beaveh

I booked on sky princess for an October cruise to the Canary Islands. I’d like to book the main dining room for an early sitting every night How do I do this?

I tried going to the princess medallion app and selected dinining options, but a message said I couldn’t use that function until I have paid in full ( I have ). Am I just tryring  to do this too early or is it a glitch with the  princess app?  

I’m a Brit and our tipping culture has always been totally different, though things have changed in recent years.

historically Brits didn’t tip unless the service was ‘ above and beyond’ what normal service was expected to be. That started to change in the late 80’s for a more European approach of a recommended 10% tip for meals. If the food and service was good. Other tips are a rarity.

I know the American model is different, and many lines run along the American model.
 

I pay the auto gratuities, but don’t really do any other tipping, I will be polite, friendly and tell the crew member if I think they are doing a fantastic job. It’s just the British way and cruises  are very expensive to start with. 

We went in October last year.

yellow hop on hop off bus was horrendous and an absolute rip off. We had to wait 1.5 hours for the bus. The queues at each stop were miles long, it was painfully slow… it actually took us back to the port, so we cut our losses and got off. 
 

we took a shuttle bus from the port to the center of Porto ( free)  , a little water taxi across the river.. then we should have just explored on foot. It would have been much better.

7 hours ago, gsmt47471015 said:

Is this the 30 nights on the 6th of September?

Drinks prices are on a par with most uk bars.

The spa is expensive but not as much as your Princess one, however never used it so don't know how good it is.

Lunch on embarkation depends on what time you board, buffet is always a little hectic but other options will be available (staff permitting). 

If you have booked a saver fare you will be allocated dining time when on board , if you booked select you should have been given your dining options (freedom, first ,or second sitting) however the maître de should be able to accommodate a change if they can.

Specialty restaurants are Sindhu (Indian) Epicurian  and the Glass House  but I don't think any are open until the evening   with the possible exception of the Glass House.

I'm sure others on this board will be able to give you any more information should you need it .

Hope you enjoy your cruise🙂 

No, we go just before that one 30th Aug. Just a 7 nighter. 

Thanks for all the tips. It will be exciting exploring a new ship / new line.

Hello. 
I’ve just booked a cruise on Acadia in Sept this year. ( out of Southampton ). I’ve no idea what to expect! 
I have some basic questions..

We drink mainly canned soft drinks, the odd beer and the odd glass of wine… what are drinks prices like.

Embarkation lunch? … where to head to.

which are the best speciality restaurant.

are spa prices reasonable ( just been on Princess where a 1hr massage was $170! ) 

we will be assigned a dining time / table when we board, if we use the main draining room do we have to eat with what we are assigned? Or do we have options for time and table size. 
 

I’ve read as much as I can on this board, but I need hints and tips for a newbie. 

Just did sky princess sailing from Southampton on 4th Jan. 

Tested negative before,

All staff wearing masks, most passengers not.

Boat had 3300 passengers

Everything normal except buffet not self serve.

Tested negative when I got back... no problems.

I’m on sky princess. It’s all new to me and I’m trying to find my way arround booking excursions and extras.I see I can buy a week pass to the retreat or the thermal spa… are they worth it? 
me and hubby love saunas, is there any place you can have a sauna without having to go to the thermal spa? ( some boats have them in the gym changing rooms.) 

celebrity refection had a nice thermal spa with big windows looking out, but the princess one looks quite small and enclosed. Any comments on people experience?

Thanks all, my cruise is now booked. 😀

I've only done about 5 cruises ( celebrity, Royal carribean) . I'm going to book my first ever prince's cruise ( norway).

I'm confused by cabin type... so many are listed with seemingly little difference between them (looking at balcony, Premier balcony and mini suite) is a lot based on location rather than difference in amenities / service? 

Are there kettles in the room for uk sailings?

I've been very tempted to do one of these, either with Cunard or princess. Today with news of rising covid rates in Europe I'm not sure if they will go ahead as planned.
 

Plus there is the whole issue of what will be different. I except masks in public areas of the ship and when walking in corridors, but will room stewards still make up your room daily... Or just leave fresh towels out side your door? ( as some uk hotels are). Will the ship corridors have one way system? 
I see princess buffets will be served to you, but I'm not sure what other things will be different. 

I’d agree with you...
 

The only thing I find odd is that Italy is going a head with it's ‘Italians only’ cruises. I think those will have all the issues that you've outlined, so I don't know how they can still cruise.

I know this is an old thread but as there is not much cruising going on at the moment. I'm finding it an interesting read, particularly as I'm an acupuncturist. Lol. I've never worked on board but had an interesting chat with the onboard acupuncturist on my last cruise. I wanted to find out how he worked and treated as I suspected it would be very different to the way I work in my home based clinic.

So I hope I can answer some of your questions.

Yes acupuncture is an effective treatment for many conditions. The world health organisation has a long list of conditions that respond well to acupuncture, including conditions that have no effective treatment in western medicine.

Typically back pain, frozen shoulders, knee problems, poor sleep, anxiety, migraines, but there is a huge list.

No, it is not an effective treatment for weight loss and has patchy results for stopping smoking, other modalities work better for that. 

Chinese trained acupuncturists will often have a 5year medical degree qualification with specialisums in acupuncture, Chinese medicine and tuina. I have a 3 year degree equivalent acupuncture qualification. Most onboard acus are recruited by Steiner, but they need to have relevant acu qualifications.

