EastBay Cruisers

ColoCruiser- Thanks very much for the fast reply ! Sure appreciate this important information.:)EBC

Since this thread deals with transfers in Seattle, I have a question about transfers back to the airport at the end of the cruise. Those would be disembarkation transfers, after leaving the ship.

 

We paid $24 apiece for two transfers from the ship to Sea-Tac airport. But, we cannot get any further information from Princess. Is the vehicle a shuttle bus, a taxi, a large bus -- and where do we board the vehicle?

 

Also, our cruise instructions say that passengers who paid for transfers to the airport cannot disembark until 11:30 AM, even though the ship docks at 7:00 A.M.

I told Princess that we booked and paid for a 1:00 PM flight out of Seattle, thinking that would give us plenty of time to transfer to the airport. But, we have to leave the ship before 11:30 AM. The customer service rep said to just tell "them" that we needed early disembarkation, even though our travel instructions say we have to wait.

 

Has this happened to anyone who disembarked in Seattle with a paid transfer to the airport? Were you able to disembark before 11:30 AM.

 

Thank you in advance -- we are brand new to cruising and searching for answers. :)EBC

There is a core group that does not like change and anytime Princes announces change you will see these long multi thread panic rants be it Medallions, Gastropub, Share, Sabatinis .. In addition Princess needs new passengers that spend money on the ship. Quite frankly they would, and should, fire the 40+ cruiser elite that brags how they don't spend money on the ship. This passenger, no matter how many cruises they have been on are loss leaders.

 

:p I want to thank all the posters here who are Elite level, Club level, Captains Circle, etc., including ColoCruiser, FloridaLover, 8 Furry Paws, and many others who politely and patiently answer questions they've heard dozens of times. I think that these seasoned cruisers do more to sell Princess cruises here and in their social circles than many professionals in the travel industry. I'm sure that Princess really appreciates their expertise and loyalty.

 

When we decided to book a cruise, we lurked at Cruise Critic for awhile and read everything we could. The knowledgeable, seasoned Princess posters convinced us. That level of knowledge sells a cruise better than a travel agent or the people at Princess Customer Service.

 

I'm not "panicked" about the Medallion; I think I'm just skeptical. It's billed as the ultimate in technology, real StarTrek kind of stuff. But, it appears to just be a combination of a G.P.S. , a key fob, and a Costco Club Card. :p LOL. I really don't need a device that tracks me around the ship to see what shops or dining rooms I'm using so it can monitor my spending habits and send volumes of spam texts/ email.

 

Plus, if you look at the cruise fares for 2018, it appears that the costs have increased about 30% for ships using the medallion. The Panama Canal cruises, which have been on our lifetime bucket lists, are $500 more next year. There's no doubt that all cruise passengers will pick up the cost of this technology. The company is not losing money on anyone who pays for a medallion cruise. -- EBC

Parkas!!! You don't need no stink'n Parkas. Unless you are going for a day at a glacier. We have been on many Alaska cruises without anything more than a basic coat for her and a light jacket for me. Layer up and this will take care of everything. Now if you are a "cold" person, then bring two parkas per person.

 

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:cool: LOL ! :pWe are in California and own "California weight" parkas, so they're nothing like parkas from the midwest or east. Right now, we're broiling in triple-digit summer temps, so when we get to Alaska, even if the temps are in the 50's, it'll probably feel freezing cold to us. :p We are really looking forward to this first cruise. EBC

Before booking our Alaska cruise for the first week in September, we asked three other friends who had taken three separate cruises to Alaska. Each one told us that the weather was rainy or foggy for at least 5 days of the trip. None of them were able to see the glaciers, as the weather was fogged in. They had all cruised in either August or September. They told us not to expect clear skies, as it is rarely clear, especially later on in the season.

 

Each of our friends also told us that in Alaska, the ship doesn't have to cover a lot of sea miles from port to port; therefore, they tend to sail a little more slowly, which helps for a smoother ride.

For our cruise leaving Sept. 3, we are taking parkas with hoods, sweatshirts, gloves, and umbrellas. It's a lot to haul around, but better safe than sorry.

