WrittenOnYourHeart

We were also on this cruise and while I did mention this in my other thread, there were toilet issues off and on during the cruise. The 2nd day the toilets in our part of the ship (deck 10 forward) were out about half the day and the public restrooms on all floors were also closed for "maintenance". The last day our specific toilet quit flushing but maintenance was there within an hour and got it working again. I did hear other guests comments during the cruise about more significant toilet issues than those we experienced. Nice that the OP got some OBC for the inconvenience - we were offered nothing but then again, we did not ask.

Wow. So what happens if you are in the area where the stateroom bathrooms are out of order AND all the public bathrooms are out of order and you have to use the bathroom? Knock on a random stateroom door in an unaffected area and ask permission??

Thanks for the info about waiting on the package. I was going to get it ahead of time so that it's paid for, but I think I shall just buy myself some onboard credit enough to cover at least the premium package and get it onboard.

Following! I'm on the Southbound cruise 7/31!! :)

Thanks for the report! I can't wait to get home and see the pictures (the school system is funny about what sites it shows pictures from). I'm sailing on the Radiance with a running group at the end of July and am excited to experience Royal Caribbean (Disney Cruise Line x 3 :) and Holland America x 1 :/ - hoping Royal Caribbean will fall more on the :) side of the scale.)

If you buy it now, you pay for it now at today's prices, then it's done and paid for and having something more to look forward to. It took some pressure off us just knowing we have that and don't have to worry about having a huge bill on the cruise. There's also always a chance that the price will increase but if you buy before that you'd still be good.

 

On the other hand if you wait until you get on board you could always wait to buy fewer days. There is a 4 day minimum which means you can wait until 4 days remain on the cruise and can't "pick and choose" which 4 days if that makes sense. For us we plan on being on the ship with a drink in hand by noon on the first day so we figured all 7 days made sense.:D

Also, if the price increases before you cruise, you are locked in at the lower price if you purchased before.

Holland used to advertise as "no tips allowed" but the crew still worked for that extra tip. Have not sailed with them since 2003, not sure that is still policy, probably not

Holland has a "hotel service charge" (aka tips) that are automatic. I thought they were included last year, but that may have just been with our group where we had prepaid them and our tour escort had to go rounds when they were trying to charge them to us again.

Honestly they - especially our dining room staff -are lucky it was already done and since we were in a group we couldn't adjust them because there is no way I would have left it as it was for the servers if on my own. Even the supposed "head server" was a hot mess and screwed up almost everything.

My fingers are crossed that we have a better experience with service on RCCL this summer. (And yes, I even leave my Disney glasses and expectations at the door. Promise.)

Royal does not require any up front cash. They let you charge up to $500 before they ask you to pay down the account. At the end of the cruise, you can settle with cash, credit card, or debit card.

Thanks so much! :)

Quick couple of questions -

Background info: I'm going on the Radiance with a group at the end of July, and we've prepaid our gratuities as part of our cruise package. I'm planning to buy a drink package, so I won't have that to worry about. And I'm not planning on doing any real shopping onboard (possibly the group photo that will be arranged), so I'm thinking I'm not going to be making many charges if any at all.

If I set my onboard account to cash, am I required to give them a set amount on check-in? Last year on Holland I had to put something like $70/night down in order to set up my account as cash. If I need to have cash handy, it's NABD, but I'd like to know in advance so I can set it aside.

If there is no deposit required or I decided onboard to settle with a card, would that be a problem?

If I decide to set it to credit, is there an amount that would be authorized immediately that I'd have to wait to have released?

Thanks for your help. I'm used to cruising on Disney and know their ways inside and out. Royal Caribbean is new to me.

Well, tell the cat it is going on holiday, and what a lovely time it will have...........in the cattery. You can exchange notes when you get back :p

He usually has a sitter who comes in - I don't know if they'll do that long. Maybe I can get someone in my building to come in. Hmm...

Thanks so much! I love everything about the cruise I found - but I have to contemplate leaving my cat for that long. :( We will see what I end up doing.

