gailjen

There will be two formal evenings on every Princess cruise segment that is 7 days long.

 

A 14 day cruise that is a single segment will have three formal evenings.

That doesn't add up, you can book Emerald med cruises as 7, 14 or 21 nights so if each 7 nights has 2 formal nights the the 14 nighter will have 4 & the 21 nighter will have 6......

Which cruise are you going on? Looking on your signature line, next up -- Rome to Istanbul? Not sure if this info will help if you are not on the same one...but I just got off the Emerald on a 7-day Med cruise Barcelona to Rome. The formal nights were the second night following the Marseilles port day and the second to last night following the port day in Valletta. I was surprised that one of the formal nights was not on the one sea day we had.

We are on the 8/8 14 nighter Barcelona to Athens, you had 2 formal nights on the first 7 day leg potentially means we could have 4 formal nights on our 14 night cruise, this seems a lot considering we had 2 on the 12 nighter Regal cruise last summer....anyone completed the Rome to Athens leg yet who can advise please?

The Regal is not and it did not start in SH either.

Looks like it just the Emerald around the Med that's relaxed the drinking age to 18

Nice to be called a liar, but if you send me £800 I will take a weeks cruise in her in July and prove it. For the fee I will provide as many pics as you need

I've never called you a liar!! 😮 sorry if you've mis-interpreted my posts. I believe you totally, it's Princess I need to convince which is why I need the photographic evidence.. But it can wait till I've sailed in August if I can't get before.

I was on the Emerald Princess in May out if Southampton see attached section of the Patter

 

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Thanks so much Jackie but the Southanpton departures the drinking age is 18, it's Emerald cruises from non UK Departure points I need .

I was on the Emerald 2 weeks ago, it's the 1st time I have seen the signs at the bars with 18 on them.

I need photographic evidence 😉 so I can resolve an issue.

I just checked my daughters cruise card and the was no mark on the bottom right that she was in the 18-20 group. Her card was the same as mine. In the

back of the patter ( under the bars, clubs and lounges ) there was a statement that read: The legal drinking age of 18 years is observed onboard and photo ID may be required.

Would be so grateful if you could post a picture of the patter from the Emerald showing the drinking age, date and that its from the Emerald, Thanks in advance 😀

Thrak thanks for this - I am not discouraged and do appreciate the helpful responses. We depart next Saturday and are looking forward to our trip.

Are you going on the Emerald? If so I would be so grateful if you could take a photograph of the patter showing the drinking age of 18 and the date on the patter too, Enjoy your cruise 🚢

Cruising Crew, if you're on the Emerald there is a very good change the age will remain 18 in the Med as antsy has already clarified. I'm on the 8/8 sailing and will certainly clarity on my return 🍸🍸 cheers to you & your daughter

Not rumour fact, seen it with my own eyes

Antsp, it was your post I was referring too, Thanks for posting the information. Don't suppose you have a Patter with the age showing in it?

Princess website says:

"The legal drinking age of 21 years is always observed onboard all ships, 18 years on Grand Princess Mediterranean itineraries, and proof of age may be required. All onboard staff are trained to take their responsibility to not serve alcohol to underage guests seriously. The age restrictions are clearly posted in the bars."

 

Not sure why 18 only applies to the Grand, when other ships go to the Med. Unless someone else can comment, you might want to call / email Princess to ask, if you're not on the Grand.

Because the brochure and website haven't been updated for some time

Reply from Princess after my question

I can confirm that as per our 'Important Cruise Information' of our brochures we advise guests of the following, ' Due to US customs and practice, passengers must be 21 years of age or over to purchase alcohol or gamble (18 years or over on the Caribbean Princess cruises departing from Southampton)'.

Unfortunately our brochure is currently showing Grand Princess as opposed to the Caribbean Princess and I am truly sorry for any confusion this may have caused you. However, please be assured that our Marketing team have been made aware and they are in the process of having our website corrected as it is certainly not our intention to mislead guests in anyway, I would also like to offer my apologies for any conflicting information that you have received regarding the All Inclusive Drinks Package.

Not in all instances... Caribbean Princess and Royal Princess when sailing roundtrip from Southampton have a drinking (and gambling) age of 18, as do all the ships sailing from Australia.

Rumour has it that the Emerald Princess has lowered the age to 18. A few people have posted on another thread after sailing on her recently. I'm on the 8/8 sailing will confirm after I return....

There is a "Seabus" too - 2 € each way.

 

http://www.delostours.gr/en/seabus-service-between-the-new-and-old-port-of-mykonos-town/

Princess will advise there is no shuttle and purchase their transfers which if we remember was $15

The boys took the boat shuttle for €2 each way

Girls went to St John's Hotel & Spa €70 for the day including transfers, breakfast & massage 😀

I think with the coffees and sodas included this would be worth it for me. My biggest concern really is whether the bartenders/baristas are really getting the gratuity that's included in the price which I believe is 15 percent. I don't always trust that the employees are given the auto tips. I have NEVER taken any gratuities off, and usually tip on top of the auto gratuities. I always tip $1 extra over the added auto gratuities at the bars as well. Will I still be given this option to add a tip when I'm not paying for the drink? Are we given a slip with every drink ordered?

