DCThunder

Travel times to the destination of the excursion are a major factor in departure times.  I did an excursion from Malaga to Granada (not a ship excursion) that left at 0715.  The ship docked and was cleared by 0700, and we hustled to get off right away.  It's about a 3 hour drive each way to Granada and we were in the Alhambra by 10:30. Seeing the sun coming up over the mountains was spectacular.  We were back to the ship, by 3:45pm, with an all-aboard time of 4:30pm. This was in early December, so it was definitely heading towards twilight when we returned.

Great excursion, BTW.

Last November, I boarded Island Princess on Thanksgiving Day in Civitavecchia, so the first night's meal was the Thanksgiving meal.  Let's just say that the evening meal in the MDR was not an "over the river and through the woods" Thanksgiving feast.  

28 minutes ago, GetGlowing said:

Thanks everyone for the comments and the buffet suggestion -- not a bad idea. 

We will be sailing after the change back to traditional dining and I'm going to try to get all our family on the same dining rotation. So maybe MDR service will improve? I'm curious to see how that works. 

One thing you won't get is a football game playing in the background during dinner.  In the Caribbean you'll get the NFL games on MUTS and in the casino bar/Take Five, but not in either the buffet or the MDR.  And if you're looking for college football, it'll be non-existent.

2 hours ago, Moondogy said:

Not on our last 2 cruises. They just had it on the menu and brought it sliced if you ordered it.

They were still doing the dopey Baked Alaska Parade on Island as of December of 2023.  It may vary by ship.

14 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

Do you really mean customs, or was it immigration?

Yes, this confused me too.  I expect to go through Canadian customs and immigration at YVR when I get off the plane from Charlotte.  I'd expect some level of immigration before boarding the ship, but not customs again.

I did a Spain Day Tours excursion in late 2023 and they were excellent.  It was Malaga to Granada to see the Alhambra and everything ran like clockwork.

Are the "boarding times" on the boarding pass taken seriously by Cunard at the Port of Vancouver?  Or are they treated as "guidelines" as I've experienced in Port Everglades, Southampton, and Miami, albeit not on Cunard?

Too bad they can't get a tie in with Jefferson's Ocean bourbon.  They could age a few barrels down in the hold and have it on tap at the Ocean Bar.  

Jefferson's Ocean | Jefferson's Bourbon (jeffersonsbourbon.com)

2 minutes ago, toofewcruises said:

If you're thinking of free upgrades, good luck with that! Very few free upgrades are given since we now have the ability to bid and pay for an upgrade 

If you want a balcony, you gotta pay for a balcony.  

8 minutes ago, Teechur said:

Eleven countries now use the U.S. dollar as their primary currency.

 

Countries Using the US Dollar (investopedia.com)

 

Which countries use the US dollar? | Stripe

According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, over 80 percent of all $100 bills in circulation are held OUTSIDE the USA.  In 1980, the figure was 30 percent.  No figures on how many of those came from cruise ship tips...😁

1 minute ago, Teechur said:

During my visits to the Soviet Union, East Germany, China, etc. people there very much wanted U.S. dollars. In the USSR, they had Beriozka (birch tree) stores which had the finest goods available, and they ONLY accepted hard currency.

When I was in Argentina in early 2023,(before Milei was elected), they wanted dollars as well, new bills, much preferred.

42 minutes ago, Torfamm said:

I’m sure that may be true. As an example, every guide we used in Vietnam told me it’s illegal for Vietnamese citizens to have US dollars (possibly any foreign currency) and try to exchange them for dong to spend in their own country or deposit in a bank. I found it very interesting trying to imagine how they put USD to use.

Using USD to purchase goods and services on the black market is a time-honored tradition in Communist countries.

20 hours ago, Torfamm said:

I like to have some local currency, especially if I plan to tip a tour guide but generally only use credit cards

Unless you're touring in western Europe (Euro zone), Canada, or Oz/NZ, I bet the tour guide would rather have USD than the local currency.  Getting access to cash USD is a major perk for tour guides/bus drivers in most developing countries.  

10 minutes ago, Ombud said:

OMG YES!! I have to enter each one individually.  It's a pain in the ass so if I have a bunch I have her do it. What I didn't realize (hence edit) is that reward points could also be applied

I just cut copied and pasted the numbers from the emails with the gift card purchase confirmations.  Then just type in the 4 digit pin. 

Ctrl-C/Ctrl-V is your friend!  😀

I just used it yesterday to pay for a portion of an upcoming cruise, so it was still there as of 5/23.

People treat the magic TAs like gamblers treat their bookies.  No names.  Just, "I got a guy who handles my action"...😁

2 hours ago, *Miss G* said:

And even though, when driving, you will keep to the left and pass on the right, the opposite is true when on the escalators. 

Maybe that's because it was an American who invented escalators.  The first one was installed at Coney Island in 1896.

2 minutes ago, Torfamm said:

Passports for children under age 16 are only valid for 5 years.

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/need-passport/under-16.html#:~:text=Passports for children under age 16 are only valid for 5 years.

I stand corrected.

46 minutes ago, PR-Texas said:

I don't want to sound harsh but if the cost of passports is a significant factor in whether you cruise or not then it's possible that you shouldn't be spending the money on the cruise in the first place.  We don't cruise often but have always considered the cost of a current passport as a necessary expense regardless of where we're cruising.

According to the State Department website, the cost of a new, adult passport is $165 valid for 10 years.  That's $16.50/year.  A renewal costs $130 ($13/year).  A child passport is $135, valid for 10 years or until the kid is 16.  As stated above, if you can't afford that, why are you cruising?

There is no downside to having a valid passport.  The scare stories of last summer about how long the processing of the application takes are long gone, so just get the passport.

9 minutes ago, Bgwest said:

Just booked a 27 day sailing in 2026. 

When looking at the entire 27 day sailing, 60% of the M1 cabins are unavailable. 
This caused me to look at the 12 day segment then the 15 day segment. 
 

 

When doing this,100% of the M1 cabins show available. I booked the sailing as 2 individual segments.  
 

Why does Princess do this? I wish I knew. 

I ran into the exact same thing last week in looking to book a 35-day cruise in 2026.  Cabins I really wanted weren't available for the 35-day itinerary, but miraculously were available for the 17-day, then 18-day B2Bs.  My CVP took care of getting me booked into the cabin I wanted.  Two booking numbers, so two sets of SH OBC.

1 hour ago, Spudd said:

Yes.

Or by filling out a paper form that's available on the ship and put in a drop box in the furutre cruise area.  Some people prefer the old skool way.

Maybe they try to get the grandkids to do an internet withdrawal for the cruise.  A crazy idea, I know, but just a thought.😁

5 minutes ago, Crown Cruiser said:

I keep reading posts about purchasing FCCs on the app.  Just to confirm:  we do still need to be onboard in order to do this?  I checked the app at home but can't find anyway to purchase.

Future Cruise Deposits are only sold on the ships.