OR_Cowboy_1952

2 hours ago, MrSchwump said:

If I can't get Elijah Craig 18yo on board, I can bring my own!

No, you can’t.  Your passage contract prohibits you bringing any liquor or beer on board.  It will be confiscated, even if in luggage.  Many have tried and failed.  They are very careful.  Bottled wine may be brought on board subject to Princess’s rules.  

14 minutes ago, antsp said:

Just a FYI it’s Southampton, never South Hampton

Sorry that was my spell check.  It assumed it was 2 words.  

On 11/28/2018 at 2:06 PM, rkacruiser said:

Thanks for posting the menus!

 

One menu listing the Mains appear to be an "Italian Night" dinner menu.  Was this "event" made known to the guests prior to arriving in the dining room?  (I'd have a difficult time of selecting which entree to order.  The days of ordering more than one are long past!)

The Dining Room ‘theme” nights are always listed in your daily Princess Patter.  The night menu is also always posted just outside the Dining Rooms’ main entrance.  If you don’t like the menu entrees you can always see if a speciality dining venue has an available reservation or you can do a casual dining venue. 

BTW:  You can order a 1/2 portion if you like, or you can order just soups / salads / appetizer.  

Here is Princess’s current liquors pdf.  I’m not sure it’s all available on all ships or regions.  https://www.princess.com/downloads/pdf/ships-and-experience/food-and-dining/Whiskey-Menu.pdf

It also varies as to destinations.  Princess is now changing their bar menus to reflect the region you are sailing in.  So you’ll see more scotch options in Northern Europe / British Isles.  That said, since bourbon is only from Kentucky and Princess does do Ohio River cruises, the options are more limited.  But again it’s what they can get from their regional suppliers.

The title of your post is confusing.  You are really asking about transit information from South Hampton to London area hotels.  There are a lot of cruisers who have done this without traveling all the way from Singapore.  You might want to change the title if you can or repost.  

59 minutes ago, shanecindy21403 said:

Yes I got it at a killer deal. The rate was also combinable with the casino discount, free grats and lots of OBC. Plus I get to stay in same cabin and I don't have to bother with moving on turn around day. 

Then you’ll have to take your chances.  

But just so you know, if you book a back-to-back (B2B) in the same cabin you do not have to remove your luggage, you just have to walk-off, do customs and immigration, and reboard. 

We just went to the Princess website.  Club Class is no longer available on the 14 or 1st 7 day cruises, so we compared mid-forward Mini-suites (without club class)

Prices as of 1 Dec 2018

$10,040    14-day 21-Dec-2019 for 3 passengers Caribbean Explorer

  $4,278      7-day 21-Dec-2019 for 2 passengers Western Caribbean

  $4,258      7-day 28-Dec-2019 for 2 passengers Eastern Caribbean

You would be on back to back cruises in the same cabin.

You must have gotten the 14 day as a real deal?  The website suggests booking 2 cruises for 2 will cost about $1,500 less. 

Can you be more specific about the date, ship and cabin type?  I don’t understand how the price for a 14 day cruise for 3 people is more money (ot ay least that much more money) than 2 each 7-day cruises for 2 people.  

The Grand is 949 feet long and 159 feet wide.  If you subtract you distance from the rail and just do an elongated oval track it’s about 2,650 feet per lap or 2 laps per mile (especially if you stay outside to the rail.  That’s simplified, but I remember reading it was about 2 laps around the Promenade/Emerlad Deck to a mile.  

10 hours ago, GoLaLaKers said:

Taxi in Japan are very expensive, in addition traffic in Japan can be really bad so that will add to your cost. Your best bet is to take the train. When you get off the ship, you will need to take a taxi to the Yokohama station. From there, take the train to Shinjuku station. Shinjuku station is huge, so you will need to do research in advance to find out what exit to take to when you get out of the station. Take the wrong exit, and you will likely get lost if this is your first time In Shinjuku. If you each have one bag, plus carry on train should be manageable. Just avoid rush hour 

 

You might want to research bus options as well. I am sure buses leave from the train station. I have never gone into Tokyo after a cruise, rather I always stay before I depart. But coming and going is the same. 

