JohnS43

Thanks for all of the info. I guess the best thing to do would be to just ask the shore excursion desk once I'm on board. My flight is at 4:15 out of Heathrow, so maybe that's cutting it a bit close. Although since it's on a Saturday, there probably won't be as much chance of traffic problems.

I hadn't really thought about this before, but I now realize that I have a lot of free time in London on disembarkation day, and I was thinking about maybe doing one of Princess's excursions that takes you from the ship to some tourist locales, and eventually to the airport. But I have already bought and paid for a transfer from the ship to Heathrow, and I know those transfers are generally non-refundable.

 

Is it possible to switch to an excursion, assuming it's all within the Princess universe?

Mine was posted to my cruise within two or three days, I think-- BUT, I never got any email acknowledgment from Princess that they either received or approved my submission, so you have to keep checking your cruise account to see whether or not the OBC has been added.

Do we have to pay for soda at dinner if we don't have a drink package?

You have to pay for ALL beverages except coffee, tea, milk, juice (at breakfast only, and regular (not bottled) water. I've heard that they also offer lemonade, but I've never seen it.

There are two specialty restaurants, reservations made once you board.

 

Sort of. I assuming you're referring to the Crown Grill and Sabbatini's. But there's also the Salty Dog (inside one of the bars) and usually the Crab Shack. These both have upcharges as well.

I can't answer about individual bottled water sizes/prices, but the bottled water that you can have delivered to your room at the start of the cruise is $6.90 for 12 500ml bottles. They probably use the same size for the beverage package individual sales, although I'm sure the price is higher if you buy them individually.

Also can you get fresh squeezed OJ with the soda and more package..

 

The juice you get is the kind they have at the bar for making mixed drinks-- not fresh-squeezed. On my last cruise, I ordered a half-Sprite/half-OJ drink several times.

I was looking at a Panama Canal cruise on Princess on a travel agency website yesterday, and the per person/double occupancy price seemed reasonable, even if doubled, so I tried to click through to the selection page. When I got there, and changed the number of passengers from "2" to "1," the total cost was MORE than twice the PPDO price. And when I changed it back to "2" and it gave the total cruise price for both people, that amount was still less than the solo price.

 

Does this ever happen, or was this a website/travel agency glitch of some kind? If it DOES happen, what kind of justification would there be for such a pricing model?

I bought mine RIGHT before it started to go down (naturally) at around $50. I have some friends who bought it years ago and it has more than doubled in value -- and actually ended up splitting so they ended up with more than 100 shares.

Formal night is an antiquated practice these days and HAL and Celebrity among others have tossed it aside. Princess will not be far behind as the "formal" code is more and more routinely ignored.

I didn't realize those two lines have done away with formal nights. I know that Norwegian has no formal nights (and is 100% anytime dining.) Personally, I detest getting dressed up, and I do not want to bring along a bunch of extra, uncomfortable clothes on vacation (and I hate it even more in warm climates.) And with luggage surcharges and weight restrictions on airplanes, this becomes even more of an issue. So on my last Princess cruise, I just avoided the MDR on the formal nights and went to the buffet or the Crown Grill.

 

However, I do realize that there are people who find dressing up to be an important part of the cruise experience. I wonder if there's some sort of middle ground -- like having separate dining rooms with different dress codes.

 

I do agree that as time goes by, dressing up is going to become a thing of the past. Look how much dress codes have changed at work in the past 30 - 40 years? Or in other formal settings? When you watch TV shows and movies from the '50s and '60s, it's alarming to see how dressy everyone was, even in informal situations. (And I'm old enough to remember those days.)

I applied for Global Entry about a month ago. Finally got the email advising me of the pre-approval and asking me to schedule an appointment. Foolishly, I thought I might be able to do this within the next week as I'm doing an overseas trip beginning this Saturday. HAH! There are two interview locations that are relatively convenient to me: LAX and the Long Beach Port. First I checked LAX: the earliest appointment available was OCTOBER 31! So then I tried Long Beach -- and they have NO appointments available at any time!

 

Oh well-- maybe it will be ready by the next trip. (And the TSA Pre-check wouldn't have worked for this trip anyway, because my carrier doesn't participate.)

The various places mentioned above that might not accept a PIN-less chipped credit card (gas stations, automated ticket machines, etc.) -- do they generally accept a US chip-and-PIN DEBIT card? I'm planning to use my no-foreign transaction fee credit card (chipped, no PIN) as much as possible, but if I run across a place where it doesn't work, will a debit card (mine reimburses all fees) work?

 

One comment: I have several US MasterCards, VISAs, AmEx cards and a Discover. While ALL have added chips in recent years, NONE has a PIN. And only one has the little "wi-fi" symbol However, I also have a Target Red Card (not the MasterCard, the store credit card) that is the ONLY one that has implemented the mandatory use of a PIN with the chipped card.

What does the letter/number below the ship's name (in the above example, "A10") signify?

btw- the google Chromecast unit works via an internet connection. The signal goes from your computer/ipad/tablet to the internet & back to the Chromecast unit. This means that you would be using internet minutes to watch your own movies. Hardly worth it.

 

Thanks for mentioning that. I was the person who first mentioned the Chromecast and I am so used to using it in hotels that have free Wifi that I didn't even think about the fact that it wouldn't work on a ship (without paying the outrageous internet prices.) Duh!

