Expat Cruise

Have done these ports many times. Lived in both Singapore and Hong Kong Singapore, over the last 25 years in South East Asia. Singapore is a great place to tour, the MRT will take you almost everywhere, taxis are also cheap. I would recommend a taxi to the port as the MRT Station is a little walk away, rain happens in Singapore, and it is hot, so walking with bags not really an option. 

Nha Trang, Vietnam (I think our daughter would enjoy going to the beaches.)  Nha Trang, is a tender port, the tender landing is right in the city, maybe 150 yards to outside the port and wonderful beaches within 2 miles. You will find lots of transportation just outside the port gate.  But if you want to do a tour, Pham Tours is wonderful, have used them many times for both cruises and when we visit by airplane. 

*Hong Kong, China 2 days in port (*Since we have our daughter we were thinking of doing HK Disneyland for the first day, though some have been speculating that the ports for Hong Kong or Taiwan may be removed and replaced and that's why they haven't released any excursions yet.)   Yes, you can do Hong Kong Disney, but in my opinion Ocean Park is a much better choice. It is much larger and has so much more. With 2 days, you can do both, but Disney is a let down if you have done US Disney. Both have direct MRT stops. Ocean Park, has many rides, has a mile long sky tram, has a railway underground, has great aquariums and much more. But really the big added draw is that have one of the best Panda presentation I have seen, you will be a few feet away from these wonderful animals. 

*Taipei (Keelung), Taiwan  Understand you're about one hour by car from Taipei, when you dock in Keelung. Again, just outside the terminal you will find may tour operators. If you do not want to go to Taipei, but most do wanting to see Taipei 101, you will find Keelung is just outside the cruise terminal. 

Kobe, Japan (hoping to see Kyoto)   About 1 1/1 hours away by car from the port. Train is much longer for the trip. 

Mt Fuji (Shimizu), Japan   By car/taxi about 1 1/2 hours away, train really does not work. Ships tour or many private tours offered. 

Tokyo (Yokohama), Japan (5 nights in Tokyo post cruise 2 days will be at Tokyo Disneyland / Sea).   

Hope this helps you. Have a great cruise. 

We check our account at least daily. But really no work, using the app or our TV maybe takes a minute to do. Just good business practice to stay on top of your account.  

Last time we travelled to this part of the World was 2019. With my US Passport, I just went on and did an online e-visa, under $20, and it was approved and back within a few hours. My Australian Visa was good for New Zealand on the cruise.  

For my wife with her Philippines passport, it was a different story. Even with her having a full US entry visa good for 10 years, she needed to apply for a visa with the Australian Embassy. This visa was granted and good for entry one year from the approval date. The cost paid to the Australian Embassy was under $200. It required a full application and travel history, and if we did this without a Registered Australian Visa Agent, a personal interview at the Embassy with a biometric scan and confirmation. We went using a registered agent in Sydney, and it was approved within a day of submission. No added requirements or visit to the embassy. But the costs were just under $800. Because we put the visa request in about 100 days before the cruise, the visa was really only good for about 9 months. She could enter as many times as she wanted during that 9 months. 

Simple answer for US Passport Holders, really simple, for other countries can be very hard. If I had used my Israeli passport and not my US one, it would have been the same process as my wife's  Philippines passport.

This post is really insulting to many guests.  I believe it is a slippery slope, how far do you want to carry this? If a guest has club class, now called Reserve Collection, and friends want to dine with them, should they be able to do so? How about access to suite dining, if I have a friend should they be able to dine with me? Or how about allowing them to use my Priority Tender status?

These are all things others and I have paid for or have earned. They are not things to be stolen by others. If I want to dine with friends I would not try to get them into suites/reserve dining, I would just go to the regular dinning or suggest we visit a specialty restaurant. 

Just so people understand, with the medallion system, the staff know they do not belong. If a server does a sale in this event their ID is log with the sale, if the guests do not belong, the server/bartender is subject to termination.  This is really a very selfish plan to defraud other guests and the cruise line. 

