Rubynic

Hello

Can you give an idea of bar / drink prices ? Thanks

 

 

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Beers were approx $6/$7 and most cocktails around $8/$9. There is a 15% gratuity added to all bar purchases. We don’t drink wine - I think they start from $30 a bottle. If you have a particular one you like (particularly from the more expensive range) it may be worth considering bringing some on board & paying the $15 (£11) corkage feel so you can drink it in the Dining Rooms. If you like soft drinks & mocktails the package is just over £40 for the week - there is a mocktail menu but the bar staff will make any virgin cocktail for you. Includes hot chocolate as well

Just off the Sapphire Princess today after a week long cruise to France & Spain out of Southampton. I have been on several cruises - mainly Princess - and have learned lots from Cruise critic so I thought I would share a few of my thoughts & observations. I travelled with my friend & neither of us are fussy & over critical- we just love being on board, being spoiled for a week & enjoying the entertainment.

- This was the first cruise out of Southampton after the transit from Singapore. There were 2,799 passengers on board - approx 2,400 from the UK, 200 US & a mix of other nationalities.

- The ship was in good condition with new carpets & fabrics evident throughout. There is 1 less passenger deck than Emerald/Ruby/Crown but seems to be the same amount of passenger spaces so it never really felt crowded - only on the final sea day when the weather was not too good so the majority of passengers were inside.

- I exchanged my Elite Minibar set up for 2 coffee cards - they have no expiry date & the ship name & voyage was not written on them.

- As the majority of the passengers were from the UK & tend to eat later it was easy to get a table in the Anytime dining room at 5.30/6 pm. Sapphire has 4 smaller dining rooms in the middle of the ship instead of the 2 larger ones. There seemed to be plenty of tables for 2 & we never had a problem getting one. There were some queues later on but never very long.

- The production shows included Born to be Wild & Do You Wanna Dance. The singers & dancers were all excellent. There was also a guest Headline vocalist - Gareth Gates. Known to UK passengers but probably not to others. This show was very popular & we did not get to see it. Usually you could get a seat up to 10/15 mins before the show started but this one filled up much quicker.

- We signed up for the Escape Room but due to technical difficulties with the software this had to be cancelled.

- The Cruise Director (Paul Chandler-Burns) and his team were very entertaining & friendly - lots of events organised. Some were not very well attended but maybe this is due to many new Princess cruisers who were unaware of them (Duke Christopher is taking over on the next cruise for the next couple of months)

- Service throughout the ship was good & mainly quick.

- Meals in the dining room were good with some British dishes added to the Princess standards. And all hot when they should be.

- The Princess beds were very comfortable - perfect for a good nights sleep after a busy day onboard or ashore.

I think that’s most things covered - if you have any questions let me know & I’ll try & answer - passes the time till my next cruise 🛳😊

Yes I am from the Uk. Great point about the rate being fixed when you book. How can I find out what ‘my rate’ would be?

Easiest way is to look in your Personalise how much it would cost to purchase On Board Credit. The £ amounts quoted are for $25, $50 and $100 respectively so you can do the calculation from there.

Nixieh - are you from the UK ?? If so the exchange rate for any prepaid items will be fixed based on when you booked your cruise. With Brexit there have been some large fluctuations (I have one cruise at $1.25/£1 and one at $1.42/£) If it is a good rate then I would prepay; if the current rate is better then I pay on my credit card. Hope this makes sense !!

We went on the Circle Caribbean sailing in October & the menus/entertainment did not repeat. Many of the guest entertainers did more than 1 show throughout the cruise but they were new shows. There were 4 different production shows including 2 which were new to us - Encore & Broadway Ballroom.

Think yourself lucky you're not in the UK 😁 My 'special offer' rate for this cruise is £724 for a Balcony (approx $963 !!) I think I'll pass...............

I have just been on the 14 day Circle Caribbean cruise on Caribbean Princess which was the first one after the ship had crossed the Atlantic. We arrived at the port at around 2pm and they had just started boarding elite passengers. Others did not board until at least 3pm. There was limited seating & the terminal was very crowded. The ship did not leave until approx 5pm.

