Scottygirl1

15 minutes ago, EDVM96 said:

Today (sea day) at 12:50 pm at Alfredos. Table load factor maybe little under 50%. Extra section closed. 

Yes, I just had another look and it would be under 50% as you said.  Certainly nobody waiting for a table. On the other hand, Horizons was crazy busy!

Regal Princess, Alfredos on a sea day at lunch time... for those who said there would be a line of people waiting for a table.  No line and only a few people.  I'm not sure how it will be later in the day but there certainly isn't a rush for tables!

Currently sailing on Regal Princess and I can confirm that Alfredos seems empty all of the time.  I have never noticed it busy yet and confirm the previous poster's comment about it being empty.  When we left dinner tonight at Concerto and passed Alfredos at just after 7pm there were about three tables used, all the rest were empty.  I have commented a few times about this and we have a full ship!

I am sailing on a UK cruise next week and my Princess Plus also states "drinks up to $22" but as I am from New Zealand, my pricing defaults to Australian dollars.  Australian $22 is equal to $US15.  

There are different dates according to the ship.  Here is a list of the roll out dates.

Anyone know if Regal Princess has free laundry as well?

You can use OBC now to pay for excursions.  If you cancel, they refund to OBC first before refunding the balance.  When you book it always gives the option of using the OBC.

1 hour ago, barbara barnett said:

For us, it made sense my D H, and I each have multiple Wi-Fi devices, so the add-on for the premium package made sense. Add to that the specialty dinners and some of the other perks. We’re not heavy drinkers, but it was fun to get a high quality champagne For dinner and not worry about the price of any drink. we’ve just we’ve just booked a cruise for summer 2025, and haven’t yet decided whether it will be a plus or premium package, but we have time to decide. But for us really the kicker was the Wi-Fi package.

Regarding the wifi, my understanding is that you can use multiple devices but only be logged into one at a time.  If I log into my computer I won't be logged into my iPhone etc.  That always works for us so don't see the need for multiple wifi package unless you are travelling with family perhaps.  I just looked at the upgrade price and definitely not worth it for us 🙂

We have certainly used a lot of private tours in our years of cruising.  This cruise we are only on two private tours, two days 'on our own' and the rest with Princess.  For us this time we are just looking forward to everything being taken care of and relaxing, especially knowing we'll get back to the ship on time! There is no right or wrong, we are all different but you can't beat a great cruise!

1 hour ago, c25andeb said:

A word of caution about those medallions.  We were on the Regal from June 25 - July 7, apparently, all someone has to do to get free drinks is to tell the waiter a cabin number and it gets charged to whoever is in that cabin!  When we got home I saw our credit card statement and knew it was too high.  Someone had charged drinks and bar charges and our cabin got the bill for them.  Princess says it will take 21 days to be resolved, but be advised, it could happen to you too.  A relative of ours ordered a ginger ale and the waiter simply asked "what cabin number?"  Hopefully this keeps someone else from getting charged for drinks they never ordered.

It pays to keep an eye on your account while travelling.  I think you can check everyday?  It's sad that someone would do this unless it was a genuine mistake.

I would also like to thank you for these posts!  We cruise on 24 August and have organised mostly Princess excursions and two private.  

5 hours ago, MikieF said:

Barbara B...thanks for your commentary...We will be on this cruise 8/24 leaving Southampton.  We also have a Princess transfer from LHR to Southampton the morning of 8/24.  You said it was a bit difficult finding the Princess rep...I assumed you meant for the location for pick up of the transfer bus..?  PLEASE tell us where we will find the Princess bus and rep. to Southampton. We've been told we will need to 'sign in' with the Princess rep before boarding the bus, but uncertain as to location!  We will be at Terminal 3, which may be different from your arrival terminal, so info might not be the same as ours.  Thanks much!

I see you are not on the roll call for our cruise on 24th?  Come on over, lots of us there 🙂

We sail on the Regal on 24th August.  I'll be following along on your trip for sure!  All that food and Sabatinis... I think we'll give it a miss because I would be ill eating more than a couple of courses. It all sounds delicious though but feel it would be wasted on me.  Good to know the show was good because my partner LOVES the shows.  

7 hours ago, nini said:

Well, we did. A restaurant was very rude and the stores in in our last stop pretended they did not speak English to avoid a sale. We knew they spoke English with other customers.

