Last minute questions

[Mikeyb78]

We booked a very last minute Princess Caribbean cruise on Wednesday night for tomorrow.Long story. Involved a cancelled Hawaii trip due to the hurricane. We’re all checked in and ready to go.

 

A couple of questions because we were unable to book excursions or specialty dining ahead of time:

 

1) When we get onboard, is your only way to book excursions to go to the excursions desk?

 

2) Whats the best way to book a specialty dining restaurant? Call? Go to restaurant?

 

We’re used to planning everything out, so this is new to us... Any other advice for us?

[vmom]

Excursions can also be booked through the princess app which is available once you get onboard.

 

To book specialty restaurants you can either go to the restaurant or once you get to the room you will notice on the phone there is a button you can push for dining reservations.

[knbcruisers]

I don’t know if you are interested in The Sanctuary but most people recommend heading there when you board to make a reservation. However as an obsessive cruise planner I am a little envious of the “too late to plan, go with the flow “ vibe of this vacation! Sometimes the best experiences come when you have no plan[emoji4]

 

 

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[diane.in.ny]

Besides the Princess app you will probably find excursion forms at the excursion desk, even when closed.

 

Or they could be in your cabin with the rest of the pile of paperwork left for you.

 

They can be filled out and dropped at the appropriate place ... typically a box by the excursion desk

[Kamloops50]

There are also Ipads beside the excursion desk for book them. Speciality restaurants will have space for reserving onboatd.

[cr8tiv1]

I'm sorry you canceled a cruise to Hawaii because of Hurricane Lane. We are still waiting for it to do something. It stalled at 2 mph. Has picked up a little more speed. Late to Oahu by about 36 hours. No prediction on what damage it may cause. Hilo had a ton of water. But the Volcano National Park announced that it may reopen soon. Maui's airport lost power (no mention of any other problem besides the two wild fires burning). Kauai is now under a Tropical Storm Watch instead of Hurricane warning.

 

Enjoy your Caribbean cruise.

[JF - retired RRT]

Besides the Princess app you will probably find excursion forms at the excursion desk, even when closed.

On one of our cruises, the excursion desk had a couple of computer tablets on the desk. Very easy to use.

Or they could be in your cabin with the rest of the pile of paperwork left for you.

Yes. We usually get the excursion papers in a folder on the first day.

They can be filled out and dropped at the appropriate place ... typically a box by the excursion desk

see above.

[JF - retired RRT]

I'm sorry you canceled a cruise to Hawaii because of Hurricane Lane. We are still waiting for it to do something. It stalled at 2 mph. Has picked up a little more speed. Late to Oahu by about 36 hours. No prediction on what damage it may cause. Hilo had a ton of water. But the Volcano National Park announced that it may reopen soon. Maui's airport lost power (no mention of any other problem besides the two wild fires burning). Kauai is now under a Tropical Storm Watch instead of Hurricane warning.

 

Enjoy your Caribbean cruise.

Same problem on Kauai, Renee. Stores are closed all over the island, no mail delivery for the last 2 days, banks and gov't. offices are closed and NO storm. Your family could have done the wedding/reunion, such a bummer.

[caribill]

 

1) When we get onboard, is your only way to book excursions to go to the excursions desk?

 

 

If you do go to the excursions desk, do it as soon as you board. They do not have to be open. Either fill out the forms they have there or use the tablets if they have them. Waiting until it is open could mean more excursions full without you having space available.

[saldad50]

Is it better to book excursions in advance vs waiting to be on board?

[diane.in.ny]

Is it better to book excursions in advance vs waiting to be on board?

 

In my experience, yes.

 

Two reasons.

 

One they may get sold out

 

Two they may be more expensive

[Mikeyb78]

Thank you everyone. Follow up question: Does the BBQ place require reservations for dinner? Can you just walk up?

[Mikeyb78]

Also, should I be concerned that today’s cruise no longer appears in my account? I have luggage tags and boarding passes.

[Pia1913]

Thank you everyone. Follow up question: Does the BBQ place require reservations for dinner? Can you just walk up?

 

Just walk in. Will be pretty empty.

[Pia1913]

Also, should I be concerned that today’s cruise no longer appears in my account? I have luggage tags and boarding passes.

 

No concern. All that stuff used to disappear 3 or more days in advance.

 

See you on board. I'm leaving home in 15 minutes.

[melodyina]

Is it better to book excursions in advance vs waiting to be on board?

 

I book in advance. Advantages - your desired time slot is more likely available. I have also booked in advanced and 'cancelled' the booking once on the ship as there were other options to pick from that were not offered on-line. In short - book on-line in advance. The $ isn't charged to you until the end of the cruise. You have flexibility - while still having your initial choice 'reserved'. There is a 'window' of cancellation timeframe once on board.

[melodyina]

Also, should I be concerned that today’s cruise no longer appears in my account? I have luggage tags and boarding passes.

 

This is common, don't fret. It protects the user from changing options that were selected too close to the cruise departure date. Princess needs some 'prep time' to have all your selections in place when you arrive.

[voljeep]

I book in advance. Advantages - your desired time slot is more likely available. I have also booked in advanced and 'cancelled' the booking once on the ship as there were other options to pick from that were not offered on-line. In short - book on-line in advance. The $ isn't charged to you until the end of the cruise. You have flexibility - while still having your initial choice 'reserved'. There is a 'window' of cancellation timeframe once on board.

 

 

I'm guessing you haven't pre-booked a reservation in a while now, as now payment is required at time of making the reservation pre-cruise thru your personalizer.

 

you can use obc, or pay by credit card

[geoherb]

For the Caribbean, we seldom book the ship's excursions. If you want an island tour, there will be plenty of offerings at the pier. If you want something like snorkeling, go to the ports of call boards to see which vendors are recommended.