Whether it's worth it depends on what you drink. For me, the Soda & More is not worth it as I don't drink mocktails or any of the beverages other than soda. I was able to buy just the Soda card on my Royal cruise in April for just over $5/day including tip. It's about a $3/day difference for drinks I won't order or drink and if Princess does away with just the Soda card, I'll be upset and have to reconsider.

 

I'm on the Emerald in a couple of weeks and I don't see a "Soda Only" option-- only the Soda and More or the Unlimited Everything. So maybe they have done away with it?

 

I had the Soda and More package on the Crown a few months back but I'm going to pass this time as I'm in a suite and will convert my mini-bar setup to soft drinks, which should last me for at least half the time. I also ordered two 12-packs of bottled water.

As long as the TV has an HDMI port, I don't see why it wouldn't work. I don't know that much about Apple stuff, but if you have an Android product or anything that works with Google Chrome, you could bring along a Chromecast device and stream wirelessly to the TV. You'd need both an HDMI port and a nearby electrical outlet for the Chromecast.

Thanks to both of your for your responses. I guess I haven't given a lot of thought to what I'll be doing -- I just figured I didn't want to go back and try to see the Vatican and various museums again. I wouldn't mind going back to where my apartment was (near Piazza Fiume) or where I worked (the US Embassy on Via Veneto.) So I figured the HoHo would give me the option to get off and walk around on my own at various stops. I really don't need to see the typical tourist destinations like the Colosseum, Forum, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, etc. -- I kind of want to get an idea of how much Rome has changed since 1980. Maybe I should just take the train into town and then use the subway and/or buses and make a day of it. As long as I give myself plenty of time to get back to the ship, I think I can do it. And I speak a little Italian, so that will help, I hope!

Thanks for your help! I guess I was overthinking or overplanning and trying to get all of my shore excursions lined up -- and when I read about the Viator offer, I assumed that was the only way to access the HoHo-- but of course it makes sense that you should be able to board it anywhere along the route, and now that I know I can buy a ticket on the day of the tour, I guess I will do it that way.

I was trying to book a Viator HoHo tour for Barcelona, and the description states "Take a DIY shore trip during your cruise stop in Barcelona with this convenient hop-on, hop-off city bus tour. Climb aboard a double-decker, open-top bus at the Port of Barcelona (Port Olímpic - stop 6) just 15 minutes from the cruise terminal.

 

After doing a bit of research, I found out that ships usually dock at Adossat or Barcelona Piers. Looking on Google Maps, it appears that Port Olimpic is over an HOUR away on foot. Do they mean it's a 15-minute DRIVE or taxi ride from the ship?

 

I tried asking this question on Viator's website, and my submission got dumped so I figured I'd try here instead. Has anyone done this before? Is the closest pickup point within walking distance?

OK ... trying to figure out the best way to do this. Based on what I can find online, it looks like the train station in Civitavecchia is about a 10-minute walk from the port (that's assuming there's only one port and one train station, which is what I found on Google Maps.) And from there, there are several trains an hour to Termini station in Rome. And from there, I can pick up a HoHo bus. Does this sound right?

 

Bottom line: I'm trying to figure out the best way to get around Rome and see what I want to see. I lived there for six months in 1980, but haven't been back since. But I don't see a real need to revisit a lot of the "usual suspects" that I've seen before.

 

Any suggestions for alternative ways to accomplish this? Thanks!

They really can't "enforce" the suggested times! Some folks flights get in early...are they going to make those folks stand around for hours? No!

 

Believe me, because I've been through it TWICE-- if they tell you to come later because they're doing delayed boarding due to a thorough cleaning because of an outbreak of norovirus on the previous cruise, they WILL make you stand around (and outdoors, in the elements--in San Pedro at least) if you arrive before they start letting people on board.

 

So if you get an email, or see something here on the boards about delayed boarding, it doesn't do you any good to show up early.

So I have an odd question. I have a cruise certificate for any 15 day or less Princess Cruise departing from the U.S. I have to book by October this year and sail before June 2016.

 

I hope you meant June 2017!

I'm getting confused -- so now there's a deal with the new Citibank Costco VISA card? (Maybe we need to start a new topic if that's the case, so it won't get buried in the AmEx thread.) How did people find out about this? The card isn't effective until tomorrow, and I understand that you can't register for online access until then either. So where are you finding out about the $500 OBC deal?

 

(Just to clarify: I got my new VISA card a few weeks ago; my understanding is that EVERYTHING--balances, rebates, etc., transfers over to the new card effective tomorrow and the old AmEx card is no longer valid anywhere-- i.e., it's permanently cancelled.)

I'm trying to figure out how I can use this on an upcoming cruise that's already fully paid for (including air.) I wonder what the requirements and restrictions are-- can I use to to pre-order a beverage package or pay for shore excursions or tips in advance?

How hard is it to get a table for two and eat alone on Anytime Dining? I've done solo before, but although I was alone in my room, some friends were on the ship with me, so I ate with them most nights. I don't mind eating with/meeting different people, but with Anytime Dining, you're going to get different people every night and going through the same introductions and small talk can get old on a two-week cruise!