pwake

I was on the Emerald Princess out of Sydney in February. I thought, by American standards, the burgers and hotdogs were pretty good. When the Trident Grill was busy - sea days - everything was fresh and cooked to order. When they were slow - port days - you need to ask for a fresh burger if you have time to wait for them to do one from scratch.

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As a general rule, don't buy jewelry from a jeweler you don't know and trust. Unless you're an expert on gemstones, you will be ripped off at any "duty free" jewelry store near a cruise port.

One thing to remember, loose gemstones have no import duty on entering the USA, so they are all "duty free" here at home. And that beautiful 3 caret H SI2 diamond is only worth one tenth of what you paid in the Caribbean.

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Someone fed you some baloney!

It was a comment from the crew Rep at the muster station when 3 or 4 people showed up for the drill wearing their life jackets despite the instructions to show up carrying them. He got a laugh from the assembled group. It was a good icebreaker, not Princess policy.

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We were there a couple of weeks ago. The taxi company accepted credit cards and I added a tip to the charge - it gives you that option.

If you need cash, the taxi driver will stop at an ATM and wait for you. There are a couple of banks with ATM's on the way to the station.

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On Princess, you are required to carry your life jacket to the safety drill. If you wear it to the assembly point, they make you wear if for the rest of the cruise. At least that's what the told us :)

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You can get through immigration quicker using these kiosks https://www.cbp.gov/travel/us-citizens/apc Not as handy as Global Entry but much faster than standing in the regular US Citizen line.

No checked bags and TSA PreCheck will certainly help once you're through.

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Oh no! I'm older than Alaska! Too bad it's not really 70, then I'd be younger.

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Yes, in fact the Pacific Princess was originally the Renaissance III. Princess bought 3 of Renaissance's ships after they went out of business.

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Wow! Great photos. My wife and I really looking forward to our trip on the Pacific Princess in January. We'll be on the Fort Lauderdale to Los Angeles segment of her world cruise. We are in 8064 - the suite on the aft port corner. Based on your photos, its going to be a very comfortable trip.

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[emoji445] If an eel bites your thigh

When you're just swimming by

That's a moray [emoji445]

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In warm climates, I prefer a stern balcony suite to watch the wake. We had seen reviews of the Fiesta Suites and figured we didn't need a balcony when it's cold.

We were really happy in F309. Bright, comfortable and cheery with more closet space than we could use. We'd definitely do it again.

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My wife and I were on the June 30 sailing of the Caribbean Princess in Fiesta 309.

We loved the ship and the cruise. Our stateroom carpet and furniture was in very good shape. I would be very happy to have the same stateroom for another cold climate cruise. The cabin location was really convenient being only a few steps away from the atrium and dining room. My only concerns was our cabin steward always seemed nervous around. My wife and I are really easygoing and couldn't understand his odd behavior.

We loved all the ports. The only problem we had on an excursion was in Cobh where we did the Best of Cork and Countryside tour. The tour description said that while we would be visiting Blarney Castle, there would not be enough time to kiss the stone. The tour ticket said, in all caps, KISSING THE BLARNEY STONE NOT GUARANTEED. But, apparently it is guaranteed if 6 of your fellow passengers are willing to hold the rest of the coach up for 45 minutes waiting for them. We didn't get to see Cork. This reinforced my dislike of coach tours!

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We've only sailed twice on Princess. Our first was on the Emerald Princess in February around New Zealand. We were in a suite and "discovered" Club Class. We enjoyed the dining with Razvan so much, we changed our June reservation on the Caribbean Princess around Great Britain and our Panama Canal transit on the Pacific Princess in January '18 to suites so we could do CC again.

We disembarked from the Caribbean Princess last Wednesday and our CC experience again was again terrific. Nelson was as much fun as Razvan.

We are really looking forward to CC on the Pacific Princess in January!

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We were on the Emerald Princess in February for a New Zealand cruise. We had a great time and the ship was really nice.

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We were on the Caribbean Princess with you. We were told the reason for the long delay for tenders at Queensferry was a medical emergency that tied up operations for some time.

We enjoyed the cruise very much and I enjoyed your review!

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Got off the Caribbean Princess in Southampton last Wednesday (July 12th). I actually couldn't remember if the bow was painted or not! Couldn't see it while on board. Checked my camera and sure enough, the Sea Witch was there in Invergordon. So to me, obviously no big deal.

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My wife and I were on the Emerald Princess in February for a New Zealand cruise. We were in a full suite and very much enjoyed the Club Class dining. We met interesting people every night and the service was excellent.

After a somewhat disappointing meal in the Crown Grill on departure night, we ate the rest of our meals in Club Class. We decided to forego the free specialty restaurant meal from our TA.

We never had to wait for a table, regardless of the time we arrived. There were off menu items every night. All in all, we both enjoyed it.

We're off to England to do the same thing on the Caribbean Princess on June 30th and then the Pacific Princess in January. We've booked full suites on both cruises to get Club Class.

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You're going on a cruise to eat salads with lite dressings? I would never think of doing that. Cruising is my unhealthy eating vacation!

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It's AU$20.00 for an ETA - Electronic Travel Authorization.

Go to this Aussie government to get it (FAQ section is comprehensive)

https://www.eta.immi.gov.au/ETAS3/etas

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I take a white dinner jacket for formal nights. It's my only chance to wear it! On our last Princess cruise - Emerald to New Zealand - I'm pretty sure I was the only passenger wearing one.

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Delta is in the process of relocating to the north side of the airport. They used to be in terminals 5 & 6, right next door to American in terminal 4. This week Delta will be in terminals 2 & 3.

https://www.google.com/amp/www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-delta-shuffle-20170322-story,amp.html

However, there is a free inter-terminal shuttle on the arrivals level. Just follow the signs.

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We just finished a cruise on the Emerald Princess two weeks ago and did not receive any special treatment at any bar. We were in a suite, which still costs quite a bit more than a CCMinisuite. There was no way for a bar tender to know where we were staying. I didn't buy many bar drinks and no one would recognize me as a regular. However, Club Class dining was a really nice experience.

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