SiliconCruiser

21 minutes ago, GTJ said:

Ordinarily, a wheelchair user eligible for paratransit service could use Access-A-Ride paratransit service for door-to-door service, from John F. Kennedy International Airport to Brooklyn, by wheelchair accessible vehicle, for the wheelchair user, and a personal care attendant, and a guest, and baggage, at a fare of $2.75 for each of the wheelchair user and guest (the personal care attendant travels for free). This is effectively a shared taxi service. However, the rule for baggage is: "Customers must * * * board AAR vehicles with only two bags or parcels totaling 40 lbs. or less. A very bulky item that fills a seat or is a safety hazard is not permitted on an AAR vehicle, even if the item weighs less than 40 lbs. Additional * * * bags/parcels carried by PCA and or guest cannot be accommodated." Because the baggage limit applies collectively to all persons (and not each person separately), your anticipated baggage will be considered excessive, likely making use of public transportation not practicable. That said, the rule is not always strictly enforced, but that laxity is not something you would be able to rely upon. Other cruise line passengers with disabilities, who are paratransit eligible, might consider using Access-A-Ride service if they are not carrying excessive baggage.

Thanks, it sounds very much like our paratransit service locally.  I even drove it for a couple of years during the Great Recession, when tech jobs were slow.  I see that they have a visitor option for application.

1 hour ago, Got2Cruise said:

Does your wife need to stay in her wheelchair in a special van for transportation? Or can she be helped by you into a regular vehicle?

She can be seated in a regular vehicle on her own, but needs help with higher vehicles (trucks, normal height vans, and buses with baggage compartments that have steps.  She is able to walk relatively short distances with crutches.

We'll be going on  b2b NY-Quebec cruises later this year and looking for transportation options from JFK to Brooklyn.

My wife is in a wheelchair and we'll probably have two Pullman suitcases and a 22" carry-on and a backpack.  I'm thinking that the complexity of moving the luggage around is going to rule out the use of public transit.  Would appreciate any suggestions. 

I was told that shorts were acceptable on the first and last nights of the cruise and was told to change my attire to enter the dining room.  The hostess on the Regal was apologetic when I reminded her of our encounter in the Nordic when I reminded her of the instance in the Caribbean, so I had to assure her that I was only kidding about the incident.

We were on the Royal recently, but I didn't know of this offering.  We're going back on in a few weeks.  I'm gonna have to investigate. I don't expect it to be real BBQ, but a close resemblance would be appreciated.

On 3/24/2023 at 2:36 PM, Ombud said:

@Calif Explorer

Highlighted important info. I just sweated this despite my CVP having her super review my birth certificate and saying I was good to go. Passport Office was assured that IF I paid for expedited passport + express mailing + did not get it within 14 days of my cruise, I could try for an appointment in SF within 14 days of my trip. No idea where you live but those appointments are available in SF, LA, and San Diego State Dept Offices. Not in Sacramento or Stockton. Call 1st thing in the morning. 

 

Fortunately I got it after 7 weeks. But I can totally relate to your anxiety.  

 

@Lady Arwen is right: no Skagway White Pass excursion 

 

 

 

:Yup it's a maze.  You don't need a passport to enter Canada from a cruise ship on a closed loop tour, but if you want to travel into and out of Canada (i.e. White Pass Railway) you'll need a passport.   Much of it is more ceremonial but U.S. CBP want to see a passport (they don't even stamp the passport.)  When we took the van trip to White Pass from Skagway, there were no Canadian officials looking to inspect credentials.

On 3/24/2023 at 5:30 PM, wowzz said:

That is wrong. 

Filet Mignon is a cut taken from beef tenderloin,  and is a superior piece of meat.  

🤣🤣 Okay, if you want to look at it this way.  I usually stop cutting filets when I get towards the portion for chateaubriand.  Beef tenderloin is the primal cut.

