Princess Cruise "Secrets" 2019

[voljeep]

9 minutes ago, Lucky TGO said:

 

It  counts  on my  Rowboat 😁

wow, really - what's with all these  'rowboat' postings???

 

time to update the 'ole ignore poster content ...

[Lucky TGO]

6 hours ago, voljeep said:

wow, really - what's with all these  'rowboat' postings???

 

time to update the 'ole ignore poster content ...

 Voljeep, Fugheddaboudit put a little fun back in your life😁😁😁

 

Edited July 21, 2019 by Lucky TGO

[GottaLuvCruising]

On 6/30/2019 at 11:43 PM, thegoaliegirl said:

 

I’m in the US and recently (in June) got a refund when the fare dropped after final payment. We lost our original perks (OBC) but the refund was more than double the obc lost. Refunded back to the card used. Kept same cabin. 

Fare drop did not work for us...Princess said it was "for new bookings only."

 

I would like to book spring break 2020 on the Sky (Regal is 2nd choice) but decided to wait and watch for promos after final payment date.  

[krufrank]

Things we've learned:

 

Order chicken fingers as an appetizer in MD - off the kids menu - if you don't like what is on main menu.

 

The ice cream volcano (also on the kids menu) is awesome.  Needs to be shared unless you have a big dessert stomach.

 

In fact, we found there were a number of neat dining options on the kids menu.  We don't have little kids anymore but you can ask for a menu. 

 

If you have a CPAP machine the cruise lines will provide you with the distilled water you need.  Request it under "Accessibility & Dietary Requests" on your Personalizer/Guest Check-In.

 

If you need more outlets in your room there is a European style one behind your bed.  We purchased an adapter off Amazon to convert North American plugs.

 

We brought a small fan (cost $9 at Wal-Mart) for room because the air conditioning is not great.  We both "run hot" - especially at night.  We run it 24 hours a day and it makes a huge difference.

 

I don't believe there aren't any breakfast meats listed on your room service card BUT you can write them in.  I've ordered bacon, sausage and ham and have gotten them every time.

 

If you have a Soda card you don't get cans - just a glass full.  Here's my tip.  When in MD ask for a Lido Deck cup for you soda instead of a MD glass.  The Lido deck cup is much bigger - twice the size.  I know you can order as many glasses in MD as you want BUT it takes so long to get because your servers are so busy.  After first meal, our server had a Lido Deck cup full of our soda waiting for us each night.

 

 

[RRFan]

Since Princess has stopped including bread sticks in the table basket in the MDR, we just ask for bread sticks and tell the waiter that we'd like them every night.  If they forget, they'll run to get them when they see you.  Otherwise, they bring them every single night -- along with the normal bread basket too.

 

Also, if the ship doesn't have a dedicated Alfredo's (the "better" pizza place), watch the back of the Patter because some sea days it will be offered in Sabatini's.  The pizza is free and you only pay if you want alcohol or soda to drink.  Pizza is 1000% better than Lido pizza.  Limited pizza choices, but they are excellent and they will customize if you ask them.

Edited July 21, 2019 by RRFan

[EllieinNJ]

15 minutes ago, RRFan said:

Since Princess has stopped including bread sticks in the table basket in the MDR, we just ask for bread sticks and tell the waiter that we'd like them every night.  If they forget, they'll run to get them when they see you.  Otherwise, they bring them every single night -- along with the normal bread basket too.

 

Also, if the ship doesn't have a dedicated Alfredo's (the "better" pizza place), watch the back of the Patter because some sea days it will be offered in Sabatini's.  The pizza is free and you only pay if you want alcohol or soda to drink.  Pizza is 1000% better than Lido pizza.  Limited pizza choices, but they are excellent and they will customize if you ask them.

Now those are two great tips.  I will be on the Crown Aug./Sept. and do not think it has an Alfredos.

[Thrak]

2 hours ago, RRFan said:

Also, if the ship doesn't have a dedicated Alfredo's (the "better" pizza place), watch the back of the Patter because some sea days it will be offered in Sabatini's. 

 

Unfortunately, this is not the case on all ships.

[RRFan]

1 minute ago, Thrak said:

 

Unfortunately, this is not the case on all ships.

I know but we were just on the Island Princess and there was no sign outside of Sabatini's and nothing listed in the daily schedule (like the Pub Lunch), but it was open on 2 of the sea days. Only 4 or 5 tables of people each time we were there. The only way you'd know is to look at the back of the Patter where the restaurants are listed and it was listed under Sabatini's on those two sea days.  That's why I mentioned that you have to look for it because not all ships that have it advertise it.

[janina]

On 6/27/2019 at 12:17 PM, 34TigerLily said:

The Volcano is a banana split that is on the children's menu.  It is HUGE and very good.  It looks different on different ships but it is always worth having at least once on each cruise.

It sure is good!!  

[janina]

On 6/21/2019 at 12:05 PM, USCcruisecrazy said:

I can't speak for Home Depot (don't have one in our area), but for Lowe's, you can go online and apply for a My Lowe's Card.  It's not a credit card...just a card that has a member number on it.  Go to any checkout and present the card, they scan it and you get 10% on anything you purchase!  And I do mean anything.  From a light bulb to the refrigerator it goes in and anything in between.  I highly recommend it for any retired or active duty military.

We had to show Lowe's military id once and they put it in their system.  Now we just give them our phone number.

[Lucky TGO]

1 hour ago, janina said:

It sure is good!!  

I had a Volcano on my last cruise. See photo.

