gusmom

On 3/1/2020 at 9:21 AM, Colo Cruiser said:

 

 

http://www.cruisedeckplans.com/Princess/odell/res76zxu/princessbalconies/id4.html

This looks accurate by my recollection. We

were in D415 and definitely not covered (we’d seen a different map that indicated may be partial). Not a huge deal for us - just wear a hat lol - but we also found the balcony furniture to be not the most comfortable so mostly standing & sunset watching. 

Glad to see the update. We were curious about some of our favorite crew members from

our trip in November/Dec. on the Island. 
Looks like the ED (was that his title?) changed on Island after the S.America  cruise. We had Tom who was amazing (& whose last name i’d love to remember — we will pick any ship he is on). Glad they changed the CD. We were not overly impressed w Benny except for the culinary show. 
 

It will be a couple of years before anyone in our family considers cruising again though :(

I posted this in Colombia forum but no replies. Wondering if anyone here has Princess-specific info.  

Trying to narrow down Cartanga excursions. Like history but I have bad feet so by that point on the trip, I am nervous about committing to walking all day. 

Family (son 12 & husband) wants to do the city tour with boat in the harbor. I'm debating whether to join them or do something else.  

Looking for reviews/recommendations from others who have done this cruise (or other Princess). There is one with cultral dancers, which I'd love but my family won't LOL.

Also:
* Safety if I chose to go on a different excursion by myself? (woman in 40s)

* and about this incline at the Fort? Does anyone have a picture of this? 

Also happy to take recs on others. 

For example, we'd love to do just the turtle sanctuary (to get more than the 40 minutes there) on Grand Cayman but haven't been able to find that option. 

30 minutes ago, skynight said:

Maybe I'm misreading you, but the Premier Coffee and Soda package at $23.59/day can't really work out if all you want is the tea and hot chocolate. A ten day cruise would cost $235.90

If you purchase the new grounds coffee package you can get all the mighty leaf tea and hot chocolate you want at a cost of $36.58 for the entire cruise AND you can treat your old and new friends and family to 15 espresso drinks.

That’s the package I was thinking about. I confused the pieces when I posted :-)

1 hour ago, skynight said:

Hot water and tea are available all day and evening for free in the buffet area. Princess normally has a selection of Twinnings, Lipton and some herbal teas. Tea is also free in any dining venue. There will also be some afternoon teas in one of the DR's. Ice tea is also available at no charge. It is prepared from a liquid concentrate.

With the coffee package you can get unlimited "premium" tea in the atrium on deck 5. It is Mighty Leaf. You can also purchase by the cup.

 Hot Chocolate (large - to go)  $3.00, Regular $1.50

 Mighty Leaf Tea                White Orchard $1.25

 Mighty Leaf Tea                Vanilla Bean  $1.25

 Mighty Leaf Tea                Organic Earl Grey  $1.25

 Mighty Leaf Tea                Organic Breakfast  $1.25

 Mighty Leaf Tea                Organic Spring Jasmine  $1.25

 Mighty Leaf Tea                Chamomile Citrus  $1.25

 Mighty Leaf Tea                Ginger Twist   $1.25

 Mighty Leaf Tea                Marrakesh Mint  $1.25

Large Teas $1.95

Add 18% gratuity to the above menu prices.

Hot chocolate may be available in packets, like Swiss Mist at no charge in the buffet. Otherwise you have to purchase in the atrium.

Note that the cups in the buffet are around 8 ounces. If you want a larger cup to carry around you would have to bring it.

Thank You!  I definitely prefer Mighty Leaf so this helps. I’m thinking $23 for Coffee I won’t drink + unlimited tea might be the better deal. lol 

3 minutes ago, JF - retired RRT said:

The free Twinings tea in the buffet and MDR is generally: English Breakfast, Earl Grey, mint, lemon and (maybe) a couple of others.

I'm picky about tea, too.

 

The iced tea in the buffet is terrible. Best to fill a drink cup with ice, make a cup of hot tea a little strong and pour over the ice.

Glad I asked. That’s probably what I’ll do. 

Trying to narrow down Cartanga excursions. Like history but I have bad feet so by that point on the trip, I am nervous about committing to walking all day. 

Family (son 12 & husband) wants to do the city tour with boat in the harbor. I'm debating whether to join them or do something else.  

Looking for reviews/recommendations from others who have done this cruise (or other Princess). There is one with cultral dancers, which I'd love but my family won't LOL.

Also:
* Safety if I chose to go on a different excursion by myself? (woman in 40s)

* and about this incline at the Fort? Does anyone have a picture of this? 

