Weluv2cruise2007

I can’t read the prices on your picture. Is it possible to walk to the aquarium? 

With a baby it would be much easier to take a taxi. ;)

She most likely will not have a carseat...and if she does, who wants to drag one to the beach?

I recommend you check the fine print...I was also looking at Stingray excursions (although with Princess) and even though child pricing is available, (the reservation system is generic), it stipulates that the minimum age is 8. I'm assuming that most of the ships use the same excursion providers so you may want to check and ensure yours doesn't have a minimum age as well.

We booked a free walking tour with Pancho Tours (going next week)

Just FYI - if you do not have mobility issues and don't mind walking, you can do everything on this tour for 22.50 pounds per person and at your own pace. Everything is very walkable.

Actually those prices (in the tour book) were in euros...not pounds.

Has anyone taken a ship's tour that includes the cable car and tunnels? We have tentatively booked this tour, but after more reading iI see that it says we will be crawling on our hands and knees. Yet, in another section on the Princess website it doesn't mention crawling around! :eek: Can anyone provide more information on this?

I just read this regarding the caves. This is from the port section on this site (not the boards):

"A tour of Lower St. Michael's Cave is not for the faint of heart, nor for the physically challenged. It requires descending several hundred feet using ropes, pulleys, ramps cut into the stone and scary walks across slippery and narrow pediments. At the end of it, though, you come upon an underground lake surrounded with magnificent stalactites and stalagmites dating from millions of years ago. There is a small entry charge."

Perhaps this is an optional part of your tour.

Our plans include taking the cable car to the top and walking down visiting the various sites. Our pre-schooler will be with us....wondering how is the quality of the road/trail - is it suitable for a stroller? Thanks!

Just FYI - if you do not have mobility issues and don't mind walking, you can do everything on this tour for 22.50 pounds per person and at your own pace. Everything is very walkable.

It will be interesting to see how that works out.

 

Only a guess, but I think sales will go down unless a person has the all inclusive photo package.

 

o I do not think the facial recognition software is yet good enough to actually show you every photo you are in (it certainly was not very good when we were on the Royal Princess and used their kiosks.)

 

o Not everyone has a smart phone (including me).

 

o Unless the software to show/purchase photos is extremely simple to use (and available for a number of languages), passengers will just skip trying to use it.

 

o Comparing two photos I expect to be harder on a smart phone that holding a print of each.

 

I also wonder what protection there will be to stop passengers from just saving a copy of a photo on the smart phone.

This is how it works at Disney. You have a photo card which you hand to any photographer taking your picture and your pic is available for viewing within moments of it being taken. I can't remember if it is even possible to download, but I imagine you could screenshoot it, but they are watermarked. Understanding not everyone has a smartphone/iPad they will have to offer kiosks or accessibility in the internet cafe. All in all I think it is a wonderful initiative and makes my environmentally friendly heart happy!

Geocruiser and us missed winning trivia by one point!

 

After that I talked to the Photo Manager. He knew about the special $49 package price on the Royal, but said they were testing it on just the one ship. Apparently they are going to test various different packages (10-photo packages, for example) on different ships to see what gets the most traction. He also offered some insight into how photos will work on the Majestic: your photos will show up on your smartphone, and you can order them from your phone. There is no photo gallery.

Finally!!! I have been thinking about this for a long time...seeing the incredible volume of pictures which get tossed in the garbage after every cruise was sickening...and Princess could obviously stand to earn some points in the environmentally friendly department! It makes no sense to print thousands and thousands of pictures and then toss them out!

Thanks for the pictures and info. We are on the Regal in just 6 days. It's great getting a sneak peak at the patters. I look forward to reading and seeing more from you. Have a great cruise!

We'll be on the same cruise - can't wait! I've been avoiding looking at the Patters though...I enjoy the "surprise"! lol

Hi there! Going to Antigua in March and curious if anyone could recommend a beach that would be good for two little ones. Something with some shade or where we can rent an umbrella to keep my fair little boy out of the sun from time to time?

