BellsRUs

22 minutes ago, Coral said:

It is a smaller menu compared to Royal Class ships. Though you can grab food at International Cafe (salad, etc..) and bring it over. Still good 🙂

Thank you!

Thanks everyone! It looks like Sapphire is the clear winner. Once someone mentioned the pizza place, we looked to make sure it was Alfredos and that clinched it. My husband and I love Alfredos! 😋💜🍕

We welcome any other suggestions for an Alaska cruise tour...

We are thinking about booking an Alaska cruise on Princess. Which ship, and pros/cons? Our choices are Caribbean, Coral, or Sapphire. We are currently on Emerald, so comparisons to this ship would be appreciated...

We will also be doing a land tour, so tips for that portion of the trip are also appreciated. 

On 10/17/2022 at 3:19 PM, KelJ said:

 

Free wifi.  Free drinks in the suite lounge and Coastal Kitchen (bottled water, soda, beer and wine all day, cocktails in the evening).  You can eat all meals in Coastal Kitchen, but you still need to make reservations for dinner there.  Free appetizers in the evening in the suite lounge.  Free room service for all meals.  Free pressing on the first formal night.  Reserved seating in shows, so no reservations necessary except for adult comedy.   

 

Gratuities are not included.

Thank you so much! We thought we had wifi included but couldn’t remember about tips…

On 10/19/2022 at 5:25 PM, Cigar King said:

It's not the first entry, but, it's there...

 

https://googlethatforyou.com?q=RCCL. Sailing in a Crown Loft Suite - what will be included%3F

Well, that was fancy, but I couldn’t look at any results - mostly a blank page…

On 10/19/2022 at 2:46 PM, fredmdcruisers said:

You booked it without knowing?

Well, we may have known when we booked it, but have forgotten between then and now! 🤓😂

1 hour ago, Thrak said:

I'd try Live Chat before giving in and calling Princess. If you have a TA have them fix it for you.

Thanks! I didn’t even think about using chat and was unaware that the TA could change that section of the website. 😀

51 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Are they a b2b cruise?  Sometimes, it will only show up as one in the app.  I would be concerned if it isn't on the website as an upcoming cruise.  

 

Are you working with a TA?

 

Do you have the booking number/confirmation invoice?

 

Was there a deposit on the second cruise?

 

 

No, not b2b cruises - one in January and one in February. I think we booked both through American Express. When I input the booking number the cruise showed up and I was able to Manage the Booking, so I’m not worried that I’m not booked. I would just like it to show up in my future cruises so I don’t have to have the booking number every time I try to look at it.

Hi - we are cruising on Princess in January and again in February. Only the January cruise is showing up on the Upcoming Cruises section of the Princess website. There used to be a link from that page that would allow me to add a missing cruise, but that link is no where to be found. Does anyone know how I go about getting the missing cruise added to the Upcoming Cruises page?
 

I was able to find a link from the FAQ page that allowed me to access my booking by inputting my name, birth date, and booking number, but it didn’t add the cruise permanently, so I would have to input that info again every time I want to access the February cruise.

Thanks!

It’s been a while since we were on RCCL. Sailing in a Crown Loft Suite - what will be included? Any wifi, tips, drinks, etc. I assume we have the Coastal Kitchen to eat in. What else?

Thanks!

9 hours ago, loriva said:

 

Patti,

 

I wonder if they would bus passengers gathered in Cochem to join the Pearl somewhere along the Rhine instead of cancelling the full "Vineyards and Vistas of the Rhine" itinerary?  Scenic and Emerald seem to be consolidating sailings, so wonder if joining your cruise becomes an option?

 

I hope @Host Jazzbeau has been following the Scenic threads while he was on Gem and took the opportunity to ask the personnel on that ship on events.

 

7 hours ago, notamermaid said:

You know, that was my immediate thought when I read Patti's post. It could work logistically. A bit weird but who knows. Companies are very flexible with water level issues, have to be, so why not with the Jade and the Pearl?

 

Hope it works out for you @Chris_Texas in one way or another, the Moselle landscape is lovely right now and the Rhine is not too bad either.

 

notamermaid

 

That would be an interesting solution! Does anyone know if the Scenic ships have been sailing with a full ship?

