Therese S.

51 minutes ago, geoherb said:

I posted a synopsis of my experience on the Princess Cruise passengers complaint forum on Facebook. I ended up removing the post. Those people are vicious. The gist was that I should be thankful for receiving an upgrade and shouldn't have expected any follow-up. 

I never post reviews for that very reason.  Thank you again for your review, I enjoyed following along.  

Thank you to Iijost and geoherb for your responses to my question regarding the international cafe.  Wish princess would take out the prime real estate used for photos and create a true full service IC.  Photos could be digital views on your stateroom tv or on the princess app then print up the one you choose.  

18 minutes ago, doodlefan said:

I'm not sure if you are looking at March 13 2026 on the Island Princess but if you are this one is VERY popular, the first week it had tons of cabins gone.  I booked at the end of December and have to take a guarantee inside.  There were a few choices of Oceanviews and balconies left at that time I believe but never any inside rooms available to book.

 

If this is not the cruise you are looking at then I'm not sure.  I have found as the commenter above mentioned there are some weird marketing strategies at work with Princess.  No rhyme or reason why some categories are guarantee only so far out.

We found the same!  Booked March 13, 2026 on the Island Princess the last week of December and there might have been maybe 3 or 4 inside cabins to choose from. I thought we made our booking soon after release of the itinerary so was surprised and disappointed at the choices available.  We also went with Guarantee Inside.  Today I counted up 11 inside cabins available, so they are releasing more.  My hopes is we are able to bid on a higher category as we get closer.   
 

I don’t like this new program of you chose your own cabin and pay  a little more.  
 

just in case a princess rep reads these posts “Bring Back the Coffee Card” 😃 

Thank you for the live from the Island Princess, I’m enjoying your daily updates.  Can you please confirm whether or not there’s some sort of International Cafe?    I’ve read posts that says there’s a small one (forget where) but others say no.  If not, where do you get Lattes, other speciality coffees,  etc and the extra good almond croissants?  

On 5/25/2024 at 2:00 PM, Gail & Dan said:

Again hold the ctrl key sorry I should have said that if it won’t go or gets stuck hold that key it should work !

 

Thank you so much for this info.  The CTRL key works and you do have to click on the new tab.  Ive been checking every day for the up close Hubbard glacier tour for our 22 day Alaska cruise and today it became available.  Following  your instructions I was able to book two spots.  I've read here that this particular excursion sells out very fast, so yes thank you again. 

11 hours ago, skynight said:

The Coral & Island were built as sister ships. When built each one had a casino on deck 6. At the entrance was a raised step up area with a bar and some slots. At some point in the late 2000's this area was converted on the Coral to a small International Cafe. There was no International Cafe conversion on the Island Princess.

Thanks for the history on how/when Coral ended up with an IC but the Island did not.  I will really miss it on our 54 day Tahiti.New Zealand.Australia cruise in 2026

I always thought the Coral and Island Princess were sister ships.  Did the Coral always have an International Cafe and the Island did not?  Or did the Island lose its dedicated IC after the aft cabins were added? 

Almond Croissants are my favorite and Princess makes some of the best.  For those ships without an IC can you get the almond croissants in the buffet area?  I'm hoping during the next Island Princess dry-dock that they add the international cafe.  Is a photo gallery even needed on ships anymore?  I hate seeing all the pictures displayed knowing most will be destroyed, seems better to have digital viewing.  Maybe one could be added there

4 hours ago, 57eric said:

One paper napkin vs. having to wash a cloth napkin and a set of cutlery?  We have different concepts of waste.

 

I should clarify "fully booked on line".  I realize that fully booked on the app doesn't mean fully booked in reality.  What I meant was showing fully booked on the app.

I too prefer paper napkins and assumed they burned paper waste, hate the slick cloth napkins to wipe my fingers.  We tend to grab a handful of paper napkins from the IC cafe each time we get coffee and sometimes take with us to the buffet. 

49 minutes ago, Paula_MacFan said:

Yes and yes. Here's what it looks like on my app.

Thanks a bunch...now I know what to look for.  How far in advance of your June 2024 cruise did it show up to book?  And if you dont mind me asking how much?  Our cruise is June 2025, I'm probably looking for it to show up too soon

On 3/25/2024 at 12:56 PM, MudderBear said:

I learned a good lesson on my upcoming Barcelona to Rome cruise this year.  Book your excursions early.  I was lucky as I grabbed two in Italy months ago, and now had a hard time booking for Gibralter and Marsailles.

