satxdiver

I have been going to the Veteran's meetups ever since I started cruising on Princess.  There are always veterans there that sometimes have very interesting stories to tell.  I never miss them.  On our last cruise on Emerald there were dozens of veterans present.  We are starting to see younger veterans present including women.  Thank you Princess for hosting the meetups and for the Veterans OBC.  We appreciate it.  

I agree.  I am vacation even thought it is endless and appreciate the one price which in my case is plus.  I can order whatever drinks I want in any quantity and we both get the internet access.  To me gratuities are an added cost of the cruise and would never delete them.  I have bought plus ever since it was introduced.  I hope they keep it and not increase it anymore with gym classes (at my age?), the special desserts (just looking at them adds calories!) and other benefits.  I do drink a bit but nowhere near the limit of 15/day.  I have been known to penny pinch and keep frequent tabs on my folio several times a day but to me plus is worth it. 

On 4/3/2024 at 12:29 PM, voljeep said:

but with the Plus Beverage package - you have the option to remove Grats ...

 

j/s

OMG!!  Never remove the gratuities.  If you cannot afford them stay home and save the total cost.

Basically no swimwear.  Shorts in the MDR on informal nights can be worn as well as jeans in good repair.  Tshirts with sleeves (no sleeveless), athletic shoes or flip flops or some kind of shirts.  Dress standards on PCL has been going towards the more informal like other mass market cruise lines.  

We were on the Regal for the 3/10 sailing.  We were not told anything about door decorations but then we seldom put up anything on our door.  This door was two doors down from our cabin and stayed on the entire cruise.

We just got off the Regal on Sunday.  In the MDR I saw shorts and tshirts plus hat.  It appears that they do not enforce dress codes at all.  I was shocked.  We both wore more respectable clothing to the MDR with long pants etc.  Felt like I was on a carnival ship!

1 hour ago, reedprincess said:

 

Vines is a casual dining venue and wine bar. You can go and enjoy better wines whenever they're open, you don't have to eat to enjoy it (it also has a full service bar, but I never quite understood why one would go to a wine bar for a Pina colada, lol).  

They do serve food - it's a charcuterie board set up. Crudites, cheese straws,  huge serving meat and cheese board and truffles for dessert... 

 

 

For someone who is accompanying wine aficionados but does not like wine, an alternative is offered.  The other reason may be that Good Spirits is crowded.  

21 hours ago, C & C Love to Cruise said:

We will be on Regal Princess sailing out of Galvestion TX

I did go through posts in search of the correct answers, but would like more claification from people who have sailed out of this port.

If you have the drink package, you can not use it until the next day?

Do they credit that day when you get on the ship, because the drink package I purchased I see is priced for 7 days, not 6

If you are in a Suite or Elite, do you still get your bar set up on embarkment day?

Can you purchase drinks or a bottle of wine the first day on the ship? 

Thank you for your help.

 

 

Texas state liquor laws requires all alcohol served in Texas has to come from a Texas licensed distributor.  It further bars all discounts and "offers" such as 2 for 1 or doubles for the price of one which makes the package illegal in Texas which includes offshore waters up to 12 miles.  It is a PIA.

Further if you purchase any alcohol or cigarettes while on the cruise from any source, you must pay Texas excise tax when you debark in Galveston with the alcohol regardless of your final destination.  The state sits just outside the exit from the terminal to get their pound of flesh. In days passed one could simply hide it and just walk by.  We deboarded the Regal on Sunday and they had a notice in the pater to scan in a code that I presume collects the fee.  We gave up taking alcohol home years ago as it is just as inexpensive locally.  

9 minutes ago, kstrittm said:

I did find that odd - none of our ports were canceled.  I just figured it was their way of giving the refund.  Don't know for sure...

Some of the port charges when you booked had gone done by the time you sailed.  So they refund the difference which happens quite regularly.  

The night of the first sea day which is most likely the second day aboard having boarded the day before. 

We have always ordered a glass of wine at dinner from our table attendants.  One can do that whether or not they have a "package".  If no package they will ask you to pay for it.  Regardless the server will always charge any drink you order to your account which will or not be charged to your folio.  Go to dinner, sit down and order your preferred drink from your server first.  They will go get it.  

8 hours ago, latebuyer said:

For the sept 17 sailings, balconies aren’t sold out, ocean view is. I’m not looking for judgement.

Older and experienced cruisers covet the window suits so always expect that they are sold out unless you book when the cruise is first announced or you are lucky and find one just after it was cancelled.  They usually are less $$$ than the minis but have the same room.  

It could cause problems if you get an immigration officer that is very picky.  However the immigration at Port Everglades uses facial recognition and it should not be a problem.  In answer to your passport question, you would have to file and pay for a new passport needed only if you meet an immigration officer that is very strict.  All the ones that I have had the occasion to present a passport are not that concise.

