2013 Schedules

[roe2ship]

I just received a Princess brochure in the mail today and two cruises caught my eye that I hadn't seen before (14 days on the East Coast) on the Caribbean Princess - and another one on the same page on the Emerald (somewhere else). But going to the Princess site it shows them both in totally different places for that period. Wonder if the brochure (that was obviously made up weeks ago) is wrong, or if the website is that far behind if the changes were known when they designed the brochure? Either way - not good.

Wouldn't that brochure possibly be for 2012??

 

No worries in my mind. I much perfer the Caribbean in the off season with out all the late teen / early 20 passengers. No disrespect to that age group, they are just looking for a different type of experience than I am and the atmosphere is just a little different during the summer. The Caribbean in the fall is great IMO.

Ok....good for you.:rolleyes:

[hubofhockey]

Interesting that they are changing their Grand Med itinerary just a bit. They have replaced Monaco with Toulon (Provence). I always thought Monaco was the weak link in the itinerary. But that was mainly because it was a 7 to 2 port day. I think Marseille would have been a better choice than Toulon because it is closer to the nicer places in the Provence region as you can get out to Arles and Les Baux. But maybe they now agree that the 7-2 pm in Monaco just doesn't work.

 

I am still a bit disappointed that Princess really doesn't do much in Amsterdam. We want to do a Baltics cruise. It is a couple of years away. But it looks like we may wind up on Celebrity as they actually have embarcation and disembarkation out of Amsterdam.

[CruiseAdict218]

I like that the Pacifc Princess is sailing the UK, 5 different dates :D but a bit disappointed the Caribbean Princess is sailing the 12-day ones, oh well not complaining ;)

[CTKath]

I am still a bit disappointed that Princess really doesn't do much in Amsterdam. We want to do a Baltics cruise. It is a couple of years away. But it looks like we may wind up on Celebrity as they actually have embarcation and disembarkation out of Amsterdam.

 

That's funny, because I am trying to avoid Amsterdam, especially on both ends! We were there for a few days a couple of years ago, and would like to go somewhere different. That's what I'm liking about the Princess itinerary! :D

[hubofhockey]

That's funny, because I am trying to avoid Amsterdam, especially on both ends! We were there for a few days a couple of years ago, and would like to go somewhere different. That's what I'm liking about the Princess itinerary! :D

 

Well, if you have been there before, I can understand you wanting something different in terms of a Baltics itinerary. We haven't been and want to spend 2-3 days there before or after a cruise, depending on timing. Usually, Princess wins out with us on itineraries. But it will be good to get a little variety in our cruises and I am getting used to the idea that it will be our first Celebrity cruise. :cool:

[jeffstew]

[quote name='mistshar']I don't understand why they keep letting people book cruises that it appears are no longer available. It looks like they would fix them so they couldn't be booked. It just seems crazy. People may go ahead and make hotel and airline reservations that they won't be able to cancel. To me it is unfair of them to do people this way. I know I am very disappointed. I am in a position that I can change our reservation but I am still let down by them and this is our first cruise with them.[/quote]

Looks like they finally took your advice- these cruises are no longer available for booking. The website says prices are unavailable...

[mistshar]

[quote name='jeffstew']Looks like they finally took your advice- these cruises are no longer available for booking. The website says prices are unavailable...[/quote]

Yes, I noticed that and they officially cancelled our cruise. So we booked the 4/6/13 one. I would have preferred to go a little later but you can't go it the ship has left.

[bobhsv]

We still haven't been told here in Oz. We are booked on the 27th April Crown....and re coming so far, for the trip of our lifetime, we have already organised lots for 5+ weeks. Sometimes it doesn't pay to be quite so organised, hey!! So.....we are still waiting for the official 'word' downunder.

[MSMcDuffy]

If anyone is interested in seeing the Norwegian Fjords, the lower half of their West coast (not the North Cape), they have a great itinerary for 2013 on the Crown.

It's a day longer than what we did on her in 2011 and the port they added was Flaam--located inside one of the most beautiful fjords!...so it's 5 scenic ports, 3 incredibly scenic!

The only odd thing is that it's only offered on one date in Aug & one date in Sept. We went in early July and also added a pre-cruise land trip to Wales & London to make it worth the long flight from the US.

