KKB

I land at 6:20AM & am looking at a SWA 8:55AM flight out of T1.

Is that enough time to make that flight on a Thursday morning?

Celebrity emailed faster than I ever anticipated--thx!

On 1/28/2024 at 8:59 AM, OTrail said:

Probably seems like a daft question but I was just looking at my cruise and see there's already shore excursions available - I'm not sailing until May 2025. Are excursions usually available this early and should I start booking or am I safe to leave it for a good few months yet to see if other, different, excursions are added?

If it is a MUST SEE--BOOK NOW. You can always cancel. 

(I have no issues with things being charged/refunded to my credit card...since we use ours for EVERYTHING we buy to maximize points. Just pay it off every month)

We have been shut out of excursions we wanted to do because we drug our feet.

On 1/26/2024 at 12:24 PM, w@ntonsoup said:

I cruised a lot as a kid, all lines but mostly Carnival and RC of course, and want my kids to have a great time.  Sun Princess is on the table for us and my only real hesitation is that they don't have water slides and it's a more mature less-party cruise line.  

 

I know it's a brand new ship so people can't say for certain what the experience will be, but would you expect a fall break (October) cruise on the Sun Princess to give our tweens a really super fun vacation?  

 

Thanks!

Our children began cruising on DCL at the ages of 5-7-10.

They have since also sailed Celebrity, Princess & RCCL.

They are now 28-25-23.

This last year I asked each of them which cruise was their fav & each one (in separate conversations) said "All of them!"

They LOVE cruising!

The Princess cruise was to the S. Caribbean over NYE 11 years ago, so they were 17-14-12.

Now, our kids have gone to kids club/teen club--some sailings they loved it, other times not so much.

They do enjoy new destinations, pool time, nice dinners together, even trivia & game shows. 

More likely than not, you kiddos will have a great time no matter what line you sail.

7 hours ago, PTC DAWG said:

We felt the same way after this cruise. Saw our butler once…the Retreat Lounge reminded me of a Doctors waiting room.  We spent more time out of the retreat than in.  I’m fine with Aqua or even less.  The only real benefit was the larger room and bathroom in our SS. 
 

Bar service on the retreat pool deck was great, I will say that..but the Sunset Bar was just as good. 
 

I am glad I got the deal I did, although I talked to some who paid even less to get a Magic Carpet suite for even less through the upgrade program. 

This is pretty much how we felt after our 1st Retreat experience on the Beyond in April (tho LOVED the opportunity to sail w/ @mac_tlc @Mrs_Tiki & @GenerationX (oh, rats, I know there were others whose handles escape me...)

We enjoyed Retreat & all the perks & for what we paid in April, inclusive of most tips plus a large OBC chunk, we probably would again at that price with comparable perks.

But we didn't find Retreat  to be overall BETTER than our non-retreat sailings.

@Mrs_Tiki Looking forward to the rest!!

We just booked Ascent for December (non-Retreat)--always love the comparisons!

WISH we could have sailed with you all last week!

17 hours ago, envy4u said:

I booked directly with Princess and the agent recommended I book a gty with a complimentary one category upgrade. Today I was assigned a cabin but did not receive the upgrade. I called Princess phone number and wasted 1.5 hours of my time which I will never get back. In the end I was hanged up on when I asked to speak to a supervisor. Is there a specific number I can call to get this resolved. Help! TY

Remember a one category upgrade does NOT necessarily mean interior to oceanview (for instance).

There are levels w/in each category.

So if you booked an interior guarantee, in theory you won't get the lowest level of interior, but at least one catgory above that (still an interior).

Call Princess or use the Chat feature on their website.

17 hours ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

The free wine is Santa Helena, their "house wine".  Your choices are Chardonnay for white or Cabernet for red, no picking another varietal as far as I'm aware of.

Then I'm DEFINITELY getting a 50% off bottle--I don't drink Chardonnay or Cabernet!

18 minutes ago, hal2008 said:

 

Thats good to know.

But here on Australia/New Zeland forum, folks usually care about companies that operate here.

Of course—food for thought if u r traveling in the states😉

On 1/23/2024 at 2:04 AM, yarramar said:

We used Lyft when in the States and found it to be as good if not better than Uber.

