turquoisesea

Thank you for posting. We are on the May 18th cruise and are also worried about the scheduled dry dock. Maybe you will be able to get some information.  If you have a chance could you post the themes for daily dinners in the MDR?  I’m trying to plan our Crown Grill dinners and would find this information helpful.  On the Crown last year we were surprised to see that they were still doing a Caribbean  night - the one I’d like to skip. 😂. Have a wonderful cruise!

Thank you for your response.   We will check in with the maitre d’ when we board. 

Thank You AF-1 for you fantastic review. We will be on the CB in May and I have an additional question for you. Do you recall if a Caribbean Night menu is still included in the main dining room?  And if so do you recall which day it was served?  I want to make our reservations for the Crown Grill on that night. 😂😂

Does anyone know where the dry dock will be performed on the Caribbean Princess in April/May?  After the incident with the Oasis of the Seas yesterday it appears that at least one dock in that Bahamian shipyard is damaged.  

We have been cruising for over 30 years and have used  big box agents, internet, and the cruise line directly.  I now only book through Princess. It is easy to track the price changes and call them directly to get a price drop ( outside final payment, of course.).  If you are using a TA the process can be delayed and then you could get stuck with your original price.  For the past few cruises we have started using EZ Air - for two reasons. You get to pick you own flights and don’t have to pay for the flight until the final payment is due!  This is a big plus when you are booking a flight 11 months out ( I forget the exact number of days.) and you don’t have to tie up the money- which could be lot!  If you have to change your plans before final payment you can’t cancel you flights and get the money back if you bought the tickets yourself or through thevTA.  With EZ Air you never paid for the flight so you don’t lose anything. Also, you can watch the price of flights and if they drop from your original reservation you can call Princess and make the change. (We have never had our flight prices go down - only up! So we are glad we booked early.) 

I wish you good luck, and like the others I hope you can switch your reservation back to Princess. And be sure to get Insurance!

I would agree that the southern route is the best.  This year I noticed the southern route was a 10 day cruise but we have done it twice as a 7 day.  The eastern route is much nicer imo than western.  Routan was a nothing port and I do not like any port in Mexico at all.  On the east there are usually only 3 stops- St Thomas, St Martin and the private island.  We will be doing this route for at least the 10th+ time in May.  I never tire of it.  I am anxious to see how they have recovered from the hurricanes in 2017. 

The International Cafe is very big and easy to get lost in.  One of the crew suggested we note what color side we are sitting in - beige (light) or brown (dark).  That helped a bit. Did notice different selections found on different sides.  This was back when the ship was on her 4th cruise so things may have changed. 

3 hours ago, donswife said:

Where are you starting your flight? Weather can still be an issue March 30 and cause flight cancellations or delays. If you go with that plan, I would definitely want trip insurance, or at least book the air through Princess.

I totally agree with donswife. You can certainly take the chance, but do you want to start your vacation with anxiety if your flight is delayed by weather or any number of issues that come up?  Actually, it nice to stay the night before and get to the ship early and enjoy exploring the ship.  You can find a reasonably price hotel by the airport and several of them provide transportation to the port. We have been on 24 cruises we almost missed one - we were the last ones to get on the ship.  We never flew on the same day again.  (Our delay was caused by a strike by baggage handles at our home airport.). You just never know!

Our final payment date has passed and we paid two weeks ago. How long does it take for our flights to show up as “Confirmed”?  Our flights are still showing as Pending on the airline website.  It seems to me that on previous cruises once the final date had passed Princess paid for the tickets and they were confirmed.  Anyone have info on this process?

20 minutes ago, Coral said:

Yes you probably will. 

 

I believe only an up-sell will keep your perks.

 

Princess has had similar promos recently so I have moved from Promo to Promo with out losing much. One promo expired yesterday and today the price is much better. I will lose all my perks if I re-fare or change cabins.

 

It is possible a supervisor can over rule this but it is common if you change categories outside of a promo, you lose the promo.

I have learned that you are correct. We have great perks and under the plan that started today the price is lower but the perks can’t compare. I took me over 30 minutes to get thru to Princess - they are apparently have phone problems.  