You may also want to consider that there is only fixed dining on Australian based cruises on the Dawn Princess.

I have typically cruised Disney. Fixed dining is actually a PLUS for me.

I can wait in line anywhere to eat at home (NYC). I don't get the appeal of doing it on a cruise.

actually, the princess board is for all princess! :)

:) :)

adults only pool

no charge - free to use anytime

but it is more of a plunge pool than a swim pool. It is the only one I use when on board as it has easy step access. You'll find lots of us oldies in it doing our rehab exercises most mornings

 

Have fun :)

 

PS check out CC roll call for Dawn Princess

Thanks!

Once I'm 100% confirmed I will! :)

Since Dawn Princess sails from Australia, asking questions on the Australia/NZ board here at CC will probably get you up to date answers. EM

Thanks. I didn't realize that the Princess board wasn't ALL of Princess, just the North American ones.

Most TAs have too many clients to check everyone's booking frequently for price reductions.

 

You need to do it yourself.

Thanks. I haven't used one with my Disney cruises because it's pretty straightforward and I know DCL inside and out.

I'm using one for the Princess cruise I am planning for 2016, so I will note to keep an eye on the rates.

Thank you.

I can only answer the first question. is the prices are all in Australian dollars so no need to add extra OBC. Just put cash on your account at Guest services.

 

There is a soda package with a cost per day.

Thanks. :) I meant buy OBC in advance so it's there and paid for. Or, you know, ask the parents for a birthday present of some OBC! :)

I'm about 99% sure I'm going to be doing a 14-night (!!) cruise on the Dawn Princess next summer (2016) to celebrate my birthday - I love the one I found that goes over my birthday, and for a completely new part of the world, it is less than $1000 (before airfare obviously, but I can deal with that) than the other things I had considered (Disney Cruise Line, which I love, but BTDT) so for that little less, might as well try something new, right?!?!?

A few questions...

* I was looking at the Princess site and see that the all-inclusive drink package is not available on the Australian-based ships. So does that mean that I should just plan on buying up some onboard credit in advance for drinks and such? Are the soda packages available at least? Or is there some other kind of package available onboard?

* The Sanctuary... Looking at the video it looks like it only has a splash pool in terms of water. Is that right? And you pay extra to enter? How much - and is there a package?

* The Lotus Pool - can anyone use that or is there a charge and/or you get to use it when getting a spa treatment? I love the Rainforest Room on DCL (various showers, hot tubs, heated tile loungers) - is there something similar on the Dawn Princess?

Basically I'm a little sponge for anything to do with Princess and specifically the Dawn Princess! :)

Thanks!

For those who use a travel agent, do you check yourself and notify your agent or do most agents get notifications of drops?

I've previously cruised on Disney (3 times - Dream, Dream, Fantasy) and Holland America (ms Westerdam to Alaska) and will be on Royal Caribbean (Radiance to Alaska) this summer. I love Disney, was neutral on Holland America (it was fine, but not a line I'm really considering again for a variety of reasons), and I'm excited to see how Royal Caribbean is - just as a yardstick for where I'm at.

NEXT summer (2016) is a kind of big birthday, and I'm looking at various options for trips to take (travel is my "thing" so why not treat myself, right?). I found a Princess cruise that happens to fall over my birthday and whose itinerary I am in love with (in Asia - hits Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand) and am really considering.

Obviously being new to Princess I have some questions...

This is on the Dawn Princess - any particular locations to avoid? I'm partial to higher and further forward as I don't get seasick and love the motion up front and higher. Any advice about the Dawn?

How much do you put down as a deposit? I'm used to Disney's 20%, but I know some other lines have a flat rate.

How does dining work on Princess? Is it typical assignment of times or is it the wacky pick your time? Are there options beyond the main dining room?

I can investigate the smoking policy on my own, but are there places where it's more challenging to get somewhere else because of smoking? I know on Holland America last summer I took to going down to deck one and then up to the dining room to avoid having to walk through the casino which even though not in operation reeked of smoke as it was allowed in there when playing.

