knbcruisers

BruinSteve,   Is it feasible to stay in Long Beach and hit the highlights of LA? We will have a rental Car and the prices for VRBO & AIRBNB are reasonable compared to Santa Monica?   Want to see USC & UCLA campuses, The Getty, maybe some shopping/lunch Rodeo drive?  Hollywood highlights also. We’ll have 2.5 days

I have a questioning  another variation of this cancellation issue.  We are booked on the 3/22 Grand Princess.  I give us a 50/50 shot now of this cruise being cancelled.  If I wanted to keep my air booking (booked through ez air) can I?  We are considering still flying in to CA and renting a car and doing a self guided tour.   The flights were very reasonably priced and are non stop.  

This is discouraging....we board the Grand 3/22 with 3 days pre cruise in San Francisco.

Thanks to all for their comments and observations..we are boarding 3/22 for the 7 day California Coastal.  I booked this knowing the Grand was an older ship, but the itinerary for us is a bucket list trip.  I waited almost 5 years for this itinerary to line up with DH’s March school break.....booked the day it opened🙂.    So long as the service and food are good, I can live with some rust etc.  The pricing for this was very attractive especially since we have to fly, and allowed us to add 3 nights in SF prior to the cruise.   I have differing opinions on what I expect from the ship vs the trip.  If the itinerary is the focus then as long as the ship is comfortable and there is decent service/food/and some evening music we are satisfied.  But if it’s the Caribbean that we’ve done 5 times, then the ship needs to be a little more “WOW”.  So we have the Enchanted booked for next March Eastern Caribbean, hoping to get some friends to try it out and get hooked on cruising.            Everyone has different priorities, and each cruise can be so different.  Our friends did the 14 day Christmas cruise on the Caribbean Princess and were very disappointed in the food and service....after having a great time on the same ship with us in March.  They found themselves telling first time Princess cruisers that the experience was not the norm.  
 

It a mixed result, depends on location...the site by Renmar is the most accurate. I can say that the Caribe deck most aft are half covered, except for the very last on each side.  We were in c722 it was very nice.  Below us on Dolphin deck had no cover

Medallions can be fixed quickly, I was issued the wrong color and had a new one in 5 minutes. Just be sure they correct all the data on your account.

I’d sign up for Groupon.  It was back in 2015,  but I got a few good discounts on there for  Tours, including a flight tour to Denali, and for transfer from Whittier to Anchorage airport.  These discounts were available beginning in Late December-early January for the coming season.

Visitflorida.com is the official state tourism website.....there should be links to all the regions in the state.

RE: bathroom sharing.......many of the low lead-in fares on sites like Hotels.com are for the smaller, older  hotels..  Once you read the details, those prices are for rooms with a shared bathroom down the hall.  

The Ruby and Emerald ( and Crown)are virtually identical ships so that shouldn’t be a factor. DH and I loved Glacier Bay but I can’t comment on the other itinerary options.  Also the Alaska board will have very good info on all the ports and the specific differences. Alaska for many people is a once in a lifetime trip so pick the itinerary that will make you happy.  

I’d recommend the salt scrub which includes a massage at the end. Leaves your skin feeling great.

I see in your post your comments about “do not disturb”.  You should be able to set it so that calls from your Mom are received.  Look in the settings for “allow calls from favorites”. You may have to modify your favorites lists to only who you’d want a call from.  Also enable “repeated calls” then if she call you twice within 3 minutes that call would go through, so perhaps tell her to call back if you don’t pick up.   Maybe this will help... I have loved the blog for years and really enjoying the menu photos.

Thanks for all you do for us at home traveling vicariously with you!

6 hours ago, voljeep said:

yep, Princess thru out the bait ( mini ) and then set the hook for future cruises on Princess ...MKTing 101...

Well it worked....we can only cruise in a balcony or above, DH won’t consider ocean view.   We did one NCL cruise and DH said “ never again go back to Princess”.  We’ve got our friends hooked on Princess.  They booked an inside for their 1st Princess Cruise with us and got upgraded to ocean view.   They’ve now done 4 cruises with 2 more booked😄

2 hours ago, palolake said:

In our situation at least, EZair is the same price as Basic Economy with the airlines but it's Economy class with EZair. 

This is important to know.  The airline websites and the big online travel sites will show you the Basic Economy price which is not great since you can’t pick seats, or purchase the upgraded economy plus seats.  EZAir is booking you in standard coach seats.  

2 hours ago, mamkmm2 said:

 

I don't see how.  The only line that I've ever had a balcony on was Princess.  It could have been that the TA booked a "deluxe" but that isn't what we paid for.  Just a plain balcony.  We haven't done a balcony for a few years but we are doing one on our Baltic Cruise this coming summer. 

