RoadTripFanatic

We were just on the Ruby Princess for a 10 day partial transit.  There were not many tuxedos but if you want to wear one?  Wear it.  You only live once and I think you should use that tuxedo.  We didn't go "formal" on formal night due to luggage restrictions.  (one suitcase and 2 personal items were all we packed.) 

We sailed the November 30th Ruby Princess Cruise.  Has Princess changed their lemonade and tea since last year?  We cruised with Princess a year ago and had no issues with them.  The lemonade smelled like chemicals and tasted....well not like lemonade.  The iced tea is now a cloudy sludge that doesn't taste like real tea.  Has anyone else had this issue or was it just this ship?  I'm used to the artificial tea/lemon flavor they usually have but this was weird.  Other than that everything was fine. 🙂

On 7/3/2022 at 8:52 AM, JF - retired RRT said:

Absolutely!! Long cruisers get the short end of the stick.

I agree!  I wish we still had our free minutes vs paying for anything.  That is one reason I cruise with Princess is I get these free benefits.

44 minutes ago, hsmom said:

I finally found that Princess info before I fell asleep last night. Thank you for posting it to confirm that I was looking at current information. 

 

The squishy part is where they determine if we can go on or not…an out an out No would be more useful.

 

As for us…certainly a close, close contact. One of my children who has had the booster, and covid in August started showing symptoms on his second night at our house. He will be here his entire 14 days. Meanwhile, I think it all becomes a mute point because my husband tested positive on a home test yesterday. We will be getting PCR tests tomorrow and I think that seals the deal. The results from tomorrow will be within the 14 day window.

 

Now to just figure out how this all words with Princess and the insurance etc. Wish me luck. As was being discussed in another thread, this was our attempt at using up our March 2020 FCC. I hope we can get the money we added for this trip back from the insurance. If we lose the original FCC so be it. Not likely that we will be able to use it before the end of 2022. 

 

Oh that just stinks!  I am so sorry.  

A close contact is defined by the CDC as someone you were less than 6 feet from  for greater than 15 minutes.  So a good example of this would be being at a Christmas family gathering.  That would be a close contact.

I'm just curious as to how it works if you are vaccinated and tested at day 5 and were negative and then you test again 2 days before the cruise and you are negative but still in the 14 day window?  According to the CDC that would be enough to get you out of quarantine but I'm curious about how it would work on the ship?  Will they just draw a line at 14 days and that's it? 

https://book.princess.com/cruisepersonalizer/documents.page

1. You agree that if at any time within fourteen (14) days prior to embarkation, You test positive for COVID-19, exhibit signs or symptoms of COVID-19, have had close contact with a person confirmed or suspected as having COVID-19, or the Carrier otherwise determines, in its sole discretion, that You are unfit to board because of any communicable illness, the Carrier will deny boarding to You as well as Your traveling companions.  Under these circumstances, unless the Carrier determines that the Guest has failed to comply with the Carrier’s COVID-19 Guest Protocols or this Passage Contract, any Guest denied boarding will be entitled to a future cruise credit equal in value to the amount Guest paid to the Carrier, subject to Guest providing verification satisfactory to the Carrier of results of tests administered by providers other than those retained by the Carrier.  For further details, refer to the Carrier’s Refund and Cancellation Policy for COVID-19 located on its website. Under no circumstances shall the Carrier have any other liability for any compensation or other damages whatsoever including, but not limited to, compensation for consequential lodging or travel.

This is what I found today doing some research.  I hope it helps.

I can't wait to hear about it!  We were cancelled for our cruise on the Enchanted Princess this month.  I can't wait to rebook!

Daniel Johnson's actually have their own tours that include snorkeling.  You might check with them.

We cancelled our cruise for January 2nd on the Enchanted Princess.  I do not feel comfortable hoping on a ship at this point in time.  

On 9/14/2020 at 7:52 AM, Grego said:

Still no real indication that the Enchanted Princess will not arrive in Port Everglades for a December itinerary.  We are booked for her January 9th voyage in replacement for her November inaugural voyage that was cancelled.

I guess we won't know for certain if she will do a winter season in the Caribbean by the end of October when she will be staffing up and charting a course for PE for December sailings.  Until then, we are staying the course and keeping options open for alternate bookings in early January if necessary.

Fingers are crossed.  We sail January 2nd.  If not I'll keep my airfare to FLL and find a house for the week.

On 3/30/2020 at 8:51 AM, bigrednole said:

Thank you. That is what I thought as well. I wanted to be sure before we finally book our beach pass. We are still in limbo on our cruise date, so I am holding off until this madness slows down.

Infiniti bay does have very nice facilities to use on a day pass.  We usually stay with Bananarama for our day pass but that was before Infintini Bay started offering them.  I might just use them next time.  We love West Bay Beach!  It is our favorite beach in the world.  We spent a week there last October and we were planning on going this September but it doesn't look like we are going. 😞 Too many variables in the world right now.  I will just have to be patient. 

