Kitty Ellas Mom

Well I thought this was all settled and then received my luggage today. The international sized carry on was 10" deep, not 9" as amazon advertised. I am so, so angry. It says 10" on the tag on the bag. Now I have to do an amazon return as well as everything else I have to do to get ready. How in the world could they make a carry on luggage that deep when most airlines only allow 9"? It's hard sided so I don't dare try to fit it in. This was Delsey Helium Aero, with glowing reviews all over the net. I guess I'll probably get that smaller London Fog, but it was enough smaller all around I'd lose a lot of packing space.

I typically use my Macbookpro and use Chrome. This works for almost everything else. I have to use my name and booking number to get into the app on my Galaxy phone. But I know I need to uninstall and reinstall it, I just haven't taken the time yet. It still thinks I'm going on my canceled cruise from 2022, in some places, even though I was able to check in with few issues for the current cruise. It is confused b/c I was very close to going last time, all checked in, and had to cancel for an emergency. But on my computer it just.....doesn't work right. Maybe half the time.

I forgot to mention that people complained about having to line up for just about everything. But I expected that anyway.

I'm on a Canada / New England 10 day on Caribbean Princess in 1.5 weeks. Obviously I did a lot of research before finalizing my booking, but someone on my roll call just posted that they read the recent reviews and they weren't favorable, so I unwisely read them. Now I'm worried about things like AC being broken and propulsion issues (but I know in Canada it might be more of an issue if heating didn't work). I've been on CC long enough to know that a lot of ship reviews are negative, so I take it with a grain of salt, but I'd like to know what people who've cruised recently on the CP think. This is my 1st cruise so I don't have another ship to compare it to. What positives and negatives should I expect, now? I am mostly just looking fwd to a break from my responsibilities at home (I'm traveling solo) so it would be hard for the ship to seriously displease me, although inadequate climate control would be a problem.

I've had this password issue for as long as I can remember with Princess. It's become so bad that I know that the 1st time I try it almost always won't let me in. Maybe 50% of the time it lets me in on the 2nd try. If it repeatedly doesn't work I give up and try again later.

Update: Thanks to everyone for all the responses. I ended up getting a 19" Delsey hardsided carry on and the matching medium sized checked bag. I'm not sure how I'll like hardsided luggage but wanted to give it a try. With a large # of kids leaving for college soon if I don't like it someone will take it. I also fell in love with a soft sided set from Travelpro but that one is currently sold out. If I don't love having a hard sided luggage I may give it to one of my kids and get a soft one again.

Thanks all. I did find today that nothing at the mall worked b/c every carry on was at least 22", and I needed something 21.5" or less. I did find a Delsey hardshell one on amazon that I like but I'm going to sleep on it. I do see the advantage of having a soft sided one too, but that is what I've always had and I wanted something that would better protect things.

I'm about to purchase new luggage b/c ours is more than 12 yrs old and doesn't glide like today's suitcases do (and some of it broke on my last flight). I'm looking for hard shelled and medium price range. My question is, what works best for a cruise, as I know you need to store it in your cabin. I'm thinking of having one airplane carry on size suitcase and one of the smaller type airplane checked bags. It's a total 14 day trip and I plan to do laundry at the half way point; have not decided if that will be me doing it with the machines or paying for Princess to do it. (Cruise is Caribbean Princess 10 day Canada / New England.) I'm taking the Amtrak train to get to NYC for the departure so I have to follow their size rules and then going home on Air Canada and United. I know the dimensions for all of those. But, I am buying luggage for the long term so any advice is welcome. I've tried to make a list of all the airlines I have flown or think I"ll fly but it got tedious. I really wish there were one standard size. Also has anyone had trouble with Amtrak not allowing the larger size suitcases, as they don't have any checked baggage service on my train, only carry on. I read a lot on the net that they just allow anything, not worrying about sizes, but I don't want to get caught with too big a suitcase at the station.

So, don't bring water shoes? That is what I was thinking when someone else suggested what you wear to the beach. But I can see how this could be more slippery due to rocks. I'm thinking of a very old (but serviceable) pair of sneakers that I'd just throw away before getting back on the bus (having extra shoes with me). I don't know if that's overkill or not though. I don't know how muddy they will be getting. Maybe I could just wash them off and then throw them away when back onboard the ship.

I'm going to Hopewell Rocks when the tide is out and we can walk on the ocean floor. What kind of shoes should I bring? Something completely disposable like very old sneakers, or something else? Any other tips about walking around? I am solo so won't have a travel companion to lean on, literally.

Very basic question: it's my first cruise, on Caribbean Princess. I always carry a bottled water with me (or some kind of water container). I have the Plus package, I think (perk from my travel agent, I can't remember the specifics). Will I be able to tell my steward to stock me up with bottled water? Or is bottled water no longer on Princess ships? I remember hearing something about a cruise line not having it but can't remember which one. Thanks for any advice. I am all for refillable bottles but am loathe to use anything like a water fountain b/c of germs.

I haven't been there, but when I checked google maps it gave me a 1 minute walk from the cruise terminal to the narrow guage train. Can someone tell us if that's accurate? If it is I'm going to change my plan to include the train, as it's so close.....

Yes, I agree with everyone, I won't do it. I will go with my original plan for other stuff I missed last time I was in Boston: gravestones tour, art museum. Thank you.

Wow, Paula MacFan, thank you so much! You've convinced me to go on the excursion, I think. 🙂

Yes, I remember you from the Roll Call too! See you soon.

Thanks so much all this is very useful. I did see the restrooms info on the website; when I look at an excursion I usually look first at the "excursion details" before the descriptions. But, I was unsure if restrooms being available meant that they'd stop somewhere, or if it was available on the bus itself.