While in Australia, download the 13cabs app and when in need of a ride compare the two in case Uber is in surge mode. Taxi's do not have surge pricing.

The other  tip is NO TIPPING. Uber OR Taxis. Particularly if Uber is getting a surge price.

I much prefer Lyft...a company know for better integrity. Typically cheaper as well.

But when there is some crazy surge pricing I do open both. Sometimes close & reopen & cheaper rates, it's bizarre! (particularly in busy big cities)

But I do get $15/mo credit on Uber via American Express Platinum, so I do take advantage.

I will download 13cabs--thx so much!

30 minutes ago, arxcards said:

Just take a photo of the script with your phone before your medication is dispensed.

That's what I was thinking.Thx

20 minutes ago, Paula_MacFan said:

They just delivered these letters. So after Mahogany Bay was swapped for Belize tomorrow and today was cancelled at Costa Maya the best we can do for our original itinerary is Cozumel Friday. We stopped at Cozumel last night for the ill passenger and it's too bad we couldn't have stayed there for today. 

 

Oh well, a day at sea is better than a day at work. 

 

 

On 1/21/2024 at 8:05 PM, Paula_MacFan said:

Our Travel Summary said boarding started at noon, but as we got closer to sailing the app boarding pass said check in started at 10:30.

 

Sail away was probably our coldest ever. Usually we would be out exploring the ship and enjoying sail away from our aft balcony; however, it was only 41 degrees so everyone was inside. Even for Galveston this was pretty chilly. It's supposed to be in the 80s at ports so hopefully we'll make up for it.

 

We let the porters take our large suitcases and we carried on our smaller bags. Lots of people were carrying on bags and suitcases. 

Sailed out of Galveston on NCL Prima the 12th. (PERFECT timing w/ the arctic blast & storms)

Quite cool & day 2 slightly warmer but not swimsuit weather. 

Sea day on Day 7 was slightly warmer but little sun.

Sailed out of Galveston last March & warm the whole time.
Not sure I'll do Galveston in winter anymore.

Mahogany Bay is Princess' stop in Belize I thought.

On 1/22/2024 at 2:24 PM, yarramar said:

You can find answers over on the Aus & NZ forum. https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2986559-buying-a-bottle-of-wine-in-each-port-bringing-it-onboard

LOL--yep posted in both places just to be sure!!

2 minutes ago, jsglow said:

Dun Laoghaire is the only one. You'll love the itinerary.

 

I particularly enjoyed Belfast. I'm a history buff kinda guy and we did a walking tour about The Troubles. Learned so very much. It's still 'just' under the surface in the culture and Brexit has re-opened some old wounds.

 

Best part of travel for me is learning new things. Now folks can see why I have no interest in mega ships.

I LOVED Belfast. Did the HOHO buss & saw all the murals. Fabulous

2 minutes ago, MisterOJ2 said:

The others are:

Cobh

Holyhead

Liverpool

Greenock

and Belfast

Cobh, Greenock & Belfast are NOT tenders

21 hours ago, Iamthesea said:

You will love it, and wonder why you have spent so much time in the Caribbean.  So much to see and do in other countries.  We have taken 13 European area cruises, but none on Carnival. 

 

One of the only differences that we see when cruising from London/Southampton or in the British Isles is that the English (and most Europeans) dress nicer for the most part.  We do too, but when I normally wear nice dressy slacks and tops, the English women, especially, wear dresses.  I am taking Sunday dresses, not sun dresses. 😉

 

Another difference is that the food choices will include varieties for the English, Europeans, etc.  Don't count on crispy bacon!!! 😁

 

BTW - We are going on a Britain, Scotland, And Ireland cruise in May.  Our port stop in Belfast was taken off because of unrest issues.  Luckily, we have already been there, but were looking forward to going back.  Be prepared hat you may miss a port or two.  

Interesting.

Did UK last May out of Hamburg  (MSC--don't do it) & N Europe in Oct out of Southampton (Princess) after a few days in London. 

Did not notice dresses AT ALL on either cruise or in Europe (or Amsterdam).