I would guess that the TA was able to book you a mini suite at a balcony price. This happens occasionally, the lowest category minisuite is the same price as a higher category balcony.   It did for us years ago on our 1st cruise, we were able to upgrade to the mini suite at the same price. Talk about being spoiled!

6 minutes ago, LeeW said:

 

People get really ticked when the soda spills on their luggage.  Bags are stacked about 7' high in bins to take on the ship.  In the past people would tape a luggage tag on cases of water or soda but neither the shore stevedores or the crew like to handle the weight or the additional "luggage."  Takes longer to get everyone's luggage delivered, as well.  So Princess (and other lines) made a rule that says bring in your carry-on.

Can you please advise if this is new regulation?    As recently as March we put 12 packs of water and iced tea with our luggage.  I wrap them well with duct tape, and tape the tag on top. No issues having them delivered to the cabin.

Pooh is correct...book as soon as the scheduling opens and then check frequently. I had 3 price reductions of about $120.....and then I saw  Monday. that the original outbound flight was cancelled. I was able to rebook another flight the same day and keep the original return. And actually saved another $40

Enterprise will also charge more for the daily rate when there is a different drop off location.  This happened over this weekend. The rate to pick up and drop off at the airport in Hartford was $20 less than the rate I was quoted to drop off at Logan in Boston, so no line item fee, but they got me on the rate  as those were our travel plans.   So it pays to check various options if you can. 

Is this the spa pool....or the aft adult only pool?  If it’s the aft pool, I might like it.... I thought the aft pool on the CB was too windy when we were on board back in March.  We are tentatively booked for the Med on the Enchanted June 2021.  

We used Iguana Mama on our Princess Cruise this past March. I was very pleased, the guides were very attentive and stopped often to tell us about their community and what we were seeing.   We had a small group of 8....there were other tours I saw with much larger groups.  We always prefer smaller groups if possible.  Lunch was good and the beach time was nice.  I can’t answer the driver license question, however I had a good experience emailing Iguana Mama with questions.  DH and I shared one ATV which was $165 total.  I was fine with that as I wouldn’t have wanted to drive by myself the whole time.  A few things to know:   iguana Mama picks  you up outside the main gate, which is a long walk. It’s possible to take a quick taxi ride from the shopping area out through the gate and to their pick up point.  Otherwise allow 20 minutes at least from ship to pick up point.     Be sure to bring goggles and bandanas as the ride is very dusty.  

Happy to answer other questions if you have them.    

2 hours ago, Colo Cruiser said:

No........Location Location Location!   Post #2

Yes it’s the mid ship location primarily......the most forward and aft section cabins on Caribe are priced as a regular BD balcony(and are a good value)

This is considered a premium cabin because it is a combination of midship location and has the extra large balcony!!!!  9x9 vs standard 9x5 for the grand class ships. This is a great cabin!!! Premium balcony cabins on this ship also include the aft view cabins.     Most Caribe deck balconies on the grand  class ships have this extra large balcony. Does not apply to Royal/Regal and the other newer builds.

Key organizing tips for me are:  several magnetic hooks for hanging  hats and my small bag , and 2 magnetic clips one for the daily patter and one for important items like excursion tickets etc; I make use of the shelf below the sink by packing toiletries in clear plastic bags and keeping them there,  they are then off the counter but easy to spot what you need.  Only the primary use daily use items  go on the corner shelves.  I have found that the zippered  bag that some sheets and pillow cases come in to be ideal for this purpose, but a ziplock will do.  One drawer in the desk for hair and make up items, and one for chargers etc.  

I’ve gotten better at the packing of clothes as I try to pack 5 days worth of day and night clothes and then use the on board laundry or the elite perk. It’s worked the last 2 trips of 10 days and 7 days. We took 2 regular size suitcases plus back pack with meds, electronics, camera and 1st day stuff like hats, sunscreen, and swimsuits.    BUT my problem comes with the extras: 12 packs of water, soda, case of wine, bag of snorkel stuff.  We drive to the port so it’s easy to overload !   

St Thomas has lots of shopping, cafes etc near the main port. Otherwise it’s easy to grab a cab and go to a nearby beach for a few hours.  It’s been a while but I remember lots of taxis available in St Marten also.  I would suggest you check out the specific port boards for more details.  Also many of the Caribbean Islands have websites run by their tourist board with lots of information including maps of the port ares, transportation information etc.  Try https://www.visitusvi.com/st-thomas or Trip Advisor.