NavyVeteran

On a British Isles cruise a few years ago, Club Class had one table for eight. It was used by my family group of four couples traveling together. Since we were the only group of eight in Club Class, no one else used that table. it was great for us. We could show up anytime and go to our table, and we didn't have to coordinate to all arrive at the same time. I will try to arrange the same on an Alaska cruise this fall when we will have a family group of ten in Reserve Dining.

You can request a shared table in reserve dining. The problem is that it's likely that there will be no one else requesting a shared table at the same time, since there are not many people in reserve dining. As stated before, they generally have a row of two tops that are close to each other. The people in the adjacent tables may or may not want to talk with others. Also they will be served at a different schedule with you. Ask the hostess when you enter and they will try to accommodate you. Also mention your preferences to the head waiter. They will probably seat people who want to share at the row of adjacent two tops. If others also ask for a shared table, they may put you together. Since it is a small group in reserve dining, they will quickly learn the preferences of all ot the diners in that section.

I just checked my booking for an August 2025 cruise roundtrip Southampton (booked direct with Princess). Clicked on "Flights" and got the message that "Flights are not yet available for your voyage." On the bottom of the page was a place to book Pre-cruise and Post-cruise transfers for myself and/or DW. The options for Pre-Cuise are: NO TRANSFER TRANSFER: LHR/LGW AIRPORT TO SHIP - $64.00 COACH: VICTORIA *COACH* STATION TO SHIP - $64.00 The options for Post-Cruise are: NO TRANSFER TRANSFER: SHIP TO LHR/LGW AIRPORT - $64.00 COACH: SHIP TO VICTORIA *COACH* STATION - $64.00 Note that you don't distinguish between LHR and LGW when booking a transfer. If you don't book air through Princess, you enter your flight information under "Provide Independent Air Information".

I checked two cruises for which I am booked with Plus - one in September this year and one in March 2026. In both cases, when I clicked "Upgrade Now", it said "You've purchased Princess Plus, great choice" with a list of Plus benefits and no option to upgrade to Premier. When I click "Upgrade Now" on cruises with Premier booked, it correctly shows the Premier benefits. I remember fairly recently (I'm not sure exactly when), it allowed me the option to upgrade from Plus to Premier online. The more complete description of what I have in Plus or Premier is an improvement. However, I can't see any reason for Princess to remove the option to upgrade from Plus to Premier online.

I said that I didn't expect anyone to check, but you should know the printed policy - even if you don't plan to follow it. Sometimes I receive an email confirmation, and sometimes I don't. The main confirmation is in the Princess Travel Summary in the section on SPECIAL SERVICES. The following three items were listed under SERVICE with QUANTITY 1, PRICE $0.00, TOTAL $0.00, and PASSENGER my name: Distilled Water (1 Gallon) * Extension Cord Requested Medical Equip-CPAP/BIPAP Not Suppl*

This is a menu showing what is available to order on OceanNow. It may not show some single malts that are only available at a few bars. I usually check several different bars on the first day onboard to see what they have. I then taste any single malts that I'm not familiar with to see which one I like best. I generally start with the most expensive one under $20 or under $15 depending on which package I have on that cruise and then work my way down. Quite often, the one I decide on as my favorite is not the most expensive. I know this technique requires trying several of them to make a decision. It's a tough job, but someone has to do it.🙂

You put your stateroom number and last name on the laundry bag. If you don't have the same last name, make sure DH's last name is on the bag (if your last names are different). They won't charge you. DH will get the Elite mini-bar. Even after you are Elite, you will still get only one mini-bar per stateroom. Normally a non-Elite traveling in the same stateroom can board with the Elite. They don't normally have separate Elite gatherings. The afternoon happy hour is for Elite, Platinum, and Suites, so you can go to. Dependent on the number of people in various categories on the ship, they sometimes have different Captain's Circle receptions for Elite and Platinum and sometimes the same one; if they have different ones, you should be able to go with DH. You will not be able to go to the free wine tasing without paying. You may go with DH, but you will have to pay. You will not receive the 10% off for shore excursions or onboard shops. At onboard shops, just make sure everything is charged to DH's account instead of to yours.

They've normally given me 1 gallon for my CPAP, which would be 16 cups, so you should have more than enough. Technically, the request for distilled water under Dietary Restrictions says "Distilled water (for CPAP machine use ONLY)". The note under Medical Requests General Information says "Distilled water is only provided for use with your c-pap machine, onboard free of charge in gallon units, provided you submit a request in advance of sailing." So, technically, they will not provide free distilled water for mixing medication. However, I doubt that the cabin steward or anyone else will verify that you have a CPAP machine and refuse you the water if you don't.

The app logon and the Internet logon are separate. On a recent cruise, DW and I had Premier. We were traveling with two friends who had Basic. Each of us logged on to the app with our own information for onboard information - not Internet. DW and I each had 4-device Internet plans with Premier, but we only used one device each. The two people in the other cabin with Basic each had a couple of devices they wanted to use with the Internet. Everyone logged on to the Internet using DW's or my information. As long as we didn't have more than 4 devices at a time for each account (8 devices total for the two accounts), there was no problem. The other two people had no problem using their own logons for ship intranet with the app and our logons for Internet at the same time.

I believe the policy is that a non-Elite traveling in the same stateroom can accompany the Elite on priority tender - but not other passengers in different staterooms. However, as stated previously, Princess is not always consistent. The answer will be sometimes yes and sometimes no.

Not only is it OK, but they don't limit you to 15 per day. You can order as many as you want with Plus.

