WmFCoyote

Yes, They serve Irish Whiskey in the bars

We have done 4 TA cruises. Three have been West bound and obviously one has been East bound. One thing to think about is you will loose an hours sleep on 6 of the nights on an East bound cruise due to the time zone change. If heading West you would gain the hour. We find that there are more daytime activities on TA cruises than on Caribbean cruises

We have been to Stone Island on 3 separate cruises. We love the little restaurants and find it is a wonderful way to spend the day. Fresh (as in swimming less than 1 hour ago) seafood including Lobster are on many menu's. The price is great as a group of 4 can spend less than $50 for a days food and drink. The only drawback is that there are beach vendors that will try and sell almost anything but at a more reasonable price than in the city of Mazatlan.

Most of the beach front restaurants have cabanas and full size loungers plus shade . Bathrooms are satisfactory and clean. The ocean is good for swimming and the beach is clean.

If You haven't guesses it by now, we definitely prefer Stone Island and consider it one of the highlights of any Mexico cruise.:D

Tomorrow, less than 12 hours before we board the Royal for a TA from Barcelona to Ft. Lauderdale. But whose counting????

I'm confused as to who is the Captain on the Pacific and who it will be when we board later this month. I haven't gotten any email from Princess indicating the Captain and/or the CD so far.

 

On the most recent list above it shows Captain Maresca, but then it also says he assumed command of the Regal in August, in the absence (I am guessing vacation) of Captain Stringer, who is apparently scheduled to return in October.

 

So which ship is Captain Maresca actually on now?

 

If not Maresca, then who is captaining the Pacific?

 

According to the list, Captain Slight is expected to assume her command in November.

 

Any thoughts as to who I might anticipate being Captain on the Pacific in 3 weeks?

I believe it will be Captain Jack Sparrow;p

You should probably post this on your ships Roll Call. It will get a better response and you will be able to see activities and inter react with cruisers who will be on your ship for your cruise.

Hey Tom,

We are sorry to hear of your troubles and would like to send HUGS your way. We were on the Pacific Princess for the 50th Anniversary Cruise and did the "Rhythm of the Nights" excursion in PV and whale watching in Cabo San Lucas with you and Becky. It is hard to bring feelings out of the darkness into the light of day. We admire your courage

So, How was the brunch buffet? Always a killer on Sundays at sea on PP

Bob,

Enjoy the PP. We were on her for the Princess 50th Anniversary cruise in December 2015 and fell in love with her. We are booked on a 12 day Greek Isle cruise on the PP starting on 30 October 2018 which goes from Venice (one of our favorite cities) to Rome. We are booked in an OS (7114), so we would appreciate any pictures, comments, hints or observations about the cabin. When we were on for the 50th to Mexico we had Oscar as M'D and Sami Baker as cruise director. Could not ask for better personnel. Have a great cruise, Looking forward to your posts. How do we access your Flkr Page??

Bruce & Judi

NCL handles "Anytime" better than Princes in a couple of ways: 1) it allows, if so desired to make reservations each night on-line before the cruise selecting which Specialty or which MDR you would like to eat at at and at what time. This is not mandatory, though for specialty dining I would advise it as they sell out specialty by day one of cruise. 2) If you don't have reservation, they have monitors throughout the ship showing which venues are full, filling up fast, walk in and at what time. A red, yellow green system. Granted NCL typically has more dining venues and specialty to select from than Princes, but it does add another option on selecting where to eat that would make Anytime dining more efficient on Princess..

Princess has the same option. We use it often, especially if cruising with other couples."

"Are you saying you can make reservations before the cruise? I have not seen this on Princess."

Princess Cruises does not allow reservations to be made in their specialty restaurants before boarding for your cruise. Some ships allow reservations to be made for AT dining at 8AM for that day. Princess allows a onetime change from AT dining to Traditional Dining (If there is room) or TD to AT dining.

As a suggestion to the original poster, reserve a table for 6 in Traditional Dining. If you decide it is not what you wanted, request a change to AT dining. This way you will not have a couple (maybe 2) eating by themselves when they probably would have enjoyed the company.

We have had TD on 24 of 27 cruises on Princess. We did one cruise last December where AT dining was not available and 2 cruises where we tried AT dining. We enjoy the company of others and request a table for 8. Once we were sat at a table for 12 (very difficult to carry on any conversations). One time we were sat at a table for 6 (works well unless there are 2 couples traveling together). We have met some very nice people and have had very good luck with these tablemates. We enjoy a wait staff that knows your name, likes and dislikes. It makes for an enjoyable evening. On occasion, some people do wish to eat at either a specialty restaurant or the HC. We do this on occasion and will inform our tablemates and wait staff of our plans.