Thanks all. All of my excursions so far are booked through Princess.

My first cruise is a Canada / New England on Caribbean Princess in 3 weeks. I have a few excursions that require an hour or longer on a bus each way (and one, to Hopewell Rocks, that is 2 hrs each way). Can I expect these buses to have bathrooms? I need to use a seat cushion for a medical condition--can I expect to be allowed to leave it on the bus? I'm not sure how to contact the tour operators for the tours. Thanks for any info. I am prepared to take my cushion with me if necessary, but the 2 hr Hopewell Rocks drive each way is daunting---and I don't want to take the cushion with me if I might fall into mud. I am thinking about canceling that one. When I booked this I thought I'd be allowed to stop using the cushion, but the dr is now saying it's with me forever. Sigh. I don't want this to stop me from doing what I want but my goal for the cruise was complete relaxation and thinking about this 4 hrs on a bus that day is not sounding relaxing.

I've been booked on a Hopewell Rocks excursion in St. Johns for the Bay of Fundy for a long time, but I've always been unsure I want to go. The excursion itself sounds great, with 2.5 hours at the rocks (I've looked at tide tables and it is partial for awhile and then full for the rest of the excursion, so I'd be able to walk on the ocean floor). The problem is the 2 hr each way bus ride. I'm just not sure I'm up for it b/c I have a neuralgia for which sitting is a bad thing. I'm also just averse to long drives to begin with, too. This bus ride will actually be much longer than the train to get to the cruise or the plane to get home. I have a special cushion I have to bring for things like this. I do have a couple of other excursions where there is a 1 hr bus ride but that isn't nearly as daunting. This is my first cruise so I don't know what to expect. Will they let me leave my cushion on the bus? If I had to carry it around with me on this particular excursion it would be very difficult, as it is a cumbersome thing (doable, but big and in the way, on a strap). I am traveling solo so there is nobody to help me carry it. I do travel with an extra cushion just in case I lose one, so if someone stole it I'd not be without (but it would be back on the ship). Also, should I expect these buses (on this excursion and others) to have bathrooms? I've been assuming they do but wouldn't be surprised if they don't, or if they are out of order. I don't know how to contact the tour operator and have heard so much about Princess reps getting things wrong that I'm hesitant to trust info from them about these things. I'm seriously thinking of canceling the excursion and just doing something easy that day, but a friend's photos of the Hopewell Rocks were part of why I decided to go on this cruise instead of another I was considering. I am aware that some of the more famous rock formations collapsed but I still like what is there. I have no idea if I will ever return, so it's kind of a FOMO thing too. I'm aware that it's more dramatic and exciting to go there both when tide is in and out, but that isn't an option for our port times.

I'm on a Caribbean Princess Canada / New England with a stop in Boston on Sept 21. The port time is 11 am - 8 pm. Is there any chance of being able to go to Martha's Vineyard and tour the painted houses? I'm doubting it based on looking at tour times, but still wanted to ask. I would be very worried about getting back to the ship due to traffic etc, but this was one of my main goals when I went to Boston for a week, and it was rained out. Thanks for any info.

Thanks all. I will try uninstalling and reinstalling. And probably waiting. I read some other threads and sooooooo many people have issues.

I was booked on a Princess cruise last year departing June '22, and had to cancel about a week away from departure for a family emergency. I had gone through all of the check in procedures on the app already. There is no doubt it was canceled, and my travel insurance paid etc. I've paid almost no attention to the app since then, but went in tonight to start getting checked in for the cruise I booked to replace that one, which departs Sept 19 on a different ship and itinerary. Weirdly, it keeps showing me a screen that says it's 8 days 19 hrs etc to my cruise, and then a barcode and the name of the original ship, itinerary etc. I think this is still there b/c I never scanned in with the barcode last year, but it seems weird that it's there, especially the countdown saying how many days. Does this require deleting and reinstalling the app to fix? I am hoping to avoid that but will if necessary. It did let me go all the way through the steps to get my medallion, knowing my current cruise, but then didn't let me have it mailed to me. I figured out later that it was b/c I still had not done all the checklist. I am still hoping to get it mailed to me when I finish the checklist--and I think it's working right b/c it didn't think I'd finished the checklist like I did in 2022. Thanks for any info---I really haven't spent much time with the app, and know I need to get more savvy with it.

Update to this old thread: I'm seeing now that the tide tables for my exact day show a favorable tide when I'll be there. It is "partial access" for about a half hour and then full access, with the tide, out, for the rest of the time. So, I could walk on the ground. I like this idea, although a 2 hr drive still doesn't appeal too much. At the moment I'm thinking to do the excursion. It's just so very different from anything else I've seen.

Ports are, with excursions I'm pretty sure about: --departs Brooklyn (I'm doing a lot of museums in NYC day before) --Newport, Rhode Island (I'm doing Breakers and Marble House) --Boston, Mass (ghosts and gravestones tour, Faneuil hall, maybe art museum too) --Portland, Maine --Saint John for the Bay of Fundy (probably Hopewell Rocks, undecided if keeping that) --Halifax --Sydney --Charlottetown (Anne of Green Gables museums) --Quebec (overnight) BTW the main issue with the Hopewell Rocks to me isn't that some of it is gone now, but that it's a 2 hr drive on a bus both ways to get there. I'm uncertain if this is worth 4 hrs on a bus. But a friend showing me pics of her time there is part of what convinced me to take this cruise, plus there isn't anything else like it on the cruise.

From what I can tell some Hopewell Rocks collapsed but not all.