Princess Secrets they Don't Tell You

[denims]

We have somehow got off the subject of this thread:

 

Princess Secrets they Don't Tell You

For newer cruisers this has been a good thread for them "before" we got off the subject!

[Grandmaanne7]

We have somehow got off the subject of this thread:

 

Princess Secrets they Don't Tell You

 

For newer cruisers this has been a good thread for them "before" we got off the subject!

 

I agree, but not only for newer cruisers. This will be my fourth Princess cruise and my 7th overall cruise and I have learned several helpful "secrets" on this thread that will make Princess cruising even better than it already is. We love Princess. It's not perfect but I doubt any other cruise line is unless you're willing to take out a mortgage to pay for a vacation. We're not. Princess is usually priced just right for us and we take good attitudes with us when we cruise. The staff have almost always been wonderful with willingness to go far above and beyond the call of duty with smiles on their faces at all times.

 

The only secret I could possibly add to this thread would be the pizza on the Sun Class ships (I believe the Dawn is a Sun Class ship - I'm sure someone will correct me if it isn't). It is the best pizza we have ever eaten. I'm going to miss it on my upcoming Sapphire cruise to Hawaii but somehow, I think I will survive.:rolleyes:

[moosa]

with a tip anything is possible :)

[Mist_ynight]

The only secret I could possibly add to this thread would be the pizza on the Sun Class ships (I believe the Dawn is a Sun Class ship - I'm sure someone will correct me if it isn't). It is the best pizza we have ever eaten. I'm going to miss it on my upcoming Sapphire cruise to Hawaii but somehow, I think I will survive.:rolleyes:

 

 

They have pizza on the Sapphire. It was really good. Don't all Princess ships have pizza?

[Grandmaanne7]

They have pizza on the Sapphire. It was really good. Don't all Princess ships have pizza?

 

I have read that the pizza on Sapphire is good however since taste is very subjective, good to one is not so good to another. I much prefer the made to order pizza available on ships such as Dawn Princess. Others prefer the style of pizza available on Grand Class Princess ships. So, I guess the long and short of it is that Princess has great pizza. You just might have to take a few cruises to decide which ships have the pizza you prefer. :D

[mrspaper]

If you take your email addresses with you (or are lucky enough to know everyone's email addresses by heart) you can send, FOR FREE a princess postcard and you can write on the card. This is helpful for those who don't want to pay for internet minutes but want others to let them know how they are doing. Only certain computers have the free card access.

[cruiseron36]

The thing that put a burr under my saddle is after spending thousands on the cruise I had to spend time doing my own laundry on Princess while I could buy unlimited laundry on HAL. The other differences were not comparable as I sailed the larger vessels on HAL and a smaller one on Princess.

 

Princess does have laundry service, by the piece that is always available! They often have a one day one bagfull for $20 service.

[mrspaper]

Princess does have laundry service, by the piece that is always available! They often have a one day one bagfull for $20 service.

 

I've taken 6 Princess cruises and have never been lucky enough to be offered the cleaning deal. I do know people who have though and loved it.

[Bobed1927]

I just returned from a 14 day cruise on the Grand Princess. Overall we had a great cruise but one SMALL thing really annoyed me. I enjoy playing bingo once in a while and am used to the paper cards which have perforations so that you can fold back a number when it's called. Be advised that the cards on the Grand Princess do not have such perforations so it is necessary to mark your card somehow. Princess sells daubers at the door for $1.50 to the uninformed who do not know to bring pen or pencil. I was told that they sell out of the daubers so it seems that Princess has found a new trick to generate income.

[Toto2Kansas]

They have pizza on the Sapphire. It was really good. Don't all Princess ships have pizza?

 

Yes, all Princess ships serve pizza, but on the Sun Class ships there is a dedicated pizza restaurant and they make small pizzas made to order. They are delicious and definitely different than the pizza by the pool on the larger ships. Plus, on the Sun Class ships, in the evening there is an expanded menu with different Italian dishes. This is an extra little sit down pizza restaurant and it is complimentary, there is no service charge attached to it. It is one of our favorite places on the Sun Class ships. ;)

The Sun Class ships do not have a pizza place by the pool, and the only way to get pizza 'to go' is to order it from room service, they do not allow you (or didn't the last time we sailed on a Sun Class ship) to order and take it with you to the pool or anywhere else.

