land lover

When we went to the free wine tasting several years ago, DD was turned away. We could have paid for her but decided to drink on our balcony instead.

 

 

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True, I paid for my DH last week....no biggie.....he should pay he is not elite.;) but then again, I did put it on my card lol..he only needs 1 more cruise and he will be up with me......

That is a wonderful idea, land lover, and yes I had thought about it. But Baby Girl will only be two months old, just 3 weeks now, and DD isn't ready to think about leaving her for that long yet. They live in San Diego so driving time would add to the length of time away. Thought DD and her hubby would enjoy seeing the ship. Maybe next time. I feel confident that DH and I will be traveling to San Diego on a regular basis now! First grandchild!

Congrats on your first! Driving from SD does make a difference and being new parents they want everything P E R F E C T and it is hard to leave that little miracle. MY sister just became a Grandparent for the first time, in August, then X2 in Sept and another in October. 4 GC in 2 months... These were from her children in there 30's. My Mom finally became a great grandparent at 95! She was a GP at 59. The way my sons are going I'll probably be 70 B4 i see any GC..lol

Congrats once again!

P.S. I live in Orange County.

Just got off of the phone with a Princess rep. Babies must be 6 months old so that question is answered! The good news is that I will be able to stay an extra week with my little granddaughter after the cruise before flying back to KY!!

I am sure u have already thought about it but why not have a trusted friend of your DD's watch your GD. It would be nice for her parents to have a little get away and for u to have some time alone with the new parents.

Did the cruise b4 u come in late or have a custom delay. I am asking in reference to the delay in your transfer?

Flying in Sunday 6a.m. for same cruise have princess air and transfer, so curious? They have given us a option to go to the hotel and wait rather than the airport, said our transfer will be there about 10am, of course they have to wait to fill the bus. Any input on what u experienced or heard from others?

Congrats!

Upsell fairy..LOL

Princess marketing at their best...so glad you ware happy with your upsell, certainly princess is happy with your money....;)

Thanks for quoting what they sent you...Have a wonderful cruise.

I am considering a cruise on the Crown Princess out of Los Angeles to Mexico. When looking at the snorkeling shore excursions for Cabo San Lucas, I noticed that there was now a maximum age restriction of 69 years old. I have cruised Princess many times before and was never aware of a maximum age restriction on any of their tours.

 

I am a 70 year old experienced snorkeler and have gone on many snorkeling excursions. I just returned from a cruise on the Regal Princess and there were no maximum age restrictions on the Princess snorkeling excursion I went on.

 

Does anyone know if this is something new to Princess? I checked Carnival and they don't have a maximum age restrictions for the same snorkeling tour. Mike

I've noticed that recently, as well as, more weight retrictions, leaving on a Caribbean cruise this week so saw the age limit on one of our excursions. If it is new, I don't know. But recently, went on another cruise this Dec. and it seems like we are signing longer waivers for any physical activity purchased through the cruise ship and the vendors are checking them for accuracy.

Our experience in suites on Princess has only been a 3 times and the last time was on the Golden in a Vista. Correct me if I am wrong but in all our suites the only place to eat if you ordered from room service was on the balcony table or on the small coffee table. Do any of Princess suites have a dining table inside?

On my last cruise, I had goodwill OBC on the last day because of a problem (I didn't ask for it, but accepted it when offered). As soon as I printed a statement that showed it had hit, it was off to the casino. I really doubt I fooled anyone with my "oh, I'll gamble later" bit after receiving the chips. But that was actually refundable OBC that would have been refunded anyway. I just trust the Bureau of Engraving and Printing more than I trust Princess's accounting department.

That's a good one...but, they probably prefer u to do it that way, saves time and money in the long run.

I think the odds are very small to have the same room stewart....

We have had 2 photographers remember us...when we met the cruises were half way around the world...and when they saw us again the cruises were leaving from US ports.

I don't remember anyone...

What an uplifting review......felt bad about your delay..but like how u made the most of it.....I think it would be interesting to leave Bayport in the light.... We leave on Sunday... did the same cruise in December and are returning, flying from LAX .....we thought it was worth doing a second time. We did have a delay due to fog on our return but were able to make our flight 12:30. This time I have booked everything with princess as well as all our shore excursions.....I want ease!

Your bike ride sounded like a wonderful experience, needless to say the ship doesn't offer that excursion.

for the UST what "tokens" are given to you?

I don't what they would do for a 6:00 am arrival. They should give you specific instructions as to what to do (pick up luggage and meet representative by the baggage carousel. They may tell you do do that at 10:00 am.

 

But, there should be instructions.

 

We took a cruise out of Houston in Nov of '13. This was the first cruise out of there. We got into the airport sometime after 10:30. We were staying at a Princess hotel before the cruise. We were greeted and introduced to our driver "John" who led us to a big black SUV. We had this private car and driver from the airport to the hotel.

 

The next day,, of course, there were many people at the hotel. They were broken up into an early crowd and a later crowd. for that we were on buses.

No instructions given to me, on line, I had to call and ask the questions. It would be confusing for the first time cruiser, but then again , they might be waiting for us at baggage claim , especially if there is group coming in from LAX.

News flash from princess!!! They have actually addressed my concern, with information they have recently added to the reps notes at princess.

Flights arriving between 6-8am at IAH will be met by a rep and have the option to take the train to the Marriott and pick up the transfer there, otherwise they can wait for a 10 am transfer.

Those that do not have princess air will have to wait until 11:30 at terminal C. I am sure it will be a mix and match thing......so we will see if doing princess air, gives us a jump on the 11:30 crowd.

But thought I would relate what I learned I will post what our experience was when we return.

