Teris50

I checked into this for my Grandmother and this is the reply I received from Holland America

I am happy to advise that Dance Hosts will continue to be offered on the 2017 Grand World Voyage.

I suspect that the confusion may have come from our Dance Instructor program on sailings of 30 days or more which will be replaced in 2017 with regional dance instruction to reflect the ship’s itinerary.

Please rest assured that your customer will be able to enjoy Dance Hosts on the World Voyage.

My Grandmother is going on the world cruise in January. She booked this because of the dance hosts, but now has heard they are eliminating them. Does anyone know if this is true?

any suggestions for a nice/decent hotel close to the Brooklyn Cruise port for people that are flying in a few days prior to cruising?? We could stay somewhere else and take a taxi to the ship, but someone suggested looking close to the port.

Here's a suggestion...book the sip and sail, the deposit is only 100.00 per person and is refundable, then wait for the 3 for free and see which is better and either keep the sip and sail or roll it over to the new sale!

so glad we cruise princess...Have had our 3 connected balconies opened for all 15 days thru the panama canal and hope to do that again on our next cruise..4 mini's and we party and have a blast out there with our friends!

No flaming from me, However when we were on the Island Princess, 2 yrs ago through the Panama Canal, we had the best service ever. We had 3 mini's in a row, and our cabin attendant was wonderful and our dining room peeps went above and beyond. The 6 of us talked it over and we gave the waiter 10.00 a day extra (15 days) per couple, and the bus person 5.00 a day extra and then cabin attendant 10.00 a day, on top of the pre paids! They deserved it and we would do it again if we had that kind of service!

On land or sea, if we get wonderful service, we tip!

when I go with friends, it's usually for a bday or anniversary, so I buy dollar store cards and bring tape and some other decorations and after we are in our cabins, I run around the ship and decorate all the doors that are with our group! most have loved it

one on board, it is almost impossible to send flowers. They have to be ordered prior to sailing...I have tried and could not get them sent for a birthday.

a mini suite would give you what you described you had with Disney and more room to move around

I LOVE THE story where someone said they found a camera on a lounge chair, and took a bunch of pictures and left the camera on the chair with wonders about what those people thought when they were looking at the pictures they actually took and then seeing the ones he took!!! Lol!!

to comment on your last line...

my first cruise (on the ship) with RCI was just as bad with customer service! Tried them once more, and it was not much better. Decided RCI was not for me

I have bought several things on several Princess Ships and have been very happy. My sister had bought Diamonds from Diamonds International (I think) stores in Cozmuel and I can't remember the other port a few years later. When she got home, she had them appraised, and they were appraised higher then what she paid. We did have to barter and forth with my husband telling her from a distance whether he thought the price was good or not, and she finally got the ring for what we thought was a great price. If you know what you want, and what you want to pay, then go for it at a reputable store.

Several years ago I was on a RCI cruise with my sister and daughter. We arrived at the port in Barcelona, boarded and was told our cabin was not ready. That was fine, we just wanted to drop our carry on's off and check out the ship. We got to the cabin and there had been a flooding problem. We went straight to the service desk and was told there MIGHT NOT BE A CABIN available for us, and we would know closer to sailing time. Long story short. We did sail, but were treated very badly. Had a great time, but was not impressed with RCI at all. After we returned, we wrote a letter, and then another letter to the president until we received what we thought was appropriate for our situation. Please no flames because I don't want to go into how we were treated on the ship. It just pays to write and then keep writing until your are satisfied.

I bring tape and cards and hearts and all kinds of things to decorate cabin doors when I cruise with my friends and family. It is usually for a special occasion, so I find Christmas decorations, hearts (anniversary) and birthday/anniversary cards to add to the Princess decorations! We never have trouble finding our cabins

Sorry to hear this. A GOOD TA would have caught this had they requested copies of your passport! I DO

Could depend on when in April because a recent cruise on Princess and the US was on daylight saving, but Mexico does not change as early as the US, so we were off an hour in Cabo. The cruise line will let you know to change if need be

the only problem I found on the Island princess cabin C217 was walking to the laundry room on the 15 day Panama Canal cruise!! LOL We could have used roller skates or a scooter, but since we needed to walk, we did it!!! It was fun. Loved the covered balcony, and the extra room in the cabin and bathroom.

if you can disembark the night before, I would suggest doing that and staying at a airport hotel.

I escorted 24 people on a 10 day Alaska cruise a few years ago! We had fun and all the cabins were in the same area. I had a balcony and it was the first cabin when they entered off the Lido deck, and I kept the door propped open most of the time I was in there. I had wine and champagne when we sailed away, I brought cards and dice to play games, and would walk around the buffet at breakfast to makes sure everyone was having a good time.

We all did different excursions, and then the last night we all had dinner at the sterling steal house.

Hope this helps

what ever you do, find out from their doctors if they are healthy enough to travel at the time you make the initial deposit, and then PURCHASE travel/cancel insurance! As long as the doctors says they are healthy enough at that time, any pre existing conditions should be covered. I always check that before I make deposits.

While cruising on RCL several years ago from Barcelona we arrived and checked in. We were to0ld (there were 3 of us) that our cabin was not ready, and that was fine with us, we just wanted to drop our carry on's and then check out the ship. We get to the cabin and there were drying/humidity machines running and some workers cleaning it. They told us there had been a water break/problem. So we waited and walked around the ship, and then went to the quest services desk to ask when our cabin would be ready. We were told it might not be available, and that we had to wait till everyone was checked in to see if there was a cabin for us!! REALLY!!! We walked around again and finally close to sailing, they told us the cabin would not be ready, but they found something for us and would bring our luggage to the new cabin. It was smaller, and they DID NOT bring our luggage in time for dinner, so we went and dragged it down ourselves. Nothing was offered to us, not even a bottle of wine at dinner. We slept in this tiny cabin, had to climb over our luggage, and the next day moved our luggage again to the cabin that smelled horrible and was still damp. We had to continue to stand in line each time we needed info about the cabin! I felt RCL should have treated us better and treated us like guests in their home, and taken care of us, but we had to do all the checking. I won't cruise RCL again because of the way we were treated, and I am sure this will cause some flaming, but unless you were there and I could tell you more, but this is enough. It was not a nice experience.

BUT keep on RCL and fight for what you think you deserve. We did

if you are flying, you have to check with the airlines about this also.

Ours wasn't presented by the Captain, but won for Best Dancers, and a trivia contest. My friends brought the bottles to dinner and they started to say they were going to charge the corkage fee. I spoke up and said HEY this is a Princess bottle they won, and the head waiter had to come over and agree that we did not have to pay. THEY SHOULD all recognize that these cheap 5.00 bottles that are handed out on the ship should not carry a corkage fee! VERY VERY TACKY on the crews part when they do this.

I don't mind paying when I bring on a bottle (which I did in March) but the Princess gifts are clearly bottle from Princess.

we were just on the Island in March and had 3 minisuites in a row. They were covered, they were aft, and sometimes we had sun and sometimes we did not. Depends on where we were! Loved the deck and the cabin!

Only thing was the LONG LONG hike to the laundry!! We laughed and wished we had skates

We have a duffle bag (carry on size) that a case of water fits in there just perfectly! I can sometimes add some Pop, and this last time, I added the 2 bottles of wine that we can carry on!! We then wheel it on. My sister one time put 12 pack of pop in her check luggage and some of them exploded!!! so not a good idea!