On 12/16/2022 at 7:36 AM, nasa1974 said:

So Princess is promoting the Sun Princess 2024 Mediterranean Itinerary. Nice. I just wish their deck plans had more information on them, to generic. I know, it is still 14 months away. More than likely, it will be at least 6 - 8 months before we see actual locations of bars, pools, restaurants, shops, the buffet, etc.  At least Crooners is mentioned somewhere on deck 8. Some information says the indoor/outdoor pool is located in "The Dome".  More information please.

 

Just having some fun but would still like more information.  Looking forward to the new ship.

The deck plans are on the Princess website. You can go to the site and see where everything is. No need to wait.

1 hour ago, LACruiser88 said:

The easiest solution to this issue is just to pickup your Medallions at check-in.  There is absolutely no need to have the Medallions prior to boarding.

 

We have picked up our Medallions at boarding numerous times now (because of pre-cruise trips) with absolutely no issues.  It has only taken a few extra minutes for the check-in agent to retrieve our Medallions.

 

Maybe if the majority of passengers select to pickup the Medallions at check-in, Princess will find it more efficient to mail them all out for free?

Agree, 100% with you. We do not have the option to have shipped to us, because we spend most of our time at our home in the Philippines. So shipping to our US House doesn't help.  

But really no extra time or work to pick up at the port. Have done this four times now. I guarantee, if everyone said no to shipping, and they would pick up at the port, Princess would make the shipping free again.  

Princess has gone to doing everything on the app. Check in can be completed about 30 days before the cruise. If you're in the United States. Our last cruise would not allow us to check in and set a time, because we were outside the country. So we did not check in two days before the cruise they set an email saying check in at 10:30am, the start of boarding. Princess does not hold to its times, more like suggestions. If they finish a group early, they will take anyone who comes in next. 

Sales on upsell services like plus are rare with Princess Cruise. This year, many have got the best price on these packages by pre-paying. Since, Princess has changed the prices after guests have booked. But if you prepay, your price is locked in. We do not purchase these packages for a few reasons. First Princess does not give us our 50% off Internet if we buy the plus or premier package. Also, if you buy one of these packages, you cannot adjust the daily service fee. 

Princess has a completely different feel than your Royal Cruises. Royal ships seem to make guests feel like cattle. Royal is much more flashy than Princess. Also, you will notice very rare for Princess to use the PA system, once a day when the captain does his daily notice, and when the ship is open for guests to tender or go ashore. Unlike Royal that seems to make many announcements each day. You will never hear an announcement for a shop sale on Princess.

13 hours ago, MissP22 said:

It obvious that Princess is just allowing what many people have been arguing about for years now. They're catering to both sides of the fence as I see it. 

I seriously doubt if as you say "many are leaving". Where would they go other than Cunard if formal dining meant that much to them. 

All the other mass market cruise lines have relaxed their dress standards, so why not Princess if the want to stay in business. 

 

If Princess Cruises make rules, they must follow the rules or just don't have these rules if you cannot follow them. As I have stated many times, I follow the contract of passage and demand Princess Cruises does the same. That is what we pay for, a cruise based upon the terms and conditions set forward in the contract for passage. If others don't want to follow the contract of passage, they can find another cruise line.

13 hours ago, SCX22 said:

 

Princess is trying to reinvent itself.  The company is attempting stray away from the geriatric connotation that is attached to their brand.

 

Not really worth the crew's time and energy getting into a confrontation with passengers over their dress.  It doesn't cause a concern for safety or is it a threat to passengers.  It's not military basic training; passengers are there to have a good time.  Would hate to be the crew member drill sergeant that had to give guests a once over and decide if what they were wearing is formal.  If a guest wasn't conforming to the formal theme, would they not be allowed to leave their cabin for the evening?  On Hawaii cruises many men wear aloha shirts on formal nights in lieu of traditional formal wear, and it's totally accepted because aloha shirts are considered formal in Hawaii. 

 

No need to fix the wheel if it is not broken. Princess Cruises built a good business model, which they now seem to want to destroy.

