LT Hambone

Silly question!

My wife and I are taking our first Azamar cruise this October, and we too are wondering when these will be posted.

My silly question is - where will they be posted?

If I go to the main Azamara shore excursions web page, I can search for AzAmazing evenings, but do not get any results. If I go into my cruise planner, nothing either.

As others have said - we're planning our shore excursions now, would be nice to know when these are for planning purposes.

Thanks!

Good points -

We were originally booked on the 14 day Island cruise 27 Jul, and we proactively re-booked to the 12 day Crown on 1 Aug 2022. Glad we did because we got better cabins, better perks, and saved a lot of $$$. I've been watching this cruise start filling up today!

So - Sky cruises being moved to Crown cruises? Since Sky > Crown, how is this going to work?

In other words, Crown has 600 fewer guests than Sky, so will Princess be able to move everyone from Sky over to Crown?

Thanks, I should have figured that out on my own.

Greetings!

Quick question regarding Island Princess / Coral Princess Interior Cabins on Deck 10 - Caribe. Where's the door? Is it on the port side facing the even numbered Premium Balcony cabins, or on the starboard side facing the odd numbered Premium Balcony cabins?

Looking to book two cabins - a balcony for my wife and me, and an interior for our boys. So if C617 is free, do I book C612 or CC615? Princess should mark this on their deck plans!

Thanks!

So -

Just got off the phone with Princess (80+ minutes), and was told that because the 1 July Crown sailing was NOT replaced with the same itinerary on the Sky, we are NOT eligible to move over our rate and perks. The ONLY option is to rebook on another cruise at full fare. That's the rhyme and reason!

We were able to rebook on the 27 July Island sailing, but had to skip the package to keep the costs the same. Stinks, but I do understand the why (even though I don't necessarily agree).

The only upside is that now we have enough shipboard credit to cover gratuities and a few drinks. Doesn't replace the entire package, but it's better than nothing.

To Princesses' credit - the lady I spoke with was incredibly nice, patient, and helpful. She walked me through a few new booking scenarios, and helped me find the best one.

I look at things this way - at the end of the day, after everything everyone has been going through in the last few months, for us to loose a little on the new cruise is no big deal when you take a look at the bigger picture.

So -

Just got off the phone with Princess (80+ minutes), and was told that because the 1 July Crown sailing was NOT replaced with the same itinerary on the Sky, we are NOT eligible to move over our rate and perks. The ONLY option is to rebook on another cruise at full fare.

We were able to rebook on the 27 July Island sailing, but had to skip the package to keep the costs the same. Stinks, but I do understand the why (even though I don't necessarily agree).

The only upside is that now we have enough shipboard credit to cover gratuities and a few drinks. Doesn't replace the entire package, but it's better than nothing.

To Princesses' credit - the lady I spoke with was incredibly nice, patient, and helpful. She walked me through a few new booking scenarios, and helped me find the best one.

I look at things this way - at the end of the day, after everything everyone has been going through in the last few months, for us to loose a little on the new cruise is no big deal when you take a look at the bigger picture.

This is what bothers me the most -

Many folks who posted have mentioned they were originally booked on the Crown with a great package deal. If you were transferred over to the Sky, you kept your package. But for those of us who got cancelled, we lost our package, and the only compensation is ship board credit.

IMO - Princess needs to honor the packages we lost IF we rebook on the Sky. Or, Princess should have at least given us the option to transfer over to the Sky on a different date if the same date was not available.

Now we have to wait until 30 Sep to see what they will offer, hope it's as good as what we had (and the cabins we want are available), and then have less than two weeks to decide what to do. Oh, and let's not forget for those of us who have Future Cruise Credits - they are NON-REFUNDABLE, so we are "stuck" with whatever Princess has to offer.

My apologies for the rant - just frustrating.

So -

Curious - wonder why my 1 July cruise isn't automatically being re-booked on the Sky?

Wonder when they will post the new Sky initineraries?

Just got the following cancellation notice for next July -

"Please be advised that due to deployment changes, your Crown Princess voyage has been cancelled. Guests who choose to rebook on one of our other 2021 Europe sailings by October 15, 2020 will receive an onboard credit of USD $100 per person for booking an interior or oceanview stateroom or $200 per person for booking a balcony, mini-suite or suite. You can view our recommended replacement voyage for this offer here: http://*****/KPEUR21 Should you decide to rebook to another non-Europe 2021 sailing by March 31, 2021, you will receive an onboard credit of USD $15 per person (both onboard credit offers apply to first two guests on the booking and replacement cruises will be booked at current best- available rates and promotions)."

Well, that stinks.

"Strange things are afoot at the Circle K...."

Looks like the Crown's itinerary IS changing - not only is our July 2021 12 Day British Isles with Orkney Islands (from London) cruise no longer listed, but the Crown's summer 2021 schedule is grayed out -

But - the cruise is still in my cruises, and I can manage the booking -

Wonder what's about to happen?

Well......

It's been almost two weeks, doesn't look like anything is changing? Let's take a look!