Hi.  We are leaving on Island Princess to Panama Canal on 11/26. 

I don't drink coffee but I drink tea - hot & iced.  Is it possible to get just a cup of hot water if I want to bring my own tea bags? (I have a few favorites & not knowing what they have on board). How much is hot tea on board? 

And, does anyone know if the Coffee Grounds package inlcudes hot tea? I think it says unlimited but 15 specialty coffees.  I don't drink coffee at all but do dring hot chocolate & tea so may be worth it?

following as I often bring my own sheets on a trip due to allergy to an ingredient in most commercial detergents.  😞 If not a standard Twin or Q size then I guess I'm out of luck. 

Wondering about Princess kids club. The Lodge is 8-12 and Treehouse is 13+. 

Our son will be just a couple of months shy of 13 on our cruise so we are concerned that 8 yr olds may be a little young and he will likely have more in common with the teens.  I wish they had (say) a 12-14 or something similar as some other lines do.  I know the teens don't have to sign out, which is a concern; but curious about the experiences others have had. 

Thanks! 

Thought I was quoting a response to my original post when I posted a new comment. 

But then saw that I was not and posted another response WITH the appropriate comment quoted. 

Then went back to the original comment that did not include the quote and found that the edit option was no longer showing up. 

Is there any way to delete my comment without the quoted information? It looks messy & is now duplicated info. and more for mobile users to scroll through. It’s ridiculous that self-deleting is not allowed as every other message board & online community has a way.

I’m hoping someone can help! 🙂 

[although this is a new user name, I was a member previously years ago w an email address I can no longer access so am not a newbie to CC 🙂 ]

54 minutes ago, JF - retired RRT said:

Two words...Kids Club.

Princess has an excellent Kids Club. Sign up right away after you board.

So the challenge with that is that they have 8-12 and 13-17. 

He will be 2 months shy of 13 so while he is excited about the kids club space (he’s already found videos of it online) & I’ve read about some of the cool educational activities they do, he’s pretty sure he’d prefer the older kids. I wish they had a 12-14ish age as there is a HUGE difference between 8&12 and 12&17. :( 

also don’t really want him completely unsupervised. So it’s tricky. 

Taking our son on his first cruise in Nov/Dec this year (Panama Canal). He’s excited there is a kids club area but not sure he will fit. He’s 12 and will actually only be a couple of months shy of his 13th bday when we go, but the kids club is 8-12 & 13-17. 

Has anyone done a Cruise with this age, particularly w Princess? Curious to hear your tips/experiences. 

11 hours ago, geoherb said:

The one thing we did not like about Club Class dining (when we took an upsell to a suite) is that, at least on our ship, they did not do shared tables unless you arrived at the same time and requested it. We ate a couple of nights with a nice family, but our other nights we were at tables for just the two of us.

I kind of like meeting other people and will miss that but w so many people doing ATD now vs traditional, I know it’s not the same as it once was. 

Hopefully we will find some other kids around his age 

7 hours ago, BoopTennis said:

Hi. Our grandson hung with adults part of the time but also found kids his age on the ship to swim and play ping pong etc. he did not do kids club activities this time although he has in the past. I think that was because he was at the very upper age of one group and just a month or so too young to be in the next age group 

This is exactly what I wondered about.  He will be almost 13. He likes the appeal of the kids space and I like that he might meet other kids there but he’s between ages. He’ll be 2 mos shy of 13.  I was surprised as there is a BIG difference between 8 & 12. I’d think 7-10 and 11-13ish would be better breakdowns even if they are in the same space. I’m guessing from your post that they aren’t really flexible about that (off to the family section to post next lol)

I guess we will find out lol. We were definitely on the fence. I think the ultimate flexibility in dining times won my husband over (our son hates lines & he wasn’t sure we’d make late TD every night). That will be different as I kind of like getting to know people on cruises. 

ETA: apparently the mini suite is uncovered and club mini-suite partially covered also. Though not sure what the big difference is. Does that mean partially covered is less private?

I know this is older but TY! (apparently I can’t send messages) We are taking this cruise w our 12 yr old over Thanksgiving (& week following). 

Did your grandson do any of the kids club activities or stick with the adults? One thing we were trying to sort out at his age (& I know there probably aren’t many kids onboard to start) 

We have a hold on Mini-Suite (mid-forward but only the 2nd cabin from mid) for 10 day Panama Canal on Island Princess. Over the weekend a deal came up for a Club Class (same deck) that (when all bonuses, prepaid gratuities, etc are factored in) would be about $300 more total (3 people). 