I highly recommend Norway as much as I do Alaska!:)

[RickEk]

Hmmmm.... I've heard that they will be dropping Rhodes and Monte Carlo on selected voyages on the [I]Crown Princess[/I]... bummer.

[bobhsv]

[quote name='jeffstew']Looks like they finally took your advice- these cruises are no longer available for booking. The website says prices are unavailable...[/quote]

Your comment above was niggling at me, so I checked and you are correct, the prices are gone. So I rang Princess here in Oz.....and they know nothing of a cancellation.....hmmmm.....Saturday arvo here atm, looking like a rather long weekend ahead:rolleyes:, waiting until Monday to see if the USA Princess have notified Oz (so we can then begin to research again).

[jeffstew]

[quote name='bobhsv']Your comment above was niggling at me, so I checked and you are correct, the prices are gone. So I rang Princess here in Oz.....and they know nothing of a cancellation.....hmmmm.....Saturday arvo here atm, looking like a rather long weekend ahead:rolleyes:, waiting until Monday to see if the USA Princess have notified Oz (so we can then begin to research again).[/quote]

Could you move your plans back one week? The Caribbean still has the 7-day on 4/20/13 (Curacao and Aruba) and the Ruby still has the 7-day on 4/21/13 (St. Thomas. St. Maarten, Grand Turk). They both leave out of Fort Lauderdale, though. I think these are now the latest Caribbean cruises of next season. The Emerald does a 10-day out of Fort Lauderdale as well on 4/16/13. Good luck in your plans- I hope you can still put something together.

[Cruzin-K]

[quote name='jeffstew']Could you move your plans back one week? The Caribbean still has the 7-day on 4/20/13 (Curacao and Aruba) and the Ruby still has the 7-day on 4/21/13 (St. Thomas. St. Maarten, Grand Turk). They both leave out of Fort Lauderdale, though. I think these are now the latest Caribbean cruises of next season. The Emerald does a 10-day out of Fort Lauderdale as well on 4/16/13. Good luck in your plans- I hope you can still put something together.[/quote]

According to what the cruise line sent to travel agents, the 4/6/13 trip will be the last from Galveston. The ship is heading to Europe on the 13th, so I wouldn't book the cruise on the 20th ;)

[Cruise Junky]

[quote name='Cruzin-K']According to what the cruise line sent to travel agents, the 4/6/13 trip will be the last from Galveston. The ship is heading to Europe on the 13th, so I wouldn't book the cruise on the 20th ;)[/QUOTE]

Your getting your ships mixed up. Crown leaves on the 13th. They'd still be ok to book the Carribean on the 20th.

[jeffstew]

[quote name='Cruzin-K']According to what the cruise line sent to travel agents, the 4/6/13 trip will be the last from Galveston. The ship is heading to Europe on the 13th, so I wouldn't book the cruise on the 20th ;)[/quote]

I booked the cruise on the 20th -on the [I]Caribbean. ;)[/I]

[Cruzin-K]

[quote name='Cruise Junky']Your getting your ships mixed up. Crown leaves on the 13th. They'd still be ok to book the Carribean on the 20th.[/quote]

oops :o

Well, they both start with "C" :D

[Cruise Junky]

[quote name='Cruzin-K']oops :o

Well, they both start with "C" :D[/quote]

Just don't suggest Coral, they'll end up in Alaska :)

[bobhsv]

[quote name='Cruise Junky']Just don't suggest Coral, they'll end up in Alaska :)[/quote]

Hehehe....love your sense of humour:) We have a NCL coastal LA to Vancouver booked as well, and were/are trying to fit in with this. Kinda like a backtoback, only on different ships. Didn't plan on having to cancel two cruises:eek: Another day gone, and still waiting for official email:rolleyes:, but are now searching for a whole 'new' trip to fit in with our holiday dates. Nothing in the Caribbean seems to fit in. A lesson learned for us.....we will never ever book a cruise so far out again. In the meantime other ships may be filling fast, as you over there have your emails, and I assume your money back. We had nearly paid in full for both. Such is life........btw looking forward to seeing Vancouver, one way or the other:D We are coming over regardless of this little hiccup!
Jen

[mistshar]

We have hit an issue with our cabin. We found out that the mini-suite that we booked has a balcony that is open at the top and I am not sure that I will like that especially since with my health issues and medicines I take, I am not supposed to be in direct sunlight. So the TA is going to check to see what can be done about that. This cruise seems to be one problem after another. She is very good. I am sure she will figure something out. If we have to we will just go to a regular balcony room. We just wanted to try a mini-suite since they are not that much more than a balcony. Problems, problems, problems!!! I'm sure there are people in the world that only wish they had our problems and I feel badly for them because I know there are far worse things to worry about but right now these are our issues and we can try to help them with their issues also because I know they need it.

