Jean C

10 hours ago, colourbird said:

We have a Princess cruise in February 2025. We weren't able to select a balcony cabin, however if we were doing a shorter leg of the cruise, we would have been able to select a cabin at the time of booking.

Princess need to rephrase the wording on their website. They say:

Most Popular / You Choose Your Room / Choose a Room Now

People reading those words are under the impression they can choose a room whereas in reality you frequently can only choose a type of cabin and location, with Princess assigning a room there or in a comparable location. It's hardly choosing your room.

17 hours ago, Cruisers47 said:

We have finally booked another cruise.  Due to ill health we have had to cancel numerous cruises but got the ok from specialist and doing a P and O cruise.  Sydney to Cairns and back next month.   Long time since we have done a P and O but looking forward to getting out of Melbourne as winter hits.   Hope P and O is ok but think the meals cooked, shows and no cleaning means we can cope!!!

 

eileen 

I'm sure you'll have a great time, what's not to like when you don't have to cook or clean and you can go to shows every night. Some we've been dubious about turned out to be great. We seen the odd dud entertainer, but it still beats the usual diet of reality and home renovation shows our TV is flooded with these days 🛳 🥳

And  while I'm on a roll, I fully understand the traditional guarantee cabin, I just don't like the new fangled option to choose your own cabin, usually for a fee, only to have Princess say there are none to select in that location and they guarantee you a cabin there or similar 🙁

With respect, the problem for people who prefer to choose a cabin rather than have one allocated, is that they may end up in a "better" or, as Princess word it "comparable", location that isn't desirable to the passenger, ie starboard side when scenic cruising or the sun/shade is predominantly on port side, maybe an uncovered balcony when you want civered, or more central but under the pool deck or a walking/jogging track, over the theatre or a noisy bar, or by a lift lobby where people gather and natter at all hours, under a seawalk or at the rear of the ship with early morning anchor noises that they may not appreciate.

I appreciate that not everyone is as picky but I for one would only take "pot luck" if the fare was super cheap making the holiday a real bargain not to be missed. Just my view.

I've always chosen a cabin number too, however I have to book well in advance. I wish Princess would show all available cabins rather than hedging their bets and saying they guarantee a room in the selected or a comparable location.

16 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Some cruises really do book out that early. I'd been watching the Feb 2025 Diamond repositioning cruise up to Tokyo for a couple of months with no sign of an available balcony cabin to choose. I rang my Princess Planner just on the off chance and she found one cabin that had just become available. I was very lucky.

I think part of the problem is when Princess sells cruises with multiple embarkation and disembarkation ports. For example, for the 2026 cruise you can't choose a specific cabin from Auckland while there are many to choose from Sydney. They only allocate a few for Auckland and I suppose they juggle allocations later 😔 

I must admit I find it very annoying that you can't always select your own specific cabin on Princess - if that'sthe case, I go elsewhere.

Even if you've chosen to pay the slightly higher fare to select your own cabin, you select your room type, select "choose a room now", select location and go through what's available on each deck, only to get a message that Princess don't currently have any rooms available to select in this location and if you select the option they will guarantee a stateroom in this or a comparable location prior to sailing.

This happens many, many months prior to sailing, not just for last minute bookings, for example, for a sailing in March 2026 (not the world cruise).

Other than grizzling about them, some of the informed "whether or not" posts are no doubt of immense value to cruisers who aren't sure what to expect.

On 4/28/2024 at 8:09 AM, aussielozzie18 said:

Mini-suite  appeals for the extra space and sofa bed and bigger balcony but I don’t want to risk bidding because I believe there are obstructed minis on the Grand and I don’t want to risk an obstructed view in Alaska.

 

 

Hi, I've just done some research on the Grand Princess (too much time on my hands).  It doesn't have a "sea walk" so there's no obstruction from that for their mini suites. Mini suites are towards the back of Emerald deck, away from the lifeboats, and along both sides of the whole of Dolphin deck - I can't see any obstructions for any of them.

If your friends have a cabin number, they may be interested in this site that I came across, showing actual photos of the views from obstructed window cabins on Grand Princess -

https://www.cruisedeckplans.com/ships/ov.php?ship=Grand-Princess&cabins=E209-E231

Hi, if the club class minis are in locations you're happy with, then go for it. You can always invite your obstructed ocean view friends to hang out with you in your cabin at times. I wouldn't feel "guilty", for want of a better word, you should do what's best for you.

While you're not wanting to upset your friends by thinking the situation may seem unfair to them, they could be rubbing their hands with glee at the cheaper overall price they paid for the same cruise.

Chances are that for many of the scenic parts of the cruise you could all be up on the top deck anyway.

Just do it 😊

21 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

Visas depend on the ports. Last year we went to Srilanka and had to arrange the visa ahead of time. It was done on line and approval came through in literally one minute - even on a Sunday. We also had to get an ESTA for USA and a Chilean visa for Easter Island. One of the up-coming world cruises (probably 2025) is only scheduled for scenic cruising at Easter Island, probably because on only about a third of scheduled visits are they able to land passengers by tender. Maybe the change is to avoid disappointment. Another change will be for the EU where soon passengers will need a visa - probably one they have to arrange themselves.

