IECalCruiser

What is the price of the Soda plus card?

$8.05/person/day and you must buy it for the entire cruise.

Short answer - no. Many of the televisions don't even have auxiliary inputs. Those that do have them disabled. They want you to buy the pay-per-view movies.

 

Art

Short answer - YES (almost always). Princess does not have pay-per-view movies and they use standard flat screens with the OEM remotes and we have found no functions disabled on Princess. Not all ships have models with HDMI inputs so you should bring alternate cables such as VGA and audio left and right. Some have connections on the side, but as mentioned above, a small mirror is required to find the connections on the back of some models.

 

It was also announced that the Royal and Regal Princess will have on demand tv shows and movies that will be COMPLIMENTARY :) :)

Thanks for the information about club soda and the mocktails.

 

What juices are available? Are they available all day? Bloody Mary mix? Lemonade made with lemons?

 

Thanks.

Juices are complementary in the Horizon Court and Dining Room during breakfast. I believe they can be purchased with the soda and more card at lunch or dinner. I don't believe that the lemonade is freshly made with lemons.

What does the Green Tea Smoothie consist of?? Do we get those with the coffee card in the IC????? They sound good:D

That menu photo is from two years ago. I don't know if they are still available. I believe I have seen other posts stating that the smoothies could not be purchased with the coffee card.

This is an example of a mocktail menu. As other have said, you can order many drinks alcohol free.

 

Finally got the OBC taken care of this week and we sail tomorrow. Pretty close and it seems due to an intermittent functioning Fax machine. Carnival really should get up to the 21st century and accept emails with the statement

They used to accept e-mails but stopped about 6 or more months ago.

Thank you for the picture. This really helps me a lot. I can see from this picture that I won't be happy with the cabin I booked. I'll have to pick a new cabin. I booked on the Regal, so I still have options. Thanks so much.

We are about three months away from getting information from actual passengers. For most Regal itineraries that should give you enough time to make a cabin change.

Has anyone figured out just how obstructed these views are? I see some say obstructed and some say partially obstructed. Also, some say you can't access the balcony if the bunk is down. From looking at pictures, it appears that the lifeboats are below the balconies, but I'm not sure. Will there be a lifeboat completely blocking the view or is it just sticking out below? Does anyone know? Thanks. BTW, I did try to search the Everything Royal thread and couldn't find the answer if it's there.

Unfortunately, the current answer is that no one knows. It is certain that the lifeboat davits will extend almost to the bottom of the Dolphin deck.

 

 

It also appears that the full width of the lifeboats will extend past the balcony. The only question appears to be where the top of the lifeboat will be in relation to the top of the balcony railing. Most of the lifeboats are smaller tenders, but there are several larger lifeboats that will probably be higher than the others.

I searched & found this site that shows it's unconfirmed for March 2015 but have no way to know if accurate or not:

 

https://sites.google.com/site/princesscruisesfaq/ships/fleet-drydock-schedlue

I have no inside info, but I would place my money on 09/24/14. That would be just about four years since her last drydock in Victoria at the end of the 2010 Alaska season.

We are travelling the panama canel on the Island Princess in February 2014. We thought she would be refurbed in Oct 2013 for a IC to be added. But looking at the schedule that dry dock has been cancelled. Very sad if no IC onboard. Does anyone know when she is likely to go in for refurb?

 

Thanks.

 

JackieO

Her drydock was postponed and, as of now, there appears to be no opening in her schedule until the end of her 2014 Alaska schedule on September 24, 2014. That would be my best guess for the start of her drydock before she goes south for the Panama Canal season. That is assuming she will have her drydock in Victoria as in 2010.

Halfway across the Pacific ocean if you're bored to tears, is internet access available?

It depends upon what part of the Pacific you are in. If you are doing a TP from LA to Aus/NZ you might have some issues past Hawaii and if you are in the South Pacific you can have major issues. This is a quote from Toto2Kansas on her live thread from November of 2011 on the first 28 day cruise RT from LA to Hawaii, Samoa and Tahiti:

 

"But there is good news. As I was going to sleep last night, I noticed that a live football game was flashing in and out on the TV. Woke up this morning to CNN, and ESPN coming in great. So, hubby is glued to the news right now, trying to catch up on 18 days of what's happened in the world. Keep in mind, we lost all satellite for TV and internet was almost non-existant from the time we left Hawaii. So, if my friend is correct, this is the first time in 18 days we have had any outside contact."

