beckntom

I just boarded the Crown and the all inclusive drink package is $52 a day plus 15% gratuity. Wine by the bottle is still 40% off.

That's great, Sara! All that worry I did for nothing. ;p

Our experience in January with SuperShuttle at San Pedro leads us to say "never again." There was no organization upon boarding the van at the pier--more of a "who can push their way to the front of the line" mentality. Don't want to go through that again.

Our last experience with a Princess transfer (at a different port) wasn't much better: Wait in a line for boarding the bus and then sit on the bus waiting for it to finally leave. Driver didn't much care if passengers were dropped off at the proper terminal, and we worried about some who weren't paying attention themselves.

I'm traveling to Seattle this weekend to board the Ruby and will use Uber for the first time. More expensive than the Princess shuttle (especially for a solo traveler) but I will be in control of the situation. Looking forward to the new experience.

There's lots of discussion about this on the West Coast Departures board.

Going from 10 days Inside to 10 days of fresh air and daylight , I would be tempted to go for it .

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Yes, I would, too. Having a balcony is about more than just the day going through the canal. There are nine more days of balcony enjoyment!

I'm excited for you! Go for it!

it WAS OP's comment. :) lol He was the one who made a "pretty snide comment".

Indeed. So funny, Thrak!

klfhngr, maybe they will get one of the obstructed cabins that has no real obstruction! We've had those several times, and they can be amazing. Of course, we picked them out ourselves but your son and his wife might get lucky! In any event, light is GOOD! I hope all of you have an amazing cruise!

We booked an inside for the Crown, 20 days Caribbean for March, 2019 and got Sip and Sail Promo for an inside cabin. As a side note, there were very very few inside cabins left when we booked a couple of months ago, perhaps because of the Promo

Did you book through Princess or did you book through that unnamed travel agency that was offering, for three days, the AIBP, free gratuities, OBC, etc.? Maybe that was the difference. This was early in the summer before Princess ran the S&S. I know quite a few CCers took advantage of that agency's sale, but even then I never heard that interior cabins were included. BUT they would be able to make their own rules regarding that.

You're right, of course, it IS a good rate. However, I was determined to get the $139 or stick with my original hotel booking. I'm happy enough where I am and already have plans made for restaurants, etc., in that area (hotel is on Robson), so no worries. We'll be back in Vancouver in May 2019, so maybe we'll stay at the Pan Pacific then! Thanks SO much for your help!

My suggestion to you is to call the hotel directly and ask if there is a special for the date that you want. Good luck!

Well, I tried, to no avail. :( She was only able to offer me a "senior" rate of $219 USD ($271 CAD). I then told her about an "acquaintance on a cruise board" who had a rate of $139 for the 6th and 7th, and she was astounded. I guess you just hit them at the right time with your phone call! I'm glad I tried, so thanks again for the information! Have a great cruise!

Hi, Sara. I have in my notes from the 2014 cruise that we were arriving in Newport at 7:00 and meeting our guide at 9:00. I don't recall there being any problems with that schedule.

And the morning of departure the next occupants names are already in your name slot before you've even left!!

Oh, the pain of that one is REAL! :eek:

I am in shock too at the price, and we are so thrilled. We will be there Oct 6&7, we booked an extra day because of the price. We board our ship on Oct. 8th.

I was looking at hotels on the website for my credit card and saw it. I ended up calling the Panny directly and I must say that the reservation desk has the nicest, most helpful people. I confirmed the rate and was told that it was a cruise package special that they were offering for those dates. The surprise is that it includes a full breakfast each morning, a 2pm check-out, and delivery of our luggage to the cruise ship.

My suggestion to you is to call the hotel directly and ask if there is a special for the date that you want. Good luck!

I will definitely be doing that (calling direct)! I always prefer booking direct with the hotel, but it never occurred to me that such a special might be available! I will let you know how I make out with them. Thanks again!

. . . will be staying at the Pan Pacific. We snagged a room for $139 USD per day and that includes breakfast.

