USAF Retired

On Caribbean Princess, deck 17 starboard aft has an ashtray attached to wall and bench to sit on.

I am a pipe smoker with 20 cruises on Princess. I take 3 pipes with me in a leather case. I take it to the smoking lounge when I want to smoke a pipe and take it back to the cabin when finished. Tell your DH to take his pipes and enjoy them. He will meet a lot of nice people in the lounge and also can get to know some of the crew who smoke. Talk to the crew as they enjoy meeting new people and exchanging stories about where they are from and where they have visited.

Unfortunately I do not remember her name. Sorry. Also, I was on the Emerald in January 2015 and had the same issue. I did not pursue it. This time I decided to pursue it to find out why it was happening. Will be watching to see if any one else had had problems with exchanges.

Good luck with the exchanges. Just off the Ruby on Sunday from a B2B. Called Room Service the first day to exchange the alcohol for a coffee card and the water and soda for other soda. Was told by Room Service the only options were to keep the entire mini bar or exchange all of it for 2 coffee cards. No other options were available. Went to Passenger Services and the lady checked and told me that the Captain Circle Host is the person responsible for the Room Service and Elite mini bar setup. Went to the Captain Circle Host and asked why the policy on the ship is different from what is on the Princess Web Site and she asked what policy. I walked her thru getting on the Princess Web Site and when she got to the exchange part, she disconnected and told me it was her policy and that it is final. Needless to say, I wrote her up on the survey for not following policy.

Sailed from Houston in Jan 2015 and EZ Check was not available.

MafiaMom - Yes you can get decaf coffee at the IC. In fact you can get any of the specialty coffee drinks as decaf. I have had several of the different coffees as decaf on different ships.

Just on the Emerald in January and it is still $2 per load to wash and dry. Always take a roll of quarters with us in our carry on as the Passenger Services Desk will sometimes be out.

I am from PA, and yes I do smoke in my house. I don't smoke in my vehicle as I feel it is dangerous to try to hold a pipe and drive. I belong to a private club and I will be there tonight and I will smoke my pipe there. I understand the strong feelings people have against smokers and everyone is entitled to there opinions. I have strong opinions against drinking and driving and feel that if you get a DUI, it should be an automatic prison term. The second and later DUI should have longer prison terms. They put everyone else at risk.

I understand smoke can put others at risk, but the ship is large. If I pay the same as you for my cabin, I should be entitled to certain privileges the same as you. I do not go to the bars on the ship as I have a dislike for people that drink too the extreme and then are rude, loud, and smell. I feel that I am not asking much to ask non smokers to not go to the smoking areas and then complain about smoke. On a couple of cruises I have witnessed a person enter the smoking lounge while I was there and then complain about the smoke and they complained loudly. One person even went so far as to state she was going to the Passenger Services Desk to have smoking stopped in the cigar lounge so she could go enjoy it. That is carrying a dislike too far.

I smoke a pipe and enjoy time in the cigar lounge and meet a lot of very interesting people. I also have friends that have had cancer from smoking, but that was there life and there choice. Not mine.

Maybe it is time for the cruise lines to quit discriminating against people. Since there are 5 places on most ships for smoking, 2 inside and 3 outside, I suggest they limit all alcohol to 2 bars inside and 3 outside. The limit would require all alcohol be drank in the limited area of the bar and if you are caught drinking in a cabin, MDR, or any other area of the ship, then a $250 fine just like smokers. If you google cruise ships and alcohol issues, you will see that people fall overboard, push others overboard, even if an accident, physical assaults, sexual assaults, and even a murder that they thought was caused by alcohol. Could not find a single incident of someone getting sick from smoke or passing away because of smoke.

Now, before everyone starts flaming me, think about it. More people die from alcohol each year on cruise ships than smoking issues. I agree that the cruise lines need to do more to limit smoke getting to other areas of the ship, but the cost is probably the limiting factor. As far as having a non smoking ship, Carnival tried that a couple years ago. They built a brand new ship, made it completely non smoking and it only lasted about 2 years. They could not sell out the ship and were losing money on every cruise. Could it work now? That is a possibility, but the number of smokers I see in the cigar lounge, casino, and outdoor areas makes this possibility a bit iffy. You have a large number of smokers on every cruise and if you take them away, the ship is losing money.

I am not trying to start a problem, just stating my opinion. Cruise lines discriminate against smokers, but they want the same amount of money from them for their cabin as the non smokers pay. Even though smokers are limited where they can go, you don't see them complaining so why should a non smoker have the right to bash smokers because they don't like to smoke.

Was on the Emerald in January and inquired about using punches on the coffee card for the gelato and was told that it can not be done. The gelato must be paid for with your cruise card.

Look on the back page of the Patter under the restaurant listing. Next to HC and Café Caribe will be the theme for lunch or evening meal for that day. Makers it nice to know what to expect. The two surprises we had on the Emerald last month is the HC had Island Seafood Night and the only seafood was a couple salads and they carved Salmon. However, watch the Café Caribe for American Buffet as it has the shrimp.

As I stated, the Emerald does not follow the policy. I requested exchanging the alcohol for soft drinks which is in compliance with the policy. I was told I could exchange the entire setup for 2 coffee cards or exchange nothing.

Alcoholic beverages may be exchanged for non-alcoholic beverages on a one-for-one basis is the quote of the policy and I was refused the exchange. As I stated, depends on the ship and the way they handle the policy.

Not trying to start a problem, just stating that the Emerald did not follow Princess policy, so I am stating it depends on the ship and how they handle it so other passengers do not plan on exchanging the mini bar and find out it will not work.

