FSU Girl

my 100 dollar review of the UBD. short answer YES it's worth it but i have the math broken down here:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=54782262&postcount=4

Great review!

They went to a very small 4 ounce tail.

Not sure if they even have it anymore.

On the CB last month we ate there twice and I didn't even bother to look for it. :(

Ya that size is definitely not worth the upcharge of the restaurant. Does Princess still have lobster in their MDRs on a formal night? Or is that the only restaurant you can get it?

I miss the live Maine lobsters and the 12 ounce lobster tails. :(

What do they have now?

Other things you might want to consider...Disney markets a "family concierge stateroom" that is NOT a suite. It is a standard cabin--it is the same as a cat 4 cabin' date=' but includes concierge services. They also have 1 and 2 bedroom suites. Some people believe that by booking "concierge," they automatically get a suite. There is nothing wrong with the concierge cabins--but you seem very detail oriented so will want to be sure of what you've booked.

 

The other thing is that a lot of Princess bookings include various perks--complimentary gratuities, sip and sail packages and such that definitely add some value to the cruise. How much these perks are worth may vary from one individual to another. THe value of the grats is easy to determine. The beverage package is obviously worth more to someone who would order alcohol than to someone who wouldn't. My point is that there are ways that Princess adds value, and you won't see most of these on DCL.

 

I'm not advocating one line over the other--we've done 30 cruises on DCL, most 12 nights or longer. I love DCL, but I've found other lines to be a better use of my funds.[/quote']

We have the one-bedroom suite booked on Disney :) When I was looking I noticed the family suite, but it looked just like a normal cabin with fancier decorations. That I definitely didn't feel like would be worth the upcharge and would just do a normal room instead. I got engaged on the Dream and we sailed in the one-bedroom suite on it. It was absolutely amazing, which was why I wanted to do it on the Fantasy. It's crazy money though so I can't see us sailing in it again for a very long time. Before that cruise was the first time I was in a balcony room, normally I only had window or inside I made a major leap lol.

 

I feel like Disney thinks they don't need to offer deals to get people on their ships, although the first time I sailed them I got a great Florida resident discount. I definitely think other cruises you get more bang for your buck, but I really like Disney, we are getting married there :)

 

For Princess we booked the room under the 3 for free deal so we have paid gratuities, on board credit and it says cabin upgrade so I'm think the room was just cheaper, not really sure about that last perk. When I was looking earlier to book a Princess cruise they had the sip and sail deal, but we aren't huge drinkers so I don't think that would have been as good a deal for us.

It seems you are a details person and want to optimize your experience, so here's a few more things.

 

While there's generally two formal nights on a 7 day cruise and three formal nights on a 15 day cruise, I can't tell you whether there will be 2 or 3 on your 12 day cruise. They are never the first or last night. Usually they don't vary from sailing to sailing of the same itinerary, so you may be able to ask someone who sails recent to your dates. But the most accurate info will be in your room embarkation afternoon.

 

Also, I do understand that you may request to see the menu plan for your entire voyage, which has every day's menu, rather than waiting the "day of" to see the menu posted outside each MDR. I believe the Maitre 'd has the menu plan for passenger review.

 

There have been a few times where I'll look and see they are serving something in the MDR I'll miss because of a SDR reservation. To avoid that conflict you can match your SDR reservation day to the planned menu in the MDR and switch out your SDR for another night, so you don't miss something you'd like.

 

Lastly, I'd suggest that you consider Traditional Dining rather than Anytime Dining. There are just too many threads here about upset people because of long waits. Ideally, I'd suggest Traditional Dining Late seating meaning it will be 8PM +/- 15 minutes as adjusted and notified to you on your cruise card when you register at the port. That will align almost perfectly with attendance of the second theater performance of production shows. (There's a recent thread discussing an overload for Anytime Dining when the first TD time is moved forward to 5PM; the late seating avoids all of that.)

Thank you this is really helpful! That's a great idea to look at the menus ahead of time to see what nights I won't mind missing. Does Princess have an app where they would have that information or would I only be able to get it at the restaurant?

We picked traditional dining because I had read those reviews about the Anytime dining having long waits and I do like to get to know my waitstaff throughout the cruise. We typically like to eat earlier than later so we picked the 5:30 time, 6pm was a waitlist. Could that 5:30 turn into 5 or is that time locked in? 5pm would be way too early for sure. Also, if we have an excursion that gets back later than our dinner start time could we go to Anytime dining to eat whenever we get back or would our only option be to eat at the buffet?

