FLCruise7

Generally, the lowest BJ bet I've seen is $6

When we cancelled a cruise last year (with EZ air), Princess refunded the entire amount to our credit card (and I'm pretty sure I'd picked the flexible air option).  When we cancelled 2 days before the cruise, there was a penalty assessed for cancelling the air, but that cost was paid by our insurance (Princess insurance).

36 minutes ago, Tak8 said:

Add the new Sky Princess to the list.  They have 2 large WS forward.  

Thanks for the info!  Just goes to show - you can learn something new every day!! 

I thought only a few ships had the Window Suites (Grand, Golden, Caribbean)??

If I am remembering correctly, the casino was either open the whole time or opened up in the afternoon at Grand Turk.  I don't think it was open until sailing when we were at Amber Cove.

Look towards the back of the ship.  That's where we've generally found them.  The one exception I recall was on the Grand - they had a very small laundry down on Deck 5 forward.

We saw the puppies in the Piazza on our last Alaska cruise -- if I recall correctly, it was in Skagway (around 3 or 4 o'clock).  No charge.  You just have to wait & take your turn to cuddle the pups.  We had choice of 3 - 2 of them looked like they were busy trying to nap so we picked the frisky one!!  They were so cute.

Good luck finding an excursion that you can all do - these are the memories that will last.

It's funny about the age limits & I certainly understand them, but it seems like they are sometimes a bit arbitrary - my personal one was a Segway tour that had a cut-off of 65.  My DH is over that by a few years, but is in great shape, plus we've done quite a few Segway tours with no problems.  I've seen a lot of under-65s who would be a greater risk!!  I think the cut-off should be based on health & ability.  If the tour company did that, they could put out a statement that anyone can book, but if you can't do the tour (after training), you get cut with no refund.  That might work.  But, we just sigh & don't book those tours now.

We did this on the Regal last year & it was great!  Be sure & have long pants & closed-toe shoes as they're required.  Also, don't let the release form scare you -- talks about noise levels, dangerous areas, etc.  I didn't find it dangerous.  Lots of walking & standing. 

Be sure to check out Alfredo's when you're on the Regal later this year - one of our favorite places!!  The veal stuffed ravioli is oh, so yummy!!  I always get the salad, ravioli and tiramisu!  Like a specialty restaurant without the upcharge.

Enjoying your comparison review.  I keep looking at all of your pictures from the Royal to see if we're in them - enjoyed that same 8-day cruise with you!!

Seems like it would be enough time.  You could also go to your booking and do a mock airline booking -- they always have the latest time you'd need to arrive.

I think ours took about 3-4 weeks from mailing it to receiving check.  Like the others, had the refundable stuff from Princess credited back the day after cancellation. 

12 minutes ago, gottagocit said:

 

Did you have an option as to how you would get it? By that I wonder what they do if say you are cruising from a port overseas and plan to arrive far in advance if your embarkation?  Just thinking out loud a bit as we leave for two voyages next month with the second being almost a month after we leave home.  (Not an issue this time as our ships are equipped yet, just looking down the road)

 

 

Yes - you can opt to have them mailed to you or tell them you'll pick them up at the port.

Just off the CB a couple of weeks ago -- all of the lanyards and holders were alike and the medallions match your status, so yes - Elite gets a black one.  They'll also issue a regular cruise card that goes in the sleeve.  The only time I used that was in a shop to get my discount.  The OM opened the door up until day 6 or so.  Then it stopped.  I did find that if I touched the OM to the screen by the door it would work.  So, I didn't have to get it replaced.  It still worked everywhere else.  We got ours at check-in.  We're back on the CB in March and I've received the notification to sign in so I can request home delivery if I'd like.

6 hours ago, kevey said:

Hi there.  Will be on the CB this fall and shall be our first cruise at Platinum level - will we still have to pay for the Medallion.net Wifi once we exceed our 'free' minutes each ?   

Yes - you have to pay for minutes in excess of the free ones.  Just off the CB.  As I recall, my hubby did the free minutes and I upgraded to unlimited (one device at a time) for about $70 on the 10 day cruise.  I can't remember exactly, but I don't think we got the option of adding additional time (at a set rate) when we first logged in.

Medallion.net is so much faster than the old wifi -- not land quality, but at least you can open a web page in less than 5 minutes!!  😄

I wish they could have enforced the earbuds & music on my last cruise. Seems like every time I sat in the (legal) smoking area, a group of about 4-5 young guys showed up blasting something obnoxious on their phones. So much for sitting & listening to the ocean. When I can hear someone's music and they're 30 feet+ from me, it's way too loud!!

Thanks for the review!  I enjoyed seeing our cruise from another cruiser's viewpoint.

We got the blankets on the Horizon in December.  I went to Guest Services & swapped one for a nightlight.

You can also get change for large bills in the casino.

10 hours ago, eagletwo said:

We sail on the CB for the 4th time January 2nd.  We love the ship and the new beds. We were spoiled on our last cruise in August with a full suite and CC dining. Paul was the head waiter in CC and was wonderful as was the staff.  Yeah, same food but outstanding service.  I like that the buffet area has been opened up a bit and the make-over of the eating areas is very nice.  The buffet food to us is not as good as it was in 2016, but we will never starve. MDR food has been good, Crown Grill food is good, service hit or miss. Sabatini's service is great and the update decor is nice but the food is not to our liking.  Caribbean Princes has been in service since 2004 and a few areas could use some TLC, but she keeps getting a few upgrades and the crew keeps painting all the time. It still amazes me how much repair is done at sea and for the most part done very quickly.  Most of the staff always have a smile.

 

Just looking forward to sailing again. We don't get in a hurry or let the little things bug us, life is too short.

We also had Paul in CC back in the summer - he was so personable!  And it looks like we'll be on the same sailing going out next week!  No CC for us this time.  We lucked out on our June cruise with an upsell, but none this time.

We had the OM on our last cruise on the Caribbean Princess.  Opening the door was nice (without having to dig out a room key).  Could also use it to buy beverages & play slots.  And find members of your sailing party.  I'm not sure what else it was supposed to do!

28 minutes ago, Tutpug said:

Does anyone know if the Global Entry/Trusted Traveler program has been fully implemented in Port Everglades? Returning to this port aboard HAL Nieuw Statendam 12/30/18.

We use it all the time in Port Everglades (having said that, I want to clarify and state that this was debarking Princess).  They had a separate line and we had to show our cards to use the very short line.  On out last cruise, there was one couple ahead of us - we were through Customs in a matter of minutes!

Enjoying the review so far - hubby & I were on this cruise as well.  I was one of the llama "riders" -- since I couldn't really "ride" it, I had to settle for bouncing if from spot to spot.  Funny to see me in your pictures!!

My gift was the IPad mini - I wish I could've sold it to someone as I just bought an IPad last year & didn't need another.  Oh well!

Did an Ultra recently - my spouse got the DOU card and was entered in all the drawings (he was selected a couple of times) for the Ultra members.  The only thing he didn't get was the gift IPad mini for me).