LewesBeach

We are thinking of a round trip to Hawaii out of LA in January. I'm from the East Coast and unfamiliar with CA weather/seas, and not sure how to pack. Can anyone share their experience sailing to Hawaii in Jan? Thank you.

Berni

I pulled this from another thread. View of Emerald deck extended angled balconies midship under the Seawalk. We stayed in one of these E411, & As u can see, there is no obstruction on these cabins other than u cannot look straight down to the water.

Berni

Thanks for the awesome spreadsheet... Love being able to see all the prices and judge the breakdown....

 

 

Seems still some conflicting info about if everyone in the room has to buy the package or not...

 

Does anyone have recent experience one way or the other???

As recent as May on the Star: both people did NOT have to buy the pkg. My husband bought it, I did not. It still may depend in the ship however.

I did do the 18 day Maiden Trans Atlantic on the Royal in October, & agree w everything Astro Flyer said. We enjoyed the "pros" & tried to minimize the cons. Probably wouldn't book it again unless the price & itinerary were phenomenal, but it was fun exploring a new ship. And as I said, there are plenty of those who love the ship.

Berni

I do not eat in the MDR on embarkation day because I don't eat a FULL 3-5 course meal at lunch and again at dinner. That combined with the time to do a proper sit down lunch makes this a "not" on my cruise list. But good to know there are people who like it!

Lunch in MDR is not a 3-5 course meal. They offer lite fare, salads, soup, sandwiches, etc. You can get more if you desire.

price as of April was $6

Do we have a confirmation on which ship it's $6? Could this be the beginning of a rollout fleet-wide to raise the price?

Berni

Hello -

 

. . . we missed that small ship feel. We like cruising new ships so we have traveled on Caribbean, Crown and Emerald and though these aren't as large as the ones we traveled they were competitively large when we traveled them and at no time did the ships feel as large as they were. Can anyone shed light as to the feel of the Royal Princess when compared to the other larger ships?

 

Thanks for any and all help.

Not to ignite the infamous Royal controversy again, but you asked. Just my humble opinion: the Royal does not have a "small ship" feel. The atrium is positively gigantic compared to those other Princess ships you have sailed, with a huge dance floor, & bars, restaurants, lounges, etc overlooking it. There are fewer intimate indoor venues and no promenade deck. But, its gorgeous, and new, and has some great features, and many people loved it. See it for yourself, any cruise is great!

Berni

Ha! I took pictures of the sun coming up (date and time-stamped) as I waited to book the Sanctuary on the Royal last October. They are very well aware of the long lines. I know the Royal experimented with different sign-up times but from what I read, they kept changing it. No matter when, there were long lines. So I don't know what's been decided or implemented. One thing that's bothered me frequently is one person getting on line first and then booking 6-8 loungers for their friends who weren't there. Two people booked all of the available loungers. I think there should be a limit to two loungers per-person.

Wow! That's interesting. On the Ruby in Feb, was told I could not book for anyone who wasn't in my cabin. Again, different policies on different ships

Thanks Theo for all your work. This is a great website and a great help to many people!!!

Berni. (I was one who sent a pic from the Royal - E411)

I understand that a percentage of chairs are reserved for people booking for the full cruise, and the balance are saved for people wanting to book for same day or 1/2day. My question is: do they split it out & hold back some chairs in the shade (or sun) for half day/day bookings? Or is it first-come first-served for any chair you want for full cruise bookings? (So technically, all the shade chairs could get booked by full cruise people?). And please don't flame me - I like the Sanctuary. I've read on these boards that it's "tacky" & a "waste of money"; and we're "idiots" & "suckers" for going there. But hey, I don't spend any money drinking, gambling, getting spa treatments, specialty dining, or buying art - this is my indulgence. Thanks for any info you can provide.

Berni

We had on on Royal and it did diminish the view but it was not very large even with the extra space,

It def depends on which cabin you have whether the view is blocked or not & how big the balcony is. The larger central angled deluxe balconies on Emerald deck had no obstruction straight out, but the lifeboats were below you, so you could not see straight down to the water. Other rooms on that deck had smaller balconies & did have obstructions. If u have one in mind, maybe someone has some experience or a pic for you.

Berni

I had E411 angled balcony for the Royal Maiden TA last Oct & would book one again in a minute. Those balconies are bigger than others on the ship. My view was not impeded at all. The only privacy issues come when you are on higher floors under the Seawalk where you can look down on them.

