Linsifer

I just reserved a space there for October after someone on a FB Princess cruise group told us about it. I had planned on booking 80 Francisco St. like we always do. But after changing hands and no longer able to reserve ahead of time, I was a bit concerned we wouldn’t have a place. Even though their guy, Andy Nguyen was very good about communicating with me, I feel SpotHero’s Levi Plaza Garage will be a better choice. Like you said, cheaper and closer to port. And I was able to reserve ahead of time!

Andy is the greatest! (anguyen) He’s been sending me emails back and forth reassuring me we would have a space, but that I can’t reserve ahead of time now like we used to. He said they have enough spaces allotted with each cruises. And he sent me all the instructions. That said, I found out about SpotHero and parking at Levi Plaza Garage 6 minutes walking distance to terminal. $140 + tax for 7 days and fully able to cancel. I went ahead of reserved a space for peace of mind. I’m sure 80 Francisco would have been fine, but I need to know we have a space waiting like when we parked there before.

They were recently bought by another company and you can no longer reserve ahead of time. That concerned me since I didn’t want to arrive with no guarantee of a parking space. I have been communicating with one of their very responsive team who assured me they know ahead of time how many will be cruising. Well,Mim the meantime I found out about SpotHero and the Levi Plaza Garage only 6 minutes walking distance to the terminal. And it’s $140+ tax for a week. Even less than 80 Francisco where we always parked when it was run by ABM. And closer!

We were there on the Sun Princess in 2004 and later on the Golden Princess in 2007. I really enjoyed the little village with the cobblestone streets. We ate at a good restaurant right on the little main walking street. Also took a small boat over to Playa Las Gatas Beach. Nice area with clear, smooth water. I sure wish Princess would bring it back. In 2004 Acapulco was nice. We saw the cliff divers. In 2007 we didn’t very far from the ship when we were in Acapulco. There had been some cartel violence and we just didn’t feel as comfortable.

And they usually being Husky puppies on board when you’re in one port.

My goodness, your MDR experience doesn’t sound like ANYthing we’ve experienced on our six Princess sailings. I know things can vary from ship to ship or crew to crew, but it really sounds like you got the short end of the stick! It’s too bad it’s steered you away from future cruises with Princess. Again, we’ve always had wonderful dining on the Princess ships we’ve sailed.

We really enjoy Princess, even more so because we can drive to the closest port of San Francisco. And compared to RCI, Princess really knows how to offer up a comfortable mattress. So comfy. My last three RCI cruises the mattresses were ROCK hard. They couldn’t put enough extra padding on my side of the bed to make it feel soft enough. That said, for a family I’m sure a Royal Caribbean ship will have plenty of fun activities for all age groups. They tend to have all the super slides and rock climbing walls as well as other water activities. As for Alaska sailings, Princess owns Alaska! They really know how do it right. Since it’s not really a warm weather itinerary, I don’t think many of those outdoor water activities would be beneficial, anyway. They still have plenty of indoor fun for the kids at their kids clubs. To me, Alaska IS the fun! If I had to choose a cruise line to Alaska my preference is Princess. In fact. We had a 10 day sailing out of San Francisco booked during COVID but had to cancel. One of these days we’ll book it again! Next up is an RCI sailing to Canada/NE and then back to Princess for the British Isles. Awww….a soft and comfy mattress once again! 🙂

Lol. It is! Oh well. It’s the same cabin. If anyone has stayed in it, feel free to comment!

Did you end up switching to 10606? I have it on hold right now because that balcony did look a little larger. What did you mean by “I know the view is more limited?” If you stayed in that cabin, did you like it? Should I go ahead and book it? Also, I notice it’s not right in the middle—a bit more mid-forward. Is that a problem for movement? I always try to get as close to directly midship as I can. Thanks! I hope you’ll see this post since the thread is 7 years old! 🙂

If it’s not one thing, it’s another. 🤦🏻‍♀️

Thank you for your suggestion! Since this cruise isn’t going to happen for almost two years, I’m sure we’ll find the perfect hotel before then.:) For the stay AFTER the cruise I didn’t mean we would be staying close to the airport as we would BEFORE in order to get our transfer to the terminal. Again, we’ve got time to plan this adventure! We still have a cruise to Canada/NE next year to plan.

