Lady Arwen

We’ve honestly never considered RCI. The Behemoth of the Seas ships just turn me off and I would imagine there would be tons of kids onboard. Great for families and young people, but not so much for us retirees.

Actually, we also cruise with HAL. Love the Pinnacle class ships, especially Rotterdam. Variety is the spice of life! lol

Thank you! That explains it perfectly. If I lived near a cruise port I would be sailing on any damn ship!

Yes, that’s a great benefit, especially for those folks who only want a few cocktails and wine in the evening with dinner. Unfortunately, we have to pay for the drinks we indulge in during the afternoon. Oh well, you can’t have it all!

Yes, I’m aware of the status matching. I just never pictured you as a Royal Caribbean cruiser! To get to Diamond level you would need a few cruises under your belt. I’m very surprised that you prefer RCI over Celebrity! Like, I said, everyone has their own wants and needs and that’s a good thing.

To be really fair you have only ONE Celebrity cruise to compare. You would undoubtedly encourage someone who was disappointed in their first Princess cruise to gave it another try. I’m curious as to which Celebrity ship you sailed on. You must have been in a suite to have had access to the Elite lounge. We have been sailing with Princess since 1994 and Celebrity since 1991. In the past few years we’ve just felt that Celebrity was a better fit for us. You prefer Princess and that’s okay. Everyone has different tastes and expectations. I respect yours. I just wanted to correct one thing you mentioned. Elite level complimentary cocktails are available at ANY bar or lounge and are limitless between the hours of 5pm to 7pm. You do not have to be in the Elite lounge. In fact, few people do so. We always have a couple of cocktails at a bar and then we get a couple of glasses of wine to take into whichever dining room we’re eating at that evening. Absolutely no problem doing this. So, 4 complimentary drinks, or more if you are so inclined, per day. That is enough to satisfy many people who are light drinkers. I just wanted to clarify for those who might have been unsure about this benefit. Elite members also get 1 complimentary bag of laundry for each passenger per seven day cruise. Free dry cleaning and ironing of two articles of clothing. And so many more benefits. It works for us. I wish you many more happy sailings on whichever Princess ship you choose.

A very fair comparison, thank you for that. We’ve gone in the other direction and will now sail exclusively with Celebrity, with perhaps the odd Princess, if a particular sailing catches our eye. Everyone has their own preferences and wants, needs and desires. Celebrity ticks all the boxes for us and Princess does it for you. I love that with cruising there’s something for everyone!

It just feels more upscale and elegant. Not stuffy at all, but sophisticated. The Martini Bar is the best! So much fun trying out new Martinis and watching the amazing bartenders do their thing. Not as many kids onboard. People dress casually for sure, but nice casual. Zero indoor smoking, including the casino. Yay! On Edge class the bathrooms, in all categories, are luxurious. Very large glass door shower stalls. Plenty of room for storage. I could go on and on, but take a look at YouTube videos. Some people prefer S class, with traditional balconies, but we prefer Edge class. We sailed on Ascent over New years this year and it was fabulous! Food is really good and service is exemplary. You really need to try it!

Same with us. Don’t get me wrong, we do enjoy our Princess cruises. We just let slide the things that bother us and move on. Different experience on X! More our style, I guess. I never stop smiling the entire time and we love our casino evenings! I’m sure we’ll be back on a Princess ship in the future with the right ship and the right itinerary. I never say never.

When we use the laundry service on Celebrity we attach a note to the bag to wash in cool water and low dryer. It always comes back perfectly!

My big issue with Princess is that smoking is allowed in the casino and it wafts out into the other public areas. If you stay in the casino, even for just a few minutes, your hair and your clothes reek of smoke. The bathrooms on Princess, unless you’re in a suite, are tiny with awful shower curtains. It’s dreadful! We’re doing one last Princess cruise in August and cancelled the rest. Just rebooked them all on Celebrity. We’re Elite on Celebrity, so we get some nice benefits. I really tried to like Princess and gave them a fair shot, but my DH has said enough is enough.

You specifically said that Princess Platinum insurance is NOT a “cancel for any reason” plan. It is. It works basically for anyone who cancels for anything other than covered medical issues. It is a 100% refund in FCC, not cash.

This is not correct. We recently had to cancel our cruise because of an emergency surgery for our dog. We had Platinum coverage. The cancel for any reason benefit does not refund you in cash, but in FCC, which were available immediately to us. Two days later we used the credits to book another cruise.

I would arrive early morning to get the bus to the terminal. They do wait until the bus is full. You will be checked off the manifest list and given a bus number. You will wait until a Princess rep escorts you to your bus.

The Princess transfer bus from the airport to cruise terminal.

Fly Air Canada and Westjet it’s English and French. People tend to forget that Canada is a bi-lingual country.

Just cancelled two Princess cruises for 2025 and rebooked on Beyond. We booked one of the deluxe ocean view cabins on deck 9 forward. Very large cabin and great views. I prefer Edge class ships over S class.

I get it. You do what you feel works for you. I’m not worried about the corporation making money on the packages. Every corporation is out to make money, not just the cruiselines. Every single day we lose the game, one way or another. It’s a part of life we’ve come to expect. Perceived value is in the eye of the beholder. For us it’s great value and I enjoy it. For you, not so much. The point is, do what makes YOU happy!

I have to agree with you. If I had to spend any of my precious vacation time adding up the cost of a drink or coffee or specialty dining, I would be so stressed out just thinking about the numbers. We just pay for the package and forget about it. When we get home we only have memories of the good time we had and not whether we lost money or broke even or any of that. I certainly understand that not everyone can or wants to do that. Some people thrive on budgets and spreadsheets and daily calculations. The packages are for people who know they’ll get their money’s worth and for people who don’t really care. To each their own.

Half day, which is four hours, is $20.00. You must get to the Sanctuary as soon as you board, it fills up very quickly!

@memoaksaid “in public”. You have nothing to worry about, your cabin is completely private.

Just go to the Princess website and look up the packages. It’s very clearly stated what each package offers. If you have the Plus package, you have 2 casual dinners per person.

I have no idea why you’re experiencing this every night. I rarely have this type of issue, but mostly when everyone else is seeing the same. Some people find it happens on different servers. I’m certainly not a tech person, so I’m hoping some of our knowledgeable members can advise you.

We use a Princess CVP and never have issues. Any changes, regardless of the nature, she gets it done in mere minutes. I’ve never sat on hold, spoken to an agent that I don’t understand, had my booking cancelled and I’ve never been stressed or upset. If you don’t have a reliable travel agent or CVP, please do yourself a favour and reach out to one or the other. No cost for either one, but their service is invaluable. Our CVP has been doing our bookings for years and I wouldn’t know what to do without her. Sorry, for your experience. I can’t imagine how stressful it must have been. I hope you enjoy your cruise!