Worn out mailman

51 minutes ago, SKCruiser007 said:

Hello! I was on Caribbean Princess out of San Juan the very week the engine went down in 2012. We were stranded in St. Maarten for a night, then returned to San Juan for the rest of the week...the ship was our hotel. The compensation package was fair. Our travel mates, to this day say that was the best vacation ever! 

 

I was so excited when I heard that Princess is sailing from San Juan again that I started checking at least twice a day until the sailings showed up for sale. I booked our favorite mini suite on Emerald deck. We can't wait for January 2026.

 

We'll do our best not to break the ship just before you're supposed to sail from San Juan again.

Oh cool. It's neat to talk to you. In my excitement over my (soon to be canceled) sailing right after yours, I was on Cruise critic a lot, so, I was reading all about the troubles on your sailing, and had a funny feeling. Then, I got the email from Princess. 😑

My then girlfriend took charge and got us on the kind of new Allure of the Seas. It was double the cost, but our cruise vacation wasn't scrapped. In 2013 we sailed on Caribbean out of Ft Lauderdale. That shopping cart handle...just blech. 

In 2020, a different lady and I were 3 days from sailing on Norwegian Epic. Same deal....I found out thru Cruise Critic about our sailing being canceled, this time due to the pandemic. Of course, I got a full refund. Took a soak on our airfare tho. So, I've endured two cancelations. Someday, maybe (tho at this point not likely) I'll cruise on Norwegian. 

I'm glad you got to salvage your vacation that once. I'm also glad you didn't jump on a sailing in November '25 when the SJ sailings start. Jan-March is the best time to sail for sunny skies. 😊🌞

57 minutes ago, doghog said:

Start the roll call for your cruise. Others will join in. BTW, I just checked one of many  cruise travel websites and the Princess March 2026 cruises out of San Juan are showing.  

Oh good! Thank you. 🙂

1 hour ago, dickinson said:

Yes, start the roll call yourself.  Also keep in mind that the sailing is two years away so it will take a while for people to book.  Some roll calls never get very active though.  

I know, and some do. It's very interesting how that goes. 🙂

49 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

Very simple to start a roll call...I've done it myself 3 or 4 times.

I have as well. I just want to see the sailings on sale elsewhere so I know Princess hasn't changed their mind before I do this. 🙂

Hi Princess cruise lovers. 

My 2012 Southern Caribbean sailing on Caribbean Princess was canceled due to engine problems. Shortly thereafter, I learned that Princess would no longer sail from San Juan (my preferred departure port), so, I was disappointed, and remained so for 12 years, until 3 weeks ago. 

It was then that I read an article on my electronic drug (my cell phone) which stated that Princess would finally resume sailing from San Juan!! Hooray!! Not only that, but the sailings are on a ship which I've always wanted to sail (Grand, without the Riviera deck which causes all those ships to be slightly overcrowded). I waited the two weeks until the stated date that the sailings would become available. On that date, I checked Princess' website all day, and at around 5 pm E.S.T. Voilà, there the sailings were.

Without wasting a moment, I purchased my sailing for March 2026. That purchase trumped my Brother's knee replacement as the most important thing that happened in my world that day. 

So, now, I'm dying to chat about it. Thing is, other than Princess.com nobody seems aware of these sailings. There's no roll call yet (indeed, there's an existing roll call for my date for a Southern Pacific sailing). The sailing isn't showing availability on any of the travel sites. When I finally do see my sailing sold elsewhere, I'll know it's real and I'm not just dreaming.

So, I figure I'll boast here and see if any fellow cruisers say hello. 🙂

26 minutes ago, KKB said:

Use the chat feature on P.com or call--they can add it for you.

With daily grats at $18 & wifi $25, P. Plus is pretty much a no brainer even if one doesn't drink much.

Since my post, the offerings came back. The upgrades are certainly tempting. I wish Emerald had a pizza/pasta casual dining place like the newest ships. I also wish they'd throw in one more night of casual dining for a 10 nighter compared to a 7 nighter. 

Still, one or maybe two drinks a day plus enjoying speciality coffee drinks, water for the islands and free delivery service.....those incidentals pile up. 

I need to get a girlfriend so I don't have to keep doing these cruises solo. 

Thanks for your input. 😊

Hi everybody.

I'm toying around with the idea of booking a solo sailing on Emerald this May 20th. When going thru the booking process, P.com is not offering me the Plus or Premium packages which would cover my wifi. 

Can any of you tell me the ala carte price for one device? The website says starting at $24.99. If that's per day, then obviously that's a no. RCCL was outrageous for the per day cost of wifi so, nothing will surprise me. 

Thanks anyone in advance for your insights. 

Rob. 

1 hour ago, cruzinisgood said:

How did you like The Courtyard? We are debating between the The COurtyard or Embassy Suites?

It was one of the highlights of my vacation. The grounds were so lovely. Beware, tho...at least for me, the setting actually made me WANT to go fancy on my meals, and such. I sat there (mind you, I was traveling solo), eating an expensive filet mignon dinner, watching a young couple's destination wedding a hundred yards in the distance, on the property. Perfect way to end my vacation. Just the one night, just me, eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner on the property, plus local tax, resort fee and tax on the resort fee....the single night stay cost me $495.00. Even with that, I'll most assuredly choose this property next time I travel through San Juan. I liked it that much. 

