sama10

I am pretty sure that it is a part of the Horizon Court, but from what I remember, the way it was done felt more like a stand alone restaurant than on the Sun class ships.

Anne 

On the Diamond (and the Sapphire) last year, the International Dining Room, aft on deck 6 was open for embarkation lunch.

Anne

On our last cruise in March we had an inside cabin on Deck 12 mid forward on the Sea Princess.  As the Pacific Explorer was the Sea's sister ship the Dawn Princess before she went to P&O, the cabins on both ships will still be in the same place.  We usually try to get a cabin on Aloha aft so mid forward on 12 was a big change.  It was very handy for the buffet (Pantry), the lifts and the pool area.  I was worried about being forward and about being sea sick.   We had some very rough weather, especially when we left NZ, the first really bad weather we have ever had on a ship.  I don`t think it would have made any difference on where we were on the ship from what conditions were like on lower decks.  I just kept taking the pills and was fine.

I am sure you will be OK.  Enjoy.

Anne

 

On the Sea now.  Elite/Platinum/Suite lounge in Legends Bar every 3 days.

Anne 7

On the Sea Princess to PNG over the Xmas holidays, there was actually an Elite/Platinum area in the Legends bar held either 3 or 4 times over the cruise.  A letter giving details of the dates was in our cabin when we boarded.  There was the normal snacks laid on and the current cocktail menu.  I never found out if they were trying it out to see how it would work or whether it was because it was a Xmas cruise.  If they could have it on the Sea, there is no reason not to have it on the Sun.  Off on the Sea next week so will find out, but one thing, the Legends Bar is no Skywalkers.

Anne

Have done 2 NZ cruises from Brisbane with Princess and don`t remember going through the Bay of Islands at all(at least not in daylight).  The only time we went to the Bay of Islands was on a round trip from Sydney on Princess when we tendered to shore.

Anne

26 minutes ago, Elorac123 said:

Also had no problems on the Sun a couple of years ago it was our first Princess Cruise,loved it

Wonder why the Sun has the movies by demand when it’s a older ship than the Sea ?

Cheers Carole

I believe the Sun went for a big refit a few years ago putting in the International café, on demand tv and a Sushi Bar.  This was all because the Sun was going to be based in Japan.  Unfortunately I don`t think the Japanese were overly impressed by the ship and it was replaced by the Diamond.

Anne 

 

We had read the bad reviews before we booked our b2b2b on the Sun just over a year ago but it didn`t alter our plans.    We have been on the ship several times over the years and yes it is getting older.  There are plumbing problems on virtually every ship, but so far we have missed them.

Wish we still had the Sun sailing out of Brisbane rather than the Sea.  The big + for us is the International Café and on demand Movies on the Sun.  I know you aren`t supposed to go on a cruise to watch movies but sometimes it is just nice to put your feet up and watch something, especially late at night.

The USB ports have been on the Sea Princess for at least the last year.  Our bedside lamps were wall mounted which also gave more space on top of the bedside cabinet.

Anne

Wish they did have water packages available on Australian cruises.  The theory put forward by Princess that it is because the currency on board is in Australian dollars doesn't  really hold up as on a recent cruise on the Sapphire with the currency in US$ we were able to order water packages through the Cruise Personaliser and pay in advance in Australian Dollars.  We have to fly from Brisbane to Sydney for our next cruise so cannot carry cases of water on the aircraft and there are no shops at White Bay.  I know I can take a refillable bottle but find easier to have a case.

Anne

Did this cruise on the Sapphire in October from Southampton to Singapore.   You must have a visa which is checked and kept by Princess before you board.  There is a special evisa you can do online.  Takes 2 or 3 days and cost about A$80. We have dual Australian/UK citizenship and the price varied by country so don't know the cost for US citizens. Be sure to use the official indian government site. 

Https://Indianvisaonline.gov.in/visa/index.html

Anne

We received our refund from Princess two days ago.  Our cruise finished on 27 December so just under 3 weeks.

