born2cruize

Can either Pam or the OP talk about how a river cruise can accommodate a handicap person. I can walk short distances with assistance. But need my scooter for any involved walking. I've read that they do not support disabled passengers.

I find booking early to get the handicap room I want, at a price I'm satisfied with suits me. I also use a TA that has prices far less than Princess, she also will reduce when Princess drops their prices.

My experience is in Ft. Lauderdale and San Pedro. The local unions are pretty darned strict.

Interesting, my experience was San Pedro (2008), Seattle (2009), Venice 2011, Civitavecchia (2011), Vancouver (2012), Whittier (2012 Debarkation and Embarkation), Vancouver (2012), Fort Lauderdale (2013), Venice (2013), Civitavecchia (2013), and Southampton (2014).

While it seems most of my cruises have been outside the US. I have done San Pedro, Seattle, Whittier and Fort Lauderdale. Whittier may have been the one port that our pushers were from the terminal (but they took us off the ship from the lounge and brought us back onto the ship after our land tour). I only say that because they wore white dress shirts not the standard housekeeper attire that our other port pushers wore.

Don't know if this had an effect in San Pedro but we were not in the main terminal but a side terminal that looked like a temporary building.

Hi, I've begun doing my homework to plan an Alaska cruise next year. Question: I've heard people say that Princess is one of the best lines to cruise to Alaska on.....but why? Are there any major differences with Princess over the other lines that you can inform me of? We've never cruised on Princess at all so I'm not familiar with it. We have been to the Caribbean on Carnival, Celebrity and Royal Caribbean.

ALSO:

Does Princess have a naturalist on board the whole week to describe what you are seeing while on the ship? I've heard some only have that while in Glacier Bay and .some have it the whole cruise.

Thanks

I believe that Princess is the only major cruise line that on their one way cruises has two different glacier days. Northbound visiting Glacier Bay National Park and College Fjord and Southbound visiting Hubbard Glacier and Glacier Bay National Park. In addition to the naturist on board they also will have guest lecturers that come on board on different days. In 2009 and 2012 they had Libby Riddles as lecturer in Juneau. She was the first woman to win the Iditarod.

One thing to remember is that your time on the internet doesn't stop because you shut down your machine or go off-line. Your times end when you log out of the ships wi-fi service. You could actual use up your entire minutes if you fail to log out.

Also the first thing you should do is stop by the internet cafe and pickup a sheet of paper that has step by step instruction on logging in and out.

Ship's crew are not allowed to work in the terminal due to labor agreements. For instance, if someone is in a wheelchair, port staff will wheel the chair to the gangway, not onto the ship. Ship's crew wheels the chair from the gangway onto the ship. They are not allowed to push a chair in the terminal.

Being someone who uses a wheelchair or now a scooter I can confirm that Princess staff assists my wife and myself from the terminal entrance all the way to our cabin. And the same staff assists us from the lounge through baggage claims to the bus or taxi. Now that I use a scooter they assist with our carryon bags from the security check point to our cabin.

Flying into and out of SeaTac 4 - 6 times a year the majority of the time planes land from the north which generally mean that the port side is the best views. Taking off is usually to the south which also means the port side is the best views of Rainier. But as said sometimes the winds change and landing is the opposite.

On another thread the poster has indicated he is faced with a $100 drop fee if he returns the car downtown. That's a huge disincentive. However alternatives to a Princess transfer would be a cab at a cost of about $35 or the less convenient but less expensive Canada Line which will cost you $9 per adult or a little less on weekends....but does require about 3 blocks of walking.

The Princess transfer for next year is $24.00 each person. I'd be incline to do what VibeGuy mentioned, drop baggage and other travelers at Canada Place, head to the airport, turn-in the car and pick up the Princess shuttle outside of the Baggage Claims. Just look for the rep.

Hi,

 

I'm due to sail on the emerald soon and was wondering if anyone had knowledge of the current price for the 12 bottle wine packages and if it is available or not on the Emerald whilst she is based out of Southampton.

Yes, the Emerald out of Southampton offers both the Silver & Gold packages in 7, 10 & 12 bottle. Silver are wines valued up to $29.00 and Gold wines are valued up to $45.00.

The link below will take you the the Princess Patters for July 12 & July 26, 2014 out of Southampton. The last page has the information concerning all the beverage programs offered.

http://www.borntocruise.org/Home/Princess_Patter.html

Last month on the Emerald these were the movies playing.

