travelin.sisters

3 hours ago, teddie2 said:

Thank you all for the flgrea t suggestions. I am not for decorations si much as liked the idea of something to identify the door though our cabin is the first one in a line so think it will be easy to find

I like the idea of the luggage tags so thank you for the links! 

Seems the temps vary for some so I definitely will bring a light jacket  just in case I usually do anyway. We will be in southern Europe in July / August so I am more concerned about packing for extreme heat. We even ordered these portable fans to wear around you neck lol

Good to hear Island Princess is a good ship as we have read negative reviews yet we booked because of thecl itinerary.

We also ordered magnetic hooks as some people have suggested but I like what Tom did with the Magners in the room. Great way to keep schedules and any thing else handy

Also getting an over the door shoe caddy to use for storage as well. Some great ideas people have!!

Thanks again! I am surecto have more random questions as time gets closer😉

 

I personally loved the Island & it is my favorite of the older ships (the new Royal class are like a totally different animal & unlike many I like both)...we did the Panama Canal on her & the only time it felt crowded was the day everyone got up early for excursions in Costa Rica & they announced last minute that they had all been canceled due to severe flooding...the crew was wonderful too.

Two things I like to take because I get hot is a fan to put next to the bed for airflow (I have one that switches from around my neck to standing & charges with a usb cord) & my travel clock has a thermometer (sometimes I can't tell if the room is hot or it is just me). We did have a little trouble with it being too hot at the very start of our cruise as it was the first hot weather cruise after the Alaska season but the cabin steward was able to get the maintenance people in really quickly to help with that...your cabin steward is your best friend & can help with almost anything, sk him/her first before trying customer service

we do take layers, sometimes the dining rooms are quite chilly sometimes not, so best to have layers that you can take on & off as needed

we also like to put something on our doors (I have made 8x11 car magnets that we use each cruise), it is nice to have something so that our doors stand out amongst all the matching doors...we don't have to fly to the port, so I always bring some decor for inside the room too. 

some other suggestions, magnets are great for hanging things in the room, bar soap if that is what you use since they now only have liquid soap in the bathrooms,  a non-surge protected outlet splitter or cord as there are not enough outlets in the cabins, you can order water bottles before sailing if you don't have a package, 

take the stairs down from Club Fusion & yes you can take the elevator during the day

I did a live of our cruise in Sept-Oct of 22 (link in signature) with photos of the ship starting on page 4 which might answer some questions for you. 

I am sad that this happened to you...I don't know who to contact, but perhaps if you changed the title to something like need contact info for safety issue or something more descriptive you would get people who could answer?

On 11/17/2023 at 1:23 PM, nlsgmk said:

What are the hours for the laundry.  Are they open when in port?  Thanks!

I am pretty sure there are some places where the laundry is not open...I am thinking on our Alaska cruise it was not always available...but it was a long time ago so I could be mistaken

yes signing up for the wifi would be on the app, but you can do either the wifi or the upgrade to a package onboard & use any OBC you might have or just wait to spend the money later if you wish (we also don't do the package, as much as I like the thought of everything being included, it just is way more expensive for what we actually do, the one time I did have the package when it was new & less expensive, I felt like I ordered a bunch of things I didn't really want just to get my money's worth)

2 hours ago, teddie2 said:

I guess I did not word my question right. Sorry. What I want to do is get two single device plans so that my H and I can each have our own. I only see one device or 4. So was not sure if I could purchase 2 of the single device plans if I don't take the plus package or do I have to then get the 4 device plan,,? 🤔 

I don't know that you can purchase 2 plans, but you can purchase one & he can purchase his own...it can be done after boarding for the same price if you wish 

we cruise out of San Pedro several times a year on Princess & generally plan to arrive between 10-10:30...unless there is an unexpected delay (ship arrives late d/t weather, coast guard inspection, someone needing to be arrested & taken off the ship before everyone else can disembark) we have always gotten on quickly...

you have received a lot of good advice & seen the variety of experiences people have had. probably the best advice is to talk to your surgeon because the type of surgeon will make a difference in your recovery. another thing that will make a difference is how active are you able to be now (if you can't do much before surgery then you will be dealing with both the surgical recovery & the muscles around the knee that haven't been used much. see if you can get an order for PT before surgery to strengthen & stretch those muscles & your recovery will be faster & easier. if you can see the PT before surgery ask them also about what to expect during recovery (they may have different info about the actual steps of recovery/pain levels etc than your doctor). hopefully you won't be traveling solo as that might present different challenges. ask about the plane trip etc not just the cruise. wishing you the best in your surgery & recovery