Anne

On our recent cruise on the Sapphire from Southampton to Singapore, there were kettles in all the cabins which we really appreciated.  As soon as we docked in Singapore all the kettles were removed.  If it is safe to use kettles for a 38 night cruise surely they can be used on all cruises.  It would save room service a lot of work.

Anne

We did the 2018 Christmas cruise to PNG on the Sea Princess starting 16 December.  There were 144 children aboard.   We were told that on the previous cruise, think it was a 7 night up the Queensland coast, there were 400 children on board so your son should be alright.

Anne

 

David can you add me

18 December 2018 Majestic Princess Auk to Mel

 

Cheers V

Also pls add

20 April 2019 Coral Princess Fort Lauderdale to Vancouver

 

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Can you please add

Nov 3 ..... Aussieflyer..... Ponant Le Lyrial..... Montevideo to Ushuaia..... 16 nights

 

Thanks

Can you please also add

21 Oct 18....... Sama10....... Sapphire Princess.......Southampton to Singapore.....38 nights

16 Dec 18....... Sama10....... Sea Princess..........Brisbane to PNG......11 nights

 

Thanks

Anne & Bob

 

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Yes' date=' we got a downgrade offer on our Japan cruise--the deal was to give up our balcony for an inside HA cabin and receive 100% of our cruise fare as refundable OBC. That was over $6000 in refundable OBC--we did more excursions than we probably would have and still got a very significant check about 3 weeks after the cruise.

 

It isn't quite as good a deal as a move over offer (where you get a refund + a free cruise), but not bad at all.[/quote']Maybe the rules are different in Australia, but just before our Xmas cruise round New Zealand in 2015 on the Emerald Princess we received a phone call from Princess asking if we we would be prepared to move from our inside cabin, on Riviera just beside the door to the aft pool(our favorite inside area) to an inside somewhere at the front of the ship and a lower category. We were offered the princely sum of A$200 to move. We turned it down!

Anne

 

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Thank you so much for that information [emoji16]

We sailed on the Diamond Princess into Yokohama in April. As we were hoping to go on the train to our hotel in Shinjuku we wanted to use the luggage service for our cases. There was a shuttle from the port(I think it was supplied by Yokohama not Princess) to Sakuragicho station. In the station in the Information Office was a Yamato counter for luggage transfer. The cost was worked out by size and weight. I think our 2 large cases, at least 20kg each, cost about A$40. We hadn't rushed off the ship(didn't get to the station until at least 11.30am) so missed the cut off for same day delivery. We were told the suitcases would be delivered the next day and they were. The whole process was a lot easier than we expected. Easy to catch a train from Sakuragicho to Yokohama main station then onto a train to Shinjuku.

Anne

 

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Seems like Princess are coining it in on Cambodian visas too :(

I don't recall the cost of the ship-issued visa when we visited (different cruise line) but it was pennies.

 

OTOH, different cruise lines charge OTT on different services.

For instance a couple or three years back Princess were charging about $60 for bus transfers from Southampton to London airports, RCI were charging $101 !!

 

JB :)

We sailed on the Diamond Princess in March from Sydney to Yokohama. We hold dual citizenship of UK/Australia. We had heard about the differences in visa costs so took both passports, normally would just have taken the Australian one. We gave Princess the UK one for Vietnam a few days before we arrived in Vietnam (they had already taken our Australian passports on boarding) and were charged $1, whereas those using their Australian passports were charges about $60. Many other dual UK passport holders did the same as us.

Can't see how Princess is gouging their passengers, otherwise everybody would be paying a lot more for the service, including UK passport holders.

Anne

 

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This may seem a little silly, however I actually spend hours on Princess Cruses website looking at the best interior room. I found most say they have a 135sqf room. I found a few dozen around that were actually 148sqf.

 

What I want to know is the room configuration. On the website or does show some photos, however I see 2 main types of layouts for interior and would like to know what our room or the 148sqf rooms have.

 

We are staying on Deck 8, D333 with an IC category.

 

If anyone has a photo of the room or even a layout for this size room, I would be forever grateful!

 

I know this sounds stupid, however actually makes a difference to me

 

Thank you!