 

If not beach, then any other activity.

 

Thanks!

I'm looking for options as well - we're also travelling with our 3 year old. We've been to Antigua several times, but have not left St John's since cruising with the boy. It's far more difficult as I will not take him in a taxi without a carseat (and I'm not dragging a carseat to the beach) and I inquired about public transportation but if I understood correctly, there are no buses - public transport is in vans, so that's no better than a cab. We may end up doing a ship's excursion just so we can be sure we will be in a larger bus.

They go in the garbage anyway. Staff are not pets to throw a bone to and are not family or friends. You think you are being kind but you don't know a thing about the crew's preferences. They have tiny cabins they share with others and no room for knick knacks. If you give cash they can buy what they need and want and it takes no space in their cabin and is always the right color and size.

Wow did someone get up on the wrong side of the bed? So just because someone is not a family member or friend you compare them to a pet? Perhaps I should have been more specific...last time we left a few locally made chocolates/candies and of course a tip - it's not like I'm buying them an outfit!

We have cruise over Xmas several times and always leave a little stocking with a few trinkets and a tip for our steward.Today someone told me staff are not permitted to accept gifts other than cash. Does anyone know this to be true? This sounds ridiculous and I would hate to think all the little gifts people leave go in the garbage.

How far is the fortress from the pier? Is it walkable? Is there a "town" to walk around or just the touristy port area? Thanks!

Hello All. I cruise with Royal once many moons ago, and have been pretty well exclusively Princess every since. I am completely open to trying Royal again so I'm wondernig if those who have cruised both could offer me some comparisons...some pros and cons of each. Thanks so much!

Again, kudos to you for having the nerve! We're fairly adventurous and almost always do our own excursions but for us, this one was worth the cost of a tour. I can't remember exactly, but I don't think it was even $300 each for the 2 days and it was a spectacular tour which included everything you listed and more. This was the one time I enjoyed being carted about from location to location. :p

We're on a transatlantic in Sep and disembarking in Halifax instead of NY. I didn't think to ask...does anyone know when we need to be off the ship? Can we come and go right up until just before it sets sail again or will they expect us to disembark in the morning? I didn't think to ask!

Hello again! I'll try and address a few more questions.

Porters - don't be "afraid" - just be aware. They were fleecing people for tips...if you know what the deal is, you won't be "had". The rain also gave them a distinct advantage as people just wanted to get out of the rain. Also, you have the option of dropping your suitcases yourself. As you are facing the ship, you would go all the way to the left to the end and drop them where the porters are leaving them for the crew. As for the pallet in the water, I heard, with my own ears, the gentleman they have on board who gives some of the scholarship at sea lectures talking to a family about it. I also spoke to a couple who received their luggage completely soaked through - not just rain wet, soaked to the point where Princess laundered all of their clothes for them, so I don't think it's a rumour.

Weather: I thought this vacation would be warmer as I'm used to the Caribbean. It was very comfortable in Hawaii, but much cooler while at sea. I thought the people lying out or using the pool were crazy - and I'm from Canada! I saw people yesterday during the day watching a movie wearing pants and a jacket and using a blanket, so I doubt loungers will be hard to come by.

Maitre D - I don't even know who he is so perhaps that's not a good sign. We got to know a few headwaiters, mostly because our toddler attracts a lot of attention. I didn't however get to know their names.

I spoke to David Cole and Lokelina yesterday. Lokelina and Kimo will be on the Star for each Hawaiin voyage this winter - that is a great thing. I highly recommend trying the Hula or Ukulele - no talent or coordination required!! Trust me...I am NOT very coordinated and I managed the Hula! There will always be someone better or worse! Lol! It was a lot of fun and many laughs! Although David will be leaving the Star in a few weeks, the Ukulele will continue with Kimo, they just probably will not be able to accept as many players given there will only be one instructor. Take advantage of all this unique itinerary has to offer!

Hi all! I'll try and answer a few questions.