9 hours ago, loriva said:

 

Thanks for the update, Patti.  I wonder why the delay in notification, which is not in keeping with a company that advertises "being cared for to the Nth Degree."  Perhaps they thought they would be able to repair the problem during the long stay in Duisburg, maybe they needed a part, or they needed to consolidate sailings due to staffing or supply chain issues as others have reported.

 

The Pearl and the Jade are very similar--but not exact copies.  I hope your suite is comparable to the one you were to have on the Jade and your trip is fabulous.  We're hoping to board the Jade in late June after a land package with Scenic for the Passion Play in Oberammergau, so interesting to see the fate of the ship.

 

7 hours ago, notamermaid said:

It was kind of obvious that you would not board the Jade when I realized she had stopped sailing at Cologne. They really could have notified you day before yesterday already. But then, I gather logistics needed sorting. Glad to read though that you have a ship to sail on and I hope the Pearl and its crew and staff will give you a wonderful experience on the rivers.

 

notamermaid

 

We had figured out we weren’t going to be on the Jade and were thankful our cruise wasn’t cancelled since we had left home on Saturday. We are truly looking forward to our first river cruise! I ended up on crutches, but I’m ready to make the best of it!

On 4/30/2022 at 10:32 PM, TravelerGir1 said:

We're scheduled on 'Vineyards & Vistas of the Rhine' that is supposed to join the Pearl at Cochem on 11May.  So far we haven't received a cancellation but it's hard to imagine it will sail (if the ship is even available) with fewer passengers after cancelling those that had the full two week itinerary booked 🤨  For now we sit and wait....

We are supposed to board the Scenic Jade tomorrow in Budapest, but she is still in Cologne with engine issues. We received notification this morning that we will be on the Scenic Pearl instead, so  it looks like your cruise will either be cancelled or on another ship, as our cruise will not end until May 18th.

18 hours ago, notamermaid said:

The Arosa Aqua is now keeping the Scenic Jade company, they are both in the harbour at Cologne Mülheim.

 

Has anybody received notification of what is going on?

 

notamermaid

 

We are supposed to board the Jade tomorrow in Budapest and finally received emails this morning that we will be on the Pearl instead. I’ve been following the Jade’s non-progress on my Marine Traffic app, so I figured that would be the answer, but it took them a long time to notify us.

On 4/11/2022 at 10:07 PM, eylarson said:

The biggest problem (Only a problem given the usual excellence we've come to expect on Viking) has been with excursions/expeditions.  In fact in Antarctica everything worked like it should.  If weather was a factor, plan B was put in place and deviations clearly communicated to the pax.  We're now in the Caribbean and things aren't as smooth.  No doubt COVID has played a role, but the Daily should include all excursion info, meeting place, time et al.  A moderate excursion turned out to be a very challenging climb for all up a dirt, sometimes muddy and rocky trail.  

That said it's a beautiful ship.  The wait and bar staff couldn't be more helpful.  Food is as expected on Viking.  No charge for cappuccino's or expressos.  

I was reading your blog - thank you for that! I grew up in the 1000 Islands along the Seaway Trail. In the St Lawrence Seaway Shipwatchers Facebook page, everyone is following the Octantis’ travels up the St. Lawrence River and they were wondering if there were passengers onboard, so I shared a link to your blog. I’m so sorry that you missed the beautiful 1000 Islands because you were traversing the area at night. There are two beautiful castles and many more gorgeous islands/cottages to see in that area. If you ever get a chance to return to the 1000 Islands, you should go! 

Hi Colleen - do you know what the next cruise was after you disembarked? Where it was leaving from? I grew up on the St. Lawrence River and everyone up there has been posting photos of the Octantis heading downriver. They are all wondering if the ship is traveling with passengers onboard on their way to Toronto for the Great Lakes cruises. I would assume there was some sort of repositioning cruise to get to Toronto - do you know any info?

Thanks!

Patti

Thank you! We are supposed to be on the Jade, but aren’t positive because of the engine issues she has had. Current Jade passengers are traveling on the Pearl. Could you please tell me how dressy the dinners are? The men are trying to decide whether to take a jacket and the women are wondering how dressy we need to be…

4 minutes ago, Canal archive said:

Is it your first cruise with Scenic? 
 

