lake5298

UK weather in August can be blistering hot. It can also be cold, windy and rainy. Often you can have all 4 types of weather on the same day.

Don't assume that the further North you go the colder it will be. Our UK weather is not that simple.

Dressing in layers is probably the best advice. Pants, t-shirt (or polo shirt) and a light jacket is my usual solution.

If you're going to be outdoors for a long time, a waterproof poncho (like the cheap theme park ones) is worth having in your pocket.

We did this last month on Thomson Majesty. They did a really fantastic job.

Firstly, we met with Craig, the Social Host, soon after boarding. He checked details like preferred day and time, the form of words (we had written our own), and even what colour of flowers was preferred.

On the formal evening - the day before our blessing - we were invited to dinner at the Captain's table. After dinner, we were all escorted to reserved seats at the theatre and served complimentary drinks.

On the day of the blessing, we were met by Craig at a reserved table in the bar closest to the bridge, where we were served champagne. We were escorted to the Bridge, where the Captain was waiting for us. There was also a guitarist playing romantic music, a bar waitress with more champagne, and a chef with a cake.

The Captain greeted us, read the blessing, posed for photographs and toasted us with a glass of champagne. We were then invited to cut the cake.

The Captain put his signature to a certificate commemorating the event, Craig then took this certificate and a typed copy of our blessing, had them laminated and delivered them to our cabin with a photograph taken at the Captain's table and yet another bottle of champagne.

In the meantime, the ship's photographer had taken us to a couple of locations for photographs (still accompanied by the waitress and champagne) and then we were escorted to a reserved bar table for more champagne and a lovely array of canapes.

We had booked to eat at the Bistro that evening - the cake and our flowers were displayed on our table when we arrived for dinner. After dinner the flowers were taken to our cabin for us, we shared the cake and (it was a massive cake) sent the remaining cake to the crew mess.

The following day the photographer met us in the gallery to show us a slide show of the (over 100) photographs he had taken. We chose our favourites which he arranged to have printed, and also gave us digital copies of the photographs.

The photographs were an additional cost - but as we were given the digital copies, we have been able to order "photo books" on line for our family at negligible extra cost.

The package (without the photographs) was under £200 and was very good value. It really made the whole cruise really special and I would unreservedly and wholeheartedly recommend it.

In common with Azura and Ventura, and the Princess ships of similar design, there is a crew pool / hot tub area on the bow.

Apparently the location enables the Bridge Officers to admire the sunbathing dancers & spa staff... allegedly a couple of marriages already have this design feature to thank!

Now that St Maarten has two piers it is unlikely that cruise lines will avoid the port due to lack of pier space... but I think cruise lines are constantly looking for new ports to keep passengers interested and attracted to the itineraries.

We are visiting St Maarten in November (Regal Princess) and the island has a special meaning to us - we got engaged there. The proposal is still written on the wall at Dirty Sanchez' Crew Bar - but you'll need to search for it among all the graffiti... (It certainly was still there last month!)

When I was on the CB in January at Cozumel, they called off the names of 5+ passengers just before we were to leave port - twice as I recall, and we waited until 30 minutes after our designated leave time. Then I saw a group of women running from the port shop area toward the ship and we waited until they were on board. I'm actually surprised they didn't leave.

Cozumel is notorious for late passengers. "Carlos and Charlie's" may have something to do with it...

...I've also noted more people are less willing to overlook certain "foibles" that happen on the cruises these days ... elite status or not. If they have a bad trip they are switching to another cruise line so I think the loyalty door swings both ways as it were. LOL

MSC have taken the lid off "loyalty" by offering to "status match" people who have earned loyalty with other lines and giving them the nearest equivalent status on MSC.

Not that I'm leaving Princess - nor am I saying MSC are better - but I have found that they have some good value itineraries in Europe so we do cruise with them from time to time. The loyalty match will be a welcome bonus for us.

Its automatic and the good stuff starts when you get to Platinum, this is after 5 completed cruises or 50 cruise days....free internet is great!

