Videophile

Oh bummer, Spacey is no longer a CD - he was awesome.

Yes, he was phenomenal. I came to this thread to see if I could cruise on the ship he was working on. Sounds like a good promotion for the guy, so I'm happy for him.

We were on the CB in June and we thought that the cruise director's staff was terrible. The cruise director himself was fine, but his staff left much to be desired. They didn't engage with passengers and on the whole, seemed very aloof. When compared to the other crew members who always say hello, good morning, etc. they were a sorry lot. It seemed almost as if they were too sure of their job security, if that makes any sense. Perhaps they need a refresher course on hospitality.

I had the exact opposite experience when I went a couple of weeks ago. The cruise director (Lee) was pretty bland. It could be that he was having an off week, but I heard a few people complaining about him.

The staff was excellent however. They were funny, open, and friendly. After trivia one night I had a ten-minute animated discussion with the lady who ran the game about binge-watching TV shows. (Turns out we had similar tastes.)

This was my first Princess cruise and I was never bored, and did have a really good time, though I would have preferred a bit more live music.

My wife and I were on the same sailing! Did you go to the meet-and-greet? We were there.

I was pretty disappointed in the live music. There was a duo playing in the Wheelhouse (is that the right name?) that was pretty mediocre at best. The (presumably) husband and wife both sang and played guitar, but the man was the one one who was any good. Between songs he would bend over his computer to start the drum track for the next song. I was really disappointed that there wasn't a live drummer.

I agree that most of the evening music venues were pretty empty, which was sad.

We ate in the Palm MDR and had great table mates. My wife and I were celebrating our 27 anniversary, there was a couple celebrating their 40th, and a couple on their honeymoon. The waitress brought special cake and sang "Happy Anniversary" to the table three times... in one evening. It was a lot of fun.

Had a great cruise, and delays didn't bother me at all.

Unfortunately, like others, we don't have that choice. Between my wife's busy schedule and my semi-busy one, we have a hard time squeezing one or two cruises a year. Since the time is harder to get then the money, when we go we always get a full suite. We do spend a fair amount of time there during the day (I love to read on the balcony and then fall asleep) and the larger bathrooms and more space are really nice.

If money was tighter than time, I'd choose to travel more and book inside cabins. There are several quite places on board every ship I've cruised on (if you do a bit of searching) so I could still read to my heart's content. :)

We are nighttime people and are concerned about there being no night life.

We enjoy dancing the younger entertainment seen with Carnival, RCI, and NCL. How were the options for this with Princess?

We got off of the Caribbean Princess last Sat, and dancing was nearly non-existent. There were opportunities to dance, but very few (aside from my wife and I) decided to.

We went to a club at 10:00 pm on the first night and we were literally the only ones there for the 80's themed dance. The DJ came over, asked us what we wanted to hear, and after he saw the twinkle in my eye said "you guys can pick the play list if you want." That was very cool. I suggested a list songs and he played about 80% of them (I assume he didn't have the others). We danced until we dropped, alone on the dance floor the whole time. It was great, though it would have been more fun if someone else had been there. A couple of younger couples walked in while we were there but left, while a few other couples did stay and watched the show. (When I dance I probably look like Joe Cocker singing, so that could have had something to do with it. :) )

The other time we went dancing it was in a smaller club with live music, no one danced either.

That's not to say I didn't have a good time, I had a blast. Maybe I just missed the good dance parties...

Our experience at Port Canaveral is overwhelmingly positive. They seem to have the boarding / disembarkation process down to a science.

I agree totally! I cruised from FFL for the first time a couple of weeks ago and was shocked at how disorganized and hectic it was getting on the boat. Previously we had only left from Port Canaveral and had no complaints.

I don't want to cause anyone excessive worry, but the biggest problem (IMO) isn't how your area will be affected by the storm, but how all of the flights in the county fare.

If the plane you are flying on is delayed getting out of ATL (for example) there's a good chance your flight will be late even if the weather in your area is fine. If a major airport closes for an hour or two there are ripple effects that mess up flights all over the country. When they open the airport again, there are dozens and dozens of planes waiting to take off and getting them in the air eats up more time.

If you are on the first flight in the morning, that's usually a good thing (and what I try to do when travelling for business). If you have a 6 am flight the plane has usually spent the night at the airport you're flying out of, which is one less thing to worry about.

If your flight is cancelled the one piece of advice I can give you is to be very pleasant to the airline rep you end up talking with. They're having a horrible day too, and they do have some power. I once had a cross country flight canceled and the gate agent put me in a first class seat (ATL to SFO) even though I was flying coach! She could have bumped someone with higher loyalty status (and that was probably SOP) but I think she did it because I wasn't being a jerk like the guy before me.

What airline are you flying?

Good luck!

Okay good...you are all making me feel a little better!

 

Is Enchantment big enough to get away from the partying if we have had enough? We are pretty young, but prefer having drinks AND conversation vs drinks and falling over...if you know what I mean!!!

I was on Enchantment last Dec, and there wasn't a problem with people being drunk. It's not the newest ship in the fleet, but it actually quite nice. There are several nice areas to sit (the names of the bars/areas escape me at the moment) but if you're looking for a quiet place you shouldn't have a problem finding one.

While I prefer 7-day cruises, the 4-day ones are fun too. They basically schedule the biggest entertainment events from a week long cruise into a shorter time span. Qwest (or is it Quest?) and the Love and Marriage games are there, as well as the stage shows and a comic. It's quite a good time.