We have a 6 day cruisetour after our cruise next May and need to consider what to take for dinner/evening wear. Obviously there will be no formal nights. Is dress similar to the ship - smart/dressy casual or jeans and sweater? Will the nights be chilly in the last week of May?

Hi Anna

The chances are that the evenings will be cooler. But it does depend on which stops you are making. If it's McKinley, Denali & Fairbanks then based on our previous cruisetours Denali is apt to be cooler than McKinley. But hey you may have a heatwave going through the area.

As far as dress. Both McKinley and Denali have restaurants that are more formal (but still casual) and the other is less formal. Just dress for the weather and you'll be fine.

Just to let you know we did book our Alaska as I had mentioned previously. Cruise, 8 day land, 6 day land then cruise back to Vancouver. Another 28 days.

Two different correct answers depending on which ship you are referring to NCL Star or Star Princess?

On the link to my web site you'll find the Princess Patters for the Jul 26 - Aug 9 Baltic cruise. in them you'll also find flyers for shuttle service in different ports, port guides and more.

http://www.borntocruise.org/Home/Princess_Patter.html

Thanks for the info on the cost. My TA sort of lead me to believe it was a free shuttle back and forth. It looks like it is a neat little town. I'd love to go down and have a chance to see some wildlife also.

 

Does anyone know how late in the day the shuttles run?

The shuttle run IS FREE if and only if you are on a Princess excursion.

Got off the Emerald Princess on August 9 and we had Channel 41 (Navigational Channel) for 28 days.

Uploaded and available to view and download:

Emerald 12 - 26 July 2014 - Mediterranean Medley

Ruby 24 May - 5 June 2013 - Greek Isle

Emerald 6 - 16 January 2013 - Eastern Caribbean Voyager

Emerald 16 - 26 January 2013 - Southern Caribbean Medley

Coral 25 June - 2 July 2012 - Voyage of the Glaciers NB

Sapphire 7 - 14 July 2012 - Voyage of the Glaciers SB

Star 11 - 23 June 2011 - Greek Isles & Med

To come (Already scanned but not uploaded:

Pacific 11 - 25 June 2009 - 14 day Alaska RT Seattle

Island 21 April - 10 May 2008 - Panama Canal RT LA

Need to scan:

Emerald 26 July - 9 Aug 2014 - Baltic Heritage

Another difference (2 actually)...

1) if you choose anytime dining you do not have to prepay your grats.

2) If you book an excursion through the ship, it is not charged to your folio until the day before the excursion.

Just got off the Emerald Princess, all excursions were credited to our folio on embarkation day.

This is an updated to my website for Patters.

Please use http://www.borntocruise.org. The link in your list for the Ruby Princess is broken (I broke it :) ).

Uploaded and available to view and download:

Emerald 12 - 26 July 2014 - Mediterranean Medley

Ruby 24 May - 5 June 2013 - Greek Isle

Emerald 6 - 16 January 2013 - Eastern Caribbean Voyager

To come (Already scanned but not uploaded:

Emerald 16 - 26 January 2013 - Southern Caribbean Medley

Coral 25 June - 2 July 2012 - Voyage of the Glaciers NB

Sapphire 7 - 14 July 2012 - Voyage of the Glaciers SB

Star 11 - 23 June 2011 - Greek Isles & Med

Pacific 11 - 25 June 2009 - 14 day Alaska RT Seattle

Island 21 April - 10 May 2008 - Panama Canal RT LA

Need to scan:

Emerald 26 July - 9 Aug 2014 - Baltic Heritage

Why would you think the sign that says children need supervision overrides the sign that says ADULTS ONLY, rather than the other way around?!

 

As others have said, the "Pool Rules" signs are standard, and the signs are the same all over the ship. The ADULTS ONLY signs are only placed at the Adult pools. If you brought your kids into one of the adult pools, I would ask you to leave, and contact a crew member if you refused. ADULTS ONLY means ADULTS ONLY!!!

Under the current situation were one sign says "Adults Only" and another sign says "children OK with adult supervision" why should passengers be placed in a confrontational situation? If the regular rule said no children then a passenger reminding other passengers of the rule is no longer in a confrontational situation.

