first time cruising

We are flying domestic to Sydney on 3rd October (believe it is a public holiday). Any suggestions on best way to get to cruise terminal? Thanks

We have booked a last minute 9 night cruise from Sydney to Sydney on the 3rd October on Carnival Spirit. Husband and I have sailed with several other cruise lines (most on Princess)and eager to try Carnival. I notice there is no roll call for this cruise so will start one today. A couple of questions if you don't mind. We have an ocean suite mid ship on deck 6. Are these balconies fully covered? Is it possible to order champagne to be in the cabin on arrival? Can we order a bottle of spirits to drink in our cabin over the length of the cruise. Is bubble bath provided for spa bath? Probably a million more questions but that is is for now. Thank you in anticipation for some replies.

We took the ferry from Salerno to Capri. Also took the local bus to Amalfi and Ravello. They are building a new cruise terminal. Not sure when it will be opened, but very close to the city centre. We also took the ferry to Amalfi and Positano as you really need to see the coast from the water. Not sure how much time you will have in Salerno but there is a very interesting castle "Castello di Arechi" that is worth a visit.

We recently spent a week in Salerno. It really is not far to walk from the pier to the town centre.

We were in cabin C718 on a 32 day cruise immediately before Island Princess went into dry dock. The vibration was really bad in this cabin and unfortunately the only available cabins for us to move to were in the same area. Because we did not want the vibration to spoil our holiday we made fun of the situation and put up with it. We really hoped that after the dry dock the vibration issue would be fixed. By reading reports seemed this did not happen. If you can change cabins I would suggest to. Sorry!

We were on Island Princess before dry dock. Had an aft mini suite. The vibration was very bad in our cabin. As they were going to put suites next to where our cabin was we were hoping they would address the vibration issues in dry dock otherwise thought there would be many unhappy passengers. We did ask to move but the only available cabins were next to ours with the same vibration problem. As we were on board for 32 days we HAD to get used to it.

I sent Princess an email regarding issues we had on our 32 day cruise from San Pedro to Venice (the last cruise before Island Princess went into dry dock) about two months ago. Received a generic reply saying my issues would be looked at and I would receive a reply (normally within 10 days). Since I received no reply for six weeks I sent another email to Princess. Once again I received the generic reply but still not an answer from them. Is it normal for them to take so long to reply or are they hoping I will go away? If anyone has any suggestions on what I can do next please post. Thanks.

We are departing on 32 night cruise from San Pedro to Venice on 6th March 2015. On our previous Princess cruise I'm sure we were able to cancel a pre booked excursion right up until the previous day of the excursion. On looking at booking excursions for this cruise I read the cancellation policy to say you must cancel 30 prior to the cruise.

Could any regular Princess cruise customers please give me your version of cancellation policy.

Thanks for help, Cruise Critic has helped me so much in the past.

Hi, hope you have a wonderful cruise. We are on the 32 night cruise which departs San Pedro on the 6th March on the Island Princess through the canal and then to Venice. If you are able could you please give us your thoughts on the cruise when you have time. Many thanks:)

Thanks for your prompt replies. My husband and I are fairly fit (after 32 days on board maybe a different story) so we have gone ahead and booked that train. Great advice about doing the walk the day before so we know exactly where to go and how long it will take. Looking forward to our cruise which departs LA through the Panama Canal to Venice.:)

Advice please. Our cruise arrives in Venice on 6th April 2015 and we overnight there on the ship. My question for experienced passengers is:- would it be possible to do our own walk off the ship and be able to catch a train leaving St Lucia station at 8.50am. Any help would be great, thanks.

Thanks everyone. Great advice:)

I have posted a thread on our roll call for thoughts on inoculations for the above cruise. Husband and I are booked on the 32 day cruise from San Pedro to Venice via the Panama Canal in March 2015. My husband is convinced we should have all the injections to cover any sort of disease that may be in those areas. Of course we will visit the Travel Doctor before we leave but was just trying to get some feed back from seasoned cruisers. Thanks :confused:

Further to my last post, I just re read an email I received from the Senior Customer Solutions Coordinator from Princess cruises on the 3rd July 2014. It states that Island Princess will be in Wet dock from April 7 until May 21 but also states these dates are subject to change.

I did post earlier my concern on being on a ship that is due to go to dry/wet dock immediately after our cruise finishes. Hence my email to Princess and their reply telling me we will experience the same level of enjoyment. Hopefully that is so and that our cruise is not compromised in any way.

You are starting to get me worried! We are booked on the Island Princess leaving San Pedro on the 6th March for a 32 night cruise ending in Venice on the 7th April 2015. We have heard nothing from Princess cruises or our Travel agent to say part of our cruise has been cancelled. Should I be worried?:confused:

Thanks for all your great replies! I will call Princess Australia and see what they can find out for me. If the BVE does not happen we will just get off the ship and enjoy the time with our Canadian friends.

Hi, we are doing this cruise but are staying on board for the Fort Lauderdale to Venice leg. Nice to know there will be fellow Aussies on board. There is a roll call for this cruise but so far not many signed up. See you in how many days?:)

Hi, we are on 32 day cruise from LA to Venice. Did not realise it is a B2B cruise when we booked it. Have noticed one of the segments is from Fort Lauderdale to Venice. My question is to the knowledgeable CC experts is:-

Would two of our friends (Canadians) be eligible to meet us (Australians) as part of the BVE in Fort Lauderdale? I have read about the BVE on Cruise Critic but for the life of me can not find any information on the Princess web site. Thanks.

Still no reply from Princess but have now asked our Travel Agent if he can get an answer from them. Thanks everyone.

Thank you for your replies. I did email Princess voicing my concerns but as yet have not received a reply from them. I too will be very disappointed if we do not have the cruising experience we are expecting. Flying from Australia is a very long and expensive trek to get to the start of a cruise. Also 32 days will be a long time to be on board if things are not operating as "normal".

We are booked on the 32 night cruise that finishes in Venice on April 7 2015. My concern is the state of the ship for this cruise. Could seasoned cruises please let me know if I should be concerned? Read somewhere of alcohol running out:( and other factors that were noticeable on a ship prior to dry dock. Thanks.

Great review, thank you. We have booked a mini suite on the Island Princess next March. I am confused as thought the larger balcony with the half covered/half uncovered was on Caribe deck. Maybe someone can set me right! Thanks:confused:

We were lucky enough to experience the Chef's table last year on the Emerald. It was a fantastic and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Make sure you phone the dine line as soon as you board. Next year we will be sailing on the Island Princess and I'm hoping we are lucky enough to be chosen once more.

The cook book is heavy to cart home (Australia) but I'm sure we could find a fellow passenger that would take it off our hands.:)

San Diego Sue, are the Caribe balconies on the Island bigger than normal sized balconies? We had Caribe balcony on the Emerald Princess last year and it was bigger than normal. Glad to hear you enjoyed the Island Princess as I have been a bit concerned as it is due for refit after our cruise finishes in Venice next April.

Thanks for replies. We are considering the 32 day cruise from LA, through the Panama Canal and finishing in Venice.:)