Yup got it in one.

 

interesting as it looks like Scenic Club Diamond colour.

😂How could you tell its my first Scenic cruise? My first River cruise of any kind! We've been on over 50 ocean cruises, but this will be the first river cruise. 

Thank you for the info! 

Our best guess is that this is a luggage tag - are we correct? 

The Pearl is currently replacing the Jade (which had engine trouble) on an Amsterdam to Budapest cruise, so it will be in Budapest on the day you were supposed to board it in Amsterdam. We are scheduled to leave from Budapest to Amsterdam on the Jade next Wednesday, but it’s possible we will be on the Pearl if the Jade’s  engines aren’t fixed. 
 

The Jade has left Duisburg where they took it after having engine trouble. It is currently underway to Cologne. I don’t know if more repairs are needed or if it is ultimately heading to Budapest for our May 4th cruise. 🤷🏼‍♀️

11 minutes ago, notamermaid said:

The Scenic Jade has left Duisburg and is currently sailing near Krefeld with logged destination being Cologne.

 

notamermaid

 

I saw that! I’m taking that as a positive sign that our May 4th cruise will go as planned…😀 I was glad to see that there didn’t appear to be any tugboats pushing/pulling her along!

5 hours ago, loriva said:

The Scenic cruise brochure (link below) lists the partner hotel in Budapest as the Marriott and in Amsterdam the Double Tree by Hilton Centraal Station.

https://issuu.com/scenicus/docs/21_sc1301_erc_main_2022_digital_001-200_final?fr=sOTViYTIxNTE5NDg

(Our TA was able to reach Scenic a few months ago--before the hack on their IT system when it was easier--and obtain the hotel information for our itinerary.)

 

And from Scenic's FAQs (link below):  "Each Scenic river cruise ship is fitted with 220v European electricity outlets, but you will need a suitable European plug adaptor to use electrical items such as mobile phone chargers."

https://www.scenicusa.com/why-scenic/faqs/accommodation-questions

 

I also read somewhere that each cabin also has an Australian outlet.  I haven't seen anything about USB outlets.  If your device can run on 110 or 220v, you'll only need the adapter--U.S. female end and European male end.  Most cell phones, camera chargers, laptops, and similar are dual voltage now.  Hair dryers or curling irons are not--and need a special converter due to the power they draw.

 

Hope this helps!  We're scheduled to sail on Jade in June, so anxious to hear about her upcoming voyages.  As of today, the ship is still docked in Duisburg, Germany. 

Thank you so much for this information! I missed the list of hotels in the brochure when I was looking through it earlier today. I did find the outlet question in the FAQ today. 
I will let you know how how cruise goes! 

1 hour ago, Canal archive said:

I’m surprised your TA isn’t on the case ask them to find out the hotels. You may receive your paperwork by email.

Thank you! Our TA doesn’t work Fridays or weekends, so hopefully we will hear something tomorrow…

2 hours ago, Reader in chief said:

Hi BellsRUs, we just received our documents late Friday evening by email from our TA, and the backpacks etc. arrived in the mail Saturday morning. I was relieved since we leave on Wednesday!

Thank you for this info! If it is coming through our TA, we will probably get it tomorrow as he doesn’t work Fridays, or weekends. 

We are leaving on our first Scenic cruise in 10 days and we have a few questions. What kind of outlets will there be? Do I need to bring US to Europe converters? Are there any USB charging outlets in the cabins? We are supposed to be on the Scenic Jade (🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻that the engines get repaired in time) if that makes a difference.

We haven’t yet received our documents. Is that normal? Our TA thinks they are running late because of the website issues that they had to deal with. We leave the US in 6 days, so I hope we get our documents soon!

We were told by Scenic that we could get a free transfer from our hotel in Budapest, and to our hotel in Amsterdam, even if we didn’t book the hotels through Scenic, as long as it is one of Scenic’s partner hotels, but they didn’t tell my husband which hotels are partner hotels. Does anyone know what the partner hotels would be?

We are trying to figure out what time we can board in Budapest. Does anyone know? I’m guessing a lot of this info will be in the documents, but since we don’t have any yet… 🤷🏼‍♀️
 

Thanks for any help you can give us…

Patti