Have a great cruise, and please keep us updated about the weather. - EBC

I'm wondering how the medallion is going to work in the casino. Have always put my card in the card reader and retrieved my money to play on and then when done playing put money back on card. How will this work with the fob?

 

:D:D:D LOL ! I'm imagining it works like this : Next morning after the casino, you receive a text like this: Hello Molme ! Congratulations on winning $ X amount of dollars last night at the casino ! Let's set you up with the same amount of beginning cash tonight ! Also, we see that at 11:15 and 42 seconds P.M., you ordered 2 scotch and sodas while playing at Roulette Table # 3. We'll have those ready for you at the very same time, same table tonight ! Let us know in the next 5 minutes, so we can charge that to your account. And remember, with all your winnings, there's a sale on diamond rings at the jewelry store. Hope to see you there, from your "Personal Concierge" Thanks for sailing with Princess, and remember now, "Come Back New." . ;p LOL.

Yes it is possible to get fixed dining with a table for 2. Or 4 Or more.

One of the things we like about sharing a table is the interesting people you get to meet.

 

Thank you, Potstech. :D

We are new cruisers who are trying to understand how the dining system works. We're sorry to ask questions that probably have already been answered. However, could any knowledgeable Princess cruisers answer the following:

 

If you choose a fixed seating time, are you required to share the table with other passengers? Does fixed dining mean that all the tables hold 8 to 10 people and everyone is required to share the table?

Or, is it possible to have fixed dining and get a table just for 2 people?

 

We chose anytime dining, because we wanted a table only for the 2 of us.

 

Thanks to everyone in advance, and again, our apologies for asking naive questions. -- EBC

How does the medallion "encourage" passengers to purchase items? I don't see a display that one could read and I'm fairly certain that it doesn't talk.

I could be wrong about this......but from the info I received, the medallion seems to act like one of those drugstore "club cards" used by Walgreens, Rite-Aid, CVS, etc. Those drugstore cards track every purchase and your spending habits. Then, the store sends e-mails encouraging you to buy more of those products. Drugstore cards, of course, don't speak and don't display text messages, but they connect with the company's data management systems that do send the advertising.

 

Princess advertising about Ocean Medallion says that it will serve as your "personal concierge" for food and beverage service. For example, if yesterday you ordered a couple bottles of wine delivered to your stateroom at 5 PM, the medallion technology tracks that ( like a drugstore card), then sends a text or email asking if you want 2 bottles of wine at the same location every day of the cruise. I believe that is what is meant by "personal concierge."

 

I'm not a techie, but it seems as if the medallion uses NFC ( near field communications) to track your location on the ship, your purchases, and time of day you ordered them. It then connects to the system that sends ad texts to smartphone or emails to laptops ( like a drugstore or supermarket "club card" would do). - EBC

I wonder what would happen if on a different itinerary while at sea a passenger had a medical emergency and the nearest ports (not on the ship's itinerary) would require a visa the passenger did not have.

 

Would the country involved just let the passenger die on the ship or would they have some sort of way to allow the passenger to get ashore and receive medical attention?

 

Would an airplane with a medical (or mechanical) emergency be allowed to land at an airport in a country that required visas nobody on the plane would have?

 

I believe the situation you are describing is a different situation than the one we are discussing.

 

 

We are discussing visa/passport requirements for ports of call that are listed on the ship's itinerary.

 

We are discussing ports of call that are scheduled ports of call. The port authorities know in advance that the ship will arrive and passengers will be disembarking to move freely about the port city on shore excursion or on their own. - EBC

I'm very confused - we sailed (using a US Passport) on the Caribbean Princess out of Southampton last August; our itinerary included Dublin, Cork, and Belfast as well as many other ports in Europe, Norway, Iceland, and the US. We needed no visa for any port or to board the ship. Has something changed in the last year that we need to know about for our next trip?

 

Kartgv - The poster who started this thread is not an American citizen and does not have a U.S. passport.

 

It does not appear that anything has changed for holders of U.S. Passports, such as yourself.

Permission? No. But if you do post your thoughts and prayers, you'll be bashed like this:

 

Originally posted by LMaxwell It's just something people say so they can feel better; most never take the time to offer an actual prayer. But golly, they feel good about themselves. It's just a line to self-trigger a chemical reaction. It does absolutely nothing if people are not willing to talk about the real life issues at play. You nailed it.

