nini

Sadly, Princess is closing the "Churchill's" smoking lounges and transforming them into arcades.

It is refreshing to hear positive things about the Emerald. We sailed the Emerald in Spring 2022. Of course, we were "sliding" off of covid, which "may" have contributed to the crankiness of many crew members. We had never seen so many negative and frowning crew members before on a Princess ship. A crew member (waitstaff) actually snapped at us while we were seated in the buffet area. We had just asked a question and wow........ This was not the Princess we loved. Not all crew was like this of course, but the down mood was palpable. It was quite a positive contrast on the Sky last June! And yes, Explorer's Lounge is MUCH better than "Princess Live" on the Sky... for sure.

When we stayed in London in 2022, a cab drove us to Victoria Station on boarding day. A princess rep was there and we took the coach/ bus to the ship. I would recommend it. And it costs much less than a private car. The coach was $118.00 for two people and a private car would have been at least $200.00

@cr8tiv1 I am glad for your positive experience. It can be stressful dealing with flights. We have found that British Airways can be a real pain to deal with and also demonstrates the positive points of making full payment more than 45 days ahead. Recently, we waited and wondered why we could not select our seats, because we had no problem doing that with British Airways in the past. They have become quite difficult to deal with and by the time our final payment was made, there were just a few seats open in Premium Economy and they were not next to each other. Long story.......... our TA was able to talk with BA and they did a bit of juggling; now we are across the aisle from each other.

Just be aware that there may already be a private "Meet & Greet" reserved for Take5. Have an alternate plan.

At least it has a larger /angled balcony.

Yes, that is what @wannavacay had suggested.

Thank you so much for the "heads Up"! I just checked our preferred hotel for April 2025 and No Vacancy!!! And the same for some others.

Yes, that option is helpful.

@Nemanoxer You are to be commended for trying a new cruise line. We have cruised with Princess 8 times and Celebrity twice. After the last Celebrity cruise, we will not return. Is Princess perfect? No. In what I have been reading about the new Sun, it does not appear that it would present to us the Princess that we know and really like. It is "a horse of a different color"... not bad, just different, and will probably will create quite a following. Just know, that you may also prefer some of the older Princess ships versus the new Sun. We will be on the Sky for the 2nd time this June and really enjoyed our time on it last June. Happy Cruising!

We were going to take the National Express from LHR to Southampton the day before the cruise. However, after reading the luggage size allowances, it does not look like it is possible. We usually take a larger bag and then 2 "Carry-Ons". But the Carry-Ons are a bit larger than the stated maximum measurements. So, it looks like a cab??? Ugh... quite a bit more in fees. Comments on your experience? TIA

I understand, however, we have never been on any Princess ship with anything other than the wood. I appreciate your post. Even the Sky, last June, had the wood.

Sapphire! Many love the Coral, but we were not a fan. We booked it because it was for the old locks through the Panama Canal. We love the style and features of the Sapphire,

No problem. I remember seeing the railings in varying states of condition and smelling the varnish.

All of the Princess ships we have been on have had wood railings.