dad2my3

The library has several copies of Trivial Pursuit.  If there’s a particular game you want to play, you might want to bring it with you if you have room.

The library has games but does not have tables large enough to play them.  There are plenty of tables on the Lido deck, but without air conditioning.  There are a few smaller tables on deck seven outside the Wheelhouse Bar, but not full sized.  Many tables have lamps built into the middle of them, which makes it difficult.  We walked around looking for an interior air conditioned table large enough to play a board game and didn’t have much luck.  On a sea day, they opened one of the main dining rooms for board game playing.

On 6/8/2023 at 9:53 AM, u2harmony said:

We were on the 5/6/23 cruise in the St. Thomas Suite. It was wonderful. No issues with AC or food at all. Everything was clean and though it was crowded, it never felt that way. Very nice time. 

This is good to hear!  My main concern is the AC, and we will be in the same suite this weekend.  Glad to hear that you didn’t have any issues.

27 minutes ago, Thrak said:

If one wants "really special" or "really good" tea it's a simple matter to bring one's own tea bags. Hot water is always available at IC and people can use it to brew the tea they prefer. I'm not trying to be a smart a** with the above quotes. I know some folks are very particular about their tea and I see no reason not to take their preferred tea onboard with them. If the tea is important to you, take your own with you.

I am partial to Republic of Tea and always bring a tin or two along with me when I travel.  That’s the kind I’m used to and if Princess can supply the hot water, that’s all I need.

23 minutes ago, nini said:

 

Incorrect. We just got off of the Sky and we booked the Plus two years ago. We received the new terms with NO extra payment.

You got lucky.  I have been told by Princess that I would have to pay another $10 a day to get the new items.  I won’t say that anyone is incorrect, as it seems that experiences may vary.

I booked this Saturday’s cruise in the fall of 2021 and received an “offer” a few weeks ago to upgrade for $10 a day so I can get fancy desserts and then go exercise.  I passed.  I can live without access to a juice bar.

Yes, still water is not carbonated/sparkling.

Thanks for sharing!  I always love food pictures.

We are sailing on the 1st and will be in a vista suite.  The Princess building with the lounge is practically next door to our hotel (Holiday Inn) and we would love to get checked in/welcomed and get a ride to the terminal.  I guess I’ll just hope that I get invited, if this is still being tested.

OK, I returned home today from ten days on the Grand Princess. I prepaid $140 for the premium unlimited internet package because it was supposed to allow for streaming.

My feelings—not worth it! First of all, I was not able to stream anything or complete a FaceTime call to my kids. Streaming services like Netflix were flat out blocked and you couldn’t even attempt to stream.

On top of streaming sites and apps being blocked, you are limited to only 500MB a day of premium internet service, and when you reach that limit, your unlimited service reverts to the slow level.

On top of that, even before I reached the data cap, the internet was constantly in and out. It would take several minutes to load a page or check for e-mail. Quite often, the pages would time out or the connection would be lost. If I tried to send a photo to my kids using iMessage, it would take 3-5 minutes, but I would still occasionally get a failure message. I found that after 10:00 pm, the internet tended to be unavailable.

It was an extremely frustrating experience, and I would caution anyone considering the purchase. Buyer beware! Spend $140 on a big bag of dirt instead, and you can at least eat the dirt if all else fails.

The obvious question—did I complain? No, I never got to the Internet cafe during the brief time each day when the manager was there. (An hour or two after lunch.) I was too busy doing other things and enjoying the cruise, and this certainly didn’t ruin it for me. However, in my opinion, they have no right charging customers $140 for a premium “unlimited” streaming internet service package if they can’t provide it.

I sent an e-mail about excursion reservations and never got a response. I then called and was waiting on hold for 45 minutes, and then finally told that I would need to call back because the people who could help me with my online account didn’t work weekends. So I guess you had better luck than I did!

I don’t have any info to share, but your photography is beautiful! I hope you can get some great shots on your trip.

We are on the Grand next week, and will be taking a $10 Bart trip to the Embarcadero station, followed by a twenty minute walk to Pier 27. Our luggage is very manageable and we are able bodied, so this was the best solution for us.

I am sailing to Alaska on the Grand a week from Monday, and I have prepaid for the top package specifically because it mentions streaming. I will let you know how it goes.

I had to call them on a Sunday morning at 7:00 am. I had authorized an excursion reservation charge for $210 and was charged $410 instead. I called immediately and was put on hold for 45 minutes before I was connected to someone who could help me. Last time, the wait was 30 minutes. If you are only waiting ten minutes, I’m jealous, lol.

There is free wifi for everyone on all princess ships.

Please explain the limitations of the free WiFi. What are you able/not able to do for free?

If it’s a money-back guarantee, I would expect to be reimbursed for the cost of the pencil.

I e-mailed them about a problem with my online account, and never got a response. I called twice and hung up after being on hold for over twenty minutes each time. I called a third time and spoke with someone who told me to call back earlier in the day because the people who could help me had all gone home. I called a final time, and a very helpful person solved my problem in about five minutes. Not the experience, but my problem was solved in the end, and that’s what matters. Seems like they might be understaffed in this area.

I paid for the premium internet package for our upcoming Alaska cruise on the Grand. I’m glad they’ve added unlimited options.

Yes and yes!

I am asthmatic. If I could pay a bit more to know that I would be breathing freely and clearly during my entire vacation, it would be worth it.

Is the crab served hot or cold?

Here are the available options for my upcoming Alaska cruise on the Grand next month:

PrincessCONNECT — Premium Package

$139.99

From e-mail to streaming, enjoy truly premium, unlimited access!

PrincessCONNECT — Surf Package

$99.99

Surf your favorite sites from e-mail, news, sports and more, enjoying unlimited access.*

*May not allow for audio/video calling and streaming.

PrincessCONNECT — Social Package

$69.99

Unlimited access to the most popular social websites and applications.*

*May not allow for audio/video calling and streaming.

Thanks for the feedback, everyone.

Sorry for being uninformed, but I have a quick question.

My wife and I will be taking a ten day cruise from San Francisco to Alaska and back on the Grand in June. We are both U.S. citizens, and I thought that all we would need are our driver’s licenses and birth certificates.

However, Princess keeps sending me long e-mails about visa and passport requirements, and now I’m second guessing myself. Do we need passports? Or are these just generic e-mails that everyone is getting?

Sorry for asking a dumb question, but I’d appreciate hearing from someone with a little firsthand experience.

Just got two packages at $6.90 for my Alaska cruise in June.