Travelrd

i sailed with godwin on the emerald princess in april 2012. he recognized me after the first night and remembered my name. he couldn't have been more helpful and always in a good mood. i don't think i'll be sailing where he is stationed but i sure hope i meet up with him one day.

cheers

tom...last i read it was $90 per person for the chef's table. well worth it if you've never done it. as soon as you get to your cabin, call the dine line to request an invitation to the chef's table. then they will let you know the date and time and meeting place. i've done it and it's really a fabulous experience.

cheers

mary...thank you very much for the information.

cheers

hello mary...i'm trying to find the information about the bon voyage experience, bve. do you have the information and/or the form that needs to be completed? i don't remember if i saw it on this thread or another one from the grand but i thought i'd ask you. is it on the princess website?

thank you and cheers

thanks mary. i'm disappointed about the gelato. and yes, their regular ice creams are nothing special but i do love the milkshakes and that's another reason i buy the soda and more card.

cheers

mary...everything you've posted has been fabulous. the pictures are beyond wonderful too. a couple of questions if you don't mind. does the grand offer gelato at the international cafe? i know some ships do and others don't. i hope the grand does.

when were the two formal nights?

cheers

mary...when i mentioned hal above, i didn't mean your husband, i meant holland america line. they always provide towel animals.

all your pictures are fabulous!

cheers

mary...i'm reliving the cruise through your review and loving every word. i've never had a towel animal on princess. with hal, it is standard procedure.

thank you and i'll be reading as you get each page published.

cheers

amen for the new non smoking policy.

the first cruise i took on princess was on the golden. i was in a mini-suite on dolphin deck. having cruised on holland american before the golden, i had a mini-suite and all their balconies are covered no matter the deck. well, to my surprise, non of the mini-suite balconies on the dolphin deck are covered due to the pyramid type of deck structure. all of a sudden, i would find cigarette butts and cigar butts comiing down from the balconies up above. it was disgusting.

i've only booked emerald deck mini-suites since then since they are all covered.

cheers

first cruise and ship was the osterdam from san diego on a mexican riviera 7 day cruise. i was hooked because of the fabulous ss category cabin, the crew, the food, the tablemates at dinner and just being on the water.

and as they say, your first cruise is the best cruise and this was a perfect example of that.

cheers

bravo brian....you nailed it. i like positives much better than negatives and there's so much to be positive about when i'm cruising. a bad day at sea is still better than a good day at work! i think that's how it goes.

cheers

brian...if you'd like to contact me off the cc postings, here is my email: dirosen44@gmail.com

cheers

i might add that you can buy the fcc for the next cruise you want to take right on the ship with the fcc rep or you can buy the fcc and princess gives you four years to use it on a cruise if you're not certain of your next cruise. it does save you from having to put down deposits of $400 to $600.

cheers

brian...thanks for the information about the standby program. i just found it and went in and registered for it.

cheers

bdjam...i just found a great cruise. october 20th, 2014, the star princess from san francisco to mexico for 10 nights. ports are cabo, loreto, la paz and puerto vallarta. and the best part of all, for me that is, there are 5 sea days. i love sea days the best of all. of course, the best thing about port days is staying on the ship while the others leave for the day! are you interested?

cheers

akman2495...great post. i totally agree with you.

cheers

griller...thanks for the enlightenment! i really don't think i qualify. but occasionally i have seen someone on cc who mentions a price reduction on a cruise and i have been able to take advantage of it but i don't spend that much time on cc. it's really a hit or miss thing with me. glad you have found a way to reduce the price of your cruises. i still think princess is a good cruise line and meets my expectations. not that there aren't other cruise lines that i might like better but they're not in my price range. being a solo traveler, i'm already paying 100% extra to cruise.

cheers

griller...could you please tell me more about these last minute firesale prices please? how does one get notified about them?

cheers

i guess if you're a cruise line employee, nothing is final until it happens!

well, i hope i sail with godwin again sometime but it won't be in asia or south pacific.

cheers

i spent 10 days with godwin when i sailed on the emerald princess in april 2012. at that time, he told me was chosen to be on the new royal princess. do i know if he is or isn't on it, i have no idea now.

cheers

i bought the ultimate card on my last cruise and it saved me lots of money. i am not a coffee drinker, so i drink lots of diet cokes. i drink them for breakfast and continue right through until after dinner. the mocktails are fabulous, especially the pina colada! their milkshakes are great too! trust me, princess did not make money on me with this card. i'm sorry but i don't know the prices of milkshakes or mocktails since i never had to ask the price. but it was worth it for me.

cheers

on my last cruise, which i am still not over because it was so fabulous, there were no "on demand" movies but they did show "the artist" and "the help". both fabulous movies and pretty recent for a cruise line to show.

gosh pam, how did you remember all the channels?

cheers

has anyone taken the mystic catamaran tour of antigua? it is offered through princess as a shore excursion and since there already is a review of the "excellence" catamaran tour, i was hoping someone might have taken this tour.

cheers

i was in d706 and never heard any noises from the lounges at all. are there lounges above the 700 mini suites?

thanks

i agree with colcruiser. i was just in cabin d706 on the island and never felt any vibration. d709 would be a great location too!