Arlened236

We were on the Grand Princess last year during Passover. There was a wonderful Rabbi from Charlotte who led a Seder, on the first 2 nights . It was an amazing dinner attended by over 40 people. Matzoh was available each night in the MDR and our friends ordered (frozen) Passover kosher meals for lunch and dinner.

Our friends has their TA contact Princess prior to the cruise to make sure the kosher Passover food would be available for them. This was a 15 day RT SF TO

Hawaii cruise.

When we used Princess Transfers ,they always dropped us off in front of our airline terminal. They load the buses by which airline you are flying on.

 

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The passenger service agent on the Island Princess checked with the Princess shuttle manager and was told they drop people off at a designated place for each terminal at LAX not at the door of a particular airline ( this happened to us on our last cruise that ended in LA). I use a wheelchair, and since LAX does not have easy-check for our luggage, this made using Princess's shuttle impossible. My husband could not manage my w/c and our luggage.

At other airports we have used the Princess shuttle with no problem, they have let us off near our airline. As you said they load the bus depending on airline used.

We just got off the Island Princess in San Pedro..we had made a reservation with Prime Time Shuttle for a private shuttle ($85.00 for two) for 10 am..it never arrived for us...so the agent at the port gave us a refund and we took Supper Shuttle which was sitting and waiting for more passengers. It was $34 for two plus tip. I would hightly recommend Supper Shuttle, we would use them again.

The Princes shuttle would have been $29 per person and it only drops you off at a central location not at your preferred Air Line.,

As previous posters have said you will probably be off the ship later than us because of your itinerary. I would think that any time after 10 would bee good for your reservation. http://www.suppershuttle.com or 1-800-BLUE-VAN if you make your reservations on line you save $2.00

have a great cruise.

Arlene

Our Orient cruise on the Sky Princess...we were the first Princess ship to go to Beijing...they had a state dinner for us in the Great Hall. 1200 Passengers were bused to 5 hotels in Beijing for 2 nights...saw Japan, Korea, China, Singapore, and Hong Kong...wonderful cruise on a great ship.

David, the issues with the Grand has been going on for over a year. We sailed on her last March (an accessible cabin on Caribe deck). When we arrived in our cabin I noted mold in the bathroom, stained carpets in cabin and hallway, and a terrible musty moldy smell. I also noted water dripping down the inside wall and on the wall outside our door. ( I like you am allergic to mold and mildew). Of course, there was not another accessible cabin available so our room steward saw to it that the bathroom was completely scrubbed down with bleach to kill the mold, and the rugs shampooed. We were also blessed with the large fans to dry everything. For the next two weeks there was a workman on a ladder every day outside our cabin (half in the ceiling) fixing something. Maybe just for show lol.

We were on the RT SF Hawaii cruise.

I don't think it was ever really fixed but we still enjoyed the crise.

We are going to try the Star next year same cruise ( family in Bay Area and good reason to visit my childhood home first)

Arlene

Jackie, please take good care of the Island Princess, we get on when you get off in FLL. Also please save some warm weather for us, sounds like our winter in Chicago has been as bad as yours, and I may need the whole 15 days to thaw out.

I am also interested on the movies showing on MUTS, love the thought of sitting on deck with a warm breeze watching movies and having some ice cream.

Have a grat cruise, wishing you smooth seas and sunny days

Arlene in frozen Chicago with over 2 feet of snow on the ground and below zero F temps.

It has been my experience that as soon as you get to the port and see a Princess Rep ask them to get your mother a wheelchair..she will be able to sit in it until you board and someone from the ship will usually take you right to your cabin(and leave with the w/c)

I bring my own chair now, but I have only seen folding w/c on the tenders, but you can ask once you are on board about using the transport chair on Princess

Cay.

Have a great cruise.

Very cool Bill..thanks we will be on the Island in March going thru that area, so interesting to see it 100 years ago vs now.

Arlene

Thanks for all the information so far. My question is relating to using a scooter in Hawaii.

 

Has anyone been stranded during a rain storm. My husband's Tzora is not supposed to get wet. Having been to Hawaii many times over the years (prior to need for scooter), I realize that it can be sunny one minute and pouring rain the next. We don't want to go out, on our own, and suddenly it starts raining and we can't get back to the ship.

you are correct scooters are not good in the rain and it did rain when we were in Honolulu at the memorial...I had asked for a large plastic bag from our room steward and I covered all the electronics on my scooter I also avoided puddles and the scooter did fine. (I do the same at home if I am out with my scooter) I also took a rain poncho for me, to hard to hold an umbrella in the rain and wind.

Here is a web site that may answer your question...or Try googling

Accessible St. Maartin for other sites.

http://www.stmaarten.org/challenged-tourists-tips

good luck...its a beautiful island

Arlene

So happy to see Lewie style back. Love hearing about your adventures with Aunt Sue. You should be very happy to be away from Chicago...it's going to be -25 F wind chill tonight and more snow in the forecast.

Reading all your post are keeping me thinking about my next cruise in 7 weeks and our next cruise to Hawaii on the Star in 2015

Wishing both of you sunny skies and smooth seas

Arlene

Hope to meet you next summer at the Palatine farmers market.

I mailed my ownership info last Week Monday and the credit showed up on the cruise personalizer today. Fast service.

On my last cruise on the Grand Princess I booked over one year in advance so I could get an accessible cabin, at that time there was only one cabin left, right after final payment there were five available. I was told some TA's hold some cabins and release them when final payment is due. I am not in a position to wait that long as I cannot cruise without an accessible cabin.

Keep calling , you might get lucky

We have done the Hawaii cruise 3 times and are scheduled again for Feb 2915 on the Star. We really love the sea days.