Have a wonderful "suite life" cruise, Mamaboss.....I was curious what itinerary you were going on and late last night(I need a life) skimmed the CB thread you started. How interesting that your wish came true, obviously it will be a magical time for you and your family how can it not be everything is falling into place. Enjoy your back to back,a full and mini suite. Bon Voyage!

Flowers gone? meaning 2014 or 13 my last suite Nov in 2013...maybe I should not be responding since I haven't been in a suite since then.:o

I really didn't realize it had been that long.....over a year...

well I have visited others who have had a suite just last month....and come to think of it, I noticed the carnations and the orchid, just figured it was the Emerald.

Thanks for setting me straight.

Also I must comment since this thread is still alive

Our room stewarts in Princess suites have always been mediocre. We have always had aft suites which means the stewarts are taking care of several regular cabins too..I don't know if that makes it more difficult then lets say a group of suites on Caribe, but I have always had to be proactive.....which on other cruise lines has not been the case.

And while on the topic of suite benefits, the afternoon tea is for occupants of the suite and not intended for the suite passengers to entertain a roll call at their expense. Although we have never used that perk I can see it disappearing in the future.

 

Mike:)

Well, since it is my favorite suite perk, I must make a comment. First of all it will never disappear as long 3:30 afternoon tea is offered. Have you been to afternoon tea B4 in the dinning room? If so, just imagine them putting these items on a few plates and sending them to your room, hot water and a few tea bags. Often the same items are in the international cafe....except the scones and some cookies so it is a very inexpensive perk and Princess is probably happy to entertain as many as possible. It is not like you are having dinner for a group.

And regarding dinner in suites OP we have not had good success(Sapphire and Golden) so if we wanted to eat on our balcony we went to the buffet and brought food back. Disadvantage with the suites, no dining table inside.

What I see disappearing is the flowers.....

Looking at the few pics I have found the tv ' s look like the same size as any other cabin, not as large as Royal / Regal.

You are correct, at least in the suites that we have hade.

Next Sunday we are arriving at IAH at 6am, "princess air" ....for a cruise that day out of Bayport, has anyone had experience with Princess and this early of a transfer? I am assuming we will be waiting as princess told me but would appreciate some input from an experienced traveler. L:)ri

Last July, we were in a suite based on on upsell. We did NOT receive the extra credit. We called, we wrote, but to no avail. I even threw a little legal-eze at them, no matter. We talked with Customer Service, nope. We only received the one credit. They did award us an extra night at the Crown on a future cruise.

 

This was not a make or break deal for us, and even knowing this, we would take an upsell in a heartbeat.

 

I know others have posted about having other experiences, and I do hope each of you who gets an upsell gets the two credits.

They are so inconsistant...I swear it all depends on what day of the week u are calling and I am talking about customer relations specifically.

Now I am getting excited I am leaving on a cruise on Saturday...where is my upsell...:):D

Regarding laundry.. we have never had shrinkage but, last cruise one of DH's shirts came back with a rip and they did address it with a note saying it was already there...I put his shirts in the laundry bag and didn't notice a rip but my DH says when dress shirts get old those kinds of rips happen...all his shirts go to the laundry at home so I figured he didn't care so why should I, but it did bother me that they said it was already there, when I could swear it wasn't.

So I would suggest taking a good look at your clothing or maybe even take a photo b4 it goes out.

This last crusie I did take a photo, just so I knew what I sent out, unfortunately his shirts were folded so where the rip was would not have shown. I know it wasn't there:p:)

Simply....... if you haven't had a suite B4 you need to do it and find out for yourself.

My favorite perks having afternoon tea on the balcony and bath salts in the giant tub....I also loved the floral arrangements and rose filled bud vases in the bath. In our last suite we had the most perfect red rose.

Yes, I like the little things where I can stay in and enjoy my suite.

Breakfast was probably the least of interest to us........

and the suites are big so expect to loose things.....;)

I love the AFT/stern of the ship, being in a suite is even better. However for Alaska I wold save my money for the excursions and get an AFT balcony. Now, if you are planning to stay on the ship...yes, it is worth it. .......And all the perks are very nice...Make sure to have tea on your balcony...and oh how I love that bath tub.....I could go on on and on....take advantage of getting your specialty dinner the first night....ok I am stopping a suite is wonderful!!!!!!!!!

It is disappointing and inexcusable to receive an error filled email. I bet the wrong year was put in the letter for your credit.

Did u look in your princess account to see what date it shows? Credit is usually is given for a year.

Some of those cruises were dirt cheap in November, with OBC, if your cruise was one of those, do you really think $50. was that out of line? If you do, then tell them what you think would be fair.

BTW..IN Retirement..... it has only been in the last 10-15 years that we have had the ability to due the extensive research on the net and the ease to contact vendors and tour companies in other countries. 13 years ago when I took my oldest it was really discovery.....:D;)

Pleased that some are still following. I'm considering posting a detailed discussion on river cruise forum, but don't want to start anything with river cruise company that will get me into trouble with them or Cruise Critic. I would say that a good number of people who post on CC are serious about travel preparation, while others just select a bus ride from the cruise line. Viking provides a product maybe even less and on the Rhine all tours were about three hours inclusive. Just watched a Rick Steve's 1/2 hour on TV and felt I got more out of program than the cruise. The TV and radio ads grow in frequency and people are buying! My thought is that even the casual retired traveler wouldn't want to do the same thing twice? I'm feeling quite limited, and maybe would consider another company in France (not interested in a return to Russia/Ukraine, or the pollution of China).

 

Would appreciate any other reactions to my original post.

DJ:)

I just happened to read this post because of your title and then went back to read the post u r referring too...

So here are my thoughts... LAND VACATIONS for U!!!:D Really nothing can beat that discovery on your own....especially with a young person. I took each of my 3 sons to Europe for the summer when they turned 14..a perfect time for discovery....