Carrin

On 3/25/2019 at 5:55 AM, satxdiver said:

I would say book now so that you can get the cabin you want before it is taken by someone else.  Then check back often to see if there are any better offers from Princess like sales.  You can always refare your cruise simply by calling Princess or your TA.  Often on my cruises I will refare them at least once before I actually cruise.  Princess allows you to be very fluid in your bookings up until final payment is due.  One of the reasons I like Princess. 

Good advice satxdiver.  The only thing I would add here is to make sure that you do not book under a non-refundable deposit rate. They are attractive because cabins are offered at lower rates, BUT....if Princess has a sale somewhere down the road that shows a lower price or includes special perks for a better price, in order for you to change your reservation you will have to cancel your original booking, lose your non-refundable deposit and re-book a new reservation under the new rate. It happened to me once, so I speak from experience.😏

Thank you for posting this. It is a great help.

We did the Tulum Mayan Ruins Express tour. It was a very long day, and very hot, but we were glad we went. We booked through the cruise line, and about 300 from our ship were late getting back. It was reassuring to know the ship would be there waiting for us!

 

Here is a link to the slide show my wife made from a few of her pictures for her website.

 

Tulum Express Shore Excursion

 

Cruising is a great way to travel!

Your wife has a great talent. Enjoyed the pictures and the music very much!

Hi . . (knee how in Chinese)

 

We visited China from the end of April until the middle of May. Our 17 day trip through Gate 1 cost about $7,300. (As the time neared, we decided to upgrade to Economy Plus for our flights across the ocean. . . our Christmas presents to each other! These costs were additional, but I would recommend upgrading because the flights are about 13 hours, and having already traveled from the east coast, our total time came to between 19 and 20 hours.) Our experience with Gate 1 was very positive. Our tour manager, Stone, and our local guides all spoke English very well. They were personable, in their 20s, and knew their history. We were well taken care of.

 

Everything went on schedule from restaurant reservations, airline reservations and tours. (The US airlines could learn a lot from the Chinese airlines. The flight attendants were just that . . attendant . . as well as smartly dressed with perfect hair and makeup.) Our hotels were centrally located and clean. We did not explore much of the area near the hotels because frankly, our days were pretty full. We were up and out by 8 or 9 each morning and returned back to the hotel just before . . or just after dinner. Each hotel offered western style breakfast buffets and egg stations as well as local cuisine. They were all very good. I would rate the hotels as 4s at the most. The hotels had beautiful lobbies, full baths, robes and slippers.

 

The Victoria Grace was the riverboat for our cruise on the Yangtze. It is an older boat, recently refurbished and was fine for our purposes. Would have liked something more modern, but really didn't need anything else. The food on board was good as well.

 

I did research before we left regarding the bathrooms, toilets, etc. in China. I would suggest to any woman going to China to go to Amazon.com and order a gadget that allows women to stand and go to the bathroom. It is called Krysta's Cups - pStyle. You will be lucky to find a western toilet. There may be ONE handicapped stall amongst the squatting toilets which are the norm and range from ugh . okay to disgusting. There is privacy as far as having individual stalls, but going to the bathroom without this helping gadget is challenging.

 

It is a trip of a lifetime. Maybe if you pay more the hotels and restaurants will be fancier, but for one who has traveled a lot, I wouldn't put out any extra money for 5 star hotels because each day is a full day and you don't do much at the hotel but sleep and bathe and there were no problems with these.

 

Have fun!

Thank you for posting! DH and are leave Oct. 1 for 17 day, China, Yangtze, and Hong Kong. We're staying 2 days pre in Shanghai and 3 days post in Hong Kong (because we probably won't be going back). Can you tell us how the luggage was handled on the trip? How much did you personally have to handle it? Was it difficult to get to the ship at the port? Stairs, etc.? Would appreciate any info. Also, where did you go to eat on the free nights in various locations. Any special finds?

Carrin