Sprocket

On 4/11/2021 at 8:51 PM, CineGraphic said:

Opoli has a black car service as well, they call it "executive" and the price is much better than Uber.

I just priced a trip from LAX to the Westin in Long Beach. For pick-up right now, Uber wants $96 for black car service, Opoli is $55. Both can pick up at the terminal.

Thanks for this I think we will book them for our cruise in December.  I have an absolutely terrible sense of direction and have not flown into or out of LAX in years.  Will the curbside pick up be easy to find?  Well marked  lol.  

We have a cruise to Alaska booked out of Seattle in August.  I'm trying to be patient but am very disappointed in their complete lack of communication regarding the status of our trip.  I'm fully aware of the limitations imposed on them right now by both our Canadian government and the CDC.  But we are coming up mid May I have to wonder how much longer they are going to make us wait.

Ours was an offer booked through the casino so not as easy to cancel without penalty.

21 hours ago, wowzz said:

Sorry, but how is that formal?

At the very least a jacket with a dress shirt and tie is required. 

 

Our cruise on the Sky in 2019 did not reflect this.  Lots of men in collared shirts some with ties some without hubby wore a suit and we'll take it on our next cruises but up to him if he wants to wear the jacket or not.

Waiting to see in what group the casino VIP priority check in will be.  Most of our upcoming cruises offer this but we're all going to get on eventually anyway.

Literally can't wait lol.

12 hours ago, Slyfox16 said:

What casino did you play at that had a relationship with Princess?

Venetian/Palazzo once or twice a year if you have status with them you can go and play for a cruise.  I think I ended up after the 3 days with an inside still but it was worthwhile to pay the upgrade.

Other Vegas casinos are affiliated with different cruise lines.    Not sure what/when they are offering since Covid but once they open the border and I get the second shot I'll make a trip.  Casinos here have been closed since early last year.

Our first Princess cruise was booked through a Vegas hotel offer.  We chose 7 nights in the Caribbean and paid to upgrade to a mini suite.

Since that initial cruise we have booked 5 more through the casino each with varying perks up to and including a mini suite and Free Play and all the other perks mentioned above.  If there was some magic number people would only play to that amount and sit back and wait for the offers to roll in.  Just like Vegas it doesn't work like that, but you can always ask to speak to a host about evaluating your play.  Not counting what my husband cycled through I am guessing I roughly allow $300-500 a day and we were in the casino every day.  

We played enough in the first day or two to get free drinks while playing in the casino and they also comped us a dinner and we were assigned a host.  We honestly had such a good time and it didn't hurt my husband won a handpay.  

negn gave you great advice always use your card so your play is tracked and play for fun with no expectations and any offers are a nice bonus.

We had extended angled balcony C409 on the Sky and booked A409 on the Enchanted.  Loved the extra room on the balcony, shower/tub combo and the sofa.  

For our Discovery Alaska trip next year we are in R415 as the balcony will give us a bit of a wake view for that trip.  

We have also requested not to be upgraded without consultation not sure how frequently Princess upgrades but HAL even on my solo cruises usually upped my guarantees.

I normally have a Canada/US cell phone plan but because of Covid I suspended it until we can go to the US again.   You should be able to get a SIM card so you can use your phone in the states just like here, check with your provider perhaps.  And there are apps available also.   I travel solo a lot and would not leave my phone behind.

The airports all have wifi just not sure how far their coverage extends at LAX.

7 hours ago, caribill said:

 

The original SuperShuttle company has gone out of business, but there is a successor that does service a lesser number of airports including LGB.

 

https://www.supershuttle.com/locations/longbeach-lgb/

Thanks we are planning to use Uber but will consider all options.

31 minutes ago, claudia814 said:

I have a lot of redeemable American Airline miles so I’ve never used EZ Air. Your mention of combining EZ  Air and airline miles got me thinking. How’d you work that out? Thank you. 

I'm curious about this also, I have companion fare that I would like to use does EZ Air work with those does anyone know?

We found an amazing deal on first class airfare from Seattle to LAX no change fees, 2 free bags and Lounge access if we can get in.

My understanding is that Super Shuttle is no longer, but by the time of your cruise I'm sure there will be other options.  We are planning on using Uber Black (I think that's what it is) to get to our hotel, and to the port.  Personal preference only but we do not care for shuttles.

