sonomaphil

I recently found out that you can't purchase an FCC off ship if you already have an active future booking. I wanted to purchase another one (I'm within the 8 weeks) to use on a brand new booking, but was told that I would have to cancel the future cruise I already have booked. No one was able to give me the exact reason for the rule, and I decided not to cancel because I would lose the free gratuities. I know I should have purchased on the ship, but my job had told me that I wouldn't be able to take any more time off for awhile so I didn't think I would need it. You can purchase an FCC if you already have an active booking if you're on board, just not after you return.

I'm confused, when have you ever been allowed to purchase FCC's when off the ship? It's always only been available while on the ship I thought.

How is the pricing determined - is it the number of nights of the cruise? You don't pay for the departure day, do you?

 

Maddle

Whatever the number of days your cruise that's the number. 7 day cruise? Pay for 7. 10 day? Pay for 10.

On the ships with three dining rooms, one is early and late traditional, one is early traditional and then anytime, and oine is anytime the entire evening.

 

Assuming the three traditional dining sessions are full, that is about 1350 passengers.

 

On a ship with 3100 passengers, that leaves 1750 potential anytime diners (although each evening some will eat in a specialty restaurant, in the buffet, etc.).

 

So without any traditional diners trying to sneak into an anytime dining room, that is potentially over 1000 passengers who might want to eat in an anytime dining room at the same time you want to. There will be lines.

 

With Princess, there is no limit to the number of passengers who select the anytime option when booking the cruise. Plus, if the traditional time someone wants is full, Princess will assign you to anytime even though you did not want it.

 

With RCCL and Carnival, they limit the number of passengers assigned to anytime and once that limit is reached, assign anyone else wanting anytime to traditional even though they did not want that.

I see what you did here, trying to use math, reason and logic to prove a point. On Cruise Critic? Can't be done. ;)

Is this a press release? Sure sounds like one.

Let me ask....define "WOW" moments. I mean, if you looked at the rock wall and went "WOW" or saw the skating rink and went "WOW" or the zip line made you go "WOW", well, Princess is not for you in general.

As to couldn't find a seat....do you mean you couldn't find a seat in exactly the area you wanted one? Because I've never not found a seat at all in any venue I've been to on Princess.

And yes, the Crown and Caribbean are almost identical.

A relevant consideration is what were the conditions on the Crown? Were the carpets in good shape, or were they run down and shabby? Was the cabin clean and in good shape? Was the atrium area attractive and comfortable? Were conditions in the public areas kept up? If you liked the physical condition of the Crown, it will be much like the physical condition of the Caribbean Princess. Other than that, the professionalism of the crew and the talent of the entertainers vary from ship to ship and itinerary to itinerary. It may depend on what talent is available. One advantage for the Caribbean Princess, though, is that Paul Chandler-Burns is currently the cruise director, and he is hilarious. He also books good entertainment. One of the repeat production shows on the Caribbean Princess, Piano Man, is also very entertaining.

Paul Chandler-Burns is leaving the Caribbean Princess after their current cruise. Bob Leininger is coming aboard this Sunday.

Thank you all for your info. Hopefully turfguyjim will share a limo. If not we will walk off with luggage asap and get in the cab line. Not able to change flight due to it being the day before Thanksgiving....the biggest single travel day of the year!!!! Most ships get back in port at 5am instead of 7am. I would have booked the flight later had I been more diligent about checking that. Lesson learned....but I think we'll make it.

It's SFO in the rainy season, about a 50/50 chance your flight will be delayed 2 hours anyway.

not trying to "start something" here.. But in today's world, i can understand why a major corporation plays it safe and does not have a catholic priest on board for any occasion.

 

While it wouldn't bother me (i'm not catholic) where does it end? Jewish rabi, methodist? Southern baptist? Muslim? ;)

+1 :)

What we do is go to the buffet around 6pm when it opens (pretty much on any ship/any line we are sailing on), and get a protein snack as an appetizer. The buffets have very nice cold cuts or appetizers.

 

Plus, we also noted that Princess and HAL don't like to take reservations in ATD. That's why we have a snack around 6-ish and then dinner after 8pm on all our cruises. We just avoid almost all the hassles. Plus the dining room is not crowded later, and no children.

 

I'm not trying to push what we do on anyone; it's just this works for us on pretty much any cruise line.

Almost the same pattern with us except we usually are in Vines at 6 and have the Tapas and Sushi. We eat last at home so nothing new for us.

Of course there are seats to watch the shows. :D

Even if arriving 10 min. preshow, there were always seats, albeit in poor locations. We figured out that the production shows required 20 min.or longer preshow arrival to be assured a seat. We found that acceptable. If there are good entertainment options, we don't mind arriving early. As do most others. If the theater had lots of empty seats, it wouldn't say much for the evening shows.;)

Yup, I think the no seats complaint is the same as the no deck loungers complaint. There are both available, just not in the exact perfect area where they want it.

The day before Thanksgiving "should" be much better traffic wise BUT San Francisco is always crazy. Fog, rain, protests and everything else you think of can happen here! If all goes perfect you'll have no issues. If one thing fails, well, who knows. Depending on your luggage situation I second the notion of BART.

I also enjoyed this short cruise. Paul Burns will leave at the end of the current cruise for a few weeks at home then onto the Regal.

That's what I though as my email for our coming cruise on the CB this Sunday said Bob Leniniger.

I know everyone loves the idea of "upsells" but it's not always a great deal.

There are usually many sales over the year that bring the price of an balcony darn near the price of an oceanview. You have to keep up on them really.

Here's an example: 2/7/2015 CB from Houston right now on Princess website the oceanviews are $599 and balconies are $623.