I use a w/c for shore excursions and I rent a scooter for the ship. Just a note about our excursion to Pearl Harbor last March...I was able to take the scooter off the ship and was very glad I did...the accessible bus parked a long distance from the entrance to Pearl Harbor...several older slow walkers had great difficulty getting there...fortunately there were benches along the way to sit on. (the busses used to park right in front but now there is a special lot for them that is not close) The rest of the park is completly accessible including taking your scooter on to the boat that takes you to the memorial (there is a ramp to get there) This excursion is not to be missed.

I have done most of the accessible excursions in Hawaii so if you have questions just ask

Arlene

We are taking our lucky 7th cruise this month, our first on Princess. Do we use our card to operate the laundry machines, or do we need coins? Thanks and Happy Cruising!:)

Your card does not work in the laundry room, you need quarters, we usually take a roll of quarters. A wash load is $2.00 and. I think a dry is one dollar ( but it takes 2 cycles in the dryer). There is a money machine and soap machine in each laundry room. If the machine is empty you can get change at the pursers desk.

We chose our Alaskan family cruise based on the date most of us could easily travel and the itinerary that included Glacier Bay. We also wanted a round trip from Seattle. Our family group of 25 includes all ages from teen to 80...this is what you will find on most Alaskan cruises..there will lots of familys which includes many age groups. Princess fit our needs both in itinerary and price and departure port.

Good luck planning your cruise...it is wonderful

Greetings:

 

We are doing an East to West Panama Canal full transit cruise leaving Ft. Lauderdale on March 2, 2014. I have some fairly big packing issues anyway, and wondered about weather. I gathered in reading past reviews, it will be hot to very, very humid and hot, with tropical rains from mild to severe thrown in. Will I be okay without a real coat, but just brining a (relatively smaller to pack) rain poncho to protect from the rains? I will bring a small sweater or two as sometimes even the ship gets cold, but don't want to bring a coat if I don't need to! Need all the space I can get! :) Thanks for your help past Panama Cruisers!

We are on the same cruise...and we plan on bringing a rain poncho just in case. We also will bring a coat because it can still be cold in chicago and cool in LA.j I also bring several sweaters/cover-ups because I find the diningroom too cold for my likes.

Please check out our Roll Call for this cruise, we would love to have you join us.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1821053

Arlene in Chicago where warm and humid sounds perfect just about now because we are still below zero and have 2 feet of snow on the ground

Thanks so much for all of your thoughts😊 I believe I will go and relax. Those knee walkers look great but since I already have a lightweight folding transport chair that I use when I take my mom out, guess I can just use that with my crutches as a backup. Of course that means that DB will have a little extra work on his part. Also I think I will check to see if there are any of those extra leg room for a fee seats left on my flights

Call your airline and ask if a bulkhead seat if available, there is no cost if there is a medical need for it...plus they can get an isle w/c for you to use on the plane you can take your w/c to the gate and they will take it and bring it back when you land. I do this with every flight (usually on United) because I am an amputee and my prosthesis will not allow me to sit in a regular seat, my legs are too long)

Also be sure to ask for a shower chair for your cabin..you will need it. Another poster suggested you call and see if an accessible cabin was available and that is a good idea too.

I hope you make your cruise, there is no better place to take it easy.

Safe travels to those that are leaving today...The Chicago weather report was correct we set a new low temp for today -16 F. but no snow,... over 400 flights have been cancelled at OHare due to icing problems..so happy you were able to get new reservations

Enjoy your cruise...it has to be warmer than her

Arlene

Update on Chicago weather for our friends in Canada...Chicago Ohare has cancelled 1200 flights today (its still snowing and the temp is going down) They will be playing catch up tomorrow with flights and they say that icing is a problem with really cold temps. -17F (-27C) on Monday but no new snow, Tuesday is going to be a high of 0 F but clear NO SNOW

Keeping my fingerrs crossed for safe and on time flights for all of you

and Sunny and warm days on your cruise

Arlene

I wish you luck flying tomorrow thru Chicago, both airports are still recovering fron our 12 inches of snow 2 days ago, and now we are expecting 8-12 inches more by Monday evening. Then Tuesday the high temp will not be above -11 F. Wed is going to be a better day as the storm will be going east. (This is the report I just saw on ABC TV in Chicago)

I know you will check to see if your flight leaves on time. I really hope you make your cruise

Sorry to be the bearer of bad weather news

Arlene in Chicago

There are several factors that no one has mentioned...how many ships will be in port that day. and What day of the week is it? Both of these can affect when you can easily get to FLL airport. Plus how busy will the airport be to get thru secutiry.

We were delayed 3 hours by an incident between a crew member and a passenger (the police would not let anyone get off the ship) this really made for a high stress end to our cruise. We made our flight but it was a rush.

I would have a back-up plan or change your flight to a later one ro reduce the stress of worrying if I was going to make it. It would be a shame to spoil and wonderful cruise.

Well said Laura, keeping the true spirit of the boards and its main purpose need to be reminded every so often. Even criticism can be constructive.

the Cruise Critic boards not only help me plan an upcoming cruises but helps me get thru our cold, snowy winters while we are waiting for our next cruise. I also helps me keep in touch with friends I have met on these boards. I would really miss it if it was not here.

There was a story on the ABC news (Chicago ) yesterday that said the contractor threatened to shut down construction in 3 weeks if he was not paid, they also said the construction costs were several billion (with a capital B) over budget. There is no estimated completion date as of now.

We will be going thru the canal in 2 months and I hope I can get more up to date information then

Linda I have added you to my contact list so I won't forget your information and I can send you the info you want about the Golden Princess after our family cruise to Alaska.

Arlene