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Incorrect. It is 3 days. Some guidelines state 72 hours and as others have said, time zones can be tricky. Where are you going? Princess website is not keeping up with the times. Fore example, there are currently NO requirements for vaccines or testing for Australia or New Zealand. Yes, I do understand that this covid is a moving target.

We cruised last May Emerald) and September (Grand). Alcohol was kind of hit and miss. Even though something was on a bar or wine menu, did not necessarily mean that it was in stock. It was quite disappointing when I wanted to try new wines.

Truly, I get that, however, Princess says to not blame them because they are trying to abide by a country's protocols... not true. I am the one who posted that Australia link.

It is worth it for us; this is per person $16.00 per day/ Crew gratuities $10.00 per day for internet $5.00 per day for my special coffee drink (tip is included) $25.00 per day for 2 glasses of wine in evening $4.00 per day for 2 bottle of water $60.00 This is just a simple breakdown and allows us to drink whatever we wish and not worry about it.

@TracieABD- Thanks for sharing! I think we may have cruised with you quite a few years ago. We will be on the Sky in June- a new ship for us as well.

These links are from Australia and New Zealand. Princess really needs to get its act together ( I am not flaming them as we are Platinum on Princess), as well as some other cruise lines. Vaccinations and covid testing is no longer required for vising flying into, or cruising. https://www.health.gov.au/health-alerts/covid-19/international-travel https://www.customs.govt.nz/covid-19/personal/travelling-to-nz/

Why would an overnight stay in London be required for flying out of Heathrow? We disembarked in Southampton in a timely manner and then shared a Blackberry cab to the airport and had several hours before boarding our plane.

Due to researching for a friend, there are no longer protocols for vaccination and testing requirements for flying into or cruising in and around Australia or New Zealand. https://www.health.gov.au/health-alerts/covid-19/international-travel https://www.customs.govt.nz/covid-19/personal/travelling-to-nz/ Cruise lines appear to have not caught up with this. Agreed, this is most likely a moving target. After experiencing the stress of flying partway around the planet last May, and then having to test, we cancelled our Transpacific for this March. Due to the time factor, it was impossible to test at home before flying down under.

How can one determine if the cruise is considered an "Enhanced Protocol"? All of the parameters have changed for Australia and New Zealand and there are no vaccinations or testing requirements... and yet, the Princess website is saying you must be vaccinated, test, etc. We already cancelled that TP due to the crazy stress involved and all of this being a moving target.

I am sorry about that, pondering is not actively asking a question. And not many have been an English teacher or a private investigator. And I will have a wonderful weekend.

It was not clear because this was your only question besides pondering: "Anyone else booked and not sure it’s a great idea?"

Either you love aft or you do not. As @cruisingthomas has stated, do not book on the Emerald deck. So, what exactly is your question or concern?

What exactly is your question and/or concern?

The exception is that you can use OBC to book shore excursions before boarding. Also, you can go ahead and make your reservations for specialty dining so you get your preferred dates and times; then your CC will be credited once onboard and you have been to that restaurant.

I can comment on a British Isles cruise. We did this in May of 2022. This was on our bucket list due to our heritage. We absolutely loved it! However, the Emerald is not our favorite Princess ship. We both had the Princess Plus package which worked very well for us. When you add up the costs for gratuities, internet, beverages including coffee drinks and not cocoa and wine... It was a good deal. We always tipped a few dollars in cash for room service anyway. The ports were fantastic and we loved each one.

Great! We love our corner aft cabins - even without the loveseat- so what.... The aft corner balconies are wonderful.. Shhh... do not say anything.

I think you will like the Grand. We really enjoyed our time there in September 2022.

Smoking area was on the port side on the Grand last September. It just floats everywhere.

We were so very shocked at the difference in the energy between the two ships. When on the Emerald, we actually had a waiter in the buffet snap at us and was quite derogatory.This had never happened before.

I never called you a liar. Yes, it confirms your post. I just thought it was funny (in a bad way), that Good Spirits was closed- maybe due to horrible management and low morale on that ship?

Sorry, but this made me chuckle. We were on the Emerald in May 2022 and Good Spirits was open. We were on the Grand in September 2022 and Good Spirits was open. Our new favorite bartender explained that he was fairly new to the Grand and had fairly recently transferred from the Emerald to the Grand and was SO HAPPY! He explained that the crew on the Grand wins many awards. IMHO, the crew on the Grand was much more upbeat and fun.

Unfortunately, this has been the norm on Princess ships with the start up. Employees were able to get a smoking area on the aft Promenade deck, and this also closed the Promenade deck for the full circuit for paying guests. I have read that many of these have now returned to "normal" and the crew has returned to their originally designated smoking area in the Crew area which is forward. When did your friend experience this? We experienced this on the Emerald last May and were horribly disappointed as we had a corner aft cabin that was 4 decks above the Promenade deck. We also experienced this on the Grand last September because the Promenade was also closed off. We also had a balcony smoker above our forward Caribe deck cabin.

@Donna Kenn For searching, go to the big heading "Roll Calls", then click on Princess Roll Calls, then click on Enchanted, then click on the correct month. You will find so much information on ports, "cruise Air', etc by looking further on the "Cruise Critic Community Boards.

You will do a partial transit through the new locks. It looks like a variety of "shore excursions"are offered that may offer an expansion of the area. We did the full transit through the old locks and there was no opportunity to get off of the ship for a shore excursion. I suggest going to the Ports of Call/ Panama board for some comments. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/54-panama-canal/

Sorry, I do not think they are, just by looking at the deck plans.