jennymaxgirl

I will need to keep in touch with my business in BC while on our upcoming 10 nt eastern carib cruise. I understand that texting is the the most affordable with incoming texts being free and outgoing texts at .60 cents each.

Just wondering what others do for making phone calls while onboard or in port? Are there packages that you recommend?

Thanks,

Jennifer

We are traveling with our two little ones and will have a beach blanket with us for the port days. I see Carambolas has lovely loungers, but would it be frowned upon or breaking any rules for us to use our beach blanket instead of renting a lounger?

Thanks

I could be wrong but I don't think any Princess specialty restaurant has children's prices. It's a set price. The Crab Shack is held in a section of the buffet so you could always get the kids food from the buffet.

Thanks Pam!

Jennifer

We will be on the Royal Princess in a couple of months and look fwd to eating at the Crab Shack!

Does anyone know the pricing for children ages 5 and 8? Would it still be $20?

Thanks,

Jennifer

Hi there, we will have our two children ages 5 and 8 on the Royal with us in November for a 10 nt eastern carib.

I have called Princess and there are only 5 children in this age group booked for the cruise. Wow, so few!

Just wondering if anyone has suggestions for the kids swimming onboard. Is there a pool that's more child friendly than another? My children are both well behaved, but little voices are just naturally louder than adults at times and I would hate to irritate others; however, I want my kids (and my husband and myself) to have a great time too without always having to worry about it.

Any suggestions? Is there music playing on deck at most times to liven up the atmosphere as well?

Thanks

Just wondering what prices are like onboard. Is it cheaper to bring in luggage ? I live in Canada so foreign exchange factors in, but if it's reasonably priced onboard it would be convenient.

Taking a 10 nt Carib with my family of four so I am guessing we will use a fair amount.

Thx!

I plan on purchasing some casino credits and cashing them out right away to use as we please. I wasn't planning on purchasing onboard credit.

Question is, can we use the cash to pay out or onboard account at the end of the cruise to avoid the hefty foreign exchange rates that is charged?

From my understanding, we will be 20% exchange for the prepurchased casino credit and OBC. But if we don't have that, the regular foreign exchange rate would be applied, which is higher.

Thanks!

We fly out from FLL at 6:30 pm the day we disembark from the ship.

We will have two kids, ages 5 & 8, with us and of course we will have luggage. What do people generally do for the day after getting of the ship?

Any idea what time disembarkation usually is ? We would love to just relax on the beach, but we would need hotel access for this to change, etc. Would we be left with reserving a room for a full night? Any other suggestions for easy things to do with the kids and luggage?

We will be traveling in November.

Thanks for much!

Jennifer

We have a cruise upcoming on October 31st on the Royal. Headed out for 10 nights to the Eastern Carib.

I phoned Princess today and was told that there are only 3 other children booked that are within the 4-6 age category. My little ones are 5 & 8.

Does anyone know if the kids club will still be available for use with such a minute amount of children onboard? My kids would really like to go there now and then for some kids' fun.

Thanks!

Jennifer

I have a cruise booked for Oct on the Royal. I understand that Princess offers 20% rate on purchasing OBC and Casino Credits.

Given that our dollar seems to be dropping as time passes, is there a chance Princess could also increase their exchange rate?

Would it be best if I purchase my casino credits now in case princess increases that 20% to a higher rate? Or is it a set rate until a set date?

Thanks

Does the Royal Princess offer a bagged lunch to take with you on port days?

I have read of other ships offering bag lunches. Would be great!

Thanks,

Jennifer

I am looking into buying Casino Credits so I can cash them out and get the US cash to spend on the islands.

Does anyone know how these are charged to my CDN Visa card if I prepurchase them? Not sure if $100 in casino credits would be charged as $120 in CDN funds to my VISA. Or if the $100 will be charged in US funds to my visa with a higher exchange rate from Visa.

I understand that Onboard Credit is charged in CDN dollars with the princess exchange rate. But are the casino credits charged differently?

Thanks,

Jennifer

I have read the entire thread on this topic so far and it has been very helpful. Thanks to all who have posted on this topic.

My question is.....being that I am in Canada, when I purchase the Casino Credits with my VISA card how will the exchange be calculated?

In buying onboard credit (not casino credit) it is listed in CDN dollars and has a 20% exchange rate built in. To buy $100 UDS online credit from princess - they will charge my card $120 in CDN funds.

When looking at the Casino Credits is only states the US dollar amount. i.e. $100 USD. Will this be charged to my cdn visa in cdn funds? ie the same princess exchange rate of 20%, equalling $120?

Or will this be charged to my Visa in USD and the going foreign exchange rate with VISA is applied?

It is only worthwhile for me to purchase the casino credits if the princess 20% exchange is being used in this method. Anyone know if this is the case?

Thanks!

Jennifer

Yes you can through the casino play a few games of slots then cash out they won't give you the cash another way

Thanks for the quick reply!

How would this work? Would I buy a small amount of casino tokens ($20) and then cash out thereafter?

I think I might need to purchase a larger OBC - approx $1200 CDN. Would this amount be too large for them to cash out in the casino? Perhaps they would realize that I was just wanting the cash rather than to play the casino?

