Booked our first Princess Cruise - have many questions

[dreaminofcruisin]

7 hours ago, Daniel A said:

To clarify what I heard in a little more detail, if you have the Beverage Package, and want to order a drink for yourself and travel partner, each person needs to have the app otherwise the drinks go against one person's daily limit (and I don't think the Beverage Packages allow ordering two drinks at a time.  I would think if one were ordering their drinks a la carte, then sure you could order multiple drinks but they still go on one person's folio.)  That said, I've never ordered any drinks through the app, so I don't really know for sure, I prefer to go to the bar myself.  

 

In the past, you could only order one drink at a time or you would be charged for the 2nd one. However, there have been reports from people on recent cruises that they are able to order multiple drinks at a time in their cabin and using the drink package and just having the drink package tally the number of drinks. I have heard the number as 2 or 3. I don't know if this is something that is only true if you are in your cabin?

 

[Muffinz]

37 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 

Princess is not noted for doing US bacon well...

thanks - I'm not fussed on the type of bacon... just as long as it is cooked well 😃

[redtop101]

25 minutes ago, dreaminofcruisin said:

Kinda.

As I understand it....disclaimer....not on a ship until August....

 

You "should" be able to log onto the app on your phone as DH, order your drink and log off. Then DW can log onto the app on same phone, order a drink and log off.

 

The server will be looking for each person whose logon ordered, and 'charge'  that logon and they find you using the medallion.

Correct, I just created a separate log-in to the MedallionClass app on my phone as my wife is not particularly tech savvy. I logged out of my account, created a separate one for her, linked the 2 accounts with our booking number. Now we can each order our own drinks and the server can find either of us from the medallion. 

Edited August 1, 2022 by redtop101

[wowzz]

5 hours ago, JF - retired RRT said:

Note: also in April there there was no option on the app or TV to order regular coffee and hot water for tea

Although UK and some European sailings have kettles in the cabin, so you can make your own tea and coffee.

[wowzz]

1 hour ago, dreaminofcruisin said:

In the past, you could only order one drink at a time or you would be charged for the 2nd one.

No problem ordering two drinks at once on Regal a few weeks ago.

The problem seems to be a lack of consistency through the fleet.

 

[Muffinz]

ok another quick question - I see Princess have guest laundries on nearly every floor - this is something that Celebrity don't have

How does it work? - do you just insert US$ into the machine and do your laundry? do you have to wait for an hour until it's finished or something? - I'm just curious that's all

 

on our last cruise we would occasionally wash out socks / knickers / bras in the bathroom sink in the stateroom and I had some plastic clips that could loop around the chairs on the balcony and would hang then to dry.... and as the cruise was in the summer they dried relatively quickly.

 

is this something we could do on Princess, or do they frown upon things like this?

[redtop101]

1 hour ago, Muffinz said:

ok another quick question - I see Princess have guest laundries on nearly every floor - this is something that Celebrity don't have

How does it work? - do you just insert US$ into the machine and do your laundry? do you have to wait for an hour until it's finished or something? - I'm just curious that's all

 

on our last cruise we would occasionally wash out socks / knickers / bras in the bathroom sink in the stateroom and I had some plastic clips that could loop around the chairs on the balcony and would hang then to dry.... and as the cruise was in the summer they dried relatively quickly.

 

is this something we could do on Princess, or do they frown upon things like this?

I can’t answer your laundry question as we get free laundry for being Elite. 
 

Leaving clothes out to dry  on the balcony is a no no with Princess, due to potential fires from careless and prohibited smoking on balconies. They have had one major fire, at least, a few years ago that destroyed several balconies etc and banned drying clothes there ever since. 

[Muffinz]

8 minutes ago, redtop101 said:

I can’t answer your laundry question as we get free laundry for being Elite. 
 

Leaving clothes out to dry  on the balcony is a no no with Princess, due to potential fires from careless and prohibited smoking on balconies. They have had one major fire, at least, a few years ago that destroyed several balconies etc and banned drying clothes there ever since. 

ok thanks for that.... I guess we could set a string line or something up in the bathroom to wash and dry some smalls?

