moorerf

Thanks for the encouraging responses....I feel better and know this will be a special time together for mom and I. Years ago when my Dad was alive I went on a RCCL cruise with them to assist as he needed a wheelchair at times. I had to push the chair up the boarding ramp myself and it was quite a strain. So glad Princess is more accomodating. This is my 4th princess cruise but first in a handicap cabin and with mom.

I am boarding the crown in port everglades this saturday. I am traveling with my 83 year old mother and have reserved a princess wheelchair for embarkation/disembarkation. Where do you go to get the wheelchair when you arrive at the terminal?? Do they priority you through check in or do you wait in line with others for check in and boarding??? When do you board the ship?? Does a princess rep push or will i be expected to push the wheelchair?? Thanks this is my first experience with this. We are in a handicap cabin on aloha deck and have rented a transport chair for the week which is to be in the cabin...:) On this same line, if seas are ok will she be able to take the transport chair and take the tender to princess cays??? With assistance she can walk on and off the tender but will need chair to get her to the tender and on the island...Thanks again....

anyone know if they have any special boarding for the wheelchair people??

i have a princess wheelchair for boarding reserved and wondered how we get it, where etc...and if we still wait in the regular lines but just in the chair??

thanks..boarding the crown in port everglades this saturday.

That is not that early. I agree use the airport services and then proceed to the port around 10 ish. Most major airports are up and running by 7 in the morning for restaurants etc...I have been in airports around 6-7 and found places to eat.

We were on a New England cruise a few years back on the Caribbean Princess. In Boston we took the ship shore excursion to Lexington, Concord and Harvard. We were returning to the ship during rush hour and there was an accident on a bridge. The bus did a big detour and we arrived at port about 30 minutes past all aboard. The bus pulled as close to the gangway as possible and after the last passenger on the bus boarded the gangplank went up and we began pulling away. We were happy to be on a princess excursion. We heard later that 6 people missed the boat due to this traffic incident but they were on their own in a taxi. They made there way to our next port of call, Bar Harbor to board. Due to weather the tenders could not run and we missed the port. They were never able to reboard...So think about those on your own trips:):(

I received an email from Princess concerning my upcoming cruise (Feb 8-15 on Crown out of Port Everglades) and they mentioned a book club. I checked it out and the book by Mitch Absalom for our ship sounded good so I downloaded it to my kindle. My questions...has anyone been onboard and attended a book club meeting??? If so, when, where, how often etc...are they held??? Thanks:)

EZ Check has nothing to do with the # of bags. You pay $20/pp for the service (plus any applicable airline luggage fees): check-in, print your boarding pass and airline luggage tag, and truck your bag(s) to the airport. When you arrive, all you have to do is go to Security.

 

The major US airlines participate in Ft. Lauderdale. Your final flight destination must be within the US. I bring an extra copy of my flight confirmation to hand in with the form requesting EZ Check. I would suggest getting your form in as soon as you can after you receive it. I'm not sure if there's a limit but I don't like to take that chance.

 

One thing to be aware of is that you need patience. Princess can't check you in until 24 hours before your flight so you may not receive your boarding pass and airline luggage tag until just before or after dinner.

thanks pam, you always have the correct info and all the details. this sounds great and esp for mom and i...i will print the extra copies of flight info and try to get started on this soon after boarding...this will make disembarkation so much easier and the airport easier as we are using two different airlines...(usairways and southwest). kudos

thanks, i am interested in EZ check....luggage valet is a completely different program and much more expensive. i thought this would make disembarkation easy as i am traveling with my 83 year old mother. she is flying at 125 on southwest and i am flying at 1255 on usairways. this would simplify the airport process. also she will be using a wheelchair for disembarkation and then we plan to taxi to the airport so this program would make that much easier also.

I am not sure if this is the correct name but i heard that princess provides a service whereby...you sign up on board by mid week, they then will print your boarding pass and take your luggage from your stateroom the night before to the airport and you will next see it at your final destination. Does anyone know if they still operate such a program and what the cost is??? Thanks

I have been on a Polka Cruise before, and was part of the Polka Group.

