Pythian

You can get the wine package once on-board. It's only provided on cruises of 10 days or more. They have multiple packages (bronze, silver, gold) based on the not-to-exceed per-bottle cost. i.e.: bronze might be $22, Silver maybe $30 and Gold $42 (or somewhere in that range). There is a discount for number of bottles and level (say $18 a bottle cost for bronze having wine not-to-exceed $22 each assuming your purchase a ticket with 10 bottles.) Generally, it's a good deal. But, you must purchase it when you get on-board and within one day of sailing.

Oh, but don't lose the ticket! if you do, you can't get a refund and someone else is going to enjoy your wine. They stamp it for each bottle opened.

Let's you appreciate Princess more but that's about it.:D

Unlike Carnival, you can get a military (vets, active duty, reserve, retired) OBC on princess on each and every cruise (On Carnival, you only get the discount on the cruise fare if they offer it). Like Carnival, you can use your CCL stock (minimum 100 shares) discount each time you cruise. Else? Nope, your level benefits don't crossover.

We took a Spring Break 7-day to Roatan (out of Ft Lauderdale) with our kids and had a great time (2012, I think, Crown Princess). There were a lot of kids of all ages – 3 to 26. Maybe 1/3rd of the guests were kids. No issues – in fact, it was pretty darned fun. Older kids (college age and older teens) minded themselves well and seemed to have a lot of fun. I wouldn’t worry about it – you’ll have a great cruise.

Just off the Island Princess.

The ship is in great condition, the staff are super and the food is good.

 

We had anytime dining and always had a long line to enter the dining room. You can call at 8:00 am to reserve a dining time for that evening.

 

We also had lines to get into the Princess Theater for evening shows. You must arrive 30 minutes before the show to get a good seat. The shows were excellent and well worth the wait.

 

The Panama Canal partial transit was so much fun.

 

Great cruise on a very nice ship!

Let me echo a couple of these - and a few others. We just got off the 10 day partial Canal transit (14 Jan departure from Ft L). The ship was nice and clean, and the service (hotel) crew was awesome. We took one of the Aft view cabins (B-738). The cabin was a bit smaller and the deck was quite a bit smaller. I suppose they took some extra room for the aft suites. We always take aft view cabins if possible (21 princess cruises), but I won't be taking one again on the Island - nor probably the Coral. I love these ships (4 cruises) but the extra cabins must be putting too much weight on the aft. In moderate to slight sea you can almost get tossed out of bed at night. And, the doors don't latch (unless locked) so they bang back and forth during the night if you like the door open (we put pillows and stuff in the doorway). Also, it's pretty darned noisy (really) when the stabilizers are out or the side thrusters are in play.

Anytime dining became a real bear, even with dining at 8:15 pm due to the lines. Extra folks on-board, but no extra dining. Food and service were very good. On a plus side - the new Horizon Court is well laid out and very friendly.

Lastly, Aft cabin folks get to have Muster in the gym. This is bad. Hot, no seating, long. Stand in lines and wait. Worst Princess muster ever. There were quite a few older folks who just couldn't do it. i was surprised no one passed out (that I saw). Some did finally just move and sit on the exercise machines. Crew was not very helpful - but, maybe because they were new to Princess Muster? This really was not acceptable for Princess.

Else - the voyage was super, the bar staff was the best in a long time, Elite evening service (5 to 7 in Explorers) was outstanding, and even the pursers desk was friendly!

We've done it a few times, and are doing another partial transit on the 14th of Jan (in just a few days!). We did a full transit in Nov and two other partial transits in Dec & Feb. Weather has been good on all - but you can easily get a day or two of rain between mid Nov to mid Feb. And, it will be hot in Panama. It's a great cruise, and it seems our friends who haven't been keep asking us to cruise with them to the canal. It's never boring and this might be the last year on the old locks - as the new canal is just about finished. Have fun!

I agree with Colo Cruiser that your Limon tour is one of the best. As for taking a small boat or rail tour of the full canal - I'd suggest against it. It's a LONG day and often times crowded and hot. Plus you don't really see much. Part of the canal experience is the perspective going up and down the locks - and if you stay on the ship you can get both. Besides, you can always take a full transit on a future cruise if you enjoy the partial.

This is our fifth curise with princess , we have been on emerald and royal so far and have nothing but good to say could anyone tell about there experience on the coral during a Panama curise and what to expect on board as well as what to do while in ports thanks for any information that you could offer can't wait oh boy !

Are you doing a partial or full transit? The Coral is my favorite Princess ship (well, ever since Princess sold the old 700 passenger Royal). We've done both full and partial, but some of the full transit ports have changed. As for the partial, Limon and Cartagena, are our favorites! Strongly suggest taking a princess tour at Cartagena if it is your first time – but the slate is open for Limon. However, the princess eco-train, plantation and river tour is pretty good. Let me know – I’ll check back in later.

Just left Grand Turks and the captain just came on the overhead speaker to let us know that we will be going to Nassau on Sat. At sea tomorrow. After that is up in the air. Will update later. Just to let you know the cruise has been good. Food not bad - weather not bad - cruise is full - and have to say we r in a balcony cabin on the lido deck and our cabin temp is not hot. Been pretty cool

Thanks P082351! There are a lot of us (a whole ship load?) who are watching and reading everything! Thanks for the up-to-date updates!

dan

We are leaving San Juan now going to Grand Tucks - after that I don't know where we are going they haven't let us know yet Nassau or their island and as far as docking on Monday that has not been mentioned. I will let you know what happens.

Thanks!! I'll be watching for it - and watching the weather updates too!