[richstowe]

Well I finally went ahead and bought CCL stock . So far up almost a buck . Drinks for everyone ! 😄

 

We are booked on a 11 day Sapphire  cruise from Singapore . What are the differences between a 11 day MDR menu and the 7 day ?  Any specific info on this port or this ship ?

thanks

Edited July 27, 2019 by richstowe

[AAAAmerican]

On 7/22/2019 at 4:46 PM, Lucky TGO said:

I had a Volcano on my last cruise. See photo.

 

Dear Lucky TGo,

 

It is great!

[Bubbs33]

On 7/22/2019 at 4:46 PM, Lucky TGO said:

I had a Volcano on my last cruise. See photo.

Told DH and friends about the volcano on our cruise last week.   They loved it. Thank you

 

Also DH got it a second night but replaced the strawberry sauce with caramel. Yummy.

[AAAAmerican]

Trading Symbols for Carniuval Common Stck:

 

CCL :NYSE /LSE

CUK :NYSE /LSE

 

Having more than a Hundred Shares now may be best as the Dividend is Greater than a 30 Yr US Treasury, You Banks Interest Rates too.

[Lucky TGO]

9 hours ago, AAAAmerican said:

 

Dear Lucky TGo,

 

It is great!

 

My friends like strawberries and this is what there Volcanos look like. 🥰

Tony

Edited July 28, 2019 by Lucky TGO

[Furrryrocious]

On 1/14/2019 at 6:59 PM, gottagocit said:

Own 100 shares of carnival stock and receive onboard credit for each voyage. And now it appears the program no longer requires your voyage to be within 90 days to have the obc added to your cruise personalizer.

 

We faxed in forms for 4 voyages a few weeks and all received the credit within a couple hours even with voyages from 4 weeks to nearly two years in the future. 

Can you hold that in an IRA account and still qualify?

[voljeep]

6 minutes ago, Furrryrocious said:

Can you hold that in an IRA account and still qualify?

yes

[jpsykes]

2 hours ago, voljeep said:

yes

as said voljeep yes -and we have ours held in a trust (not 401k) - as long as the trust name has your name in it you are good

 

[jagoffee]

On 7/21/2019 at 4:28 PM, RRFan said:

Since Princess has stopped including bread sticks in the table basket in the MDR, we just ask for bread sticks and tell the waiter that we'd like them every night.  If they forget, they'll run to get them when they see you.  Otherwise, they bring them every single night -- along with the normal bread basket too.

 

Also, if the ship doesn't have a dedicated Alfredo's (the "better" pizza place), watch the back of the Patter because some sea days it will be offered in Sabatini's.  The pizza is free and you only pay if you want alcohol or soda to drink.  Pizza is 1000% better than Lido pizza.  Limited pizza choices, but they are excellent and they will customize if you ask them.

Really?  I must have missed it in the Emerald and Golden.

I will pay extra attention on my next Princess Cruise on the Pacific Princess.

 

Thanks for the tip.

[jagoffee]

On 7/21/2019 at 7:05 PM, Thrak said:

 

Unfortunately, this is not the case on all ships.

I should have read all the posts before posting.

Edited July 29, 2019 by jagoffee

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

On 7/28/2019 at 5:08 PM, voljeep said:

yes

Hope you have a ROTH I am retired and I am so very happy I paid the tax back when I got them. I even paid the tax to convert the regular IRAs to ROTH right after the ROTH started.

[RRFan]

On 7/27/2019 at 11:40 AM, Bubbs33 said:

Told DH and friends about the volcano on our cruise last week.   They loved it. Thank you

 

Also DH got it a second night but replaced the strawberry sauce with caramel. Yummy.

This looks awesome!  Have never tried it, but will on the Coral in August!  Hubby doesn't eat chocolate.  I guess you can ask for fresh strawberries, strawberry sauce, caramel sauce, almonds etc?  Thanks for the tip!

[vthokie88]

On 6/11/2019 at 8:22 AM, josher_m said:

One thing I learned and realized many don't know about is the Best Price Guarantee on shore excursions:

 

Once you have purchased a Princess Shore Excursion, if you find that same shore excursion elsewhere at a lower price, you can receive 110% of the difference in price in the form of a non-refundable onboard credit. This currently applies to select voyages. The Best Price Guarantee is not available in Asia, Southeast Asia or Japan ports.

 

https://www.princess.com/learn/faq_answer/pre_cruise/excursions.jsp?cid=om_email_promo_internal_portspecific_shorex_pe7ak004a_170518_juneau&fbclid=IwAR29Iyz4Y6q-d40HhfeUnfKIKlGgL0YpYSFHTx74lqAmMhc9I33mg119ek4

 

 

Now, it's tricky to find the EXACT match but if you do, it's worth it to get extra OBC.  I just submitted 2 for our upcoming cruise and one was accepted. 

Did they provide a reason as to why it was not accepted? How exact has to match - for example if tour is the same but time schedule is different is that eligible (other tour starts at 9, but Princess starts at 10)?

 

[josher_m]

11 hours ago, vthokie88 said:

Did they provide a reason as to why it was not accepted? How exact has to match - for example if tour is the same but time schedule is different is that eligible (other tour starts at 9, but Princess starts at 10)?

 

 

Yes, if you submit and it doesn't match, they will tell you why.  Having not done the excursions and not knowing the exact details so I could only go on the info provided from Princess website and a bit of research so it's a bit of a guessing game but we figured it was worth a shot.

 

One of ours matched and we received credit and another didn't and this was the reason:

 

Lower rate tour meets at Empress Hotel not in front of pier. Transfer from pier to hotel not included. It's about 20-30 minute walk to the hotel from pier. Time depends on walking ability. Tours are not an exact match.