RKSue

Yeah but in the last 7 cruises I have been on no town animals at all. I miss those.

I am 57 so as some posters may think I am not ancient. I like formal nights. If you don't want to dress up with at least a nice dress or slacks with a nice blouse go to another area to dine. And please don't tell me it's your vacation to do what you will.

It was on the docket before you ever signed up. I don't want your cell phone ringing while I am in a movie either. You can always go on Carnival that is geared up for the kids and younger generation.

Got in on this sale today American discount cruises family balcony 633 balcony solo $60 obc bonus $100 fantastic see you on board

I looked the web site and cant find the place that you put in for solo. Can you point me in the direction because when I look at it I still get the double charge for a room

Several hundred at once? Was it even possible to move, let alone learn ballroom dancing?

Could you please tell us how big the atrium is? What sort of flooring do they have?

Thank you

The atrium can hold a lot of people. Since they were learning the steps and the teachers made sure they went in the same directions it helped. People also used other levels of the ship to dance. They would move all the tables and chairs out of the main floor area and if they had a lot of extra people they would even remove them to some of the back spaces. I cant tell you the dimensions but there is room for a band stand closer to the Vines bar. The Vines bar is 2 times the size of any other ship that I have been on. The atrium is really set up to accomdate a very large crowd as the ship holds over 4400 passageners. It intresting that when you do web search it states only 3600. We had closer to 4500 on our baltic cruise and it was very crowded.

I spent a month on Royal Princess the atrium is very large. They had several hundred people learning ball room dancing. Also line dancing and several other forms of dancing.

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Have a great cruise. My friend and I leave 11/3 on the Ruby. Leaving the DHs at home and having a very relaxing girls cruise.

 

 

 

We are very excited to experience Princess. We both love our Carnival & RCCL cruises, but its time to try something new.

Well I will be on this cruise solo. I love the Ruby. She is my favorite Princess. Coming from Ft Myers FL.

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I'm interested in low-no solo supplements on Princess (Coastal California) or NCL Bermuda. If none of these work out, I guess I will do something else in May 2015. Any ideas on their sales would be more than helpful. I'm also willing to do interior rooms. BTW, I did look at RCL cruises out of SJ, so I'm definitely interested in those ports again.

Vacations to go has a section for solo. When they post the cruises they will give you the price pp or the price for solo. They do have good prices for solo that you can't get directly from the cruise line.

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She should have not chuckled and instead marked your booking to "upgrade to next cabin type only", otherwise known as a meta upgrade.

I never heard that one before. They upgraded me from inside to obstructed ocean view right over the theater and as far forward as you could get.

So do I understand you to say that I can be specific as to what upgrade I will accept.?

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It's not set for texting each other. It's just used for checking your account. Making a booking and seeing what is going on for the day. It's uses wifi but does not use your internet minutes. I used it for 31 days on the royal.

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For the Caribbean it's considered a closed loop trip so you don't need your passport to get on the ship. I do use my passport card as my second form of ID. But you only need your cruise card to get back on the ship.

If you do get left behind the ship will send someone to your cabin and get into the safe to take out your passport so I would suggest that you do put one in the safe. The photo copy is what I usually carry but every since Princess told me they would get my ID out of the safe I don't bother taking chances.

I do however make a photo copy of both front and back on any credit cards I have and keep it in the safe. If you have ever had your cards stolen you will know how hard it is to get the phone number of the card company to call and then they want your account number which you don't have anymore.

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Many of the any time diners I have met book a table and time for the entire week.

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We have done Carnival in the past, and are doing Royal Caribbean in a week and half.

 

We are looking into an Alaska cruise for 2015, and the itineraries and pricing on Princess (and Celebrity) seem appealing.

 

My kids will be 11 and 13, is there enough activities for them that they won't be bored, or feel like we are dragging them around. Obviously all kids are different, but just wondering from other's experiences.

Princess kept the teen center open until 1 am each night so that the parents had time to go out and dance. I was on a Christmas Cruise last year and we had over 750 kids on board. We rarely saw any kids as they were so busy doing their own thing.

Looking at the Carnival pier in Cozumel, it looks like a very long distance into the actual terminal. Is there any transportation or assistance provided handicap guests. Though I do not use a wheel chair, walking a long distance is almost impossible for me.

I have not been on the Carnival Pier, but I will say the Pier that Princess and RCL use are very long for someone who does not walk very far. Once off the pier you have the issue of even longer walk to get out of the shop area just to get a taxi. There has not been any assistance. The taxi drivers can only wait outside the pier area. Sorry.

My husband and I are on our first BTB on the CB out of FLL in Dec.

