Princess Newbie Several Questions Thank you!

[TheSweetLife220]

Hi, new to Princess and have a few questions. I know I will have more as the date gets closer. Not sailing til 2/2019 Los Angeles to Hawaii.

What is the boarding time?

 

Once you board are the rooms ready for occupancy?

 

I have cruised other lines where you board in the early am, but rooms arent ready til 1 pm. I understand I can bring my own sodas, is there a limit?

 

Do I need to schlep them around in a suitcase til my room is ready or do I check my luggage and have it delivered?

 

I did have a can punctured on one line, so thinking plastic bottles might be better. I know I cant buy alcohol in Hawaii and carry it on board to drink, but if I run out of soda can I bring back soda to my room if I buy it in Hawaii?

 

I have extremely thick hair and the dryers that hotels usually provide are useless to me :( Is the provided hair dryer a typical hotel hair dryer or does it pack a punch?

 

Which do you prefer Anytime dining or Traditional? I've only ever had the option of Traditional. Is there a long wait line in the Anytime line? Is the security scanner that I have to walk through a metal detector or an x-ray machine?

 

I have room R 747 booked, is that a good room, it has the extended balcony?

 

Any pointers or good tips for a first timer on Princess?

 

Thanks in advance!

[JF - retired RRT]

Hi, new to Princess and have a few questions. I know I will have more as the date gets closer. Not sailing til 2/2019 Los Angeles to Hawaii.

What is the boarding time? You can arrive at the port anytime after 10 to 10:30. Boarding generally starts around 11 or so. You'll be assigned a boarding "group". The groups are called as follows: in transit (those doing back to back), weddings, Elite & Suites, Platinum, then everyone else in order of the assigned group.

 

Once you board are the rooms ready for occupancy? Usually. As a general rule, if they aren't quite ready, you can still go by and drop off your carry-ons.

 

I understand I can bring my own sodas, is there a limit? No limit. You can put with your carry-on and go through security with it or put a luggage tag on it and let the porters handle it.

 

Do I need to schlep them around in a suitcase til my room is ready or do I check my luggage and have it delivered? See above about going to your cabin and attaching luggage tags.

 

I did have a can punctured on one line, so thinking plastic bottles might be better. I know I can't buy alcohol in Hawaii and carry it on board to drink, but if I run out of soda can I bring back soda to my room if I buy it in Hawaii? Yes. You can bring wine on board in Hawaii and usually pay $15 corkage fee.

 

I have extremely thick hair and the dryers that hotels usually provide are useless to me :( Is the provided hair dryer a typical hotel hair dryer or does it pack a punch? If you don't like hotel hair dryers, you'll hate the ones on the ship. Bring your own.

 

Which do you prefer Anytime dining or Traditional? Traditional I've only ever had the option of Traditional. Is there a long wait line in the Anytime line?Depends on what time you get in line. Later is less busy.

Is the security scanner that I have to walk through a metal detector or an x-ray machine? Metal detector.

 

I have room R 747 booked, is that a good room, it has the extended balcony? Yes!! Extended balconies are the bomb. Short walk and up a couple of stairs to the aft pool, up another flight of stairs to the Outrigger Bar and the Horizon Court buffet. Our favorite area of the ship, we always try to book cabins in the 700s.

 

Any pointers or good tips for a first timer on Princess? If you enjoy it and plan to come back, buy at least one Future Cruise Deposit (FCD) per person.

 

Thanks in advance!

See above:D

[moki'smommy]

The above addressed almost everything. You can bring soda back on board from any port--no charge. But do you really want to spend your port time hunting down a place to purchase it?

 

Look into all the OBC options available--if you own stock in Carnival Corporation, are active duty or a veteran, if you refer a friend who books a cruise, etc. We got $50 from an umbrella group that our travel agent belongs to--it came from Princess but was because of the group thing. Each of these has requirements that you can research on line as to what you must submit, etc. My goal is to have my tips covered, either with OBC or a promotion.

 

Check the pricing of your cruise periodically--if you see a reduction or perks better than what you have you can re-fare your cruise and take advantage of the discount.

[satxdiver]

We went to ATD when it first became available and stayed using it for a number of years before going back to traditional last year. The problem with ATD is that you have to pick a time when all of your fellow pax have already been there or will be coming later. We found that about 7ish is a good time as is after 8 (too late IMO). Also you will get a different waiter and table each time but can ask for a particular table area depending on availability. We like the same table, waiters and dinner partners so we go traditional again.