It may take Princess a while to abandon formal night. After all, it's a big chance for them to sell those expensive formal portraits.

Ding! Ding! We have a correct answer!

- dont book cabin r710 or r712 unless you want to feel like you are sleeping on a washing machine. in over 25 cruises , i have never felt so much vibration.

 

-I had my daughter and son in law on the cruise for their honeymoon. Peter didnt know what a honeymoon was.

Just what every honeymoon couple wants, a mother across the hall.

I think the handwriting is on the wall and this is now the way of the world -----everything is more casual these days, I'm amazed by what I see worn in church and nice restaurants here at home. Personally, I'd be glad to see Princess follow Celebrity. We have enjoyed the ambiance of formal nights in the past, but we're over it now. "Evening Chic" would be just fine on our upcoming British Isles cruise, but if Princess keeps formal nights we will comply. I'd be more likely to look at Celebrity, however.

Agreed. I know for our cruise this coming week in the Caribbean I'll bring a dark brownish/greyish jacked to go over my polo shirts and khakis that I'll wear to dinner every night, that's about as formal as I'll be.

Not that it matters but the tags for our cruise this coming Sunday on the CB says "Elite".

Can you reserve "Evening Chicks" before you get on board? :p

Thnaks! We will be onboard this coming Sunday! Do you remember who the Cruise Director was?

Hello all! I have been searching around the forum for about an hour to try and find some answers to my questions, but I figured I would make my own thread because I am not finding quite what I am looking for.

 

Trying to find out more info on the Princess bev. packages, this will be our first time on a Princess cruise (hubs first time period) and I am trying to decide on what packages to purchase. I have noticed nothing mentioned on the website about wine packages, but I keep seeing people talking about them.

 

My question is, does anyone know if the Silver or Gold wine packages are available on the Regal Princess. My husband and I will be on the Regal our of Ft. Lauderdale on 1/3/16. Is it possible for me to email someone at Princess and ask?

 

Also, does anyone know the latest prices per drink on the ship. I have seen a lot of stuff pointing towards cocktails being around $8.00 per drink. Sound about right?

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

If you're a wine drinker the All Inclusive Beverage Package is a great deal. Yes, it's $50 a day or so but if you like wine...well most good wines by the glass at Vines (the wine bar) are over $8 anyway. Plus factor in bottled waters, brewed coffee, cappuccinos, shakes and our favorite raspberry-pomegranate refreshers it becomes a great deal quickly. No need to purchase bottles at dinner, all the wines by the glass are included! Including port and after dinner drinks.

I am watching the CP in Houston getting ready to leave on the port webcam and the parking lot which was full this morning is now almost empty. I wonder how much of a passenger load they have on this 7 day cruise. I know that it is shown pretty much sold out the next couple of weeks. In fact there are only some ocean view and interiors available on the November 29th cruise which we are booked on.:confused:

Here is my guess as to what you were seeing. No first hand knowledge, were on the CB next Sunday. The first cruise out of Houston this year was a 4 day sailing over a weekend. These sailings would attract many "locals" or those who are in driving distance to the port. For the 7 day varieties you'd attract more people who fly to the port, that's us next week. That may be the variation in parking that you see.

TD is the way to go, IMO. If you like to eat early-ish, you get a table without having to call every day for a reservation or stand in a line to get a table. You go to your table when you arrive and sit down to order. If you like to eat later, you have the same options. I guess if a table for two is important to you, and you aren't assigned one in TD, then the trade off will be standing around in line waiting. I always wonder about the people who say they want to eat when they want to eat and not when Princess tells them to. If you want to eat at 6:23 and not 6:00, then I guess that's a problem, but waiting around for a table means you won't get seated at 6:23 anyway. I'm also aware that some people have no choice because they don't clear a TD waiting list and get stuck with AT. The problems with the system are many, and it's not just TDers sneaking into AT or people choosing to eat at the same hour as everyone else. It's a bit of each, and Princess doesn't seem to want to solve the problems. I always feel a little sorry for the AT diners I see standing in line when I walk past them on my way to my TD dining room where I know my table is waiting.

And that's wonderful, I'm happy you love it so much...as long as if you miss your dining time for whatever reason you don't go to the Anytime dining room. The buffet awaits!

Does anyone know if you can book the casino rate while on board a ship with a Cruise Consultant? Reason I ask is I have no future cruise deposits right now but will next week when I get aboard the CB.

We love "Anytime Dining" too but I think it would be less congested if Princess seated people first come first serve then allowing reservations and also allowing people from TD to use AD on a regular basis....I think Princess needs to do a better job of explaining how it really works then as they advertise it....I do like how other cruise lines monitor their form of AD and you do not get in if you did not sign up for it which seems to really cut down on the hassle of waiting in line or having a pager.....:)

Totally agree. And it's so simple to fix. Just check the cards and turn away traditionals sneaking in.

My wife and I are Anytime dining fans so take anything I say with that in mind and this is directed at no one in particular.

We've never had an issue with anytime dining, we always get a table for 2 and yes we have the occasional wait just like in any restaurant on land would. We are also very easy going and have no trouble heading to Vines to grab a glass of wine while we wait.

What I don't understand about the Anytime haters is how privileged they sound. They say, "Anytime means anytime "I" want. Princess should always have a table for ME because I am special!" Do you expect Princess to have 3000-5000 tables always available and open in case everyone at once wants to eat? Get over yourselves.

I will say Princess must start checking cards at the door. Way too many "Traditionals" think Anytime means they can go there too. Your excursion ran late and you have early traditional? Head to the buffet.

We have in the past made standing reservations for a table in Anytime when we find waiters we liked and there was no issues. But we also wanted to eat at 7:30.