We always pick the same position of inside cabins as you have booked on the Sun class ships, although on Aloha Deck, ie in the small corridors between port and starboard, as the cabins are bigger and the design of the cabin is better. I do agree that the cabin works best with 2 single beds as these cabins are longer but narrower than the normal, and with bed in queen layout it is difficult to get up the side.

Anne

 

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We did a 3 night cruise to nowhere from Brisbane in January. There were a much younger crowd on board, lots of hens and bucks parties etc.

There was no formal night and no captain's welcome, although I think we might have been given a drink voucher. It is ok to take a bottle of wine on board. Can't answer about the Elite mini-bar.

As far as a booze cruise is concerned, another passenger told me that the bar had run out of margerita mix before the ship had left Moreton Bay!

We still enjoyed the cruise, just a bit different from the normal longer Princess cruises.

Anne

 

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When i was disembarking there, their was a local bus service put on that went from the ship to the closest train station. Can't remember how much it was but I remember it being reasonably priced.

Disembarked from the Diamond in April. There was a shuttle service, not sure if it was free or not, to Sakuragicho station which connected to Yokohama Station for Tokyo. In the information centre at Sakuragicho Station there is a Yamato office which takes care of baggage delivery services. It was very easy to have our cases delivered to our hotel in Tokyo. They were delivered promptly the next day as we had missed the cut off for same day delivery. Cost was about A$35 for 2 large cases and is based on size and weight. The majority of others from the cruise struggled with their bags on and off the trains not to mention the escalators/lifts at the stations. The main stations in Tokyo are huge and I dread to think of the problems we would have had if we had taken the cases on the train.

Anne

 

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We used an annual policy from Covermore, but as my husband is over 75 he can only now get single policies for travel. I still get an annual policy as I haven't quite reached the magic number. They have some pre-existing conditiond that are accepted with no further cost listed on their website. I can't remember what the policy cost but it was well over A$1000 as we have high cancellation charges to cover flights, accommodation, etc and pre-existing as well.

I did have to claim when I broke a wrist and had to cancel our cruise and found the claiming system reasonably easy. I also got back more than I expected.

Covermore is now Princess's insurer on their Australian website and gives 15% discount on cruise cover.

If you can get quotes from 2 or 3 companies you can take it from there. An annual policy gives you the option of knowing you are covered before you book other cruisrs.

 

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We live in Australia too. On our cruise in March we asked about getting our FCDs in Sterling as we wanted to use up some money we had in a uk bank account to book another cruise paying in sterling.

We were told by the Future Cruise Consultant that it was impossible to do this as our address and Captain's Circle details only allow us to pay in A$ for FCDs and any cruises. Out next cruise is Southampton to Singapore so you would think there would be no problem using sterling, alas no.

 

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Does anyone have experience of Emirates' economy class? I have read on boards elsewhere that if you aren't business or first class, you can expect very little consideration from the cabin crew. Is the economy cabin any better/worse than BA's on an overnight flight? Any advice very welcome.

We have been flying economy on Emirates for years and have found it to be much better than BA, which we also flew for many years(from Saudi) before we discovered Emirates. Still trying to make use of my BA airmiles but failing miserably as there is never anything available. We now live in Australia and find Emirates the easiest and quickest flights to go back to the UK. Emirates also fly direct from Glasgow, Newcastle, Birmingham, Manchester , Dublin, Heathrow and Gatwick to Dubai which saves flying to Heathrow and changing planes there. There are also usually at least 2 flights a day from each of the UK destinations and connection times in Dubai are very good. The entertainment system is very good as well and I make full use of it as I am a non-sleeper on an aircraft. We have managed to get a couple of upgrades to Business on Emirates with airmiles on short sectors so have experience of both classes. Maybe if we win the Lotto! We have never had any problem with the crew, they have always been very helpful. There will probably be lots of people who haven't enjoyed their flight on Emirates for various reasons and maybe BA have got better. Also on the 777 aircraft there are several rows of 2s at the back of the aircraft, much better than the 3s.

 

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