First time princess cruise *please help*

[aseyrick]

Hello,

 

My family and I will be hopping on the Grand Princess for a 15-nt Hawaiian cruise very soon and was hoping someone can please impart your wisdom on the following questions:

 

1. Do the state rooms have safes/lock boxes for valuables? If so, what are the dimensions?

2. How many formal/semi-formal nights are there on a 15-night cruise?

3. Aside from formal/semi-formal nights, are there other specialty nights where it requires special attire?

4. Our boarding time is set for 1-3 pm, does this mean we are not allowed to board earlier?

5. Is there any special registration/check-in for the kids' club?

6. How safe/clean are the kids clubs? (Our son is 6)

7. Our son still occasionally have accidents in his bed. Do they offer waterproof bedliners?

8. We have an early departure flight, what is the best way to get off the ship ASAP on disembarkation day?

9. Is there a baggage allowance on Princess?

10. What type of toiletries are already included (i.e., shampoo, conditioner, etc.)

11. Any tips/advice for 1st-time Princess cruises would be GREATLY welcomed!!

12. Is there anywhere on this forum where I can get a copy of the daily itineraries for this particular cruise? (i.e., all the daily activities & times offered on the cruise, etc.)

 

Thank you soooo very much in advance!!

 

Sincerely,

Annabel

[bdjam]

My attempt

 

1. Do the state rooms have safes/lock boxes for valuables? If so, what are the dimensions?

Yes - not sure of the exact dimensions but I can get a wallet, small camera, passport, cruise documents, iPhone and an iPad in with room to spare. I suppose a small laptop would fit as well

2. How many formal/semi-formal nights are there on a 15-night cruise?

The Hawaii itinerary has three - one on the way over, two on the way back.

3. Aside from formal/semi-formal nights, are there other specialty nights where it requires special attire?

No requirements but they usually have an island night deck party - lots of Hawaiian stuff.

4. Our boarding time is set for 1-3 pm, does this mean we are not allowed to board earlier?

Overall, experience says that the boarding times are suggestive and not enforced. San Francisco tends to start noon-ish.

5. Is there any special registration/check-in for the kids' club?

No kids, but I would suspect the answer is yes - check http://www.princess.com and search for kids clubs

6. How safe/clean are the kids clubs? (Our son is 6)

Again no kids, but they look pretty clean and I've not read of any issues with safety.

7. Our son still occasionally have accidents in his bed. Do they offer waterproof bedliners?

Dunno

8. We have an early departure flight, what is the best way to get off the ship ASAP on disembarkation day?

The cruise personalizer has a section for air arrangements and they give guidelines as to the earliest you should schedule your flight. If you're earlier than that, see the purser's desk and see what arrangements can be made for you. Note that early embarkation requires you to carry all of your own luggage off without help from the crew.

9. Is there a baggage allowance on Princess?

No

10. What type of toiletries are already included (i.e., shampoo, conditioner, etc.)

Body wash and shampoo/conditioner combo in the showers, bar soap.

11. Any tips/advice for 1st-time Princess cruises would be GREATLY welcomed!!

What do you want to know?

12. Is there anywhere on this forum where I can get a copy of the daily itineraries for this particular cruise? (i.e., all the daily activities & times offered on the cruise, etc.)

Search for Princess Patters - lots of people will post copies of them.

 

Thank you soooo very much in advance!!

 

Sincerely,

Annabel

Edited April 22, 2014 by bdjam

[redtogo]

Hello,

 

My family and I will be hopping on the Grand Princess for a 15-nt Hawaiian cruise very soon and was hoping someone can please impart your wisdom on the following questions:

 

1. Do the state rooms have safes/lock boxes for valuables? If so, what are the dimensions?

2. How many formal/semi-formal nights are there on a 15-night cruise?

3. Aside from formal/semi-formal nights, are there other specialty nights where it requires special attire?

4. Our boarding time is set for 1-3 pm, does this mean we are not allowed to board earlier?

5. Is there any special registration/check-in for the kids' club?

6. How safe/clean are the kids clubs? (Our son is 6)

7. Our son still occasionally have accidents in his bed. Do they offer waterproof bedliners?

8. We have an early departure flight, what is the best way to get off the ship ASAP on disembarkation day?

9. Is there a baggage allowance on Princess?

10. What type of toiletries are already included (i.e., shampoo, conditioner, etc.)

11. Any tips/advice for 1st-time Princess cruises would be GREATLY welcomed!!

12. Is there anywhere on this forum where I can get a copy of the daily itineraries for this particular cruise? (i.e., all the daily activities & times offered on the cruise, etc.)