 

Most communication satellites are in geosynchronous orbits and if there aren't people in the area, there aren't satellites.

I already have a cruise booked for April and it's fully paid. If I purchase stock now, will I still receive the OBC for this departure?

As long as you have proof of ownership and submit your request at least two weeks before your departure, you will get the credit. In fact, you must be after the final payment date before you can request the OBC.

Well, they have tightened up on it now. They told me they need a very up to date statment to show the shares are still being held.

The statement needs to be dated within thirty days of the date you submit your request, but that is the only requirement in the US. You can't submit your request until after final payment date.

It probably makes more sense if you take two or more cruises (or at least one cruise of 14 days or longer) each year. We paid $33.80/share in late 2009. Since then we have received $1,000 in OBC and $290 in dividends. Not considering stock price (CCL closed at $36.51 today for a paper "gain" of $270) that gives us an annual return of about 10% which wasn't too bad.

Does not matter , they might be better than the ones I have.

 

15 for the Coral/Island

14 for the Dawn/Sea/Sun

2 for the Golden/Grand/Star

6 for the Ocean/Pacific

 

And then the ones that are apparently coming with the new Royal.

 

Theo

Theo, I took some photos on the Island but they aren't very good. I will see if they are any you don't have and send to you.

The Coral Princess Cruise to the Panama Canal began on 02-14-12

 

The Golden Princess RT Hawaii began on 10-24-12 (sorry I wrote 2013 in error)

 

Our cruises on the Crown Princess (7-day cruises B2B) beginning 01-26-13 did not have the Wine Package available

Thanks.

Coral Princess 14-day Panama Canal 2012 - Yes

Golden Princess 14-day Hawaii 2013 - Yes

Thanks for the info. Could you provide sailing dates?

I disagree with IECalCruiser, the wine list includes all the wines offered in the MDR only. In Oct. I was unable to get my favorite wine that I usually get from Crooner's or other bars. You cannot get the wine from room service either. I did not understand this when we purchased the wine package or I would have not purchased it. The first night of the cruise at the Crown Grill I ordered all 12 bottles to my table and asked for only one to be open. Since it was the first night of the cruise they said they didn't have that much unpacked yet, but they would deliver it to my room the next day, which they did. I originally thought the package was a good savings/idea, but for me I found it too inconvenient. At those prices, I like what I want when I want it. In the future I will just put money in my OB account before I travel or bring wine onboard and pay the $15 corkage fee:rolleyes:

I'm not quite certain what we are disagreeing about. It has been established that you can only use the card at dining venues, not bars or room service. And additionally you can take bottles from the dining room to your cabin. You can use the card to order any wine off the entire wine list in the MDR which was the question I was answering.

 

The Island doesn't have a Vines but on our cruise last month La Patisserie offered half a dozen wine flights and I noted that all of the wines were also on the MDR wine list. I have also checked the wine lists from 2009 and 2012 and the wine list in Crooner's from 2011 and 2012 and the wine lists appeared to have all of the options offered in Crooner's. I imagine that it might be possible that there are wines in bars that are not available in dining venues as was apparently the case with your favorite wine at Crooner's but that is probably the rare exception.

Does the wine package include every wine on the wine list or is there a special wine package list? And yes i know you can pay the difference on wines costing more than $45 (Gold Package)

The entire wine list.

Current tally (10 day or longer cruises):

Crown: 11/20/12 - 12 day Greek Isles - No (Reason: lack of sufficient wine inventory)

Crown: 12/02/12 - 20 day Med/TA - No (Reason: lack of sufficient wine inventory)

Diamond: 11/26/12 - 18 day Far East - No

Diamond: 12/14/12 - 14 day South Pacific - No

Diamond: 02/08/13 - 14 day South Pacific - Yes

Emerald: 01/06/13 - 10 day Eastern Caribbean - No

Emerald: 01/16/13 - 10 day Southern Caribbean – No (Reason: they kept running out of stock)

Emerald: 01/26/13 - 10 day Eastern Caribbean - No (Reason: they kept running out of stock)

Emerald: 02/05/13 - 10 day Eastern Caribbean - No (Reason: they kept running out of stock)