Daniel Johnson's sloth sanctuary is a really nice place to visit.  We went there before the cruise lines started sending people there and have actually met Daniel.  He was our tour guide that day.  He genuinely loves his animals.  If you are looking for a beach day, I loved hanging out at Bananarama.  They have an excursion that they offer.  Another option is a day at Infinity Bay that is also on West Bay Beach.  It is a good option if you need an actual pool and not just the ocean.  There is fantastic snorkeling right off the beach on West Bay down by the Grand Roatan Resort.

Well....The money I am saving just went for a cruise in January with my fingers crossed. LOL!  On Princess by the way.  As for Groceries, it is getting very expensive here.  We have 3 adults and at 2 meals sometimes 3 meals a day it adds up.  My coffee budget has tripled since my daughter came home from college.  🙂  I'd say we are spending between 600-800 a month on groceries and we are not eating steak.  I haven't had a good steak in weeks!  That doesn't even start on the alcohol budget.  LOL!

I agree with Guest 2000.  Get a day pass and just swim out.  That is what we have done in the past with cruising.  It is by far our favorite beach in the world to snorkel.  We have gone to Roatan several times and just stayed on West Bay for a week or 10 days.

I have never gotten sick from eating any fruit in Roatan.

West Bay!  Best snorkeling.  It's an easy snorkel from the beach.  I'm not a strong swimmer and feel comfortable with it.  If you need a vest there are plenty to rent from local dive shops.  Costa Maya doesn't have the snorkeling that West Bay does.  Roatan is my favorite island.  We have spent close to 30 days on the island.  

On 3/5/2020 at 5:37 PM, Bucket-list 65 said:

We are doing a river cruise to Vietnam & Cambodia with Scenic leaving Uk this coming Saturday, we’ve be assured there’s no issue with us continuing our tip. We’ve followed foreign office sites for any changes in advice & contacted our insurance company who advise if we cancel we there will be no recompense as there’s no official advice against continuing our trip. Is anyone on this forum doing the scenic spirt river cruise starting in  Ho Chi Mhin next Sunday?

I hope you have a fantastic trip!

I would like to add that when disembarking in Singapore that when you first get off the ship there are taxis.  These taxis are extremely expensive compared to normal taxis.  Just ask someone where the actual taxi line up is located and they will tell you to keep walking.  The regular priced taxis are just outside of the terminal.

I'm glad you had a great time!  I understand how you feel.  I've been laying very low since we returned on Sunday from an 11 day cruise on the Sapphire Princess. 

As for Taipei itself we had no issues on DIY.  We just spent 24 hours there at the end of a cruise.  Neither of us speak Mandarin and we had no major issues.

We returned from the Sapphire Princess on February 13th.  Yes, we were very fortunate to be able to visit Ho chi Minh city with Xuan.  He was fantastic.  He is very attentive and took great care of us on our tour.  He is energetic, full of knowledge and made us feel at home in a foreign land.  He took a ton of pictures and sent them all to us.  The rickshaw ride was a blast.  We were able to cover a lot of ground and see some fantastic sights.  I would give him 5 out of 5 stars.  The van in which he transported us was clean and in great shape.  (In the back there was a bucket of cleaning supplies.  🙂 )

Thank you for the write up!  I am now considering doing this on my own instead of a tour.

We stayed at the MGM Cotai just a few weeks after it opened.  It was beautiful.  If you need a Starbucks fix it has a massive Starbucks.  Our 17 year old was thankful for comfort coffee and breakfast pastries by that point in the trip.   On the Macau side I would definitely go to the Grand Lisboa.  It is worth visiting just to see the lobby area.  The jewels, gold carvings and an original Imperial throne are great for a quick look. The MGM Macau is also beautiful on the inside.  We loved going to the Wynn on the Cotai strip.  It was right across the street from our hotel.  It is beyond amazing. If you want to eat at a buffet there you have to make reservations.  The Venetian and Paris were both amazing.  If it wasn't a 17 hour plane flight I would prefer it over Vegas.  On a funny note at MGM Cotai there were very few black jack tables.  If you are a gambler and love blackjack the tables are limited over there.  🙂 

On 11/7/2019 at 11:29 AM, TNTLAMB said:

Okay I have to know. What is different about the Hong Kong Disneyland that makes it different from any other Disneyland tha would lead one to travel thousands of miles and spend thousands of dollars to be there? . Its a serious question as we will be Hong Kong in 2021. Its just not something that has even occured to me in our planning. What am I missing?

I am one of those crazy Disney people who have a goal of seeing all of the castles.  I have one left. Shanghai.  Each park while similar has a few different rides or versions of that ride that make it unique.  Throw in the cultural differences and food differences, it makes it a fun experience.  HKDL is the smallest of the parks.  They are currently in an expansion mode.  I think the improvements will make it a better park than what it was when we visited in 2018.  On a positive note it is small and not near as crowded as the other parks. 

I will check it out!  We are cruising there in February.

Which hotels do you consider the "main" hotels.  The ones on the Macau side or the ones on the Cotai Strip?  I haven't been to Macau since the bridge opened.  I do know 18 months ago you could catch a free shuttle that ran between the MGM properties.