 

Our kids are joining us for the second leg. When I add my credit card info online to their onboard account, it says the credit card holder must be present at check-in...

 

But I don't plan to get off the ship except for immigration on turnaround day - hopefully I'll be enjoying lunch in the dining room while the kids are boarding.

 

I've phoned Princess a few times to ask - one rep said I should talk to my room steward. Another suggested that maybe guest services on my first leg could help-but what if not? Not something I want to leave to chance and the kids unable to board. The best answer Princess can come up with is that I could leave the ship, find them in the terminal somehow, and go through check-in again with them.

 

Has anyone had experience with this before?

 

Thanks.

 

 

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there is a way to link your rooms together and to have your room pay the account. The kids wont need the credit card then.

IMHO, I don't think there is anything to worry about as Lab Techs alway use universal precautions when handling specimens. However, you never know. As I said on the other Ebola thread, Lab techs are trained and experienced in handling specimens from many infectious diseases unlike the nurses who were thrown into a situation that they were untrained for and poorly protected from.

OMG.. I worked for years in Biotech and we were developing instruments to test blood for all kinds of infectious diseases. Every year we took classes on Blood. The lab techs were the worst group ever for not wearing protective gear or if they did wear it they handled all kinds of stuff before they took off their gloves. Half the time they didnt even remove their gloves properly. I use to catch them all the time.. and we had blood with some serious diseases. None of the blood samples were allowed to be labeled with the disease it carried to insure that we were testing the equipment properly.. I use to spend $60,000 on small samples.. so please dont assume Lab Techs are taking proper precautions. Europe requires blood testing equipment to be done by robotics to insure they dont spred or contaminate someone..

Now before someone gets upset... not all lab Techs do it wrong... but where I have worked 90% took short cuts...

I had in the past month gone on 3 Princess cruises. When I was close to Elite the luggage tag just said Welcome or something like that. I had several other cruises booked which could put me to Elite at anytime. Who knows why they print sometimes with your CC status. Maybe if you have cruises booked and your close to changing status they dont print your CC status, just to insure you dont get upset and make a phone call about your luggage tag..

I just printed mine out for November and they printed Elite..

I have been so overwhelmed with the supportiveness of those on these boards, I am back with a concern.

 

I am booked on the Crown Princess for November. I booked an accessible cabin mostly for the bathroom/shower handles as on land I have been having many issues with balance and falling in the shower. I have Lupus and fibromyalgia so fatigue and joint pain is usually quite extensive. I had booked thinking if walking was really bad in the week or two leading up to the trip, I would book a scooter for the trip. When speaking with the Princess rep, I was told if I didn't have the scooter with me at the time of boarding I could be denied boarding. I was informed that they do not offer accessibility unless it is someone with a wheelchair or scooter (no cane/crutches etc). I am not very comfortable using one and would really rather just allow plenty of extra time so I can walk slowly.

 

At this point, I am not sure what to do. I am by no means booking this bc it's a whim or I want more cabin space. My last cruise, I fell twice in the shower. The shower is the main reason I need the cabin but I am having a panic attack that they will not allow me to board. Any advice?

So you have several options... Yes they can put a shower chair in for you and they can add a potty rail for you... that being said, I must tell you that Princess has a lot of new people...and they dont really all know what is going on. Dont worry about having a scooter to get on board... I would however request that they provide a wheel chair to get you onto and off of the ship... its a long line and its much easier if you are having issues..

They will not stop you from boarding the ship. My mother is handicapped At first it was because of her macular degeneration (legally blind and very low vision) and her age. We did not use a wheel chair for the first 2 cruises, but I did insist that Princess provide one for embarkation.

There were a couple of suggestions which should give you your own piece of mind.

1. Call the Princess Access office at 661-284-4521. Dont be a jerk and start quoting the laws... they already know them and will be much more helpful if you are sincere in your request for doing the right thing.

2. If it makes you feel more protected (and the access department can ask for this) get a letter of proof from your Doctor. You may need to send it to them just for verification. These cabins do not require that you are wheel chair bound, but that the equipment Princess can supply you for a regular cabin does not meet your needs.

This Process has all come about because people think they should have a larger handicapped cabin when they dont need it.. When Mom is not with me I never ask for a handicapped cabin. The one time that she cancelled to travel with me and a friend went in her place I called Princess and had them change my room.. I know how hard it is to get these cabins and get pretty pissed when I see someone in one that does not need it..

Relax... your going to have a great time. You are doing the right thing...

I think you are correct about not prepaying shore excursions but I am hopeful It's about 3 steps down into the tender and I think he'll be alright if someone holds one of his arms and he grabs a post with the other. Also, I can quickly break down the scooter into 2 parts, about 27# each, and hand them down into the tender. It's still a PIA, but what can you do other than grin and bear it? :D See, I'm grinning!

