Princess Newbie

[sjcruiser]

Hello everyone, I think this is my first post on the Princess forum, since I've never cruised on Princess. I have cruised on Carnival (12) and Royal (4) to the Caribbean many times. I just became Platinum on the Vista this past weekend. This will be our first non-Caribbean cruise. I'm looking for information, tips, or those travelers that have done the 10-day European Explorer Cruise, Rome to Southampton. I'm looking to travel possibly in April 2019 or dates in 2020 (which isn't out yet). We'll be arriving at least two days before the cruise and staying two days after. I usually handle all our travel arrangements, but for this one, I think I'll feel more comfortable using a travel agent. Does Carnival offer cross-line discounts? Thanks for any information you can provide. Now time to go through the threads and learn more about Princess. Thanks again, and I look forward to interacting with everyone on this journey.

[Daisyloo]

Welcome to the Princess boards. As far as I know, there is no discount for sailing on another Carnival brand.

 

I haven't done the cruise you are thinking of, but I would like to recommend you consider staying longer than 2 days in Rome prior to your cruise. We stayed 5 days before our first cruise from Rome and we felt we could have done even longer. There is so much to see and do, including day trips from Rome. We took a high speed train to Naples, Sorrento, and Pompeii on our second time in Rome. The first trip we did a day-trip to Tuscany by bus. We are of the mindset that if we are going to travel that far from home we might as well make it count.

Whatever you choose, have a great time.

[voljeep]

with that many cruises on Carnival - I hope you are a stockholder which does carry over to the Princess Line to receive the OBC

Edited December 4, 2017 by voljeep
added info

[sjcruiser]

Thank you Daisyloo for your reply and information. Since this will probably be a major trip and investment, we’ll probably stay longer on either end to get the most out of the trip. I know that we won’t be able to see or do everything while we’re there, and hopefully the cruise and early arrival will peak our interest to return for a land vacation.

 

 

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[sjcruiser]

with that many cruises on Carnival - I hope you are a stockholder which does carry over to the Princess Line

 

 

 

I’ve been looking at the price of the stock which has been pretty high lately. I kick myself for not buying a few years ago when it was in the mid-20’s.

 

 

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[easyboy]

For disembarkation in Southampton and extended stay, you may want to check http://www.londontoolkit.com

 

 

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[sjcruiser]

Thank you!!! I’ll check out and bookmark the site for future reference.

For disembarkation in Southampton and extended stay, you may want to check www.londontoolkit.com

 

 

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[skynight]

Hello everyone, I think this is my first post on the Princess forum, since I've never cruised on Princess. I have cruised on Carnival (12) and Royal (4) to the Caribbean many times. I just became Platinum on the Vista this past weekend.This will be our first non-Caribbean cruise. I'm looking for information, tips, or those travelers that have done the 10-day European Explorer Cruise, Rome to Southampton. I'm looking to travel possibly in April 2019 or dates in 2020 (which isn't out yet). We'll be arriving at least two days before the cruise and staying two days after. I usually handle all our travel arrangements, but for this one, I think I'll feel more comfortable using a travel agent. Does Carnival offer cross-line discounts?Thanks for any information you can provide. Now time to go through the threads and learn more about Princess. Thanks again, and I look forward to interacting with everyone on this journey.

Create an account on the Princess web site. Believe you are treated as a past customer if you sailed any of the Carnival Corp. owned cruise lines of which Carnival is one. Loyalty status, however, does not carry over from Carnival Cruise Lines to Princess. The fare discount is small. Suggest you search out T.A.'s. Most times they offer things like additional fare discounts, upgrades, OBC, wine, things like that beyond the Princess Promos. Are you from the U.S. or Canada? if yes, you can book whenever. If a better promo comes up most times you can have the booking changed. The last two years the Sip&Sail promo has been offered during the summer. Promos change all the time. Watch for promos with non refundable deposits, Princess has them at times. Most times deposits are refundable. Read the fine print. If you are from the U.S. then you will be booking an open jaw flight. You may wish to check Princess EZ-Air. You do this yourself on line after you book. If you are an active or discharged vet. then check out the Princess military benefit.

[sjcruiser]

Create an account on the Princess web site. Believe you are treated as a past customer if you sailed any of the Carnival Corp. owned cruise lines of which Carnival is one. The fare discount is small. Suggest you search out T.A.'s. Most times they offer things like additional fare discounts, upgrades, OBC, wine, things like that beyond the Princess Promos. Are you from the U.S. or Canada? if yes, you can book whenever. If a better promo comes up most times you can have the booking changed. The last two years the Sip&Sail promo has been offered during the summer. Promos change all the time. Watch for promos with non refundable deposits, Princess has them at times. Most times deposits are refundable. Read the fine print. If you are from the U.S. then you will be booking an open jaw flight. You may wish to check Princess EZ-Air. You do this yourself on line after you book. If you are an active or discharged vet. then check out the Princess military benefit.

 

 

 

Hello, and thanks for the information. I’m from the U.S. I have had an online account with Princess for some years now, I just never sailed with them. I do get emails from them weekly. I have had several recommendations for TA’s, and will probably go with one of the larger U.S. companies for some peace of mind. Included amenities and promotions will be a consideration to this also. I think what’s hard for me is that I usually book my own cruises, and I’m and administrator and host our annual family and friends group cruise, so turning the cruise over to someone else to manage is making me a little anxious (lol). Thanks again for you help and the information.