Thank you. I now know how it works. We’ll arrive a couple days early and stay at a hotel near the airport instead. Then get back to the airport to catch the transfer to Southampton terminal the day of our cruise. That’s what others here have done, it turns out. And after our cruise, we’ll do the same in reverse. Transfer to Heathrow and get to the hotel on our own (maybe one with a shuttle) back to the airport two or three days later.

When you told Princess you were arriving the morning OF the cruise, do you mean flying IN the same day although you flew in the day before and stayed a night at a nearby hotel? Or just told them you were arriving at the airport that morning in time for the transfer? In other words, if you’re on the list and are there to be picked up the day of the cruise, they don’t care WHEN your plane actually arrived? Thanks!

Yes, that was my original question, but a couple others here replied with the protocol. And my TA emailed me this morning explaining how the transfers work. Thanks again, Coral!

My TA said the transfers are $128 round trip per person. Sorry for not clarifying.

Thank you. I was told here by a couple people that if we’re on the transfer list and we arrive the day before, we can book a hotel room near the airport and make our way back to Heathrow to catch the transfer the day of the cruise. That’s what we’ll do. Our TA added the transfers to our booking. We have a good while to make plans, thank goodness. 🙂

Thank you! I know it’s not until 2025, so we have awhile to plan! Since traveling overseas or really ANYWHERE is new to me, I like to get my ducks all lined up in advance. Then when it comes time to book the hotel(s) etc I’ll be familiar with the process. My TA added the transfers to the booking.

Thank you! So it looks like we should stay in a hotel near the airport the night before and make our way back to Heathrow to meet up with the Princess transfer rep. who will take us to Southampton terminal the day of embarkation. I had hoped to stay closer to the port, but as long as Princess gets us to the terminal in time, that will work, too. I imagine it works the same way going back. We will be transferred to Heathrow from the terminal. We can book a hotel close to the airport and spend one night (or more) there before flying home. And then take a cab to Heathrow. Does this all sound like it will work?

I’m wondering if we could take the Princess transfer from Heathrow the day we fly in to our hotel in Southampton close to the terminal and then take a taxi or Uber or maybe even hotel shuttle to the terminal the next morning. And after debarking, take the transfer to a hotel near Heathrow to spend a night or two before finding our way to Heathrow when we’re ready to fly home.

My TA just added RT transfers to our cruise invoice for $128. When we arrive at Heathrow the day before sailing, can we have the transfer company drop us off at a hotel in Southampton near the terminal? And find our way to the terminal the next morning. And at debarkation can we be transported to a hotel close to Heathrow if we plan to spend the night before our flight home? Or I suppose we could stay a few more days and find our way to the airport either way. Just want to make sure Princess will transport us to a hotel.

Embarkation was a cinch for us, as well. And we’re Gold. Disembarking for self-assist was a bit chaotic, though. That was more the ship’s problem though. Once we got off the ship, it was easy peasy in the terminal.

I agree with you regarding the entertainment! Loved Nastya and Dima. And everything else you mentioned. They can keep the unicycle rider. Wasn’t funny at all in my opinion. And I agree with your dad, the Frankie Valle group could have left out the “humor” and just add more songs. I was disappointed they left out Ragdoll. My husband liked the ice skating show the best of all. He’s not much of a song and dance guy, but,loved the ice skating.

I like San Francisco terminal. But it’s on Princess and a lot closer drive for us. San Pedro Terminal was okay for us, though. Embarking and once disembarked it was fine. We self-assisted OFF the Navigator, which should have been seamless. It wasn’t. But that was the ship’s problem. Long line and mixed in with passengers who had assisted luggage help. The gal supervising our line had no idea what was happening. Seemed overwhelmed. Last time we disembarked off a Princess ship, we carried our own luggage off and it went t quickly and smoothly. That was the point, I felt. Oh well, maybe it was a fluke getting off the Navigator.

How was the Bliss? My daughter, son-in-law, 4 year old son and his family are sailing her to Alaska in August out of Seattle. First cruise for my son-in-law and grandson.