Bella O

The H2 on the Getaway is drop dead gorgeous. The bathroom is stunning and there is a Huge closet if you were to bring 5 pieces of luggage, it would fit - plus space to spare! It is much bigger than the aft suite, but the balcony is smaller. While I do prefer the aft view, the unobstructed view moving forward is incredible. Only thing is while ship is moving, it is very windy.

If I had all the money in the world, I would book the

H2. But the aft suite is a much more palatable price. Both are heaven on earth.

So interesting - when we did this in June we had no issues getting a cab! It did take awhile to get off the ship, and then at the airport we had quite a que to check our luggage. No problem with security but don't think we would feel comfortable booking that early a flight.

While I've been happy with the Getaway (and sailing Escape in a month) my favorite ship of all time is the Allure. My next booking will be with RC and most likely

Harmony.

We received the letter a week or so ago - we sail in March. I don't bother with it either, prefer to talk directly to the steward and butler as well. We also received a "thank you" card for booking Haven with them, thought that was a nice gesture.

Last time we were on a Baltic cruise, and asked the steward for a blanket to use while on the balcony (it was June but cold on the front of ship) . He looked at me like I had three heads, lol, but he did get me the blanket!

Can't wait for the rest! Thanks for taking the time.

When is the bridge closing? So that means to cross from Buda to Pest you would need to go up to the Elizabeth bridge?

I like the way you cruise! Reminds me of my wilder (younger) days.

We did our first river cruise Avignon to Lyon on Uniworld and just loved every minute of it! Most of the ports were small walk arounds or biking, and felt there was just the right amount of time there. We fell in love with Lyon and while I felt we had enough time there, I would love to go back or spend time at beginning/ end of cruise there.

We ended up doing a couple of nights in beautiful Avignon prior to our cruise and toured the Countryside of Provence - exquisite in every way!

We fell in love with the Uniworld experience so much that we are cruising the Danube this spring with them!

Appreciate your responses! Trying to determine whether we can do a tour, and this really helps.

so if the published time to be in port is 5pm what time do we need to be back on board - 1 hour before? As late as 4:30? My dh and I are remembering different things from past cruises...

Yes there is a very nice sun deck in the Haven. Deck 19, on the bow. We sat in the jacuzzi up there on the first day at sea. It was nice. It’s just like the vibe area but no bar, because the bar is downstairs inside. It is very nice up there. We chose to read and sit in the courtyard area on deck 18. There is a retractable roof there. We are not sun worshipers anymore and prefer the shade nowadays. I did not get pics of sundeck.

 

 

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Thanks so much for your response. Sounds very similar to the Getaway except for the retractable roof. And glad to hear there is a place to get some shade as well. Your review has me pumped up for our upcoming cruise!

I noticed in one of your pics of the outside Haven area that it appears to have a roof over it? We have been on the Getaway before and there is no covering - in fact on the second floor up it was a really nice sun deck just for Haven guests. Is there something like that on the Escape? I loved that area on the Getaway and want to adjust my expectations if necesssary before my upcoming Escape cruse. Thanks!

I will have a ton of non-refundable obc on our next cruise. I have not pre-paid the service charges. Can I pay that with obc,

 

Non-refundable cannot be used to pay the Daily Service Charge. But you could get it out from the casino paying a 3% charge and put the cash on your folio!!!

Ah, tricky, I like this!

I will have a ton of non-refundable obc on our next cruise. I have not pre-paid the service charges. Can I pay that with obc, or is it limited to extra gratuity and the butler/concierge?

I appreciate everyone taking the time to reply. Think I will leave the decision to my dh, because all three choices look great to me!

Thanks so much for sharing what the reviews and cruise web-sites can't or wont say. These boards are priceless!

Thanks for all the replies. We are a couple with a 14 yr old daughter. The Princess sailing is the best price, but am afraid daughter may be bored. We always get off ship at ports but still....may need to re-think.

I always found that my kids had plenty of company when we did the spring break sailings on Princess. They always enjoyed them. Any other time of the years besides school break time, you may find Princess has an older crown.

I know this is a personal opinion, but I noticed you have also sailed Getaway, which was our last cruise. Do you prefer the Princess line over that ship? How would you compare them? Thanks!

Thanks for coming back to finish your review; life gets in the way, but this is so helpful to those of us researching ships for future cruises!

Thanks for both your responses. Does the demographic skew older? I will have a teen with us, but it is a spring break week

Enjoying your review and appreciate you taking the time to post, thanks!

So we have cruised NCL, Disney, Carnival, and RCCL for our ocean cruises - Royal Caribbean being our favorite. We are locked into a school vacation week, and can choose Freedom of the Seas, NCL Escape or Regal Princess. Itineraries pretty standard, so picking based on ship.

We have never sailed Princess and wonder if we should give it a try? How does it compare to FOS or Royal in general? I will only cruise NCL if we do the Haven, and not sure I want to spend the $$$ this year.

Thanks for any insight!

we have taken muliple cruise on RCCL, and a number on other cruiselines - Carnival, Disney,NCL. So far our favorite line has been Royal Carribean. For our nest cruise in Match, a search turned up Regal Princess. For the same dates we could also sail Freedom of the Seas or NCL Escape. Itineraries pretty similar- the ship being the big difference.

We have never cruised with Princess. Should we try something new?

Thank you Paul and JP. Just started reading your blog of the trip and I'm thinking I would need you there JP to use the punlic transport - wow! I'm the type who when faced with a choice of direction, will inevitably pick the wrong way! Lol, my daughter is better than I as she navigates the streets of Moscow on a daily basis, but the guide sounds really good. Especially the opportunity to see some of the surrounding area. Trying to fit as much as possible in 3 days - a guide could really help. I'll check that out, thx

Another tip: You can click on the Number of a post which will open a new window with just that post, then print to PDF. This is (at least for me) much more readable than a screen shot.

Ahhh, brilliant! I've been a member for years and never knew this trick. Thanks so much,