JerryinBWB

When this shows up on the Princess website as an Elite Benefit then perhaps we can consider.  Otherwise, I will assume it is not really a Princess program. In either case, it has happened to enough of us that Princess should address it on their website; let us know if it is real or not.

Just a few thoughts from someone who has many Princess cruises and several Holland America cruises.  Switching to Holland America will likely not solve the problem.  We have been on three HA cruises since the restart and they are getting progressively worse.  We disembarked on 28 December and can report that the food was so-so, the entertainment was poor, and the crew was great (though overworked).  We will try the new HA Rotterdam in May and hope for a better experience, otherwise we will not rebook HA.  We have a couple of Princess Transatlantics booked and hope to hear some more encouraging reviews before the first one.

We were on the Eurodam 21-28 December.  Chele68 has positive comments above.  Our comments differ.  We thought the food was just so-so.  The entertainment is below standard.  There really are not any "big" shows with singers and dancers on the Main Stage.  The dancers are good, but the overall performance (sound, choreography, stage design, etc) is well below what you will find elsewhere. We at first thought the two piano player/singers in the lounge near the casino were amateurs who had been given a chance to perform.  They played all the old songs, so people loved to sing along, but their musical/singing skills were not great.

The crew was fantastic; everyone friendly and helpful.  The ship is old, but is in pretty good shape, although a water leak flooded our hall and kept things wet for about 3 days.

We have decided to try the new Rotterdam to see if there is a better product.  Otherwise, we will switch to another line.  We had a good, not great time.  Cruising, at least on Holland America does not appear to be what it was just a few years ago.  

19 minutes ago, WCB said:

Greetings all!

 

We are late in posting due to a problem in Barbados today.  The internet was shut down all day, because we were told that the signal interfered with the Barbados internet system.  We have been here three times with no problems.  Go figure?

 

Bill & Mary Ann

Mary Ann, we are on board with you. Do you eat each evening in Club Orange?

What are the chances of snow in Santa Clarita?  Well, it happens.  We are booked on this cruise, too.  At one time I think we were booked on seven or eight cruises.  They have all been wiped away except this one, the last ones with the sale of Pacific Princess.  We remain very hopeful that this cruise will go, but I cannot say we are very optimistic.  But is there a chance?  Let's go with Yes.

We were booked on the January 24th sailing.  Received the cancellation email from Princess today.

14 hours ago, jill1349 said:

Azbirdmom, we also do not see the $150 OBC offer.   Our TA is checking on it.   We also do not see the usual military OBC credits that my husband gets - not sure if a glitch in their system or what but hopefully we can work it out before we sail and we have lot and lots of time for that.   

 

Jill

 

 

Jill, when I booked earlier this week, the military credit did not show up.  However, the Princess person with whom I spoke had it quickly put on. Apparently a glitch in the system, but your hubby should get his credit.  Just ask.  

Lots of changes. Good to check.

Delta changed us to Korean Air from ATL to Seoul and on to Singapore next April.  We are returning from Shanghai in May, no change needed there.  Our flights get us in to Singapore five minutes later than our original reservations and we have flown Korean Air before and found them to be just fine.  So we seem to be OK with the change.  Special thanks to cruisinsusin for the heads up on this.  Better to be ahead of these things than trying to catch up later.

We are flying Atlanta - Narita - Singapore in April.  Not sure how they will handle it but I am calling Delta today. 

They will likely try to send us through Korea (ICN) on Korean Air. That makes the trip longer. 

I checked my flights for April 2020; no changes.

After many years of reading reviews I remain amazed. There is almost always someone who says the ship they just got off was the worst they have seen, and someone who says the same ship is the best they have seen. And sometimes the two reviewers were on the same cruise.  Something about “grain of salt” comes to mind.

Interesting that Taxes and Port Charges differ on the various 10-day cruises.  Some are $100, some are $105. Not a big deal, obviously, but interesting if all itineraries are identical. 

54 minutes ago, chamima said:

 

 

 

Looks like approximately  14 sea days to me.

That’s very helpful. Thank you so much. 

We are trying to decide between the 10-day and the 25-day.  Has anyone figured out how many At Sea days there will be on the 25-day?  

Do stops at the other French Polynesia ports make the 35-day a meaningful alternative?

I checked the deck plans but didn't see any. Maybe I missed it? I then went to book a cruise and checked out all the announced cruises for Sky Princess. All list it as an option but all say sold out.

 

Anyone know where on the ship they are located?

Check Deck 17, Sun Deck. There appear to be only two Window Suites, but they might be really in a great place.

It is always great to see someone have as much fun cruising as you and Holli do. Marla and I still talk about the Red Hot Rubies cruise as one of our favorites. I know lots of folks from that cruise will be following along on this one.

We wish for you two a great cruise. It is a great itinerary; we hope the weather cooperates.

Just a quick note that goes back to the original subject of this thread - "HA no longer requires formal dress"

I just got off the Eurodam on the 29th. Last Gala Night there was a guy in shorts and flip-flops in the MDR. I believe the thread's subject is certainly correct - no formal or even nice casual dress required.

Comparing cruise lines is very problematic, I believe, as what is being compared is really someone's experience on various cruise lines and the itineraries, time of year, age of ship, passengers, and many other things make comparing cruise lines difficult.