[wowzz]

2 minutes ago, Muffinz said:

ok thanks for that.... I guess we could set a string line or something up in the bathroom to wash and dry some smalls?

There is an extendable line in the bathrooms. 

[Muffinz]

Just now, wowzz said:

There is an extendable line in the bathrooms. 

really? - that's great!

means one less thing to pack

[wowzz]

Just now, Muffinz said:

really? - that's great!

means one less thing to pack

We have only had minisuites,  so the line extends the length of the bath.  

Not sure what the situation is if you just have a shower. 

[Muffinz]

3 minutes ago, wowzz said:

We have only had minisuites,  so the line extends the length of the bath.  

Not sure what the situation is if you just have a shower. 

oh ok thanks.... we'll soon see

[scott4020]

The machines used to take tokens but they have been converted to use the medallions. On my last cruise that didn't work so they were free. Don't know the current situation. 

 

We bring laundry pods and dryer sheets. 

Edited August 2, 2022 by scott4020

[sloopsailor]

1 hour ago, redtop101 said:

I can’t answer your laundry question as we get free laundry for being Elite. 
 

Leaving clothes out to dry  on the balcony is a no no with Princess, due to potential fires from careless and prohibited smoking on balconies. They have had one major fire, at least, a few years ago that destroyed several balconies etc and banned drying clothes there ever since. 

 

One elderly gentleman lost his life due to that fire. He wasn't in an affected stateroom. He instead had a heart attack due to the stress of the moment while being directed to his muster station. Fires on board a ship of any size is THE most feared incident all sailors worry about. If it gets out of control jumping overboard is the only escape, and not without it's own risk in and of itself. 

 

The cruise industry safety standards were strongly improved after that incident. 

 

Star Princess - March 23, 2006

 

 

Edited August 2, 2022 by sloopsailor

[Lizabu]

3 hours ago, Muffinz said:

ok another quick question - I see Princess have guest laundries on nearly every floor - this is something that Celebrity don't have

How does it work? - do you just insert US$ into the machine and do your laundry? do you have to wait for an hour until it's finished or something? - I'm just curious that's all

 

on our last cruise we would occasionally wash out socks / knickers / bras in the bathroom sink in the stateroom and I had some plastic clips that could loop around the chairs on the balcony and would hang then to dry.... and as the cruise was in the summer they dried relatively quickly.

 

is this something we could do on Princess, or do they frown upon things like this?

The laundry situation is pretty straight forward. There is a laundry room on each deck. Each laundry room has maybe 6 washers and 6 dryers. There is a machine on the wall and you wave your medallion in front of it and it asks you how many tokens you want. Wash or dry is $3 and laundry soap and dryer sheets are $1.50. I bring laundry pods and dryer sheets from home. The washers and dryers all have a timer on them so you know exactly how long it will take. I usually set the timer on my phone 5 minutes early so I can get back before the cycle ends. There are also a bunch of ironing boards and irons and they are all free.

[redtop101]

1 hour ago, wowzz said:

We have only had minisuites,  so the line extends the length of the bath.  

Not sure what the situation is if you just have a shower. 

There is also a retractable line in the shower for hanging clothes. 

[Muffinz]

43 minutes ago, Lizabu said:

The laundry situation is pretty straight forward. There is a laundry room on each deck. Each laundry room has maybe 6 washers and 6 dryers. There is a machine on the wall and you wave your medallion in front of it and it asks you how many tokens you want. Wash or dry is $3 and laundry soap and dryer sheets are $1.50. I bring laundry pods and dryer sheets from home. The washers and dryers all have a timer on them so you know exactly how long it will take. I usually set the timer on my phone 5 minutes early so I can get back before the cycle ends. There are also a bunch of ironing boards and irons and they are all free.

ok thanks for that but what is your medallion?? - is that your ship pass / card you wear on your lanyard?

also not heard of dryer sheets before... they must be a Nth American / Canadian thing?