Take care and keep us updated! We're boarding (well,,,,??) on Monday in Ft L. I'm still wondering if you will be out to sea on Monday and come in on Tuesday. We'll see. What pier did you depart from? Thanks for posting live!

St. Kitts would have been a new port for us but oh well life sails on. No clue when we would do Nassau or half moon, Friday Saturday or Sunday could all work

We're on the Conquest out of Ft L on the 31st. Well, supposed to be on the Conquest on the 31st. Please do keep us updated on when the ship will arrive - as I'm thinking you are going to get an extra day. Stay dry and keep the ship shipshape for us please......

We're on the Conquest this Monday out of Ft Lauderdale. How does Carnival notify you about your ship in this case? I doubt it will be in port on Monday unless it comes in on Sunday instead. Even then, the hurricane is coming right at the port. So - Tuesday? Just out luck! Anyone out there know?

My DW takes a shoe hanger that holds about 8 pair of shoes. Fits in the closet really nice and doesn’t take up much space (collapses into a small flat package). Also, a dirty clothes collapsible hamper for the corner of the closet. We have also found the magnetic clips are nice to have as they snap right onto the wall and you can clip schedules, tickets, etc to them so they don’t get misplaced.

Thanks for the review jenniferrop! We're on-board the Conquest this August and it was nice to know your thoughts. We normally cruise with Princess, but our boys really like Carnival (27 years old) so we're going with them this time. Probably 7 or 8 years since we last cruised with the line. Also, appreicate the info on horse riding in Aruba.... that sounds like a great plan. I never know what to do there, so normally just stay on the ship. Again, thanks for taking time to let everyone know how your cruise went.

There is no 'real' form. Just follow the directions and submit the required info. easy!

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=140690&p=irol-sharebenefit

So - there is hope. Thanks! I'll check into it. Not a "benefit" (like stock ownership) but appears as a Military rate OBC. I'm getting 2 cabins, so, it's worth looking into, for sure.

Appreciate all the info - thanks. I just figured that if Carnival stock was good for Carnival and Princess, that the Military OBC would be good on both too. Oh well, it's a nice perk on Princess. Still going to be a great cruise non-the-less. I will do a double check on military rates - just in case! Thanks.

I've cruised a lot on Princess, and the Military OBC is good on all cruises, $50 to $250 per person (2 per cabin) depending on length of cruise. I also have Carnival stock and am a returning Carnival cruise member from about 10 years ago. Our son loves Carnival (27) and we are all going on a short 5 day cruise.

Ok, all easy so far. But, I can't figure out the Carnival Military OBC. I'd thought it would be like Princess since they are a part of Carnival Corp, but? Could someone please explain the Carnival Military benefit (I'm retired US Military and my DW is a US Military veteran). I think we purchased under a military fare, but we took a guarantee balcony vice specific cabin - and it is possible our TA found a better rate than the Military rate.

In any case, I'm confused as to whether we can apply for the Military OBC or not. Any help is MUCH appreciated!

Great choice - I love the Royal and Regal (cruised on them both) and you are correct, Princess has some of the best ports and locations. As for the reviews - read enough of them to get a good feel. I had an aft facing balconly and was worried about the soot - and yet, didn't have a problem the entire time. Same with the elevators - just use the fore or aft ones and the wait time is really minimal. Plus, even though they are fairly large ships (passengers) you never really feel crowded as they took a lot of time making sure of the traffic flow and layout.

Have a GREAT cruise and welcome to the Princess boards and family!

I kinda like it - but, maybe that is because I snagged an aft facing balcony cabin on Baja for January..... I really liked Univeral Lounge, but ever since Princess stopped doing the 'horse races' there, it's kinda been under used (and really, how much bingo can one take?). And the 250 additonal passengers doesn't worry me for dinner/food. However, I'll let you know after I sail - but for today, I'm pretty excited to be on her.

We had the Java Suite, Cat. S6 Vista Suite cabin C-702. Having just had the aft-facing Vista Suite on the Sapphire, C-750, a few days prior to that, the Island's S6 was noticeably smaller.

 

The balcony is really nice if you don't have rain and the location is great. I much prefer it to the aft-facing suites. Lucky you that you didn't have to pay full price for it like we did! And, good thing you were able to get the starboard side for Venice. Congrats and enjoy! :)

We had the same Sapphire aft C-750 suite, and it was great. I'd take one of the new Island aft suites in a heartbeat - especially on a TA (so many sea days to enjoy an aft balcony) but, generally whenever they are available. Have a great cruise and please let us know how the 'new' Island is!

DW and I were in a Nor'easter while on a fall cruise to Canada. 80 MPH winds and 38' seas. We could not go into a couple ports, but it wasn't all that bad. A bit of topside damage due to the waves and some water damage here and there. Quite a few got sea sick and stayed in their cabins - but, those who didn't had an easy time getting a table for dinner or breakfast. These ships are big - and the crew knows how to sail them. Staying out at sea is normally the bast place for ships, guests and crew.

I'd expect 7:15 or so. They like to get the tours off early (like to Stonehenge). We did regular disembarkation and were on our way to London about 9:00. They are pretty professional at the port - so, it should be rather easy.

My DW and I fully agree - the wine-makers dinner is awesome. We did it on both the Regal and Royal. Skip the 'wine-tasting' and sign up for the wine maker’s dinner. You will not be disappointed! Oh, and the table is in a special area of the dining room... it too is really special and fun.

I am cruising on Emerald in July, it looks like 14 nights drinking Bass :(

 

ps - the new Britannia has 70 different beers - come on Princess

Mix the Bass Ale with the Stella draft 50/50. It's really rather good and it will at least give you a change-up now and then while waiting on Ports.