My wife and I might have said we prefer a particular cruise line, but after a good bit of discussion we find that we like longer cruises to places further from the continental U.S., and maybe, just maybe, the cruise lines we do not seem to like as well might be different in our thoughts if we had taken them on longer cruises to faraway places. In any case, there seems to be so much difference in peoples' impressions, opinions, etc that it is amazing to me.

We were on this November 22 sailing of the Eurodam. My thoughts, particularly as they relate to the OP's impressions:

Food: We thought the food was pretty good, not great. We did eat in the Tamarind and also did the de Librije dinner. Appetizers, early courses in Tamarind were quite good, the main dishes disappointing. The same was generally true in the Pinnacle for de Librije. An interesting note: I thought the crème brulee was the least good on this ship than on all the other 27 cruise I have been on. The food area is just so subjective.

Crew/Staff: I thought the crew was perhaps the friendliest I have experienced; at least as friendly as any I have experienced. We were greeted often and well by many crewmembers, and any request we made drew a swift response. Kudoes to the crew from my wife and I. Interestingly, we heard from a lady on board that she thought the crew was not friendly, worst she had experienced on any cruise. As I said, the difference in opinions always amazes me.

Hydrotherapy Pool and Suite: Very Good. We enjoyed the pool and heated chaise lounges every day. We do this on most cruises. This experience was about as good as it gets for us.

Formal (now called Gala) Nights. Most interesting to me was that on the second Gala Night, the Surf and Turf night, the clothing in the Main Dining Room ranged from Tuxedo to shorts (actually a swim suit) and flip-flops. I was really surprised. Generally we found that most anything was apparently OK in the Main Dining Room most nights, but the shorts and flip-flops was a real surprise.

Entertainment: We found the two production shows to be outstanding. Also, we thought the BB King Blues Band was very good. We heard differing opinions from people on the cruise and there are differing opinions on this thread.

The Ship: overall in good shape, but lots of areas that are very dark and fewer ocean views from various places on board than on many other ships. The sliding cover on the pool is a great thing on all Holland America ships. Our cabin -- too dark in the closet area and all the doors are less practical than open areas for clothes found on other cruise lines.

Final thoughts: Overall, a pretty good cruise with lots of things Positive. The Cruise Director said Holland America is trying to appeal to a younger crowd, but not having much luck yet. I agree. Pretty good ship, older crowd, needs a bit more pizzazz. Yes, I would sail Holland America again if the itinerary and price were right, but would likely sail other lines if the price and itinerary were the same.

Hi Bob,

Marla and I just wanted to say hi and hope you have a great cruise. We did the same cruise last year on the Ruby Princess. You have already had more rough seas than we had on our entire cruise - - - so we'll all hope for calm seas from here on. Sorry to hear you stayed aboard in Lerwick. We really enjoyed that stop, but you can do it next year.

Last year we made two of the three Iceland stops - - losing one to winds (our one weather day), but we really enjoyed both Akureyri and Reykjavik. Our stop in Canada was good, too.

Enjoy Sabbatini's - - - the best part of Suite life for me.

Hi to Holli.

On our 15-Day cruise last month, we had Anytime Dining. We ate most every evening meal in the MDR. We never waited to be seated, and when we asked for a table for two we got one and we completed our meal in about an hour (we were not in a hurry).

The factors involved include when you arrive at the MDR, which MDR you choose (remember one MDR is typically Anytime Dining and one is scheduled normal early seating, then Anytime after that. One MDR is typically early and late seating with no Anytime). If you ask the

Maitre 'd what your best option is to achieve your goals, he will take care of that. Dining desires of cruisers can vary from cruise to cruise and impact on what options are available. When we ate early and asked for a table for two (no reservation) we were told that we could easily have a table for two every night if we wanted. The MDR was about half full soon after opening and then very, very busy later when more folks (on our cruise) wanted to eat.

Good luck.

We have decided to do the British Isles cruise on the Caribbean Princess, so will not be on the Rosyth side. So now all the great info here on how to get into Edinburgh is very handy, and we won't need the Military Tattoo info. Thanks.

Hi Jerry, do you remember me from Ruby Princess?

 

I volunteer down at Rosyth and Princess usually provides a shuttle to the railway station at Inverkeithing. The cost is, or at least was until recently, $16 round trip per person. The same trip costs £7 each way by taxi from the terminal building so if 4 of you fill a taxi that's the cheapest option. The station is about 10 minutes away and there's trains every 10 minutes to Edinburgh which take you to Waverley, right in the city centre. There's regular trains back and there's always plenty of taxis at Inverkeithing to get you back to the port.

 

Rosyth is quite a tricky port to get around and you're not allowed to walk around it. You'll probably be shuttled across to the terminal building (2 minutes and FoC) and there's always taxis lined up there.

Rhona

Yes, I do remember you. Great to hear from you. Thanks for the information. We will doing a Pacific Princess cruise next July, and desiring to attend the Military Tattoo. If you have hints about that, please let me know. Thanks again---and great to hear from you. We enjoyed that Ruby cruise a great deal.

Next year we dock at Rosyth on the Pacific Princess. How does one get to Edinburgh from Rosyth? Any assistance is much appreciated.