3 hours ago, warren buffet said:

what I am thinking of in particular is the eight oz filet magion princess in putting on the mdr menu for 19 dollars  extra.   do you or anyone have any thoughts about that in particular. for me it seems like the side dishes and desserts are pretty similar in the mdr as crown. so the extra 19 dollars for the crown filet magion seems like a better option than 39 to go to the crown grill.  thoughts everyone?

Beef tenderloin (the other name for filet mignon) will be available more frequently than you might imagine.  As I mentioned earlier, you can always ask for a larger portion (unless you're really abusive towards your waiters 😉)  As an example, since I'm allergic to shrimp, I usually ask for a double portion of beef on the Farewell dinner night when they have the Surf 'n Turf offering.  If it is the formal night Surf n' Turf offering with beef tenderloin and lobster tail, I might ask for two lobster tails.

12 hours ago, warren buffet said:

so. are you saying it is the exact same as in the crown grill for the 19 in the MDR but is not any better than the included cruise price steak you can get in the MDR? when you say low grade?

Sorry, I misread your original post.  The upgrade item in the MDR is the same as you would get in the Crown Grill.  The portion would be larger than what you might get as an MDR menu item, but you can always order more than one item off the MDR menu (e.g. double meat)

1 hour ago, warren buffet said:

what is everyone's opinion of the 19 dollar upcharge steaks in the MDR as opposed to the crown grill? taste wise

Don't bother, same low graded beef.

2 hours ago, Bridalgownz said:

What is the earliest we can disembark the Discovery Princess in Long Beach on April 8th? 

Our flight will get us home too late to pick up our dogs and they'll have to stay until Monday.  

I'm not concerned about the extra boarding costs, just worried about my rescue dog who

was abandoned and spent months in a cage. I've been on about 35 cruises, but can't remember how 

early you could disembark if you carry your suitcases off the ship. 

Thanks, everyone.  

 

Um ... I see that you listed yourself as being in Vegas.  Have you considered renting a car and just driving home?  I'm guessing that you'll get home well before waiting for a flight.  I'm sure your furry family member will be more appreciative of it as well.

1 hour ago, brisalta said:

 

It seems you are correct. Just now I searched at princess.com for cruises originating from San Francisco and sorted by date. The result is that only the Crown Princess is currently scheduled to embark in San Francisco after the Ruby departs for the Panama Canal.

One could email the Port O f San Francisco and ask when they are going to update the published schedule.

 

I then searched just for Ruby Princess and found that there is a hole in its schedule from toward the end of the year into early 2024.  I wonder if the Ruby will be going into dry dock for a major refit during that time?

The Ruby will be going to Ft. Lauderdale after the Alaska season and will be home ported there until the 2024 Alaska season when it will be home ported in Vancouver..  The Crown will be home ported in San Francisco after the 2023 Alaska season.

On 3/21/2022 at 1:06 PM, jeno said:

I am almost positive there will be no beef tenderloin at lunch. 

There has been beef tenderloin on the lunch menu in the mid-ship MDR on every Princess cruise that I have even been on, on turnaround day.

On 3/22/2023 at 7:33 AM, coo359a2 said:

Guess Fort Lauderdale is one of a few ports that have separate areas. Will find out about Southampton in June and San Francisco in September if we get there before boarding starts

San Francisco has a combined Platinum/Elite waiting area and they start boarding as a group after the ADA passengers.

On 3/22/2023 at 11:03 AM, coo359a2 said:

Thanks Tom.   Right now we have Princess transfers for the 4 of us -$34 each. Will check out Uber

A cab would probably be just a little more than half of that.  A ride-share XL size vehicle would be about half.  Public transit would probably be a bit cumbersome, depending upon the amount of luggage.  The cab or ride-share wouldn't have you waiting for a bus to fill up.

On 3/19/2023 at 8:26 AM, claudia814 said:

I see where it says if you take the Princess bus to the Fort Lauderdale airport they drop you off between terminals on the Arrival level. There may not be porters available and you need to find your way to the Departure level. That sounds crazy! What do you suggest, taxi, are they available? I look forward to hearing from you. Thanks in advance. 