 

 

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[voljeep]

You might find this service helpful

 

Go to the Princess Homepage

 

scroll down

 

Plan a Cruise heading

 

Princess vacation planner

 

I've never used it, but a lot of posters on CC have:cool:

[JF - retired RRT]

with that many cruises on Carnival - I hope you are a stockholder which does carry over to the Princess Line to receive the OBC

Also, if you're a veteran with a DD214. You get a very nice OBC.

If you are a vet and haven't done so already, fax or mail a copy of your DD214. It stays on your account forever without having to renew.

https://www.princess.com/downloads/pdf/faq_answer_legal/Military_Personnel_Benefit_US.pdf

[skynight]

so turning the cruise over to someone else to manage is making me a little anxious (lol). Thanks again for you help and the information.

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You don't turn over the management to someone else. You just book with them. You can manage all your own tours, air, on board purchases that you wish to buy all yourself in the cruise personlizer. We do it all the time. No problem, we remain in total control.

[bluenoser2]

We did the European Explorer cruise several years ago and it was an amazing trip. If you want some light reading that may or may not correspond with the trip you decide upon, you might check out my review - it's also very good for any night you have insomnia.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1282933&highlight=European+explorer+review

[sjcruiser]

Thanks everyone for the information and reminding me to do things I would have otherwise forgotten (like the DD214). I think with having just one cruise booked in 2018 so far, I’m looking to put all my time and effort into this one. Hopefully I’ll be able to get at least one cruise in on Princess before then so I can have some experience with the way they operate.

 

 

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[sjcruiser]

We did the European Explorer cruise several years ago and it was an amazing trip. If you want some light reading that may or may not correspond with the trip you decide upon, you might check out my review - it's also very good for any night you have insomnia.

 

 

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1282933&highlight=European+explorer+review

 

 

 

I started reading the review and say that there was 124 replies, so it’ll be my morning reading with coffee!!! Thanks for the review, and I’m enjoying it so far. My family use to think I was crazy splitting clothes between luggage, but several lists bags on our August cruise proved my point that things can, and do happen!!

 

 

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[Liz54]

I usually book directly with the cruise line and then keep checking with online TAs for better perks. OBC etc. Then switch much closer to sail time, before final payment. That way you can be in total control for all of the planning, price tracking etc.

[Nonnie1975]

I would highly recommend per-booking tours to the Vatican/Museums and the Coliseum. I would also recommend going to the basement of the Coliseum where they kept the tigers. We used http://www.tickitaly.com to pre-book our tours and got to skip the lines. What other ports are you going to visit? I would be glad to give you hints if we have been to any of those ports. We almost always use Trip Advisor as our go to for looking at private tours and never had a problem. Another suggestion is to plan each day so you don't have to walk miles and miles, Rome is a huge city and everything is not close to each other. We have been to Rome 2 times, and one day we walked 8 miles!! We love Rome!

[sjcruiser]

I would highly recommend per-booking tours to the Vatican/Museums and the Coliseum. I would also recommend going to the basement of the Coliseum where they kept the tigers. We used http://www.tickitaly.com to pre-book our tours and got to skip the lines. What other ports are you going to visit? I would be glad to give you hints if we have been to any of those ports. We almost always use Trip Advisor as our go to for looking at private tours and never had a problem. Another suggestion is to plan each day so you don't have to walk miles and miles, Rome is a huge city and everything is not close to each other. We have been to Rome 2 times, and one day we walked 8 miles!! We love Rome!

 

 

 

Thanks for the information. We plan on pre-booking all of our excursions, and a friend recommended using a “Butler” for the Vatican. I guess they have an inside connection to avoid lines and crowds, and can get you access to some of the areas other tourist aren’t allowed.

 

 

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[shepp]

The fare discount is small.

 

Depends on the sailing. Often there's no past passenger discount at all, but not always. When I sign in, the fare on my upcoming Canal cruise drops by 12%.

[riffatsea]

Hmm?

I have not seen anywhere on the Princess site to show that you are a past passenger on the other Carnival Corporation lines??

I am not aware of getting a discount unless you are a past Princess passenger.

Where is this found??

[sjcruiser]

Hmm?

 

I have not seen anywhere on the Princess site to show that you are a past passenger on the other Carnival Corporation lines??

 

I am not aware of getting a discount unless you are a past Princess passenger.

 

Where is this found??

 

 

 

 

I have not sailed on Princess before. I have sailed on Carnival, Just coming off the Vista this past weekend. With the current Anniversary sale going on, I may book a cruise before this one to try the line out beforehand. Some of the deals are very tempting when you include the onboard credits and pricing.

 

 

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[riffatsea]

@sjcruiser,

Yes I know you have not sailed with Princess before this. I have just booked my first cruise with them myself.

I was commenting on the fact that one of the other posters said that Princess gave credit for previous cruises on other Carnival Corporation lines but I don't think that is true since there is nowhere to give that info on the Princess site.

I agree that Princess is offering some good perks for booking now!

[sjcruiser]

@sjcruiser,

 

Yes I know you have not sailed with Princess before this. I have just booked my first cruise with them myself.

 

I was commenting on the fact that one of the other posters said that Princess gave credit for previous cruises on other Carnival Corporation lines but I don't think that is true since there is nowhere to give that info on the Princess site.

 

I agree that Princess is offering some good perks for booking now!

 

 

 

No worries!! It would be good if they did, and I forgot to ask the agent if they did. I have some time before the cruise becomes available that I’m really interesting in, but there’s a short cruise to Mexico and Amber Cove that I may book for February or March. Thanks again for all you help and information.

 

 

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