If only it was unlimited.:D

Just be careful with your laundry. Though free, warnings on expectations are now being discussed.

The free internet USED to be unlimited - but sadly no longer. It is quite possible that the free laundry may eventually get to be limited.

I'd gladly do without the stateroom afternoon tea, the shoe polishing, the formal night canapes, but I NEED MY FREE LAUNDRY! It's so convenient when flying transatlantic with limited luggage allowances.

Now some OBC, that'd be nice.

IIRC that starts after 25 cruises or 250 days. Every free $$$ is nice.

There's no specific tier after "Elite" but the 20 most travelled passengers (in terms of days on Princess) generally get lunch or a cocktail reception with the Captain.

The three most travelled passengers get presented with a glass memento and a bottle of champagne.

It can be a good idea to put some form of ID on the camera. Just a photo of your cruise card could be enough for Princess' lost & found department.

I understand that some people are reluctant to put name and address - as it can imply that the house is empty - but an email address could be enough to help an honest person get in touch with the owner.

I'm so very glad that you got your photos back.

Princess will officially deny it but...

The better wait staff are generally allocated to traditional dining.

Passengers on anytime dining rarely get the same wait staff so are expected to put up with poorer service, as it is assumed that they will hope things will be better the next day.

If you are unhappy with the service, make it known to the Maitre D'. And then make sure that the staff at the entrance to the dining room know about this before you are seated the following day.

Trust me... they KNOW which staff are good and which need more training and experience before they can be classed as good. (And which staff are beyond help...)

It's hard to believe but princess built there biggest ship ever and only put 2 pools on it.

3 pools on Royal Princess. The 4th will be added during dry dock.

4 pools on Regal Princess.

Also, your cruise card will have the number of Cruise Credits in the bottom left hand corner. So if you have one from your last cruise, just add the Cruise Credits for that cruise.

You can ask the Captain's Circle host for a print-out that shows your number of completed cruises and also the total number of days and details of each ship, date and region you cruised.

You do not get next day service. We got that in a suite. But, we have never gotten it traveling as elite members, unless there weren't many elites on board. In a suite, you get next day service, regardless.

We have always had free "next day" service travelling as Elite.

"Same day" service is chargeable.

We are confused about what laundry is free. Is the dry cleaning complimentary as well? If I'm elite and my spouse is not, is my laundry free and his not free?

Just put your name (not your spouse's) on the laundry bag - no problem. That's what we do, as I am Elite but my partner is not.

Dry cleaning is not free, sadly.

If your phone is with "Three" then many countries are free to make and recieve calls from - but the "feel at home" scheme does NOT include use via the shipboard cell.

Otherwise, the cheapest way to keep in touch is using free wi-fi when you are on shore. Most of the crew will know where to go for free wifi...

It fitted A4 portrait when i printed mine. You might need to change your printer settings.

Although we have cruised a lot over the years, we've never cruised with Celebrity.

We're putting this right in December next year - it's the first time that we have found a good value deal with Celebrity through our regular travel agent, who is offering the "classic drinks package" free as an incentive.

Our current favourites are Princess, and we are just wondering what we can look forward to that's different.

We're travelling in a 2B balcony on "Eclipse" with late sitting dining.

Perhaps the key word is "from".

 

I would hope your TA offered to find you the best rate by booking directly. And advised you that two quick and inexpensive cab rides from airport to hotel and hotel to port will be much easier and less stressful than the Princess transfers that are "included" in their prices.

The Embassy Suites at Miami offer a courtesy bus to and from Miami airport. HOWEVER - I stayed there last month pre-cruise and was not impressed at all. I am told that the Embassy Suites in Fort Lauderdale are far better, the one at Miami is tired, worn and badly staffed.

Embassy Suites Miami Airport had a couple of positives - free breakfast, free bar each evening for an hour or so. Sadly there were a lot of negatives - noise from adjoining MIA airport. Chef can't cook a steak properly. Nobody knows where pepper mill is hidden. Manager dismissive when you have a problem. No safes in rooms. Hilton customer service were not helpful when i had a problem; fortunately there's plenty of other hotel chains that want my business.

