jinpasco

Jamie, if you get bored of trying  new drinks , if you like.peppermint....could you ask for a mint choc.martini. We had a bartender on the Sky at  the Princess Live Bar that made these perfectly. No other cruise line has replicated it. I usually wind up with a choc martini with mint added. Gross.  These were clear and the glass was decorated with Hershey's stripes and mint springs.I am hoping when we are on this ship in July it will be the same. Thanks for " helping". Mary

For many of the reasons you mentioned ,we travel with zip lock bags. First night we go on a scavenger hunt and get extra silverware, sugar, fresh fruit and yes, cookies. Remember when Princess used to have those chocolate chocolate chip ones at the IC . I hope they bring those back. We have had room service with no spoon for coffee, no sugar and once, no silverware at all. So we stock our own early on. Then when we order coffee and creamer, we hope they at least get that right.

Enjoy your cruise, loving your posts.Thank you

Looking forward to your posts as we are on this ship in July. Thank you for taking time out of your vacation to let us enjoy it with you. Mary Ellen

On 4/21/2024 at 3:11 PM, PacnGoNow said:

Try to delete old passport info first.  Log out of App and then log back in.

Then manually add your new passport info into the App.

Worked for me.

 

 

It worked. We didn't log out but deleted old number, went back a page, then went back to the screen and scanned the new passport with the correct numbers. One more step off the list. Thank you

Enjoying your posts. We are on the Enchanted in July . First time on this ship (  20 total with Princess). Thank you all for taking the time giving us insights and hints.

Precruise shouldn't be this complicated. We are trying to update to our new passport numbers. Filled everything in and are unable to " save".  Both of us read thru and everything seems to be filled correctly. We tried online, that was no help..PacngGoNow is correct, Ocean Ready link does not work. The cruise is in July so we have time to straighten it out but if there are suggestions...

Please let us know. No wonder the drink package is so popular !!

59 minutes ago, Host CJSKIDS said:

Here is the recipe off of the Too Many Martoonies cards from Crooners.

 

Chocolate Mint Martini

 

2 oz Stoli Vodka

1/2 oz white creme de cacao

1/2 oz peppermint schnapps

 

Chilled over ice and straine garnished in a glass swirled with dark and white chocolate.

 

they don't have that special chocolate anymore which is a shame.

 

Enjoy!!

That sounds like it ! The drink I had was clear but tastes like choc with ice and mint leaves on top. Others that have tried  and its all.cocolate ( no). Thank you. I am going to write that down and see if it can be replicated elsewhere. Nothing like a good bartender !!!!

While on the Sky Princess we had a mint choc martini in from the bar at Princess Live. We have been on other cruises and have not yet found anyone to even come close.  Most want to give a choc martini with chocolate on the glass and a mint leaf , way too sweet.

Anyone on now to help me find the recipie . And if you have not tried one.....you are welcome !!!!

7 hours ago, Naismith said:

I was there last year in early April. We used the "GPSmyCity" phone app, that had several articles and walking tours.  We did the downtown tour including climbing up the tower for a great view (entrance to the right of city hall.)  We also visited the Sao Bras Fort and military museum (which was the only place we visited with fee).  After picking up lunch at a local mercado, we went up to a park/botanical garden for a picnic.  On the way back, my husband was able to get a much-needed haircut at a local shop, so I walked back to the ship by myself.  We were on a much smaller vessel, and could walk on and off (no tendering).  It was overcast and drizzly in the morning, but was fine during our hike around the garden. But for those that cannot do all that walking or if the weather was bad, I like the idea of hiring a taxi.  