________________________________________________________________

I don't automatically announce "thoughts and prayers" all the time, but if I do, I make it a definite point to take time to pray for them and for the situation.

 

When people express sympathy for a tragic, real-life situation such as this death, it's disconcerting to be told that they are untruthful and insincere.

 

We cannot look into people's hearts and see what they are doing, so it's best to assume that they are acting in good faith when they offer thoughts and prayers.

Poster sherryf, who was on board the Emerald last week when the tragedy occurred, wrote in a message above:

 

We also received Future Cruise Credits equal to 25% of the fare paid for the cruise. Some people may never use them, but I am already starting to plan my cruise for next year knowing that I have a little extra to spend.

 

So, as I understand this, Princess is giving Emerald passengers credits to use on future cruises. - E.B.C.

Hi! We're in the same Bay Area! We're in Martinez. Yes, I saw the murder news on Channel 5 and 7 at 6pm and 11pm on Thursday after it happened on Tuesday. We read the Contra Costa Times and to date the murder has not made the newspapers We have never had a murder on any of our 30 cruises with Princess over the past 20 years.

 

Go, have fun on your first cruise. You will have a wonderful time! We leave soon for 30th Princess cruise on the Crown...flying SFO to London, sailing 17 days Southampton to NYC via Canada!

Thanks so very much, and we send best wishes to you also for having a wonderful cruise. Looking forward to reading all about your fun adventure.:) - EastBay

How many of you that have been posting will be sailing on the Emerald this year? We are sailing December 3rd for 31 days from LA to South America we are on deck 14 in a Penthouse Suite. Really looking forward to it, we have been on Emerald one other time for 14 days we are Elite with Princess.

 

 

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We are sailing on the Emerald Princess in September. I was in the process of registering here, when this tragic event was announced on the tv national news.

 

 

Question -- We're brand new here, and we appreciate reading all the helpful information about cruising. However, are there any moderators to step in and help out when an argument occurs?

Here in Arizona it is against real estate law to disclose a death in a house. Even your realtor cannot disclose it if you ask them.

 

Not meaning to go off topic, but In California, it is exactly the opposite. By law, the seller must provide that information. (Surprising how real estate laws vary from state to state).

Back to the thread....

We are booked on the Emerald in about 4 weeks. I asked my husband if he wanted to use the vacation insurance we took out w/ Princess and cancel the cruise, but he said he wanted to go anyway. He reminded me of the report from the poster here who took the "Ultimate Ship Tour" and walked through the infirmary, where the Medical Officer told him that on average, a passenger dies about every two weeks on board. ( But of course, it's not a homicide).

 

 

This is our first cruise, as we recently retired after both working full time for about 45 years and raising a family. We were thinking that cruising would be a fun hobby in retirement. But,

we will be thinking with sadness of the family and children without a mother whose lives have been forever changed. Our deepest sympathies go out to this family and to all the crew members and passengers who must deal w/ this tragedy.

Hello, my husband and I are new to cruising; and this is our first message at CruiseCritic. We are so sorry to hear of the death aboard the Emerald Princess. Deepest condolences to this family for their loss.

 

We are booked on board the Emerald in about 5 weeks for our very first cruise together. I was in the process of registering here so that we could chat with everyone, when this sad story appeared on CBS National News with Anthony Mason. :( It is a nationwide, if not worldwide story. It would have been the trip of a lifetime for us; but it is important to remember that there is really no escape from reality, and people bring their troubles and real-world problems on board with them.

With sadness, from EastBay Cruisers

Hello, my husband and I are new to cruising; and this is our first message. We are so sorry to hear of the death aboard the Emerald Princess. Deepest condolences to this family for their loss.

 

We are booked on board the Emerald in about 5 weeks for our very first cruise together. I was in the process of registering here so that we could chat with everyone, when this sad story appeared on CBS National News with Anthony Mason. :( It is a nationwide, if not worldwide story. It would have been the trip of a lifetime for us; but it is important to remember that there is really no escape from reality, and people bring their troubles and real-world problems on board with them. With sadness, from EastBay Cruisers