karatemom2

Priority boarding yes once you are through your check in process via your assigned lane. There is no longer a Suite or Elite line at check in. The best way to ensure expedient boarding is to get in the Green Lane and have your medallions shipped so your check in process is easier and you pass through to boarding more quickly.

You just tell them what you want to swap out and then leave everything as it is - they will come in and make the replacements. If it is just a few specific items, just be sure to tell them exactly what you want taken away and what you prefer in exchange. No need for you to pull them out.

We had L102 on Royal on our Alaska trip out of Vancouver in 2022. It was glorious! We have been to Glacier Bay a number of times, but experiencing it on our forward facing balcony was the best, just beauty in every direction.

Yes, even though the parking is very convenient it is easier to drop your bags off and then park. Given you are in the Green Lane and have your medallions, boarding should be quick and easy once you get through security.

We have always enjoyed the soft serve on our Princess cruises. I have been known to go out and get a scoop to go on top of my bread pudding or brownie dessert from the buffet. It’s been shared on the Sun Princess thread that while they still have “free” soft serve available near the buffet, the soft serve at the ice cream venue by the pool is $5 - because it’s “premium”. Not sure what constitutes premium soft serve, but I don’t think I would pay $5 for it. If I want to pay for premium ice cream, I’ll have the gelato!

We have experienced some pretty long lines at YVR immigration, both coming and going. The time frame you mention would be tight even in a situation where you weren’t clearing immigration. I would look for a longer connection.

Agree with this, we have never asked our steward. It has always been our understanding that this is a room service function. We usually call in the afternoon after boarding and generally we come back to the cabin to find it switched out after dinner or at latest by the next day. We also switch out for 20 diet cokes.

Thanks for your review. We loved the 360 experience on the Discovery on our New Year’s cruise. Like you, I agree that I wouldn’t necessarily need to do it again, but very worth the investment to do it once. Sounds like you had a great cruise!!

We have used Blackberry and also a company called EC Minibus which is especially good if you want to do any type of tour - like fo Stonehenge or Windsor castle - on the way.

Yes. The orange soufflé is always a great way to start the cruise!

Thanks for the live thread! Enjoy Sagrada Familia - it’s spectacular!

Quite an extensive Duckie discussion going on in this current thread.

Are you going on the Discovery? I would advise you make sure that you complete your preregistration and get your medallion shipped in advance so you are in the green lane. That should make your boarding process there much easier. Discovery Princess boards at Berth 92 at the Port of LA in San Pedro so not through the more spacious main building but at a separate entry building next to the USS Iowa that is basically a glorified quonset hut. It is less than glamorous, and quite cramped. Lines for the blue lane to pick up your medallion can be long - winding through a line maze similar to one found in an amusement park following transit through a tented area with the metal detectors. We waited in line for an hour for our New Year's cruise - while my daughter and her husband who already had their medallions literally walked right on the boat. Do yourself a huge favor - make sure you get your medallions shipped in advance and that should ensure an easier and more pleasant boarding process.

We still get the envelope with tickets in our stateroom when we embark for any pre-booked shore excursions. We also got them for our transfer last time we used that service - but perhaps it was because it also included a tour on the way to the airport. Be sure to hang to them even after you check in at the theatre or lounge where your group is gathering and get your sticker. Last cruise there was one couple who thought they didn't need their tickets any longer after they received their group sticker and left them sitting on the table in the lounge. The tour guide was collecting the tickets, as usual, at the bus as people were getting on, and this couple, who thankfully were on a different bus, didn't have their tickets. The husband had to go all the way back onboard with a member of the excursion team, find the tickets where they had left them, and then come back. It held up their group by a good 15 minutes.

I've had the burger in the MDR a couple of times when there was nothing else that appealed to me on the menu. Both times they were ok - not great, not terrible, and definitely a little on the overdone side. The burgers from the grill are much better - thinner, which I prefer, cooked to order and served hot. DH like to get his with grilled onions. They pretty much cook them for a standard time but I guess you could always request it rare - they are cooking them to order after all.

Well, likely for a few reasons. First the Royal holds a lot more people than the older Princess ships doing the similar itinerary and a lot more balcony cabins - so more capacity to fill probably equates to lower prices. Also, many prefer the Grand class style ships for Alaska in particular because they are small enough to do the true inside route out of Vancouver while the Royal has to go outside on the less scenic route, they have much more and much better outdoor public viewing areas which is important on a scenic cruise, and in the case of the Grand and Sapphire which are doing the same itinerary - both have indoor covered pool areas which is very nice on an Alaskan cruise. So, for all these reasons, the Royal may actually be a harder sell with more space to fill - hence the better pricing.