 

on the off chance someone doesnt like those and wants something else, can that be accommodated. I cannot find a real menu anywhere after searching to see all what is served. also any idea if on a minisuite on Regal is too small for the balcony dinner? i do see a table on the balcony but it seems a bit tight

We had the Ultimate Balcony Dinner on the Crown Princess in July. There was a menu in our stateroom when we embarked. I do not eat steak or lobster and requested chicken. From what I understood they may substitute the chicken option from the Main Dining Room but on our night that was the Southern Fried Chicken. So the Chef prepared a chicken breast stuffed with herbs & vegetables - it was absolutely gorgeous as was everything else we had to eat - in fact the whole experience. And the sunshine on the Norway Fjords just added to the enjoyment. Would definitely recommend.

Have been reading posts of the ports we are supposed to stop in on the August 26th cruise. Am concerned about the ports, Zeebrugge and attempting to see Bruges. Many report they were late in leaving Southampton so couldn't get to the Zeebrugge port and in addition, only people with Princess excursions could get off the ship. (that is if the ship docked there). And, as well, with Helsingborg. Supposed to be tendered. Again, only passengers with excursions, can get off. With two days, already at sea, don't need more days of not getting off the ship. I am not on this cruise to sail for 7 days and not see the cities. Hoping Oslo and Copenhagen will not be a disaster. Otherwise, I would have not booked this cruise, if I knew the Crown has this reputation. Also, the Crown has been late in coming back to Southampton. Not good for getting to Heathrow on time. Has anyone done this cruise in the past few weeks to ease the trepidation of going on this cruise and being comfortable that we will get what we paid for without hassle.

I did this cruise in May & we did leave Southampton late but this was due to an IT issue which was fully resolved. We were late getting to Zeebrugge & there was an issue with Belgian Passport control but I believe this has also been improved on subsequent cruises. Fellow passengers did manage to visit Bruges but only had a short amount of time there. Copenhagen was beautiful & we were docked about a 15 minute walk from The Little Mermaid. Due to the winds forecast the visit to Helsingborg was cancelled & instead the ship stayed in Copenhagen until 3pm the following day. Instructions were given on how passengers could visit Helsingborg by train or bus. And no issues in visiting Oslo - the ship was docked right in town so easy to get to the attractions.

All in all a lovely cruise - delays couldn't be helped (Princess did compensate all passengers with OBC) & no one can control the weather. Enjoy your cruise.

I sailed on the Crown Princess last month & the shows were Magic to Do, Disco - Blame it on the Boogie & Encore - a brand new show which has some spectacular vocalists & a mini orchestra.

Hi

Just to confirm that the £100 change fee is an official Princess charge - introduced about a year ago. And you can only do this once. It is treated as a cancellation and then a new booking. For UK cruisers it is worth bearing in mind that the exchange rate has worsened over the last year (currently $1.25 to £1) so costs for pre-paying gratuities, drinks packages, OBC etc may be higher under a new booking.

Enjoy your cruise - and it's not always accurate 😉😉 but the weather actually look promising for the next week. Sunshine and temperatures up to 60F. OK - so not Caribbean hot but good for the UK in May !!

Hi

Taxi to Southampton only takes about 5/10 mins and costs less than £10 at that time of day when there is little traffic.

You will only be able to reserve train seats on one particular train so if you have an open ticket but catch an earlier/later one than your seat reservations you will just have to take your chances. Make sure your ticket is unrestricted as well - some are only available on a specific train so if the ship is delayed & you miss it you will have to purchase a new ticket.

Hi

We were on Emerald Princess in Wellington in December & yes - there was a shuttle provided which took you to the centre of Wellington. From there it is only a 5/10 min walk to the Cable Car or the Museum.

If the exchange rate improves to better than $1.25 to £1 then you are better off just paying on board in $US and having the charge as part of your final account.

You can wait until nearer the time to make a decision as your rate for the package is fixed based on when you booked the cruise. If the rate goes worse then it is worth gifting yourself on board credit as this will also be at the $1.25 rate so all your other expenditure will effectively be at this rate.

Hi

We are sailing on the Caribbean Princess in October - this is the first cruise out of Fort Lauderdale after she has spent the summer in Europe. Would the boarding be expected to be as normal or are there likely to be delays as there are additional customs/immigration requirements ?

Any advice or personal experiences appreciated. If there are expected to be delays then we may plan to get to the port later in the day & arrange our pre-cruise hotel/activities accordingly. (We are flying into Miami the day before).