Thanks again,

Jennifer

My question is whether I can buy a chunk of onboard credit, say $500 or so, and withdraw the cash once onboard. I would like to have the cash to take off board on the islands. The 20% exchange is better than my bank can provide so if it's possible to do this - that would be great!

Any insight on this?

Thanks,

Jennifer

Eastern Carib x 10 day on the Royal coming up Oct 31/15. Yay!

After our 10-nt Eastern Carib cruise in November, we will disembark in Fort Lauderdale and do not have our return flight home until 6:30 pm. We have to kids ages 5/7 and I am trying to figure out what we can do for the day....and what we can do to avoid carting our luggage around?

I have looked at the Princess offered tours, but I am wondering if there are any other tour companies that pick up at the port upon disembarkation and allow luggage to come along?

Any other suggestions for the day greatly appreciated!!

Thanks,

Jennifer

I understand that the specialty restaurants and the dining rooms are far more formal....of course. But can a person wear shorts and t-shirt to dine in the buffets, Alfredo's, and poolside dining at any time?

We aren't people who like to dress up on vacation, so we are going on the cruise understanding we won't be going to the dining rooms or the specialty restaurants.

But would the others be acceptable with shorts, t-shirts, and flip flops?

Thanks for your help on this one!

I have a cruise booked for Nov 2015. The Princess exchange rate at that time for purchasing OBC is 20%. Pretty much the same as the current exchange rate.

Does anyone know if Princess adjusts their rate as the CDN dollar grows stronger (if it does) in order for their rates to be more appealing? Otherwise I imagine the incentive would be diminished for those to pre-purchase OBC thru Princess.

thanks!

Upon booking I received $250 OBC for my husband and myself.

We will be sailing on the Royal. My question is, can we withdraw this as cash at the Purser's desk?

I have read about people pre-paying OBC and taking it out as cash onboard, wondering if the same can be done with the promotional OBC?

Cheers!

I have been reading some reviews on the Royal today and have noted a couple of people stating that the dining options in the buffet are for more sophisticated taste buds. It's gotten me a little concerned as we are booked with a two children, ages 5 & 8 for 10 nights on the Royal.

Would anyone know if they have more standard items available at dinner? Eg. Fettucine alfredo, macaroni & cheese, rice, roasted chicken, steak, etc? Not looking for chicken nuggets and pizza, but my kids will eat things like salmon and rice, chicken and veggies. Just hoping it's not all fancy food.

:) Jennifer

Hi, I don't mean to hijack this thread but I am wondering if anyone has a recent experience on the Royal Princess and their kids club, specifically the Princess Pelicans age group. I'm considering a 10-day Caribbean cruise on either Princess or Celebrity and would be bringing my 5 y/o. I read on a closed thread that they did not open the pelican room for the younger kids and the clubs were closed until the evening?! If there are no kids activities during the day then that's a deal- breaker for us. Don't need any lectures about bringing my kid on a longer cruise, just would like any recent reports of the club being open on a longer cruise. Thank you!

Hi Jinxy.

I was the one who originally started this thread and we decided to book with Princess! We are sailing on the Royal Princess for 10 nights to the E. Carib. in the beginning of November. My kids are 5 and 7. I phoned Princess and they confirmed there were only 3 other children in the same age group, but we are drawn to the itinerary and other features of the ship; being that it's newer and the food looks great.

To be honest, I wasn't drawn to the kid-heavy ships that have the flow riders, water slides, climbing walls, etc. They seem gimmicky and not like a ship should be. Of course my children enjoy a pool slide, but not enough to have it be a priority on the ship.

We decided that we wanted to expose the kids to the different islands and cultures and I think this will fit the bill! We are prepared to be surrounded by a much older crowd, but hey - at least it will be a little quieter than a younger crowd. We tend to keep to ourselves anyways and wouldn't be the ones partaking in the deck parties, etc. anyways.

We are excited and haven't regretted our decision. The ship and the food looks fantastic and the ports will be exciting!

I say go for it! Maybe we will be on the same cruise. Lol.

Jennifer

Just got off the phone with Princess to ask about pre-purchasing OBC for our November cruise. Was told that the exchange rate would be 20%. I was hoping for the 10% that others have quoted.

Perhaps it is different because it's later in the year?

Hi there,

I booked thru a CDN travel agency and my credit card was charged in CDN funds. However, when i log into the Princess Cruise Personalizer it states that Folio Charges will be in USD.

Does this mean I cannot take advantage of pre-purchasing the OBC at the lower exchange rate that is being discussed in this thread?

Thanks,

Jennifer

Purchased cruise in CDN funds. Have been reading this thread and looks as though it's beneficial to also purchase an OBC in CDN funds. Just can't quite figure out how other than to complete the form that is attached to the website?

Can anyone explain how the exchange works on this?

Thanks so much!

Jennifer

Was at Reduit beach just last week. I had never been on my 9 trips to St Lucia. I love it and will go back. Very cheap taxi ride. Some vendors but not extremely pushy. Umbrellas and beach chairs also cheap.

Beer and soft drinks for $2.

How much was your taxi ride? I thought it was pricey.....?