Postage and Mailing Postcards Onboard

[teacher1977]

Is it possible to purchase postage stamps onboard and then mail postcards from on the ship? Trying to figure out if I can get stamps on the ship for postcards I might pick up in foreign ports and then actually mail the postcards on the ship. Is there a mailbox?

[Kamloops50]

Is it possible to purchase postage stamps onboard and then mail postcards from on the ship? Trying to figure out if I can get stamps on the ship for postcards I might pick up in foreign ports and then actually mail the postcards on the ship. Is there a mailbox?

 

Customer service desk will have some stamps for each country . They will collect the post cards or letters and give them to the port agent for mailing.

[MustangGT]

We have not been able to get stamps from the Pursers Desk for some of our Caribbean stops. We like to mail postcards to our Granddaughter so we hunt down a post office in port. Our experience has been about 60 - 70% chance of her actually getting them but we still try.

[MicCanberra]

I have done this before and it is hit and miss as they only had a franking type stamp.

I posted numerous Postcards with stamps that I had purchased and they showed up months after I returned home but the several cards that were franked (about $3 USD each), never showed up.:(

[Working 2 Cruise]

From what I understand, postcards mailed from the ship take weeks to months to arrive, if they arrive at all!

[Colo Cruiser]

Is it possible to purchase postage stamps onboard and then mail postcards from on the ship? Trying to figure out if I can get stamps on the ship for postcards I might pick up in foreign ports and then actually mail the postcards on the ship. Is there a mailbox?

 

Here is a thread from today on mailing onboard.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2223012

[MicCanberra]

Here is a thread from today on mailing onboard.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2223012

 

cheers.:D

[Putterdude]

My experience parallels what others have posted. The CSD often has postage for the local realm which they are happy to sell you. After that it is a real crap shoot whether the mail will get ashore....we have often been home for a month or more before post cards arrive.

[SoCal Cruiser78]

From what I understand, postcards mailed from the ship take weeks to months to arrive, if they arrive at all!

 

OT: This reminds me of some friends who used to vacation in Spain. The local post office apparently waited until outgoing mailboxes were full before they emptied them. This could take days or weeks depending on how busy an area they were in.

Edited June 18, 2015 by SoCal Cruiser78

[MicCanberra]

OT: This reminds me of some friends who used to vacation in Spain. The local post office apparently waited until outgoing mailboxes were full before they emptied them. This could take days or weeks depending on how busy an area they were in.

 

Sounds like the South American method as well, took 6 months.:D

[latebloomer56]

Hit or miss getting our postcards. When we started cruising want cards with not only the stamp from the country but the post mark. A few time when mailed from the ship they had US post marks? Still like to send them if I have time and local post office is open. Not from the ship though.

[Ron the Rev]

Another nice way of communicating is to use the free on-board greetings email you can find on the terminals in the future cruise booking area ( at least it will arrive at the intended recipient}:) . They are quite nice but also a bit of an advertisement on how good Princess think themselves.

[paul929207]

We stopped mailing post cards home years ago. They often did not arrive. If they did, it was long after we got home.

[skynight]

Remember to include the country in the address. Many times those of us from the U.S. forget the country and just mention the State. Without the country name foreign postal services don't know where to send the mail.

[latebloomer56]

Remember to include the country in the address. Many times those of us from the U.S. forget the country and just mention the State. Without the country name foreign postal services don't know where to send the mail.

 

Thanks didn't even give that a thought. I know I never put USA on any cards. Will do this next spring from the Baltics.

[Katie333]

As a philatelist (stamp collector), I have found it to be a lot of fun to track down the local post office from port to port and mail things out. I often pick up some local stamps as souvenirs. Post offices can often be the hub of the community and are generally off the beaten path. This has provided me with lots of little adventures, opportunities to use different languages and some special, reasonably priced souvenirs to bring home.

[MustangGT]

As a philatelist (stamp collector), I have found it to be a lot of fun to track down the local post office from port to port and mail things out. I often pick up some local stamps as souvenirs. Post offices can often be the hub of the community and are generally off the beaten path. This has provided me with lots of little adventures, opportunities to use different languages and some special, reasonably priced souvenirs to bring home.

 

Another thing we recently found was that some of the Post Offices in port will stamp your passport. We like that as we rarely get stamps in the passport anymore.

[FritzG]

Another nice way of communicating is to use the free on-board greetings email you can find on the terminals in the future cruise booking area ( at least it will arrive at the intended recipient}:) . They are quite nice but also a bit of an advertisement on how good Princess think themselves.

 

I finally gave up on those, too. No one ever received any of the on-board greetings we sent including those we sent to ourselves as a test.

[notentirelynormal]

The first and last time I did that I mailed to my co-workers. All but one co-worker got their cards. She was so offended and upset by being left out. It took me a while to even figure out why she was mad at me. She finally confessed how hurt she was and it was useless trying to convince her I did send her one. It was 2 months later she got her card and finally believed and forgave me.

 

Way too much stress LOL. :rolleyes:

[300dtc]

We recently mailed a birthday card and 4 postcards from the ship while docked in Skagway, AK. The birthday card made it to Texas in a few days, 3 of the 4 postcards beat us home and one came a day or 2 after we got back. There seemed to be no plan in the whole thing.

[caribill]

We recently mailed a birthday card and 4 postcards from the ship while docked in Skagway, AK. The birthday card made it to Texas in a few days, 3 of the 4 postcards beat us home and one came a day or 2 after we got back. There seemed to be no plan in the whole thing.

 

You mailed cards from the USA to the USA. Usually no problem.

 

The lengthy delays and possible never arriving occurs when cards/letters are sent from a foreign country to the USA.

[MicCanberra]

Another nice way of communicating is to use the free on-board greetings email you can find on the terminals in the future cruise booking area ( at least it will arrive at the intended recipient}:) . They are quite nice but also a bit of an advertisement on how good Princess think themselves.

 

I didn't know about this, I will have to investigate on the next cruise.:D

[DaisyRose]

I enjoy mailing postcards from other countries home to the USA. However, like others, either they didn't arrive or it took a few months. Now, I still buy the postcards, but mail them after I return to the USA. People still enjoy seeing the pictures on the postcards of the places I went, and get them a lot sooner than if I had mailed them from another country. Also costs a lot less for a US postcard stamp than an international stamp.