40yearcruiser

Such fun to read all the posts. Brings back fond memories. We were on the Mardi Gras in July 1985 with our two teenage kids--all four of us in a tiny cabin. It was our 3rd cruise (the first on Costa Flavia). The cruise director was a bald guy whose name I can't recall, but he was a hoot. And ooh! those fabulous midnight buffets. Those early ships rocked so much I got seasick every time, but it didn't stop us from loving to cruise.  We finished our 55th cruise in January (16 on Carnival) for a total of 580 days at sea so far. We had 2 Princess cruises scheduled (should be on one now) for a total of 43 days that were canceled because of the coronavirus--so you can see the cruising bug hit us hard!

We are excited to be booked on the NEW Mardi Gras over New Years!  Also booked on the Magic at the end of August. Fingers crossed that the virus crisis is long over by then.

I always take mine to my credit union and they fax it for me free and give me back my originals. You might check your bank or credit union to see if they offer this service.  FYI when we first started getting the shareholder OBC we could email the request, but a few years ago that was stopped.

We are reserved on a cruise Sydney to Fiji leaving March 21. Got an email from Princess today that our first port stop in Lifou, Fiji, has been cancelled and we will have an extra sea day plus reordering of two of the other ports. We fly out to Australia in 2 weeks--3 flights totaling almost 27 hours. I'm more concerned about being on the flights than on the ship, but can't get to Australia any other way. We are going over a week ahead of the cruise so if by any chance Princess decides on a last-minute cancellation we will have to figure out what to do with an additional two+ weeks in Australia.. After the Fiji cruise and 4 days in Sydney we are taking the Golden Princess back to LA (would rather cruise than fly any day!). Since it is scheduled to do the Alaska run this summer I think Princess will want that cruise to go, but don't know how the port stops we are supposed to have will be affected. Just hoping everyone on the ships will stay healthy so we won't be quarantined somewhere. We really haven't considered cancelling ourselves since we are so close to leaving. We planned this trip over a year ago never dreaming anything like this would happen. Isn't there a saying "Life is What Happens To You While You’re Busy Making Other Plans". How true!

It seems you also have a dilemma with your med cruise in July. It's tough to know whether to cancel before final payment or wait to see what the situation is when the time gets closer and whether the cruise companies will be cancelling or relocating the ships. You could look at what you might rebook to, but who knows what will happen with this virus in the coming months and where it might spread. Good luck with whatever you do. 

Thanks, Pushka, for the encouraging news. We've been planning this trip for over a year and are so excited it is coming up soon. Hadn't foreseen this complication when we booked everything. Like everyone, we are hoping the virus is soon under control and no longer a concern.

We are very concerned about whether the virus is spreading into Australia. We are due to fly from here to Brisbane on March 14, rent a car and travel down the coast, and cruise from Sydney to Fiji on March 21. Back to Sydney for 4 days then cruise from there to Los Angeles. We are still planning to go unless Princess cancels the cruises. Our air is with Qantas so if they cancel the flights coming in we can only hope they will refund our cost. All of our hotel reservations have free cancellation. We are expecting that there will be port changes on both of our cruise itineraries, but we will take what we get and hope we will have some port stops. The whole world is in a panic so who knows what will happen in the next few weeks. Good luck to all of you who have cruises coming up soon.

We are also concerned but still intend to continue with our travel plans. We leave for Australia on March 14 and board Ruby Princess in Sydney on March 21 for their Fiji cruise. We know that some of the ports on our itinerary are not allowing the ships in right now but feel that Princess will adjust the itinerary if the ports are still closed. After that cruise and a few days in Sydney we are joining the Golden Princess for the trans-Pacific to Los Angeles. We are aware that we could hit problems at anywhere on the itineraries, but so far Australia looks safe and after 18 months of planning we are reluctant to cancel unless the situation begins to look really dangerous. I'm certain that Princess does not want another ship quarantined and will do everything they can to avoid ports where the virus is active. No travel is 100% safe so you just have to decide what risk you are willing to take.

Does anyone know if the older ships have an outlet under the bed? We will be on the Ruby and the Golden soon and DH uses a CPAP machine.
 

I faxed my request in 2 weeks ago and it was on my reservations in about an hour.

On 2/7/2020 at 3:04 PM, Felix331 said:

For everyone talking about the south pacific changes, this is due to the measles outbreak going on there. Samoa wants proof of cruise passengers having the MMR vaccine or they won't take the ship. Hence why it was cancelled and why Fiji had been cancelled on previous cruises as well. 

I have also been monitoring the various port closings and am quite concerned what it will mean for our upcoming cruises out of Sydney:  March 21- 14 day Fiji cruise and April 8 - Trans-Pacific cruise from Sydney to LA with multiple stops in New Zealand and the South Pacific, including Samoa. At the moment I have no intention of cancelling either cruise and trust that Princess will change the itineraries if necessary to avoid port closings. We will be disappointed if the itinerary has to be changed but not nearly so disappointed as if the cruises were cancelled as these were planned over a year ago. The worst-case scenario, of course, would be to be quarantined, and I think Princess would avoid this happening again at all costs. The situation on the Diamond has got to be as much of a nightmare for the crew and cruise line as it is for the passengers. It's a very stressful situation for all involved.

As for the US to Hawaii cruise, I wouldn't be concerned at all. There may be some additional screening required to board, but the chances of being exposed to the coronavirus are very small.

