skynight

8 hours ago, Tsunami2 said:

We love waltz dancing and looking for  a cruise on the Pacific coast round trip from Vancouver.   Took cruise this spring to Alaska again on Koningsdam and disappointed at only bouncy bouncy to rock and BB King.   Looked spastic.

I hear Coral Sea is good?  Any comments?

Coral Princess will probably offer evening live music suitable for ballroom dancing in the Wheelhouse Bar. There is normally a small group there. The Wheelhouse has a smallish wooden dance floor. Selections would vary. Some may be 3/4. Others could be swing, Latin, top 40 classics, and so on.

It's also possible that there could be some ballroom in the Universe Lounge and Explorer's Lounge. Crooner's is basically a piano bar/lounge, no room for real dancing. The main atrium area on the Coral Princess is small, but there could be some there. Check the event listings each day. 

I will mention that the party bands are popular and attract a good crowd. That is why you see them all around the ship.

I am not a fan of these theme cruises. I believe Princess should abandon them, or in the least not allow these groups to reserve lounge space. I have been on a few accidently. The small group, maybe 5/6% of the passengers, close off space for the other 95%. There is a reason Princess does not make these themed bookings readily known. If they did a majority of their customers would not book that cruise. 

Yes. For any alcoholic beverage in excess of the US$20 menu price you pay the difference plus 8%.

25% discount on bottles of wine.

You can carry on 1 x 750ml bottle of wine per adult at no charge for use in the cabin. A lot less expensive then purchasing on board.

Where are you boarding? Someone on this board could advise about stores near the port.

From the Princess web site

Top-shelf premium beverages up to $20 USD* each

The Premier Beverage Package includes everything the Plus Beverage Package has and:

• Top shelf spirits, reserve wines by the glass and new high-end crafted cocktails by Mixologist Rob Floyd
• Selection of 75+ spirits, 40+ wines by the glass, 20+ high-end, crafted cocktails
• Premier wines by the glass including Duckhorn, Stag's Leap, Grgich Hills and Cattier Champagne
• Private Woodford Reserve Bourbon Selection created exclusively for Princess
• Personalized Jack Daniel's Whiskey Single Barrel Select
• 25% discount on wine bottles (including rare vintages)
• 25% discount on large bottles of water and cans of soda

Yes. I will point out that large tables usually equates to slower service and longer dining times. One slow eater can slow up the entire table. If the 10 includes youth, you may want to consider placing the youth at their own table. 

The T.A. has to set up the group. Group bookings through the T.A. usually have some small benefits such as some extra OBC, and/or some fare reduction which is usually taken from the TA's commission.  With some large groups the T.A. has a group of various category cabins reserved for their group which are held in reserve until sometime around final payment date and then are released. 

Are you sailing this summer before the dining change? If so you should make reservations in Dine My Way. Right now for anytime dining everyone that wants to sit together shows up and stands in line until a table is ready. If you wish to have a standing reservation for 12 then you have to speak to the head waiter or maitre'd. to arrange. 

At some point after September 1st the system is scheduled to change.

R329 can be configured with 2 lower twin beds and 2 upper berths which lower from the ceiling over the lower beds to accommodate up to 4 people. It can also be configured with one upper berth or no upper berths. When there are only two passengers in the cabin the lower beds can be configured into a queen bed or two twins, your choice. The connecting door to cabin R325 is in the entry hall across from the closet area.

Ask the T.A. to book using the phone. The error message is incorrect. Read the T.A. the Passage Contract. Could be that the on line program does not recognize that it is a family group where separate cabins are permitted. I.T. programming seems to be a large issue with Princess. 

On the other hand if you are planning on booking the standard fare and will not purchase the plus or premier package the first day on board then I can't see  any problem with splitting you up, but maybe I'm missing something. 

No pre-cruise. Yes, if you wait until you board. If you wait until you board the charge will go to your on board account and automatically net against any OBC.

Generally if you like to dine later on a U.S. based cruise you should be able to wait until you board. On cruises based in South America for example, it would be the reverse. Later is busier. I believe Europe is also a later crowd. 

Post #2 quotes the legal text. The 18 yr old and 16 year old can be in the same cabin. It's important if you and the husband wish to have the plus or premier fares. When you are both booked into the same cabin then you will meet the requirement of passengers 1 & 2 required to both have the same fare package. If you split the two of you into different cabins then you would have to purchase packages for the first two booked into that cabin, means 4 packages. Go back to the TA and explain the passage contract. 

