hehny

There is already an extensive thread on this...

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1990671

The quicknotes version:

Prices were raised fleet wide

Available first come, first serve

People are angry they can not prebook.

Now you're caught up !

It's a sister ship to Royal, so the differences are likely minor. Most Princess peeps here were seemed disappointed in Royal, hence lack of excitement. I loved her but I've never been on another class. I think once we get closer to her maiden voyage, excitement will pick up but I wouldn't expect it to be like when Royal premiered.

I thought the BVE was restricted to guests of passengers only? Has anyone ever done it as a passenger?

For my last two cruises out of Pier 2, I noticed that they separated the elites/suites from the platinums. The groups were seated in two separate areas. They called the elite/suite group first and the platinums after. It went quickly and there wasn't much of a delay.

 

I do think that these changes are due to the growing numbers of elites and platinums. San Pedro is using the same separate waiting areas and calling order to board, also.

Same here. There was a priority line for security and another for check in. There were so many platinum/elite/suites that they took elite and suites first. Platinum joined the regular check in line. I was only ruby, non suite and next to a platinum couple that was not happy. We reached the checkin line at approx 12:30 were on board a little after one.

Doors opened at 11:30. It was packed. Recommend arriving after 1 if possible.

The rates are comparable to a private studio on land. It's not like you have to pay in advance. On our last cruise, the platinum studio sold out of spots. Depends on the photog, obviously, but I know of two couples that did it and they raved about it. The photos looked amazing. Is it worth the money? Value is subjective. I would never pay hundreds of dollars for a sporting event but people do. On the other hand, it's important for me to have a balcony. To each his own. But don't bash the product for the prices.

Our first cruise with NCL up, so I've been lurking. Sadly, the OPs problem it's been very common on other cruise lines...the complimentary upgrade is not as desirable as the original cabin selection. If you search the Princess boards, you can find this all too often specially since the default is NOT a GTT.

OP, is there any cabin equivalent you can ask for? Maybe on a different floor? If you have your heart set in this and booked it over a year out, only to be told it was double booked, ask who had the earliest booking. Many times the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

I hope it works out for you.

The Royal elevators are generally the worst out of any cruise line I've been on due to size and lack of midship stairs. I'm sorry that was your experience.

There were very few seats (actually none that we found, other than in the Sanctuary) in true shade anywhere on the ship.

I suggested in my post-cruise survey that they replace all of the tables and chairs in the shaded area next to the main pool with loungers. That area was in real shade but I don't want to spend my day sitting at a table. :(

One of the reasons we splurged on a cabana in the sanctuary for our first trip. The only guaranteed shade.

I think we are confusing two different issues.

One is traveling with pets.

Th other is traveling with a service dog.

Many places/hotels are pet friendly. Those of you who dislike pets can easily avoid those places.

A service dog, as one poster noted, is NOT a pet. It provides a service...just like wheelchairs, hearing aides, canes etc. traveling with a pet is an option. Traveling without a service animal is not.

By its definition, cruises are about people. I would hope everyone would have some compassion.

Otherwise, I'd suggest you buy your own ship. You can them ban all the service animals you want. And pray that some day neither you nor your family needs one.

While DEET has been approved for children, you should NEVER use more than 30%!

http://kidshealth.org/parent/question/general/repellent.html

With that said I just came back from St Maarten and my doctor recommended a product that was 90%.

If my memory serves, when I've ordered it as a main dish (including on the Royal in December) it comes in a parmesan bowl (obviously edible) while when ordered as an appetizer it doesn't. Did any of the portions include the parmesan bowl?

 

And I agree, it is delicious (either way).

Ahh, you just solved a question we had! Some entrees came with the bowl and others didn't making us very confused. It wasn't a deal breaker, we loved our time. We just thought it was funny. So thanks for the clarification (though I wonder what happened to the other bowls?)

And yes, some of us did order two!!

I loved the Royal. This time I didn't book the sanctuary or retreat cabanas. On port days, there was always a seat at the retreat. On sea days, you could usually find a pair of loungers by 9:30 I found more chair hogs in the main pool area, than the Retreat. Never any children.

With that said, I found complaints about lack of seating on Royal to be unfounded. There were always free loungers. Just not by the pool or together. I went at all times and could always find a lounger in the main area just not by the pool or enough for a couple. Obviously if I wanted to sit with my family, I got up early. But I wouldn't stress about it.

Enjoy your vacation!

Were the reservations connected as ONE group at time of booking?

Not sure if this was addressed to me and apologize if it's presumptuous to answer but yes, we were connected as one group.

As I said, the maître said there numerous large parties on board. There were at least 3 other weddings I know of.

As the other posters have stated, get to passenger services . Go early to ensure a seat. And plan to bring a book...the elevator lines are horrendous after, as one poster pointed out!

Last month it was 50 for a half day and 80 for the full day.

They are available on a first come first serve basis every morning. They were not available to reserve for the week in advance,

The sanctuary was usually booked by 6:45. There wasn't much demand for the retreat cabanas by the end of the week, so they were always available, As I said, it got very windy up there. Also, you mentioned shade...there really isn't much despite the covering. Talk to the manager at embarkation...the staff are great about assessing the area.

One tip: stay away from the cabanas by the whirlpool. The water can overflow.

Enjoy your cruise!

I just came back from a group of 16 on Royal with assigned traditional early dining. The wedding planner said princess could not do a table for 16, but would give us two tables for 8.