 

Thank you soooo very much in advance!!

 

Sincerely,

Annabel

 

1. Large enough for two iPads. Two small cameras. Two cell phones. Two wallets. Two passports. And still room for other personal items. Approx. 12x9x 9 - give or take.

2. Three on a 15 day cruise, I believe.

3. No other specialty nights. Just smart-casual attire.

4. Boarding will not be open until the designated time. One reason -rooms are still being cleaned and ship put in order for new passengers.

5. I would think that parents have to sign children up. I don't know as I don't have small children.

6. Same as #5

7. Ask the room steward or call Princess.

8. You disembarkation time will be assigned according to when your flight leaves. If you use Princess transfers, the bus will be ready and waiting when you are allowed to disembark. Passengers who take all of their luggage off of the ship with no assistance, can do an early walk-off. But if you are using Princess transfers, the bus may not be there yet.

9. No baggage allowance. We usually have one large bag ("checked"- airport term) which we give to the port baggage handlers and one carry on which we roll on ourselves.

10. Shampoo and shower gel hangs in a holder in the shower. Small bar of soap, tube of lotion.

11. Go prepared to have a good time. Be open minded. Be safe when in port. Be sure to carry your Princess Patter with you when you leave the ship. There are phone numbers on the front that may be useful, if you need to contact Princess or authorities. ALWAYS carry a government issued photo ID with you when you leave the ship along with your cruise card.

12. There are probably no Princess Patters that would apply to your cruise. Entertainers change ships at different ports, some stay onboard. There are lots of things to do. Trivia, shopping, gambling, bingo, talent show, camera classes. Don't fret. You won't be able to do it all!

Edited April 22, 2014 by redtogo

[Pam in CA]

1. Yes, there are safes. A suggestion is to bring ZipLoc bags to store small or loose items. It's not well-lit and there's a lip so money, jewelry, etc. are occasionally lost. I keep my passport and money in one, jewelry case in another, etc.

 

2. Three.

 

3. Either smart casual or formal. For celebrations such as Halloween, people sometimes bring costumes.

 

4. Check-in starts at 10:30am, boarding usually starts between 11:30am-Noon. The boarding time is a suggestion, not a requirement.

 

5. 6. 7. I don't know.

 

8. Earliest way off the ship is self-disembarkation which means you must be able to carry everything yourself without assistance. And, have one hand free for the escalator. With a small child, that might be difficult. If you're flying out of LA, I would avoid booking a flight earlier than Noon. LAX recommends getting to the airport two hours before your flight. Traffic getting just from the entrance to the terminal can be horrendous. I've had it take over half an hour. Check-in and Security usually have very long lines and can take 30-60 minutes to get through. Plan accordingly.

 

9. No baggage allowance on Princess.

 

10. A combination shampoo/conditioner and shower gel. I ask for a soap bar and bring my own shampoo and conditioner.

Edited April 22, 2014 by Pam in CA

[cnd crsr]

You should have info in your cabin when you board on the kid's club. You have to go to the club for registration. The club is clean and well run. There are several activities and art activities. You have to accompany the children there each day and they will give you a pager in case your child needs you. The children in the younger age groups can not leave without you coming to get them. We have been happy with the clubs.

 

The club runs from 9am - noon, 2pm - 5pm and 7pm -10pm, you decide how often you want to have you child there. If they are like our grandchildren they loved it -- they were 4 and 5 the first time they cruised.

 

Hope this helps.

Edited April 22, 2014 by cnd crsr

[Cruisin' Chick]

Hello,

 

My family and I will be hopping on the Grand Princess for a 15-nt Hawaiian cruise very soon and was hoping someone can please impart your wisdom on the following questions:

 

1. Do the state rooms have safes/lock boxes for valuables? If so, what are the dimensions? There is a small safe but I didn't measure it. On our last few cruises, you program a code to lock it.

2. How many formal/semi-formal nights are there on a 15-night cruise? There are three formal nights on the two week cruises. The rest of the dinners in the MDRs are "smart casual." The specialty restaurants have a smart casual dress code, but some diners there dress up more -- their choice. For other dining venues, you don't have to dress up (you can wear shorts, just not wet bathing suits).

3. Aside from formal/semi-formal nights, are there other specialty nights where it requires special attire? Nope. On our Hawaiian cruises, there was a fun Ultimate Deck Party (used to be called Island Night), and usually passengers will don aloha wear that they may have just bought in the ports. Some other itineraries may have a similar deck party. But there isn't any guidelines for dress as it's more a dance/party atmosphere.

