sashas_mom

Such helpful information. I really appreciate all the suggestions and will check into everything suggested. As for my non refundable statement, I am used to booking our cruise a year in advance, and know I can cancel before final payment. However, we don't know what life will bring a year from now. So buying airline tickets that are non refundable too early would not be prudent. I can see getting them a few months before, but would there be a problem finding a flight if I wait that long?

Sorry if I sound lame, it's just that I've never purchased airfare before and I know with our miles we have to do it so far in advance to assure getting a flight.

I appreciate your responses. I know with cruising I get the best price on the cruise when I book the launch fare, way ahead of time. Can you tell me if this happens with airfare as well? Or does it just not matter.

We've always used our mileage for our flights to the ports and home again. However, we don't have as many miles now, and I don't know the best way to work the system.

We are going to Ft. Lauderdale next year for a Caribvean cruise.

1) how many months in advance gives the best price on flights, we don't want non refundable.

2) because I have a bad back, we always have gotten Business Class with our miles. I know some people pay for their flight, but then use their miles to upgrade to business class. Have you done this? Is it a good option?

3) if you have any good tips, I.e. Certain airlines always offer specials to Ft. Lauderdale at certain times of the year, or you especially like a certain airline and why. We are going from LA to Florida.

Thanks.

I think I'll be sailing with only carry-ons on my upcoming on the Crown. I'm hoping this situation was just a one-off with new baggage-handling equipment, or something of that sort.

 

I have read some ports have reputations of baggage being handled roughly if the porters feel their tips are inadequate, but never heard of a problem at San Pedro before this.

We've never had this problem before and we've sailed out of San Pedro many times and are Elite so we have many cruises with Princess where our luggage was fine.

On the other Godwin thread, 2 different posters say he is on 2 different ships at the moment. :eek: The Ruby/Grand.

One said he is working behind the scenes and the other says they saw him every night. :eek:

I just left the Grand last Thursday and am the one who saw him every day and he told me he is now behind the scenes. The promotion was recent, so I believe it's possible he might have been on the Ruby right before embarking with us on the Grand. He said it was a new promotion, but didn't say what ship he was on previously.

At any rate, he asked me to give his warm regards to all who know him. Many of us were together with him on the Ruby. He was so warm and genuinely happy to see us. He gave me a hug every time he saw me. He mentioned he misses interacting with the passengers, that's why I think he was so happy to see a familiar face.

Hi Caroline,

I did a post this morning about Godwin, in another thread asking where is Godwin. The post will be on the first page or second page depending on when you look at it.

Long story short, just saw him on the Grand last week. He got a promotion and is behind the scenes now. Read my post.

Warm regards,

Eileen

I was on that cruise too. Heard about suitcases falling into the water and though it was a joke. The next day met someone at dinner who saw it happen.

I'm not sure what was going on with the baggage carriers on that ship, but for the first time in 15 cruises they damaged our luggage. On embarkation One piece had the wheels completely broken off and the luggage torn. They have a luggage repair shop onboard and Princess tried to fix it, but couldn't. They gave me a claim form stating it was not repairable. They said I could go shopping and find a replacement and they would reimburse me, which I appreciated, however who wants to spend a long anticipated day on vacation in Hawaii shopping for luggage, so I declined. I'll have to take it up with Princess. Then to make matters worse, when we disembarked our other piece of luggage had a big rip in the seam and gouges all over it. We got a claim form from the porter's desk.

Have never had a problem before with our luggage, but something was definitely different on this voyage.

We have sailed with Godwin three times in the past. We just returned from the Grand to Hawaii and we ran into him. He was so happy to see us. Lots of hugs. He has been promoted and is now behind the scenes. He is in charge of all the eating venues on the ship, scheduling the servers and checking on the service and food in each venue. He's very busy and said he misses the interaction he had with the passengers. When he is out and about he searches for passengers he knew from past sailings. We saw him every day, but he didn't have much time to visit with us. We will miss him in the forefront. He asked me to send his warm regards to all those who know him.

If you have sailed, or will be sailing,either the Royal or the Regal, (the views are different on the Starboard side than the Port side), pictures of the view from the inside of your cabin looking out, or pictures from your obstructed balcony would really be appreciated. Many of us book these cabins and seeing what they really look like is soooo helpful.

Renmar will post them to his site of obstructed view cabins.

Thanks so much!

We ate at the Crab Shack twice on our late September cruise on the Grand Princess. Both times both my wife and I ordered the King Crab. Both times we each got a bowl. It was more than we could eat. An appetizer and soup were automatically included with the meal.

I've read that on some ships they do not split the crab leg, but on the Grand they do. What was your experience? I want to try it next week on our cruise but my husband doesn't like to have to "work" at eating crab.

We'll be on her in a week and really looking forward to it especially after reading your live from. Hope our weather is beautiful.

Hi! Have a wonderful cruise. I hope you will post. If there is any chance you can get a pic of the view from E505 that would be awesome! We will be in that cabin next year and it's an obstructed one that I hope isn't that obstructed. Wish we were sailing with you again:)

Happy cruising and regards to your hubby.

Eileen

On the Royal one of my favorites in Alfredo's was the ravioli. Although it's not called that, and I don't remember what it is called. It is incredible and I highly recommend it.