Yoletta

"I think he'll be alright if someone holds one of his arms and he grabs a post with the other." Most likely you are not going to find a post when getting into the Royals large tenders.

I spent 31 days on the Royal. Its not a great ship for handicapped people. Hopefully you booked a room either forward or aft and not mid ship.. There are no stairs mid ship from deck 8 up so the very small elevators are packed full and there are a lot of passengers that wont give you room to get onto the elevator. It was the rudest ship as far as passengers go, that I have ever been on. The staff was outstanding, which was great. We were in a handicapped room I think 302. Right across from the forward elevators. Easy to go down and get coffee in the am... We like the International Cafe for coffee as the Royal's room service coffee is subpar.

The Princess tenders for that ship are quite large and its more than 2 steps down and many times you may have to go up top if there is no room down below. My Mother is handicapped but can walk slowly. I take with me a collapsible Wheel chair that is only 16 Lbs. It has no battery and that allows us to do more than the scooter... We have put her on a tender and it was a bit of work, she opted not to try the next port. It will also depend on the roughness of the waves that day as to weather or not you can safely get them on the ship.

Do you have to have an electric scooter or can you push a wheel chair? The tender group will pick the wheel chair up for you if its light weight.

From my experience I would suggest that you plan on not being able to do a tender. :( that way if for some reason they can assist you it will be a great surprise. I don't know which port of calls you are referring to and that will make a difference as well.

Wish you well on the Royal... Its a very long Ship...If your forward go to the dining room and have them change your dining room right away... cause most likely they will put you all the way to the back and its over 1000' long.

Have fun on the Royal..

Susan

Stupid question, so a solo cabin traveler would be paying the double occupancy price + the gratuities x2 ?

 

Thinking that would probably be what my mom would want to do if she came with us on a cruise?

Most cruise lines, but not all charge you 2times the per person rate. You only pay taxes on 1 person. You only pay tips for 1 person.

You also receive 2 cruise credits for that cruise since you paid for 2 people. Now I won't tell you double credits fit all cruise lines but Princess and the entire Carnival line up does. Good news is you get upgraded status quicker.

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... did I miss something? I've scoured the Board and done another Google search, but all I see is references to the Regal not having a central staircase. Honestly not trying to be a nitpicker, but genuinely want to know if there's new info. Thanks.

I was told by a CSR from Princess that they have stairs... but I can tell you from the conversations and from the layout of the ship that the information they gave me was wrong..Sorry... I had heard that they are planning on putting them back into the Royal, but I am guessing this wont happen until she is ready to be refurbished which will be another 4 years..

It is in my opinion, one of the worst mistakes, that they made taking out the center stair case. Putting the Pool in the front of the ship was another and getting rid of the Bar on top of the ship was just plain wrong... no longer do you have the 360 view.

The balconies are very small on these ships. I was glad to hear the Regal decided to put the center stairs in because the Royal does not have them, yet!

Its French Onion soup with a twist. First its loaded with onions that are perfectly sauteed so they melt in your mouth. Then its topped with a blue cheese and I think (only guessing here) a little Provolone cheese as well on top. There is a thin crouton just under the cheese.

I am not a huge lover of blue cheese. That being said, this soup does not taste like blue cheese. It is by far my favorite soup on any cruise line. The nice thing about the Crown Grill is that you can order as much as you like of anything, so I would at least give it a try. I have not personally met anyone that did not just love this soup after they tried it.

I have just heard from our TA, we have saved $750 across our 3 January cruises. There is another $250 worth of OBCs available to us but our FCCs become non-transferable and non-refundable so that is a bit of a quandary.

Thats odd. I had a cruise booked using my FCC and when I added another cruise I had them take the FCC off of the short cruise and put it on the longer cruise. I did however have to ask and also pay up front the 100 for the shorter cruise prior to them taking it off of that cruise. Maybe thats the glitch.

We had the Escargot on the 4 day cruise on Caribbean. Just got off Sept 1. The black and blue soup is only at the Crown Grill. It is without a doubt my favorite soup.

We discovered that the Royal and Regal are not identical on the port side and starboard side' date=' unlike every other Princess ship. There are pictures that have been gathered for the port side, but the view will not be the same on starboard.

 

Please, if you are sailing on either one of these ships and can take some pictures of the starboard side obstructed balconies, many of us would REALLY appreciate it:)

 

Theo will add them to his wonderful site.

 

Thanks.[/quote']

 

I took a few pictures when I was onboard. If some one has a specific I can look thru my photos.