurant(s), Ultimate Bakcony Dinner, Chef's Table, Ultimate Ship Tour, Sanctuary. I'm sure others can come up with more, you shouldn't have any trouble spending it!

Good ideas! We did the Ultimate Ship Tour and loved it! You can also use it in the spa for massages, etc or access to the Enclave if your ship has one. I'd also recommend the Stammtisches at Vines and/or afternoon tea.

For tea drinkers: Last time I was on the Ruby, the tea at the International Cafe was Mighty Leaf, much better than the Liptons at the buffet/dining room. I’m a bit of a tea snob, and Mighty Leaf is one of the few bagged teas I like. That said, I usually just bring a box of Mighty Leaf with me. You can get hot water for free anywhere!

Really enjoying all of your photos. Thanks for sharing!