travelin.sisters

thank you so much for sharing the follow-up! 

46 minutes ago, tjcox9 said:

So, do tours on tender ports meet onboard and tender off together or are you on your own to meet ashore? 

it depends, you excursion ticket will tell you where to meet...in my experience, if it is shortly after you get to port then you will meet onboard, but if it is several hours later, then not always as people may want to go ashore before their excursion 

our 15-day LA R/T Hawai'i on the Crown did, but not many people dressed in white & gold

it seems to vary by ship:

last January (2022) the Grand still had basically the original

then in September 22 on the Sapphire we got the horrible red thing:

on the Crown in March 23 I mentioned to the director of resturant operations at our M&G how sad the new Love Boat Dream was & he told me it was because of the end of the contract with Norman Love, but maybe they could do something like it (I just wanted him to pass the concern on to "the powers that be" but a couple of these arrived via room service:

this is what they were serving in the dining room on the Crown (according to our waiter they had just switched from the red thing that cruise)...it is not the original, but good enough to order when nothing else looks good:

some ships still seem to have the red thing & some the updated more chocolate one...I personally just hope they never fiddle with the hazelnut one which is my favorite of the original chocolate journeys desserts:

you can share with anyone you are willing to give your date of birth with & can switch from one device to another easily...there are no drawbacks to sharing unless you are still telling your sons you are 29 😉because they will have to have your correct birth year

you might also buy some cruising "goodies" for them ....magnetic hooks (doors & walls are magnetic) are very useful when sailing & I have magnetic door signs (I bought ours from a company that prints them for cars, but on a family group cruise I made ones out of card stock glued to magnets ...maybe something like a wedding photo & a current one & "celebrating 20 years of happiness" or "still sailing together after 20 years") it makes a nice memento & is a fast way to recognize your cabin in a long line of similar doors)...a non-surge protected charging cord is good as there are not enough outlets in most ships, cute water bottles to refill in the buffet...maybe just a couple of things you could put together to gift them when you spring the surprise on them?

you could buy a photo package, it's a little expensive *$89 for their choice of 5 photo prints & the digital files), but the Princess photographers are very good & they might not have a recent professional photo of themselves...there are also some celebration packages you can order 

also make sure that it is marked in their medallion app that they are celebrating their anniversary & the ship/crew will do something to celebrate (at least a cake & song but maybe more it depends)

you could look at the shore excursions & book one for them if there is something you think they would like (they could cancel if they don't like it & get the refund as refundable OBC so that might be an option),,,have you looked into bidding for an upgraded room?...

ALSO...are either of them military (active, veteran or retired?) they can get extra OBC by filling out a form with their info

5 hours ago, arizonaperson said:

I think this is correct:

one device at a time wi- fi is $15.00 per day.

Four devices is $40. Per day .

 Platinum and elite will receive 50% off of that price .

yes, I believe cost went up January 2023

If you only need wi-fi for 1 day, it might be $20.00 for 24 hr period.( maybe platinum or elite discount, inquire at internet desk)

there is a 50% discount for platinum/elite on the daily rate as well

it is a personal preference thing...I like having a person I can e-mail, call or go see in her office...I still pick our cabins out & look for price drops for refaring, but she spends the time on hold w/Princess, we don't get price discounts, but sometimes extra OBC, specialty dining or other extras...there are probably as many reasons for the various choices people make on how & with whom to book as there are cruisers

On 5/17/2023 at 9:24 PM, cr8tiv1 said:

They are going to remodel her back to pre-added aft cabins (sarcasm aka Sheldon Cooper).  One can only wish.  At least maybe an International Cafe?  

wouldn't that be lovely...I nominate you to be in charge of making sure Princess does only logical & passenger friendly things...also their verbage so there are no longer multiple very different things with practically the same name to confuse normal people

53 minutes ago, theloo said:

Is it still true that the DaVinci dining room is closed on embarkation day on the Crown?

it was open in March, but not listed in the Patter 

unless it is a very short cruise there will be formal nights...our four-day cruise in December does not have a formal night, but all our longer ones have had at least one (3 on 15-day Hawai'i cruises)

On 5/9/2023 at 5:50 PM, jaycruising said:

Canal Transit Continued

 

 

 

 

 

 

your photos are absolutely gorgeous!!

was hoping you'd squeeze the Discovery into your March schedule, but SF cruisers are lucky to have you! 