You can wait until final payment to pay for Princess Vacation Protection (PVP), but you may not want to. PVP has an exception for pre-existing conditions. The definition of a pre-existing condition is "a condition that first presents, worsens, becomes acute, or has symptoms causing a person to seek diagnosis, care or treatment, or prompts a change in medication, during the 60 days before the Cancellation Fee Waiver Program is purchased." I always purchase PVP as soon after depositing that I find a 60-day period that neither DW nor I have had a change in symptoms, diagnosis, or medication to make sure we have coverage. If we wait until final payment, we may have had a change the month before that would make that condition not covered. Note that "is purchased" refers to the date you actually pay for PVP - not the date you select it for your booking. If you cancel your cruise before final payment, PVP is fully refundable. So there is no risk in paying for it early. (Note that these comments are directed at cruisers from the US.) For details, look at the FAQ for Princess Vacation Protection. You can enter your state of residence and get the exact details of coverage.

Is this excursion from Juneau as a cruise port on an Alaska cruise? If so, the Alaska CruiseTours FAQ would not be applicable. The CruiseTours FAQ only describe the pre-cruise or post-cruise land tour - not the cruise itself or any excursions from the ship. The correct reference would be to the Shore Excursions FAQ. The description of the Mendenhall Glacier Helicopter & Guided Walk clearly describes the weight surcharge. It clearly states that you are required to purchase two tickets in advance and that you will receive a refund onboard for the difference between the full cost of the second ticket and the weight surcharge amount. However, the website does not allow you to purchase the second ticket. I am looking at that specific excursion on a booked Alaska cruise. It has two places for me to check "Guests you can book" for DW and me - it does not provide any way to purchase a third ticket for the two of us. You could try calling Princess, selecting the book shore excursions option on the phone, and hoping you get someone on the phone who knows what they're doing (Good luck). The Special Notes and the Shore Excursions FAQ both say "Helicopter excursions are not refundable unless cancelled by 12:00pm on the day after embarkation." If you haven't resolved this issue before then, you will need to go to the Shore Excursion desk onboard as soon as you board to resolve this before the cancellation deadline.

The cruise starts and ends in Vancouver, so of course you would have to get off the ship in Vancouver.🙂 You may not need to get off the ship in Whittier, however, if US customs and immigration is handled when you board in Vancouver.

Advantages of upgrading on board: Since it is not included in the fare, you don't pay additional insurance cost. You can use OBC to pay for it. Advantages of upgrading pre-cruise: Since it is included in the fare, it may be commissionable to your travel agent (I'm not sure). If your agent gives a rebate, the higher fare may (?) mean a larger rebate. Since it is included in the fare and its cost is included in Princess Vacation Protection, it is included in the insurance refund for days in isolation. When DW and I were isolated for 3 days of a 12-day cruise, we received Princess Vacation Protection refund (cash - not FCC) of 1/4 of the cost of the cruise.

Princess does not have a per bag price. They have an itemized list of prices for each item. Unlimited laundry as available at no charge if you are Elite or are in a suite. Princess also has self-service laundries available at a small charge for use of the machines.

Cancel for any reason insurance may not be needed. If your physician documents that it would be unsafe for you to cruise, this could be a medical reason for cancellation. If you do this, make sure that the physician's note documents the fact that you did not know you could not cruise until now. At the time of the operation, he thought you would be healed by the time of the cruise. This could be important in case because they don't pay any increased penalty if you don't cancel as soon as feasible after the condition that keeps you from cruising. In your case, this should not apply, since you didn't know the condition would still be a problem at the time of the cruise until the last week when it hadn't healed as expected. But this needs to be clearly documented by the physician.

Princess will sometimes offer free third and fourth passenger fares. However baby is second passenger in this case. If Princess offered a lower baby fare, then adult and baby in cabin would pay less than adult by herself paying single supplement. That wouldn't make sense as long as Princess is charging 100% single supplement.

Welcom to Princess. Unfortunately, you are not credited double days for single occupancy. You are credited double cruise credits but only the actual number of days. You need either 5 cruise credits or 50 cruise days to become Platinum. As a single, you will have 6 cruise credits after 3 cruises, but the days do not double. Look at the fine print at the bottom of the Membership Benefits page under note 3: "Princess Captain's Circle Double cruise credits for booking and sailing in a full suite (mini-suites excluded) or sailing at the exclusive occupancy fare are effective with sailings beginning on or after December 7, 2008. Cruises only, and not cruise days are doubled. The exclusive occupancy fare is for solo guests occupying a stateroom alone and who paid the single traveller supplement."

I think it proved just the opposite. They showed a number of spaces available. I booked 2 spaces. The number was reduced immediately by two.

Princess drink packages are available as soon as you board. However, the choice of drinks is limited until you leave Texas. Because of Texas law, all drinks sold in Texas have to be purchased from Texas distributors. Princess has a limited selection available in a limited number of bars until they leave Texas jurisdiction. Several of the more expensive drinks you would normally get with Premier will probably not be available until you leave Texas.

I have booked an excursion that showed fewer than 20 available. The number was reduced immediately after I booked.

Just because more than five are visible as available on the website does not mean that more than five are available. For example, the may be 20 available on the website but Princess may have sold 15 guarantees cabins of that category. Once five more are sold, they are sold out, since Princess needs to keep enough to assign all of the guarantees. They can sell more than they have in one category if they have more available in a higher category, since they can accept bids to move some up (or give a complimentary upgrade if they don't receive bids). Also, Princess cannot sell every cabin on the ship. They have limits on the number of passengers in each muster area. If they sell a lot of third and fourth berths, then they can't sell all of the first and second berths.

How do you know this? Princess may have sold guarantees in this category, so the list of available cabins is not the number of available cabins.

You don't have to wait until you're onboard. If you booked through a TA, you need to contact the TA to add the transfers. If you are only interested in a post-cruise transfer, you may wait to book onboard if you wish. The price may be different, however.