Any thoughts from the more seasoned travelers as we don’t know the typical Princess experience to compare? We were planning on doing traditional dining with late seating (we eat late at home) — but not sure how Princess schedules their entertainment & shows in the PM either. We have a 12 yr old who hates lines too lol. 

Our 1st Princess Cruise & first in about 15 years for husband & I. 

8 hours ago, LeeW said:

Assuming you are doing the 10/11 day partial transit (but occasionally Island and Coral switch off on this).

Definitely book the tour where you get off the ship in Gatun Lake and take the small boat the rest of the way through the locks.  You CAN touch the walls and generally lock through with one or more large ships. 

 

And ask the pilot about the dent in the Miraflores Lock if you are in the right hand lock.

 

Longer trips typically don't have a huge number of kids but this is a good one for an engineer.  Although expensive you might want to look into booking the ship tour as well.  There will also be lectures on the Canal and narration during the passage.  Often there are ship officer discussions in the theater.

 

Best views of passage are typically on the Promenade deck, but you need to move around constantly.

Yes- 10 days.  His grandparents (grandpa engineer) went years ago & loved the talks etc so we’re excited!

And he will love a ship’s tour! He is fascinated by how things work and operate. 

:-)

Thanks!

Hi. Would love to hear from anyone who has done this itinerary &/or cabin info. 

We are 2 adults & tween boy (12) who loves engineering & exploring. He’s used to being around adults too.  He’s excited. 

Wondering

* number of kids typically on this itinerary during TG break!

* tips & excursion info 

* cabin info sleeping 3 (we’ve never cruised with the kid & know every ship is different). 

Weve typically done interior center cabins because I’m sensitive to motion, but can’t imagine such a tiny space with 3 of us and a rollaway.  Is it worth it to get bigger room? What about motion on this ship?

Anything else would should

know? Thanks!

31 minutes ago, kitkat343 said:

We sailed on the 10 day roundtrip Panama Canal cruise with our then 2 year old in 2013. ...independent excursions we took on our Panama Canal cruise, and it has a lot of really good destinations for kids (I think they cut Aruba, which is a bit unfortunate since that was beautiful).  You'd need to check what ship they use - in 2013, it was either the Coral/Island which I quite liked, but at least in 2013, there wasn't much on the actual ship for kids although the kids club is excellent so we didn't mind, and even sailed on the Coral twice - once in Alaska, and the second time to Panama.  And RSLeesburg is correct - Alaska is also a great destination for kids.  But I actually quite liked the Panama Canal cruise for children also, and you might want to try posting on the Princess forum to see if anyone has any firsthand experience with the number of kids on this cruise over a holiday.  

 

Oh, and in addition to the tours included in my review I didn't know prior to my cruise about one place that you might want to research - there is a sloth sanctuary in Costa Rica near Limon.

 

Thanks! See above re Alaska. :-)

Our son is a science/engineering kid, & an only child so used to spending time with adults. But also loves the idea of a kids space to hang out a bit. It looks like they have a lot of new things in their renovated kids club so we will see. 

I will cross my fingers that there are more kids though TG will surely have fewer than that busy week because it does require missing a

couple of days of school. 

I will definitely post in the Princess group to find out more. 

I’m hoping he doesn’t love the sloth idea lol (they gross me out) but I’ll ask :-) 

17 hours ago, RSLeesburg said:

we were considering the partial PC over Christmas, and our TA told us that even over the holidays the cruise would be much older crowd. He talked us into Alaska, and it was the best recommendation ever.  Amazing location and cruise.  If your son wants a big ship, Royal has Allure in Europe this summer.  

Thanks!  Good problem to have —

Husband & I have done Alaska cruise and we all spent a week inland (Anchorage & Denali) a couple of years ago so it will probably be a while before we do a cruise there :-) 

Hi. It's been about 15  years since we've cruised (darn!) & used different ID then. 

Looking for cruise options for family with 12 yr old boy this summer or Thanksgiving Week -- very curious, loves travel (we have Galapagos on our list next summer as it was too late to do economically this year, for example; & he's been to iceland, london, parts of canada, & 20 US States including Alaska). Has requested a 'big boat' so we are looking for ideas. 

Considering Panama Canal over TG week but have never done Princess & wonder if it will be too old for him.  Husband & I have always preferred Celebrity. 7-10 days. Ideally $1500 or less pp. 

Thoughts? Recommendations? Teen programs (at night mostly) or is he better off just staying with us? 

Thanks!