PSCSkipper

In February we booked an Alaska cruise-tour for this month (July 2020.)  We used some future cruise deposits for the down payment.  We cancelled the cruise on April 3rd and our future cruise deposit down payment was put back in our future cruise credit account almost immediately.  The additional deposit I had charged to my credit card before we cancelled was refunded back to my credit card account on June 23rd.  So, altogether it took 82 days from the date of cancellation for us to be made whole again.

5 hours ago, dmccadden said:

We cruise February 9th does anyone know when we should receive our medallions?

We are on the Feb 9th Regal sailing.  We just got a notice tonight from FedEx saying that our Ocean Medallions will arrive this Thursday, Jan 23rd.  That is about 16 days before we board.

5 hours ago, The Mikado said:

My apologies. I thought anyone on the ship could add to the thread. I’m brand new on the boards and was not aware of the “live from...” protocol. 

 

I will I’ll apologize to Cougar in person later this morning.  

Please don't stop your live comments.  Having two people reporting on the same cruise makes for a more interesting perspective on the experience.

4 minutes ago, PSCSkipper said:

I believe it is relatively new within the last two or three years.  We used it in January 2018 for a Queen Mary II transatlantic to the UK and it worked like a charm for us.  

Actually it looks like the ferry service started in May 2017.  Our QM2 departure from Red Hook in January 2018 was delayed by a day because of a storm coming up the coast.  When the captain announced the delay he said we were free to leave the ship that evening if we wanted to stroll around the Red Hook/Brooklyn area.  We chose to stay on the ship.

13 minutes ago, MJSailors said:

Yes, I see the path from the ferry to the terminal is a short,direct route of Google maps.

Is this ferry service relatively new?

The last time we cruised from Red Hook was three years ago and we had a driver take us from LI to  the pier.

We usually take cruises from FLL or sometimes BayonneNJ.

The last time we drove through the Red Hook area,we did notice some improvements in the neighborhood. But, for someone traveling there the first time, they could notice the state of the area and use caution.

 

I believe it is relatively new within the last two or three years.  We used it in January 2018 for a Queen Mary II transatlantic to the UK and it worked like a charm for us.  

On 6/21/2019 at 11:45 PM, MJSailors said:

Tedferg

I noticed you mentioned a 5:00 sail away for the cruise.

There is a difference between all aboard time and sail away.

Passengers are expected to be onboard a few hours before sail away.

Please check your Princess information for all aboard time.

With that being said,if you choose to stay in Manhattan overnight,you would have limited. sightseeing time for the 28th. You could do something for a few hours in the morning, but the latest I would leave for the pier would be 1:00.

I do not recommend a HOHO bus as it may be held up in traffic,wasting time.

The downtown Marriot or the  Hilton is a good suggestion. You could  visit the Wall Street area, the Freedom tower and 9/11 memorial, Trinity Church,Battery Park or Little Italy/Chinatown from that location.

The New York Marriot at the Brooklyn Bridge is another good hotel suggestion. From there,you could walk across the Brooklyn Bridge for a sightseeing cruise xperience.

A car service from Manhattan s the way to go.

You may be able to get a cab from a Brooklyn hotel,but we found out when staying in one that the front desk will arrange for a car and driver also.

As to takng a ferry to the cruise terminal, check the location of the drop off place n Brooklyn. You may have to walk a distance and the neighborhood by the Princess Terminal is a bit sketchy.

While improvements are being made in theTerminal neighborhood, it is composed of industrial buildings,public housing and abandoned dock space. A diamond n the rough,so o speak.

I noted that you are from California.

I would suggest that you do some research about Red Hook-the Terminal neighborhood, hotels that have been suggested here and sites that interest you.

NYC is my hometown. It is a great place IMHO !

Just do your homework,be aware and enjoy your visit !

PS I think the embarkation from NYC is one of the best !

I have to disagree with the remark about the ferry as an option.  The NYC Ferry (https://www.ferry.nyc/) South Brooklyn route leaves from Wall Street/Pier 11 on Manhattan every half hour or so  and goes to Red Hook in about 15-20 minutes for less than $3.00 per person.  The ferry docks right behind the cruise ship dock.  The neighborhood might be sketchy, but getting to the cruise terminal from the ferry dock is a straight shot walk of maybe a bit over 100 yards or so.  You would have to schlep your own bags to the front of the terminal, but unless you have mobility issues  it is very doable.