I like the fact that I don't have to cook or wash dishes so that makes anything a plus, but specifics I look forward to are: the made to order omelets in the buffet for breakfast, the little breakfast muffin/quiche things & the cookies in the International Cafe, a lot of things vary from ship to ship so sometimes something I have loved (like the french onion soup, fettuccini alfredo or love boat dream) is then disappointing on another cruise but here are some things I normally really enjoy

the breads!

the hazelnut bar with citrus cream (my favorite of the old norman love chocolate journeys, so glad they have kept it)

pub lunch 

my sissy likes the always available shrimp cocktail & the various creme brulees

thank you for this lovely live...you are making me more excited for our cruise next month & very happy to hear that all things on the discovery have been really good for you

there is a roll call for this cruise now...just a couple of people on it but it is started

It makes a big difference which ship & which itinerary so maybe you could be a little more specific in your question...also that a cruise is like depends on what you like to do so really you probably get more helpful answers if you share more details about what you want/expect.

also you can preorder tickets directly from the PCC at a discount if you order early...be aware that they are closed on Sunday & maybe Wednesday

13 hours ago, JasmineC said:

I am wanting to book this experience when we arrive in Honolulu a few days prior to our cruise.  I do want the full experience of a Hawaiian luau, food, culture, dancing, shows.  I am deciding between the Luau package and the Gateway buffet package.  Will the luau package get me the experience I am looking for?  We've never been to Hawaii to really want to experience that part of their culture.  With the packages they offer online they all come with the Islands of Polynesia and I believe the Ha Breath of Life show at night.  We are committed to spending the whole day there from what I can gather with the times of the packages.  Any advice is appreciated.

it will be a wonderful experience...if you want the luau show then you should to the luau package it has (I am told since we did the buffet) the pig coming out of the imu (underground pit oven) the traditional luau dancing & show & a buffet of luau foods...the Gateway buffet will have more food options (it is very extensive, but they just had a couple of guitar players singing requests...the PCC opens at noon & you will want to get there as close to then as possible in order to see & experience everything in the villages where you will also see shows & participate in activities...then dinner at either the luau or the buffet & finally the show Ha (what we saw of it was a highlight of the day)

if you are interested in my live of our cruise I shared a lot of info, photos & papers from our time at the PCC (on pages 10 & 11)

please ask if there are any other questions I can answer for you

29 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

WOW! Huge bummer that the tenders stop running. So much to do at night on the Big Island. The absolute best thing to do on the BI is night viewing of the volcanos. They totally come to life once the sun sets. Then there is star gazing on Mauna Kea or night swimming with the manta's.  Are you positive that they stop running at 7pm.? I would think the restaurants downtown Kona would want the business. I'm bummed for you.

 

Bring snorkel gear to Pu'uhonua o Honaunau. Easy steps to enter water with a decent amount of fish (although you will notice coral bleaching). This would be fine for day 2.

 

A nice short hike (only 350 ft elevation gain) is Pololu Valley. The drive up to this part of the BI is one of my favorite. Of course, there is the green sand beach hike too. That one can be hot. Last time we were there locals were offering $15 rides. We hoofed it anyway but in retrospect that would have been a $15 well spent given how hot it was. My 75 year old BIL did the Pololu hike 2 years ago but I'm not sure how active your 'over 80' people are.

 

If you are driving to the volcano on day 1 be sure to stop at the south beach bakery. It's pretty famous and worth a stop. You can loop thru Hilo on the way back and stop at several waterfalls that don't require hiking.  Last year we rented ATV for a tour near Waimea and that was fun too. 

 

Hope this helps! 