We had a couple of private events, like a cocktail party. but they also had polka music by the pool and in several venues that was open to the public.

 

Before, I signed up for the cruise, I asked if I booked privately would I be able to attend the polka events and they told me no, so I had to pay extra. But when we got on board we found out many of the events were open to the public. So enjoy if you like Polka Music...probably be a little older crowd, but fun.:eek:

i am cruising with my mom and she is 83 and was able to polka in her younger days. i have been to many a polish wedding growing up in western PA so i enjoy a good polka or two. the group is out of saxonburg, pa which is only about 20 minutes from where i grew up so maybe we will run in to someone we know or is from our hometown.....:):)

I am sailing on the Crown Princess Feb 8-15. I have found out that there is going to be a group of Polka people on board. I have no opposition to polka music. My question is, will some of their events be open to the public or will only those signed up with the group be able to attend their performances? I understand they will be using Club Fusion for their venue. They even advertise a polka mass...just wondering if we can be a part of any of this????:)

If it had been a true emergency, as others have said, you would have heard the general alarm, probably more than once. It was most likely an error announcement and needed to be investigated before it was announced what had happened. I find 20 minutes a very short and reasonable time esp since as others said the Captain had to be awakened and told of the incident. This certainly would not keep me from sailing Princess again, that just sounds like an over reaction.

thank youi all for your sharing and advice. My travel buddy is so anxious about this hoping this will calm the waters and her stomach.:cool:

i use ginger tablets i get at walmart, i start taking them 2-3 days before the cruise, usually morning and night. then i continue taking one each morning and one each night throughout the cruise. they have helped immensely. i also bring along ginger candy i use when i feel the boat moving alot. also a ginger ale with lunch each day is good. i tried the patch and it dilated my eyes, made me very thirsty and sort of weird feeling so i used it only once and then began the ginger routine...good luck

We did the balcony dinner on an aft balcony on the Caribbean Princess last

year. It was a bit tight but doable and so much fun. We dressed up some, not formal, for the picture then my husband took coat and tie off as it was a bit warm eating out there. We found this a wonderful experience and would definitely do it again. It is worth the price with all the food, drinks, wine, flowers, picture and service. :)

Is the soot and exhaust problem with aft balconies on all Princess ships? We have booked an aft suite on Crown Princess for Jan., 2014. We usually just book a balcony cabin mid ship. Since we spent the extra money to splurge this time around, we would hate to have our cruise ruined.

 

Beth

we had an aft balcony on the Caribbean Princess last November, it was one over from center on Baja deck. we never had soot problems, we even did the balcony dinner one evening while sailing and it was lovely. we did have to wipe the chairs one morning before coffee on balcony but it was just a light dusting of dirt and dew.

the original poster says she leaves door open due to sinus problems. this is very much frowned on by all cruise lines. it affects the a/c and such for not only that cabin but nearby ones. it is always listed as a no/no.

concur on cigarette burns, there is no smoking in room or balcony so this is unusual. so sorry about all her issues but let us hope they get some compensation and in retrospect things were not as bad as initially reported.

I have missed the Cayman Islands once due to weather, Bar Harbor due to weather, both because these are tender ports. Only compensation was port fees. We did miss St Vincent once on a 10 day because of mechanical problems with the ship. We got port fees and 50 per person OBC which was very nice of Princess. We were upset about missing Bar Harbor so the next year we flew to Bangor and did a drive around Maine and Quebec. So if ports are really important esp the tender ones then a cruise may disappoint. We go with the attitude it is vacation and what happens, happens and we see what we can. An extra sea day is just another day of rest in the "hotel room" and use of the facilities on board more....

we have booked B 752 for a thanksgiving cruise on the Caribbean Princess.

we have tried to get aft before and finally got one this cruise. it appears the beam is off to one side on this cabin..correct??? also are these balconies larger than side ones? finally was thinking of doing ultimate balcony dinner one night, are these aft cabins good for that???

hey wildbird, we are on the equinox nov 18 also...looks like we will be doing our own thing also...sounds easy...hope the buses are still so reg in nov since we may be the only ship in port...