cactusrose

HaveDogWillTravel, thank you for posting these pictures.  That first one in the first set is great and really shows how wonderful that 180-degree view can be.

Wait, is that a step-down?  That might keep me from that second glass of wine.

I love the view of the wake in A729 from inside also.

Wait, is that a step-down?  That might keep me from that second glass of wine.

7 hours ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

We did an Alaskan cruise in the corner suite A727 with the wrap around deck in 2016. We sailed in the middle aft facing suite A729 for the Panama Canal cruise in 2017.  We sailed 14 days for the North and South bound Voyage of the Glaciers cruise in A729 again in 2018. 
 

We visited the Lido deck cabins as well. 
 

We did not like how narrow the Lido deck cabins were and the room layout on the Lido corner suites was awkward and chopped up. 
 

We loved the full wrap around balcony on the Aloha corner suite for the scenic cruising days in Alaska.  However having to  access the wind free aft deck by braving the very cold and very windy side deck while under sail was a deal breaker for us. 
 

That is why we only booked A729 (A728 would have been identical) for our next sailings. This is the best bang for the buck full suite. Being a vista suite puts it at a nice price point and the deck is the largest S6 in the fleet. 
 

@cactusroseyou are correct, the Panama sailing is extremely hot. While we did have views out the back door we still wanted to be on the balcony. It was just amazing to be directly above the locks looking down at them. I worried we didn’t have side views when I booked but it turned out that didn’t matter to us. Like Alaska when sailing Panama you just need to be out on all decks for awhile. The Island has a great promenade in the shade for side and forward viewing. Once the locks are closing behind the ship you can go back to the cabin and watch it. I wrapped a wet bath towel around my shoulders to stay cool. 
 

And yes you have to just not care that the Lido deck people can see you. Our Lido deck neighbors were very nice. That’s how we got to visit those cabins. 

Thank you for the great information.  We are still trying to figure out which suite we want to book.  Since this will be a warm cruise I'm not too concerned about the cold wind but does the wind make that narrow side deck unusable?  My husband likes the idea of having a 180-degree view from that corner.  I'm not concerned about people looking down on us.  I know the deck plan is a little deceiving for these cabins so do you think the cabins themselves are about the same size?  I noticed that A726 has a mirrored pillar between the living room and the bedroom so it's hard to tell in the videos I've seen if the cabins are the same size.  We will be spending 32 days in whichever one we pick and my husband has some mobility issues so want it to be as comfortable as possible.

1 hour ago, cactusrose said:

Thank you, I am sailing after that but need to book now because the suites usually go fast the closer you get to sailing.  So, I might go ahead and book it and watch for your feedback. I've looked at a couple of videos that show most of the Vista suites on Island and it looks like the cabins themselves are all the same size with different-sized balconies but I just wanted to verify.  What I don't like about the balcony for A726 is that you only have access to the aft-facing section from the doors on the port side.  So there is no aft view when you are inside.  The Panama cruise is very hot so I would like to have that view from inside.  Also, people in the suites above are looking directly down on that balcony.  However, my husband likes the idea of having a 180-degree view.  Also, a friend is booking A724 which is the balcony next door and it looks like we could open the partition between those balconies.

Oops, I meant port side, not starboard.

23 minutes ago, Crystabel said:

We are booked in A726 for the Panama Canal in Jan. 2025. It appears to be a very narrow cabin compared to our previous suites on other ships. The bonus is the balcony with side and aft views. If the cruise you’re looking at is after that date, I can come back and report. Chances are someone else will chime in who’s sailed in one of those cabins. 

Thank you, I am sailing after that but need to book now because the suites usually go fast the closer you get to sailing.  So, I might go ahead and book it and watch for your feedback. I've looked at a couple of videos that show most of the Vista suites on Island and it looks like the cabins themselves are all the same size with different-sized balconies but I just wanted to verify.  What I don't like about the balcony for A726 is that you only have access to the aft-facing section from the doors on the starboard side.  So there is no aft view when you are inside.  The Panama cruise is very hot so I would like to have that view from inside.  Also, people in the suites above are looking directly down on that balcony.  However, my husband likes the idea of having a 180-degree view.  Also, a friend is booking A724 which is the balcony next door and it looks like we could open the partition between those balconies.

Does anyone know if the cabin only (not with the balcony) in all of the Island Vista suites on the Aloha deck are the same size?  We're looking at either A726 or A728.

7 hours ago, leck57 said:

 

That's the same situation for me. In my case I think it's because I booked the Plus package before it was "upgraded" and the cost increased. I paid the lower price that was in place before things like Casual Dining was added to it. You might be in the same boat.

