blondee419

3 hours ago, memoak said:

I am not convinced putting a children’s arcade basically inside a casino is a great idea

NGL, I'd rather play the video games than the slots. Hope it's open to all ages! 

7 minutes ago, LawDog61 said:

Just announced….. we will be stopping at Kona as our last port of call, replacing Maui. 
I heard that the banyon tree is gone

they're saying on the city's website that it is charred but if the roots are healthy it can grow back: 

https://www.mauiinformationguide.com/maui-fire.php

I absolutely LOVE cruising in an aft balcony!! Fantastic view of both sides, which was a plus on our Panama Canal trip. Smooth as glass. Have not had a forward cabin, but everyone I know who has had one has said considerably more motion can be felt up there. 

~Kathryn 

The medallions are great keepsakes, they're magnets. I have mine on my fridge. My old cruise cards? Have no idea where those things ended up, even though I intended to keep them. 

16 hours ago, Nicole&Pete said:

Hello all,

 

We are looking at a cruise on the Island Princess this year, there is however a similar cruise on the Sky Princess, but the itinerary is not as good as the Island. 
 

We were on the Sky Princess last year and liked that ship especially with the number of complimentary dining options available, however the ship was half full at the time so that may have swayed our view a little as it never felt crowded. I have reservations about the Island because it is an older ship, the recent refurb means less public areas but more cabins, no Alfredos and international cafe and I have heard about lots of issues cruisers have had both in terms of service and accommodation (plumbing/ air con issues, old beds etc.) as it was only back in service last summer. So we are debating whether the Sky Princess might be better for us even though the itinerary is not as good.

 

Honest opinions would be appreciated.

 

Thank you in advance.

I would never sail the Island again. We were on her post-retrofit for a Panama Canal full transit. To be fair, this was in the "before times" so she was full, but it was the most crowded and unpleasant cruise I've been on. I've also been on Coral, Island's sister ship, and would 100% book on Coral again. I will never book Island again unless it's a must-do bucket list cruise and Island is the last ship ever to do it. Add on top that the cruise director was the assistant CD on our Hawaii cruise on Star Princess a few years before, and is the WORST CD in my opinion. 

My mom and I were in an aft balcony, one of the retro-fitted cabins. The cabin was fine, but the lack of public spaces meant that there were fewer places for people to go when the weather was bad. 

and yet, everyone here is using the internet to post about it. Trust me, if I want to find out about you, most likely I will and it ain't the medallion net's fault. 

How many of us have passports, credit cards, driver's licenses, smart phones.......

3 hours ago, shiner6 said:

I received this as an "Emergency Notice " just now from Princess. I went to my itinereary and could not find any information about change or cancellation or refund.  Having difficulty understanding what this means and what should I do?

 

 

IMPORTANT NOTICES

SHORE EXCURSION MODIFICATION

Please be advised due limitations by the National Park Service, your shore excursion at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii has been modified and we are no longer able to provide a shuttle ticket to the USS Arizona memorial. You will be able to secure a complimentary shuttle ticket on your own once you are at Pearl Harbor. Please visit the Cruise Personalizer at www.princess.com/cruisepersonalizer to review the updated tour description or, if you wish, to reserve an alternate tour. You will be able to do so online up to six days prior to sailing or once you are on board.

We are sorry for any disappointment this may cause and look forward to welcoming you on board for your cruise.

Hi! 

The Memorial has had to do more infrastructure repairs to the memorial, which is a floating dock. The Navy operates the shuttles in concert with the park.  According to the Park's website (https://www.nps.gov/perl/planyourvisit/conditions.htm) they have resumed shuttles to the USS ARIZONA as of today. However, the tour operator most likely was unable to get the tickets in advance like they usually do. 

As with all NPS sites that require entry tickets, you can reserve your tickets on Recreation.gov: 
https://www.recreation.gov/ticket/233338/ticket/16

Follow the park on social media (Twitter and Facebook are the best for the most up-to-the minute info) as you plan your trip. https://twitter.com/PearlHarborNPS

Also note they don't have any potable water at the moment, due to a water main issue on base. 

Your friendly NPS Park Ranger, 
Blondee419

7 hours ago, villauk said:

Do any of the balcony cabins have a sofa, or is that only in a mini on Island?
 

No sofa in the aft balcony in 2019 on Island thru the Panama Canal.  

When travelling with my mom, we are loyal to Princess, and select cruises based on itinerary. Princess is just the right speed and general atmosphere, excursions, etc. for us.  They also have smaller ships, which is nice. 

I did RC with my friends for our 40th birthday year, and it was a younger crowd. We also were going to party, not so much escape and visit different/new to us ports. On RC we did the shows, the water slides, etc., which Princess doesn't tend to have comparable offerings for.  

Enjoy whichever ship you end up on! 

On 4/15/2022 at 1:53 PM, pms4104 said:

And the vendor may be operating on slim margins.

 

And the vendor posts only one price for each item he/she sells.

 

And EVERYONE pays that price, whether by cash, MedallionPay, credit card.

 

The vendor needs to anticipate how many customers will use MedallionPay.

 

And the vendor will need to price his/her goods accordingly to stay afloat.

 

So, the $40 shirt becomes $48-50 and the $20 widget becomes $25 for EVERYONE.

 

Win-win for Princess ... not so much for the vendor or non-MedallionPay customers.

OR, vendor could advertise one price that is 20% more than what they'd normally charge, and offer a 20% discount when using cash or card? 