4 hours ago, zanderblue said:

Hi,

 

looking for some advice from experienced Princess cruisers please.

We are booked on Regal Princess out of Galveston in a couple of weeks. I have completed all the requirements  in the app and have 2 green ticks, and a notification that we are blue lane.(whatever that may mean?)

It means you do not have the medallion primarily because they only mail it to pax in the USA and now Canada.  You will get your medallion when you check in. 

4 hours ago, zanderblue said:

My problem is that I can’t see anywhere what time I should be arriving at the terminal or which terminal is being used. Appreciate if anyone could advise or point me to where I can find the info.

 

thanks in advance

You will leave most likely from #28 but the two terminals are side by side and one can easily walk to the other one.  If you are coming by bus on the day of departure they will drop you off at the correct terminal  If you are arriving from a hotel, the driver will know which terminal to drop you off.  However it is easy because you see the ship behind the terminal.  As to arrival you must be there on hour before boarding time to allow the ship to transmit the manifest to the US government.  They will lock the doors.  We usually arrive by 10:30 or so but then we are elite which is the first to board.  

In spite of what they may tell you onboard, lunch the day of boarding is in the MDR (usually deck 6) from 12:00 to 1:30 pm.  We will be boarding the Regal next Sunday.  We have sailed many times out of Galveston every year since we can drive to the port.  Happy sailing.  

I have seen the ducks on the ship and usually just pass them by.  One time I took the duck and kept it until a young family sat near us on the Lido. so I put the duck in a conspicuous space so the little kid could find it and waited.  They found it and were so happy.  Good use for it.  

It is military protocol that the underlings do not leave until the commanding officer leaves.  Therefore I am not surprised when the officers do not leave until the captain of the ship leaves.  

I have never seen a heated pool on any Princess ship so far.  They rely on the sun to heat their pools.  I will be watching this thread to see if anyone can offer better response. 

6 hours ago, keacat said:

Is that you, Satxdiver?  Honestly, the Eclipse is the specific reason we are going on this cruise.  I will jump over to the Roll Call to learn more!

That post was not mine.  teecee60 is the speaker that is doing the presentation.  One of the reasons we will be on the Emerald next month for the TSE and the trip through the PC using the new locks.  We did the through PC over a decade ago on the Island through the old locks and it was fantastic.  

We have been on the Emerald many times and will be on it again next month.  We always get D632 on a cabin next to it so that we are near the aft elevators.  Their has never been a problem with noise at any time of day or night.  D624 is near where we always book.  

We were on an Alaskan cruise up and back to Seattle.  We were invited to the cocktail party.  More recently we were invited to the luncheon with a little over 300 days but doubt that will happen again for several years.  We now have a bead on the 500 day mark.  

The other Houston airport is George Bush airport or intercontinental IAH.  It is 70 miles from the port.  Hobby HOU is 40 miles from the port and is the original airport before they built IAH.  With a few exceptions SWA uses HOU while most carriers use IAH.  HOU  is located in a not-so-nice part of south Houston.  

I use a CPAP and bring my own extension cord, outlet expansion device and magnetic hooks that I use on the wall and ceiling to keep the extension cord overhead instead of stringing it across the floor.  I hear that there is an outlet behind the bed but it is a European type needing a special plug/converter.  The extension cord, outlet expansion device and magnetic hooks I bought from Amazon.  

When booking excursions the charge for each individual is charged against that person's OBC or must be paid for by a credit card.  Once onboard it cannot be changed.  So one should wait until onboard to use an OBC for both.  

46 minutes ago, teecee60 said:

 

There's a great enrichment speaker that will be on the Regal with you... check it out. 😁 

 

We also will be with you on the Emerald in April for the TSE and PC transition.  

1 hour ago, Virginia Sunshine said:

Hello, I did the online Chat with Princess today and found out some key information. Yes, you can purchase the Wifi ahead of time for $24.99 per device, per day (and you are obligated to purchase for the duration of the cruise). However, if you only want the Wifi for sea days or occasionally, you can purchase a day pass (purchasable once onboard), which is $29.99 per day. This is perfect for my situation, as we have 4 sea days and plan to work and use wifi on those days only. Purchasing 4 "day passes" costs $120 versus the $425 I would have had to pay for the full cruise service at $25/day. 

Remember one must disconnect from the internet before another person can login and use it.  Internet on the moving ship is nothing like one gets at home.  Even the new starlink internet is slow and shared by all the pax on the ship.  So if someone is downloading a movie etc they will tie up the response time.  When many are using the internet it is even slower than normal.  Fastest response I have seen is during dinner time when pax are eating or late at night (midnight+)