 

Now the waitstaff will dress up for the cuisine being offered most nights (wearing red/white stripe gondola shirts for Italian nights, for example). But passengers just wear whatever.

4. Our boarding time is set for 1-3 pm, does this mean we are not allowed to board earlier? We don't pay attention to that. Out of our last three cruises (all out of the Port of LA), we've arrived by 12:30 or earlier. Twice, we didn't have a line, other than maybe one party in front of us. Of course, even after checking in and going through security, we may be directed toward a waiting area. But once on board a Princess ship, you can go straight to your cabin.

5. Is there any special registration/check-in for the kids' club? When you get to your cabin, there should be an informational packet for the program (so if your kid is in Pelicans, there'll be a packet for that group, which will include a form to fill out, guidelines for you to read, and a day-by-day schedule; if you have a second kid in a different program, there'll be the info for that group, etc.). Usually the kids' program rooms will be open the first afternoon so you can check them out, but often you'll be told when to drop by and meet the staff, complete the paperwork, and for the kids to meet each other (that's why it's good to do this the first day as the bonding will happen then).

6. How safe/clean are the kids clubs? (Our son is 6) My daughter has been going to the programs ever since she was old enough (on Carnival and on Princess) and I haven't seen any problems. The staff are usually those who have been working in children occupations (camp programs, teachers making a little money on winter break...).

7. Our son still occasionally have accidents in his bed. Do they offer waterproof bedliners? I'm guessing you should bring these yourself.

8. We have an early departure flight, what is the best way to get off the ship ASAP on disembarkation day? I'm guessing your flight is out of SF, so you may want to ask how close is the airport to the port. I haven't gone out of SF, but I wouldn't book a flight before noon if going from LAX. There's no guarantee that the customs and immigration process will start on time with any cruise. Some people will do the self-embarkation -- you sign up for that at some point on your cruise, but whether you get off in the first group or not really depends on how many others do this too. But a main requirement is that you can take all of your luggage and carryons by yourself -- no assistance will be given to you. And with some ports, you won't be allowed to use the elevator.

 

Myself, I wouldn't stress myself by trying to catch an early flight the same day (just as we won't take a same-day flight getting into our embarkation city).

 

9. Is there a baggage allowance on Princess? No. Any carry ons must fit through the security conveyor belt. There are places in your cabin to stow suitcases (usually under the beds), but if you're bringing your house with you, you may run out of room. And you should give some cash per checked in bag when handing them off to the porter at the pier.

10. What type of toiletries are already included (i.e., shampoo, conditioner, etc.)

11. Any tips/advice for 1st-time Princess cruises would be GREATLY welcomed!! Check out the Patter (the daily newsletter). Fly in to your embarkation city at least a day ahead. Don't try to do everything. Enjoy yourself. Make a trip to the International Cafe (it's a set of display cases in the grand atrium which is called the Piazza, with yummy treats and light mealsfor no charge, except for specialty drinks. This is open 24/7 and you can bring the plates anywhere on the ship, including your cabin).

12. Is there anywhere on this forum where I can get a copy of the daily itineraries for this particular cruise? (i.e., all the daily activities & times offered on the cruise, etc.)

Sometimes people will scan theirs in and either post them in a trip report or give a link to their photo site. I've done that for my last two cruises on the Golden (LA to Hawaii), but it can be time consuming.

What Princess does on the Hawaiian itinerary is provide a great cultural program about the Islands. There should be a duo still on the Grand until the repo to the NW that helps out (the duo Elua who has been doing this on the Star has left to work on the Diamond Princess for a sailing or two, and will undoubtedly return to either the LA or SF ship next fall).

 

Thank you soooo very much in advance!!

 

Sincerely,

Annabel

 

 

Enjoy. The Hawaiian cruise from the west coast is probably our family favorite -- our last three cruises has been the holiday ones from LA.

[caribill]

11. Any tips/advice for 1st-time Princess cruises would be GREATLY welcomed!!

 

Go to the Princess web site and download the Cruise Answer Book. This will answer many questions including some you did not know you had. Go to https://book.princess.com/captaincircle/brochureRequest.page and it will be on the left a little way down the page.

 

Also join the roll call roll call for your cruise. You can "meety" people who will be on your cruise and your new firends can help you get answers before and during the cruise. See Find Your Star Princess Roll Call

 

Definitely carefully read the onboard newsletter, the Patter, every evening to see what activities you want to attend.