 

Princess organised visas for other ports. Info about visas required was all shown on the Cruise Personalizer. From memory it was at the bottom of the Itineraries page. I spoke to several people on the ship last year who had paid a lot of money for visas they didn't need because they were going on their TA's advice. They hadn't read the info helpfully supplied by Princess that even had links to help passengers applying for visas.

Thank you, that's helpful. I'll get my friend to check with the gentleman next time they are together. 

10 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

We had to arrange the US etsa, plus a Chile visa for Easter Island which is a bit complicated as you have to have it to embark but you can't apply for it until 90 days prior which is after you embark. Luckily Chile and Princess have been working together on this so you get an email showing you've applied for the visa and Chile will issue it later. Any other are done by Princess.

That's interesting, I think you've also been on prior world cruises? Do you know if Princess always does this for passengers on the world cruise, or segments of it? I'm asking because an elderly male friend of a friend is going on the 2015 world cruise segment from Auckland to Dover. He's not cruise savvy or experienced and booked through an equally elderly dinosaur of a "travel agent" (retired, but keeping a finger in and pretty much useless, other than successfully clipping the ticket).

Just curious as he was under the impression Princess arranged visas. It would be nice to be able to give him some reliable info from a CC expert 🥰

15 minutes ago, cruiser3775 said:

The weather going north is likely to be better (unless it's cyclone season) and with smoother seas. The weather going around the south of Australia is often rough - it's the notorious "Roaring Forties" that lead to so many shipwrecks in the old days. By the time you get there, you should have your 'sea legs'. So if you go east from WA, you have the winds behind you, in theory at least.

I'd be doing the anticlockwise loop for those reasons.

Thanks, it's nice to have that confirmation 👍

Hi folks, is it better to go clockwise or anti-clockwise, ie as regards potentially smoother sailing?

Yikes, I've just been looking at Princess around Australia cruises for 2025/26 and they are coming out as NZD400 per person per day to choose a standard fare regular balcony! Yikes, I need to take a blood pressure pill 💊 

58 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

It was a perk that was removed from Elites, imagine if they took away the laundry or mini bars if you didn't  buy a Princess Plus package.

Shush, don't give them ideas 💡 

Hi all, a query on behalf of someone else re wait listing.  My daughter and SIL, along with 5 other couples have booked a cruise for 2025.  Most couples got balconies next to each other or in the same general area.

One couple booked just after the main group and could only get a window cabin on a different deck. Although at the time of booking they requested to be wait listed for a balcony, it was never logged in the "system", they said the request couldn't be added for some reason.

A balcony cabin has now become available but in the meantime fares have gone up and it's significantly more than what the others paid.

My query with wait listing is this - do you waitlist at the price you would have paid had the desired cabin category been available when you originally booked, or are you stuck with the current rate when the desired cabin becomes available?

Many thanks in advance 😊

14 minutes ago, cruiser3775 said:

Thongs plural is what you put on your feet. Thong singular is what you put on your bum.

But you need to pack more than one thong singular 😉 

And this picture is what comes to mind on hearing the word ...

18 minutes ago, PoppyVelvet said:

Good idea about the hotel slippers. Can they be bought or do you take them from hotels? I have a nice pair from our Tokyo hotel a couple of months ago but they don’t last long. 

Yes, I've got them from hotels, I only wear them on holidays - one size fits all are too big for me but I don't like being barefoot. They stay in my "cruise bits and pieces" cupboard.

By the way, for clarity herewith photos of jandals and thongs 🤣

PS, when you do go on your first cruise, be prepared, you'll likely find it addictive. Most who post on here are cruise addicts, this site is our therapy, hehehe😊  🛳  🍾 🍷 🥂 🍹 🥳

5 hours ago, PoppyVelvet said:

Hello! Curious… can’t you double up in using the jandals (these are things, right?) as slippers? That’s what I do when travelling, although I will confess to (horrors!) not having been on a cruise yet!

I could do, I guess, but I find slippers so much more comfortable. They're thin and flat so they take up next to no room.  On holiday I only wear jandals for around pools, I'd leave them out of packing if I was very short of space.

Yes, it's Argentina, and El Petiso Orejudo is known in English as Big Ears. He's in Ushuaia Prison, walkable from the port. So your turn.

He was particularly nasty, although an oddball of short stature, he tortured and murdered children.

We learnt about him during the port lectures. We'd already done scenic tours, so walked to the Prison and then around town. It was good to spend as much time as we wanted there, rather than be rushed on a ship's tour. It's a very bleak place, but we'll worth the visit and taking plenty of time over the exhibits.

Sorry, I thought it was the sort of picture that would be solved straight away, but congratulations @qbay46.

1 minute ago, qbay46 said:

is this in south america

 

Yes, but where in South America? He's a nasty dude - a picture of him

Not South Africa and not Don Knots. If it looks like a prison uniform ...