Have done 8 Princess Cruises 15 days or longer. None of them Caribbean Cruises with ports very day. Mostly Australia to Asia, Asia to the United States, circle cruises South Pacific. Even with 8 sea days in a row, have never been bored or lacked things to do. In many ways, we like sea days better than port calls.  

4 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

Not from what I've seen since the return from Covid vacation. The cutoff numbers for the MT luncheon have been higher than ever and the DR's and ships are packed with cruisers. 

I guess those formalists really don't mind the lack of enforcement after all. They still have a choice on their personal style of dress. 

Some may stay, but many are leaving. Why should any guests be able to pick and choose what rules they will follow, and what rules they will not follow?  If Princess makes rules, they need to follow them. What they represent, they need to provide. If for no other reason than  common courtesy.

On 4/30/2023 at 6:56 PM, Reina del Mar said:

I heard the Lady Future Cruise Consultant on Sapphire Princess was rude to some of our fellow cruisers. 

 

We were waiting to confirm how many FCDs we had. A gentleman consultant saw us waiting and enquired what we wanted. I explained..he checked with lady who said neither of us had any. Later that day someone phoned the cabin and said we had two each.

 

Does not inspire confidence !

Why would you need to check how many FCD you have? The information is right in your account online as so as they are processed. Last trip I went to deck 5 did the purchase when I got back to Deck 10 already in my account. Basic rule to follow, most Princess employees and contractors know almost nothing. If you can get the answer and confirm it yourself, that is the best way. 

Did this port with Princes in January. Off the ship about a half an hour after the listed time. No Uber in the port only taxis, 20 minute wait for the taxi, lots of people waiting. No rental car shuttles.  Less than 15 minutes to get to the airport. We did  Waimea Canyon, got back with over 2 hours to spare, did a little shopping, dropped car and back on the ship. 

7 hours ago, latitude 22 said:

We are also onboard the Island Princess RIGHT NOW!!!!

and the service in the dining room and buffet has been consistently subpar!

 

We are not high maintenance travelers, but even the basic aren’t  being met.

just for reference …I have 350+ days on Princess

Sorry to hear this, but it is what seems to be happening across the fleet.  The good old days of Princess Cruises seem to be gone forever and that is very sad. 

On 5/14/2023 at 8:29 PM, frbob said:

I'm not impressed with Princess Guest Services off the ship as well. I have been waiting for well over a month for an answer to question I had. I followed up with another request for an answer. Then I asked for the contact number for the GSM. Nothing but silence on all counts. Worst guest service dept. in the cruise industry, and that's saying something, because service throughout the industry is pretty bad.

 

My upcoming cruise on Island Princess could be my last Princess cruise (Captain Circle Elite).

Sorry, Princess does not seem to get it. In our Elite Group, it seems every day, some are leaving Princess because of Customer Service. Any company that is driving away it's best, most loyal customers is in trouble long term. 

9 hours ago, jaycruising said:

We just had 4 chef's tables on our 18 day cruise, it was up to the chef and Maître D to add the additional ones if they wished.  I was a little bummed out as we didn't get our appies in the kitchen and we didn't get a cookbook either.  I may try and do it again while on a newer ship.

I don't believe the age of the ship has anything to do with the cookbook. Our last Chef's table was on the Diamond Princess this year, and we got another cookbook.

The lowest prices on cruises can be found in early December. The second week seems to be the sweet spot for great deals. But deals can be found up to cruises ending just before Christmas. Almost no children, on these cruises, can be a great time to take a cruise.

12 hours ago, jwattle said:

The difference is that the shareholder OBC, FCD OBC, etc., are "gifted" from Princess. Gift cards are purchased. That is how it was explained to me by guest services, and makes complete sense. Not necessarily lovely, but logical.

Shareholder's benefit is not a gift, it is the result of owning the cruise line. FCD are also not gifts, they are a contract to give the purchaser a future value in exchange for cash today. 

The fact that the exchange rate for the cards is whatever Princess Cruises sets it at is a red flag. 

