Denali2003

Hello.  Before I start this post, yes, I have contacted the Dietary Specialist regarding restrictions.  As well as put my restrictions in the Medallion App.  I would like to get other passenger's opinions regarding certain foods on the ships.  The specialist said to talk to the Maitre'd once on board.  My restrictions are a new thing - within the past 12 months.

I am unable to eat white breads, pastas, & rice. High sodium foods and high sugary foods.  I can eat whole wheat or gluten free foods.  I am not Diabetic nor do I have Celiac.  However, I do have the "side effects" from these.  

Does anyone know if I am able to get whole wheat pastas in the dining room?  What about Alfredo's?  Will I be able to get pizza or a calzone that is whole wheat or gluten free?  What about whole wheat soft rolls in the dining room.  I have in the past asked for soft white rolls in the dining room.  

Thank you for your help.

Thank you for the photos!

Thank you for sharing.  This was amazing to watch!  We were on the Royal in 2010 (identical to the Ocean Princess)

5 minutes ago, LSGDRG said:

I was in one the aft suites back in 2016,  The suite was added during dry dock.  There was constant vibration.  It became irritating after awhile.  For that reason, I wouldn't recommend a suite at the very aft of the ship.

That is one of our concerns also.  We had an Aft balcony cabin on the OLD Royal (2010) - small ship.  The vibration was HORRIBLE.  The bed felt like the ones you had to put quarters in *LOL*.  The safe door kept clanking we had to duct tape it shut.

2 hours ago, RRFPresident said:

We sailed the Island Princess back in 2016 through the old locks but had a suite on the side, C704. We put ourselves on the waiting list for an upgrade to the penthouse or premium suites but only were ever offered handicap ones at the aft. While we wouldn't have taken a handicap cabin, we did some research and they were included in the list of cabins where they block use of your balcony when in the locks because of the cables used. We ended up befriending the couple staying in one of those and they confirmed they weren't allowed to use their balcony until we left the locks. You might want to make sure A726 isn't also on the list. 

 

I did a photo review on here back then. Hopefully this link is to the first post with suite pictures: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2336037-panama-canal-on-island-princess-1017-111-photo-review/?do=findComment&comment=50278053

 

WOW that is a long and very detailed account of your trip!  I will admit, I did not read all of it.  Mostly the captions of the photos.  

* Law & Order bing on the bathroom door*  That is hysterical 😅

* Barf bags in the hallways?  WOW, how much rocking was the ship doing?

* Carpet in the Bayou Cafe *LOL* on your comment

* Do you happen to have a picture of the breakfast menu in Sabatini's?

* Incline in the hallway.  I think we saw that on the Sky Princess

* The Library is nice.  Better than some of the other ones.

* The Casino ATM looks like it's winking and laughing.  It probably is considering how much they charge to us it.

* The Panama Canal Certificate is COOL.  I didn't know you get one.

* Sad that the Fitness Center has no windows.

We are looking to book a suite for a Panama Canal cruise in 2023.  My husband wants to go through the original locks.  We are hoping to get cabin A726.  We like the idea of the wrap around balcony.  It will be for our 25th wedding anniversary.

On 1/5/2021 at 11:14 AM, Papa Yoda said:

 D630 14 days and L724 19 days and enjoyed both.  L724 got a soot fall one afternoon, but being just a short walk to the Thermal Suite and covered pool was terrific.  I don't think we'd like any aft Vista Suites that aren't on Lido deck.

 

Soot: 166.08 kB · 0 downloads

 

How often did the soot "fly onto" your balcony?  I'm assuming it was cleaned off every day.

Hello!  Has anyone stayed in a Vista Suite on the Island Princess?  If so, what did you think of it?  Do you have any photos?  Thank you 🙂

16 hours ago, brisalta said:

 

That has not been my experience. They actually need to know in advance what the requirements are so they can have the appropriate ingredients delivered to the ship before the voyage that the passenger is sailing on.

When I did this they contacted me via email and asked for more details and proposed a number of alternatives that could be stocked on the ship. If you do not do this then you only have the standard items that they have in the pantry on board.

 

 

Wow, that's impressive that they contacted you for more details.  I have filled out my personalizer for next year (Dec 2021).  I know it's WAY too early to be contacted, especially with the virus going on and not sure if we will be able to cruise by then.  However, when the time comes, I hope they contact me.

A couple of years ago, each night in the dining room, I asked for the next night's menu.  I am a Vegetarian.  I was able to tweak some of the items or order something different.  They were very accommodating with this.  My table mates liked seeing the next night's menu as well.  Last year I made a special order for dinner.  I went to the dinning room at breakfast to order my dinner.  They said it was no problem.  When we went to dinner, they had no record of my order.  The head waiter (female) asked me what I would like, I told her.  She had the kitchen make it.  It was simple -- white rice with vegetables.  When she (the head waiter) brought me my dinner, she told me that it looked so good that she had the chef make her a small plate.  She loved it.  Her name is Andrea.

That same cruise, in the Horizon Court, I noticed that there were not too many Vegetarian/Vegan options.  I asked to speak to the chef.  A man came out and I talked to him.  He went to get the paperwork of all the food that would be served in the Horizon Court for the week.  Even he noticed that there were not many options.  He too was a Vegetarian.  Then, each time I went to the HC, he saw me, came out from the kitchen and showed me around the buffet and pointed out what my options were.  One day he made spaghetti wrapped in Eggplant slices.  OMG, it was AMAZING!!!  I told him it was.  He was very happy that I liked it.