The cruise port and FLL airport are right next to each other. Take a cab or ride-share, it will cost less than the Princess transfer and you'll be treated much better.

4 hours ago, Princessfan20 said:

 

It seems there are really no rules on Princess, only the ones passengers make up by taking part of Princess recommendations out of context and making it their own Maritime Law. ie, suggested dress code in MDR on Formal Nights, etc. 😁

Using powers of observation and taking a few Princess cruises led me to the decision to leave my tuxedo at home.  Took a suit on one cruise and realized that I was still overdressed.  So now I'll take polo shirts and maybe a dress shirt or two for formal nights.  I'll throw in a tie since it doesn't weigh much, and may actually use it once or twice.  For long cruises, I might throw in a blazer or just a vest.  Oh yeah, dress jeans too! 😂

1 hour ago, new2cruise said:

Are the show times always 7:30 and 9:00? Or does it depend on the itinerary or the particular port?

Since the re-opening, it seems that showtimes are now 7:30 and 9:30 and like other ship activities, they are set for 45 minutes.  The only deviation was a production show that they had on the Ruby on a cruise last year (I think it was Bravo) where it was only 30 minutes.

8 hours ago, damiross said:

When I finally located the boarding times on the Medallion app, I saw only 2:30 was available. 

 

I will do like I have on previous cruises:  show up around 10:30 or 11. This is hat I did even though the boarding group had us in a boarding group that was 2-4 hours later.  We've always been able to get on board by noon.

Yup, that's what we've always done.  The only place that was of concern was Singapore, because Singaporeans like to live by rules.  But even there, we just showed up early and boarded early.

Item 203353677 at Home Depot.  $6.72.  This is the one that we now take and it has no surge protection.

On 3/20/2023 at 11:19 AM, Cruise Raider said:

Ahh yes, ours is April 30th on the Royal.  
 

That will be the 3rd leg of our b2b2b, it will be our transportation to Vancouver where we'll hop on the Crown for an early season Alaska run.

On 3/18/2023 at 2:26 PM, Cruise Raider said:

 If you happen to be scheduled for pier 35, it could be hours on the sidewalk waiting to get into the terminal but it’s doubtful they will have you board at pier 35 after the fiasco last year.  
 

 

I don't think Pier 35 is big enough for the Royal, it pretty much has to be Pier 27.  You may notice that there is no long a Pier 25. 

2 hours ago, damiross said:

Do they allow luggage on F?  Even if luggage is allowed, do you want to take it on a (in my experience) crowed street car?

I've only done it once.  Our last cruise was a 5 day cruise; we only took 1 pullman case.  When we got off the ship at around 9:30, the street car was hardly crowded.  It became more occupied with passengers coming off the ship, but everyone still had a seat.  We then took the N Judah to the Cal-Train station, took the train to Santa Clara and then took a VTA bus home.  It was all kind of an experiment.  It did take about 2.5-3 hours, whereas it would only take about an hour if someone had picked us up.  Luggage is allowed on almost all public transit.

20 minutes ago, Incognito1 said:

One reason we're done cruising out of SF.    Basic human courtesy lacking on our last cruise from there.

 

As for two people who take a six person table in the buffet when there are no tables available, I just smile warmly and sit down.

I've encountered that on cruises out of other ports as well, seems more prevalent on the lower priced cruises though.

2 hours ago, rogueriver said:

Our cruise is departing March 31 in Sydney, and we just received our medallions on Monday, March 20.  I was worried that it was cutting it a little close since we actually fly out on the 26th.  The return address was from New Jersey.  

The return address isn't always indicative of the point of origin.  Our medallions usually have the Santa Clarita corporate address as the return address.  Many of our Amazon packages will have a return address in Las Vegas, even though it came from a local warehouse.