sandyoftheseas

Does anyone know how early  Spellbound reservations open up?  We just booked most of our nightly reservations on Deck 7 for our Nov. cruise.  When we reserved it we looked at Deck 6 traditional reservations it looks like 5pm is only for shared tables and 7:30pm is for private tables at least that is what it shows on the app.

We went on a British Isles cruise with Princess in May 2018 and the casino was open every night.

I also have IBS and take probiotics especially when I travel but I just buy the probiotic pills the one I like the best is  probiotic Pearls.

I just looked at the Sun Princess and it is also showing the number of available cabins in red. I have been using the Princess website for years and this is the first time I have seen this feature.

1 hour ago, doghog said:

What does your tier level have to do with going to your cabin and dropping off your luggage? Are you dropping off your luggage because this is allowed? 

I sorry I should have clarified.  We are Elite and want to get to the Sanctuary quickly so we are one of the first on board and because of this the cabins are usually not available.  I have never been questioned or not allowed to place my carry on in the cabin. We have had to open the fire doors maybe once but the rest of the times the fire doors have been open.

1 hour ago, artvlay said:

Haven't sailed on Princess for five years. I just read that you can't get into the room until about 1pm. Do they allow you to drop your carry-on earlier?

We are Elite and travel with carry on bags only.  We drop our bags in the room but leave them in an area that can't be seen from the hall because the cabin steward will prop the cabin door open.  The cabin steward is usually in the hall or a nearby cabin and I inform him/her that I have left our bags in the cabin.  My husband keeps his backpack with him as it has all of our important documents,money,credit cards ect.  

2 hours ago, capriccio said:

When we did around South America in 2016/2017 we only used Princess tours on 1 or 2 of the IIRC 17 ports.  Almost all the other tour companies wanted US dollars and in exact change.  We split the money between us for travel to the ship.  Before we left home I had labeled an envelop with each tour vendor's name, date of tour, and price plus tip (taken from a spreadsheet I had made to determine how much money to bring).  We divided most of the cash into the vendor payment envelopes and each port day just took out the envelope for that day.  Took some planning but never had to worry about having the correct amount of cash.

We now do the same thing.  My husband LOVES his spreadsheets!  I would not trust that the ATM or Guest Services would be able to give me US dollars.  Years ago we went to an ATM in a bank in Peru and it did not have English translation we had to have a bank employee help us to translate to withdraw money.

I have been in both cabin types in moderate sea conditions.  Both me and my husband have seasickness in small boats and when we went to the Antarctic we flew over the Drake passage because we were worried about seasickness that being said we have never had an issue in either cabin type of course if the seas are rough that may be a problem in either cabin. Generally with the stabilizers on ships now you may feel a slight rocking in the standard cabin it is usually a side to side where the sideways are a front to back motion but not like a swing,( As a child I loved to swing but now after a few minutes it makes me nauseous)   Mid ship on a low deck is the best for sea sickness but the cabins you circles are not that far from each other so I don't think that is a factor in your choice.  We like the sideways cabins for the extra room but that is just our preference.

Yes there is a difference.  The more mid ship cabins B316-317 and B322-323 are side ways cabins you can do a search on this site for sideways cabins and see photos.  I feel they are a little bit larger than the standard cabins BUT the door opens into the bedroom area so I someone is in the bed and the cabin door is opened potentially a passenger in the hall can see them in the bed.   

10 minutes ago, Cruisemeister2002 said:

Being new to this bidding process do Princess state what a bid needs to be to upgrade as when we sail late next year we would like to upgrade from an inside to a balcony cabin, thanks.

You can only bid after final payment so if you really want a different cabin you may want to upgrade now.  After final payment you will get an email stating you can bid for an upgrade and they will show you the different categories and the minimum bid.

We went on a Princess cruise July 1st -8th.  We were in a inside cabin and bid on an obstructed oceanview for $45pp.   About 4 weeks before the cruise the website showed all the oceanview rooms were sold out so I thought OK no upgrade for us.  On June 27th we got an e-mail stating we received   our upgrade bid.  We were on the Caribbean Princess and really enjoyed the extra space and the window even if the view was of a lifeboat.

Me and my husband did the cave tubing in Belize and really enjoyed it. I thought floating in the dark caves would be claustrophobic but they give you a head lamp and the tour guide give you information about the cave and the formations.    

19 minutes ago, Citizenxnz said:

Too late! It was on Royal Princess yesterday, haha

OH NO!  I hope this isn't a  regular thing.

I just hope Princess doesn't start having the sexy legs competition or the beer drinking competition if they do I will be finding another cruise line.  

I was in the grocery store yesterday and they also have Free and Clear dryer sheets.  

Free and Clear laundry soap now comes in pods so that is what I would bring.

Go to you local pawn shop and see if you can find a nice ukulele there for a reasonable price. Years ago I purchased a nice guitar of my FIL at a local pawn shop.

We sailed on the Caribbean Princess July 1-8 .  We booked an inside cabin and put in 2 upgrade bids for $10 over the minimum bid.  We bid $45 each for an obstructed ocean view and $90 each for a balcony. The cruise was showings full for about the last 3 weeks before the cruise so we did not think we would get any upgrade.  About 1 week before the cruise we got an e-mail that we got the upgrade for the obstructed ocean view cabin and we enjoyed the room with the window and extra space,

Just off the Caribbean Princess in July we stopped off at the future cruise desk to pick up a FCC form. The employee started talking to us about this option we quickly stated we were not interested, he gave us a FCC form and we left.

steelers36- As elites we were not given any number or letter cards we just proceeded to the elite lounge and when they announced at the door that we could board we all exited the room and onto the ship.  I don't think it mattered much if you were green or blue lane since we waited in the elite lounge for about 30-45 min before boarding.  Hopefully someone else will add to this post and give info on non elite embarkation.

I will try to answer all your questions of course I only know what happened in regards to the elites.   Yes we embarked form T2 all 3 lines were let in at the same time through separate doors.  We were let in at 10am and I would guess there was about 175- 200 people waiting outside with the longest line being the line of people with medallions. We went through a short maze and entered security after security everyone is "spit out" into the same area and they then split people with medallions into one maze and non medallions into another.   Once through the maze  there were agents standing at podiums  they would raise their hand when they are available and that is where the agent looks at your passport and you scan your medallion. In the line outside it did not matter if you were a suite or elite guest it went by having medallions or not.  We then asked about elite waiting area and were directed up stairs.  There was not very many people in the elite/suite lounge for this early embarkation ( I know many embarked later) which surprised me only about 50 people and we were the first to board after the in-transit passengers.

We embarked our cruise on July1 in FLL.  We arrived at 9:30 am and there were 3 lanes outside- mobility line, people who had their medallion line and people without medallion line.  Once inside we passed through security and to a line where employees would look at your passport you would scan your medallion and then we went upstairs in the elite lounge.

I use a retractable badge holder.  I clip it in my cross-body purse or in my pocket.

21 hours ago, antsp said:

The only issue with this is very often the doors are propped open

Yes that is true.  I will put our luggage "semi-hidden" near the bed or balcony not in the closet or near the door so unless someone walks completely into the room they won't see our luggage.  We keep our money, CC and passports with us.

We just got off the Caribbean Princess we are elite and was one of the first ones on.  The cabins were not ready till 1pm but I dropped our carry-on bags in our room when we got on. The cabin steward was in the hall so I informed him that the bags in room 205 were mine. I have done this every cruise we have been on with Princess without a problem.