A small journal and pen.  Mini flashlight or night light for the bathroom, poo potpourri lol.  I take some of the small bags of cheezies from Costco and buy their Trail mix and put it in zip lock bags.  Hubby is a snacker nice for the airport and during down time on the balcony.  Blister band aids never go anywhere without them.

If the border opens up we will be driving down the day before.  Our last trip we stayed at the Embassy Suites by Seatac which was fine love the happy hour there and its always a good way to wind down after the drive.

Next trip we are booked into the Fairfield Inn decent rate rooms looked nice online and we will leave the car there and they will shuttle us to the port the next morning or we will Uber it if it looks crazy busy.   Lots of restaurants/bars in the area for a bite before we settle in.  Stayed downtown numerous times and we did enjoy the Edgewater but summer rates and the exchange makes it more than I want to pay.

Princess Plus was included in our offer.  Booked another cruise right away!

On 3/6/2021 at 11:17 AM, Astro Flyer said:

Cruise friends also like C409 & book it whenever it’s available. For the midship cabins we prefer the aft view such as R415 because it’s more wind protected when underway...can’t go wrong with either cabin. 😊

Booked Discovery Princess for next year and chose C415😀  Also considering M427 deck plan shows it is not under the pool and should be fairly quiet I would think.  Office is closed until Monday so we'll have to decide by then.

We booked an Alaska cruise yesterday using this offer.  Just curious if anyone has sailed on one of the Ultimate cruises and where did it go?

We don't have a host........yet.  Why not call the casino number and speak to an agent?  Some of the cruises are booking up very quickly and some cabin categories are very limited for 2022.  At least for some of the cruises I was interested in.

5 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

I realize that there are many reasons why many cruisers do not do so.  But, booking a stay in South Florida for 2 or more days before and/or after one's cruise extends the pleasure of the cruise experience.  Before a cruise:  such a stay whets the appetite.  After the cruise:  it's a time for reflection with a slow, pleasant return to reality.  

I recently retired and never had the luxury of taking cruises longer than 12 days.  Really looking forward to cruising without work always being in the back of my mind.  

3 hours ago, JerseyGirlJen said:

You might want to call Hilton to confirm that "marina view" is this view.  I think that "Marina view" is in the smaller 2 story villa buildings, not the tower where I stayed, but I'm not positive.  I think the technical term for the room I had is "tower water view".  However, I did hear that the villa rooms were also part of the recent renovation.  

 

I'm happy you enjoyed the photos.  It's so disappointing regarding the whole situation and I really hope that they can get up and running soon.  I, like many others, have resorted to reading cruise reviews that were posted years ago just to feel those cruise vibes again.  I hope your Hilton stay is fantastic and that you'll have happy sailings next year 😊

Thanks for letting me know, IIRC people did not care for the villa buildings.  I'll call them and see what they say about the location.  We are really looking forward to this cruise, I literally have not ventured more than 15 miles from my front door since last August.  Its time.

I think I'm a little more stressed about our cruise than I thought because your beautiful pictures almost brought me to tears.  We are booked into this hotel for next February also in a balcony marina view room.   The room looks lovely and I'm so glad I booked it for 2 nights instead of the usual 1.

Thanks for posting. 

2 minutes ago, Astro Flyer said:

Cruise friends also like C409 & book it whenever it’s available. For the midship cabins we prefer the aft view such as C415 because it’s more wind protected when underway...can’t go wrong with either cabin. 😊

I’ll keep that in mind thanks we do prefer the aft view.

We were in C409 on the Sky and chose that one for the unobstructed view to the front of the ship.  We are in A409 next year on the Enchanted, loved everything about our room and location.  Really nice having room service breakfast on our balcony  some mornings we appreciated having the extra room.

Yes we will.  And with thousands of passengers getting off and on the ships I would hope they do whatever it takes to protect the crew.

Should say "Sh*t STILL at anchor in Long Beach, CA"

I have been watching the share price for some time.   We have 2  20 ( 1   5+15 B2B)  night cruises upcoming and 1 7 night that is going to be cancelled for a total $650 OBC.  To me that is a pretty good early return on my potential investment.  I have time and patience so would not worry about some fluctuations.  My DIL thinks I'm crazy but I have a buy price in mind and if it hits that I'll grab it.