Princess secrets...

[cicero]

Good to see a couple of our fellow PIPS on this thread - Princess Island Panama Sailers (Sept.). I'll add a couple things we discovered. Always try to get one of the eggcrate mattress covers right away - if you luck out and get a good mattress you can have it taken off -but it's usually a big improvement. However, THEY RUN OUT OF THEM SO FIND YOUR CABIN STEWARD RIGHT AWAY AND ASK FOR ONE - oh yes, and robes too. Don't bother to bring your own (someone already mentioned this).

I can't guarantee this will always work but it has for us: we carried two 18-can packs of beer and 6 bottles of good wine onboard at a stop in FLL. Just got off the ship, grabbed a cab for a 5 minute ride to an upscale wine store. People were literally waiting on the gangway to see if we got through security and when we did they rushed off and did the same.

If you like wine at dinner and have your own in your room, take a glass of wine with you to your table (nice to keep those large water glasses in your room for this purpose. Just about equals the two glasses of wine you otherwise would have ordered at the exorbitant ship prices.) Or make your pre-dinner cocktail in your room and take it to a lounge or the dining room.

If you like real brewed coffee, the coffee card at $24 is a must. Otherwise you get the syrup. Take your card to the coffee bar before breakfast or dinner and ask for two coffees to go (DH likes this). You get them in Starbucks type cups. The $24 is for their specialty coffees, which I enjoyed also. Someone suggested travel mugs - this is a great idea but I don't know if the coffee bars will fill them. Anyone know?

The petit fours variety platter is a GREAT idea if your ship offers them (the Grand didn't in January). One person orders, and everyone enjoys.

I too am dieting this trip and I LOVE the idea of ordering entrees as appetizers. Most of us simply weren't raised to leave mounds of good food on our plates and so tend to eat more than we really want.

Whew sorry - long post. Please keep your ideas coming!

 

All these tips are so interesting and helpful - we are cruise virgins - but please can you tell me what an egg-crate mattress is? And what the original Sun Princess mattresses are like?

[we2cruze]

On the Crown, I discovered that I could order a basic salad every night with no hassle. I think the waiter called it a garden salad. It had lettuce, tomato, and cucumber and was just what I wanted. Maybe not much of a secret, but for someone like me who is timid about asking for extras it's nice to know.

[sept10dsm]

Yes, you can make special requests at dinner even for the shrimp coctail if you like. I have asked for certain vegatables also and received them. Most waiters will do what they can to satisfy your wishes.

[sept10dsm]

Yes, you can make special requests at dinner even for the shrimp coctail if you like. I have asked for certain vegatables also and received them. Most waiters will do what they can to satisfy your wishes.

[frofro]

Sure ... Im an early riser ... I wander, check email, then at decent hour bring rolls & yogurt than to my wife.

 

 

I love it, thanks!

[boricua2007]

(Golden Princess) I wrote on the cruise personalizer one of my friend's girl has a low sugar diet and the second night the maitre'd came to our table to verify this and told our waitress to bring us every night the next day menu for lunch and dinner so we could tell him in advance what she was going to eat at dinner the next day. If there was something on the lunch menu that she wanted for dinner, they would bring it to her at dinner.

[stanford's girl]

I was looking for Princess secrets and found this thread. I know it's old but it has some great info on it and I'd like to thank the people who contributed!!!! :D

[Woodlands Mac]

It's been over a year since we took the Princess down from Italy and along to the Greek Isles however, there were a few secrets that we enjoyed.

 

1. you can bring wine aboard. Our bags were never searched. Most we brought were two bottles from shore stores... never a problem. Very nice to sit on your balcony in the evenings and enjoy a nice bottle of inexpensive wine... Hard liquor... not sure... that's another story.

 

2. I forget the name of the deck... think it's the same deck with the spa. You go all the way to the front of the ship. Rooms line the side and across the front. There is a door on each side... facing front of ship. I think the door says do not enter... ignore and go thru... up the stairs and you are now on the top of the bridge where the wings extend over the ship. Very nice up there when ship is pulling into ports and you can watch the activity... It was awesome to be up there when we traversed thru the canals of Venice to get to our dock... Amazing being at eye level with St. Marks and the tower!

 

Ciao,

Keith

[NthernLgts]

As our next cruise will be our second with Princess we have never been to a circle members cocktail party. Is it worth going? Do you get any souveniers or just a complimentary drink?

 

Sure it is worth it. Yes there are free drinks & hors d'ouevres. Some ships you may be able to have a dance or two. The captain usually shows up & talks for a few minutes. You usually can get a photo taken with him. It is a nice little bonus for past cruisers.

[Teetype]

My husband and I are lacto-ovo vegetarian. In the dining room last year on the Golden, every evening as we finished out dinner the maitre brought us the menus for the next night to be sure we would be happy with whatever selections they had for us. As Princess knocks itself out with these selections, we always were.

 

One night when I got to dinner my mood was strange and nothing sounded good. The menu was great, I was off. But I took bits and pieces as side dishes and even ordered an item or two not on the menu. They put it together without missing a beat and made it look gorgeous like a menu selection.