I use a CPAP and , as noted, Princess will supply the distilled water.  Your cabin attendant MAY also be able to supply an extension cord.  I've been lucky enough to get one every time I've asked.  However, I do bring a light weight one of my own just in case.  Ask your cabin attendant where to plug it in.  My last trip on the Royal, the cabin attendant showed my a plug that was hidden behind the bed.  I had no idea it was there and we've been on the Royal several times.  

As said above, try asking the hotel.  It might be more likely if you are staying at the same hotel both before and after the cruise.  Otherwise layers is the way to go.

As cool as the Ocean Medallion may be and no matter how easy it makes getting onto the ship, I doubt that the customs and immigration people when disembarking the ship back in the US will be very impressed by it.  You will need real entry documents (passport, etc.).  I have paper boarding passes, but I had printed them before I knew that our cruise was a medallion cruise.

Our experience with traditional dining has been that our waiter or the head waiter would come by our table the evening before a late port night and tell us what the deal will be the next night.  If we not getting off the ship or coming back early we would let them know and they would hold our regular table for us.

We received our ocean medallions yesterday for our 10 February cruise.  Our medallions are color coded (the insert) to our Captain's Circle level.  They came with lanyards which we will use at embarkation.  Once aboard, we may change to some other method  of carrying them (wrist bands, clips, etc.).   This is our first time with them so we will see how the whole thing works and if it is worth all the hype.  Does anyone know if the medallions are waterproof?  Can you swim/snorkel with them?

3 minutes ago, PSCSkipper said:

When my wife became gluten free, she could always get it, but I think she sometimes had to let them know in advance (maybe the day before) that she wanted GF pizza so they could make the GF dough.  Now, however, at least Alfredo's keeps some made up and can make a GF pizza on request.  Like anything on Princess, that may vary from ship to ship.  Since it is the dough, I guess they could make any type of pizza.  I'd recommend talking to the head waiter in Alfredo's when you board and letting him/her know what you want so they can be prepared.  We've had really good luck dealing with the GF thing on every Princess ship we've been on.

I guess I should have added that all the pizzas in Alfredo's are made to order so they do take a little time to prepare, but the GF pizzas shouldn't take any longer than the gluten pizzas.

2 minutes ago, KurtMo said:

Do they only make certain pizzas or have longer waits for the gluten-free pizza?  My wife is gluten-free and we will be on Royal Princess at the end of March - I was excited to hear somebody speak of the gluten-free pizza first hand.

When my wife became gluten free, she could always get it, but I think she sometimes had to let them know in advance (maybe the day before) that she wanted GF pizza so they could make the GF dough.  Now, however, at least Alfredo's keeps some made up and can make a GF pizza on request.  Like anything on Princess, that may vary from ship to ship.  Since it is the dough, I guess they could make any type of pizza.  I'd recommend talking to the head waiter in Alfredo's when you board and letting him/her know what you want so they can be prepared.  We've had really good luck dealing with the GF thing on every Princess ship we've been on.

I like Alfredo's, but my wife LOVES Alfredo's (they do gluten free at Alfredo's really well and she is gluten intolerant).  As mentioned, Alfredo's on the Royal and the Regal is a separate restaurant with pizza and many other choices.  On some other ships they sometimes do an "Alfred's" lunch in one of the other restaurants with a much more limited menu.

BTW, at least on the Royal last year, Alfredo's was open when we first boarded the ship so it may be another lunch option at embarkation.  Definitely worth checking out.

If you stay in Manhattan before the cruise and leave from Manhattan to board the ship, another option to get to the Brooklyn terminal is the ferry from Wall Street/Pier 11.  We did this last January and it worked really well for us.

