LIVE From the Royal Princess: 4/6/2019

[Waterluv]

Yahoo that is great news it’s actually my Birthday and I didn’t want it to rain on my parade but it has been showing rain a couple of weeks on extended forecast didn’t check today yet but I will take your word for it and 2nd it🎉😋 rain, rain go away! See you guys on the high seas from the Great State of Texas 

[Sea Hag]

21 minutes ago, HBCcruiser said:

So my mom just got this notice which I plan on ignoring. Really?? Board at 2? I want lunch and a drink!  I didn’t get it so... 

We have it even worse (if we were going to pay any attention to this). We're not supposed to board until 3:00. Princess, this is not funny.

[HBCcruiser]

Yahoo that is great news it’s actually my Birthday and I didn’t want it to rain on my parade but it has been showing rain a couple of weeks on extended forecast didn’t check today yet but I will take your word for it and 2nd it[emoji322][emoji39] rain, rain go away! See you guys on the high seas from the Great State of Texas 

The weather tends to change as the week goes on. I doubt it will rain. Might be cool though.


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[musicpro442]

17 minutes ago, Sea Hag said:

We have it even worse (if we were going to pay any attention to this). We're not supposed to board until 3:00. Princess, this is not funny.

 

More than likely it's a government requirement like a Coast Guard emergency drill. It's common when a ship arrives in a new home port or has been out of the US for some time. They can't do it until all the previous passengers are off the ship.  And they can take hours.  On top of having to have cabins clean and ready for all the incoming people.  Personally, I think I'd heed the advisory rather than waiting outside longer than I should.

 

I don't think Princess wants to delay embarkation any more than they want to, and I certainly wouldn't have the nerve to complain about delayed embarkation if I didn't heed the advisory and I'm there waiting well before the time they told me.  

 

I'd adhere to this time, personally.

 

 

 

Edited April 4, 2019 by musicpro442

[HBCcruiser]

 
More than likely it's a government requirement like a Coast Guard emergency drill. It's common when a ship arrives in a new home port or has been out of the US for some time. They can't do it until all the previous passengers are off the ship.  And they can take hours.  On top of having to have cabins clean and ready for all the incoming people.  Personally, I think I'd heed the advisory rather than waiting outside longer than I should.
 
I don't think Princess wants to delay embarkation any more than they want to, and I certainly wouldn't have the nerve to complain about delayed embarkation if I didn't heed the advisory and I'm there waiting well before the time they told me.  
 
I'd adhere to this time, personally.
 
 
 

This is the third sailing on this itinerary. Seems odd that they’d do it now. If this is truly the case, then NCL wins on the boarding process. Boarding the Star in December out of Pedro was seamless. We were on by 10:30, escorted to the suite lunch restaurant and had our drinks in hand right after that.


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[musicpro442]

1 minute ago, HBCcruiser said:

This is the third sailing on this itinerary. Seems odd that they’d do it now. If this is truly the case, then NCL wins on the boarding process. Boarding the Star in December out of Pedro was seamless. We were on by 10:30, escorted to the suite lunch restaurant and had our drinks in hand right after that.


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I don't know, but usually if there's an emergency drill on an embarkation day, it's a government requirement.  I'd put money on the Coast Guard doing an inspection.

 

Maybe the Coast Guard had other ships to do before Royal's third sailing out of San Pedro.  I'm not sure if they inspect cargo vessels as well.  Who knows.  I'd still adhere to the time on your sheet because more than likely you're not getting on until around the time specified.  Especially if the Coast Guard is involved.

 

Good luck with your internal competition.  You can't control government interference with your holiday, sadly.

 

 

[4cats4me]

1 hour ago, HBCcruiser said:

This is the third sailing on this itinerary. Seems odd that they’d do it now. If this is truly the case, then NCL wins on the boarding process. Boarding the Star in December out of Pedro was seamless. We were on by 10:30, escorted to the suite lunch restaurant and had our drinks in hand right after that.