 

Anyway, with that in mind, we are sailing Princess in Alaska summer of 2025.  This will be a repeat cruise.  I'd like to book that special boat in Hubbards' Glacier ($299 pp YIKES!!!) now before we get locked out of that.  Its the boat that takes you as far as it can go right up close.  And yes, I've done the cruise before, but stayed on our ship and envied those that did the excursion.

 

Am I crazy to book over a year in advance?  My full payment isn't even due until next March 2025.  What do ya'll think?

 

Thanks.

 

 

  Is the Hubbard glacier small boat a Princess excursion?  Would you find it listed under the day you cruise the Glacier?  We're taking the 22 day Ultimate Alaska cruise June 2025 and Ive been waiting and checking to see if something like this shows up but so far no luck. 

On 3/9/2024 at 11:23 PM, Sarnia 432 said:

Not sure of a cc option, but I always look at

https://www.whatsinport.com

Thanks for the tip.  I did take a look at whatsinport and it's very similar to the information that used to be here on cruise critic.  Now to learn about New Zealand, Australia and some South Pacific ports. 

5 hours ago, HotRoot said:

You remember correctly.  I have no idea when nor why they got rid of those pages.  I remember always finding the recommended drink at each destination.  They were information about destinations, not cruise ports.  I actually printed them out and took them with me.

Thank you, happy someone else remembers it.  The wording destination is better than ports of call and I also would print the guides and take with me. The info was so helpful in my early days of cruising.  Now I have two cruises coming up that have ports Ive never been to and want to start learning about them.  It’s strange that cruise critic would drop such helpful information.  

20 years ago I discovered Cruise Critic and have loved it since for all sorts of information.  Maybe I'm mistaken but wasn't there at one time a section where you could research ports written by staff(?) not fellow cruisers with information on ports of call such as language and currency used at port, customs, what sites not to miss, ease of getting around, top ten things not to miss, a simple map, etc.  I have been searching for this

information all over this site, but no luck.  Maybe it was another cruise information website, but seems like it was CC.  Does anyone else remember this or am I going crazy? 

I agree with Negn…it all depends on how large and open the wound is.

My husband recently received IV antibiotics for 2 days to combat a nasty hot abscess just below the  elbow.  In the end he needed surgery and then more IV antibiotics.  Was left with a 2 inch open gaping wound to heal and I became wound nurse.  Kaiser sent us/me home with my own kit of scissors, tweezers, syringe to spray wound cleaner inside the wound, sterile pads, saline solution, gloves, tape,collagen and packing strips for the packing which was every 12 hours then changed to every 2 days as it heals.

 After my original hesitation, I found the wound cleaning and packing to be pretty simple.    I did take a photo each time the bandage was changed to watch for any major changes.  It’s been almost a month now and wound is almost closed, probably another  week of packing left.  

I would say if your partner is up to being a wound nurse, and  the wound is healing nicely and you have all the supplies, to go for it. But,  I would stay out of pools, hot tubs and the ocean which could impact the enjoyment of your cruise.  

On 2/23/2024 at 5:25 PM, Thrak said:

I can't imagine doing a World Cruise. We did 63 days on Grand Princess last year and that was tooooooooooo dang long on one ship. We got really tired of the same food, the same CD jokes, the same Trivia, etc. It was nice being treated a bit like "one of the family" by the crew though. 😉

 you're feelings on a long cruise make me nervous! We’re booked on the 54 day March 2026 on the Island and worried it might be too long.  The longest cruise we’ve been on was a 28 day and loved it.  I get it about the same CD jokes as they become familiar after a while.   Were there a lot of sea days between ports on your 63 day?  And perhaps that made it feel too long?  

We’ve also been on the Island twice, once in 2006 (loved it) the full walk around promenade and then again in 2016 after the back was chopped up and cabins added.  The Universal lounge was really missed for more options in entertainment.  I would have preferred a different ship for our 54 day but it goes where I want to go.  

1 hour ago, jaycruising said:

 

During cruises I tend to suffer from inflammation and swelling in my feet and ankles, so I had to elevate, but if anyone has any tips to help I welcome them!