[PescadoAmarillo]

Just as an update, the mixed berries that have been mentioned on this thread are no longer available on the Emerald Princess. Just strawberries are served if you request berries with your cereal or as dessert.

[ILVTX]

Hmmm... I requested the mixed berries at breakfast time in the MDR in mid-November. I was given a bowl of strawberries and raspberries with an apology that the kitchen was out of blueberries. Seemed reasonable to me due to the season.

[mrspaper]

Just as an update, the mixed berries that have been mentioned on this thread are no longer available on the Emerald Princess. Just strawberries are served if you request berries with your cereal or as dessert.

I was very disappointed last week.

[mrspaper]

Many people don't realize that all the chefs are Indian and Phillipino. You want something different that you've never had before? Get a table of 4-8 together and tell them you want Phillipino food or Indian food served family style.

 

That is a secret they will NEVER tell you because it takes too much work. Another thing - it is a risk because the pallette is different than American food. Hey, it's only one night and if you don't like it you can always go to the free cafe or pizza later.

http://trumpettravels.blogspot.com/

Thanks for that good info.

When I have time, I will read your blog, because my DS would like to work on a ship one day

[golfdude]

egg creates...really?

first time on princess (our ninth cruise)

Are the mattress' really that bad on Princess?

we swore that we would never cruise Norwegian again because of rock hard beds. Nothing like not sleeping well and paying for it.

[IECalCruiser]

egg creates...really?

first time on princess (our ninth cruise)

Are the mattress' really that bad on Princess?

we swore that we would never cruise Norwegian again because of rock hard beds. Nothing like not sleeping well and paying for it.

Mattress firmness is a matter of personal preference and a hot button on CC with Princess. I have problems with my back if a mattress is too soft and that is an issue at some hotels. Within the last 14 months I have been on the Golden for 14 days, the Star for 23 days and the Coral for 7 days and did not have back pain. In my opinion the mattresses are usually firm but I would not say hard. I have not tried the egg crate. Requested once but was not on our bed when we arrived (apparently a common occurrence) and I did not follow-up. Have heard that the egg crate has been changed to a foam pad. Just my experience, yours may vary.

[Chocolate Princess]

They offered the laundry deal twice on our 15 day cruise. It was $25 for (I forgot the amount). Since I had brought enough clothing for the entire trip I just brought the dirty clothing home.

[robgvic]

But it is a real advantage of being elite. They do such a good job pressing and for free.

[mrspaper]

egg creates...really?

first time on princess (our ninth cruise)

Are the mattress' really that bad on Princess?

we swore that we would never cruise Norwegian again because of rock hard beds. Nothing like not sleeping well and paying for it.

DH has a bad back and feels the mattresses are fine for him. In the past, with their older beds, he has requested an egg crate.

[JMTtor]

Just back Sunday from my 12/11-18 cruise (first time on Princess) on the Crown. Thanks to everyone who posted "secrets" here; they were very helpful, although a few didn't pan out on our trip.

 

First, per the suggestions here, we did preorder the egg crates and they were on the beds. I like a firm bed, but I was very happy to have the extra padding as the beds were firm to the extreme.

 

Next, I tried preordering the escargot, but our waiter had to ask his supervisor (the head waiter for our section) who was not very responsive (note: I've had marvelous headwaiters on both RCI/Celebrity and NCL -- this guy needed some remedial lessons in how to do his job). Our waiter was persistent, though, and our table had a full round of escargot on the Thursday night.

 

Re. asking for brewed coffee in the dining room with the coffee card, at one lunch the waiter was clueless when I asked for "brewed" coffee rather than the syrup coffee; I ended up ordering a specialty coffee that day just to get decent coffee in the dining room (and I wonder whether that was deliberate on the waiter's part, to make me use one of the punches because he didn't want to go out for just the brewed plain coffee).