Chinese acupuncture is not the same as physio dry needling, that can work well, but will only help muscular related conditions.

Here in the uk an acupuncture treatment is usually £50 ( 68US$) per treatment. I would normally book a client in for one or two treatments a week, Chinese hospitals treat daily and on a cruise they will try to treat you quite frequently. I spoke to the onboard acupuncturist about this and he said he was encouraged to do daily treatments. It means more treatments can be fitted in on each cruise - makes it expensive but you will get a good course of treatment.

Acupuncturists give talks  on board one client came to see me as she had been to a talk on a cruise, but couldn't afford the prices, so came to see me when she got home lol.

I hope that answers some of your questions about acupuncture onboard.

I also have a specalisum in cosmetic acupuncture, ( for lines,  wrinkles and sagging skin) this is considered more of a cosmetic treatment and has been practiced in China, alongside the more traditional form of acupuncture which is several thousand years old. Some Steiner acupuncturists may have that specalisum as well, so it may be offered as an option onboard.

I can see this I a wise move by Saga, boosting confidence amongst their customer base( and shareholders! ). They are a line for older UK passenger so it would be a good fit. I wonder where it leaves other cruise lines with a different demographic of passengers?

I’m 55 so I don't see me cruising anytime soon as I'm way down the vaccine list. Then there are other cruise lines like Royal Caribbean, who cater for family groups on their massive ships. They are even further away from getting the vaccine than me.

I'm uncertain about Saga’s approach. On one hand is good news that cruising may restart in a safer way, but on the other if that's the way things are going to go, it's very bad news for some of the other lines. 

Sorry to point out the obvious:

your son is a recovering alcoholic and you want to buy him a cruise as a wedding present???!!!!

The one place where you are guaranteed to be surrounded by free flowing alcohol and drinks packages! 
If he’s stopped drinking, why not show him your support and buy him something that him and his new wife can really enjoy with out temptation being constantly thrown in his face. I work with addicts and kicking a so called socially acceptable addiction is one of the hardest. 

I’ve seen estate agents offer 3 d tours of houses that are for sale and there is a river cruise company that does 3D tours of their boats.

https://www.scenic.co.uk/our-ships/life-on-board/360-virtual-tour

Does anyone know of any cruise lines that do them? Then I can get my fix having a virtual walk about the ship. :) 

Just as we are having a hot spell again, hubby has a week off work. All being well we plan to drive to Lyme Regis for a spot of fossil hunting tomorrow. If time and energy allow, we might come back via Weymouth and see if we can spot QV in the bay 🙂

5 hours ago, chemmo said:

 

We paid a little less for our next year’s cruise (identical) than we would have for this years if it had happened!

 

In our experience over the last few years Caribbean and world wide cruises have remained fairly static whilst Mediterranean cruises have become significantly more expensive. We only book suites so I don’t know if this is the trend for all room categories...

Ah, that may well explain what I have been seeing.

We have been looking at Norway and the med, where prices are a lot more on Celebrity than Cunard who didn’t include a free drinks package. 
As people always say, there is never such a thing as a free drinks package, it’s just added into the cost of the cruise.

i would have loved a Norway cruise on celebrity. 
 

I would love it if they brought in some uk deals that were just the cruise fare and not deals that included a free drinks package. It makes the base cost of the cruise too expensive for us... and pointless  as we both don’t drink alcohol. 
 We booked our last cruise ( cancelled with Covid) with Cunard for exactly this reason.

I’ve just seen that some airlines are offering flights that go over antarica then land back at the same airport, so people can still enjoy the buzz of flying. Scheduled Cunard cruises are now cancelled till May 2021, so as that date approaches do you think Cunard will offer day or weekend cruises? They could do it with a very reduced capacity offering a day experience with meals and a show. They could even do it with the boat still tied up. what do you think?

Funny, it was a first pub night out for us tonight. Ham, egg and chips and a glass of prosseco. Fairly basic, but it was fantastic being out 🙂

We are in our mid 50’s and have only experienced 3 lines so far ( carnival, royal carebean and celebrity). I don't think virgin will be for us.

We have to save for a few years to go on a cruise, it's a real treat for us, so I look forward to a bit of luxury. I can see they want modern and sleek, but it all looks like a shopping center / airport lounge to me. 

I wonder if big cruise ships could moor up somewhere and open as an out door theme park / cafe area. No indoor cabins and upee deck buffets could open as waiter service restaurants. 🙂 I could get my cruise fix then 

I will cruise when I see how things settle down. It might be autumn next year or 2022, but first I want to see what sort of differences become the norm. One thing, either for cruise on land based holiday. I'll be booking at short notice as I was a bit miffed that I paid the balance months before the cruise but had to wait weeks for a refund.

For European sailings I think it's important to realise that all cruise ships will be subject to the regulations of the countries of ports that want to dock in. So If a ship visits several countries, it will have to comply with each of their restrictions.

Even around the uk cruises aren't that simple as Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland each have their own different restrictions on travel etc. At the moment I think a mandatory 14day quarantine is required for all people entering the uk, so if you are from the uk... You could do an around the uk cruise... But best to stick to England, as Scotland and NI might not let the ship dock.

I think I first saw them for sale last year.

What happens if someone buys one of them? Is the boat still chartered to X for the upcoming cruises or will every one book on a cruise  get a refund / alternative cruise? asking for a friend.