I'm sure I'll have more questions if I end up on this cruise. Thanks in advance for your help!! :)

I've had 2 experiences where the kid turned to appropriate age on the ship. What happened was that it took a supervisor to "over-ride" the computer. We were then told that a space had been held for my daughter' date=' but couldn't be officially booked until we were on board (and of course, each of the activities was on or after the birthday so she was the correct age).

 

My guess is that the concierge will hold a reservation for you but cannot technically book it till you are on board. Still, no problem because you'll know that you have it. The computer takes the age at embarkation as the age for the whole cruise, but the supervisor can over-ride this.

 

The odd thing was that they did "book" it on embarkation day, even though she still wasn't the right age either time. In the most recent case, the CM who did give us the reservation commented "Oh yes, you're the one we got the memo from shoreside about....."

 

As above, no need to reserve kid time--that's only needed for kids under 3. Honestly, no need to plan anything in advance OR you can plan as much as you want. We find that when we plan, things never go the way we expected. The concierge will get you whatever reservations you wish, either now or on embarkation day. Of course, the times may not be as flexible if you wait till you are on board do reserve things like the spa. But I'm with the above--see how the kids like the programming and then have the on board concierge get you whatever you want for the grown ups. If they don't like the programming, you'll be doing more family stuff.[/quote']

 

If her kid is 4 turning 5, the kid is already aged into the club...

I think we are all singing off the same hymn sheet!

 

So at the end of your cruise, in addition to your 4 day cruise fare you will be charged:

 

$32 per person to tip your wait staff in the main dining rooms irrespective of whether you use them or not.

 

You will also be charged additionally for any meals in the upcharge restaurants so Palo or Remy. $30 for Palo pp, and $85 for Remy pp.

 

And in the "spirit", "tradition" and "custom" of cruising, a gratuity or tip is expected, not required, for your servers on top of the meal charge in those upcharge restaurants that you dine in as well. Palo and or Remy.

 

ex techie

Just to note that even if you skip a meal or two in the MDR, those servers will still be working at Cabanas or the sit-down breakfast and lunch MDRs as well as the food places on Castaway Cay. The tip is intended to cover ALL of that. So unless you bring on all pre-packaged, no need to heat it up stuff from home and eat only that (or I suppose eat only room service in which case you should would probably end up tipping the same amount) you WILL be interacting with your servers at some point.

Fair enough!

 

I still think the word vile might have been overused though! :p

 

But each to their own, and I hope you enjoy your Palo meal!

 

ex techie

I <3 Palo! :) I prefer to use it to kick off my cruise, but when I'm on the Fantasy I forego that to request AP on Pirate Night. Not sure what I'll do for what I have planned for birthday 2016 (planning to do the Dream B2B, and the actual date would likely be Pirate Night...AAR!! :p )

Vile?

 

Thats a very strong opinion! What is so bad about the menu in Enchanted Garden?

I personally won't eat veal either.

 

ex techie

There is just nothing on it that is remotely appetizing to me. I'm clearly in the minority as many love it and dislike Animator's Palate and/or Pirate Night - both of which I love. :)

They took this one out of Carnival's playbook....

 

A lot will depend on what the charges are. I'm fine with (let's say) $1 scoops of gelato to keep demand reasonable, as long as free is still avail. But if we start seeing $3.95 scoops and Park pricing on Candy, not so much..

Looks more like a Disney take on Dylan's Candy Bar to me...

It won't affect me going to Palo - brunch or dinner (I use dinner to avoid Enchanted Garden where I find the main menu to be rather vile) - as I live in NYC so $30 for meals like that is still a bargain.

It has taken any thoughts of trying Remy off the table. I was already iffy on it as I don't eat fish, I don't eat baby cow, and I don't eat weird birds, so there really didn't seem to be that much I'd eat to begin with - and definitely not a set-menu brunch.