lynn2002

I'm on the Celebrity Apex in the summer for a 12 night cruise.  First time with Celebrity but I am a Select member of the Capt.Club.  My daughter who has been on all the cruises I have been on is 17 and too young to join the club, however, with she get the perks I get on her card and get a free gelato?  If not she can have mine.

First time sailing with Celebrity but have been given a Select status because some years back I sailed with Royal Caribbean a few times.

I now travel with my daughter who will be 17 by cruise date but she is too young to be a captains club member (minimum 18).  However, in the past, she has received the same benefits as me ie she has been invited to the welcome back parties, lunches etc.  Is this the same with Celebrity?  Would we be allowed one discounted bag of laundry per cabin room or one each person?  Same for the other perks?

With Holland America you can purchase unlimited laundry where you pay US$7 per day of the cruise but they do the whole cabins' laundry.  Excellent value for money especially when there was three of us in one cabin.  Sent laundry out every day so literally flew back with only a couple of day's dirty laundry to be done at home.

In England they are vaccinating those over 18 (long way to go until then) but my daughter at the time of sailing will be 17.  Will that be a problem boarding the ship because she is very unlikely to receive her jab by then.

Is it possible if there is only two of you, one adult and one child?

I cruised on the Caribbean Princess last Christmas/New Year.  It was a fourteen night cruise around the Caribbean and our first time on Princess.  I personally will not sail on her again.  It was a lovely ship, beautifully decorated.  The wait for anytime dining were excessive.  In the first week we managed to eat in the allocated dining room only twice after long waits between forty minutes and an hour.  On one occasion we queued to get into the dining room for half an hour, when we got to the front we were giving the hand alarm and asked to take a seat whilst we continued to wait but there was nowhere to sit.  After a further half an hour the hand alarm flashed and we thought we were going to be shown to a table, but instead we were gathered on the side with others and then taken as a group up the stairs, along the ship and then down the stairs to another dining room.  If all that wasn't bad enough, the other dining room was not really ready for us and we had a long wait at the table to be served.  This went on for a week and I would give up and go to the buffet.  This also happened again on Christmas Eve, although on that occasion I refused to go to the other dining room after waiting for an hour and when I went to complain that in one week we had only managed to dine twice in the Main Dining Rooms the Maitre D very rudely told me to take it or leave it.   

The second week improved gradually and by the end they either started to manage the numbers dining or people had given up dining in the main dining rooms.  A lot of people were complaining and it didn't seem to matter what time we went, there were always the same problems.  

I am trying another Princess Cruise on the Sky Princess over this coming Christmas/New Year and hope we don't have the same problems as I had travelled with my teenage daughter and meal times (and off the ship) were the only times we spent together.  I wanted quality time together not a quick slice of pizza.

I would use the pools when we were in port, if we got back early, when the lido deck was pretty quiet, and did not attend any of the shows in the theatre to comment on it.

Thank you.  There are very few cabins that I can select from (no more than half a dozen) and the others are allocated by Princess but within the area, or similar.  I think I will go for mid-ship as well. 

Can you choose which dining room you eat in or eat in different ones on different days or is one dining room allocated to you for the whole of the cruise? 

Looking to book a 16 night Sky Princess cruise over Christmas/New Year.

What dining room do any time diners eat in?

Are all inside cabins the same size.  If not which floor or area or the bigger ones.

Thank you for your replies.  One less thing to pack.  On Holland America they have the standard pool towels by the pool areas but they also have larger beach towels in the rooms.  Not a problem, if need be take an extra towel with us.

First time with Princess.

What toiletries are provided in the bathrooms and what brand are they? 

Are slippers provided?

We are in an outside view cabin.

I normally sail with Holland and America and this is first time with Princess.  Do they provide beach towels (larger than the pool towels) in the cabins?  Is it something you have to ask for?

With Holland America they have beach towels in the cabin and after you use them you leave them out to be exchanged as with the bath towels.

Does the Caribbean Princess have USB ports in the cabins to charge phones/tablet etc.

How many electrical points to do they and are these all American or do they have European ones aswell

Do we know other than the film Judy what will be showing on all the ships.

We're on the Caribbean Princess next week.  How do you find out what movies are being shown?  I haven't received the e-mail.

Can these gift cards be purchased and used towards the casino?  Are they on the website where you also purchase excursions etc.?

16 hours ago, skynight said:

Caribbean Princess has fast internet. What you mention should not be a problem.

My February 10 day Crown Princess cruise mentions two prices $9.99/day and $69.99 for the entire cruise. There is also a mention of a 50% discount. That is the estimated % over purchasing on board at the highest price. If pre-booked you will be charged whatever it states in the cruise personlizer.

We're sailing on Caribbean Princess next month and thinking about buying the four gadget wifi.  Is it good enough to download programmes from a British Entertainment channel or sky and then watch them? 

Hi

First time cruising at Christmas and first time on Princess.  It will be me and my 15 year old daughter.

