Pam in CA

5 minutes ago, jakec21 said:

Pam,

         Would you mind telling me how the process of disembarkation from Buenos Aires cruise ship to travelling to EZE airport & do we have to pass through immigration after the cruise docked. Assuming ship arrival is 7:00AM. My concern is if my flight time is 11AM would this be a sufficient time frame to go the airport? My other choice is 10PM flight time with Princess tour & transfer & flights are more expensive. thank you

Nope. Not enough time. You would need to be at the airport check in by 8am for an 11am flight. Even if the ship arrival time is 7am, disembarkation isn’t likely to even start until 7:30-7:45am. If the ship arrival is 6am, it might be worth the chance as long as you have a plan B. 

2 minutes ago, Host CJSKIDS said:

@Pam in CA  it's amazing to see. you back on the boards again!  Enjoy your next sailing.

Thanks, Carolyn… I’ve been mostly on CC roll calls. Great to see you, too. 🙂 Still cruising 2-3x/year. Life is good. 

Thanks for the responses. Pretty sure I have my answer. Someone posted the form from this past week on another forum. Looks like it’s only FLL. 
 

Princess offers EZ Check to FLL. Pre-Covid, it was offered to MIA as well. I recently saw a sign-up form and it appeared to be just for FLL. 
 

I’ll be booking my air for my return home to LA next week (when miles redemption opens) for next October and there are far more flight options from MIA than FLL. 
 

So, my question is whether EZ Check, when disembarking in Ft. Lauderdale, is available for flights out of Miami. I’d love to visit friends in the Ft. Lauderdale area during the day but don’t want to drag my luggage around after a 16-day plus pre-cruise stay around. 
 

Thanks! 

If they book the Sanctuary, how do you select a specific lounger from those available? The loungers are moveable and not always in the same layout. Unless things have changed in the last two months, Sanctuary bookings are done on paper sheets, one for each day. 

13 minutes ago, marden1970 said:

Hi Pam, we also had a great time and thought the ship was fine, I sat next to you at the Meet and Greet.  Do you have any cruises coming up?  We'll be doing B2B Mexico/Hawaii in December.

I remember! Yes, boarding the Emerald on the 29th for a family cruise. We’re going to distribute my sister’s ashes at sea. 

I was also on her for the 28-day cruise in March/April. Had a great time. Yes, there are some rust spots but you expect that with any ship, boat, car or home that’s on or near salt water. 

On 12/29/2022 at 1:34 AM, Sea&SkiCruiser said:

We are also on this cruise with an aft vista cabin on dolphin deck.  Vibration mostly noticeable during docking but otherwise not an issue.  We had a lot of movement during the crossing but are hoping the ocean will be calmer on the way back.  We've found the lounge music/band entertainment 

The vibration when docking or sailing is most likely the thrusters, not the propellers or engines since the ship is being moved by the thrusters at that point. 

Princess used to have a “grace” period of five days after final payment is due but quite a few years ago, they eliminated that. Final payment is due the date they say and the system will automatically cancel the booking. It’s on every statement or invoice I’ve received. (My TA sends me the Princess invoice and then her invoice since she always saves me money.) 
 

Travel agents almost always ask their customers to authorize final payment 3-5 days before the Princess final payment date. That’s in case there’s a glitch, credit card error, charge doesn’t go through, error in giving the TA your credit card, etc. 

The bottom line is that there’s always a final payment date and the responsibility is always the passenger’s to authorize and make final payment on time. Doesn’t matter whether you book directly or with a TA. 

4 hours ago, Heyref said:

How much does sanctuary cost??

$20/pp/half day; $40/pp/full day; $30/pp/day if you book for the whole cruise. 
 

The newer ships, such as the Sky, have far fewer loungers and are much harder to book a lounger than the older ships. Very disappointing. 

No discounts.
 

However, if you book and pay for your excursion early, you avoid price increases, which are not unusual. I’ve seen the price increase three times from when I booked until I boarded the ship. 

Recently disembarked the Sapphire Princess. Bed was great. Same for my other cruises this past year on the Grand and the Majestic. 

On 11/10/2022 at 4:16 PM, cr8tiv1 said:

You can ask for a bar (or two) of soap.   They are tiny/thin round things.  You can ask your steward to help you turn off motion detecting lights.  You can request a bowl/basket of fruit.

Not on the Sky Princess. Zero bar soap. Not even in the shops. When I was on the Sky in January 2020, I wound up having to buy soap in port. There was none on the ship. I bought a bunch of travel Dove soap and now bring that for “just in case.” 

