Albinroo

I just got off now from the Constellation, am now on the train from Civitavecchia.  I had read some reviews that said she was in such bad shape, old and rusty, plus all the threads about food cutbacks in general on Celebrity. 

We still had a good cruise! As far as the general upkeep I think she is still pretty spotless, with crew working and cleaning all hours of the day. The stateroom was fine, yes I could see it nees updating but everything was clean. Much better than the 4 star "modern" hotel we stayed at in Bologna the night before embarking. 

The food was pretty much the same as before I think, although I might not be the best person to ask as I mostly eat vegetarian, and haven't been on Celebrity since 2015. But for me it was like cruise food generally is - some slow service issues in the MDR, some drinks that never arrive and some desserts that look good but taste so-so. I still ate a lot and enjoyed a lot of it! 

The production entertainment was not for me as I only really like the entertainment on a Disney cruise. Again, this seems to be like on most other cruise lines and I'm sure it was fine if you like that kind of thing - rock city night, a magician, and so on. The lounge entertainment, a few violinists and so on were more to my liking.

On 10/31/2023 at 10:29 PM, retired dude said:

forgive me for butting in to this thread, but we sail on the "connie" in a couple of weeks and we were wondering what time the rendezvous lounge opens every day???? thanks much

I just got off this morning, looks like it opened 11 am on the sea day and 2pm on port days. 

As far as the pen, I didn't notice we even had one. But I had a good cruise, didn't suffer much from cutbacks.

I just traveled alone with my son on Celebrity. From what I understand you only need a form if you are not the legal guardian or you don't have the same surname as your child. So I didn't bring any form and no one asked to see anything at the airport or on the cruise, just our passports. 

For dinner reservations it's easy to linnk another cabin reservation to your reservation through the app. 

As far as I know, you sign up for the kids club onboard.

2 hours ago, dronnygirl said:

Could someone please advise where Sky Princess docks in Stockholm

In my experience, almost all large ships dock at Vartahamnen which is not central Stockholm but easy enough to walk and get on the bus/metro. Some ships dock 2 hours from Stockholm in Nynashamn, but it usually says so on the itinerary. Only smaller vessels dock in the city centre as far as I know.

My advice would be to go on Sky Princess, since you still think it has good ports and prefer that ship. And then if you do enjoy it you can go on an Iceland/Greenland cruise another year! I haven't done either of these cruises but live in Sweden (next to Norway and yes we have midnight sun) and jhave been to Iceland before. For me, I would prefer cruising Norway because of the scenic sailings trhough fjords. 

We are in our early forties and have been on several cruise lines, even if I have some favorites (dcl, ncl) that I always check first. Coming up I have celebrity cruise in october that was too cheap to pass up, and in December we are trying princess for the first time since our first princess cruise was canceled during the pandemic. 

I'd like to think that I can find something to appreciate on most lines. However, as Cruising is getting more expensive and cutbacks are increasing that might change. There are six of us in the family and me and husband have full-time jobs. Cruising used to be affordable but these days I think long and hard before spending all that money. And then it does feel a bit safer with "the devil you know", in our case NCL. 

Congrats to you both! We did similar itinerary on NCL Joy back in 2019. We didn't do much excurstions, I know on Honduras we went to the island beach excursion through NCL which was fine but nothing special. For Harvest Caye we rented a cabana, now that was great and would recommend. 

2 hours ago, thinfool said:

Good advice here, tho I would add that both the Turnpike and I-95 can suffer from high traffic delays or total blockage by a wreck.  Happens more than you might think.

When we go south we usually use I-95 although the turnpike is certainly an option,  The method we always use....get on the road, ask the wife to check traffic on Google maps for the distance that you are traveling.  Any difficulties will show up nicely and allow you to devise an alternate route if you encounter a blockage or other slow traffic.

Waze is also well used in South Florida (it's an app for your smartphone).

The other, new, option, tho rather pricey...esp for a family....the Brightline train now runs from Orlando to Ft Lauderdale and could offer an effective way to get to your ship.  I suggest that you explore the features that it offers.  (Brightline advertises transit time of a little more than 3 hours from Orlando to Miami, about 30 min less to Ft Lauderdale.)

Thanks, I will check out the new train. I have read about it but I need to check where the stations are. 

We'll probably end up driving most likely and hopefully google maps will save us. It's just that everyone uses them and I would hate to get stuck in traffic. Fingers crossed!!

5 hours ago, ericosmith said:

You might also look at what terminal you're departing from.  There is more than one way into the port and if you're leaving from terminal 2 or 4 you can avoid the security checkpoints.

Good to know, thank you! I don't know why I had this idea of Port Everglades being much smaller and easier than Miami, seems like this is huge as well. 