- Tempertaure - I'm alawys chilly as well and the common areas are cool so I always have a sweater. Temps in Hawaii were in the 70s...comfortable but not hot.

- Hula is being taught by Lokelani and her husband is assisting David with Ukulele. We just had our dress rehearsal....there are a ton of people participating!

- Departing SF - you can't take anything aborad yourself which cannot fit in the scanner so larger luggage must be checked. Walk to the very end yourself if you can and you can possibly avoid using the porters all together.

- We had a rocky night again last night so don't forget your meds! The Bonine on board makes me stupid sleepy so if you have something non-drowsy definitely bring it!

We're trying to select our room for an upcoming cruise, and the obstructed or partially obstructed are a good value. I know some are more or less obstructed than others. We require a deluxe balcony (need the pull-out couch) so I'm wondering if anyone can recommend a room which is less obstructed than others? Are the ones which say door obstructed when upper berth in use only obstructed by the upper berth? That wouldn't matter to us as we won't use it. Any help is appreciated! Thanks!

We're on our final four days at sea....I pray they go slowly as I have no desire to go back to reality! This has been an outstanding cruise...easily 10/10 - I honestly can't think of a single complaint. I love the fact that you really get to know the staff due to the length of the voyage. If anyone reading this is travelling this cruise soon you will quickly get to know Nico at the International Cafe...easily one of the friendliest staff we've met with amazing service. Ask him how he is, and supposing he had a nail stuck in his foot, I'm confident his answer would still be "Fantastic!!" He helps us start our day off right! Something else I must mention....Chocolate Journeys. OH MY GOD is all I can say!! I am a foodie and a dessert lover and these desserts are beyond amazing. They are so beautiful that on some level I don't even want to eat them, (but I do!!) and they are somehow getting progressively more amazing although I don't even know how it is possible. Seriously....I can't possibly explain how amazing these desserts are. For goodness sakes....NEVER pass one up! A new Chocolate Journeys dessert appears on the MDR menu every couple of days. So far we've had 4 and hopefully there will be at least 2 more. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!

Well, that's all for now. I'm praying the seas stay calm for our trip home. I guess I shouldn't complain....although we had rough seas on the way over, the poor people who cruised the week before us had terrible weather in Hawaii, so much so that all tours in Maui were cancelled. Our weather was gorgeous all 4 days so we're very grateful for that. I'll try and come back and let you all know how the last leg goes! Happy New Year!

Hilo: For our excursions, 3 out of the 4 ports we used Robert's Hawaii. This was an incredible money saver. They mirror the ship's excursions almost exactly for a fraction of the price. We even saw in Kauai that the ship subcontracted Robert's for their tours, so here we were, doing the same tour, but the folks going through the ship paid close to double. For our THREE tours, we paid $120 PP. The same 3 tours with the ship cost $213 PP, and the Hilo tour through the ship did not include a stop at Rainbow Falls. Anyhow, in Hilo we went to the Volcano National Park, Rainbow Falls and the macadamia nut factory. It was a great day and a fantastic tour.

Honolulu: If you have never been, I can't imagine not going to Pearl Harbour when you come to Honolulu. We had an early morning tour which included the Arizona memorial as well as the Missouri (Mighty Mo) - which we now know was also extremely important to visit. Although it was a long day in Honolulu, we didn't do much the rest of the day as we are travelling with a toddler and didn't want to push him too hard. There was a Luau we could have done in Paradise Cove, but it was about an hour away and we didn't want to travel that far. When we got back, we went aboard to freshen up and get a bite to eat and then we walked to Hilo Hatties. There is a free shuttle but we wanted to walk. By the time we left it was getting dark and to be honest, if I had been alone I would have been nervous. We found Honolulu to be dirty and sketchy. We were happy to get back to the ship. I've been to Waikiki before so it wasn't important to me, and Hubby wasn't that interested.