2 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

for Platinum as well.

Yes, correct. I forgot about platinum.

Basically there are 3 main components and a few minor components.

Crew Appreciation - Worth between US$16 & US$18 depending on cabin category

Unlimited wifi internet connection - Worth US$25/day/pp, or US$12.50 if you are elite loyalty status

Beverage Package - 15 alcoholic beverages/day US$15 or less for plus fare and US$20 or less for Premier fare.

Looking at the plus fare, if you are not elite, if you leave the Crew Appreciation in place and if you require unlimited internet then the daily value is US$16 + US$25 = $36/pp/day. That leaves a value of US$24/pp/day for all beverages which is equal to around 3 cocktails or a few more if you drink beer to break even.

If you are a serious wine drinker then many of the better wines are prices between $15 and $20. If you have the plus fare and order one of these wines you will be charged the excess over $15 + 18%.

Hope this helps.

Blue Lane at the terminal. Short detour.

You do not pay for Princess insurance until final payment date. Therefore, nothing to be refunded and nothing lost if cancelled before final payment date.

Refundable deposit will be refunded if cancelled before final payment date, non refundable deposit would be lost.

You can add Princess insurance when booked or any time up to final payment date. No difference. 

Sounds like Princess charged what you believe is an incorrect amount. I would challenge this through the credit card. If you wish to contact John Padgett I would use a USPS letter, not email. Email will be in a super large group that may get looked at in CA or maybe in the Philippines. You may receive some sort of reply months from now. A letter will go to his office staff assigned to review thousands of complaints. You probably will get a quicker response.  

3 hours ago, cusematt4 said:

Hi all,

 

If someone has extra non refundable onboard credit towards the end of a cruise, are there ways to redeem

it for cash?  Ie - casino credit and then cash redemption?  

You can charge table or slot play to your on board account. You must play. You can then cash out your remaining chips for table play or your casino account if playing slots. You can not just use a slot machine as an ATM. Play is required.

Remember to cash out, latest, on the last evening the casino is open. 

Busses arrive from the port to the airport probably starting around 9/9:30am for the fist bus arrival. Then those busses wait to fill with passengers going to the port. When the bus is full or almost full it leaves. Some of the timing depends on how many passengers are arriving and the timing of the arrivals. There are group shuttles, such as Prime Time, that will go to San Pedro. Depending on the number of stops the trip could take 1 1/2 hours or so. Uber is a good choice, private ride, reasonable cost. Taxis are also readily available. 

1 hour ago, Crystabel said:

It was a b2b Eastern and Western Caribbean cruise. During our turnaround day, all we had to do was get off the ship and be identified by our picture at the kiosk and then reboard the ship. Never needed our passports on any island. 

Yes, this is how it is done in Ft. Lauderdale.

You should have noticed that there were a few immigration agents hanging around. When I did the turn around in Ft. Lauderdale this past March I saw one person in our group be directed to go see the agent. 

To me tip jars on a cruise ship is low class. No matter, I never carry cash around on board. Everything now and in the past is either medallion or cruise card. 

17 hours ago, Crystabel said:

Long story short, we forgot our passports for a Caribbean cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale. I spoke with the port supervisor on the phone who said we could board with a copy of our birth certificates but not a copy of our passports. Go figure! Our daughter emailed the birth certificates, and we printed them out. We already had our medallions, and breezed right through check in. I was holding my breath until sail away, thinking they might kick us off, but they didn’t. I don’t recommend anyone try this, and I know we got lucky. Believe me, we will never forget our passports again! 

Interesting, plus the cruise line was actually breaking WHTI rules. Note that not all RT Ft. Lauderdale Caribbean cruises qualify under WHTI rules. Cruises that have port stops in Martinique and/or Guadalupe are two examples where passports are required.  

Princess no longer has golf pros on board. The program was discontinued, as you mentioned, years ago. If it would have been profitable Princess would have retained it. I don't foresee Princess restarting this program. If you wish to play golf in the Caribbean try a land vacation to a golf resort. 

Two 50 ml bottles of Scotch, Gin, Vodka, Brandy. 2 beers. 2 Perrier. 2 Diet Coke. 2 Coke. 2 waters.

You do not order. It is in your cabin when you board. You can call room service and trade alcoholic for alcoholic or non alcoholic. You can trade non alcoholic for non alcoholic.

The only way to get Princess to change or eliminate the juice bars is little or no demand. 

Wine Drinker? Take a look at this post

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