 

 

 

 

 

thank you so much!! I am pretty sure the tenders stop early but the ship is doing this same cruise next month so will follow their reports to see what actually happens. I would love to do some of those late activities but probably not enough to try & rent a room ashore. 

you have given me a lot of exciting ideas & I would love to snorkel in Kona when I went with my parents it was the place I remember we had the best fish sightings but didn't know if after 50 years it would still be good. 

thanks for all your suggestions. Kathy

4 minutes ago, sckoolmarm said:

We are also on this cruise and looking to book a luau.  However, since we have to be back in the ship at 7, that might be an issue.  Anybody have any ideas?

we have a very active roll call for this cruise if you are interested in joining: 

So I was excited that our cruise (Discovery Princess/March 24) was going to Kona as I haven't been there in about 50 years & mostly Princess doesn't stop there. However since the devastating fire in Lahaina it looks like we will be skipping Maui completely & spending 2 days in Kona. I know we want to do the Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau & Kaloko-Honokōhau National Parks, but I am not sure what else to put high on the list with an extra day. Sadly it looks like we can't do any late evening or night things as the tenders will stop running about 7pm & 2 of our group are over 80 so that makes some limitations (althuogh they might want to take the second day to stay on the ship & recover). 

I would appreciate any suggestions for tours or things to see if we rent a vehicle. Thanks muchly.

it really depends on where in California & are you talking about in port or on the ship?

If you are cruising out of San Pedro or Long Beach you can be as casual as you wish pretty much anywhere (it is not unusual to see board shorts in Pedro year-round in any location, maybe with a long-sleeved T in the winter). I wear sandals & Ts year-round with maybe a hoodie or light weight jacket but others think it is cold, so it really varies based on what you are used to. if you are in San Diego, you might see people more dressed up to go out & in San Francisco you will & it will be substantially cooler (but still not New Jersey winter temps). But even there they will be used to tourists. 

For onboard you have already gotten a lot of good info, but one thing I noticed last year on our Hawai'i cruise was that even when it seemed too cold to use the pool there were a lot of people from cold weather places out enjoying it so what doesn't seem like pool weather to a California girl might feel wonderful coming from snow & coldness.

Best advice, bring something to layer over your tropical clothes but not your puffy winter jacket, boots & gloves (unless you need them for the trip out)

it's not very recent & it's really long....but I did a live of our r/t Hawai'i on the Crown in March with all the papers (patters, menus etc.), things will have changed but might give you some idea what to expect if you don't get more recent ones...

if you look on the last page of the live there is a list of the different posts so you could just look at the schedules 

3 hours ago, cruisinfamily7609 said:

 

you are welcome...my sister liked hers so much that we got my BIL his own before our last cruise so she wouldn't have to give up her seat for him 😉

On 10/23/2023 at 7:15 AM, sable1 said:

Just had a marathon reading session of over 6 hours.  Wow!  What a wonderful review.  Will be on  the Crown to Hawaii in Jan. and have made notes of which foods to choose.  

I just have to say I really would have liked to see a photo of you all enjoying the cruise. Maybe in Sabstini's? The bears were cute, but I'm a people person.

Again, thank you.

Joanne

 

thank you for your kind words & managing to read the whole thing! I went to find a "people" picture to share with you & realized as I was searching that I barely took any this cruise...thanks for making me realize that, I will need to do better on our next cruises! Here is one of my sissy & BIL...

...I grew up in Fremont, last time I was back I barely recognized anything....

yes the DRO on our last cruise said that it had so they have reworked some of the desserts. Hence the many variations of the Love Boat Dream that have appeared in the last year or two. The do still have my favorite the Hazelnut Chocolate one.

6 minutes ago, FrankieSue said:

Thanks to info I read here, I was able to transfer my late Fall Princess cruise to one of the Big Box travel agency and get myself a great big bonus from the Agency..So thanks for all the knowledge CruiseCritic members share….my question is that during the call to transfer I noticed that the price of my cruise had gone down a bit. Will my price be automatically adjusted during the transfer process or do I need to ask? Again thanks everybody for sharing.

PS… one info that I read, which turned out to be incorrect for me is the advice to « make a booking with a curtesy hold with Princess and then call Agency to transfer » The Agency said that only bookings made with a deposit paid, and no older than 60 days could be transferred.

I have never had an automatic price adjustment, so I would definitely ask, it will depend on a lot of factors...refundable v. non-redundable deposit, if it is a new booking only sale, etc.

28 minutes ago, trbarton said:

Thanks. I have a small walker, if I still need it then, that I can easily fold up to get by/through anything. 
 

Tom😎

hoping your recovery goes really well & you only bring it incase you get tired but don't need it