 

Please remember there is no silly question. If you have any question at all while on the ship, ask either crew or fellow passengers. Do not end the cruise thinking "I would have done xxx if only I had known about it."

 

Have a great, fun cruise.

[Colo Cruiser]

Hello,

 

My family and I will be hopping on the Grand Princess for a 15-nt Hawaiian cruise very soon and was hoping someone can please impart your wisdom on the following questions:

 

1. Do the state rooms have safes/lock boxes for valuables? If so, what are the dimensions?

2. How many formal/semi-formal nights are there on a 15-night cruise?

3. Aside from formal/semi-formal nights, are there other specialty nights where it requires special attire?

4. Our boarding time is set for 1-3 pm, does this mean we are not allowed to board earlier?

5. Is there any special registration/check-in for the kids' club?

6. How safe/clean are the kids clubs? (Our son is 6)

7. Our son still occasionally have accidents in his bed. Do they offer waterproof bedliners?

8. We have an early departure flight, what is the best way to get off the ship ASAP on disembarkation day?

9. Is there a baggage allowance on Princess?

10. What type of toiletries are already included (i.e., shampoo, conditioner, etc.)

11. Any tips/advice for 1st-time Princess cruises would be GREATLY welcomed!!

12. Is there anywhere on this forum where I can get a copy of the daily itineraries for this particular cruise? (i.e., all the daily activities & times offered on the cruise, etc.)

 

Thank you soooo very much in advance!!

 

Sincerely,

Annabel

 

Very safe and clean....

We have never had an issue with any kids centers on Princess, when any of our families children went there.

[aseyrick]

May I just say you guys are AWESOME!!! Thank you so very much for all this great information (esp. in such a short amt of time)!! You're a life saver!!! :)

[RNGALNG]

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

The others have answered most of your questions beautifully.

 

I would add some things to the 'tips' question.

 

Bring a few magnets, sticky notes, duck tape, highlighter and a night light in your bags.

 

The walls are metal - so you can hang your child's art work, the patter, notes. . .what ever to the wall with your magnets.

 

Sticky notes in a bright color are great for leaving notes if you plan to do different activities. "Meet me in Horizon Court at 2:00." "I am in the spa getting a massage, leave me alone. . . "

 

Duck tape will come in handy for odd things around the room. Some people, I have read here, wrap some around the highlighter.

 

Highlighter - for your daily patter. You can highlight the events you want to attend.

 

About the patters. Each cruise director seems to plan their own activities so what you read on the past ones might not jive with what you get. Movies will be newer, shows, entertainers will have moved on and others in their place, and depending on the make up of the passengers, the 'fun things' will change too.

 

On the Hawaii cruises, they have some fun things to do on some of the ship having to do with the cruise. Making leis out of ribbon or flowers, ukulele lessons, hula dance classes. There will also be lectures on the islands before you arrive. You can attend wine tasting, go to a book club, and the wonderful trivia, where you can pick up 'valuable' prizes! (Lanyards, magnets, key rings.) But it is fun to attend.

 

What ever you do, enjoy your cruise. Make it fun for you - do what makes you happy. No one will make you eat your spinach or peas. Go have an ice cream or a slice of pizza. Just enjoy!

[aseyrick]

Awesome tips, RNGALNG! Thank you .. sometimes we forget we're actually on vacation until it's too late.

[ar1950]

Just a suggestion. We were on the Star Hawaii cruise in November. If you are planning on using the internet on board I would advise to not waste you money. Connection speeds are poor at best and not very reliable. Between my wife and myself we had 500 minutes (Platinum benefit for the first time) and I used more than half of the time trying to get my e-mail (and look up the daily trivia answers). I found that I could use my Blackberry Z10 to do just as much as I could do on my laptop. Next cruise, on the Ruby in March, I left the laptop home and just used the Blackberry. Same bad connection speed but didn't lug the laptop and had no worries about locking it in the safe because it didn't fit anyway, Z10 fit fine. If you have a smart phone, leave the laptop at home, set the phone on airplane mode and use the WIFI on the phone for internet. Or just use the internet cafe computers on the ship. Enjoy the cruise, wish we were going again. :cool:

 

YMMV

[jedreyling]

The children in the younger age groups can not leave without you coming to get them.