That is how it is in France (in our experience).  They never even try to understand you unless you speak in French.  I tried my best ... it was pretty funny, even funnier for my partner who tried to speak to greet them in Italian (we'd just left Italy).  

14 hours ago, Jadn13 said:

The Paris drive and Seine river cruise is fantastic. I have taken this Princess tour twice and you get to see EVERYTHING! My photos from the cruise were beautiful and lunch on the boat was good. (Not Hijacking, I just don’t want people to miss out) 

Thank you for suggesting this, it's a tour I had overlooked!  I have been to Paris before and have seen most of the sights including going to the top of the Eiffel Tower however I've not cruises the Seine.  My partner has not been to Paris at all so it will be wonderful for him to at least get to visit.

2 hours ago, KarmaCruisers said:

The bus ride wasn’t bad..it was 2.5 hours each way; with a stop at a large service station (think truck stop, in the states). The food was about as expected for a princess excursion..

Starter - Deviled Eggs

Main - Chicken Thigh with rice

Dessert - Some sort of marshmallow crème thing.

Thanks, I think we'll give it a miss and maybe try to get to Paris another time on another trip.

Regarding your trip to Paris, did your tour include lunch?  I've read it's pretty bad food?  Overall would you recommend this or the other trip offered, Paris on your Own?  We are still deciding for next month's cruise.

There are many European cities where you are warned about pickpockets, not just Paris. You need to be super aware of any pricing while there too, as you can see on your menu the price was listed and for sure I would have said no thank you to that.  One hint for anyone else visiting Paris (or any large tourist area) is to watch as many Youtube videos about this where you are warned of all the scams, safety etc.  

My partner hasn't been to Paris but we are not doing this excursion mainly due to the long bus ride there and back - how bad did you find that aspect?

15 minutes ago, StevenUS said:

Most of the cost of Plus is covering the gratuities. So it depends on if you like the other stuff. Would you want to drink soda or any of the juices? Wifi? Premium desserts?

Unless you are from New Zealand or Australia and book a cruise outside of those countries.  Gratuities are not included, just internet and drink package.  We have a UK cruise booked with the Plus plan and have to pay separately for our 'crew appreciation'. 

3 hours ago, KarmaCruisers said:

Yup, +1 to pods. The cost is $3 per load (wash or dry), we had two loads, so all in our cost was $12

I just read that some cruisers on other Princess cruises found that the laundry was free!  They had been putting in tokens only to be told that the machines worked without them.  I wonder if that will be the case when we cruise next month 🙂

1 hour ago, KarmaCruisers said:

SUPER easy; just go here: and order a LEAP 24-hour visitor pass (good on DART, Luas, and Bus’s)

https://about.leapcard.ie/leap-visitor-card

you just tell them what day it’s for; when you order it

then the station is like a few hundred feet from the cruise port; just tap-in with your LEAP card, and board a westbound train

 

Thanks, sadly I can't buy one, our country is not on the list (too far away I suspect).  We do have a tour booked that also gives us 2 hours free time in Dublin so we'll probably stick with that.  

How easy was it to get a train ticket for the DART? We have booked a shore excursion but think the train might be a good option instead.

I hope this is the case on Regal Princess! I will definitely need to do a load of washing while on board.

Thank you for your replies.  I will look into this further.  It makes sense that the gratuity is taken out of the Princess Plus when booking an Australasian cruise but only if it is then included in the cruise fare.  

We have an upcoming cruise booked for 12 nights around the UK.  We have booked the Princess Plus package but my booking is telling me that I also need to pay for crew appreciation separately.  When I look at the general terms and conditions for Princess Plus it clearly states that crew appreciation is included.  Before I phone Princess regarding this could anyone perhaps clarify this?  I am booking from New Zealand and I know NZ and Australian cruises are different and crew appreciation is always included in the fare (I'm sailing in UK though).

This is from the Princess Plus Terms and Conditions:  "^General Princess Plus Terms:The original Princess Plus package consists of Plus Beverage Package, Wi-Fi, and Crew Appreciation; the upgraded Princess Plus package includes all of the foregoing original package items plus Medallion shipping, Premium Desserts, Juice Bar, and Fitness Classes. "