The table game question is and shall remain a mystery - it seems very subjective. My husband only plays Craps, and occasionally he will spend a bit of time at the three card poker table game or blackjack during the day when the Craps table isn't open if he can get a seat. He never plays slots. He plays consistently the same on all of our cruises and yet his offers vary from cruise to cruise. What we have found on our cruises out of Southampton, he tends to be among a group of very few Craps players and his play is quite significant by comparison to other players. On those cruises the come back offers were for free balconies with $600 casino cash. On both of these trips he was also able to get noticed by the casino host and develop a good rapport. He tries to do this on all of our trips, but it is easier on cruises with less table players. However, on cruises where there are a lot of high rolling Craps players, like our Mexican Riviera cruises on Discovery, the offers are generally less. His worst ever was on our recent New Year's Eve cruise where the Craps table was packed the whole time and he felt like he was having a hard time even getting his play monitored and he couldn't get any face time with the casino host. It didn't help that he got COVID the second to last day and missed that all important last night before the offers are developed. So, just based on his experience since he pretty much spends the same amount of time at the tables and invests about the same amount of dollars every cruise, he has come to believe that the rewards and offers are very subjective and perhaps driven by a curve or comparison with other table players, as well as the discretion of the casino host. We are back to Southampton this summer for a Norway cruise and he is hoping for a similar outcome in terms of better offer as our cruises these past two years.

It's completely separate from the Princess app. Stockperks is its own app - you can go the app store and do a search and then download on your phone.

The guidelines linked and shared are for Carnival Cruise line, not Princess. Not sure I have ever seen any guidelines on any Princess FAQ. Really, I have no problem with it as long as people are respectful and don't create problems for the room stewards. They already work so hard and it is a shame that policing this practice seems to fall to them.

A flat magnetic sign that stays flush on the door is likely not a big fire hazard. But as has been pointed out, what has happened is that some people have taken this way further then a simple sign just on the door. I have seen cloth banners, metallic fringe (like you see at a party store), large cutouts, balloons, full door covers, items taped around the edges of the door, etc. All of those things - besides being over the top, could likely be considered fire hazards. I have also seen questionable content, like the advertising I mentioned in an earlier post, and also things that were borderline inappropriate. So, the fire hazard reasoning may just be a means of explanation that Princess can use to stop a practice that seems to have gotten out of hand, sadly, ruining a fun practice for those like yourself who are just posting a reasonable sign. I'm sure it is easier for Princess to just implement a straight across the board policy that nothing is allowed, then to try to manage it in some discretionary way and put the poor room stewards in the unfortunate position of having to police the situation and be the bad guy!

The Sapphire and Diamond are my two favorite Princess ships. If the sailing dates between the Grand and Sapphire are negligible, like within a week or so, I would definitely recommend Sapphire over Grand. Both great ships, but on the scale I would rate the Sapphire superior.

I love your thread title!! The Emerald is a great ship and we are looking forward to sailing on her again later this year for our Canada/New England cruise. I can't imagine how scary it must have been for the passengers stuck in the elevator during the power outage - that is one of my daughter's biggest phobias and to this day she goes out of her way to use stairs anywhere she goes. Glad you had a great cruise - thank you for sharing your comments!

I’ve observed advertisements posted as door decorations on a couple of occasions. One even had a little pocket with business cards you could take. 🙄

We love the Grand and have cruised on her a number of times - both in Alaska and to Hawaii. She is a great old ship and I'm sure much work has been done to maintain her over the years, but your comment made me laugh, because I will say that the times we cruised on her, we found her the leakiest Princess ship we have ever encountered. Every cruise featured areas where they literally did have buckets set up to catch the drips. On more than one occasion I had water dripping on my head from the ceiling! But regardless, we spent many happy days on that ship and I have nothing but fond memories and would consider a cruise on the Grand again for the right itinerary.

We were on Discovery over New Year's and didn't see any mention of the Ultimate Ship Tour. It seems they have not brought that back post-COVID - or at least not that we have seen on any of our Princess cruises in the past couple of years. However, I would highly recommend the 360 Experience if that holds any interest for you. We splurged and purchased it for the family for New Year's Eve and found it worth every cent.