sofiefleurie

I am really interested in hearing from NON YACHT CLUB passengers as to their experience on Ocean Cay.  Photos helpful.  Thank you.  Enjoy your cruise!😀

We sailed the Coral last Fall on the Circle the Pacific/Asian cruise (60 day). Enjoyed completely.  The Elite Lounge was held in the Universal Theater due to so many Platinum/Elite passengers.  Don't think TV had on demand.   Some motion between Alaska and Japan but never disconcerting.  Overall, good food, crew, activities, etc.  I would recommend.  We have also sailed Crown and Sapphire and think Princess does a great job.

56 minutes ago, Potstech said:

As you can see your choices are limited. But then you will be in an entirely different environment than you have at home.  It does come with some changes and adjustments.  Hopefully you will find a solution and enjoy your cruise

We always do. One of the reasons we enjoy traveling so much is that it is an entirely different environment than we have at home! After 25 plus cruises around the world and visiting all 50 states, I understand that travel comes with changes and adjustments.  I was just gathering information.  But, thank you. 

It was not my intention to open up such a can of worms.  Thank you to those with good suggestions.  To respond as to why on earth anyone would want "in room coffee" with "so many venues":  my original post, and the main reason for my question (as previously mentioned) is that we are EARLY RISERS.  Please tell me which of the many venues serve freshly brewed coffee or espresso drinks at 4:30 or 5:00 am?  We live on the east coast of the US.  When sailing west, we tend to walk up much earlier than at home.  We enjoy coffee in our cabin. There will be no International Cafe on our next cruise and it is my understanding that options will be limited.  We prefer not to use room service at such an early hour.  Besides, we often find ships' coffee weaker than we like.  Not complaining, just stating our preferences.  Had we been allowed to have a coffeemaker in our cabin, we would have brought strong coffee from home.  Not a big deal.  Just trying to gather information.  

Do you know if they are open before 6 am? I thought I had read the hours of operation as being later.

2 hours ago, jasbo49 said:

You haven't said what ship you're sailing. If you're on the Royal or Regal or one of the upcoming new ships, you can get brewed coffee in the buffet or any dining room.

 

No concentrate-bases coffee on these ships.

 

Jim

The Island, which doesn't have an international cafe.  We are early risers and I'm not sure what coffee options we will have .

4 hours ago, pms4104 said:

Suggest you familiarize yourself with Princess FAQs and their list of prohibited items

yes, that is a good resource, one I often use,  but I like to hear what fellow cruisers have to say.  It is generally more interesting and informative than a list of policies.  Also, sometimes funny, charming and clever.  I have yet to see a list of prohibited items do that.

Thank you to all who responded.  I will either bring a French press or spend a lot of time at the coffee line.  Either way, I'll be on a cruise ship drinking coffee!  😊

I thought I had seen this discussed before but cannot find thread.  Does anyone know if you are allowed to bring a small coffeemaker (like a Mr Coffee) onboard for cabin use?  Thank you 

Lynn TTT, Sorry for late reply to your January post but I just discovered this thread.  I definitely recommend you sail Costa before committing to 112 day world cruise.  We have sailed Princess, Celebrity, Cunard, HAL, Norwegian and Costa was our least favorite.  I did not like the food especially the pasta, which I found to be ironic!  I chose it for the 2 week itinerary and liked many aspects of the ship, but disliked so many more.  There is no evening food court so you have to sit at the same table every night if you plan to eat.  We had a balcony cabin which was extremely spartan. I am not a complainer, and I love cruising, but neither my husband nor I would ever sail Costa again, regardless of the cost or itinerary.

I was going to preface my comments by saying something positive  about loving any day at sea but I don't want to be criticized for my simplistic attitude. 

I have been on both Princess and Costa as well as Cunard, Holland, NCL and Celebrity.    I chose the Costa cruise based on itinerary and price.  The ship went to ports not visited by other lines such as Tortola, Grand Turk, San Lucia and Guadalupe.  I also enjoy trying new things so thought the change would be fun.  Unfortunately, it was our least favorite cruise line.  The ship itself was lovely, but our cabin was dreary (balcony) and the food mostly inedible.  I don't eat meat so I chose a lot of pasta, which was dreadful.  My husband said the meat was fine but overall, not his favorite.  The actual crew members were helpful and did a great job. 

Cruising is subjective, as is anything in life, but if asked my opinion, I would sail Princess anytime, anywhere, but not Costa.  Hope you enjoy whatever you choose.  

Thank you all.  I was on the Coral recently and was under the impression the Island was its sister ship, identical before the refurbish.  I guess I assumed their was an International Cafe that had been removed!  Considering a future long cruise on the Island and early morning coffee is crucial!! ☺️

Since the removal of the International Cafe, does anyone know what the venues are for espresso drinks (lattes, cappuccinos, etc) for early morning risers?  Is La Patisserie  open 24 hours?  I can't tell from Princess website description.  Thank you

Views are amazing. We loved the beautiful tiled red roof tops. Photo opportunities from every angle. I believe we paid for everything with euros. Enjoy!

We were there in February 2015 and enjoyed port immensely. Very brief tender. Booked Tour with Terry, based on good Trip Adviser reviews. We were transported up the mountain by guided jeep tour to exilerating zip line experience. Tour included visit to Tree House villages near waterfall. Overall, a lovely day in a relaxing port with great natural beauty and friendly locals.

Exactly... when you talk about that kind of aging and rusting, the ship would need more than 'sprucing up'....

We sailed LAST May.... in 2016. It had been thru a pretty good drydock some months prior. So, yes, it has been a while now, since then.

 

At some point, it might not be financially feasible or cost-effective to put that kind of investment into totally over-hauling a ship.... Just like any older car or building, etc.

 

We were lucky that we did our research, and it worked out for us to book one of the few 'new' cabins on the ship. So, the interior was nice and not dated... I did notice some excess rust and aging outside. I am quite sure we would have really noticed/felt the age if we were in one of the regular original cabins that had not been totally re-done.

How do you determine if a cabin is "new" on the Coral?

Still no photos of the Sapphire Aft cabins? We are curious about C748.

Sorry, we had to change our plans as when we checked the cost of flying from Detroit to LA it was going to cost us more to fly than it was to cruise. We have changed and are doing the Eastern Carribean on the Ruby in cabin C752.

 

Darlene

Sabookkeeper: Thank you for your reply. Enjoy your cruise.

Just found this thread but the timing is perfect. We are booking the Saphire for January 2011 and thanks to this thread we will be booking C748. This will be our first balcony as we always book inside rooms.

 

Thanks for all of the photos and comments.

 

Darlene & Bob

sabookkeeper:

Just read this and realized we will be sailing in the same cabin right after you. I assume you are also doing the LA roundtrip to Hawaii. Please let us know how you enjoyed this cruise and cabin. Can't wait!

I see a few people have booked this cabin for future cruises. Any past cruisers with photos of this cabin and balcony? We're booked for January 2011. Thanks for any assistance.