I have changed our reservation times more than once. Last cruise I actually booked and paid for it prior to boarding and changed the time as soon as we boarded.

 

You can actually cancel your reservation 24 hours prior without any penalties.

 

Hope you enjoy your cruise!

Awesome! Thank you :)

Awesome :):):)

That was meant to only have one smilie lol

"You'll be getting on while we are getting off".

 

 

I'll tell my husband to wear his FSU sweatshirt - just in case we pass in the cruise terminal.

Awesome :):):)

We changed reservations after boarding on our last two Princess cruises. We were a little limited in what openings were available' date=' but there was no difficulty. In each case, we just spoke to the restaurant manager.[/quote']

Ok great! I could see us changing a reservation if it conflicts with something so it's nice to know we aren't locked in

I usually wait to book until embarkation afternoon. Upon arrival to your room, there will be a summary in the Patter that notes the exact days for Formal Nights, in case you intend to attend those in the MDR (usually a few special items on the menu those nights) I plan my SDR reservations around those and other events such as particular ports with late excursions etc. and then head to each restaurant before Muster Drill to personally make my reservations.

 

There's usually a scavenger hunt sort of contest you receive during embarkation which requires you to get a card stamped at various locations around the ship before depositing said card for a raffle. The specialty restaurants are on the card, so a staff member is stationed at the restaurant podium to stamp cards and take reservations. Also doing it then ensures you get the exact day and time you want. Attempting to pre-book on the personalizer, I've found there are certain set times to which you must conform.

Are the formal nights on a certain night typically or will they vary from cruise to cruise? I would definitely like to go to at least one formal night. I'm guessing they would be on the sea days instead of port days? If I do book my dining ahead of time and get on the boat and find out it conflicts with something can I go to the restaurant and change it, or will I be locked into going on that date?

Got it--comparing an off season 7 night Caribbean cruise to a 12 night European cruise is about as far as you can get from "apples to apples."

LOL yes it is. We currently have the British Isles cruise Disney is doing next September so that's probably a better comparison. That cruise is around the same cost and one is a week and one is 12 nights, so Princess definitely comes out ahead there. If we end up not being able to keep this May date we are going to sail on the Disney one. I don't normally spend like this and am more frugal with vacations, but we figure these are special trips so were more okay with the splurge. Going to try for a baby while on the honeymoon so definitely won't be doing extravagant trips for a long time.

If I read correctly, you're on a 12 night cruise? Plenty of opportunity for a return visit. Shorter cruises tend to sell out as there's not enough restaurant capacity to seat the percentage on the ship that frequent specialty restaurants.

 

Note that even on longer cruises, the last two days may also sell out at the last minute, as those who waited to book realize there's only a few more days to go.

Yes its the 12 night cruise. It has two sea days so was thinking booking two specialty dinning on those days. That makes sense about the end of the cruise. I don't think we would do the last night since it's at Paris so a very long day. If we did a port day it would be only that ends earlier in the day.

Yes the Crown has not changed it's Sabatini's menu to the new one - you can still get lobster 3 ways

Lobster 3 ways sounds really good. Sounds like an upcharge item lol.

I used OBC to pay for 2 excursions - you have the choice of using that or paying via credit card on the Princess website.

You put the excursions you want into your 'cart' then you have to go back into shore excursions to pay for what's in your shopping cart. That's where the choice of using OBC or credit card came up.

We're on the May 25 British Isles cruise from Southampton.

Good to know, this could cover some of the excursion expenses. You'll be getting on while we are getting off.

I'm quite surprised. Our bookings on Princess have been far less than similar bookings on DCL. For instance' date=' I could get a balcony on Princess for half the cost of an inside on DCL in 2016, similar itineraries. On our most recent cruise, we did 2 weeks in a suite on Princess for less than one week in a balcony on DCL would have cost. But I certainly understand the difference between a port intensive cruise and a more standard sort of cruise. Enjoy your three (?) honeymoon cruises--I think I'm seeing three, maybe it is only two.[/quote']

It's only two :) although we are going to Disney World for NYE as the kick off for the trips. I do have a cruise booked in September next year, but hoping to cancel it and replace it with the Princess cruise we booked in May. Just waiting to find out some date confirmations before it can be 100%

 

I guess technically with length the Disney cruise is more expensive since it's only a week and Princess is 12 nights, but it less money than the suite on Princess.I think the Disney cruise is slightly cheaper than compared to it's European cruises, plus it's in January which is a bit off season I think?