We were given a slip like when You purchase a drink, didn't ever look at the tip side as we had paid the $15 in advance

Have you used this bus service and how did you like it? We are docking in Livorno in September and want to go to Pisa. We took the train several years ago to Florence when we were there but that involved taking the ship shuttle and public bus before we got to the train, and this seems like it would be easier. Does the bus travel every day even if it isn't full?

Thanks

We are planning to use in August so will come back and update you then

There a three times at 10,12 & 1.40pm but do check your own date as these might be different.

Cathycruises, it was €5 euros a few weeks ago when a friend was there, hopefully it won't go up. The shuttle is provided by the port authorities.

In Livorno the shuttle bus from the ship to town is €5 return and then catch the bus for €15 return to Pisa

Or €30 for Pisa & Florence.

http://www.tuscanybus.com

Dear Gail,

Thank you for your enquiry. To book the TuscanyBUS service to Pisa on 11th August you can go directly to their website at http://www.tuscanybus.com

To get to the bus stop you need to catch the shuttle bus which costs 5 euros per person.

We also use http://www.cruisingexcursions.com who do some very reasonable trips for example Rome on your own £35

18 in the UK, but they do ask for id in some places

Morning from sunny Liverpool, hope you enjoy your day with us 🌞

So, for a family of 4 it is only €20, just to get to the port entrance.

And back again later another €20, then at Toulon the Regal was too large to dock in Toulon ( the contractural port ) so it docked outside in la seyne sur mer and yes you guessed their guests had to pay for their own transportation to the port where Princess ships normally dock. Hey ho just another €20 there and back.

Someone mentioned above how long this thread is over 5€ to me it's the principle, just like last year when Princess tried to introduce $15 for the pizza restaurant and was it $3 dollars for room service. Did you all agree with this 😚 or where you kicking up a fuss as it affected you?

Isn't the Emerad doing British Isles cruise?

No med cruise for the whole summer 🌞

It's 18 at the moment on the Emerald, it's posted at all the bars.

As I'm in talks with Princess regarding this issue a picture of the age from the patter or poster advertising this off the ship would be gratefully received 😃 Thanks in advance x

Our cruise was the trans Atlantic which originated in Ft. Lauderdale and ended in Barcelona. It was 18 all the way.

I'm in discussions with Princess at present as been posted by a few in the last week or so that the Emerald has relaxed the age to 18 and is in the Patter, also my personliser allows me to add the drinks package on for him and clearly states 18 and over..

If anyone has the patter showing the age I would be grateful 😀

I think gailjen is being taken a little out of context here and some unnecessary barbs are being thrown at her....but what's unusual about that on the Princess board. Let's just leave her out of this for a moment, you are on a budget, you have saved for this cruise, you have bought some HOHO tickets in advance or are going to do a DIY tours because that is what you have budgeted for and all of a sudden your are hit with a 5e pp tariff because you can't walk out of the port area. All Princess has to do is note this tariff in the Personalizer Itinerary and a person has knowledge of the fee. Otherwise to a person who has less cruising savvy then some of us looks at the "taxes and port charges included" provision and feel they have been had.

 

On the other hand, I have done a cursory search on the Italy forum and don't see any mention of this port fee in 2013 or 2014. There is however, a fairly lengthy thread started in March of this year on the topic and I suppose it could be argued that a person doing a DIY should have looked there but not everyone relies on Cruise Critic for their information. The underlying suggestion on that thread that this fee has been imposed to force people in to overpriced cabs and tours.

 

Another argument is advanced on the above thread is that tendering costs are included in your fare so why not the cost of moving you out of the port area like is done in many other ports?

Thank you for your concern, however I don't take anything personal, it's what boards are here for, everyone has an opinion.

Back when I took my first cruise on RCCI we were on a budjet with kids and 3 of our stops had these charges, Valencia, Livorno & can't remember the other 😕 the amount from memory was £100+ as these fares are each way per person. you can research something that you don't know exists, so we were disappointed and annoyed as I had taken the time to read the website before leaving.

Airline X got you to a certain destination (country). Are they obligated to pay your visa fee too?

 

Ship got you to Livorno. Their side of contract is fulfilled. What else do you expect? Maybe a cab ride home when you disembark?

I don't know what you mean about visa fee, however I think you'd be a bit miffed if Airline X charged you $7 dollars to catch the bus to the terminal building as your not allowed to walk for safety reasons.

Cool cruiser, I agree. I think the cruise companies need to be a bit more honest and let passenger know upfront.

I bought OBC today for my cruise next week and got a rate of 1.666 :D

Which is Great 😃 can't see the dollar getting anywhere near that by my cruise in Aug....

I understand everyone has there opinions but some of us travel on a budget. It's not mentioned anywhere on the website, that I can see.

The first cruise I sailed RCCI on for 7 days in the Med included 3 stops which we were expected to pay to get from dock to dock gate as we weren't allowed to walk X 4 people which adds up especially if not factured into a budjet.

If you pay 10k for a cruise I wouldn't expect you to understand.

I wonder what people's opinions would be if arriving on a few Caribbean islands you were advised to get down the keyside/jetty via a small bus it would cost you $7 as you weren't allowed to walk, food for thought...