8 hours ago, thistledoo said:

Thanks for the responses.   I was trying to split a sideways booking into a B2B and was having trouble finding an inside cabin available on both legs.   As luck would have it, a sideways on Baja popped up a short time ago for both legs, which I grabbed.

Changing Cabins on a Back to Back Cruise is really not bad and no work. Your room steward will move everything for you. You do not even need to pack, we did, but not require.   Since it is known that you are Back to Back, the new Steward will clean and have your room ready. We went to breakfast, ate and then met at the Back to back meeting stop at 9:30, within 20 minutes they took us off the ship and back on the ship. Our new room was ready and waiting.  Also, if you have a bad cabin Steward, it is for only half the cruise. Have done both ways and both work. With different cabins, you have a better chance for a great upgrade. 

When we did our last cruise, all OBC were exchanged USD 1 to AUD 1.  So our FCD Credit, Booking Credits, Stock Credit all go only 2/3's value. Even worse was Princess up all the prices on the ships. So what was $100 on a US cruise was 150 AUD, and our USD$100 credit was worth only AUD$100.   

We did not convert cash so not 100% sure, and the official statement from Princess Cruises does not help; "Can the Princess Cruises Gift Card be used on cruises in which the onboard currency is not based in US Dollars?
A: Princess Cruises Gift Cards will be redeemable onboard Princess cruise ships in which the onboard currency is not based in US Dollars.  The amount of the Gift Card will be converted to the shipboard currency at the foreign exchange rate posted at the Passenger Services Desk."  Which means Princess is free to set the rate as they see fit.

12 minutes ago, trbarton said:

I’m curious as to how you can get their email addresses?  Where are these address available? 

 

Tom😀 

I stay in contact with people that I meet. Have a lot of friends now who work in headquarters and on the ships. When picking a cruise, one factor we use is who are the officers.  But even without this, most officers and management level workers are on the professional networks. 

The Island Princess seems to be the ship they have many issues with. I believe they have many new, less trained staff on her. Overall, we have seen a reduction of service on Princess cruises since before the shutdown. The app and new packages seem to have really caused service to decline. 

6 minutes ago, SCX22 said:

 

Princess can't afford to turn away passengers from purchasing a cruise if they don't want to participate in formal nights.  It's money.  Maybe Cunard can, but Princess cannot.

 

Princess has White and Gold Piazza Parties where the dress code is supposed to be the colors white and gold, but are passengers really expected to purchase a special outfit for that evening?

 

It's elitist to care what the person next to you is wearing.  As long as they don't produce foul body order or cause a commotion, it shouldn't matter.  Passengers shouldn't be shunned because they don't want to participate in formal night.

That is a two-way street. They're losing long term high sea day passengers, in part because of the downgrading of dress codes.  It does not work if guests can pick and choose the rules they want to break. 

2 hours ago, SCX22 said:

There’s never 100% participation on formal night.  That shouldn’t be a condition of being a passenger.  

Why not, the dress codes are known long before you cruise. It is a rule put in place by Princess Cruises, like no smoking in the cabins, no entering crew areas, or a hundred other rules. But Princess Cruises seem to lack the backbone to enforce their own rules. A rule is a rule, it should be for everyone to follow. It is not picking the rules guest like and break the ones they don't like. 

9 hours ago, CruiseCrabs said:

Suites generally have first crack at the seats (the host will make the reso) and the number of evenings is dependant on the length of the cruise, the ship, chef, and heath of passengers. Often, the maitre d’ will also make inquiries with passengers who may be a good fit for the remaining available seats at a seating.

Even on a 21-day cruise, we have never seen more than two Chefs tables for the whole cruise. Doing them is a lot of work for the Chef and the Director of Food Operations (maitre d’). But many times they are already booked before guests even get on the ship.  I have pre-booked the request for Cruise Critic roll call groups that we had. Also have contacted officers on the ship by email before the cruise to request the Chef Table. It really makes the whole cruise. But we do have too many cookbooks now.