I'm sorry if I'm repeating some questions others have asked, but I've been perusing these forums and I wasn't able to find exactly what I'm looking for.

 

1. We are parking at the terminal and we have already "reserved" and paid to park there. Is is usually really crowded to park there? Is is safe to park there? Do we keep our keys with us?

We always drive down to Port Canaveral but have never reserved a spot... we just show up and park. You do keep your keys and it is very safe. It's in a gated area which is locked at night.

2. Can I bring my pillow from home? We are driving down from NC so I'm not worried about an airplane and luggage issues.

 

Sure! As someone else mentioned, you'll have to keep it with you until the rooms are ready.

 

3. When we go to Coco Cay can I bring my own float to lay on? I mean, if I buy a cheap blow up one will I be allowed to use it at the beach? I haven't priced them yet but I would imagine that they are cheaper than the $14 rental mats. Besides I could use it at the beach here too.

 

Never tried that myself, but I don't see why not.

 

4. Do we need to get a taxi to get around Nassau? By get around, I mean go to local shops. Are they within walking distance of the port? Is it safe to go out in the town on your own? Do we need cash or will shops accept credit cards?

 

No, you don't have to get a taxi. I've walked around during the day and it's safe and there are things to see. Don't recall buying anything, but I always take a little cash and a credit card with me when I go ashore.

 

5. If we opt to not get any of the drink packages, will we just have glasses of water available to us? I know we could buy a drink without the package, but I mean, is there juice available at breakfast or just water?

 

Yes there are other free beverages besides water.

 

6. Is there a cost to order room service? I know we need to tip so I'm just talking about the actual food.

 

As others have mentioned, during the day it's free, but after midnight there is a small charge per order. Note that if you're staying in a suite you can order from the MDR menu too (except for lunch on port days since the MDR isn't open then.)

 

 

7. Can we pay for tips at the end with our OBC? Can we pay for any charges to our seapass with our OBC at the end?

 

Yep! That's what we do. (Just got off our first Princess cruise and they wouldn't let me put tips on my seapass. Guest services said it was cash only. :( )

 

8. Is there a way I can check my phone once or twice a day without racking up charges? DS will be home with my dad and I just want them to send me a text once a day letting me know everything is ok at home. Can I turn off the data and still receive a text?

 

My wife keeps her phone off except when we are in ports. They she turns it on and checks her e-mail (we've agreed to no more than 1/2 hour a day :) ). We sign up for the International data plan before we go and turn it off when we return. That seems to be the most cost-effective way. We don't make calls, so I'm not sure how that would work.

 

I'm sorry for the length and randomness of these questions. I've cruised before but it was a while ago and some things have changed.

 

No problem at all! Have a great cruise!

 

Thank you in advance!:)

See answers in red above.

It is typically twice the price for a single person as for two people.

This is incorrect. It is typically the same price for a single person to travel as it is for two people to cruise.

Since they typically put two people in a cabin, they charge single travelers more.

I vote to tell him. He'll be surprised now and excited the whole time until you cruise. More bang for your buck IMO.

If you want, you could go half way and tell him that you were assigned are really cool cabin, but don't tell him just how cool.

I'm not sure if this mailing went out to everyone with an American Express Card but I received a card a couple of days ago with a pretty sweet deal (no pun intended). If you book a suite or Haven room on board a NCL ship with an American Express Card by June 30, 2014 and use the code "SUITEOBCM" you'll get an extra $150 OBC (1-4 day cruises) or $300 (5+ day sailings).

As luck would have it, I had a courtesy hold on a suite when I received the offer. I called my TA and he was able to apply the OBC offer with the AARP discounted fare, and the agency OBC was added on top.

I hadn't seen anyone mention it here, so I thought I'd post it. I did contact CC first and they said it was okay to post this.

Good to know! Thanks suncruiser7.

Thanks for the help everyone. I agree that it's because I haven't cruised with Princess yet... only a couple more weeks! Afterwards I'll check again.

The picture you show here you get to from clicking "Contact Details" on the first Member Profile Page. The "Contact Details" link was on the left halfway down the page.

 

Instead, on that first Member Profile Page, go to the upper right. There are nine links in a box there, one of which is "StandBy Program."

Thanks again for the patience and help Caribill!

I do think I'm doing something wrong and that we are seeing different things. From the main Princess page I click "Sign In / Register" and fill out the pop-up box. I then click "My Princess" and get a page that looks like this:

Clicking "My Profile" leads me to the page I posted before, which you described as the "Contact Details" on the first Member Profile Page.

If I click on the link under "My Dream Deals" I get a page with no offers that says "This is a collection of offers selected for you and emailed over the past few weeks. If you see a blank page, offers may be in the works and your deals will be posted soon. Or, if you haven't registered yet, it's easy to sign up. Simply click on "My Profile," check your address and mark your email preference. Offers don't last long, so book your Dream Deal today!"

If anyone has any clues to what's going wrong, I'd love to find out where I'm messing up. (I'm actually not that hopeless when it comes to tech issues as I seem to be in this thread.)

As you can see, I'm heading off on my first Princess Cruise in a couple of weeks, so I'm thinking I may not be able to sign up because of that.

TIA!

Thanks for the help Caribill. Unfortunately I still don't see it. Logged into My Princess and searched everywhere with no luck. Here's what I'm seeing (with personal info redacted):

 

Go to Standby Program from this screen

 

I can't see that menu anywhere. Here's what I get:

I haven't completed my first Princess cruise yet... could that be the reason I don't see it?