[Cruzin-K]

[quote name='mistshar']We have hit an issue with our cabin. We found out that the mini-suite that we booked has a balcony that is open at the top and I am not sure that I will like that especially since with my health issues and medicines I take, I am not supposed to be in direct sunlight. So the TA is going to check to see what can be done about that. This cruise seems to be one problem after another. She is very good. I am sure she will figure something out. If we have to we will just go to a regular balcony room. We just wanted to try a mini-suite since they are not that much more than a balcony. Problems, problems, problems!!! I'm sure there are people in the world that only wish they had our problems and I feel badly for them because I know there are far worse things to worry about but right now these are our issues and we can try to help them with their issues also because I know they need it.[/quote]

There are plenty of AD mini-suites available on the 4/6/13 cruise. Those are covered :)

[IECalCruiser]

[quote name='mistshar']We have hit an issue with our cabin. We found out that the mini-suite that we booked has a balcony that is open at the top and I am not sure that I will like that especially since with my health issues and medicines I take, I am not supposed to be in direct sunlight. So the TA is going to check to see what can be done about that. This cruise seems to be one problem after another. She is very good. I am sure she will figure something out. If we have to we will just go to a regular balcony room. We just wanted to try a mini-suite since they are not that much more than a balcony. Problems, problems, problems!!! I'm sure there are people in the world that only wish they had our problems and I feel badly for them because I know there are far worse things to worry about but right now these are our issues and we can try to help them with their issues also because I know they need it.[/quote]Remember that, depending upon the direction you are cruising, your Dolphin deck mini-suite will have some shade part or all of many days. We did the Western Caribbean out of Galveston when the Grand was doing the route a few years ago. I had issues with sun exposure at that time and was able to get good use out of our Dolphin deck mini-suite balcony. Even the covered Emerald deck minis will have sun part of some days. We had one of the fully covered aft balcony cabins found only on the Aloha deck of the Diamond/Sapphire last year. We had part sun and part shade on our balcony most days.

[mistshar]

[quote name='Cruzin-K']There are plenty of AD mini-suites available on the 4/6/13 cruise. Those are covered :)[/quote]

Thank you for letting me know that. I thought they were covered from what I had read. I had suggested them to my TA. She is going to check on them on Mon. I appreciate the info.

[mistshar]

[quote name='IECalCruiser']Remember that, depending upon the direction you are cruising, your Dolphin deck mini-suite will have some shade part or all of many days. We did the Western Caribbean out of Galveston when the Grand was doing the route a few years ago. I had issues with sun exposure at that time and was able to get good use out of our Dolphin deck mini-suite balcony. Even the covered Emerald deck minis will have sun part of some days. We had one of the fully covered aft balcony cabins found only on the Aloha deck of the Diamond/Sapphire last year. We had part sun and part shade on our balcony most days.[/quote]

The sun is the main factor but there is also the issue of people looking down on you. I don't care for that which some people have mentioned who have stayed in those cabins. We have had balconies before so I am aware that the sun will be a factor at times anyway but I am afraid with it being open it will be much more of an issue. Thank you very much for your information though. I appreciate it.

[IECalCruiser]

[quote name='mistshar']The sun is the main factor but there is also the issue of people looking down on you. I don't care for that which some people have mentioned who have stayed in those cabins. We have had balconies before so I am aware that the sun will be a factor at times anyway but I am afraid with it being open it will be much more of an issue. Thank you very much for your information though. I appreciate it.[/quote]I understand your concern. We had similar concerns with our first Dolphin deck mini, but it is no different than laying out on a lounger on deck. We don't do anything on our balcony that anyone else on board shouldn't see and if anyone stares down at us we just stare back at em :D We have had three Dolphin deck mini's. We do want to give one of the Emerald deck mini's a try sometime though.