kaseyoz

48 minutes ago, cheznandy said:

Hi Karon, can't advise on anything as we haven't cruised Princess in a while, and lot's has changed i think but just wanted to say hi and have a great time, hope you and Aldo are well.

Cruising from the UK is something we would love to do  sometime.

Thanks Chez. We are doing ok thanks, (finally) we are away for 9 weeks altogether.

Loving this ship. 

4 hours ago, arxcards said:

Enjoy!

Thanks Geoff. Been a long time since We cruised Princess. This is now our favourite ship.

It does not have all the “toys” ice skating, dodgem cars, slides etc.

But it has so much entertainment, brilliant staff and food options without all the extra cost add on.

Also cruising from UK has been fun, everyone we talk to has been to Australia or has a relative here. Everyone talks to everyone.

Formal night, the majority was in tuxedo or suit/ bow tie , other nights quite dressy. Eg, did not see any shorts/ t shirts in dining room.

One other thing to think about if deciding about premier plus for yourself  is your loyalty level.

i am elite so get internet half price. It cost me $105 i think for the 14 nights so we just share that.

we get the mini bar and can take on two bottles of wine. The desserts and other things are a non event fir us.

They still have the evening Elite drinks in Vista every night, drinks not free but cheaper.

We are not big drinkers and have 9 port stops out of 14 days so will not get close to drinking the $1800 usd of drinks 

Just something to think about.

Sky Princess , 14 days Norway.

We are onboard now. You cannot upgrade once you have sailed.

Our cruise is to and from UK.

So looks like they are going to be extra then.

Crew appreciation is about $650 AUD for us or 23 aud pppd

It certainly would have been much cheaper to add in the premier package if we had known.

Something we did not budget for, but the staff on here are brilliant. 

Can anyone point me in the right direction as to where it says crew appreciation tips are included in our fare if booked in Australia.

To take out premier package here it does not include tips in the list of additions like it does for USA cruisers.

It was also cheaper.

This is not a post about paying vs not paying tips. Thank you

12 minutes ago, Jeter02 said:

I arrived to London 6am this morning. I will say the addition of the new customs E-Gate system was a dream. Absolutely loved that there are no more long lines to be checked by customs. With the E-Gate system its a nice straight walk through. No more passport stamps though, for those who enjoy getting their booked stamped.

 

Weather was nice this morning, and later in the afternoon felt like I was almost back home in Florida, as it definitely warmed up this bright sunshiny day. A little warmer than I'd like, as I like escaping the Florida heat. I'm hoping for colder temps while we sail to Norway. 

 

Definitely happy I flew in a day early, as the flight was a bit turbulent, and I was not able to get any sleep. I did manage a quick sleep once I arrived to my cousins house. Much needed as I felt like a brand new person and fresh as a daisy. 

 

Looking forward to joining the ship tomorrow! Safe travels to those who may be flying out today, and arriving tomorrow. 

 

It took us only 30 minutes from landing till getting to bus station for the bus to Southampton.

so easy.

We came through Heathrow last night.

30 minutes from landing till arriving at bus station. Wendid fly business which probably made baggage collection easy.

no wait at all at immigration and straight through customs….

We are also joining you on this wonderful cruise, so look forward to following along.

We arrived yesterday from Tokyo, weather quite warm.

Thanks Rick.

I have linked in our June 17th cruise.

sure they will be useful to many.

We much preferred this new way.

just have to remind staff to use it as your diamond drink.

can still use diamond lounge for your free snacks and breakfast.

We also booked late, in the last few weeks but managed to find a few things to do.

think you are on our cruise as the same itinerary 

Have you joined the roll call yet.

32 minutes ago, suzyed said:

Grats are included.

They do not list them on our Australian site as any cruise booked in Australia automatically includes gratuities.

If you have insurance with 1 cover. Make a claim for missed ports.

several cruisers, myself included got money back from when our south pacific cruise turned into a Hobart/sydney cruise.

we flew from Sydney to Brisbane to cruise back to sydney.

Now i have looked closer I see my price is in Australian dollars. Which makes your price equal about 95 australian dollars. Maybe cost of the tips?
bit confusing.sorry 

4 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

Plus/Premier Beverage Packages includes:

 

Crew Appreciation (Valued at $16, $17, $18)

One WiFi connection (one device at a time valued at $15)

15 Drinks under $15.

And an assortment of other not useful enclosures.

 

https://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/food-and-dining/beverages/

 

I can see it is added on here but it does not show up when I access the princess website.

i wonder if it is because most cruises booked in Australia have gratuties added at the base price. We dont have added daily tips here.

think i need to double check  with Princess as it will be more worth it for us if the tips are not  already included.

• Princess® dining, accommodations and entertainment
• MedallionClass® experience
• Plus Beverage Package 
  (drinks up to $22 each)
• Wi-Fi (1 device per guest)
• NEW Premium desserts (2 per day)
• NEW Fitness classes (2 per cruise)
• NEW Unlimited juice bar

Total Value: $164 AUD
per day per guest

Overall Savings of 60%!

Your Cost: $65 AUD
per day per guest

I have seen a few say gratuities are included in the plus fare.

however I cannot see any mention of it on the Princess site.

are they included as that is quite a large amount.

Just got off quantum, virtually no passengers wearing masks.

surprisingly quite a few staff were maskless

I think a lot did not get the option as they did not know until they were already onboard.

lucky we had over 1100 in our group elsewhere who passed on information. 
Although some was speculation. 
 

No bonus or refund for us on Quantum, 

but weather is great, heading for hobart and two days in sydney.

some jumped ship so numbers are down onboard.

On 1/11/2023 at 5:54 PM, Over from NZ said:

You're only flying from Sydney?? Harden up sunshine lol! 

Not just the flight time cost but extra night in a hotel, shuttle from hotel to ship, shuttle to airport. Shuttle airport home.

i can get to OPT for $2.50. ( Seniors)

yesterday left home at 10 am and was onboard by 1115 am.

5 hours ago, arxcards said:

OK for you.

You wear your bikini 😂

 

I agree. There is an element of that everywhere, including most ships. Cruising in general isn't quite what it was in 2019, so you may as well remain loyal to what you have enjoyed in the past in the hope that it returns someday soon.

 

I nearly took a bite at one of Quantum's loft suites yesterday, but then got very much sidetracked with Carnival Lumnosa's prices - I could do a month in one of their Ocean suites for the same dollars as 4 nights in a Sky Loft.

 

To the OP, keep an open mind. I look forward to your posts in a couple of weeks time.

Those luminosa cheapies are very enticing aren't they. Shame we have to get to brisbane to cruise there 

Doing a quantum cruise with the kids early next month so will see how bad the flying and extra travel affects the experience.

We did 11 nights to NZ last November and had a brilliant time. Slightly different due to personal reasons, but still a wonderful cruise.

We have three more booked.