Thunderbird19

Princess seems to be really challenged lately when it comes to technology updates (bugs, simple dining reservation system not on time, etc) and basic customer service ( unknowledgable phone representatives, conflicting info when guests ask questions, difficulty communicating with a human, etc) .

Check the prices on any BOGO offer you receive. For our Fall cruise, I found that they have raised the prices on the vast majority of the excursions so that there is not any true savings when booking excursions for 2 people. I had printed out excursion prices about 6 weeks ago so can compare to the BOGO pricing. Shady advertising by Princess, disappointing!

Love your photos! We’re those red & black things on the ice cream cones a type of berry? Looked interesting. Also, if you get a chance can you comment a bit on the weather on land and on board if outside. Trying to figure out what clothes to pack for an upcoming trip. Thanks.

Thanks for that information! Will probably go ( no car so will use public transport) to Windsor area even though the cargoes closed do looking for things to do there (and hoping it doesn’t rain!).

Just wanted to comment to say that I read through all of this with great interest and so enjoyed the detailed posts, commentary & wonderful photos (and I hope long Covid is now long behind you and you are feeling better!). We will do doing our first Panama Canal cruise (Florida to Los Angeles) next March and the information here has been truly helpful and has me excited for the cruise! Wanted to do the old locks so on a smaller ship (Coral Princess). if anyone cares to comment, I am wondering what a good way to handle where to be during the long transit through the locks would be. Hang out mostly at the front of the ship? Hang out mostly at the back? I.e., is more interesting to see where you are going or see where you’ve been? Find a deck location that one can “see through” railing area so you could sit on the deck or use a chair ? Are any areas more preferred and tend to get crowded so showing up early to “stake a claim” is needed? Best time to leave a viewing position to grab lunch? Just want to be prepared for canal transit day to maximize the experience! Thanks, in advance, for any advice.

So true!

Regarding my post #55 above, I again found a Princess Plus fare of $67. Isn’t Princess Plus $60 per person per day or does it now vary by cruises? As part of their identity crisis are they increasing prices again?

How did you like the Moxy? Anything interesting to see or go to nearby? We will be there in September.

Update: False alarm - just redid it and it shows $60 I was just looking at a cruise for 2025 and the Princess Plus price shows at $67 per day not $60. Did Princess just raise the price or is this a system error?

Yep. Being “woke” is not a bad thing , more about an awareness level when the word was used years ago. Sadly, the word has been twisted and used by extremists in recent years to be pejorative and a negative thing… far from the original intent. Word meaning typically shouldn’t dramatically change, that’s why we have dictionaries 😂

From friends that have done both, there is a big difference between Viking River cruises and Viking Ocean cruises. I don’t frequent casinos but would like to try a Viking Ocean cruise when we feel like splurging a bit. We typically don’t book Haven level or even Suite level on Princess so our cruises stay affordable. But recently I checked for longer cruises, and a lovely basic Viking room was comparable to paying Haven plus package on Princess so will be trying that in 2025-26.

For Haven prices, seriously consider trying a Viking cruise. I have friends that love the amenities, staff, food, included excursions, and rooms on Viking as well as the fact that their prices pretty much include all the things and more that other cruise lines charge you for as add ons.

1. Try being flexible on return flight date ( stay extra days in England and enjoy!), flight times and airline. 2. Book with airline points if you have them. The points needed change regularly. 3. Try flying into other major airports in your area instead of your preferred one.(like to NYC then fly or train down to Virginia) 4. Book a refundable fare -so you can get your $ back- and keep watching regularly for lower airfares on different airlines, especially around the 6 month out mark. For an April 2025 flight, you are seeing high prices now and airlines will probably be adding some new flights between now and then so you’ll have more options.

“We are Elite, so miss the benefits that were removed/scaled down.” Yes, Sea Hag, I totally agree. In the frequent member benefits department, Princess is REALLY deficient! Elite free laundry is nice and discount for WiFi ( only for those who purchase it because they don’t have Plus or other package) is nice, but the other things are really not worth a lot. Very surprised at how meager the Elite level benefit is, Certainly not enough to make me only stick to mainly Princess when cruising to rack up those points. The company seems to realize their member benefits aren’t that valuable….the recent promotion of “add Plus package for July - Dec 2024 sailings and get double credit” points to that. Sad that they are scaling down benefits rather than maintaining/ adding things of real value.

Even if Windsor Castle itself is closed for tours on Wednesday, does anyone know if the public has access to any of the grounds? Would be nice to be able to stroll along The Long Walk!

Yes, thanks. I had just learned about them earlier this year and am indeed using them for what looks like a nice long Cotswolds tour ( they pick us up in Southampton on morning we arrive) and they will drop us off near Heathrow. I had picked a hotel closer to the airport than London center because had wanted to visit Windsor and that area since we were only staying two more nights.

Check out Hurtigruten cruise line. They do Norway cruises right and respectfully! They currently have zero emission ships.

For cruises in potentially colder climates (say Iceland or Norway in Sept-Nov) it doesn't sound like reserving the Sanctuary would make much sense. Is it mostly used in warmer and sunny cruises?

Try contacting Scuba Caribe. We used them when staying in the very southeast corner of the island and did dives from the west coast of the island. I believe the La Romana location that cruise ships dock is also on the south side but a ways west of there, so driving (approx 30-40 minutes? not sure) would be involved unless Scuba Caribe has an office closer to where you'll be.

Ugh, just learned that the two weekdays we will be in the area and wanted to see Windsor Castle are the same two days that the castle is closed to tours. Can anyone advise what else there is to see close by in the area? We won’t have a car so are dependent on public transportation and walking. Worth walking around the small town of Windsor? Thanks.

Hope this helps to make edits: When I was trying to make reservations on July 1 and 2 there were both shared and private tables available in both the Island (5 and 7:30 pm seatings) and Palm (20 minute interval seatings) dining rooms. As time went on and people made reservations you could see less availability of both table types and time slots. So, for example, if you try to make a reservation now you may not see any private tables available early in the evening but that’s because they are already all taken not because they were not reservable.

Ouch! I would have not gotten behind that family and returned during off hours when the laundry room tends to not be busy! (Mornings and late at night tend to be empty) We've been trying to pack much lighter recently so I still really appreciate that Princess has reasonable do-it-yourself laundries available in case I need them. On NCL your only option is sending items out which gets costly (and doing undies in your sink!).

Regarding the "specialty dessert" included in the Plus package, exactly where do you get the cake slices? I don't recall seeing them anywhere and can't tell where your great photos were taken from.

Perhaps you are at a higher level (or booked a suite or whatever gives those more elite benefits?) so you have access to Coral Dining Room? You could always call Princess to verify your reservations to be sure, but if they are on your app I think you are fine. .

Yes, both Island and Palm let you choose private or shared table after you choose your time slot. I noticed today when I did a mock booking to try and change a time slot that only shared table appeared as an option for the new time, so all private tables must have already been booked at that time.