Keep in mind that the bus and train stations are not close to the cruise terminal in Southampton. You would need to factor in a taxi from the cruise port to the station. We cruised both into and out of Southampton last summer and used the National Express bus to and from London, but if you hit traffic it can be a slow trip. If I were on a tight schedule I'd book the ship's transfer to the airport, definitely not the least expensive but most likely to get you off the ship quickly. 

You should have no trouble rebooking to a different cruise. We did this about a month before our final payment was due and everything transferred except the perks we had received for early booking on the cruise we cancelled. If you booked through a travel agent, they will need to handle the rebooking for you. 

Anyone there lately? Will be there last week of January. How was the water at the beach as well as at the pool?

We also love Princess Cays. Easy walk from tender to the beach with lots of loungers. Large food area with a lunch buffet. Bars, cabanas, whatever you want for your perfect beach day!

Glad to hear there are outlets behind the bed because my husband uses a CPAP and was hoping he wouldn't need to extension cord it to the desk outlet. We will be in a mini-suite so don't know if the outlets are different from other cabins.

Today we got an upgrade from a balcony to a mini-suite for our 29-day trans-Pacific cruise in April! Yesterday was final payment day so the upgrade fairy was much earlier than we expected. I had been monitoring the prices for a drop because there were still a lot of empty cabins on the ship and thought I might get a chance to upgrade myself, but Princess took care of it for us. By the way, we are Elite so the upgrades don't always go to newbies.

Do the drink packages on MSC include gratuities? If not, is a gratuity added to your onboard account for each drink you order or do they add a gratuity to the cost of the package? 

NCL does not allow either bottled or canned beverages. The only thing allowed is one bottle of wine per person. 

You can sit anywhere in the area of the piazza--if you can find a seat. It is always a very busy area of the ship. The food is very good; my favorite for lunch is the chicken & apple salad. If we can't find a seat we sometimes get lunch from the international café and take it back to the cabin and sit on the balcony with a drink from the mini-fridge. Sooo nice! 

Could somebody who has a medallion measure the diameter of it so we will know in what size opening it will fit?

On 11/11/2019 at 10:37 AM, Jnsplace1 said:

It's been about a 1.5 years since I've flown international.  Last time I did, the airlines allowed one luggage free.  Course, I'm sure that has changed since everyone is doing the ala carte method.  yay.

The luggage allowance and seat selection fees vary by airline and route. We are booked on Qantas to Australia in March and are allowed 2 free bags per passenger but other international flights this year allowed only one. We fly international several times a year, on various airlines, and have always had at least 1 free bag; but there may be some airlines that do charge on international flights.  If seated in Economy on Qantas, the fee to choose a standard seat on an international flight is $30; domestic flights seats are free. Some of the other airlines we've flown have a seat selection fee, some don't. If you don't want to pay the fee for a seat, wait until check-in and take your chances on what's still available. The only way to know is to check with the individual airline for their fees for your particular flight. We have found that almost always EZair gives us the best rates, and using the flex rate allows us to lock in a price and change it if a better option comes along. Another plus: if you book with EZair and your flight is delayed so long you miss the ship, Princess will get you to the next port (it happened to our son last year).

We have at least a dozen Disney "magic bands" from visits to the parks. I'm wondering if the medallion would fit into one of these. They are silicon and have a removable disc but since we haven't cruised with the medallion yet I don't know if the size is compatible. Has anybody tried it?

If you are on a Royal class ship, you might consider a deluxe balcony cabin. Those have a small sofabed for the 3rd person rather than having a bunk.

We've been cruising since the early 1970s so remember when you were expected to dress for dinner every night on a cruise--not necessarily a tux and evening gown but at least a suit and cocktail dress. However, good or bad, times have changed and our culture is much more casual. I still feel that some standard of dress should be expected in the evenings in the MDR. I was happy to see last year on a Norwegian ship the staff turn away a young woman who showed up at the dining room in a bathing suit and another in shorts so short they were barely there with her boyfriend in board shorts and a tank top (they did all apologize and go change clothes to something more presentable). My personal feeling is that the cruise loses some of it's special feel when people come to the dining room looking like they just came off the beach. We did 25 days on Cunard this summer and enjoyed seeing everyone make the effort to dress nicely and celebrate the cruise as a special occasion. We don't expect this on Princess but it's not too much to ask for long trousers for the men and a nice dress or pantsuit for the ladies in the evening. 

3 hours ago, SargassoPirate said:

 

We got snookered too. We booked in good faith assuming the photo of the standard balcony included two chairs and a bed.  We can't cancel since we are cruising with a group of friends and family. We have made arrangements to purchase some folding camping chairs before we board.

 

It looks like you will be on a similar itinerary, so if you are indeed embarking in Sydney, you could try Mitchells Adventure in Sydney.  They are located at 81 York Street.  They offer a folding camp chair that will be way more comfortable than a straight back chair from the dining room - or boarding and then finding there are no chairs available.

 

https://www.mitchellsadventure.com/product/classic-arm-chair/fcc-pac.aspx

 

Good luck!

 

Thanks for the info. We will be on the Ruby Princess out of Sydney to Fiji on March 21 but will be in a mini-suite so the chair is not an issue on that cruise. We will be back in Sydney for 4 days between the Fiji cruise and boarding the Golden for 29 days in a standard balcony cabin where it is an issue. However, I don't see us trying to get to the ship with our luggage and a camp chair. If we are unable to get a chair onboard, we may look for one when we port in New Zealand.

Do you find it interesting that the other thread on this topic was suddenly closed today despite having a very active discussion? Suppose Princess wasn't happy with the criticism?