Golden: 01/16/13 - 14 day Hawaii – Yes

Grand: 09/04/12 - 17 day Mediterranean - No

Grand: 01/26/13 - 19 day South America - No

Island: 11/12/12 - 14 day Panama Canal - Yes

Island: 01/09/13 - 14 day Panama Canal - Yes

Island: 02/06/13 - 10 day Panama Canal - Yes

Ocean: 02/08/13 - 10 day South Pacific - Yes

Pacific: 01/17/13 - 10 day Eastern - Yes

Ruby: 09/03/12 - 12 day Mediterranean - Yes

Ruby: 10/09/12 - 19 day TA – No

Sapphire: 02/02/13 - 14 day Hawaii – Yes

Star: 09/26/12 - 10 day Mexico - No

Star: 10/06/12 - 15 day Hawaii - No (Reason: no wine sommelier was on board)

 

Looks like Golden, Island, Ocean, Pacific and Sapphire offer the packages, Crown, Emerald, Grand and Star don't and your guess is a good as mine for the Ruby. Hopefully the Diamond will continue offering after problems last year.

First I received a phone call confirming that the package would be offered on our Star cruise in March. I asked them to send me an email confirmation too. They said no problem. I received this nice email today. I will print it and take it with me.

 

First of all we are glad that you have chosen Princess Cruises for your next cruise vacation. We have received your enquiry regarding the availability of our Wine Bottle Program on your cruise onboard the Star Princess on March 26, 2013 sailing 28 days round-trip from Los Angeles. We have consulted with our Food & Beverage Department and they have confirmed that the Wine Bottle Program will be available during your cruise. If you have further questions feel free to contact us at 1-800-PRINCESS. We trust you will enjoy your cruise through the South Pacific and we look forward to welcoming you onboard Star Princess.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

Princess Cruises

Customer Relations Specialist

 

Cynthia

Please post the actual availability once you are on board next month. I hope they are correct, but I have had recent actual experience where someone from headquarters said one thing about availability only to find a different situation once on board. Enjoy your cruise :). That one is on our cruise bucket list

Not that i will try... but makes you wonder what would happen if you did smoke then showed them the print out of smoking being allowed in your stateroom an balcony?? LOL

 

Cant have 2 sets of rules can you?

 

shazz

The Passage Contract, which everyone must agree to, specifically prohibits smoking in cabins and on balconies, no matter what any other document says.

:confused: If you buy the wine package and want a bottle for your room, do you have to go to the dining room to get it? Can room service bring it?

We had brought wine on board and didn't need any more in our cabin. We had not used two bottles :eek: in the Dining Room and took two to our cabin the last night to take home with us. I would assume we could have done that any other day. You apparently can only get bottles in the dining areas (DRs, HC, specialty restaurants), not bars. We did order bottles in the DR and the Bayou Cafe. The Island doesn't have a Vines but other posts appear to indicate that you can't buy or consume bottles from the Wine Bottle Package at Vines :confused:

 

Is it on a card like a coffee card?

You get a sheet of heavy paper a little larger than a coffee card and they punch it each time you get a bottle.

 

If you buy a bottle that is more expensive than the package allows, ie: buy a $32 bottle, do you just pay the extra $3, plus 15% over and above the package allowance? (You've already paid gratuity of 15% on the package when you buy it right?)

We had the Silver package. Were charged the full cost of the more expensive bottle of wine and our account was credited for a $29 bottle.

 

The above answers are based on our experience on our 01/09 - 01/23 Panama Canal cruise on the Island.

I contacted Princess regarding the wine package availability for my 27 day Cruise on the Emerald in April and was told it would be available. I will be so ill if I don't carry on additional wine and pay the corkage fee and it is not available. That is my concern. I would rather order the wine package than deal with carrying on so much but after reading this thread now I am dubious if it really will be available. Frustrating.

I have emailed Princess to find out if the wine package is available on my 28 day Star cruise in March. It will be a real problem lugging a lot of wine on board. I'll report back with their answer.

Cynthia

Unfortunately, Princess headquarters does not know what will actually happen on board. I wouldn't put a lot of faith in their answer :( The Emerald and Star have NOT been offering the packages :(

If Princess is to be believed, the Dawn, Sea and Sun are not offering the packages and the Caribbean has only been doing 7 day cruises since September (The 10 day on 10/31 was shortened by hurricane Sandy and doesn't count). The only ship that I need info from is the Coral to have a complete list for now. Looks like Diamond, Golden, Island, Ocean, Pacific and Sapphire offer the packages, Crown, Emerald, Grand and Star don't and your guess is a good as mine for the Ruby.

 

Thanks to all and please continue to provide updated info, especially if there is a change.