I booked a year ago after the price increase but before these changes were made.  The new benefits were added without a price increase.  If you paid the $60 per day price you should get all the new benefits.  My Travel Summary does not show the Ocean Now delivery or the two casual dining benefits but I'm sure they will be there.  This is from their press release.

  "Princess Cruises today announced several valuable new updates to its popular Princess Plus and Princess Premier packages, providing guests with even more inclusive options at no additional cost, including casual dining, OceanNow delivery service, room service delivery, and express Green Lane embarkation."

On 12/14/2023 at 10:43 AM, doghog said:

Billy Gibbons, is that you (avatar picture). 😉

That's my husband and he's been chased a few times insisting that he give them an autograph.  His beard is not nearly that long now.

6 hours ago, Snaxmuppet said:

The highlighted text isn't quite right...

 

There is a $5 delivery charge per order when ordering room service by phone.

 

But the OceanNow is free to the room once it is activated and the activation is a one-ff $15 charge. This activation fee is waved if you have  the Plus or Premier package.

Unless you are reading every page on their site you wouldn't know some of this.  It's in their news release but I couldn't find this information in any of my searches.

I decided to just call Princess with this question and one other.  Since Princess CSRs don't always give you the correct answer I called twice. Reedpricess was correct, Salty Dog Gastro Pub and Vines are the only casual pay-for venues included in the Plus package on the Crown.

What shocked me is that there is now a charge of $5 for Ocean Now and Room Service delivery.  I've always given at least a $5 tip for room service but the fact that they are now charging for something that has always been free is a little annoying.  There is one exception. There is no charge for the room service continental breakfast.

17 minutes ago, reedprincess said:

Salty Dog Gastropub and Vines on Crown. 

Oh, thank you.  I didn't realize Salty Dog Gastropub would be included and didn't even think about Vines.

19 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

Check out the Deck Plans on Princess.com.  Also, on Princess.com, they used to have the details of all the Casual Dining locations here:  https://www.princess.com/en-us/ships-and-experience/onboard-experience/food-and-dining

I see they have removed access to those pages and there is no link.  IDK why that is, but I do notice all the pages in the food and dining section have been redesigned, so either they are working on the CD info or omitted providing a link to more detailed pages.

 

The deck plans will show you the CD locations.  Generally, will be on Decks 5 thru 7, plus Lido Deck on all ships except Sun Class.

 

Vines, Salty Dog Gastropub, and if Sushi served anywhere.  They may also have Planks & Steamers pop-up in Buffet some days.  This was all documented on the website and IDK why it seems removed (or hidden somewhere else).

 

Thank you Steelers36.  I did check the dining venues and it doesn't look like there are any pay casual dining venues on our cruise.  It does show the Crab Shack as a pop-up but only on the Alaska cruises.  We'll be going to Hawaii.  There are a number of the Plus Package perks that aren't available on all ships.

I just saw that Princess has added 2 casual dining meals per guest to the Princess Plus package.  Some of the older ships don't have many pay-for-causual dining venues.  Does anyone know which venuses would be included in this perk on the Crown? 

I booked a cruise last year for March of next year.  Princess automatically used my FCC to pay for the whole thing.  The actual final payment date isn't for a couple of weeks.  Now I want to add Princess Travel Protection and was told that I couldn't because I've already made the final payment.  Has anyone else run into this?  I guess this post is a cautionary one.  Regardless of the actual final payment date if you pay it off early, you can't add travel protection later.

9 hours ago, STREETKING said:

We have booked a 16-day Hawaiian cruise sailing in January 2025. I would like to start making payments but wasn't sure if I should do this or wait for the final payment date. Is there any disadvantage to starting to prepay before final payment ?

If you're planning on getting Princess Vacation Protection remember you can't buy it after you make the final payment.  Otherwise, there is no issue with making payments early.  If you cancel before the final payment due date you will be refunded for what you have paid in.

On 11/30/2023 at 3:55 PM, f1jon said:

We booked a 21 day cruise from South Hampton to Galveston, in October 2024 through a TA.  We paid a deposit of $800 plus our future cruise credit that we received from a flight booking we didn't take was automatically applied. I know we will loose the $800 if we need to cancel this cruise but will the future cruise credit be given back to us automatically? This FCC is set to expire June, 2024.

As long as you cancel before the FCC expires it will go back into your account.

Thanks to everyone for info.  We do have the plus package but would like to give a little extra for good service. 