I'm interested in what Christmas Eve and Christmas Day is going to be like and what Christmas traditions are followed.  We are in the Caribbean and both days are port days when we will be getting off the ship.  Christmas day we don't have to get off the ship until around 11.00 a.m.  

Do they have Christmas crackers (or else I'll bring a couple with me).  Do they service Christmas dinner on Christmas day or on Christmas Eve?  What time does Santa make an appearance (I know she's old for this but it makes it more festive)?   Do they do anything special on either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, such as a party or a pantomime?  Christmas Day I have a surprise for her in port (dolphin swim) but I'm just wondering what else there is to make it feel special. 

If anyone has the Patters for a Christmas Eve and Christmas Day that would be great to see.   It would be good to see the timeline of events and what type of films they show in the evenings on those days.

How close to the beach does the catamaran stop?  I'm not a strong swimmer!

Will be on the Caribbean Princess this Christmas/New Year.  Do they serve complimentary crisps (potato chips) and nuts in the bars?

Thank you for your replies. 

I am considering taking the soda package, however, we don't drink that much soda and soft drinks so not sure if it is worth it for us.

If we can drink the soda anywhere on the ship does that apply to soda bought onto the ship? 

In this respect, are we permitted to drink the one bottle of wine that we are allowed to bring on board the ship anywhere on the ship or just in our cabin?

I am booked on a cruise in December. 

Princess is offering a deal on cans of soda.  If I purchase these cans, do I have to drink them in the stateroom or is it shown as a credit on my account so that I can order them in a bar?

what are the minimum bets on the blackjack table.

Thank you for all your replies.  It looks like I will be doing some laundry after all - have been spoilt on Holland America!

Might surprise my daughter with wifi on the cruise.

Confused what is the difference between the Sanctuary and the Thermal Suite?

We are doing the Caribbean circle.  First time to the Caribbean so very excited.  Will check with the Caribbean Boards but is there anything in particular we should not miss. 

If not using tape for the Christmas decorations, what should I use to hang them up?

Hi, first time on Princess.  Have cruised in the past mainly with Holland America, Royal Caribbean and P&O.

1.  I am not a great fan of movies under the stars as there are too many distractions, kids playing around the pools etc, does the ship show films anywhere other than the big screen outdoors?

2. I am cruising over Christmas and New Year in the Caribbean.  How does the ship celebrate Christmas?  My daughter is 15 but still likes the whole Christmas thing.  I will bring a present for her but will there be a surprise gift from 'santa' or is she too old? Are we allowed to hang tinsel in the cabins to make it a little bit more festive? 

3.  On Holland America we were able to text each other on the app so that I always knew where she was on the ship and what time to meet up etc?  Does the Medalion have this feature?

4.  On Holland America we are able to book the unlimited laundry package for a very good rate which means we can send out laundry every day and it came back the following day washed and ironed.  Does Princess have this on their ships?  If not, do they do a bag of laundry wash as this will work out cheaper than paying for each individual item.  I know there is a self laundry but I don't fancy spending my holiday washing and ironing.  If they do a bag wash - how much is each bag?

5.  What is their thermal spa like?  What facilities does it have and does anyone know the cost?  In particular the thermal pool - is that large.  On one ship on Holland America it was no bigger than a small hot tub.  If you sign up for the spa, other than the thermal pool does it have an adults only pool?

6.    I normally use the casino in the evenings.  What are the minimum bets on blackjack?  Is the casino normally busy on a Caribbean cruise? 

7.  We have an outside view cabin, is there anywhere quiet on the ship, outdoors, where I can sit in the shade and read a book?

8.  Are there many teenagers on a Christmas/New Year cruise that my daughter can hang out with?

9.  Which shows are good and worth arriving early for and which ones can I give a miss? 

10.  We have four sea days, what sort of activities do they have that maybe my daughter and I could spend some time together doing?

11.  They have a good deal on wifi at the moment.  How good is it to stream Netflix or do facetime (nice for Christmas day to speak to family.

12.  Is there anywhere I can see the current 14 day mdr menus so to know when to book the other restaurants.  Also anywhere I can see the daily "patters" to see what activities they do.

Sorry for all the questions but it would be great to hear back from anyone.

We went a couple of years ago and I loved it.  It is an enclosure but the bears looked happy and active and playful.  We took a taxi there and back and I think it was less than $10 each way.  We also did the Sea Otter excursion and it proved beyond expectations, as well as whales, sea lions otters etc we even saw two bears on the beach - unfortunately we couldn't get too close to the beach in case the boat got tangled up but we stopped for a few minutes and watched them from a distance. 

The current promotion, Pack These Values, is ending next week.  Does anyone know what the next HAL promotion will be?  The only thing the current promotion is of any value to us is the Gratuities Paid.  Just wondering whether to hold out for the next promotion or see if the prices go down.  The cruise is at the end of July this year.