 

Good point about stockholders OBC (100 shares of Carnival Corp), military OBC (veteran status) and the future cruise deposit OBC (costs $100 each and bought onboard for a future cruise which is refundable after 2 years if not used).

 

I book through Princess directly (used to use a TA but another story!). I watch the prices offered on my cruise and cabin type. If I find a lower price, then I weigh the new price plus bennies against the old price plus bennies to see what I want to do. When I call Princess, they always tell me the plus and minus of the switch to make sure I have weighed both options. They are very friendly and helpful. Do monitor the current price.

[PoohUnderstands]

Another consideration hooked to dining is if you would like to try CC dining. You would then have to upgrade to a CC mini-suite to try it, but you get a full bathtub/shower too! Grin. This is the best of dining in my opinion. It is anytime dining, but in a special area so that you do not wait and have the same wait staff and a true anytime dining experience. We tried regular anytime dining once and will never get near it again. We have booked CC rooms if they are not much more expensive than regular mini's (about $20pp/day), as we love what the people have said about it. If too expensive for a particular sailing, we go with traditional.

 

Pooh

[sparkle]

Regarding Anytime Dining, which we have had on the last 2 cruises:

 

If you will share a table, there is little or no wait. Most of the wait is for table for 2. We are used to having a large table with the traditional dining, so it is fine with us. We meet great folks every time.

 

If you like the aspect of the same waitstaff, where they know what you want by the 2nd or 3rd dinner, (we like that!) make a note of what table numbers they serve, or ask for a table in their section when you arrive each night. Again, we had very little wait for a shared table in their section.

 

This has never happened to us, but it is my understanding that if you have Traditional Dining and it doesn't work out for you for whatever reason, the Maitre D can change you to Anytime dining.

 

Also long or thick hair: definitely bring your own hair dryer. Also an extension cord (without a surge protector). Supposedly the outlet in the bathroom is for low voltage things like electric razors, so I plug mine in at the desk and use that mirror.

[Jimorel]

We went to ATD when it first became available and stayed using it for a number of years before going back to traditional last year. The problem with ATD is that you have to pick a time when all of your fellow pax have already been there or will be coming later. We found that about 7ish is a good time as is after 8 (too late IMO). Also you will get a different waiter and table each time but can ask for a particular table area depending on availability. We like the same table, waiters and dinner partners so we go traditional again.

 

Good point about stockholders OBC (100 shares of Carnival Corp), military OBC (veteran status) and the future cruise deposit OBC (costs $100 each and bought onboard for a future cruise which is refundable after 2 years if not used).

 

I book through Princess directly (used to use a TA but another story!). I watch the prices offered on my cruise and cabin type. If I find a lower price, then I weigh the new price plus bennies against the old price plus bennies to see what I want to do. When I call Princess, they always tell me the plus and minus of the switch to make sure I have weighed both options. They are very friendly and helpful. Do monitor the current price.

I am also soon sailing on Princess for the first time (and only second cruise). Follow the advice and monitor prices. I listened and got a lower price and prepaid gratuities as well, so by all means check on prices regularly.

[Number6]

I almost always arrive the night before the cruise and spend it in a hotel. I’ll hit up the local big box store for provisions, including soda and water.

 

I’ll pack extra luggage tags and clear packing tape and just tape the luggage tags directly onto the cases of soda and water and drop it off with the porters. Easy Peasy.

 

The TD vs ATD thing really depends on your flexibility and how you like to cruise. One possibility with ATD is to call the ship’s DINE line each day at 8 AM and make a reservation. That can minimize your waiting and can be handy if you can’t do a fixed time each day.

 

 

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[vmom]

I have sailed out of the Port in LA twice and both times the embarkation started later than it does in the Florida ports. I think it was around 12:00 noon on the two sailings I was on.

 

Registration started much earlier but embarking on the ship was later than my experience has been with Florida ports. .

 

 

When you get to port, you are directed to a registration area. After checking your paperwork, passport, etc, each passenger is given a card with a group number/letter and told where to wait. There are separate waiting areas according to whether a passenger has preferred boarding. Waiting area was comfortable. By the time boarding actually started there were a lot of people in the lounges waiting to board. Embarkation was well organized with groups called in an orderly fashion according to their group number/letter.

[TheSweetLife220]

So many good answers and tips so far. I hope people will keep sharing their opinions with me :)