Perhaps an upsell?  Hahaha. 

Thank you for your advice 

A suite became available on our cruise that we had wanted earlier but they were all sold out. Our final payment is not due until next Monday (although ours is already paid.)  I called and asked if I could change from club class mini suite to a suite and the representative said we would lose all the promos that we got when originally booked. We have rebooked numerous times to get a lower price and never lost our promos. Was this representative correct??

On 1/24/2019 at 10:29 AM, themob said:

I have booked with Princess to do this excursion.Please advise if you have done this tour and where do they take you in Florence and where do they pick you up for return back to ship?Will you need transportation to visit other places in Florence?Are there guides you can hire once you have arrived in Florence.I was there a few years ago and had a private tour and remember having to drive to get to all tourist sites.Please reply if you have knowledge of this tour

We booked a ship’s excursion for this port and then made the excellent decision to cancel it.  I emailed Romeinlimo and arranged for their tour of Florence and Pisa. They suggested what tickets to purchase on line, which right now I can’t remember. But the biggest plus for doing this private tour is that your car can drive inside Florence. (Buses cannot) Your driver will take you to all the sites and our driver gave us a great history lesson about each site and what to look for. He waited for us outside each stop.  He directed us where to go to lunch  and then we walked to the Gold Bridge for a little shopping!  If you can find another couple it will bring the price down when divided by 4.  We were only two and it was worth every penny!

6 hours ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

SeaTac airport is crazy busy in the summer.  For example, on any given day in August there are 150K people passing through that airport.  If I had a 11:30am flight, I would arrive no later than 9 am, and even earlier would be a good idea. 

 

While ships can be late, all these Alaskan ships are just arriving from Victoria BC.  I live just north of Seattle with a view of Puget Sound, and all the ships arriving (three on each weekend day) will sail by my house in a line between 4:20 - 4:45 am.  They are usually docked by 6 am, or earlier.  The shore side staff (pier employees, longshoremen and US gov't border control folks) are all in place by 7am.  The ships usually allow the 'walk off' passengers to disembark by 7:15 am.  The last thing passengers do before leaving the building is to show their passport (or other accepted travel ID) to the US Border folks  and then head outside to whatever ground transportation they have arranged.  There were no late ships at Pier 91 during the 2018 season ( but I do understand that sometimes things can go wrong).

 

I think it is prudent to be wary of cutting it to close on timing, especially catching a flight.  I do think (in this disembark scenario) that if the OP does 'walk off' carrying their own their luggage shortly after 7 am, catches a cab, that they should be fine making their flight.  Ideally, if they do all this they may even have time to have something to eat at one of SeaTac's many restaurants!

 

Thank you everyone. I am a traveler who always wants to be early.  Our problem was the next non-stop flight after 11:30 is 9:00pm.  Up until now our trickiest airport was Rome. But we made it through Rome traffic, the VAT line and the rediculous AA  checkin in much less time then suggested.  We’ll definitely walk off with luggage and grab a taxing or arrange for a private car. Thank you all for your advice.  

Thank you.  I tried to do a search but apparently I’m doing something wrong. 😂

We just booked our first Alaska cruise!!  I need to get our airline tickets and wondered what is a safe time for our return flight out of Seattle?  Would we be able to make an 11:30 a.m. flight?

On 11/13/2018 at 11:10 PM, Robb471 said:

Was thinking about taking this cruise for our first Europe cruise.  Any concerns about taking a "Preview" cruise?  I am guessing this will be the first official sailing of the new Enchanted.  While that sounds like it maybe a good thing, I would hate for the ship to be not quite ready.  Thoughts?

We are booked on the Enchanted’s Maiden cruise on July 1, 2020.  We did think twice about it but loved the itinerary. We sailed on the Majestic on her 3rd cruise.  It left a lot to be desired. In fact, the crew wasn’t sure what kind of a ship then were - Asian or European.  There were many empty spaces on some decks so we assumed furniture hadn’t arrived. But, we’ll take a chance on the Enchanted. She looks beautiful. 

