pshaze

On 8/21/2022 at 3:39 AM, PacnGoNow said:

Would be great if someone posts their experience.

 

I am on board now and I purchased the Discounted Internet Package and it disappeared from the Medallion App.  
 

The purchase did show on my Travel Summary. 
 

I went to the Internet cafe and he had me connect to the WiFi and then brought up the Medallion App and go to the Medallion Net and there it was! No problem at all. 
 

A note to Apple users. I had to turn off the 

“Private Wifi Address” under the MedallionNet setting in the WiFi.

We are sailing from Whittier, Southbound, on the Royal Princes. We would like to do the 26 Glacier Tour before our ship sails at 8:30pm.
 

Does anyone know how early we can drop off our luggage and possibly get on the ship?

The tour starts at 12:45pm -5:45pm.  We have to turn in our rental car and want to get rid of our things before we take the Tour.  Thanks in advance.

2 hours ago, sunsetme said:

they make it so confusing! I see the change.

IKR! We have the monitored Radeas set up for Thursday. Hopefully all goes well! Good luck with yours!

16 hours ago, sunsetme said:

thanks its 3 days for me!

I reviewed the testing requirements today, just to be sure, and they updated the requirements (again) since my original post. Looks like it will have to be 2 days again.  Please check yourself to verify this information. 

https://www.princess.com/plan/cruise-with-confidence/cruise-health/vaccine-testing-requirements/

11 minutes ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

 

The kind of test(s) accepted, whether the testing time is measured in hours or days, and how many hours/days before embarkation you can get tested vary by your port of embarkation, the ports on your itinerary, and your vaccination status (unvaccinated, fully vaccinated, or up-to-date). 

 

People are oversimplifying on these boards and giving one-size-fits-all advice that is not correct in every situation.

 

Please stop posting the requirements for your cruise and your particular situation as if it's the Gospel truth.  Yes you're trying to be helpful but it's not so helpful when your advice is wrong for other people's situations and they get denied boarding for not having the correct test and/or having been tested too soon before embarkation. 

My response was to the original poster and her cruise to Alaska. Sorry if that wasn’t clear.
 

My information is correct and I gave the website so they can read it for themselves to verify.  I actually copied that information directly from the website.  
 

Everyone should double check anything posted on these boards.

Since I am on the same sailing as the original poster I’m pretty sure it is the “Truth” and will continue to post as I see fit.

If you are fully vaccinated and boosted you can antigen test 3 days before……

https://www.princess.com/plan/cruise-with-confidence/cruise-health/vaccine-testing-requirements/

You can book a mini on the Dolphin Deck then keep an eye out for a cancellation on the Emerald Deck.  Many book then cancel when the cruise gets closer.  Especially when they run the $1 deposit.  

On our last cruise several opened up a couple of months before final payment.  Princess offered a lot of the mini’s a upsell to the club class  and to a suite.  Quite a few took advantage of that also which opened up the Emerald minis.

Just an FYI.  If having a covered balcony matters to you, then pick a mini suite on the Emerald Deck.  The minisuites on the Dolphin deck are all uncovered.   Also have your TA mark no upgrade (or Mega upgrade only) if you book an Emerald deck Mini.  Otherwise they might “upgrade” you to a Dolphin deck mini.

We booked early our Norway cruise and only watched the prices go up.  We were able to refare, with a gratuities included, for the same price.  

In Norway Jackets were required on formal nights so I guess it depends on where you are sailing.  Your roll call should be a good source for information.

1 hour ago, AF-1 said:

You mention Sky's aft pool  lido deck.  That same pool is on CB and other ships.  It is small and there is still plenty of room to sit. Why do you think having the pool on Sky is different?  I really like the wake pool.  It adds ambiance to the entire area.  Enjoy where ever you cruise to

The area on Royal/Regal is a completely covered with nice seating areas and tables to eat at.  We eat every buffet meal sitting out there.  My DH drinks his coffee every morning enjoying the wake view.  It is a nice quiet area all day and out of the sun.  They put the pool on the Sky right in that area.  On the Regal they have a aft pool on the Sun Deck.

On the CB the pool area is tiered and uncovered.  We enjoy the area when we want to use the pool but it’s not always usable when the weather is bad.  Not to mention Princess put the youth center, paddling pool and playground right above it.  It can get noisey when the kids are there.  Never understood why they put it right next to the adult only pool. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Just a personal preference.

One of our favorite spots on the Royal is the aft seating area on the Lido deck.  They put a pool in that area on the Sky.  Not a deal breaker for us but would take the Regal or Royal if given the choice.

I would only consider switching for a covered deck mini on the Emerald deck. We like the extra room especially on longer cruises.

We stayed in R616 on the Caribbean Princess which is in the same location as the rooms you are looking at. These rooms are right under the entrance to the buffet which is a tiled floor. We heard carts being rolled over that area all night long. Drove us crazy.