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We've never had any boarding issues with Princess and at San Pedro we’ve been onboard by 11:30-11:45 every time, but this inspection is definitely throwing us a. curve ball.  I need to make sure we get a parking space at the port so we can’t arrive too late based on what somebody from last week’s cruise posted about the lot being pretty full by the time they arrived at a little after noon.  

 

Some people have no choice if they are flying in that day and taking the Princess bus transfer from the airport. 

 

I’m bringing my flask with me and starting my party in the parking lot.  Feel free to join in me if we are denied entry into the terminal until 2:00 pm.  Hahaha!  I will definitely have snacks handy, too.  

Edited April 4, 2019 by 4cats4me

[HBCcruiser]

26 minutes ago, 4cats4me said:

 

We've never had any boarding issues with Princess and at San Pedro we’ve been onboard by 11:30-11:45 every time, but this inspection is definitely throwing us a. curve ball.  I need to make sure we get a parking space at the port so we can’t arrive too late based on what somebody from last week’s cruise posted about the lot being pretty full by the time they arrived at a little after noon.  

 

Some people have no choice if they are flying in that day and taking the Princess bus transfer from the airport. 

 

I’m bringing my flask with me and starting my party in the parking lot.  Feel free to join in me if we are denied entry into the terminal until 2:00 pm.  Hahaha!  I will definitely have snacks handy, too.  

I’ll look for you! We live 30 min away and can bring chilled champagne and snacks too!

[4cats4me]

15 minutes ago, HBCcruiser said:

I’ll look for you! We live 30 min away and can bring chilled champagne and snacks too!

 

Sounds good to me, Tiffany.  We will be in a dark Blue Kia SUV 

 

And will  be out there with a boom box and some maracas, tequila and tortilla chips.   🤣

 

I did a search on these boards and the general concencus is if it is indeed Coast Guard , it will take quite some time. But many people who’ve received the notices have just showed up earlier anyway and were able to board at a respectable time. 😃 

Edited April 4, 2019 by 4cats4me

[HBCcruiser]

Just now, 4cats4me said:

 

Sounds good to me, Tiffany.  We willing be out there with a boom box and some maracas, tequila and tortilla chips.   🤣

 

I did a search on these boards and the general concencus is if it is indeed Coast Guard , it will take quite some time. But many people who’ve received the notices have just showed up earlier anyway and were able to board at a respectable time. 😃 

 

I hope so. I would assume they’d let you into the terminal because those folks doing the screening and such are not Princess staff, right? I do not mind waiting inside. This whole thing seems odd. It’s not like the Royal just arrived from overseas. 

[4cats4me]

2 minutes ago, HBCcruiser said:

 

I hope so. I would assume they’d let you into the terminal because those folks doing the screening and such are not Princess staff, right? I do not mind waiting inside. This whole thing seems odd. It’s not like the Royal just arrived from overseas. 

 

But I might not be able to sip on my flask inside. 🤣

[4cats4me]

 

From a year ago.   

Our notification for our cruise doesn’t specify Coast Guard inspection though.  

Edited April 4, 2019 by 4cats4me

[HBCcruiser]

Right. I’m currently on FB checking with someone onboard doing a B2B to see if they’ve been notified of anything. So far she has heard nothing. I’ll keep checking.

[HBCcruiser]

She reported that they had an emergency drill yesterday and passengers had to remain away from certain areas. I remember those occurring when onboard. Weird they’d do it again?

[ceilidh1]

27 minutes ago, HBCcruiser said:

Right. I’m currently on FB checking with someone onboard doing a B2B to see if they’ve been notified of anything. So far she has heard nothing. I’ll keep checking.

We got a delayed boarding notice for our sailing on the 23rd - ours was that boarding would not begin until 3pm as it was the first US stop after South America. I was on the ship and in Alfredos by 12:15pm, so you just never know!

[HBCcruiser]

Just now, ceilidh1 said:

We got a delayed boarding notice for our sailing on the 23rd - ours was that boarding would not begin until 3pm as it was the first US stop after South America. I was on the ship and in Alfredos by 12:15pm, so you just never know!