Depends on the ship. Just off the Emerald last Sunday and my options from room service were to trade alcohol for coffee card and/or trade non alcohol items for coffee card or trade entire setup for 2 coffee cards. Specifically asked to trade entire setup for one coffee card and mixture of Sprite and Diet Coke and was told no. Room Service stated they only trade for coffee cards.

I use the plastic holders that can be purchased here, Amazon, and many other places. Have used mine for about 9 cruises and they still look new. I just put my paper tags in them before leaving home and keep them in the small front pocket of the suitcases. When I get my suitcases at the final destination, just pull them out and attach them. No worries of getting wet and smeared or torn off and do not need a stapler at final airport. Enjoy your cruise.

You need to put pressure on your TA to contact Princess and have them release the cabin you want and make it available for the 14 day cruise. I have booked cruises where they showed no cabins available for the 14 day and when the TA contacted the correct person at Princess, they released the cabin and I was able to book the cabin for 14 days in order to get a cheaper price and more OBC. Good Luck getting your cabin

Received an email on August 12th with 10 Casino Cruises and the dates were from November 2014 thru June 2015. During a B2B in November 2013, I was selected to participate in the Casino Cruise the second week of the cruise for the first time. Received an email in January with a list of Casino Cruises and the wife and I went on the cruise in June. This new email selected both my wife and I and offered us both money, etc., for the cruise. Of course we had to take advantage and booked a B2B with week 1 being the Casino Cruise. They are a lot of fun and hopefully you get selected again. Also a good sales pitch as we selected 2 B2B cruises in order to get the Casino Cruise.

Depends on where your turn around day is located. If you are in Europe, some locations do not require everyone to get off. If in the USA then you must get off. You have a couple of options in the US. You can take a tour to spend the day, you can get off and walk around the area and then get back on the ship before new passengers as you will have an In Transit Card to show. If you do not want either one, you will get a package the night before turn around day telling you where to meet, what time, an In Transit Card and your new cruise card for the second part of your cruise. You will meet with others doing the same thing and you will leave the ship after everyone else is off and as a group, then the ship is presented to Immigrations as zero passengers, and then you are allowed back on the ship. This process is normally very quick as I have done it twice and once it took 30 minutes and the other time 15 minutes. I have read of others taking longer because some passenger will not read the instructions and go to the pool instead of leaving the ship. Until security finds them and escorts them off the ship, everyone else has to sit and wait. The ship must have zero passengers before any one gets back on.

You will do better if you wait until on board the ship to purchase internet minutes. The day you board, look at the Princess Patter and they almost always have a special where you get extra free minutes when you purchase an internet package on embarkation day.

Was on a B2B from May 26 to June 7 on the CB and it was fantastic. As stated before, new carpet in public areas, fresh paint, new paneling, etc. The food was great, crew was fantastic, in fact I can not think of anything bad that happened the entire cruise. Looking at booking another cruise on her before the end of the year. For those people that complain the ship looks old and worn, look in a mirror. You are not in the same shape you were in 10 years ago and you haven't traveled as many miles. Complaints happen. Just book your cruise and enjoy it and disregard the people on board who are complainers. Most are just looking for a way to get money from Princess. Your cruise will be exactly what you make of it and not what someone else thinks it should be.

I don't think your idea will work. The reason is that when you purchase duty free liquor during the first cruise on board, Princess will not give it to you until the night before your complete cruise ends. If you purchase it when off the ship at a port call, Princess will have someone sitting at the entry to the ship and they will take the liquor and again keep it until the end of your cruise. On a B2B the cruise does not end until the second cruise so you will not have any liquor to take off the ship and put in your car. Also, like the comment above, you have a limit you can have for a 30 day time frame. If you happen to get the liquor from the first half of the cruise and get caught with the excess from the second cruise, the possible fine, imprisonment, taxes as it is no longer duty free, and then have it confiscated makes it a big risk.

Was on a B2B on the Crown in November and when I purchased the coffee card I told the employee I would be on the ship for 2 weeks and he did not mark the back. The IC Employees got to know me after a couple days and did not ask to see the card again and even new I wanted a decaf coffee in a to go cup. Great service from the IC crew.

The Caribbean Princess has a Riviera Deck as I have sailed on her and stayed on that deck. Did not experience any over crowding other than the buffet on embarkation day. Will be sailing on her for a B2B this year.

The WIFI is not free until you have 5 or more cruises with Princess. Then you reach Platinum level and get free WIFI minutes and the amount is based on the length of your cruise. The speed of the internet connection is not as fast as your broadband nor is it as slow as the old 2400 baud modem days. Some days I use the computer in the Internet Café and some days my IPad in my cabin and the speed is the same. Try different times of day to see when the speed is best on your cruise. The connection is thru satellite so upload/download speed depends a lot on how many people are using the internet. I have found mornings to be fairly quick, not fast, as a lot of people are sleeping off the night before or if it is a port day, they are off the ship. I normally go by the Internet Café and if it is full, the speed will be slow. If it is almost empty then I can normally get a satisfactory connection.

Pam - I was on a B2B in November on the Crown and both weeks we received forms for EZ Check and one was Domestic and the other International. Since I was flying back to PA, did not bother reading the International to see if it was only for Canada. You are probably correct about Canada being the only International destination. Keep up the good work as you definitely provide a lot of great information. Thanks

The form will be delivered to your room on the first or second full day. Just be sure to check all papers delivered to your room. You will receive 2 forms with one being international flights and the other domestic flights. Fill out the correct form and turn it in to Customer Services along with a copy of your flight itinerary so they know what airline and flight number.