 

Shinjuku is a great place to stay in Tokyo. Very convenient location for seeing all of the sites. Enjoy. 

I agree with all this unless you have a lot of luggage.  Tokyo trains are very crowded.  Shinjuku station is the busiest train station in the world, and I can attest to that.  It’s VERY confusing and more like a shopping center that happens to also be a train station.  There are shuttle services in the greater Tokyo region that offer direct connections from the Yokohama Cruise Terminal to your Shinjuku area hotel.  

Here is one bus service, https://www.veltra.com/en/asia/japan/tokyo/ctg/181376:cruise_port_transfer/

Tokyo is expensive and you need to get cash.  Many places do not take credit cards especially the little interesting shops and restaurants.  Shinjuku is very international so some English is spoken but be prepared to point and jesture.  Learn a few basic Japanese phrases, hello and thank you are the most important.  

A basic way of saying “hello” in Japanese is “konnichiwa.”

"arigatou gozaimasu" essentially means "thank you very much."

26 minutes ago, antsp said:

On our recent cruise on the Crown, the usual special line queue area had disappeared for Elite and Suite, is this fleetwide. 

I can’t say fleet wide, but on our cruise on the Ruby in October there was still a separate “line”.

Those look very much like the menus we had on the Ruby in October.  The only differences more “tropical” foods.   But I noticed there were no Crown Grill menu options.  Did they offer them?  

7 hours ago, JasmineB said:

Yes, thanks, I saw that, I was just following up on that one part of your response to get more info that would help me figure out the best plan for me.  Thank you.  I'm always nervous about making a flight but unfortunately that's the last flight I can take that isn't a red eye, I think.  I arrive home at midnight as it is.

 Thanks for your note back JasmineB.  I understand your situation flying to the east.  That’s always a complication of flying from out here and not starting very early in the AM.  If you can get off the ship early and you have your luggage you should have no problem getting to SEATAC by about 10AM.  You might consider UBER as the app allows you to order your ride while you are disembarking and you’ll get feedback on their whereabouts.  

2 hours ago, JasmineB said:

 

I "think" as Princess Elite, I can be first off the ship if I choose.  And while it's been a few years since I've cruised, last time I did, if I kept and carried my own luggage, I could walk off the ship without having to find my luggage in the warehouse.  I'd think I could catch a taxi more quickly than waiting for the Princess shuttle to fill.  Do you think these assumptions are correct?  My flight is 12:05 on a Sunday morning in June.

JasmineB, I wasn’t addressing you.  I was addressing KarzyKat24’s original post and giving her my suggestions.  She is not an Elite cruiser and does not get the benefits you get.  

14 minutes ago, rockdoctor said:

American Airlines is a smaller carrier?

No, AA is not a small airline.  And AA’s website does not support your claim.  The following information is available on line.  If you were prevented from checking-in or given other information it’s samply not true.  

FROM AMERICAN AIRLINES WEBSITE

Check-in

To speed up the process, you can use curbside check-in or self-service kiosks at most airports. You can use curbside check-in if you have an electronic ticket (can scan it from your phone).

Check-in times

You can check-in online or from the app starting 24 hours before and up to 45 minutes before departure (90 for international).

        Check-in online

        American Airlines app

To check-in and check bags at the airport, you must be there a certain amount of time before scheduled departure:

        Within the U.S. - 45 minutes

        To or from destinations outside the U.S. - 60 minutes

FROM SEATGURU WEBSITE

Does American Airlines (AA) offer self-service kiosk check-in?

Yes, you may check-in for your American Airlines (AA) flight at the airport self-service kiosk from 45 minutes to 24 hours (5 hours for Miami) before the scheduled departure time.

Does American Airlines (AA) offer ticket counter check-in?

Yes, you may check-in for your American Airlines (AA) flight at the airport ticket counter from 45 minutes to 4 hours before the scheduled departure time.

8 minutes ago, rockdoctor said:

Be aware that SeaTac is one of those air ports that don’t let you check in till 2 hours before flight time.