Sounds like I don't have to book an excursion to have a good time exploring. I enjoyed the mention of the barber. We are on a 28 day cruise and my husband wanted me to bring clippers ( No!) Did you have Euros or pay in dollars/ credit card ?  We are debating how much we should bring in Euros to cover the little things. Timing of this port will be perfect for his haircut, its a Saturday so hoping they will be open. Thank you

23 hours ago, Fred321 said:

Have been there at least 4 or 5 times. Have rented a car once from the office on the pier ( should probably be able to drive a standard transmission as they are the most common available) Roads are good and easy to get around. Two other times we simply picked a driver from the guys on the way out of the terminal for a day trip around the island. Both trips were great. Had a nice Mercedes sedan all to ourselves with very friendly and knowledgable drivers. Just make sure that they really speak English before saying yes. Almost all of them do. In all three cases the cost for the two of us was cheaper than an excursion from the ship and didn't include a 40 person bus. Also don't need to worry about not making the stop and getting a refund and you get to decide where to go and how long to stay there. The island is beautiful so getting out of town is a good idea.

Hiring a taxi is usually our go to at many ports as long as our port days are on the longer side ( allowing for traffic, weather etc) We have met some very nice people that way. We usually ask.." Show us your town and what you do, where the locals eat " rather than a managed tour. Thank you for giving us that perspective on this port. 

11 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

I will look it up; it's on my computer and I'm on my phone.

We didn't go through the ship b/c they were crazy expensive and filled up quickly. We were very happy w/the tour we did.

You have that right! We booked under a sale that gave us 300.00 PP toward excursions. We booked 2 ( and had to add 10.00 to the total) . Since Azores is the last port I want to make sure we get back on time. Its a long ride back to the USA.Thank you

1 hour ago, Haljo1935 said:

We were very anxious about that stop during the Nov Dec 2023 TA from Rome->FLL since weather can be tricky. We were fortunate w/clouds in the AM that cleared to a beautiful day and we were able to do our excursion.

We booked in advance with an independent that would refund if the port was canceled, so we weren't at risk. Agree w/ @Mary229 that ship or independent pre-booking are best, just be sure they offer refunds if the ship can't stop. I don’t even recall seeing locals offering excursions; doesn't mean they didn't, I just don't remember seeing them.

Thank you. We are doing that sailing Nov 2024 so that gives me a good idea of what to expect. Mother nature has her own agenda for sure. I believe just booking thru the cruise line is what we may do and keep an eye on the weather and their cancellation policy. I don't want to leave it to chance at the port as we may never get to the island again and it looks beautiful. Do you remember the name of the private tour company ?

Anyone been to the stop in the Azores ? We have been looking at excursions and a common theme are the words rain and fog so we hesitate booking. Are there people in the port offering last minute excursions ?

1 hour ago, *Miss G* said:

 

Longer cruises require the larger deposit.  Here is the flip side of the form:

 

When we went to put down a deposit on the 25 day  I hate to imagine my face when he said 600.00 , not 200.00 as I thought. I had not turned over the flyer. Thank you for posting the backside.

When thinking of putting down a FCD here is something we learned. It was not just 100.00 for all. We booked a 25 day and the FCD was 300.00 per person. I was hesitant but its refundable up to final payment. I am not sure what the rule would have been if we put down a 100.00 future cruise deposit and after getting home booked the longer cruise. Only gain was getting an extra 75.00 PP added to the perk for booking onboard.   We did not do the HIA and I believe being more than a year away we may have gotten  free gratuities. Maybe Miss G can post the backside. 

We booked onboard. First put down a FCD and used it right away towards the cruise we wanted to book. There will be a paper explaining extra bonus $ you will receive (depending on how much your deposit is for the length of the cruise.) Picked our room . Done ! 

We used it a few years ago and it was fine. We just considered it another " excursion ". Bus was comfortable. I believe there is a bathroom. You will stop at the border and disembark the bus and there is a bathroom there. You lose about 45 min or more there depending on how many busses arrive at the same time. I think that factors in the 5 HR time. I don't remember the exact times you board the bus but its among the first  group to get off the ship. Yes, flights from Seattle are much more reasonable ! I would do it again, no issue.