Have stayed under the Horizon Court many times without issues in cabins away from this area.

I would avoid these cabins if possible.

The long line was to even enter the castle property. We stood on a side walk that extended some 2 blocks away from the visitors entrance for over an hour. Then as we approached the entrance, we got into a large room with ropes for various lines for tickets [the Princess guide re-checked his count and then bought tickets, went back along our line to hand us a sticker]. Still in the roped lines, we had to go through the security system, re-grouped and met up again with our tour guide who told us that he would meet us back at the bus and pointed us towards the tower.

My first visit to Windsor was with a private tour, Premiums Tours, and our guide had tickets in hand and we were directed straight into the security building, never had to stand on the street looking at a scenic wall for an hour. On a prior Princess transfer, we did Stonehenge to see the new entry [did the old entry a few times in years past]. We had ample time to see the stones, tour the museum, stop for a snack and shop for memories - great guide too. With such limited time and the possibility of traffic on the motorway, I do think Princess could arrange quick entry tickets for the castle through their vendor. Better to have passengers leave with fond memories, not frustration and disappointment.

 

And Princess wonders why so many of its passengers opt for private tours.........

 

Darcy

Excellent! You answered my questions perfectly! Thanks a bunch!

Read my post #3

I did,

However, I would think the people on the Princess excursion would also have advance tickets and they had to stand in the long line. Hence my confusion.

So you went through security after you went to the front of the line?

So just to clarify that long line is to buy tickets only?

Was the long line for security or to get tickets?

Are the lines separated?

We already have our tickets so wondering if we can bypass the line.

Thanks for the great review

 

Please can you tell me more about the Steak House. Only Sabatini's is available on the cruise personalizer and I thought it was strange to have only one specialty dining venue. What is the name of the Steak house? Where is it located?

Do you have a copy of the menu? What is the cover charge?

 

Formal nights

Please can you tell me when the formal nights were? Was there a formal night in Bergen?

 

We are doing the same cruise on 18th August so you replies will be much appreciated.

Here is the menu posted on the Princess site for the Sterling Steakhouse.

https://www.princess.com/downloads/pdf/Onboard_Experience/Sterling-Steakhouse-Menu-Sample.pdf

Formal nights are First 2 sea days and then Bergen. (Coral posted this on your roll call post #758.)

From the Princess website the location is at the back of the Horizon Court, Lido Deck, Starboard Side.

https://www.princess.com/deckPlans.do?shipCode=SA

Cost is $29/pp from the Princess site, page 3 of this document.

https://www.princess.com/downloads/pdf/food-and-dining/dining-options.pdf

Speak to the merchant is fine when there is one. However, using a ticket machine doesn’t come with a person.

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Yup.......Exactly why in my last sentence I mentioned I got a Contactless Card from my American Express Account.

Chip and signature cards do not work in machines or ATM's, without either contactless or a 4 figure pin .your options will be limited to get cash or pay especially outside London or large hotels / restaurants/ shops.

Actually our Visa card states the following "Your card doesn't require a PIN to make purchases outside of the U.S. Speak to the merchant if a terminal prompts you to enter a PIN when traveling abroad." Only need pin for cash advances.

We have a chip and pin ATM card if we need it, but our bank charges ridiculous fees so I am getting currency before we leave.

Actually just gave up and ordered a contactless card from my American Express account.

Can anyone tell me if a regular Chip and Signature Credit Card can be used in the machines to purchase an Oyster Card?

Can the machine accept cash (paper notes)?

We don't have any contactless credit cards or chip and pin credit cards. Our credit cards only require a pin for cash advances. So having trouble figuring out how to pay.

Thanks in advance!

Bleach. Lots of bleach. With the new duvets, they just take the covers off and bleach them I think. Beware of those darn throw pillows though. Get rid of them. Put them in the closet up high or under the bed and tell your cabin steward you do not want them around.

I thought the same thing about the throw pillows but the room steward, on our last Royal cruise in April, showed me they remove and replace the covers between guests. FWIW

We had a fantastic day with this company. Small groups personal service.

http://www.shorexcursions.co.uk/loch_ness_5.htm

Can anyone who recently flew into LHR tell me how long it took you to go through Customs and Immigration?

We are coming in at 11am on a Thursday in August. Need to figure when to ask for a car pickup.

Thanks!

I'm not sure that hand-scanning an aluminum chair would be very practical :evilsmile:

Depends. Our beach chairs have soft coolers and pockets in the back. Who knows what could be hidden in there.....

I think security would treat them like a walker or wheelchair. They can be hand scanned if necessary.

well, if you could hear their TV playing music - maybe they could hear your TV playing a movie and felt the need to talk louder?:confused:

Actually we were super careful to be really quiet. Figured if we could hear them they could hear us. They were usually in their cabin already playing the music/TV when we came in and we kept the TV volume low.