The only thing, I couldn't get their Wi-Fi to work on my phone so I couldn't use it to send texts. It did work on my tablet, though. 

I highly recommend this property. 

On 2/14/2023 at 5:03 PM, Daycare Provider said:

We will be staying at the Courtyard by Mariott in Isle Verde.  This will be our 4th stay.  The taxi ride from the airport is less than 10 minutes away.  The hotel sits on the beach.  The taxi ride to port 15 minutes pending on traffic.

Thanks. I did cancel my reservation at Water Club, and reserved a room at Courtyard. Reading that you reserved here for the 4th time was all the confirmation I need that the place must be okay, so, thank you. 

The only reason I booked a hotel is that I presume they'll watch my suitcase for me until check in time. I'll hang at the beach or pool until then (provided it's a pleasant day). 

Happy cruising. 

Hi folks. 

Now that my sailing is approaching, I've read a number of horrid reviews for my post cruise hotel (Water Club on Isla Verde Beach). Can anyone recommend a hotel at Condado or Isla Verde Beach that is clean and reasonably priced? 

Thanks. 

7 minutes ago, CruiseKeeper said:

Years later I still have awful thoughts about the people in cabin next door that played their taste in music loud enough to detract from our glacier watching on the Ovation.  If it was you, I’m still thinking bad thoughts about you.  Nature and calving sounds are not as important as you or your tinny background noise.  To the rest of you, I apologize for the whine. 

No, your bitterness is warranted. It's similar to how I feel while snorkeling, when the fish swarm around me expecting to be fed because so many nimrod snorkels were there before me, feeding the fish. 

It's amazing how self involved humanity has become. Why not just enjoy the sound of the cruise? If I opted to listen to my music from home while on my cruise, something would seem wrong to me. 

Boy, I hope I have respectful people around me in my sailing. Same goes for all of you. 

Hi. I'll be with you out there. Are you on our roll call? 

I waited way too long to check in and due to something I didn't know about, a wellness check, my boarding time is like 2. That really throws me off because I'm supposed to be out of my air bnb at 11. So, I guess I'll be checking my bag with the porters at 11:30, whether or not they let me in to the terminal. If they don't, you might see a guy sitting with his back against a pole, watching a movie on his tablet, hungry for lunch. 

My lady is not content to lazily roast on the beach like I'm looking forward to doing. Has anyone been to a beach on the island where she can roam to and fro collecting shells? 

Thanks! 

Hi folks. 

Our Epic sailing in March stops in St. Thomas on the final day. Can anyone tell me what port we'll be using? 

Booked it! 😁

Thank you, everybody, for answering my question. Seems the tumblers are falling into place for booking the sailing I mentioned. It'll be my first cruise on NCL, my first 10 nighter, and most urgently, my first cruise in over 5 years!! 😁

Hi everybody. 

This is my first ever post on the Norwegian boards. 🙂

I am thinking about booking a cruise for next March, and if I do, it'll be a solo studio. I will want to spend as little time in the stateroom as I can. I saw a video review on YouTube that stated that the deck personnel stack 100% of the deck loungers in the evening, making them of course unavailable to use. Does anyone know, is this actually the case? I'd hoped to chill on the deck in the evening after dinner, at least a couple times. Thanks cruisers. 😁

Of course they miss the boat, you are supposed to call them ships.

And while we're talking semantics, RCI is a time share seller. Royal Carribean's acronym is RCCL. ;p

Was the Beach nice there Mailman?

Hi. It was fine... I think if the sun had peeked out through the clouds even for a minute, it would have been great. Smooth sand, unlike Sandcastle which is the opposite direction from the port. There's a protected beach...a turtle sanctuary where the closing scene of Shawshank Redemption was supposedly filmed at one end of the island. Can't use umbrellas there tho.

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We will be cruising in January on the Jewel of the Seas and looking for a great beach on St.Croix. Has anyone been to Rhythms at Rainbow Beach???

We were there in 2014. There was a narrow line of gray clouds that stretched from the beach out over the water about a mile that didn't clear all day. We could see the sun blazing on the ship, which was docked close by. It dawned on me afterward...a rainbow is preceded by rain or moisture. Could it be called rainbow Beach because it tends to be cloudy, rainy there?

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Thank you. Someone had to say it.

No, sometimes the smell comes from the system itself. If you don't spray something in the water, the smell can be powerful (and it's other people's waste you're smelling).

Thanks for the triple bag idea.

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Royal Caribbean signed a contract with Crown Bay so Princess is mostly now at Havensight.

I did read that. It's a huge let down for a RCCL cruiser. Havensight is more convenient for most of what we like to do. Crown Bay is prettier for sail away tho.

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Hi. Just a note, all my princess sailings that stopped at St. Thomas used Crown Bay, not Havensight.

Also, approaching our scheduled March 2012 sailing on Caribbean Princess I read lots of posts about propulsion problems. In the final week before the cruise, the posts got more and more bleak. 2 days before our embarkation, Princess canceled our sailing.

We scrambled and still ended up on a cruise (Allure of the Seas, at twice the price). Princess compensated is with a full refund and 50% off a future sailing, but that was the year they left San Juan so the sailing we ultimately took wasn't as good.

Point is, have a back up plan. Good luck ☺️

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It's a lose/ lose situation. You either have an enormous amount of time to kill, or you pay substantially more to fly. I'm gonna end up paying $100 extra to leave SJU at 1:30 pm as opposed to 3:30.

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