 

 

 

I’ve really enjoyed your Live and all your photos, especially your walking tour photos of PV and Cabo, thank you.   We hope to do this same cruise in October.  A tip for the swollen feet and ankles.  I used to experience the same, also including swollen hands.  Once I stopped drinking the ships water where I could Ive noticed a big difference.  We pre-order multiple 12 packs of water depending on the length of the cruise.  What a difference that has made.  It has really helped!  You can never avoid all the salt thats in the food and yes the water is desalinated,  but we drink a lot of bottled water in our cabin and it has helped offset all the salt.   

I noticed the same on the 11 day Mexican Riviera cruises out of San Francisco on The Ruby.  Starting basic inside fare for October 2024 is $817 while the same cruise in January 2025 is $677.  Im guessing it’s the weather.  I love cruising in the  fall versus January.  Im holding out for a last minute price drop or special rates for California residents.  

I just don't get why Princess has not added an International Cafe to the same location where its located on Coral Princess, Deck 6 near the Photo Gallery.  Other than IP losing the Universal lounge with the addition of more cabins, aren't these two sister ships?  Back in 2016 on a Panama Canal cruise on the Island, we were told at the Captains party that they hoped to add one, but that was 7 years ago!  With the push towards packages, maybe one will be added in the next refurbishment.  One thing I do remember is not buying one coffee during the 19 days onboard because I didn't know where to purchase my morning Latte.  If the Island  had a mini international cafe set up,  it was not easily noticeable.  

5 hours ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

That's interesting that they would issue tickets before actual payment...

Oh... Princess does charge the credit card on file and if no logerr interested you have to go to the excursions desk to have charges removed.  On our recent California Coastal cruise, we were wait listed for the Getty museum/Santa Monica tour.  Didn't know we made the cut until we got on board and saw our tickets and was very happy about it. 

57 minutes ago, C & C Love to Cruise said:

How does this work?  I am on waitlist for an excusion.  Will they email me or do I have to log into my account every day to see if it is avaliable?

Ive been on multiple waitlisted excursions.  Ive been notified by email that I cleared the list and time to pay up and also had to wait until onboard to discover we cleared the list.  In those cases we didn't know until we saw the tour tickets on the cabin desk upon boarding.   

The INCREASE went through!  I just checked a 33 day cruise for this fall that I plan to cancel and internet is now $12.50 for platinum/elite.  So glad I purchased internet last week for my 22 day and 54 day cruises at the rate of $7.50  with a total overall savings of $380 

5 minutes ago, syymisc said:

Could anyone please post a link where you found this information from? Did anybody receive any email notification from Princess? I called Princess Customer Service but they said they were not aware of this price increase.

Yes see post #91 and why would Princess let us know?  For those booking standard fare they can catch us unaware and get more $$$.  This is why I love Cruise Critic!  I learn more here than from my own TA who is currently escorting a Hawaiian cruise.  

1 hour ago, karatemom2 said:

Grateful that I saw this discussion. I just went on my app and purchased in advance with our Elite discount for our upcoming summer cruise. I feel like Princess is trying to bully those of us who opt out of the packages - at some point we will just give in and decide it is the most affordable option. Maybe instead you will just bully me over to another line once my Elite benefits aren't as attractive as they once were. Already looking at some Celebrity and NCL cruise options this year. They have some nice casino offers as well.

 

You are so right! but Princess will never get me to purchases any of the packages.  Packages are still in Princess favor and always will be and  I can’t justify the cost. As long as I can pre-purchase water, soda and alcohol Im good.  And if they take that away I have other ways 🙂 

I am also looking at other cruise lines now that another poster has described how easy it is to take Amtrak from Sacramento to San Diego.  

3 hours ago, PacnGoNow said:

I have my 2026 cruises blocked

from booking internet.  It WAS open, they just closed it, probably due to the new increase. 

Take another look at your 2026 cruise as I was just able to book/pay for internet on our March 2026 cruise at the current rate.  

Thank you to the original OP for this information.  

I was able to purchase internet at the rate of $7.50 per day (platinum level) for our June 2025 22 day Alaska cruise and went ahead and prepaid daily tips in case they also go up.  

Was not able to purchase internet for our 54 day South Pacific cruise in March 2026.  App says “No Plans Available to Purchase”. Maybe its just too far out date wise.