REservation availability varies--if you want to eat in the specialty restaurants' date=' I suggest you book in advance. If you want to change your night, the manager will try to accommodate you.

 

As to "worth it," if you find value in a concierge booking on DCL, the $29 for specialty dining on Princess is minimal. FWIW, there are many more perks to a suite booking on Princess than to a concierge cabin or suite on DCL. One of those perks is dining in one of the specialty dining rooms on embarkation night![/quote']

 

I'd love to book a suite, but it's a few thousand more than our concierge Disney cruise and with that huge payment it's really too far out of our budget. We felt the concierge on Disney would be worth it since it's a trip mainly for the ship. The Princess cruise only has two sea days out of 12 nights so it'll be way more port intense and we won't really get the benefits of additional perks. Maybe for a future cruise :) The cost of the specialty restaurants seem about the same as Palo. I think we'll do at least one for sure.

I already booked excursions for our May 2019 British Isles cruise. I changed my mind on some of the excursions for our November 2018 cruise and cancelled. A credit was showing for those in my cruise planner. I then rebooked other excursions and the credit was used for that, plus payment for the excess with my credit card. Simple process. Most of the excursions can be cancelled up to 2 days prior, as others have mentioned. (note: I chuckled when one poster didn't know what country you were in, FSU girl. I'm married to an FSU guy.....LOL!)

We are a great bunch lol. When we booked the cruise we got onboard credit, can that be used towards some of the excursions, or does that not kick in until we get on the boat? What dates does your cruise leave for the British Isles, I wonder if we are on the same sailing.

It depends on what you mean by "refundable".

 

Read the fine print when you schedule your excursions. It will tell you (and PC customer service will too) that if you have paid for an excursion and decide not to take it, they will give you an on board credit, not "cash back" or a refund to your credit card.

 

Of course with an OBC, the balance with go toward offsetting your total cruise charges at the end of your trip, or can be used elsewhere on board.

When I click on cancellation policy on the excursion it just takes me to the main FAQ page for cancellation policy. So if I don't fall into the specific ones like helicopter rides and private vehicles then the generic cancellation policy would apply?

You can call and have them refunded back to your credit card. It will not be done automatically.

Ok good to know.

The question is posed by someone who does not list her country

 

 

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I didn't know it varies by country. I'm in the US

Yes we have excursions already available for our June cruise. There could be new ones added in the next few months, and the prices can sometimes increase. For now you could add your favorites to the wish list and check back periodically to see pricing and if any new ones appear. I usually book ours about three months out, unless they start to fill up (the headcount will drop, although sometimes they will just add another busload). For very popular excursions (i.e. helicopter, famous landmarks, exclusive small group ones) I book about six months out. And as mentioned, it is very easy to cancel and/or change to a new one on the Personalizer.

That's good to know thanks! If I add them to the wishlist is that just to keep track of them, but it doesn't actually book them? And when I was looking at some it mentioned the capacity, does that number go down as its booked so you can see if something is about to sell out? Like one I was looking at said 30 people, so I'm wondering if others have already booked or that is just the max it allows for that tour?

Is it normal that the excursions are already available to book for a cruise that isn't until next May? Seems really early to have them available, but it will be my first time booking excursions through Princess so maybe this is the norm? Is it possible new excursions will be added closer to sail date or are the ones that are currently available all that there will be?

You must read the fine print. For US usually up to two days in advance unless exotic involving helicopters etc. and if one on your first full day no when you board but it is likely other countries have different rules. I am on the Royal now and due to weather they automatically cancelled all Princess excursions. Those who prepaid private are left to fend for themselves and hope the company is reputable

 

 

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I'll make sure to read the fine print for the ones I do decide to book. I've never booked a tour outside of a cruise before so probably won't end up doing that.

I enjoy the Crown. Eat there a lot. Try going to a restaurant on land, eating the same thing and see what the price will be. For $29, you do walk away hungry.

I think the price is pretty comparable to what I've paid on other cruise lines for similar food. There are two sea days on the sailing, should we do a specialty dining on each of those days or do you think they might be worth a second visit? Are reservations hard to get if we try and book another night while on the cruise more spur of the moment?

Yes, they are refundable.

Great thanks!