5 hours ago, hrhdhd said:

The Turnpike is cashless from Canoe Creek Plaza in Osceola County to West Palm Beach, and probably beyond that but I can't get a clear answer on the Turnpike Authority's website.

 

OP, you may find it easier to 1) take I-95 to avoid the Turnpike tolls or 2) pay the rental car company's fee for using its toll transponder in the car. 

Yeah it sounds like we will want to take the turnpike and use the toll transponder in the rental. I'd rather pay some money than get stuck in traffic with 4 kids in the car on debarkation day. Thank you!

12 hours ago, skrufy said:

I see you are from Sweden, on vacation? Theres two routes you can take, The FL Turnpike ( toll Rd ) or I-95. I-95 is always a disaster ready to happen, can back up at any time of the day. If you want to save some toll costs, take I-95 to Ft Pierce then switch over to the turnpike the turnpike is less used than I-95. The mad rush to board the ships occurs in the morning, before noon. After noon you should move right along. Last, l would leave no later than 6am, it’s a 5 hr. drive. This gives you a small window to stop for fuel and maybe a snack. Good luck, hope all goes well.

Yes on vacation from Sweden, and we've been to Florida before but only ever sailed out of PC or Miami and then we were staying in the area night before. Anyway, thank you so much for this detailed response - looks like most are suggesting the Turnpike so we'll use that for sure. And here I was, thinking the Fl turnpike was the same as I-95!

We are travelling from Port Everglades on December 9th this year, and it looks like there are no less than nine ships departing that date! We will be coming in a rental car, and my husband will drop me and the kids off and then go to the rental place in port (Avis) and come back to the port by shuttle. Any idea when would be the best time to do this to avoid traffic as much as possible? We will be driving all the way from Orlando, but early mornings doesn't scare us...traffic does! 

I am so happy this will be added to the regular menu, instead of having to ask for plant-based specifically. I'm not 100% plant based bit it's nice to have the option.

2 hours ago, Oxo said:

https://www.flashpackingamerica.com/cruise-travel/princess-cruise-breakfast-food/

Thanks for this link. I have been checking out Celebrity and NCL menus as I have cruises coming up with them and you can really see the difference from pre-pandemic menus there. Lots less choice. Glad to see Princess still has a great menu!

3 hours ago, schmoopie17 said:

I'll never understand the concept of booking "late". Especially when there is virtually no risk of booking early. If price drops, no problem. Call in and get the new price. After final payment? Still no problem. Call in and get FCC. (Assuming you're planning another cruise in the future).

 

Plus, booking early gets you a better choice of cabins before they're gone. And it's always exciting to have an upcoming cruise in "the hopper".

 

Like they say, the early bird...

Sadly for Europeans we can't get the lower price before final payment, only the fcc after final payment. For me it's usually worth waiting to see if price drops before I book because the savings are huge...

So what usually happens on a 14-day cruise, are the menus repeated from a 7-night or different all 14 nights?

12 hours ago, podgeandrodge said:

So, Free at Sea package currently reduced on NCL Europe website (half price in some cases) in case this appeals to people looking at price movements/bookings.  11 night cruise $100pp (no gratuities payable as Europe).

I saw it advertised as such but when pricing a dec 2023 cruise on the website it still comes up as 400 $ more expensive than without the package. Super annoying. 

6 hours ago, SCX22 said:

 

In your situation, I would make a dummy booking to see how many cabins are still available and make my decision from there.  This most likely won't be a true representation of the available cabins (only Princess knows exactly), but I will give you an idea.  I can say in the US, if there is still too much availability after final payment, there will be a first price reduction at the 75 day mark and a second price reduction at the 45 day mark, if the first price reduction didn't attract enough new bookings.  We don't care about cabin location and almost always book guarantee cabins, so this method works for us.

 

To those saying that the air is more expensive when booking this close, you have to be more diligent in checking airfares.  I've always found something reasonable even when booking this late.  Recently, I was able to find a British Airways flight, SFO to Rome for $860 through EZAir with one 2 hour connection each way, which I booked 60 days before cruise departure.

Thanks for this!! Can't do a dummy booking because the Swedish website is so bad and I can't access the US one. But the 75 day mark is only a week from now so could definitely be worth waiting for. The price reductions in US are usually reflcted here as well. Flights won't be a problem since we will be in Floriday anyway and driving to port. And worst case scenario, we will do another cruise since there are many others available. Thanks again!!

23 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 

The best advice I can give is to not expect a price drop. If you find a cruise you want to take and a cabin you want and can afford book it early and then watch for a price drop. (I don't use this but there are online services that will watch your selected cruises and alert you if there is a change in price. Google for this. Obviously I can't say if the services are helpful or not.)

Thanks, but price drops and refaring seems to be a US thing as they don't offer it in Europe really. So once I'm booked there is a non-refundable deposit and any price drops would mean I'd have to rebook completely and lose my deposit. Anyway, I think you're right anyway, probably best to book at current price and enjoy knowing we'll get the cabin we want. 