[Ldyandrea]

Just a suggestion. We were on the Star Hawaii cruise in November. If you are planning on using the internet on board I would advise to not waste you money. Connection speeds are poor at best and not very reliable. Between my wife and myself we had 500 minutes (Platinum benefit for the first time) and I used more than half of the time trying to get my e-mail (and look up the daily trivia answers). I found that I could use my Blackberry Z10 to do just as much as I could do on my laptop. Next cruise, on the Ruby in March, I left the laptop home and just used the Blackberry. Same bad connection speed but didn't lug the laptop and had no worries about locking it in the safe because it didn't fit anyway, Z10 fit fine. If you have a smart phone, leave the laptop at home, set the phone on airplane mode and use the WIFI on the phone for internet. Or just use the internet cafe computers on the ship. Enjoy the cruise, wish we were going again. :cool:

 

YMMV

 

I agree....on my last cruise, I found that my iPhone connected to the ship's wi-fi was MUCH faster, since those web pages on your smart phone are generally optimized to not need as much data. Just make sure that you logout of the ship's wi-fi each time you're done so you're not burning internet minutes.

 

I will likely still bring my computer, because I use it for other offline purposes, but using your smart phone in lieu of your laptop as a way to check emails and simple web tasks is a very good idea!

 

The other thing I would mention is that if you really need to use your laptop online, do so late at night. I found the speeds to be much quicker, because likely everyone was either out and about, or was already asleep in their beds. ;)

[aseyrick]

OK, the internet usage is a big one for me as I (hate to say this) simply cannot leave work behind for that many days. Are you guys saying that there's FREE ship wifi available for my smartphone to use? If so, why wouldn't my iPad/laptop be able to use that same wifi?

 

Also, airplane mode doesn't allow a smartphone any connectivity..it only allows you to use your phone offline??

 

Also, can you please help me understand re: the wifi speeds (i.e., data up/download)? A smartphone versus laptop should be exactly the same. The only difference would be your smartphone versus laptop processor may have different speed, but that shouldn't affect the up/download of data using the ship's wifi??

 

Thanks .. this is a big one for me.

[aseyrick]

BTW - I just bought 680 minutes before I saw your posts, so I really want to know if there's free wifi so I can get my money back. Thanks again!!

[Colo Cruiser]

BTW - I just bought 680 minutes before I saw your posts, so I really want to know if there's free wifi so I can get my money back. Thanks again!!

 

Keep your minutes, there is no free WiFi onboard unless you are a Platinum/Elite past passenger.

[USAF Retired]

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.

[ar1950]

.................

Also, airplane mode doesn't allow a smartphone any connectivity..it only allows you to use your phone offline??

..................

 

Airplane mode turns off the radio (telephone function) while turning on WIFI allows connecting to, well, WIFI. Two different functions. Oh, and believe it, you don't want to get stuck with foreign roaming charges (which is what the ship's cell phone connectivity is) so be sure your phone is on airplane mode when leaving port (or have it turned off entirely). :cool:

Edited April 23, 2014 by ar1950

[SwissDave]

Just to be completely pedantic, wifi is free. What you are paying for is internet access.

On the new ships, Royal/Regal you can access new functions via wifi that are not yet available on other ships such as patters, on board account etc.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone. Please excuse tryping orrers.

[caribill]

When Internet was first offered at sea, it was bascially for a few dozen PCs in a ship's Internet Cafe and the crew quarters.

 

These days every passenger and crew member potentially have devices that can access the Internet. When hundreds (thousands?) of them do at the same time, the speeds achieved will be slow. Accessing the Internet at 3 AM will be much, much, much fatser than doing it at 4 PM.

 

Also when users access such services such as Skype (when it is not blocked) will use more than their fair share of Internet capacity, slowing down every other user at the same time.

[cmarshall9]

On my last two cruises, there were theme parties called "Princess Cruises Classics" There was a 60's night and a Country/Western night. The entertainment crew was totally dressed up and a few passengers were also. :)

 

We've been able to put both my wallet (large) and my husband's wallet (man size), three jewelry rolls, a small jewelry box, passports, and important papers in the safe with room to spare. I almost never put my iPhone in there.

 

There is also a hair dryer in your cabin.

[rdsqrl]

Bring a travel alarm clock. Unlike hotel rooms, Princess's cabins do not have a clock. While there is a wake-up-call service, if you prefer to have your own alarm/have a clock in your cabin, you'll want to bring one with you.

[Colo Cruiser]

Bring a travel alarm clock. Unlike hotel rooms, Princess's cabins do not have a clock.

 

 

On the phone.

[rdsqrl]

On the phone.

Not on the little girls. And no alarm.

 

I don't really call a display you have to be standing right over the instrument in order to read to be a "clock."