Thank you everyone for your tips/suggestions.  I have requested special meals from the dinning room as a Vegetarian.  Yes, they are very helpful with this.  But as a Diabetic and only being able to eat WHEAT pastas, breads and brown rice (white versions make my Neuropathy - pain & burning sensations in my feet - worse 😔) my selection may be very limited.  I've seen wheat rolls on the table and toast in the buffet in the morning, but have never seen wheat pasta or brown rice.  Not even sure they carry that on the ships.  

Hello!  I am a Vegetarian Diabetic.  How difficult is it to cruise while being a Diabetic?  The next time I cruise, will be my first time as one.  Please do not say "just eat meat", because I don't and I won't.  Will I have to special order my meals in the dinning room each night?  What about eating at the buffet?  I also have Neuropathy and eating white pastas, breads, and rice makes the pain worse.  Does / Did Princess have wheat alternatives?

Thank you for your help.

I was able to get in.  It does show my 2019 Sky cruise with a count down.  I was able to order our Medallions. 

Hello.  We board the Sky Princess on Dec 14th.  I am on the App trying to order our Medallions.  I have put in my email address and my booking number.  It is telling me that they have no record of me.  The Princess website is currently down.  Should I contact my Princess travel agent?  Could the fact that the website is down be the reason why the Medallion App can't find me?

Thank you for your help.

1 hour ago, crewsweeper said:

Hmm, that's good to know.  Only walked by the place in the past.  Usually avoid going into these souvenir type store with over priced trinkets.

I didn't know St. Thomas had their own brand of spices.  I'm assuming you can only buy them on St. Thomas.  Is it a spice store or a "tourist trap" store?  My husband & I like to buy locally made items while on vacation.  

Hello!  Where is a good place on St. Thomas to buy Spices?  Thank you.

Do you know if it's possible to bring herbs / spices that you buy (at the markets) on the islands back on the cruise ship?

Hello.  We will be on St. Maarten/Martin in Dec 2019.  Are there open air safari taxis?  If so, how much?  We are just looking for some kind of transportation to see the island and to get around.  We're not really interested in doing an official excursion, just looking around and stopping if we see something we might like to do or see.

Thank you.

We will be on St. Maarten this December.  We are looking to "visit" French Pastry Shops.  Are they within walking distance from the cruise port (Princess Cruise Line) or do we need to take taxis?

30 minutes ago, lx200gps said:

We used it a few times on the Royal last week. It does work, but the accuracy was a bit coarse. I found it would locate my wife to an area of maybe 20 or 30 feet. OK if she is by herself, but could be problematic if she is in a busy area with lots of people crowding around. Also, if the person you are searching for is moving, it's even tougher to find them. I only tried it using the big fixed screens, I don't know if the system is available on your smartphone which, in theory, might help alleviate the "moving target" issue. 

I'm ok with the 20-30 feet.  Better than looking all over the ship or going back to the cabin and leaving a message.  On a couple of cruises, we used walkie talkies.  Came in handy when we took the kids.  The last cruise we used the IM feature on our phones through Princess' Intra-net.  It was fine, except you didn't get a notification that you had a message.

A question for those who have been on a cruise with the Medallion.  How well does the feature to locate the people you are cruising with work?  DH often do things separately then spend a lot of time trying to find each other.  I haven't used the Medallion yet, but this will probably be my favorite feature.

How do you get to the other parts of the island (that's not Princess)?  I've heard it's at least 30 min walk.

I know you can set up your information with the Ocean Ready App.  However, do you HAVE to scan your Passport to your phone?  If you don't does that make for boarding more complicated?  Not really comfortable about having my passport on my phone.

13 minutes ago, Host CJSKIDS said:

 

Yes, you can a lanyard which has a holder for the medallion.  They have brought back the wristbands and some have been successful and ordering those rather than the wrist band for free.  Otherwise it's $10.  They sell necklaces and bracelets as well as a clip holder.  

You can also simply just carry the medallion in the small plastic case (or take it out of the case) in your pocket or purse. 

If you keep it in your purse, do you have to take it out to scan it when you purchase drinks or merchandise?  For example, I will have the Soda package - when I walk up to a bar will it automatically "register" or will I have to physically scan it?

8 hours ago, Repeates said:

Are there special wristbands or holders to carry the medallions?

From the videos I've seen, yes.  You can either wear it on your wrist (like a watch) or on a lanyard

I have another question.  Was watching a video on You Tube - this guy who was on the Regal in Feb posted a video of him around the ship with the Medallion.  He said that there was a card slot inside the cabin in which to turn the lights on & off.  He said they provided a card for you to put in there.  I wonder if they did away with that for the SKY.  Has anyone been on a Princess ship where you needed a card to turn the lights on & off?  I never have.

Is it possible to NOT carry your phone around with you?  I'm on vacation, I don't want to be staring at my phone all day / night.  Can we still get the paper Patter?  DH & I like to read it while having breakfast.  We don't want to be sitting there staring at our phones.  The paper Patter is just easier.  Just open it and, viola, there's the whole day.  I know you can get the same thing through your phone, but I'm old fashioned and prefer the paper version.