 

I really can't say enough good about the efforts of Princess as far as the foods they serve in the dining room and those who work so hard at delivering it.

 

Tee

[2Oregonians]

You can get free ice cream in the Horizon Court every day from I think 3:30 to 4:30

 

We found ice cream in the Horizon Court both times we went there for dinner. There were 4 varieties each time. They were in big silver bowls placed in ice in the general area of the salad dressings. Yumm.

[timespliters]

It's been over a year since we took the Princess down from Italy and along to the Greek Isles however, there were a few secrets that we enjoyed.

 

1. you can bring wine aboard. Our bags were never searched. Most we brought were two bottles from shore stores... never a problem. Very nice to sit on your balcony in the evenings and enjoy a nice bottle of inexpensive wine... Hard liquor... not sure... that's another story.

 

 

Ciao,

Keith

 

 

You can send Hard liquor and other drinks and gifts to a friend on ship and the friend can bee someone you are traveling with. In the UK you send your order and must pay now and it will be sent to your room when you arrive.

[Bobed1927]

What a great deal:cool: Would you pls let me know which store in St.Thomas sells at those prices, we'll be there in Sept 2007.

 

Many thanks

 

The very best prices on liquor are in St. Marten--much better than St. Thomas

[SandG]

1. you can bring wine aboard. Our bags were never searched. Most we brought were two bottles from shore stores... never a problem. Very nice to sit on your balcony in the evenings and enjoy a nice bottle of inexpensive wine... Hard liquor... not sure... that's another story.

The official policy is that you can bring aboard one bottle of wine/champagne per person, and unlimited soda/water. We brought one of those boxed wines (not too cheap, we got a nice Australian Chardonnay) and it fit into the fridge really nicely. Ask room service to deliver wine glasses to your room. We also brought a pack of root beer for our daughter since it wasn't on the ship.

 

We had a glass of wine in our room/balcony before dinner and so were satisfied with less wine at dinner.

 

This probably isn't a secret for veterans, but first-time cruisers should know that even if you drink only one glass of wine at dinner, it's cheaper to buy a bottle and have them keep it for you for the next night.

 

Sue

[bhopal21]

The very best prices on liquor are in St. Marten--much better than St. Thomas

 

Filomene has already been as this thread is over a year old.;)

 

Mike:)

[SandG]

On ships without the International Cafe (like CB) you can get the fresh brewed coffee at the lobby bar on the Plaza deck. In the morning they also have pastries and there are cookies in the late afternoon.

 

Speaking of cookies, a server pushes a cart around the pool area with milk and cookies in the afternoon, about the same time as the free ice cream.

 

Sudoku fans can get a puzzle a day in the game room (Jokers on CB) and a set of brain teasers.

 

Ask your steward for a robe when you get on board.

 

The library sells needlepoint kits - little cases with Princess themes for $5-7.

 

I second the suggestion of visiting the "secret" lookout on top of the bridge. On CB, the entrance was all the way to the front of the Lido deck. There wasn't a sign saying not to enter, but the door is locked when the winds make it unsafe. People were calling to us from other decks asking how we got there. :)

 

Sue

[Casshew]

I don't know if this is already posted, but I just did this today so it is fresh in my mind.

 

If you have a rewards type credit card (ie: My VISA gives me points for flights on Air Canada) you can send yourself a Casino credit via your credit card and get the points as if it was a purchase.

 

I sent money to myself for my upcoming cruise, not for the Casino necessarily, but for spending money for shore excursions etc... I sent 2000.00 today and I will get all the rewards points, plus I don't have to carry all that cash around with me enroute to the ship.

 

You get $ certificates in your cabin when you board and you cash it in at the Casino.

[Cruiser7772]

Casshew - I would love to pre-purchase casino certificates. How do I do that? I was trying to find it on the Princess website and couldn't. Thanks!

[caribbeanboy]

You must be very acrobatic to take a shower;)

[cdngrl]

You must be very acrobatic to take a shower;)

 

huh?

[Colo Cruiser]

Double HUH??? :confused:

[bhopal21]

Stepped in what??:confused:

 

Mike:)

[motay]

We took classes on The TP May 8th - May 18th .

The teacher was named Martin he was wonderful we took classes using Microsoft Word, excel, .

 

Using Adobe Photo Shop elements. It was well worth it.:):):)

[cdngrl]

You must be very acrobatic to take a shower;)

 

oh i get it, that's a princess info/tip.

hmmm...or very large. soap the walls and turn around a couple times?

i always remember the shower as being smaller than it really is, so everytime i get back on board its bigger than i thought. although you can use the facilities and wash your hands at the same time :)

[Sandytoes]

(Golden Princess) I wrote on the cruise personalizer one of my friend's girl has a low sugar diet and the second night the maitre'd came to our table to verify this and told our waitress to bring us every night the next day menu for lunch and dinner so we could tell him in advance what she was going to eat at dinner the next day. If there was something on the lunch menu that she wanted for dinner, they would bring it to her at dinner.

 

DF was not allowed to eat anything cooked with salt.

Each night the Maitre D would sit and discuss what my father wanted to eat.

Every meal was prepared special just for my Dad.