On 11/11/2022 at 3:40 PM, ddeprez said:

Thanks. The last time I sailed with Princess, the pool area of the Sanctuary was available to adults without extra cost. It's been awhile though...

There’s no pool area in the Sanctuary on any Princess ship except for the Coral and Discovery Princess. 

I’ve taken five cruises in the past year. 
 

On all of them, I selected a time, dining room and pro care table for two and reserved it for the whole cruise. 
 

On the Grand, we asked and were given the same table and waitstaff every night. We were able to modify our dining times some nights and still got the same table and waitstaff. 
 

On the Majestic, we asked and were told absolutely not. We could not have the same table or waitstaff. We couldn’t even have the same section. The Head Waiter was pretty rude about it. 
 

Recently disembarked the Sapphire on a 10-day cruise and had the same experience as the Grand: same table and waitstaff every night, even when we changed our dining time some nights.

I still prefer Traditional dining but at least on three cruises, we were able to replicate it. Not so on two Majestic cruises. 

Follow the money. Always. Anything that’s “limited” or already sold non-cruise will have an up charge. The question is, how much? 

My TA seems to work 24/7. Very responsive, even to say she’ll get back to me. 
 

I use a TA for several reasons:

1. I always pay less than if I’d booked directly. Important as I cruise solo in a cabin but I also like paying less.

2. I get extra OBC. 

3. I have an advocate if there are any issues. If you book directly, they work for Princess. 
 

4. No waiting on hold for Princess Customer Service or a rep/PVP who isn’t responding or has left the company. Can’t tell you how many complaints I read about by frustrated passengers. 
 

5. I recently checked on a cruise next year. Saw that there were no obstructed view balcony cabins available on Emerald deck on the Discovery. Checked with my TA and I’m now booked in an obstructed view balcony on Emerald deck. 

On 11/5/2022 at 4:05 AM, SargassoPirate said:

Most likely because a promenade doesn't produce much, if any revenue, per square foot like extra cabins, shops, or restaurants do.  At least on the Island Princess they left most of the promenade intact.  Bigger ships with no promenade keep people inside and the money flowing.

Actually, the Promenade deck is a casualty of the Concordia disaster. SOLAS regulations require emergency boats to be directly accessible. 
 

There hasn’t been a true wraparound Promenade deck on any Princess ship in decades. 

On 6/5/2022 at 8:20 PM, wallyj said:

Hi @cruzin4us, originally the 4 restaurants mid ship served slightly different menus to go with the theme of the restaurant. Savoy was your traditional steak house decor, dark woods, Santa Fe was Tex/Mex, Pacific Moon was Asian, and Vivaldi was typical Princess MDR. They just split the normal deck 5 and 6 midship MDR’s into two different restaurants with their unique decor. Eventually, all the restaurants would serve the same menu, except each had a specialty dish which you could actually order in any of the restaurants. Savoy had a special pork chop, Santa Fe had Fajitas, Pacific Moon had a Seafood noodle dish, and Vivaldi had Osso Buco. 

The different dining room menus lasted only a few months after the Diamond was launched. It was kind of a disaster in that there were long lines for a couple of the dining rooms while the other two were underused. Pretty sure all dining rooms had the same menu by the time the Sapphire was launched later that year (2004.) 

Many people don’t know or forget that the Diamond was originally the Sapphire, and the Sapphire was originally the Diamond. 
 

They were being built at Mitsubishi in Japan and the Diamond was almost completed when a fire destroyed part of the ship. So, the Sapphire was completed and re-named the Diamond; the Diamond was repaired and renamed the Sapphire. 

I called Guest Services and asked them to mask the sensors for the hallway light and the nightstand lights. They were awful. 
 

Thoughts and prayers that you get better soon. I’m here if you need anything. 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

Wow! Awful! So sorry this happened. Didn’t AAA help you or replace the battery? 

12 hours ago, MsSoCalCruiser said:

I am looking forward to CG.  Pam is the best.  Pam and I talked on CC for a long time and then we finally met on a BV after that.  I am blessed to call her my friend.

You guys are so sweet! Thank you so much! Looking forward to seeing you, hopefully soon. 

23 hours ago, cruisingram1 said:

If I have the 4 device internet plan, do all the individuals who log on have to be in the same cabin?

No. 
 

I cruised with my daughter last month for two cruises, each in our own cabin. I bought the 4-device plan. She was able to use both her laptop and phone at the same time (she was working on the cruise) and I used my phone and iPad. 

1 hour ago, azbirdmom said:

We got the Elite discount on items that were part of the “outlet” sale last Friday on the Regal so I guess we got in under the wire. 

Yes. As of February 26, 2022.