cruznliz

We took it in August in the late afternoon and got up to the top without a problem. When we got off we noticed there was a LONG line to get back down. We quickly walked around the area and then got in line. I think we waited 40 minutes to get a tram back down. It was kind of a nerve wracking experience. :eek:

We did the RM in 2012 and combined it with an Alaskan cruise. It was wonderful. We flew to Calgary and were provided with a rental car and a GPS touring system called "Gypsee". It told us exactly what we were seeing and we could stop whenever we wanted. We drove to Banff and then got on the RM. The driving portion was wonderful and we stayed in all the beautiful Fairmont Hotels. When we arrived in Vancouver we stayed at the Fairmont at Canada Place. We booked the RM through AAA and were able to customize a lot of it. We booked a Princess cruise separately. I recommend the RM and the driving portion. The scenery was spectacular everywhere!

Thanks! I saw that list but I guess I read it too quickly and didn't notice the Island was with the Emerald. :eek:

Does anyone have the current information as to who to contact at Princess about arranging a Meet & Greet on the Island Princess in 7 weeks? Thanks!

I see I posted 7 years ago about this. I have gone to more of the Princess Book Club gatherings onboard in the last 7 years. Yes, they still appear to be pretty disorganized. That being said, just last night I put in requests for e-books at my library for all the books for the rest of this year. We have cruises in October and January. I think the Cruise Director needs to assign this in advance to one of the Cruise Staff and follow up that they read the book and lead a discussion. I know they're all busy but how hard could reading one book every 2 months be? Someone mentioned getting a book club together on the Roll Call before boarding. That's a very good idea.

This might become what you're looking for - https://www.nywatertaxi.com/ikea

 

New York City cabs are required to take fares within New York City. I'm not sure what you can do if they refuse other than lodge a complaint which will probably be taken seriously, but that doesn't get you the ride. Be sure to take the printed port address and directions with you - cabbies might not actually know how to get to the port.

I'm still trying to figure this all out. So if the NY Water Taxi stops at Red Hook, where does it stop in relation to the ship? Is it a mile away or 100 yards? Is it walkable?

Thanks for all the responses. Someone mentioned Circle Line cruises and according to the website one of the stops is Red Hook. That should be within walking distance. Just hope the weather is dry on November 1st!

We're coming into Red Hook for a port day 7 AM to 5 PM. Is it possible to walk to the Brooklyn Bridge (from Red Hook) and walk over the bridge by ourselves? If we wanted to take a harbor cruise, can we get something on the Brooklyn side or at the South Street Seaport?

Another possiblility is to go to Coney Island. Any idea how much a taxi would cost from Red Hook?

Thanks for any help or ideas!!

We've had both mini's and balcony's on the Pacific and to us the mini's are a waste of money. The balcony's have the sofa and they are wonderful.

Tickets can be purchased three months in advance. You're just a couple of days early.

Thanks! I'll try next week.

I love all the posted pictures of the Statue of Liberty. We will be in port on Tuesday, November 1st and we're thinking of taking a taxi to Battery Park and catching the ferry. I checked yesterday and they aren't selling tickets for Nov. 1st. Is that just because it's too early? I can't imagine a Tuesday being that crowded!

Not sure whether we're docking in Brooklyn or Manhattan. Would anyone know how much a taxi would be to Battery Park? Should we attempt this on our own or pay the cruiseline $119 per person? :eek:

As the previous member has mentioned, more details will enable us to help further. I am a local - former long time Brooklyn resident, before that, Queens, which means always popping in/out of Manhattan - we call it "the city" ....

Are you staying on in NYC after your cruise? Is it just a port stop and you're debating the cost of a $119 cruise excursion to the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island? If the cruise is over, there's the issue of luggage - you'd not be able to bring it with you to the Statue/Ellis Island. If it's a day trip, then no luggage, it'll be on the ship, it's just a port stop.

You can get a taxi into the city - from Red Hook there would be the option to take either the Battery Tunnel or the Brooklyn Bridge but the Tunnel is closest to Battery Park upon arrival in Manhattan. In the morning, more tubes head inbound helping the traffic flow so it's not too bad really but one never knows. It's really not too far from Red Hook as long as the BQE (Brooklyn Queens Expressway) is moving alright. Once there, the boats to Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island are all the same - that is, officially run, there's no option - so can't imagine needing the cruise line to do anything for you at all. It could not be more straightforward and simple. Probably the only thing to do is reserve your tickets online to avoid waiting in line to buy them and save time.

You can definitely DIY these NYC attractions. Again, unless you'll have a hotel or be boarding back on the ship, don't do these sights with your luggage stowed somewhere...it won't be allowed on the ferry boats to visit the islands.

Have a great time sight seeing :)

Underwatr: Were you docked at Brooklyn Red Hook when you took the picture from your stateroom?

I have an additional Lady Liberty question. We are most likely docking in Brooklyn-Red Hook. Can the Statue of Liberty be seen from that point? I'm looking at a map and it looks like a straight shot! Of course nothing can beat sailing by, but if we can see it while the ship is docked, that opens up more and more photography opportunities. :D

November on the Star, and April on the Grand, in the MDR, our waiters brought us the "good glasses" on request - even if we brought wine in those crappy bar glasses. As usual, after the first night the good stemware was chilled and waiting.

Now I'm curious. Just how crappy are the bar glasses? What's the difference? :eek: (We're too cheap to drink onboard normally so we don't know the ropes!) Really, really looking forward to the Sip & Sail!