When you are in a suite and have breakfast in Sabatinis you have four to  five people who wait on you.  How do you tip?  Do you tip each person or if you tip your main waiter does he tip out the rest of the staff?

28 minutes ago, PacnGoNow said:

When we told Red or Red zone was infectious zone and orange was suspected or close contact. IDK if that’s the case now.

Hope your friend is okay.

I think that must be the case still.  They were originally isolated and quarantined with a sign on their cabin door with orange zone because they were a close contact to another couple who tested posotive.  When one of them did test positive the sign was changed to red zone without knowing why.

Thank you for the quick response

I understand when you test positive while on board you are isolated and quarantined.  There are notices placed on the door of your cabin that desigantes a color zone.  Our friend originally had Orange Zone and it was changed to Red zone.  Does anyone know what these zones stand for?

Just a thought.   If you don't care about the other additional perks, I think the Plus package is still the better deal.  You can upgrade to anything on the Premier list 3.5 time per day for the difference.  I personally don't care about the photo package or the Princess prizes and on a 15 day cruise the two specialty dinners (if you can get a reservation) are worth about $3.33 per day for Sabatini's and $3.87 for Crown Grill. If you look on your cruise summary, Princess values those dinner at less than that.

I still don't like not knowing what wineries they are offereing on the Plus wine list.  I have never seen this in a land based restaurant and It's just plan tacky.  If they are house wines, label them so.

16 minutes ago, arizonaperson said:

Do the walkers/ rollators fold up? If so have the wheelchair “ people”/ staff put them on the  back of the wheel chair handles.

 Are you traveling with two wheelchairs or will you be using the ones from the princess staff? I’m sure if you’re using the ones that princess provides they provide an attendant to wheel your family members/ friends and they’ll know exactly what to do. I don’t think you have to go retrieving anything. 

We are using the wheelchairs that Princess provides.   Yes the rollators fold to about 10" wide.  I'll ask the person who gets the wheel chair for us when we arrive what is the best way to get both rollators off at disembarkation.

40 minutes ago, PacnGoNow said:

I have seen a lot of wheelchairs and rollators with the crew helping.

Just let a Princess agent know whenever you need help.  When you first arrive at the port, let someone know and they’ll help you get on too.  
 

 

Oh, thank you.  I will be getting two wheelchairs to get both people on and off the ship. Getting on the ship is easy because I can follow one person in a wheelchair with their rollator and then go back down and do the same for the other.   Maybe I can get aother crew member to roll one of the rollators off the ship when we disembark.  I'll check with the hotel desk when we board.

30 minutes ago, kokopelli-az said:

I assume you are having the ship's wheelchair service provide a wheelchair and pusher for embarkation and disembarkation?    You would have a wheelchair pusher for each person and then you could follow with the rollators.  In the event the two in the wheelchairs get separated (ie, a pusher comes and gets one person and then 5 minutes later another pusher comes and gets the other person), you might have an agreed upon ahead of time meeting place for the wheelchair users to meet and retrieve their rollators that you have waiting for them.    You also could ask when you are waiting in the area assigned for people waiting for wheelchair pushers if you could have two pushers assigned to your group at the same time so you could all stay together.   

 

Same with disembarking.  Have the ship's wheelchair service push your rollator users and you follow with the rollators.

 

Plan B might be to have the people embarking/disembarking with the wheelchairs carry their (folded up) rollators on their laps.

 

And no, once you debark the ship on your last day, you cannot get back on.   

Thank you so much for your response.  It would be a bit unwieldy to push two rollators at the same time.  I might try tieing them together to see if I can do it if they are both folder.  They are too large and heavy to hold in the lap of a person in a wheelchair.

I've posted this on the Travel with Disability board but since we are cruisng with Princess I thought someone might have experience with this issue.

I am traveling with two people who each have a rollator.  They will both need a wheelchair to get on and off the ship.  When boarding the ship I will go with one of them so I can push their rollator.  Then I will go back and do the same for the other.  My question is how do I get both rollators off the ship at the same time?  I can take one of them off but I'm sure they won't let me go back on board for the other one.  Has anyone arranged for a crew member to walk a rollator off the ship while they go off in a wheelchair?  Any other suggestions?

I will be traveling with two people with rollators who each need a wheelchair to get them on and off the ship.  I will go with them one at a time so I can wheel their rollator on board but I'm now concerned about getting them both off the ship.  I don't think the ship will let me reboard once I've left the ship so any suggestions on how I get two rollators off the ship?  I don't want to check them becuase I've seen the way luggage is thrown around.