Thank you for the information regarding your Emerald Princess cruise - we fly to Australia next weekend prior to joining the ship for Christmas & New Year.

Do you remember what films were showing on MUTS ?

Thanks Nic

I was on the Dawn Princess last week. The double pack (the lotion not the gel) was AU$58 but there was an additional 25% off this! Don't know if that would apply on the Emerald but I was excited and bought 2 double packs. Now I just have to live long enough to use it all.

 

 

Thank you kobecat - fingers crossed for the 25% discount for us & a bargain Christmas present for me !!

Hi - we are sailing on Emerald Princess from Sydney next month & wondered if anyone knew the AUD prices for Clinique products - specifically dramatically different moisturiser. It is usually a good deal for us from the UK when in US$ but I just wanted to know what prices are when converted into AUD.

Thank you for any info on this

The plot thickens,

 

We are sailing on two B2B Australian / New Zealand cruises on the Emerald.

 

My first cruise ( 8th Nov-15 Nov) is from Perth to Sydney and the folio is showing on my Cruise Personalizer as US dollars.

 

The following cruise ( 15 Nov- 28 Nov)New Zealand( Sydney to Sydney the cruise personalizer is showing the on board folio as AUS dollars.

 

So the switch in currencies must take place on 15th November.

 

It seems such a lot of hassle for ythe ship to change all the menus,bar tariffs, and all other such items that you pay, as I am sure when it goes of to the pacific after our second cruise they will revert back to US dollars.

 

I have brought OBC for both cruises as the exchange rate was very good ( $

1.53US to one UK £1) As previously mentioned on my second cruise they will have to convert my OBC from US dollars to AUS dollars at some given exchange rate by Princess.

 

I am also guessing that I will have to settle my account at the end of each cruise or otherwise I will have a bill showing two different currencies?

We are also cruising on Emerald Princess from Sydney in December. I had the same query about OBC. When I spoke to Princess in the UK I was told that the $US will be converted to AUD - the current rate was 1.30 AUD to $US1 - this works out well for us at the moment. I was advised that this could change so I was going to purchase some OBC and then check the rate again in December, just before we sail. If the rate is worse than the general exchange rate then I will get this amount refunded.

Hope this helps - it seems to be very confusing for passengers in the UK and even Princess were not 100% sure of the rates & rules.

Does anyone have experience purchasing OBC in £GB for a cruise where the onboard currency is AUD? There are values in my personaliser for purchasing $100 but I guess this is in US Dollars and then this value will be translated into AUD.

When we got our OBC for using a future cruise deposit this equated to 125 AUD for the US $100 we were expecting. So is it safe to assume the 1.25 is our fixed exchange rate ?

We are sailing on Emerald Princess from Sydney & are trying to work out the best deal for paying for drinks, excursions etc. With 3 currencies involved & inconsistent information from Princess it is difficult to make sense of.

Thanks for any guidance.

Be aware that in the UK there is now £100 administration fee to rebook at a lower price.:mad::mad::mad:

We have to pay the £100 when doing the re-fare - it is not added to your balance. And you can only do this once for each booking so it's a gamble whether a better deal will come up 😡

Hi Ron, interesting that you no longer use TA, I will look into booking with Princess directly via Southampton I think? Do they lower the price of your booked cruise with them if they release newer prices like they do with the US bookings. Also do they offer competitive flights or do you get your own flights independently.

 

We have always booked our own holidays independently but never thought of doing this with cruises. Doh!!

The rules have recently changed for Princess bookings in the UK. This is relating to direct bookings - we have never used a TA. Before December if there was a better deal or a price-drop then you could ring up Princess in Southampton & have your booking amended to this new deal. Now - you can take advantage of a better deal but it costs £100 Admin fee which you have to pay out at the time - cannot be added to your balance. And you can only do this once per booking - so you have to take a gamble on whether a better deal will come along later.

Hi

 

Did you say puppies

 

Where dis you get to meet the puppies ? My parents are on the same cruise next year & will be missing their 3 dogs - puppies could help them feel better 🐶

I have found the e-mail address Princess gave me last time I spoke to them and mentioned the difficulty in faxing proof of share ownership - it is benefits@princesscruises.co.uk