The ferry docks right behind the cruise ship at Red Hook and it is a short walk around the corner to enter the terminal (of course you do have to drag your own bags to the luggage drop at the terminal).  The price for an adult one-way ticket from Manhattan to Brooklyn is $2.75 (may be the cheapest good deal in NYC).  A ferry leaves about every half hour.  Here is a link to the ferry info should you be interested: https://www.ferry.nyc/routes-and-schedules/route/south-brooklyn/

We have used the Princess EZ Check baggage service a number of times and really like the convenience. We are finishing a cruise in New York soon (actually Brooklyn) for the first time.

Does anyone know if Princess is offering the EZ Check baggage service for people arriving in Brooklyn and flying out of the NY/NJ airports (LGA, JFK, EWR)?

So glad to hear. Thanks for letting us know. We'll be on her in October for New England/Canada cruise but only for 10 days.

 

How are the mattresses? I understand the new bedding isn't in place yet, right?

We just got off the Caribbean Princess in Southampton. I don't know if they had the new mattresses; I never thought to ask. The mattress in our mini-suite, however, was the most comfortable we have ever had on any previous Princess ship (including the Caribbean Princess).

Thanks for the info. Was about to call just now and figured I would check the booking on website and sure enough stockholder credit had been applied.

 

Wonder why they never acknowledged it but oh well the important thing is I now have it.

We have been shareholders for a few years and have used the credit a number of times. I've never gotten an acknowledgement from Princess and I just figured that they don't do that. I simply check the applied credits in my cruise personalizer and the shareholder credit is always there within a day or so of faxing the form (sometimes it is the same day).

Just noticed in the Personalizer that most excursions are on sale for 10% off.

 

I was able to rebook maybe 90% of our already booked excursions for the reduced price.

 

The ones I didn't rebook were for two reasons.

 

1) Current booking was waitlisted so cancelling would put us at the back of the line.

2) Price for current booking was less than what the sale price would have been. The latest price before markdown had increased since we booked.

 

Still, we saved over $200.

Thanks for the notice about the sale. I just rebooked the excursions for our August cruise and saved $121. I also noticed that Princess had raised the non-sale prices on the excursions from when I had originally booked them.

It may also depend on the Captain. On our Hawaii cruise last fall, there were non-denominational services on both Sundays led by the Captain who seemed to be really into it. I agree that there would probably not be services on embarkation or debarkation days. Both Sundays on our cruise were sea days.

I have 2 water questions. Is distilled water available for medical equipment?

 

On one of the boards I saw that someone said the onboard drinking water is reverse osmosis. When I was on other Princess cruises I was told the drinking and fresh water supply on their ships was desalinated. Could both these be true?

 

I admit that I am a bit neurotic about the water I drink.:eek:

 

nonnybyrd1

Reverse osmosis is a method for desalinating water. So yes, both would be true. Ships do, however, also sometimes take on shore water while in port. I don't know how they process the shore water, but the water on the ships for drinking is very good.

My wife and I are small boat sailors and have used meclizine for many years without any problems and with good effect. It does, however, make some people drowsy. I'd suggest, if you have never used it before, trying it before your trip just to see how you tolerate it.

We are a bit over a month out from our upcoming cruise so I thought I better check our flight arrangements from Washington, DC, to Vancouver, BC, and return. Since we are flying in a day early, I made our own flight reservations and did not use the Princess EZAir option although I have used it before.

When I checked our reservations I discovered that United Airlines had changed our flights to route us through Los Angeles (LAX) on our return trip. The problem, however, was that the flights United changed us to gave us only 17 minutes to change planes in Los Angeles. There is no way we could make that short a connection even if our flight to LAX arrived on time (doubtful).

I called United and explained the problem. United changed our return flights without any problem and without any change fees. I was pretty happy. In fact we ended up with better flights than we started out with.

The bottom line is that, if you are flying to your ship, make sure you check your flight arrangements to see if they have changed and to make sure that your connection times (if any) are reasonable. As others have said, the airlines make these changes and don't always notify their passengers. Yes they should, but don't leave it to chance (or the airline).

We were recently on the Royal and there seems to be fewer outlets available in the cabins than on the older ships. If you have something like a CPAP machine to plug in, you may need an extension cord to reach a plug near the desk. I brought my own cord (and duct tape to tape it down), but you can ask your cabin attendant to provide one.