If there is any choice, I would never sail on the Island again. We did the TA from Venice in November and all I could remember was the crowed public areas. They did not make a good move when they butchered the Island Princess.

I placed 2 cruises on hold yesterday (July 8th). The first one was for a TA (Spanish Passage) on April 22,2016. We reserved a Category DA on the Dolphin deck. The per person price was $1954 plus insurance etc. Now with the Sip and sale the per person price has gone to $2299. This is an increase of $345 or $23 per day.

The second booking (also on hold until July 11th) was for a 28 day cruise to Hawaii / Tahiti / Samoa on October 20, 2016. On this cruise we reserved a Category BD on Caribe Deck. The per person rate (before any additions) was $4424. With the sip and sail sale the price is now $5599. This is an increase of $1175 per person of $41.96 per day.

Is this a sale? Increase the prices and give away something of dubious value? We do drink but not $83.93 per day or even $46.

If this were a business in the US, I would be complaining to the state Attorney General and the BBB.

This "Sale" is a rip off.:mad::mad:

Thank You for your insight. It does give us some idea as which cabin to book.

WFC:)

We are in the process of booking a balcony on the Island Princess. It will be a :rolleyes:tropical cruise (Not the TA in November) and we were wondering which deck levels provided the most shade during the day while we are in port. I realize that the direction that the ship is moored etc. will have an effect.

Thanks in advance for your replies.:D

Princess has been offering passengers a chance to move up to a "better" category cabin for a fee this is an "Up-Sell". They can also move a passenger up to a better cabin for free which is called an "up-grade".

On our Feb 28th cruise we were offered an up-sell from an inside cabin to a Mini Suite for $159 each. The price for the Mini-suite was $999 per person while we had paid less than $300 for the inside. So, we thought that we could either wait and hope that Princess gave a free upgrade or except the "Up-Sell" and pay the additional $318 for a $2150 cabin

We have found that the departure lounges can get really crowded. If our disembarkation time is after 9:30 AM, we check with our cabin steward to see if it is OK to leave our hand luggage in the closet area of the cabin at 8 AM and proceed to the MDR for breakfast. We give him (or her) complete freedom to do what ever they need to do and stay out of the way. We enjoy a leisurely breakfast and return to our cabin around 9:15 to pick up our hand luggage. Then it is a short wait to disembark. No stress, No crowds.:cool:

On the 28th of Feb sailing of the Crown to Mexico, the Mini suites on the Emerald deck have been sold out for a week. They are still selling mini-suites guarantees for that category cabin. There are some other Mini suites available in a higher category. This would be similar to your concern as all the mini-suites are grouped together and as long as there is a category still available then the could move someone up to create an opening for you.

Thank You Julie for the review of the cruise. We are going on the Grand for a 7 day to Mexico on 28 February. When in PV you took the bus. what was the cost? Did you pay in Pesos or dollars? We were in PV in November and ended up in a taxi (4 big people in a small taxi) which cost each couple $8. Seemed kinda steep for a 3 mile ride.:confused::confused::(

We are booked on the TA from Venice to FT. Lauderdale next November on the Island Princess. We plan on spending a few weeks in Italy before the cruise. There are 2 questions we have about Venice. 1: Where does the ship dock? 2:What is the best way to get from a hotel to the dock? Any and all answers will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Bruce

I completed my 21st cruise credit on the trans Atlantic this spring. I did not get the $25 credit. Will be on a cruise to México next Sunday, will let you know if it shows up.

You receive the $25 after your 21st cruise credit.

Has the winemakers diner been expanded to all ships or is it still only the Royal and Regal? We are on a 10 day cruise, on the Grand, to Mexico, on 9 November and were wondering if it were offered?

Yes, you each may bring a guest into the elite lounge.

On the Golden Princess on a October 2013 sailing a guest came to dinner (Late Seating, Traditional) wearing cut off shorts and a tank top. This was on day 2 of the cruise. I spoke to the head waiter and his response was "Its not my job to enforce the rules" When we returned home we mentioned the conversation in the customer survey. Princess called me and I explained the situation. We again sailed on the Golden Princess in November and the same head waiter was still allowing shorts and tank tops. His response again "Not My Job".

You may trade a mini bar set up for 2 coffee cards on any princess ship. Just call room service when you board (Your mini bar set up should already be in your cabin) and tell them what you wish to do.