Both were cool, so most people were dressed WARM & relatively casually.

The lack of crisp bacon is true--they always had a separate tray of crisp I had to ask for at the buffet. If I ate in a restaurant, I had to ask for CRISP (or burnt on land!)

I have a little pill container that contains my few prescription meds--blood pressure meds, estrogen & progesterone. (4 total)

When space is an issue, I put them in tiny baggies, labeled.

I have taken them to Europe, Caribbean & traveled domestically this way.

I see on the AUS government website it says they need to be in their original pill bottle.

Do you feel this is necessary? A couple bottles are large & a terrible waste of space.

Could I just clip a pic of each label to keep on my phone?

How about over the counter meds--are they OK in small labeled baggies?

Thanks for your help!

1 hour ago, mac_tlc said:

Sounds like our plan! We are not beach lovers so the pool is our desired location.

 

mac_tlc

We were going to book NC last month...luckily we DID NOT. 

Steady rain most of the day. Not passing or light showers!

UPDATE

I earlier shared that I had submited our requests via the Stockperks app for our April cruises.

Within 48 hours Stockperks emailed that our OBC had been successfully applied.

We have a B2B & should have had $250 on leg 1 & $100 on leg 2.

The $100 showed up on the Princess site soon thereafter.

But the $250 did not.

Emailed Stockperks & they said it went thru on their end, to contact Princess.

After the holidays I contacted Princess via the email I had from when I sent Shareholder OBC requests via email. 

They did NOT email back BUT the $250 is now showing online.

On 1/20/2024 at 12:28 PM, cruiserj12 said:

I'm hopeful someone will be able to answer my question regarding onboard credits since after calling Princess, I don't have a clear answer. When we booked we paid the deposit with our AMEX which is supposed to give us $100 OBC and we also referred our friends on the cruise so we are supposed to get a $50 OBC. Our cruise embarks on 1/28. I don't see this on the cruise documentation anywhere nor do I see it in the app. I called to ask and Princess said it would reflect after the cruise. That makes no sense to me. The rep also said to call back 3 days before embarkation and it "might" be there. Does anyone know how this should work and what we should expect? Thanks!

OK I can't speak of these BUT when I have OBC from a TA, it doesn't show up online on the Princess site, but it does once onboard. 

I always take a screenshot of the original invoice which shows it JUST in case.

Will this be credited back to my credit card or show up as OBC?

Thanks

23 hours ago, TheMichael said:

(there's something about Canadians and watching for pier runners...).

 

Also, I'd suggest only sailing from Galveston if you really (REALLY) like Texans. Comics on the ship definitely modified their acts for the crowd, and at one point in the waters off Honduras, a conversation starter was "so, what brings you to Texas?" (since he was Texan, I couldn't tell if serious or if it was a comment on the passenger demographics). It was a big difference from the diverse roster of hometowns/states/countries represented on my last couple of cruises. 

 

Love you Canadians!

Regarding Galveston & lots of TX passengers...

Sailed Ruby from Galveston in March & really didn't notice it particularly.

We just got off NCL Prima out of Galveston & WOW--LOTS of Texans! 

The most party cruise I've ever been on!

(well other than a 5 day Spring Break Celebrity cruise that was 75% FSU students😳)

Thanks for the reports from everyone. We are on the Regal for 28 days in April.

20 hours ago, 80sGal said:

Yep.  Got fooled with that offer once and poured that stuff down the sink drain.   Conundrum by Caymus is a good option for a white wine at 50% off.   For red, I loke Tri County Cherry Pie.  We're not wine snobs, so not looking for a 10/10,  but that free wine is barely a 1 IMO.   

I'm no wine snob either--Aldi $3 Winking Owl Pinot Grigio is good by me!

BUT I AM picky about what I like.

Pinot Grigio is usually fine.

Sauvignon Blanc needs to be from NZ/AUS or Europe. Don't care for CA or Chile.

I will likely do the 50% off choice.

38 minutes ago, kaz828 said:

Was not planning to book a suite. Thanks for the info !

I agree w/ @NutsAboutGolf Go Ascent or Beyond.

Tho u can't go wrong with any of them.