I have the unlimited soda and more package. Noticed on our recently completed cruises that I had to wait in the IC bar. Not because I had the sticker but the bartenders first priority was the the servers requests. At the IC bar the servers were very busy therefore those of us that walk up had to wait until and server requests had been completed.

Title should have been 12 - 26 July 2014.

Finally completed scanning Patters for just completed 1st cruise of a B2B.

The link below will take you to my website which at present only has Princess Patters on it.

The .pdf files may be large for some as they range up to 22 pages in size and were scanned at 300 dpi allowing for high quality files for printing.

Each Patter may contain,

1) Patter

2) Shopping Guide

3) On port days - Port Guide & Tour Order Form

4) Daily Crossword Puzzle, Trivia Puzzle & Sudoku

5) Miscellaneous other forms

Of interest on Embarkation day is included a Beverage Deals & Specialty Dining form. Not mentioned on the form is the basic soda package that was available nor the Crab Shack Dining Event that was also available. SOMETHING THAT I HAVEN'T SEEN MENTIONED ON CC IS THE FACT THAT THEIR ARE TWO WINE BOTTLE PACKAGES, A SILVER TIER AND GOLD TIER.

Hopefully I'll have the second cruise done within the next week given time.

ENJOY

http://www.borntocruise.org

Just got off the Emerald Princess and they had Fresh Brewed Coffee available in decaf for $1.25 & 1.75. Scanning Patters, Crown Grill Menus, Coffee Menus & Alcohol lists. Should be posted soon.

Huh?

You lost me on that one.

I'm saying if the posted rule states children with adult supervision is allowed no one is going to tell me my children (again if I had children) can't use the pool and hot tubs. To me a sign posted trumps a piece of paper. I wanted to be in an adult only area but after reading the POSTED RULES I had to keep my mouth shut. I know I wasn't going to get any support from the staff in the area.

For the OP-jane cambridge-were you the only other passenger at the pool during the time the kids were in the pool?

I ask this,because if there were other like-minded passengers there at the time,several complaints from various passengers might have gotten satisfactory attention from the staff.

We have been on at least five cruises where there was a Sanctuary area with an Adult Only pool.We have never seen children in or near those pools. Have never seen a sign about children needing to be accompanied by an adult.

Is this something new?

We have enjoyed that area many times as a quiet retreat-as it should be!

It seems to me that the Princess customers who.are respectful of the "rules" or guidelines for behavior and dress should be speaking up to let Princess know that

we also need to be respected in the idea of the customer is always right.

Catering to those with the loudest voice or the strongest push may very well erode the Princess cruise experience that many loyal passengers have come to expect.

This was the Emerald Princess, deck 16, because of my disability I entered from the Spa area. Majority of the other bathers came DOWN from deck 17, the Sanctuary. The sign is posted on the wall next to the 2 hot tubs. If I had children I would demand that the rules as posted be followed and therefore the adult and children that entered the pool and hot tub be allowed to use them. If this is truly an ADULT ONLY area it should state so even if the Patter on the first day says its adult only area. They're sending mix messages which only leads to unnecessary confrontations eventually.

In the aft pool/forward pool that rule does not apply.

Its adults only.

We never use the hot tubs for that very reason you described.

I'm a rule follower, and if I had children and wanted them to use the pool with me I sure as H*** would push my RIGHT to lets my children make all sort of ruckus if the POSTED rules stated such. No place did it say it did not apply to these pools. Fortunately, I don't have any children :).

Just stepped off Emerald.

We noticed that the adult only pool at the back of the ship under The Sanctuary was not supervised.I understand that there is no life guard but no one seemed bothered that children were in the pool and running around the edge of the pool.We did report it to the young man in The Sanctuary,who told us to phone the purser.We did and he then rang the young man back to tell him to remove the children.He did, but after that no one seemed to be around. We did notice twice, that there were also buckets of beers left lying around and piles of wet towels.Who is responsible for this?

As the pool had a resistance swim machine on it,it was a bit of a worry.

We also just got off the Emerald Princess last week. After reading everything on this board about the Adult ONLY pool areas I was looking forward to the pool and hot tubs by the Spa and Fitness area. After I got in, I started to read the "RULES" on the wall. It clearly states that children can enter with adult supervision. After I finished reading the "RULES" sure enough several young children traipsed down from above with and adult and started playing in the pool and hot tub. SO MUCH FOR ADULTS ONLY.