7 minutes ago, cheeseclan said:

How did you get sodas every day?  That is not a perk for anyone on the ship!  Water yes for suites but no soda.

7 minutes ago, cheeseclan said:

How did you get sodas every day?  That is not a perk for anyone on the ship!  Water yes for suites but no soda.

Oh I’m sorry. We were in a regular suite when we got the soda and water in the frig everyday. Mini suite does not do that.  I’m sorry for the confusion. 

Thank you for the great pictures, cathi007!

We will be in St Martin in May and would like to do a day pass. I think I read that the Westin does day passes but I can’t find any information about that specific resort. Can anyone help with more information?

8 hours ago, voljeep said:

Grand Turk would be a most excellent alternate port day...

 

Nassau, not so much ...

I agree!  When we choose a cruise we will not do one that goes to Nassau. Grand Turk is pretty and the people are very nice.  If the island isn’t ready by May I think we will choose another cruise.  😢

1 hour ago, PlopPlop said:

 

I tried as well for our March 30th sailing and get the same message. We are past final payment but I understand it still is a ways out.

 

I did call Princess a week or so ago and asked if our sailing would be an OM sailing and was told no.... I’m interested in what they tell you when you call. Please share.  Thank you.

I spoke to the Medallion Concierge Line today ( this phone number is with the response that says they can’t find your reservation.)  The person I spoke to was very helpful. She explained that the app is brand new technology with some glitches that have slowed things down. She said right now they are still working on January passengers. She suggested that I delete the app for now and reinstall it in 30+ days.  (My cruise is 5/18). She said there are frequent updates to the app and I’ll want to have the latest version when I reinstall. She also explained that there will be representatives at the port and it will take them exactly one minute and 30 seconds to produce your Medallion, so not to worry.  Don’t call the regular Princess phone number. The number listed on Ocean Ready has the best information. 

13 minutes ago, nbsjcruiser said:

 

I second the recommendation to avoid Margaritaville and  go down the beach to Jacks. Margaritaville is just a cash grab anyway.

 

We'll be on the Caribbean Princess in late February - I'll post a review with pictures when I get back.

I also agree. Very crowded and not really Turks pretty. We rented a golf cart before our cruise.  Found them on line. They are located at the end of the port parking lot.  Had a blast driving around the small island with our table mates. 

58 minutes ago, skynight said:

 

That is the current gap in the schedule. It's been discussed quite a bit here on CC. We also heard from the staff while on board in January 2018 about the proposed April 2019 dry dock to fix the propulsion issue. It has also been reported that the time had to longer than originally planned. It must be a very major job. This site also has some information:

https://sites.google.com/site/princesscruisesfaq/ships/fleet-drydock-schedule 

Thank you.  I have not figured out how to do a topic search on the new board format.  The attached link only goes up to 2017. No mention of the upcoming dry dock in April.  

1 hour ago, jagsfan said:

And tender priority when leaving the ship at tender ports. That is a perk I will wish I had on my upcoming cruise. 

Love Club Class, and have booked it again for next two cruises. We were lucky to be upgraded to a suite on our last cruise though, and our mini fridge was filled daily with both bottles of water and soda, and we could eat breakfast in Sabatini’s.  😍

We just sailed on the Constellation in September - same class as the Millennium. We also have sailed on the Infinity.  We did not care for either ship. Perhaps responses from those who have sailed on the newer, larger ships will have had a better experience. We have sailed on Princess 7 times and have 2 more cruises scheduled. Princess is by far our favorite.  We had a concierge cabin on the Constellation and found it small and in need of a serious update. We never figured out what made this category “Concierge” other than priority boarding and evening canapés that were not worth eating.  One thing listed was the tote bag that in the old days everyone got. Now the cabin gets ONE tote bags - not a tote for each of us. 

The food was no better than Princess. And the Club Class mini suite offers much more for the money. The cabin is bigger and the bathroom has a tub. Also, special seating at dinner at any time was great. 

So all in all, we will not sail on Celerity again and will stick with Princess.