There's a brand new Margaritaville hotel on Hollywood Beach - just a $30 cab from the port - beachfront location, beautiful pool, loads of bars and restaurants in the area. That would be my first choice for a few nights pre- or post- cruise.

I often use Princess' transfers from the ship to the airport - with all passengers disembarking in a small time window there can be a long taxi queue.

However, I prefer a taxi from the airport - rarely is there a long queue and after a long journey it's great to be able to get in and set off straight away without waiting.

We've been with both, and we have forthcoming cruises booked with both as well.

Princess and MSC are completely different.

MSC is a far more European experience - don't expect ice water on the dining table - but there are certain things that we prefer with MSC. I wouldn't recommend Opera, Armonia and the other 2 smaller ships - these were built for a different cruise line that MSC bought out - but the bigger (and almost brand new) ships are beautiful.

. The dining room is open at lunchtime every day, not just sea days.

. A proper baked alaska parade on Gala night

. The ships are gleaming - crew are polishing everywhere, not just disinfecting

. Beautiful pool areas

. Very good value drinks package

. Musicians in most bars, and nibbles / snacks in most bars

. No "pushy" selling of shops and services

. Excellent itenaries around Europe

. Theatre production show every evening

Because MSC are family owned, they are not ruled by shareholders and there is less temptation for the corporate accountants to cut costs (and cut standards).

If you are looking for a different cruise experience, then try MSC. But don't expect things to be the same as other lines. A lot of people love MSC - but a lot of people also dislike them. The question to ask is whether you are open to new experiences and things being done differently.

If you were to visit Europe, would you plan to stay in hotels run by the major US chains? Would you try the local hotels that might do things differently?

People who want "Holiday Inn" or "Hilton" consistency (and lack of character) should avoid MSC.

People who want to sail around Europe on a ship that is a slice of USA should avoid MSC. But to cruise Europe and experience a bit of Europe while afloat, then MSC could be perfect for you.

Entertainment on Azura last November was not as good as we have had on other P&O ships in the past.

Only the entertainment has little to do with the ship. It is all controlled from Southampton. The entertainment team are given the performers they do not choose them. Of course they change from cruise to cruise. So what someone sees in Jan might be completely different to March.

I wouldn't like to make a general statement such as "P&O entertainment is not as good as it used to be" because my basis of comparison was limited to cruises I have been on. As such, my comment referred to Azura last November.

In addition, I was not limiting my comment to the production shows & fly-in entertainers - I found the smaller activities available consisted of quizzes and nothing else. This is surely down to the cruise director and his staff at least in some measure.

...

It would not be assigned at the pier.

It's certainly very rare for a cabin to be assigned at the pier - but we have twice been reassigned an upgraded cabin at the pier - inside to outside obstructed in Alaska and inside to outside in Europe.

In theory, bags are diverted to the new cabin - in practice that takes a few hours and it is a lot quicker to pop along to the old cabin to see if your bags are outside.

We've booked "guarantee" cabins a few times - usually the cabin assignment happens about 4-6 weeks before the cruise, if I remember correctly.

Can do an interior on short cruises. DH tried on a three day. Even though we kept the tv bow cam it wasn't good for him. He needs natural light to wake up.

I've also found it much harder to wake up in an interior cabin. I very much prefer a balcony - but it is certainly a price consideration. Princess were very kind to upgrade us last March from inside to balcony on Royal Princess - we've got one inside cabin (in May) coming up, but other than that we're committed balcony fans.

Entertainment on Azura last November was not as good as we have had on other P&O ships in the past.

We've just returned from Azura and didn't need a visa for Amber Cove - enjoy your cruise 😆

We were on Azura's maiden visit to Amber Cove. There was no mention on board about visas, nobody on shore asking for visas, so I'm assuming that visas are not needed.

Possibly different if you are staying in the Dom Republic overnight or longer...