1 hour ago, 0106 said:

1. Since I had no problem using my iPhone with the basic surf package, I do not know her “secret good spots” but I do know she frequently sat on the balcony of our deck 8 aft cabin and successfully made WhatsApp calls.

 

2. I did not pay extra for any drinks.  I drank Domaine Ste Michelle Brut and Grey Goose and soda.  Some frozen drinks are $12 in which case you would pay the $1 difference plus 18% gratuity = $1.18.  IMO upgrading to the Elite beverage package is not necessary, just pay the difference.

 

Also, if you book early the HIA package includes the upgrades.  Here is my statement for a 14 day cruise.

Thanks, we actually stood on the top deck beneath the big ball thing ( was that for internet ?? ) but calls dropped. Actually it was fine because the kids always seem to be so busy to stop and talk. Texting  and emailing was fine.Just thinking forward to the longer trip and who knows, 6 of those days are at sea across the Atlantic so not sure how the signal would be.

We booked the HIA for our transatlantic a while back before they started to add the early booking promo so no gratuities included. To us that's a big perk. 

As for drinks..on a  recent 7 day  ( no HIA) I had 5 drinks total.  Hubby had more,lol Coffee was great even in the buffet so no need for fancy. One thing on HA, they still had happy hour so 3 pm we could be found in the lounge! Win/win .

End of the cruise we came back with 60.00 in our favor( and it was posted on our CC 3 days later ).

1 hour ago, 0106 said:

 

 

I am an iPhone user. I had HIA which included the basic “surf” internet on three recent cruises: the Rotterdam in October, the Oosterdam in February and the Nieuw Statendam this month, I was able to FaceTime, iMessage and send pictures to other Apple users.  I was able to do the same on WhatsApp to non-Apple users.  Actually had a 30 minutes WhatsApp call while in Antarctica where internet is sometimes spotty regardless of the package. 
 

YMMV: Last week, my roommate struggled with her Android phone but eventually found several good connection locations on the ship to use WhatsApp with the included basic Surf internet.

Care to share where those secret good spots are 😁.

We are doing a 28 day Greece to Ft Lauderdale on Statendam and will upgrade if need be . One other oddity was we could text our son but our daughter has an Apple phone and the texts would not go thru. So I am thinking having the HIA is not all that good a perk. We have to upgrade the internet, pay for the better drinks and no gratuities. 

2 minutes ago, 0106 said:

 

 

I am an iPhone user. I had HIA which included the basic “surf” internet on three recent cruises: the Rotterdam in October, the Oosterdam in February and the Nieuw Statendam this month, I was able to FaceTime, iMessage and send pictures to other Apple users.  I was able to do the same on WhatsApp to non-Apple users.  Actually had a 30 minutes WhatsApp call while in Antarctica where internet is sometimes spotty regardless of the package. 
 

YMMV: Last week, my roommate struggled with her Android phone but eventually found several good connection locations on the ship to use WhatsApp with the included basic Surf internet.

You may be on to something. Our phones are Android. 

Reading all this makes more sense to me now. We had surf and expected to be able to use What's App but after about 5 seconds calls would drop. Looks like one of us will have to pony up more $$ to get Premium on our longer cruises. 

The pillows were too soft for us, no support. This time I brought a regular size pillow cover with zipper, stuffed the x long soft pillow inside making it better. To make sure it didn't get lost in their laundry when they changed the sheets we also brought our own colored pillow case. Took up no space and seems to.fit our need.

Possibly supplies for the room stewards. We just got off her sister The Statendam on deck 6 mid ship ( 6054) .  

We are on that cruise too. Flying in 2 days ahead. 😍

1 hour ago, jlnprt said:

Trieste is absolutely lovely, although I might be biased because my mother-in-law grew up there. There are tons of museums, it's very walkable. Be sure to go to San Guisto and Miramare Castle!

Thank you for the ideas. Its nice to have 2 days to.plan.