This will give you lots of info for cruising with disabilities:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=190

if you are being pushed in a wheelchair it can be difficult for the "pusher" on the carpet in the hallways, etc. If it is electric you are fine. I use a mobility scooter occasionally and it has been easy on all Princess ships.

I got the notice 4 times for the cruise I'm leaving on Monday.

guess they want to make sure I got it

Hi Lois. Have a great cruise :)

The stair doors were not locked. We were on the starboard side (I think...E415) and just fwd to the elevator lobby. The door to the stairs is in the hall behind the bank of regular (not panoramic) elevators. We discovered the stairs during muster and just keep using them.

Awesome! Thanks for the reply:)

The Grand's E415 Partially obstructed view's beds are against the wall. We loved this cabin in March 2013 SFO-HI. At first we were frustrated there were no stairs down to the Promenade Deck...but we quickly figured we could use the staff/emergency stairs to go down one flight. Typically we never saw a soul...but once or twice there was what appeared to be a shift change staff meeting (10-12 folks) and we'd just use the elevator.

Thank you. So, the stair doors weren't locked? We are midship on Emerald deck, if we could use the stairs that would be awesome. Are the stair doors near the panoramic elevators or elsewhere?

It just looks like a nice picture of the ship at a distance but when you get very close you realize it is a collage of thousands if tiny pictures of architecture and places Princess sails to. It's like a mosaic of tiny pictures. It's really amazing.

On deck 7 walking towards Princess Live, I can't remember if it's the future cruise desk or library, there is a huge picture of the ship. Walk up to the picture and look very close at it, and you will see a nice, amazing surprise. (This was on the Royal, and I'm assuming it will be on the Regal as well.)

Enjoy your meal from the Horizon Court outside on the aft of the ship where there are nice tables and chairs and a lovely view.

Last time I saw George post, (the singer) they were on the Regal doing the TA. You can see on his Facebook page where they are performing. George Evans.

Even though I really liked the Royal, I have to agree Princess Live is set up very poorly. I don't mind the concept, but it isn't comfortable and not a good location for trivia for stated reasons. One thing that I found very annoying is if you arrived for an event, such as karaoke, you couldn't get to where you needed to be to sign up, since the cameras were in the front and you couldn't get past them. Same if you wanted to watch a game going on in there...the cameras should be placed where they are not blocking people's entry. I think Explorers is better, but was looking forward to something new, it was a disappointment. I enjoyed so much about the Royal we booked a cruise on the Regal, with the ship being the destination more than the itinerary. I can't wait to get back on that class of ship. It is simply stunning, although I also agree with some other design flaws.

I am one of those people who bring a lot,of,the stuff on these lists. I've trimmed down the list after realizing what I don't really need, but have been grateful for many of these tips. On one cruise, a TA, I broke a tooth, when we had many sea days left before getting home. Fortunately, it never caused me pain, but I was concerned about it starting to for the entire trip home. I added to my "must haves" an dental emergency kit, which includes something you can fill the tooth with till you get to a dentist.

We always clean our hands before and AFTER we go through the buffet line. There are many people,who don't bother cleaning their hands before going in, and handle the serving spoons, etc. So we clean our hands as soon as we walk out of the buffet. We clean the salt shakers too. We do all,the precautions we can think of. I always wear long sleeves so when I walk down the stairs I can hold on to the rails through my sleeve. Elevator buttons we push with our knuckles. All we can do is try to stay healthy and hope for the best.

Monday 09/08

 

Our good "cruise" continues. After a quick bite in the lounge we caught a shuttle to the American terminal. Baggage check lines were long so we checked our bags with a skycap and went upstairs to go through security. Hadn't noticed but we were assigned TSA Pre-Check. Skipped the long security line and were through with our shoes on and our computers in our bags - score :) We have an hour to relax before boarding.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Cruise Critic Forums mobile app

Did you apply for the TSA per check? How does one get that without a security check?

We were on the Grand last March and we decided to try the Crab Shack. I was concerned my DH might not like it because he only likes crab and shrimp cocktails. Neither of us were disappointed.

 

We started with Manhattan clam chowder which I really liked but, DH would have preferred Boston style. Also, hush puppies, popcorn shrimp and garlic bread. At this point, I was already pretty full.

 

I ordered the Grand Steamer which was a large pot containing crab legs (I don't recall how many; I gave them to my DH), clams, mussels, shrimp, corn on the cob, sausage and potatoes. It was a TON of food and very good.

 

I don't remember the name of what my DH ordered; it was the one with mostly crab. His also had shrimp, corn on the cob, sausage and potatoes.

 

I don't remember what we had for dessert as I was in a food coma 😜

 

I would have dinner at the Crab Shack again in a heart beat! Even my picky, hard to please DH said he'd go again. In my opinion, it's well worth the $20 p/person.

We will be on the Grand in a few months and have discussed doing this. My husband doesn't like to "work" at eating, I.e. Crack open the crab legs. I read somewhere that they have the legs cut and split open on the Grand. Was that your experience?

Thanks.

Sorry, didn't know link wasn't working for obstructed view site. Let's try it again. Bottom of left column click on Royal/Regal.

https://sites.google.com/site/cabinviewbyrenmar/

I haven't heard they've opened the staircase to passengers on the Regal. Has that been confirmed by someone on the ship?