Treasure Hunter

No. We don’t drink alcohol so swap out our mini bar for waters and sodas. The plus never pays for us. We send out laundry every night and love it. Also love reserve dining with no reservations needed and the breakfast in Sabatinis ( usually).

And full suites are included. But we once used the upgrade program to move from a regular mini to a reserve ( club class) mini two weeks before the cruise.

We are on Crystal Symphony in September (600 passengers) and we are docking in Rouen for three days. Tours offered are Paris ( we have two overnights) Giverney, Normandy etc. We plan the D-Day beaches. For your Oceania trip , I agree go with Oceania for safety if you choose Paris

We have always gone to the port at 9:30 am. If you are in the Haven you do not need a boarding time any longer. You will be kept in the Haven lounge with snacks and drinks until boarding. You will be the first on the ship,usually by 11:00.

We have cruised Princess 35 times. You will have a great time. The reserve class dining service is wonderful. Too many kids, crowds on Royal. Food is much better on Princess. You won’t have the big Broadway shows but the entertainment is still very good. And Princess CDs are better with lots of fun evening game shows, trivia and other things to keep you busy. Don’t miss the Chef/ Maitre ‘d cooking class ( hysterical). And if they have Voice of the Ocean on your ship. We are on the Island Princess in June ( old as the hills and the Enchanted in January.

Yes you are right, and service is better, greeted by name, no wait but the food is really the same as MDR . They usually add a shrimp dish and a crepe for dessert. It’s the no wait that I like. Looking forward to true suite dining on the Sun with a separate dining room. A reason for the prices to become closer to Retreat and Haven. Right now, suites on Princess are still much less than Celebrity or NCL

We were able to upgrade from a mini suite to a Reserve ( club class) mini and were thrilled as it had the club class dining. I heard that after September Princess will open one of the restaurants as a no reservation any time dining which devalues the Reserve class.

Yes. It can be a big savings but remember once you get a bid accepted you can’t back out if you don’t like the cabin.

Thank you! I have been anxious about dining times as we eat on the early side due to medical issues. But I am sure that it will all work out. We have always wanted to cruise with Crystal. We have been on over 50 cruises on many different lines and are hopeful that we will find our home.

I see that the description of the suite says “ an attentive butler is included who will make dining reservations and excursion reservations for you.” But if they are all gone at 120 days before the cruise…..?

We just upgraded from an Aquamarine suite. Are there any perks that we get besides a larger ( two rooms) suite. Can you make reservations for the specialty restaurants earlier ( like Oceania). First timer and confused.

Princess does not ( unlike RCCL, NCL and now MSC) cruise from the New York area in winter! Their last cruise every year will be in November one way, then you have to fly home from Fort Lauderdale. We have done this on the Regal ( two weeks in the Caribbean. It’s not so bad as you don’t have to fly in a day early ( worry if you will miss the cruise due to bad weather) and spend for a hotel. They don’t start sailing in New York until late March or early April to Bermuda. That’s a bummer for us as flying to Florida has become an expensive add on.

When we were in Tahiti ( the Ocean before sale to Oceania and now called Sirena). Many passengers bought beautiful exotic flower displays at the market in Papeete and had them the whole cruise. But it is true, you can’t take them home.

Thank you, Paula. That is great news.

We are going to be on the Island in June. Has anyone eaten in the Bayou Cafe recently? I have heard it no longer serves Creole/ Cajun food and is the same as the Crown Grill on other ships in the fleet. I am hoping that is is true as I can’t eat spicy food. We have reserved it twice for the voyage but will cancel if needed.

On a hot day in the Caribbean, I do like a virgin pina colada . But I’m just as happy with a Diet Coke.

There are no toll booths anymore. They have overhead cameras that take a picture of your license and mail you a bill unless you have E-Z pass with an account that is charged per use.

It’s only eight miles so could be 20 minutes but with New York, you never know.

On a Sunday, unless there’s a bike race that shuts down streets, it should be around 45 minutes tops.

There are very few sea days on most Oceania itineraries. If you go try to pick one of those. You will see grumpy glances.

If you’ve been on Princess, Oceania is the most like the smaller Princess ships ( in fact the Sirena was a Princess ship) . The most exciting event on Oceania is trivia which is a blood sport. The food is good but I don’t really see kids having fun. If you find an itinerary you absolutely love give it a try but we took our teens to Iceland and Tahiti on Princess for much less money.

We just give them to a regular porter ( true for NY and Miami)

Yes they are being mailed. I last got them it was three weeks before the cruise and this time they were purple instead of gold. We had a two bedroom suite in The Haven proper on the Encore.

The New York Haven lounge on shore is plain with hard back chairs but the lady at the door is lovely and the snacks ( coffee, tea, juice, pastries and cake, fruit plates ) is sufficient for the amount of time spent. The assistant concierge is welcoming and has you fill out entertainment requests and you are escorted onto the ship first. It’s not so bad.

I’m so sad. NCL needs to step up its game. Or they will lose us too. You hear a lot of MSC yacht club chatter on this board..And the new Sun Princess is moving towards a Haven /Retreat for all new builds. Princess will now have a suite restaurant instead of a cordoned off area in the MDR ( club or reserve class.) They have lovely elegant ships, well run with lots of high energy cruise staff games for sea days. The food has gone down hill since acquired by Carnival but price is great. I guess they are still cutting corners because of covid debt.