namracmom

Surprisingly enough, the weather has been terrific and the seas fairly calm. Havana hadn't been hit when we left so hopefully, the port and city won't experience much damage. When we were there, Irma was hitting the northern coast but we wouldn't have known it if it wasn't for the news. We had a fairly sunny day with a lot of tourists driving around in classic convertibles.

We are now still on our way to the added stop in Cozumel, experiencing partly sunny skies and fairly calm seas.

We join everyone else in waiting to see what will occur in Tampa to know if and when we will be able to return there.

I am currently on the Paradise that left Tampa on September 7th. We were supposed to return on the 11th but won't be coming back until the 12th (depending upon the condition of the port) - so the ship won't be at the port for anyone that was supposed to cruise on the 11th.

We were able to visit Cuba as planned on Friday, but needed to leave after midnight instead of 11 a.m. on Saturday to avoid Irma. Carnival has also added an extra stop in Cozumel.

In addition, they have given us access to make free calls from our cabin phones to communicate the extended cruise timeline with family; a thoughtful gesture that has helped to make it easier to change travel arrangements for getting home later than planned.

We join the others on this thread who are also scheduled to leave on the Paradise on September 7th to Cuba. We continue to watch the hurricane models, weather forecasts and await word from Carnival.

Thanks for letting me know that your itinerary was scheduled for the 8 am arrival. I will stay with our afternoon plans for the first day in Cuba.

Thank you for the helpful review and for all the great information I learn through the Cruise Critic boards!

I had the same question about the scheduled arrival time in Cuba since our September 7-11 itinerary for the Paradise (and other itineraries that I see online for the Paradise) all say arrival at 11:30. Was the 8 am arrival time only for some of the first Carnival cruises into Cuba or have they adjusted the arrival time to 8 am and just not changed the itinerary information? This time difference for arrival can affect the tours/activities we have planned for Cuba.

Do any cruisers who have been on the Paradise to Cuba know the arrival time that was stated on their original documents/itineraries?

Thanks in advance for everyone's help.

It is on it's way to you via email.

I didn't receive the information in my email. Can you try sending it again to:

Ri underscore 666@hotmail dot com

Perhaps the underscore (__) got lost when the email address was highlighted.

Thank you for sending me the slot pull information again.

Ann,

Can you also email me the spreadsheet and/or other information you use to organize/monitor the slot pull? You can send it to ri_666@hotmail.com

Thanks.

Anyone have any secrets about emerald princess? It's my first cruise in Baltic and to that area!

I'm not sure how secret these tips are but I found them helpful while on the Emerald Princess.They are probably true for many of the other Princess ships as well.

As other posts mentioned, you can eat in the dining room on embarkation day. We found that the dining room was also open on disembarkation day. This was a relaxing way to end the cruise, especially if you don't need to be one of the first passengers to get off the ship. We brought our carry-on bags to the dining room and disembarked when we were done eating and enjoying our coffee without all of the crowds at the buffet.

You can get bags of popcorn on the Lido deck when 'Movies Under the Stars' is scheduled. You can take the popcorn with you and don't need to watch the movie. But, the Movies Under the Stars is a fun activity. They bring you a warm blanket and even came to serve pizza slices and cookies/milk. Sit on the upper deck so you aren't distracted by people walking by and having conversations while you are trying to hear the movie.

As others mentioned, if you don't see anything you like for dessert on the menu, order a volcano (from the children's menu). It is a banana split served with fudge, whipped cream, cherries, chocolate chips, etc. It was larger than any of the desserts from the adult menu. It was great watching everyone's surprised reactions when they saw it served to me at the table.

If you are traveling with others and have cabins next to each other, ask your room steward to open up the balconies. We had four cabins in a row and enjoyed having the "long balcony" between the cabins.

As mentioned in other posts, stop by the library each day to get a daily crossword puzzle, sudoku puzzle, and brain teaser.