I took a short cruise in october that went to Ensenada, and I was able to travel using my RealID drivers license and an official birth certificate. (This was due to a HUGE screw up by the passport people that makes me mad to even think about.) I got out and did an excursion while I was there, no problem. Now, if it's longer, than that I probably would have paused and thought twice before getting off the ship, but that's just me. 

Have a great trip! 

On 11/28/2021 at 11:04 PM, iamaqt2 said:

Daughter lost her passport a week before our cruise.  I know all the policies around using a birth certificate.   I have it.
My question is has anyone had any issues using their birth certificate on a closed loop Caribbean cruise lately?  Princess website still states it's an acceptable form of ID to travel.  

Nope. 

I did LA - San Diego - Ensenada - LA. As long as it's Mexico or Canada, not a problem 🙂

Got charged for my 3-day LA-San Diego-Ensenada-LA on the first 2 days. On Friday (Ensenada) no tax charged. *shrug* 

Portion size is much smaller, but I appreciated that.  Except the lobster roll which I paid for and was incredibly small. 

Quality in general.... meh. Especially the last night (3 day earlier this month).  This is the Shrimp cocktail appetizer (three whole shrimp!), and the "Surf 'n' Turf" main (TWO shrimp and a 1/4" thick slice of... Something... It was bland). 

The caesar salad was great, as were both desserts I got - a creme brulee and key lime cheese cake (i think... Honestly it was good, but not memorable)

I had dinner at Sur la Mer on Wednesday night for the recent 3-day getaway.  As a solo, they were able to accommodate me even though I didn't have it booked. I would caution that online booking does seem to work, so others may not be as lucky as I was! 

Head's up, try using the "Quick login" instead of signing in with email/password. This is what I was told on one of my marathon phone calls last week (Cruise is tomorrow). 

 Apparently THAT'S what was preventing me from entering my travel documents?? WTH??? 

On 10/1/2021 at 4:54 AM, Ombud said:

I can do everything except get a boarding time. But the cruise is 2 months away so that's probably it

When I had that issue, they said you had to wait till 30-45 days before the cruise.  It was still not working until about 28 days ago.....I also had other issues though.

Yes. I actually can't even get to the passport area, tells me to call Princess. Which I've done, and been told that it's an "unknown" glitch. However this was about a month ago so they may be "aware" of it now. 

Good Luck! 

10 hours ago, CruzinNoony said:

That is disappointing.  I was looking forward to having him again as CD.  How is DuVaul?  I understand that you organized the meet and greet.  I am trying to set one up for our Sept. 5 sailing.  Who was the contact person you set it up with?

We had DuVal as AD to Hawaii and CD thru the Panama Canal. He's obnoxious and rude to people. I'm disappointed to hear this. 

So for anyone else who is having issues with the app and checking in.... 

I'm set for the October 6th 3-day out of LA. I spent 1 hour and 20 minutes to have them tell me that the error message was not one of their "known" bugs, and I'll have to checkin at the port. I did all the usual (restart, deinstall, etc...). Was told that I will have to show my docs at the port. 

As for the choosing a boarding group, it will be available "30-45 days out".  There is a known bug with choosing EARLY boarding times. The work around I was given was to choose the *latest* boarding time, and then edit your choice. 

Hope this helps... and hope they fix the (&*^#@! app sooner rather than later. 

~Kathryn 

I literally just hung up. I was able to move to an obstructed balcony from my interior, no problem. I had asked my TA on Monday if there were any deals, and she quoted me an additional $446 on Tuesday.  I just got it for an additional $175. (My TA is out of the office until next week, and so her colleague helped me) Did not lose my air/transfers/etc.  I do have to resubmit my shareholder form, as that $50 OBC was dropped. I did not lose the AAA $25 OBC, as that is who I work with. 

Thank you OP for the head's up! 

~Kathryn 

39 minutes ago, lbfluffy said:

We decided to sail on the Majestic for the three day West Coast getaway on October 6th. We already booked her for a 7 day to the Mexican Riviera. Our really good friends from San Diego were going to join us, but sadly they can not because they have a 6 year old. So I figured this would be a great way to see them and check out the Majestic. I found a great deal and booked it and paid it off. However yesterday I saw about $100 price drop. I figured I would see if our TA would honor it. They did. I was doubtful when I was reading the boards, but they did. Looking forward to checking out the Majestic. Plus I just made my appointment for my Covid test on October 4th.

THANK YOU! I just mailed my TA to see if this was possible. I went through the booking process and put a courtesy hold on a room to see if she could get me an upgrade. I had asked earlier in the week and the price she quoted me was almost basically paying an additional single supplemented fare! 

Hope to see you in October! 

~Kathryn 

So, @PKT1976 - 
Question about your cabin. I'm taking the 3 day in October, my first solo cruise ever!, before my mom and I do the mediterranean (hopefully) next summer. Hopefully it's still a go. If you don't mind sharing, where was your cabin located, and is it an interior? 

Thanks! 
~K 

I vote Coral! But I'm biased 🙂

2 hours ago, drsel said:

What attracted you to this guy?

Well he was under 45 and quite hot????? 
But seriously, I was playing trivia one night after a port day. My mom was feeling unwell (maybe a touch of noro?), so I invited myself to play with a small team of 3. We ended up getting a perfect score that night, and won that night out of the three teams playing. I went to bed, they went up on deck for the party that night. Two of the players were related, plus him, but I thought for about 3 days that they were all family. And I continued playing with that team for the 2nd half of the cruise.