1 hour ago, tonyfall1 said:

I finally made the decision to book on the Breakaway. Thursday evening I had put a hold on both cruises and planned on putting a deposit on the Breakaway today. After putting them on hold both companies called me and left me VME's. They also emailed me. I had a few questions and the email from the NCL PCC said not to finish booking until I talked to him. I have emailed and called both of my consultants and the Princess consultant is very fast and getting back with me. I even called Princess customer assistance center they said I can leave my number and they will call me back. They called me back immediately. I have emailed my NCL PCC 1 time and called him twice since Friday and he has never called me back and he told me not to book until I talk to him. The hold expires today. His VME says he works 11-4 on both Saturday and Sunday yet crickets from NCL. I am disappointed because I had decided on NCL but if they won't even call me back to finish the sale, I am worried about what kind of assistance will I get once they have my money. So bottom line is Princess's service has impressed me and NCL has been non-existent ugh.

I have also had a bit of trouble getting hold of my NCL PCC at times, but she usually does get back to me eventually. But I am definitely considering trying to get another pcc or ta because she's not always the most helpful either. 

Anyway, we have traveled on NCL Joy and NCL Getaway, and we travel with kids but prefer when there aren't many kids on-board. I would say we never really had a problem with lots of kids running around on these ships, they tend to be at the kids club and by the kids pool, so wasn't a problem for us even though one of the cruises was in July during school holidays. It was the Baltics though, so maybe not the most kids on those itineraries. I think the Breakaway seems great, always the waterfront deck to escape to when some relaxation is needed! Enjoy your cruise!

14 hours ago, SCX22 said:

 

Most passengers understand that after the final payment deadline, their rate is locked in.  Some may try their luck, but it's a rarity.

 

The purpose of Bid to Upgrade is to fill higher category cabins and generate revenue, when there are empty cabins/cancellations.  It's the reason why Princess still solicits for upgrade bids even if a sailing is sold out.  If a sailing isn't sold to capacity, there will still be empty cabins (the cabins that were vacated), but at least Princess is generating more revenue by filling the higher value cabins.   Most passengers are very particular about their cabin selection and won't bid because the bidding system doesn't allow for the passenger to select their cabin; it's autogenerated.

 

Princess does publish lower "Drop and Go" rates after the final payment deadline when a sailing has too many cabins available.  The Sky Princess Transatlantic departing on 11-10-23 is an example.  Before final payment the lowest Interior cabin was around $1100; T minus 75 days the rate dropped to $629.  (Been keeping track for my parents.)

 

Does this happen often close to sail date? I am thinking about booking a cruise in December so about 85 days left - but I'm considering other cruise lines too. If the princess cruise were to drop in price I would definitely choose that but don't know if it's worth risking since the price might increase instead... but at the same time I feel that if I've waited this long to book it, I may as well wait a little longer and see what happens, no? 

1 hour ago, Paddymunich said:

Wow.

What an outpour of judgmental comments. All very short of calling them bad parents.

I personally would not leave my 6y old alone on the ship while I go on shore but I still understand and respect other people's choices. Some advice here is pretty true, being that far away in case of an emergency is risky.

 

Florida_gators, can't help you with your options now but I'd say in future delve a bit deeper in the cruise line's website. With the help of Google. Somewhere you'll find detailed conditions for all amenities of the ships.

To be fair, I think some of the harsher comments were a result of the way the OP posed the question on the first place; like their holiday would be ruined if they couldn't leave their (very young) kids somewhere while they go away on a lenghty excursion. 

On the other hand, other cruise lines do allow this and it's one reason we will choose to cruise with Princess rather than NCL this coming winter (other reasons being their menu looks good and they still service cabins twice daily), but we're not planning to leave the kids there in each port and go away. Rather we are open to leaving for a short beach break for a couple of hours in case our oldest two prefers to stay in the club. I would of course hate for them to be left in there in case something were to happen to us while we were off ship and didn't make it back in time - on the other hand I am confident they would be well taken care of and can handle it at that age. I would personally not feel the same about a three year old.

I'm also in Europe which almost always has non-refundable deposits no matter which cruise line (except Disney!). I have changed cruises before (not on Princess), and was told that if the new cruise costs more than the one I had booked the rep will put in a request to have the change fee removed. Again, this wasn't on Princess so it might not apply, but if there is a change fee it might be smaller than the deposit you paid which will give you at least some value from your original deposit. 

we have sailed on both RCl (admittedly it was a long time ago) and NCL - I think they are comparable in most aspects - if lots of activities is what you're after the Escape, Encore, Breakaway, Joy, Bliss etc are the ones you should go for. The one thing I would say is that their kids clubs are closed when in port and they do have splash parks but no playgrounds on ship.