Nawiliwili (Kauai): We did another tour with Robert's....this one even better than the first by virtue of small size; the group was about half the size of the first one which was nice. Less people to "corral" and more personalized service. We went to Waimea Canyon and a tour of the more affluent areas which were on route. Kauai is gorgeous and it was a beautiful day.

Maui: Robert's again...today we went to Ioa Valley (gorgeous!) as well as the Maui Plantation which included a little tram tour of the plantation. This was a very low key day and there was only about a dozen people on the tour which was great. Maui is beautiful and the tour was great...just what we needed on the last day - low stress and relaxed. Everything in the town of Lahaina is walking distance from the tender terminal, so it was very convenient. There is a ton of shops, places to eat etc right there before going back aboard. We tried to go get a famed "Ululani" shaved ice but the line was so long we gave up. There was however a little take-out which is connected to the shaved ice place which we ended up getting some mahi mahi tacos and quesadilla for our little guy which was a perfect snack to hold us til supper.

Ensenada - for those who may not know, stopping in Ensenada is a Maritime Law requirement...the ship must hit a foreign port, and given Hawaii is American, a quick stop in Mexico meets the requirement. In this port my husband went for a massage at a spa which was recommended here and after a quick walk about I went back to the ship. I could have very easily stayed aboard. I found it dirty and uninteresting. I talked to some people who took an excursion to the blow hole, but it didn't really interest us. If you're not taking an excursion, unless you just want to walk around, I wouldn't even bother.

4 glorious days at sea: We LOVE our sea days. The only problem with the beginning was we got some bad weather and it got pretty rough. I wasn't feeling well, and judging from the stampede to the on-board shop for Bonine, I wasn't alone. Unfortunately while I was down and out I missed some of the opportunities available such as signing up for Ukelele lessons and lei making. These classes were so popular they required day before sign up so people could be placed in groups. I did however join the Hula the next day which was great and a lot of fun. Hula and Ukulele were free, and I believe the ship hosted lei class was free but there was a charge for the other lei classes run by our on-deck Hawaiian hosts. There was no shortage of things to do while at sea....plenty of trivia, activities, cultural talks, port talks etc etc. Do as much or as little as you want.

So this is sort of a "Live From" as we are still sailing, but s much as I thought about it, I didn't unfortunately take the time to do this review day by day. So here's a glimpse of our cruise thus far.

Embarkation - total chaos. I don't however blame Princess for this....there were significant problems with the port of SF and in particular the Porters. The Porters were rude bullies who did their best to sucker as many passengers as possible by telling them BS such as it would cost them $5 per bag for them to take their bags for them. There was zero order, lines were irrelevant...whoever was waving money got assistance...others just waited - most people confused. That's the one time we said Princess could have done more - they needed to have more representation outside assisting and directing people. We are seasoned cruisers, so even though SF was new, we knew what should be happening, and my husband is fairly aggressive so we were not "had", but many new cruisers had no idea what was going on. Add to that the fact that it was raining and crowded and tensions were high. As it turned out, the Porters apparently decided to enforce their contract and stopped working at 5pm even though there was plenty of luggage still on the pier (contract says they can only work so many hrs without a break). They were also apparently not happy with the tips they were receiving or what was going on so they dumped an entire pallet of luggage into the ocean - seriously. Rumour has it a few pieces were never recovered (unconfirmed), and that Princess staff were the ones fishing them out of the Pacific. We were supposed to leave at 5, but didn't leave til after 11pm. The late departure did not affect our timings or arrival in Mexico, so was of no consequence, and as I mentioned, we did not hold Princess responsible for the fiasco, and certainly did not let it spoil our first day. I'm certain Princess will be having a "conversation" with the Port Authority....after all - they don't need to depart from here.

The Ship: We were very lucky to be the first passengers on board after dry dock. The ship was spic and span clean, fresh, the majority (if not all) of the carpets in the public areas are new, I believe the seats in the theatre are new as well....all in all the ship is in great shape and looked fantastic for the holidays. The staff is extremely friendly and attentive and the cruise director Dave Cole is great.