If you like to order soda and non-alcoholic beverages, buy the ultimate soda card on the first day (they were selling them on the Lido deck). It cost $7.00 + 15% gratuity per day and came with a free insulated Princess Cruise tumbler on the first day. After purchasing, you get a sticker that goes onto your cruise card and enables you to receive unlimited sodas, non-alcoholic drinks (fun options printed on their drink menus such as "nojitos", a chocolate banana drink, virgin pina coladas, strawberry daiquiries, etc.), hot chocolate and milkshakes (from Scoops). Without the card, the drinks would have cost $3-4.75 each.

I loved the Royal Dutch and Indonesian teas on HAL.

Sometimes the scones on Princess are delicious. Other times dry which is unusual since their baked goods rolls, etc. are one of their culinary strengths.

Tea Time on the Emerald Princess was from 3:30 - 4:30 every day. I agree that the scones were great; served with cream and jam. The scones were the last items served. The waiters started with mini sandwiches, followed by cookies/slices of pound cake, and then the scones. So, save room for them. The only disappointing part about the tea time was that the tea was Lipton, poured from a silver teapot. When you are seated, you walk past a beautiful display of different types of tea (Darjeeling, English Breakfast, etc.), so I found it peculiar that they served Lipton.

What a fun idea! I wish I had thought about doing this. I just returned from a cruise on the Emerald Princess. I don't know if the system used on the Emerald is the same on the other ships but be aware of the following: I had to set up a pin number and use my cruise card (cabin key) for the slot machines. I could put cash in the machine or charge amounts to my cruise card. However, I couldn't get cash out of the machine. All cash wins were credited to the cruise card. I then had to go to the cashier to get the cash. So, be prepared that one person's cruise card might be needed.

I had a lot of fun reading and using the suggestions posted on this thread for my cruise on the Emerald Princess to Northern Europe.Here are a few things I found most useful.

I purchased an over the door shoe holder organizer with mesh pockets which I bought for $8 at Big Lots. I hung it on the two hooks that were on the back of the bathroom door and put all of our toiletries in the pockets. It was a very efficient way of storing and finding everything. I organized the pockets so one pocket contained my toothpaste, floss, mouthwash. Another pocket contained my hair brush/comb, another pocket contained medicine, etc. I used some of the rows of the pockets for my things and other rows for my husband's belongings. This system made it much easier to find things instead of having to dig in make-up bags or shaving kits, especially given the small bathroom size and limited counter space.

A power strip came in very handy to charge our ipad and cell phones. I used my ipad (the nightstand app) as an alarm clock/nightlight so it helped to keep it charged through the night.

I didn't need a clothespin to keep the curtains closed. They kept closed and I noticed that there was a piece of velcro on them for this purpose.I assume the velcro was on other cabins' curtains, but am not sure.

I used a travel mug and insulated tumbler to carry coffee/ice tea/soda and to keep beverages at their designated temperatures. I actually got the insulated tumbler when I purchased the ultimate beverage card on the first day of the trip (it came with my $7.00 a day card) so I only needed to bring the covered travel mug.

I didn't need to bring a luggage scale since the Princess Patter said you could ask the room steward for one if you wanted to weigh your suitcases as you prepared for disembarkation (luckily the scale was for the luggage and not for me at the end of the cruise) :-)

Ziplock bags came in very handy to store snacks.

I didn't need a flashlight since I had a flashlight app on my cell phone.

The walls of the cabin and doors are magnetic so previous posts about bringing magnetic memo pads or a magnet (and using the paper pad from the cabin) for leaving notes is a great suggestion.

I didn't need to bring additional hangers. I asked my room steward as soon as I got to the room and she brought me miscellaneous wire hangers.

Danish Viking,

Thank you for the transportation and site seeing information you provided us if we stay at the Crowne Plaza. Does the STAY apartment hotel have convenient transportation options and/or is it too far away from the city center? We will be staying in Copenhagen for two nights.

I have been reading all the posts about hotels to stay in before our cruise. Some of the ones I was looking at that might be closer to the city center are booked for the time we are going in July. I am now considering the Crowne Plaza (I think it is near the airport?) or STAY (Islands Brygge?). We will be staying in Copenhagen for two nights before our cruise. How difficult would it be to see the sites if we stay in either of these hotels and how difficult will transportation be for us?