Wow, any tips on how you did that? I will be in Vancouver for one night post cruise on October 1st and would love to stay at the Pan Pacific. I just haven't been able to justify the cost!

Hi,

 

I've booked room M123 on the Marina deck on the Royal Princess. Because I booked through Costco, I wasn't aware until after that the room has what they call "PART OBSTRUCTED VIEWGLASS BALCONY RAIL." Has anyone been on this ship close to there? How obstructed is it really?

 

Thanks

Are you sure about that cabin number? It doesn't appear to be an obstructed view but rather a normal balcony cabin.

Since none of them are Princess ships, I suggest checking out the Carnival (3 ships if I remember correctly) and Royal Caribbean (1 ship) boards. I'm sure the situation is being discussed there.

It's certainly being discussed on the Carnival board. It's a pretty interesting thread, too, and one in which I'm happy not to have a personal cruising interest. The last few days have been challenging for those of us in Texas.

We once were in a similar situation where the whole bus waited 40 minutes for a couple to return.

I would have been furious! And, yes, one of the reasons we prefer private tours!

If there are other cabins available in the category you were assigned, and you like their locations better, you can request that Princess move you to one of those other cabins.

You do realize this is a good argument for not booking guarantees. If location matters to you, select your own cabin at booking time. It's the only way to be sure you get what you really like.

nice but highly over-rated..spend your $$ on one of the specialty restaurants

I totally disagree. One of our nicest cruises experiences ever. MUCH nicer than a specialty restaurant. But that's my opinion, and you have yours.

We've had a Emerald cabin over Crooners and never heard a sound at any time.

Good. We will be in an Emerald cabin over Crooners for a Transatlantic next fall, so this is good to hear.

Does anyone else get annoyed by the "stock" pre-cruise emails from Princess? I would really enjoy getting these if they were actually tailored to the specific voyage/ship but they all come standard so once you're read one, you really don't need to get them again! I assume they are helpful to first time cruisers but if you sail often, it just gets kind of "junk mail" like. My biggest pet peeve about them is that, depending on the sailing, the information isn't even accurate. I just got one for the one-night on Ruby telling me to reserve my all inclusive beverage package in the personalizer! How I would love to do so - but we all know it's not available on the one night. If I was new to cruising, I would likely be trying to figure out how to buy a package that isn't available.

I got that e-mail, too, of course, and my favorite part was about purchasing shore excursions! On a one-nighter? ;p

I've never read a word about cabins in this location having noise issues. Personally, I think it's a prime location. We are in E410 for two weeks in 2018 and E408 for two weeks in 2019. The view from this "obstructed" view cabin appears to be excellent, according to the Renmar site. I would be very pleased with this assignment.

There's the problem, I have not been able to find a GOOD T/A, most just want to take your "order"

That's all mine has to do 90-95% of the time. But when I need her to step up, she does.

I wish I could help you with a name. :(

Kind of an odd post for a business person. "Hey everyone, I'm in business to provide a service to you. Here's a situation where I couldn't. But really, it wasn't my fault. ...Really. .....Anyone else want to hire me?"

Exactly! Great post.

I tried to get Princess to release a cabin to me that was "zeroed" out for the next leg of the cruise and the answer was absolutely NO.:(

You might need a good TA. Mine did that for me recently for a Transatlantic that was booked in three or four segments with different cabins being available for each segment. Initially she said she might have no luck with Princess, but she persisted for me and got it done. Yay for an excellent TA who goes to bat for her clients!

Glad I have an experienced TA.

Amen! This really makes us appreciate what we have, doesn't it. I absolutely cannot imagine my very professional and knowledgeable TA coming here to Cruise Critic to complain about a problem that she can't get resolved with Princess! No way would she do that! In the first place, her network and resources are wide enough that she WOULD get it resolved--she might be a bit frustrated, but it would get done without venting here on CC.

I'll be careful when ordering bacon....or will I? :)

Now, THAT is funny! :')