I'm ok w raising prices occasionally for existing pay-for venues. It keeps prices competitive and allows people to book at a reasonable price and then pay from an ala carte menu once onboard if you can afford it. But refunding OBC is outrageous, you're getting free money! Who in Princess ever allowed that to happen? Use it or lose it!!

Thanks for all your replies, I'm now looking at the tour w Dora.

Berni

Can anyone help? I've seen posts regarding a ferry on the waterfront in Cartegena which will take you to Old Town, but can't find name of company, or its location in regards to the ship or docking area. Is it walking distance? How far from Old Town does it drop you off? How often does it run? Thanks in advance for any info you can give.

Berni

I am new to Princess, will be driving to the ship, and plan to use carry-on luggage only. If I decide not to leave the ship early, will I be able to go to the Lido and relax over breakfast and/or coffee while those who have to catch flights disembark first? Or does Princess require that all disembarking PAX wait at a preassigned spot (lounge or whatever) until their # is called?

 

Thanks in advance!

You will get a number, color, and designated lounge for waiting, but can wait in any public area you where are comfortable. You will probably not be able to hear you number being called if you are not in your designated waiting area, so at some point you'll want to make your way down there. Ship should be vacated approx 10:30am. As stated above, buffet closes early, (I think 8) and all passenger services cease. This is so ship can be made ready for the next cruise passengers who will be coming on board approx 11am. Hope you have a great cruise!

Haven't tried Celebrity yet, but we did Princess and sailed out of Venice, and that is really a sight to behold! I believe Celebrity still sails from there as well. Venice put a restriction on large ships over 96000 tons sailing from there, so lines have redeployed some of their medium size ships to Venice. I highly recommend this port as at least one of your stops.

What is the latest you can get off of the Grand Princess in Seattle? We will not be in a hurry and want to allow everyone that are trying to catch flights to get off first?

 

 

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On every cruise I've been on you must be out of your room by 8am. They do this so stewards can clean the rooms and have them ready for embarking passengers by 11am or so. On your disembarkation form, fill out that you want to be in the last group, & you will be assigned a color and lounge/waiting area to sit in until your group is called.

Actually, you go through long lines at immigration. You don't go through customs until after you pick up your checked luggage and the seldom check anyone's bags.

 

 

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We did not stand in any lines. We turned our Customs Declaration forms in 2 days ahead of time and walked right off the ship onto the street. Didn't even need to show passports. I was wondering if San Francisco was the only port where this was occurring?

I guess I wouldn't mind cruiselines charging for upgraded dining venues if they did not diminish the food quality elsewhere. But I too find the steaks in MDR unedible since the introduction of pay-for Specialty Dining.

I've never heard of an immigration form. What questions did it ask? Or do you mean the customs declaration? That I've seen passed out in advance before, definitely.

Sorry, yes the Customs Form. We've always had to go thru long lines at US Customs with that and our passport.

FYI: Just off the 11day Star Princess Alaska cruise into San Francisco Pier 35, and something new? They sent US immigration forms to your room 4 days before the end of the cruise, you filled them out and returned them to Front Desk. Unless you got a letter saying there was a problem, THAT was immigration!!! It was not done at disembarkation which really speeded things up. We did express walkoff and were on the street hailing a cab by 8:20am. Is this done in other ports or ships?

We booked under a 3 for Free Promo on the Star in AK. When we boarded, we had a voucher in our room for a free meal in a specialty restaurant - we were told to call and make our own reservations, which we did.

Hello Bernie. Thank you for asking about my phone. I am unclear about what you are saying though. Are you saying that a phone has been turned in, or that they would not confirm even that with you? I know Princess's policy about calling the 800 number and about lost and found items being shipped back to Miami at the end of a cruise. They probably would not give you any info, since it is not your phone to identify. If you could, let me know if that is the case.

 

If a phone has been turned in, I will get in touch with them to identify that it is mine. I am doing another Bon Voyage Experience, when the ship gets back to San Francisco, on May 23. I will go directly to the Purser to identify, and retrieve it (assuming that one has been turned in).

 

I am not looking for you to pick it up for me, as I will do that personally.

They would neither confirm nor deny whether a phone had ever been turned in. They wouldn't give me any info at all unless I described the kind of phone I was looking for. That's why they wanted u to call. Sorry I couldn't help.

No EZCheck on Star in San Francisco - Booooo!!