13 hours ago, scottca075 said:

Any further 2023 updates beyond August? People are asking about December 2023 cruises.

 

Mahalo nui.

Tiki Dave just posted on their FB pages that they will be sailing the Hawai'i cruises on the Crown out of SF; Sept 23 to April 24...I am sure he will post their schedule on CC shortly

got a few days behind & just read from Costa Rica on...I feel relaxed & happy as if I had been on the cruise with you...your words & photos make it come alive, thank you!!

the only real answer someone can give you is "maybe"...last Jan my sissy & I booked a last minute 7-day Mex Riviera for less than 490pp which included taxes & insurance & we had 125 in OBC each...it was actually cheaper to book each of us as a single in our own balcony than to share one but we booked like a week before sailing & the ship was less than half full when we sailed...it depends on if you really want to sail & how much you care about location...there are deals, but will they be on the ship you want when you can go? & will you pay a bunch more for flights last minute so for me, I will save those things for unexpected surprises if they do show up...I do have a TA who is good about refaring for me so I usually buy early & then watch for price changes

thanks for sharing your cruise & have a wonderful time...tell your mom that next time she cruises with you, you will request wheelchair boarding (I always do for BIL, he can walk but can't do the long standing in line thing)

4 hours ago, wowzz said:

New York Times  - "Well written in depth critique"

Sydney Herald- "A pom speaks it as it is "

Le Monde - "Magnifique"

Times  - " Rarely have I read such an erudite review"

 

it was a lovely review!!

2 minutes ago, mikjr said:

I have heard that before, that Princess is the cheapest.  I guess the thing that bothers me, prior to COVID, Elite got a certain number of minutes for FREE, then our first cruise after Covid (March 2023), the Elite price was $150 for 4 device, which is now $320.00.   So I guess it's not the price as much as it is how quick it's been raised.  We only cruised two months ago... and now BOOM... double the price.  We'll just pair down to one device and move on.  We like to keep in tough with our kids and grandkids when gone

they actually raised the price shortly before our March Hawai'i sailing, but maybe you purchased before the price went up (mid Feb I believe)

Just now, lion1956 said:

Thanks for the response, now not sure about this question, are you allowed to order two entrees or appetizers or is it frowned upon?

yes you can order multiple appetizers, entrees or desserts...you can also order appetizer portions of entrees or entree portions of appetizers (but not in the specialty resturants there is an extra charge for extras there)

7 minutes ago, lion1956 said:

I have seen some photos of the menus for dinner on Princess and you always have Princess favorites listed after the main evening listing, under the favorites there is a section that says make the evening special and they list things like a lobster tail etc.  My question are the items listed in this section included in the Plus or Premier packages or are they an extra charge?

extra charge, the prices are listed next to the items

usually the last formal night has the fanciest food (lobster, the wrapped in puff pastry & such beef that I can't remember the name of, escargot, baked alaska)...we have cruised 4 times since the restart & although there is less beef offered it has been very good & my BIL has been particularly happy as there is more & better seafood than before which he loves...our recent 15 day to Hawai'i on the Crown the menus had a lot of variety & some nice new offerings...the kitchen & dining departments had some issues, but the food was pretty consistently good but rarely great

thank you for sharing your cruise with us! our first Alaska of the year...hope your husband has a wonderful time.

2 hours ago, travelbuds said:

The medallion app shows only two nights that have after dinner theater activities (production shows) for the upcoming AK season. Wondering if more activities/shows are added as sail date approaches (6 weeks out). Looking back at Princess Patters from last year's Royal sail, activities were scheduled in the theater all seven nights.

there should be shows in the theater every night...there may be only 2 production shows, the rest will be various entertainers...musicians, comedians, magician...perhaps a local cultural group (many of the entertainers will do a show in the theater one night...usually two seatings...& then another night in one of the lounges a different show so if you like them you can see them twice before they leave the ship