I completely disagree with that comment.  SeaTac does not control check in times, the individual airline does.  A smaller or low cost carrier may limit checkin time but not larger airlines.  I have checked in hours before a flight.  Call your airline and ask the question.  As a rule always arrive at least 2 hours early.  

You are correct on both counts.  Because of the layout of inside and ocean view cabins, the bunks fold out from the wall.  But the balconies are different, in balcony cabins the single bunk drops out of the ceiling.  In that way, the bank does not block the closet side access to the bed when it’s made up as a queen.  

This is not the Grand Princess but the bunk bed in balcony cabins are all essentually the same.  The bed does stow in the ceiling and is lowered down.  

On 11/27/2018 at 9:27 AM, KrazyKat24 said:

First time going on a cruise, so first time on Princess.  My question - our cruise returns on Sunday September 15th - I am trying to book my flight and was wondering if I booked our return flight at 1:30pm is that enough time to get off cruise ship and get to the airport?  Based on the schedule it looks the ship is returning back at port by 7am.  I don't want to miss my return flight back home.

 

Thank you

 

You should be fine for a 1:30PM flight time.  it’s a Sunday so traffic will be OK unless there is a Seahawks home game.  The Cruise Ship terminal is north of downtown with SEATAC well to the south.  You have to get through downtown but the Rte 99 tunnel will be open by next year.  Even then you should be early enough.  Consider taking the Princess ship to airport shuttle service.  For one thing they handle your luggage all the way to the airport.

27 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

Interesting fact is that the patter now states that they are not responsible for any alcoholic beverages confiscated by shoreside security staff. 

Such items are not eligible for monetary refund or replacement. 

So much for turning in liquor to have them hold it.

This is nothing new, it’s been in the Passage Contact for several years now (see attached).  It is at the discretion of security & ship staff before you bring any alcohol on board (other than that allowed in the contract_.  Princess is stating if you try it you are doing it at your own risk.  And BTW, the Patter is not an official source.  The only legal source is your cruise documents and maritime laws.  

This is a complex question.  The issue is several fronts.  Even though she had USA Permanent Resident Status (Green Card) she does not have a passport and may not get a Laotian passport because she left the country at a young age.  

1. She should talk with the Loatian consulate to see if she can get a passport.

2. Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico all require Laotians to have VISAs to visit their counties.  She will need a passport to obtain these VISAs.  (I could not find information about Grand Cayman.

3. The “circular cruise” passport exception only applies to U.S. Citizens.

4. Has she even flown internationally?  Typically any citizen of a foreign country must present a passport even if they have a green card when entering the USA.  There may be some exception for Laotians who entered the country as refugees.  Does she have other paperwork?  She should speak with CBP personnel to get clarification.

I noticed Roll Calls no longer work like this did prior to Cruise Critics’ recent changes to the boards.  Roll Calls are now very confusing, they are no longer easy to find, and the the only way to join a Roll Call is to post a message on the Roll Call.  As other’s have stated the Cruise Critic apps for tablets and smart phones no longer work.  I have started using cruiseline(dot)com and the Shipmate app to track my roll calls.  

Essiesmom is correct but also consider what side of the ship you are on.  Are you doing a full thru the canal or an in and back out (same way you can in).  Think sun angle, think time of day and northerly side of the ship.  

7 minutes ago, Gr8scotty said:

I have not regestrered and signed in, perhaps that is they key. I have however already clicked the plan a cruise button but cant see how to complete a booking.

You don’t have to be logged on to search for cruises.  Try this link:

https://www.princess.com/find/search.do

21 minutes ago, RDC1 said:

on the Grand mid stairs are 4 to 7. currently on board so absolutely certain. only crew above 7 behind doors.

Wow all the deck plans show it as an passenger accessible staircase.  I have read that is accessible on some cruises.  While on the Ruby, I noticed that there is a second set of stairs behind the passenger stair and it is reserved for crew but is also marked as an emergency exit.  One issue most cruisers don’t think about is evacuating a ship.  In many cases, the elevators are disabled, so stairs are your option.