 

but if as redtop101 says there's a retractable line in the shower then that will probably be fine for us, but it's good to know how the laundry works just in case we do need to use it

[Lizabu]

4 minutes ago, Muffinz said:

ok thanks for that but what is your medallion?? - is that your ship pass / card you wear on your lanyard?

also not heard of dryer sheets before... they must be a Nth American / Canadian thing?

 

but if as redtop101 says there's a retractable line in the shower then that will probably be fine for us, but it's good to know how the laundry works just in case we do need to use it

The medallion is the little disk they give you that acts like your key card. Dryer sheets help prevent static cling if you are using an electric dryer. Every shower has a clothes line. When I need the shower I just hang things on hangers and put them in the closet. The closets are huge.

[Muffinz]

1 minute ago, Lizabu said:

The medallion is the little disk they give you that acts like your key card. Dryer sheets help prevent static cling if you are using an electric dryer. Every shower has a clothes line. When I need the shower I just hang things on hangers and put them in the closet. The closets are huge.

ok thanks for that.. on Celebrity we had a card we wore on a lanyard and we used that for everything from getting into our room, getting a drink or buying something at the shops onboard

 

If I tell my wife the closets are huge that will give her an excuse to bring more clothes!!

can you store your suitcases in the closet or under the bed?

[dreaminofcruisin]

Just now, Muffinz said:

ok thanks for that.. on Celebrity we had a card we wore on a lanyard and we used that for everything from getting into our room, getting a drink or buying something at the shops onboard

 

If I tell my wife the closets are huge that will give her an excuse to bring more clothes!!

can you store your suitcases in the closet or under the bed?

 

Yes, you can store your suitcases either in the closet or under the bed.

 

Regarding the Medallion, you might want to do some reading here:

https://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/ocean-medallion/

 

 

[Muffinz]

6 minutes ago, dreaminofcruisin said:

 

Yes, you can store your suitcases either in the closet or under the bed.

 

Regarding the Medallion, you might want to do some reading here:

https://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/ocean-medallion/

 

 

great thanks for that - very helpful!

[JF - retired RRT]

2 hours ago, wowzz said:

We have only had minisuites,  so the line extends the length of the bath.  

Not sure what the situation is if you just have a shower. 

It extends the length of the shower.

BTW: @Muffinz laundry room is paid for on your shipboard account. Get tokens from the machine (if it's broken try a different laundry room or go to guest svcs). Sometimes, if their broken there have been reports that there was a dish with tokens for taking (essentially making it free).

@Lizabu had different prices than I remember. It's been a long time since I last used the laundry room.

You can bring your own pods, powder, etc and only pay for the wash/dry. The machines generally take 45 minutes eah and there is usually a notice on the wall with the times.

I found that checking the machine before putting $$ in would sometimes get me a free wash or dry. 😉

Edited August 3, 2022 by JF - retired RRT

[jcaz14]

On 7/29/2022 at 12:34 PM, Daniel A said:

I would bring my own extension cord as there is a limited number available from the steward.  Also, in the cruise personalizer under the Check In button at the top, you should be able to see a link for Dietary Requests.  You can request distilled water at no charge and the steward should have it in place in your Cabin when you arrive.  If you forget to pre-order the distilled water, just ask your steward and it will be brought to your cabin.

Hi Daniel-

Thanks for your expertise! How does one request the distilled water? I have looked in the website and can't seem to see it!

Thanks in advance!

[jcaz14]

Just now, jcaz14 said:

Hi Daniel-

Thanks for your expertise! How does one request the distilled water? I have looked in the website and can't seem to see it!

Thanks in advance!

Well heck, just found it under check in/dietary restrictions.  Thanks again!

[Daniel A]

49 minutes ago, jcaz14 said:

Well heck, just found it under check in/dietary restrictions.  Thanks again!

👍 🙂