First, the San Pedro cruise schedule for summer 2021 is still showing the Crown visiting next July -

But, the Le Havre cruise terminal schedule is also showing the Crown visiting next July -

And, adding to the mystery, the Princess Cruise search is still showing no cruises for the Grand next summer -

In my opinion, Princess is most likely taking care of the cancelled world cruises and extend pauses first, then might announce what's going on with these ships.

Never a dull moment!

So -

If this DOES happen, then what happens to those of us who are booked on the Crown next summer on the Riviera deck?

Here's mine -

Northbound Alaska on the Coral, June 2012 with my wife and two sons (ages 8 and 10) - our first cruise!

So many great memories from the cruise, hard to pick just one. So I'll share two, one from the sea, and one from the land.

Last night of the cruise, we're sailing around College Fjord. It's dinner time, we're in the dining room, cruise director announces we're at the end of the fjord and ahead of us are five (!) glaciers. I run from the table up on deck, and was able to take a picture of all five. My kids stayed at the table - by this point the only ice they wanted to see was in their cups! Hard to tell in the picture below, but yes, all five glaciers are there.

First day of our land tour, on the train to Denali. An amazing eight hour adventure that tests the limits of small children's patience. As we're approaching Denali, the conductor announces we're coming up to a bend where we "might" see Denali "if" the clouds cooperate. Once again I make a mad dash for the open air viewing platform, jostle for a spot at the rail, and as the train lurches I snap a picture off and hope for the best. Wasn't until we returned home did I realize - I got the shot! Turns out it was the ONLY picture I would be able to take of the elusive Denali - our tour into the park next day was a bust for seeing the peak (but we did see a lot of wildlife).

For me, Princess is special because not only was it our first family cruise, but also one of the most spectacular cruises we've taken. Next summer we're going to take what "might" be our last family cruise on Princess around the British Isles. I say "might" because our older son will be in college, and our younger son will almost be graduating high school. How time flies!

Enjoy!

Per Princess -

"Guests under the age of 21 years must travel in a stateroom with a guest 21 years or older who shall assume responsibility for their care during the cruise. For family groups booking multiple staterooms, the minimum age for each stateroom is 16 years of age, provided they are traveling with a parent or legal guardian. We are unable to accept group reservations for student or youth groups that do not conform to our minimum age requirements. Each guest agrees and warrants that he/she will supervise any guest in his/her care at all times to ensure all policies, along with all other rules of the Carrier and ship, are strictly adhered to by all guests under their supervision."

And that's the other problem -

If I try to access my son's booking using name (oldest son), Booking ID, and birth date, I get an error message saying "Birth Year is required", even though I entered the year! Assuming I'm getting this error message because my son hasn't turned 18 yet (but will in a few months).

Agree with everyone who suggested I call Princess - trying to avoid doing that now since they are swamped with folks who need their services more than me right now. Once things settle down, I'll give them a call.

As an aside - and no offense to Princess - I much prefer the way Royal Caribbean and Disney handles multiple cabins in a single booking. IMO, Princess should learn from them - like why can't you book multiple cabins online???

Thanks to everyone to reply - appreciate the input!

Good day everyone!

First off - my apologies if this question has already been posted and answered in another topic. I tried searching, but came up blank. Second - I also understand that the best resource to ask is Princess, but given how jammed they are right now (gee, I wonder why?), I thought I might ask this forum.

So - I just booked two cabins (one is for myself and my wife, the other is for our two teenage sons) for a cruise next July, and I have two separate booking numbers. When I log into "My Princess", I only see he booking number for my cabin, and I am unable to access the booking for my son's cabin. My question is this - is it possible to mange both booking numbers in one place? Shouldn't I be able to log into My Princess and see both?

Any help or assistance would be greatly appreciated - thanks!

Just to add some additional detail on disembarking in St. Petersburg.

We were on the 16 June sailing, and on our first day aboard received the letter stating that RCCL Tours would have priority disembarking in St. Petersburg. Thanks to the helpful folks on this board, I knew this was a scam to try and sell you their tours, so I chucked said letter into the nearest recycling bin. We had booked all of our tours with SPB (amazing tour company!), so we were all set to go.

On the morning of our first day in St. Petersburg, we joined the non RCCL tour line in the Centrum at 7:00, 30 minutes prior to the clearing time. By this time the line was up to Deck 5, and crew members were keeping things orderly. As the line started moving down, we watched a man and his family on Deck 3 try to jump into the line, but a crew member quickly pulled the man out and told him to go up to Deck 5 and join the end of line (the man was NOT happy!). The line was starting and stopping, and when we got off the ship, we realized they were stopping the line to keep the immigration building from getting jammed. Made it through immigration, out the front door, and met our tour guide (SPB Tours) by 7:45. But where were the RCCL Tours????

Here's where RCCL deserves HUGE kudos. Everyone on an RCCL Tour met in the theater, disembarked using the forward gangway, and used a separate section of the immigration building. As a result, the two lines never crossed, and things went incredibly fast and smooth. Awesome job!