 

We looked the for "little door under the TV" but were unable to find anything that opened. The dearth of outlets was irritating, but we managed.

 

Now my tip: if you're a diver and you're planning to dive Roatan with the ship, if you have to answer "yes" to any of the questions on the Anthony's Key Resort form, you'll need a letter from your doctor saying you are cleared to dive. I had prebooked my dive there (was to be a dive with the dolphins but that was cancelled and they substituted the regular reef dive) months in advance, and there was no clue that there would be any problem. I was refused participation because I answered "yes" to "Have you ever had a head injury?" (and I wrote in that it was a concussion in a 2002 auto accident). The night before the dive, the shore excursion manager called me to tell me I would need a letter from my doctor. Needless to say, since it was after hours and I had no way of getting in touch with my doctor other than hoping he would read an e-mail that night I was unable to participate.

 

I offered to sign a blanket medical waiver broader that their standard waiver to absolve them from any liability, but they were adamant that a letter from the doctor was the only thing that would be accepted. I'm an attorney; if someone offered me a blanket waiver I'd happily take it.

 

I should also note that I dived on the ship's excursion in Grand Cayman with no problem the day before. This policy is complete overkill from Anthony's -- and the shore excursion manager was borderline rude to me and very patronizing when he told me he had "no choice" but to "side with" the dive operator. :confused:

 

So your choices are either to lie on the form (which I know several people did who were of couse permitted to dive) or, if you're like me and you feel compelled to be truthful, show up with a doctor letter. I told my doctor, who's also a diver and is a personal friend, about it this week and he was absolutely dumbfounded that they would ask for such a thing -- but we've agreed that he'll be writing me a form letter that I can take along on vacations from this point forward to prevent this from ever happening again.

 

And who knows - if Anthony's has a similar form for snorkelers, perhaps you might want to have a doctor letter if you want to snorkel on Roatan as well.

 

If this helps even one person avoid disappointment from being excluded from an excursion, I'll feel there was at least something positive coming out of this. :o

[dotheyes]

egg creates...really?

first time on princess (our ninth cruise)

Are the mattress' really that bad on Princess?

we swore that we would never cruise Norwegian again because of rock hard beds. Nothing like not sleeping well and paying for it.

I found them to be hard; asked for an egg crate and got a piece of foam about 1/2 inch thick. did not help much. also the inside cabins had only one desk chair to sit on.

[CrusinAgain]

Mattress firmness is a matter of personal preference and a hot button on CC with Princess. I have problems with my back if a mattress is too soft and that is an issue at some hotels. Within the last 14 months I have been on the Golden for 14 days, the Star for 23 days and the Coral for 7 days and did not have back pain. In my opinion the mattresses are usually firm but I would not say hard. I have not tried the egg crate. Requested once but was not on our bed when we arrived (apparently a common occurrence) and I did not follow-up. Have heard that the egg crate has been changed to a foam pad. Just my experience, yours may vary.

 

What type of cabin are you generally in? We have never had a good bed on Princess and have been on Caribbean, Diamond, and the Crown from a balcony to oceanview to inside cabin and have always needed the egg crates. I just read that the mini suites though have better mattresses according to one report. The egg crates have actually gotten thinner as time has gone by. We generally have a big crevice in our bed and this last time was especially bad since something kept poking in my back.

[hansi]

I have never had a problem with Princess beds. In fact, I find them really comfortable.

[IECalCruiser]

What type of cabin are you generally in? We have never had a good bed on Princess and have been on Caribbean, Diamond, and the Crown from a balcony to oceanview to inside cabin and have always needed the egg crates. I just read that the mini suites though have better mattresses according to one report. The egg crates have actually gotten thinner as time has gone by. We generally have a big crevice in our bed and this last time was especially bad since something kept poking in my back.

We are usually in a Caribe balcony cabin. Just shows how experiences are different. I sleep on a firm mattress with a very thin pillow and the Princess beds fit my need. I can see how others might detest.

[mrspaper]

My DH requested a feather pillow and was given one.