MTNest93

My cruise is scheduled for July 2023 and my shareholder OBC was posted last month ~ 11 months prior to sailing.

Fast forward nearly 5 years 😄 I just found this thread and find it quite interesting, even though the last post was 3 years prior to COVID. I'm a newbie having booked our 1st cruise for our 30th anniversary in 2023, we'll be 58 and 59. I'm interested to know what lines we should consider besides Princess since we're already booked on the Caribbean. I have a feeling we're going to love cruising, so I'm already looking for our next trip even though our 1st is still 299 days away!

My newness is showing. I just went back and searched again and now I see the dropdown where there is indeed a June 24th sail date, so yes there could be B2B cruisers to contend with. Oh well, if we get a couple loungers, it will be a bonus. If not, we're still on the trip of a lifetime and I'm sure we'll make do!! Thanks everyone for your help and guidance!!

I hadn't thought about the tours aspect - good point! We did go ahead and change the massage time to 5:30. I'm feeling much more relaxed about the whole thing now. Hopefully we'll get some Sanctuary time but regardless I'm sure we'll have a great cruise - thanks!!

Will do! Looks like our chances are pretty slim, but we rescheduled the massages so at least we'll have a chance!

I must not have been logged in, because now I do see sailings in June, but not the Western on June 24th. We rescheduled our massages for 5:30 so we now have breathing room. So are you on the Caribbean Princess on July 1st then? If so, you're the 1st I've found that will be on when we are! I'm glad you're finally able to schedule your family trip!!

I went back, logged in, and now I do see cruises in June, but nothing that backs up to our cruise. I'm still not seeing the Western Jun 24th one that @capriccio sees. That's the one that could potentially foil our plans. In any regards, I spoke to my hubby and we agreed it's best to move the appointment back, so I already cancelled for noon and re-booked for 5:30.

Thanks for the welcome, you experienced cruisers are so amazing and helpful! I think moving back the massage appointment makes sense. Embarkation day is still the best priced option and we thought it would be a good way to start our, "relaxation vacation", because after 30 years of marriage, we're tired!! LOL

The more I'm looking into this, I think you're right. Even if we can get on board early we'll have no idea how long the wait is to book The Sanctuary and we really really want that experience! Our TA warned us the cabin may not be ready when we board so we plan to have a carry-on tote with our bathing suits and change of clothes with us. I'm going to talk it over with my hubby and see if moving the appointment back to 5:30 makes more sense - less stress. Thank you for your insight!

Cancellation Policy: Please provide 24 hours for appointment cancellation, or your onboard account will be charged 50% of the treatment cost. We won't be able to move back the appointment on the same day, unfortunately. I see they have a couple other later appointments open and still at $209 (so that's good!). 2:45 pm might make us miss the sail away party or 5:30 pm. I'll see what the hubby says and maybe we'll go ahead and change the time. Thanks for the reply!

I'd rather you burst my bubble than lie to me. I appreciate the feedback!

I just chatted with Princess online and they're telling me I can board at 10:30, let's hope that holds true. But I didn't think about B2B cruisers, ugh! I just checked the site and it doesn't look like there are any 7 day or 14 day itineraries that go out a week before us, so maybe that's a good sign? Regardless, we plan to have our running shoes on and will scope out the deck plans so we know our path ahead of time. We know to not use the 1st bank of elevators we come to. Geesh, it's stressful to plan our relaxation, lol!

I'm a newbie first time cruiser. My husband and I will be cruising for our 30th anniversary next July on the Caribbean Princess. We splurged on a Club-Class mini-suite and I immediately booked a couples massage for noon on embarkation day. We are also interested in booking some time in The Sanctuary for sea days. After watching a bunch of YouTube videos, I realize the process to book The Sanctuary will be a sprint to grab a number and wait to see what's available. Now I'm worried we won't have enough time to do that and arrive at our massage appointment on time. What is the earliest embarkation time out of Ft. Lauderdale for those with priority embarkation? Or should we re-schedule the massages for later in the day (at a higher cost)? Any input is greatly appreciated!

Same here! I emailed my statement and didn't check for a few days because I expected it to take weeks, but there it was!

Hi everyone! I'm new here and just found this forum. I've been trying to lose weight (again) and was happy with the scale this morning. Down 1 pound, woot woot!! I do my "official" weigh-ins on Fridays and then try to maintain over the weekend. I'm down 9 lbs in 3 weeks (gotta love that water weight loss in the 1st week). My plan involves drinking 100+ ounces of water daily and eating low carb(ish). I've done all.the.diets over the years, so still tweaking what will work for us (hubby is doing this with me). Our cruise is July 2023 (my first!) for our 30th anniversary. 45 weeks to lose before we cruise!!

Yes - we will no longer need an exemption to cruise!! YAY! Now hoping they do away with testing before then as well. 😄

Awesome news!!

We're 322 days out from our trip and I called Princess last week for the vaccination exemption. They said it was too early and to call back at the 300 day mark and we should have no problem obtaining it.

I'm so tempted! I like to look at low stock prices are being "on sale", but I'm concerned about a new CEO taking over.