As for passports and pickpockets - we took our passports with us everywhere, and both my wife and I had hand bags with knife resistant straps and inside zippered pockets. We kept our pockets empty and our bags in front of us. Also didn't hurt that most of the time it was raining and we kept our bags under our coats. Never ever had a problem with pickpockets, even with some of the crushing crowds!

Overall - great trip!

Any update on VOOM? Fast, slow, average? Have heard VOOM does not work very well that far north - true or false?

Thanks!

Is anyone out there on the Serenade now and using Voom? The posts prior were all dated before the cut-over to Voom, so I'm curious if the speeds have improved.

I've also read somewhere that the Voom system doesn't reach the Baltic - too high in latitude for the ship to "see" the satellite. Not sure if that's true or not - guess I'll find out next month!

Thanks!

Have a quick, and hopefully easy, question concerning the City Tour Red Bus.

Will be docking at LHC quay in June - about what time will the first City Tour Red Bus arrive? The website says every 30 minutes starting at 10:00, but I am assuming that's for the first stop. Will the buses run earlier when a cruise ship is docked?

Thanks for any help/clarification!

We're using the SPB Tour private driver on our upcoming Baltic cruise to visit the Faberge Egg museum in the evening hours. Was very impressed with SPB - I emailed them asking if they had an option to visit the museum in the evening instead of the afternoon, they replied that the private driver was the best option and they could also arrange to have the driver take us to dinner as well.

Here's the best part. A few days after my email exchange, I booked our tours on-line, including the private driver, but did not mention anything about the museum. When our confirmation documents arrived, under the section Additional Notes, it said "wish to visit the Faberge museum in the evening...."! I was very impressed that whoever answered my email probably saw my reservation and remembered what we wanted to do - awesome!

Cost was also reasonable - for four people it's about $38 per person. The more folks you add, the cheaper the cost! Will have to post a review after our trip.

Hope this helps!

chengkp75 -

Thank you for the clarification - I'm not an expert on naval architecture, so I appreciate the comments!

"Grey Funnel Line" would be appropriate, but I was on a nuclear ship :D !

As a US Navy vet, I have had seen my fair share of storms. I’ve been through ‘Nor’easters (40+ degree rolls anyone?), hurricanes, tropical storms, blizzards (!), and have even been hit by a rogue 30+ foot wave. While I am by no means an expert, I can tell you that being in any storm of magnitude can be a frightening experience, especially when it’s your first one! The worst storm for me was sailing through the outer edge of a hurricane on an aircraft carrier and seeing green water come over the flight deck (which is 60 feet above the waterline!).

While I was not on the Fantasy through Hurricane Sandy, I do remember reading about the incident and thinking how terrifying it must have been. As I read through this post, I couldn’t help but wonder if it was really that bad. But as Elaine5715 said, “Another example of how people confuse thoughts and feelings with facts.” So let’s look at some facts –

At midnight on the night of 27 Oct 2012, Hurricane Sandy was 420 miles NE of Miami with max winds of 75 MPH. While I do not have the exact location of the Fantasy, she was off the coast of Miami where winds were gusting around 40 MPH. Sea conditions that night were probably Force 8, and the Fantasy was in the left rear quadrant of the storm, which is the weakest quadrant of a hurricane. With Hurricane Sandy moving rapidly to the NNE, Fantasy was not in extreme danger that evening. So why did the passengers feel like they were in grave danger that evening?

Take a look at the sheer size of the Fantasy’s superstructure, and now imagine that superstructure acting as a huge sail. As the Fantasy steamed north on the evening of 27 Oct 2012, she was probably being hit by a consistent 40 MPH wind from the west, which in turn tried to push the Fantasy to starboard. After a certain point, righting momentum takes over and the Fantasy rolls back to port, only to have the wind push her back to starboard. And thus the rolls were most likely amplified by the sheer size of the ship, and when combined with large seas (amplified by the Gulf Stream), the end result was a wild ride. Also keep in mind that cruise ships typically don’t bolt everything down, so everything went flying! And while cruise ships have stabilizers, in these conditions they can act to amplify the rolls instead of decreasing the rolls!

Oh – lifeboats. There was a comment made wondering if they would be able to launch lifeboats during the storm. The answer is yes, cruise ship lifeboats are enclosed and self-contained, and can be launched in almost any weather conditions. Lifeboats are designed to handle the worse conditions, since most of the time ships are abandoned in the worse conditions!

Alrighty – I am almost certain that I am about to flamed on this one. My goal here is NOT to discredit those folks who were on-board Fantasy that evening, but to hopefully help ease the minds of those folks who are having concerns about being on-board a cruise during a storm. To those who weathered Sandy on the Fantasy, I salute you!

GradUT -

Thanks for the info! From where we're staying, looks like we can do it but have to make a transfer in the middle. Might just be easier, and quicker, to take a taxi.

But - will keep this in mind as alternative.

Have a great day!