Thanks! I really thought you couldn't use it in the dining room! Now I really can't wait to go! :D

We just fell hook, line and sinker for the Sip & Sail to Hawaii in 2017 and now I have logistical questions. I understand you can buy bottles of wine in the MDR for 40% off, but you can't order drinks with the Bev. Package in the MDR. Right?

I know this has been talked about to death, :eek: but, can you carry in a glass of wine to the dining room without any problems? Do people do this? I have seen people carry in "cabin wine" and the free drinks from the parties, but is it done with the Bev. Package too? ;)

Flying in at 6 AM. Want to sightsee before heading to the ship. Need suggestions on what we can do with the luggage? Airport lockers? Or go to the ship first?

Once you are onboard, your folio will show both a charge and a credit each day for gratuites. The free gratuities are not an OBC.

We were on the Crown January 4- 8 and had prepaid the gratuities. Nothing showed up on our folio, neither charge nor credit. In fact, we had a credit balance at the end of the cruise of $2 per person for missing Ensenada. :eek:

We were a group of 11. There were plenty of porters at Embarkation and some of our bags arrived to the cabin before us. All were received before Muster. :D

It was clearly written on the Disembarkation instructions that you could go to the Shore Excursion Desk if you had any problem with the Walk-Off tickets that they automatically gave everyone. We went down on the last sea day and were given luggage tags for our whole group. Our bags disappeared instantaneously from the hallway the last night.

It was alarming to see so many people struggling with their luggage. Communication should have been better. :eek:

They also should have made a general announcement about the Customs Form. My daughter wouldn't have done it if I hadn't made her do it. :rolleyes:

I've got recent Patters from a 7 day trip on Crown, will try and figure out what I need off of those. Wanted to skip the regular dining and do just specialty dining on this one. Was trying to figure out when they would be open ie: Gastropub and Crab Shack, and line it up with entertainment times...etc.

Gastro Pub was every night. Crab Shack was one night only. I think it was Wednesday, what should have been the only sea day. It was the night of the show "Magic To Do", so if you want to do the 8:00 show, you might be rushed. The theater was packed by 7:30. :eek: I think all the shows were 8:00 and 10:00.

Were both dining rooms early seating at 5:15? I have 6:00 seating in a couple of weeks & I really hope it's not 5:15.

Our original Booking Confirmation said "5:30". Then our Cruise Cards said 5:00. Then there was a notice in our cabin mail that said 5:15. I think the dining room opened at 5:00, but the dining times were staggered, I'm guessing. The Crown actually has 3 dining rooms. I think the one on Deck 6 aft is entirely Traditional, whereas the one on Deck 5 and the one on Deck 6, are a combination of Traditional and Anytime.

Was great to meet you Liz. Sydney loved the chance to play with her pen pal

Great to meet you too! Too bad the girls couldn't get together for a cabin "Play date". That would have been fun.

I spent most of the Youth Center time in the Pelican's room because our 3 year old grandson wasn't about to be left alone. Then the 8 year old twin boy decided he liked the Pelican's better than the Shockwaves, so he stayed with us as well. Only the 8 year old twin girl seemed to enjoy the Shockwaves. It was just too short a cruise for the kids to really bond with the other kids and enjoy the Youth Center.

As a side note, we discovered a playground in San Diego right across the street from where we docked! There were a lot of kids from the ship there enjoying the fresh air and getting a lot of exercise! It was great! :D

We just arrived home and had a good time, even with all the changes. We were disappointed to miss Catalina, but not a big deal. We were traveling with adult kids and grandkids. We had traditional early dining. Our Cruise Card said the dining was at 5:00, but there was a notice in our cabin that said our dining was at 5:15, so that's when we arrived. It seemed as though there was staggered dining times. Our waiters were fine and we got out around 7:00 each night. We were offered Baked Alaska the last night, but no parade. :(

I was a little surprised at the Youth Center. We were told there were 350 kids onboard. On the one Sea Day they did fill up and not admit additional children. We also tried to go up in the afternoon of our San Diego stop and were told we couldn't because "port" days needed reservations in advance for the Youth Center. The crew member showed me two pages of "waitlist" reservations. Then on our Ensenada Sea Day, there was no problem getting in to the Youth Center. :rolleyes: I guess by that time they had scared enough people away. I did hear about kids getting sick, but ours didn't!! :p It was noisy in the Youth Center, but the kids had fun. We have never traveled during a holiday period like this and I was very happy the kids all seemed well behaved and we didn't see any unattended kids.

The nightly entertainment was good. They had two production shows: "Disco - Blame it on the Boogie" and the new show "Magic To Do". Both excellent. They also had a comedian, Derrick Cameron and a vocalist, Tim Campbell. We only went to the production shows, but I heard people saying they liked the comedian. Also, the Mariachi band "Los Brillantes" was excellent. Lots of fun dancing in Piazza when we got out of dinner each night.

Any questions, I'd be happy to answer.

Some confirmations on entertainer's websites:

Bernie Kopell (Doc) on board from 12/03 to 12/17

Jack Jones (sang the theme song) on board from 12/03 to 12/17

Steve Moris (2011 winner) Doesn't show the Pacific Princess on his schedule but there is an opening in his schedule between 12/03 and 12/10

Tony Tillman (2012 winner) Haven't found schedule information

Zach Winningham (2013 winner) On board from 12/03 to 12/07

Ben Seidman (2014 winner) Doesn't show anything beyond August

I think Carlos Oscar was the 2011 Winner. I hope he'll be on! We always enjoy him! :D