When we boarded, we learned we were at four tables. Not only that but they weren't next to each other in the dining room (just in the same area)This was not acceptable to us as it was a wedding party. We went downstairs. The maître de said he couldn't do anything opening night as there were already too many big parties. Apparently this determines the size of the table you got.

We were changed to anytime dining in a new dining room the next night for the rest of the cruise but with a nightly reservation. We were given a table for 6 and a table for 10. Even though, the bridal party had booked the wedding through princess, they couldn't give her the two tables of 8. We wanted traditional dining to get to know our waitstaff but unfortunately, they were unable to do this with the new dining room. We only had the same wait staff for a couple of nights. At least the tables were next to each other this time!

Just off Royal last month--visited retreat pool daily and NEVER saw any kids. I've been lurking on cc for a while and never heard of this being an issue.

Loved the sanctuary on the Royal. Supply price=demand. Clearly, people are willing to pay so Princess reacted accordingly. Everyone values something different. Some people wouldn't hesitate to drop money on sports tickets, I'd rather sit in front of my tv. To each his own. I always splurge on myself on a vacation. That's why it's a vacation!!!

Just off Royal Eastern Caribbean out of of FTL last month and this made me laugh--

Fettuccine Alfredo, a princess anytime signature, was listed as available for app or entree. I was in a party of 10. Some ordered the app portion, others the entree. Both portions came as the same size

The entree pax, thinking there was a problem, politely reminded the waiter this was an entree. The waiter confessed it didn't matter, the portions were the same size. We rotated waiters and sure enough- same size no matter what portion was ordered.

For the record, I was told the fettuccine was delicious ;)

If you love Princess, any perks of patronage are great!!!

I do want say on my recent embarkation from FTL, there were so many platinum guests, that priority check in was limited to suites and elite. platinum went on the priority security line but once inside were directed to regular checks. There were just too many guests.

As a dog lover and service dog supporter, I read this thread with great interest. I want to commend most posters--very often these types of boards often degenerate into pure vitriol. That hasn't happened here for the most part.

It is tragic when people take advantage of someone's misfortune for their own gain. This sadly happens all too often, google stories on Disney and people pretending to be disabled to skip lines!!! I can only agree with the poster who simply said, karma.

I do want to remind everyone not to make hast judgments regarding the dog and/or the nature of the disability. I was dining at a fancy restaurant, when a woman came in with a lap size dog. This was surprising to me. The dog was incredibly well behaved and at the end of the meal, I complimented the owner. The owner was hearing impaired. She was more than happy to talk about how the dog was trained to alert her to sounds like the fire alarm or a telephone. The dog had been trained to sit quietly at her feet while she ate.

An observer would never had known. While the dog had a service dog harness, the owner spoke clearly (albeit with some slurring) and walked/saw easily. There were no outward signs of a disability and the dog was too small to be a guide dog. Yet the dog was vital to this person's life.

I cannot comment on this poster's experience. As many have indicated already, the growling is an issue. What troubles me was the initial description of the dog's size, as that seems irrelevant. Service dogs come in all shapes and sizes. I can only remind posters not to make a hasty judgements based on appearances, for both dogs and owners.

There isn't much shade with the retreat cabanas. I was just off an eastern caribean cruise last month and it was very windy. Went there daily and there was almost always one available. You shouldn't have a problem with bookng.

Just got off the royal in FLL approx two weeks ago. Got the letter about staggered boarding but wasn't implemented. Doors didn't open until 12, huge lines outside. There were so many people trying to board and not enough staff that they limited priority check in to suites and elites. Platinum could join the priority security line but once inside, were not given priority check in. Worst embarkation I've ever seen. Was told by suite friends it took them about 40 minutes to board. It took me (non priority) a little over ninety minutes. And they were very strict on who got priority..traveling with another elite couple wasn't enough (and before I get flamed we didn't ask, but we saw plenty of people who did we're told no due to crowds).

We sailed Haven on Epic twice - once in January and once in February (President's Week ---wahhhhh this week last year!). Anyway, January was nice. Not busy, you could get a lounger, pool and hot tubs not crowded, Posh had people, but not crowded. February on the other hand was crowded. Unfortunately there was one family who decided they were better than the rest of us and took the entire front row of loungers every morning by 6:30 - yes, there are chair hogs in the haven too! Definitely busier and full. Posh was full and the double loungers were full of singles so it was hard to find a lounger.

 

Service was still fantastic both times, but because of the holiday week, I found the haven to be much more crowded in February. However, the whole ship was busier, so it was still a nice place to escape. If I could have removed that family and his entitlement from the courtyard area, it would have been really nice. (he was the only one screaming about getting a bigger refund because we didn't stop in Nassau - I was on the sailing where there was an issue in the port and we didn't stop).

 

Ultimately, I definitely think it depends on the week you sail - it can potentially have a lot of children if it's a school holiday week because of the 2-bedroom villas marketed to families. If you're on an off week, you will see less people for sure.

 

I think there are people who pay for Haven access who don't actually use the Haven pool area because it's smaller and they like to be in the thick of it on the pool deck. Or the adult only area on Epic because they have kids with them. But it really could depend week to week.

A friend of mine had the exact same experience, there was a family group with lots of children who ran around like it was a private pool. Toys were left out, chairs were taken.

The greatest perk ever, but they do close promptly. We saw a couple get turned away at 9:32 or so last summer.

Thanks to CC boards, I had my embarkation lunch at Alfredons on Royal last week. Wouldn't have occurred to me to go there. thanks!!!