 

Awesome news to hear! Thank you. I’ll go to the port according to our original plan. Don’t worry, I’ll be posting LIVE for y’all too! You can either laugh or cry right along with us!🤣😫🥳

[stvandy1]

4 hours ago, HBCcruiser said:

So my mom just got this notice which I plan on ignoring. Really?? Board at 2? I want lunch and a drink!  I didn’t get it so... 

Just got that email a few minutes ago.

[fishfire]

On 3/28/2019 at 5:03 PM, HBCcruiser said:

 One week+ and counting until spring break vacation and our Royal Princess cruise to the Mexican Rivera begins. To be honest, this is actually Part II of a comparison thread between the NCL Star and the Royal Princess. Both ships sail out of San Pedro to the Mexican Rivera. The NCL cruise was over Christmas December 2018. That LIVE thread and review can be found here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2614275-live-comparison-ncl-star-12-21-18-vs-royal-princess-4-06-19/

 

I am doing this because first, I thought it’d be fun, and second, people have the choice to cruise NCL and Princess out of San Pedro so might want a perspective on both lines. Of course, this is only one person’s perspective so there’s that!

 

I am not going to go too much into the who I am.. background thing – that was covered in the first thread. I will be traveling with my mom this time, though, not my DH and DDs. That is a good thing. She is easy to travel with and we like the same things.

 

So - Who’s ready for some FUN? 

HBCcruiser,

Bon Voyage!  Have a great cruise.  Thank you for the comparison posts.  I am traditionally loyal to Princess,  but have booked a NCL for New Years 2020 with a group of friends. I will be reading them both in detail now that I have found this thread.  I board the next week on the 13th.  I'm very interested to know if ship time and local time match at the ports.  I did this cruise a few years ago on the Ruby, but it was earlier in the school year and they did not always match. Can you please let me know if that is the case on any port days?

[HBCcruiser]

6 hours ago, fishfire said:

HBCcruiser,

Bon Voyage!  Have a great cruise.  Thank you for the comparison posts.  I am traditionally loyal to Princess,  but have booked a NCL for New Years 2020 with a group of friends. I will be reading them both in detail now that I have found this thread.  I board the next week on the 13th.  I'm very interested to know if ship time and local time match at the ports.  I did this cruise a few years ago on the Ruby, but it was earlier in the school year and they did not always match. Can you please let me know if that is the case on any port days?

 

It was the same on the NCL Star. I’ll check on the Royal. Thanks for following!

[HBCcruiser]

Back to positive thoughts...2 MORE DAYS! Yesterday’s work function was.... interesting shall we say, and made for a long day. Today and tomorrow will be easier days. Nails get done tonight, then our usual pre-boarding dinner at Nicks in Manhattan Beach on Friday! 🎉🥳🚢

[HBCcruiser]

More good news - the weather keeps looking BETTER! I think the cloudy wet weather will move out by Saturday. That’d be a huge positive! 

[Amy G]

9 hours ago, 4cats4me said:

 

From a year ago.   

Our notification for our cruise doesn’t specify Coast Guard inspection though.  

For this particular cruise, we were on board by 12.  :) 

[HBCcruiser]

9 minutes ago, Amy G said:

For this particular cruise, we were on board by 12.  🙂

 

And the good news just keeps on coming! Thx!❤️

[Georgie562]

Thanks for doing this live report. We board 4/27 and hopefully 🤞 you'll be posting the daily patters. Looking forward to reading your review 😊

Edited April 4, 2019 by Georgie562

[HBCcruiser]

1 hour ago, Georgie562 said:

Thanks for doing this live report. We board 4/27 and hopefully 🤞 you'll be posting the daily patters. Looking forward to reading your review 😊

 

As long as the internet is working, I will be posting. If you see my past live reviews, I try to post as much as possible. If the new MedaliionNet is as fast a they say, I am going to have a lot of fun posting!! (He-He)