algriff

21 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

I would be asking this on the Celebrity board, here:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/16-celebrity-cruises/

I thought I was on the Celebrity board..my bad, sorry

This will be our first Celebrity cruise so just have a quick question...Is there shampoo and conditioner in the bathroom or should we bring our own?

Thank You

On 3/2/2023 at 2:12 AM, caribill said:

 

First, thanks for your thorough report of your experiences on this cruise.

 

If you HOHO tour was not as advertised, I hope you reported that to the shore excursion desk and ask for at least a partial refund.

 

 

Picking a tour vendor at/near the pier is always hit-or-miss as far as getting the great experience you had.

 

Can you post the name of your guide so others can look for that person?

 

 

 

I would have asked the cabin steward to clean that glass or arrange for having it done.

 

 

 

Very few people have had any trouble with using the Medallion.

 

Many people have had a problem using the Medallion App on a smart phone.

 

The Medallion works very well for signing onto/off of the ship, charging items in shops and at bars, and for unlocking your cabin door. None of these involve using the app.

You are right..we did have some problems with the app on the smartphones, but all we did was reboot the phones and the everything would work just fine..we had to do that a couple of times.

On 3/2/2023 at 1:48 AM, donaldsc said:

I know that we are not supposed to criticize writing style but here goes.  The moderator is free to remove this post.  Your post is very hard to read and I suspect that some people who might get useful information from it would say "forget it".  

 

I would suggest shorter paragraphs and double spacing between paragraphs.  It would make your post much more readable.

 

DON

Don, sorry this doesn't meet your exquisite standards..I wrote it as I remembered things, so it is just a running commentary of the trip.  I didn't force you to read it, and you can keep your suggestions.

On 3/1/2023 at 11:02 PM, BamaVol said:

Did you get off on Grand Cayman and if so, what did you do?

We did get off at Grand Cayman. and took a city bus for I think 2.50 each and it took a nice ride around 1/2 of the island and when we got back to the port area we decided to take another bus to see the other half of the island and it cost a bit more and was not as quiet..the bus was full and the driver would just keep cramming people in there so not as much fun, but we did get to see pretty much all of Grand Cayman.

On 3/1/2023 at 11:03 PM, donswife said:

Thanks for the review. Were you on the Caribbean Princess?

Yes we were on the Caribbean Princess

We chose this cruise because 4 of the 6 people in our group had never seen the Panama Canal. The itinerary wasn't all that great but the canal was the highlight of the trip. The first stop was Falmouth, Jamaica. Nothing much to report here since we had all been to Jamaica before so got off walked around and back on again. Next stop was Cartagena, had never been here so booked a hop on hop off tour from the ship. Got on the bus at the pier, went a short way and then they told us that the people who were going to take a 90 minute walking tour would stay on the bus, the rest of us had to get off and get back on another bus to continue our tour. The tour has 14 stops and we were informed at each one that the next bus would be by in 30 to 35 minutes. So if you got off and did some things you may miss that bus and wait another 30 or 35 minutes for the next one. So since none of the stops were that interesting on one ever got off the bus and we just had a long ride. When we were nearing the port the bus stopped and we had to all get of and wait for another bus to go to the port and then we waited some more until another bus tour got there so their passengers could get on our bus back to the pier. The bus then took us back to a big parking lot (not near the pier) and dropped us all off and said there would be free shuttles back to the pier. So a lot of shuttles came and went but they were not for us and finally a few came by and they took us to the ship. So that was a wasted 40.00 tour and I would not recommend it to anyone...very disorganized.

The Panama Canal was the next day..we entered the locks at about 6:30 AM, so if you want to see that part, get up early and eat later. If you want to get up to the front of the ship for the best view you have to go outside on deck 7 (Promenade) and walk forward until you get to the stairs, go up the stairs to deck 8 and walk to the front of the ship...you cam do this from either side of the ship. You will have to be early since a few other people figured this out but there was plenty of room for those who were there. You will get a great view of all 3 locks, watch the gates slide back to let the ship enter the lock and then fill with water as you rise up. I think you rise 80 feet or so total in the 3 locks and then you go out into Gatun Lake and cruise around for awhile and the do it all again. If you want to watch from the back of the ship, go to deck 15, walk all the way thru the the buffet and out onto the deck where there are some tables and chairs, but you can get to the rail at the very rear of the ship and watch from there. You can take a tour from the ship which uses the lifeboats from the ship to shuttle you to shore and then go on the tour...we did not do that so cannot comment on that tour. Those people who do that get back on the ship after it has gone back thru the locks and is docked at Colon. You will not have time to get off in Colon if you did not take that tour even though they said you may have an hour or so to get off and back on when we got there...there just is not enough time to get off and back on again.

After another day at sea we got to Limon, Costa Rica and got off and found a small van that for 20.00 each took all 6 of us all over the place, thru all the city streets, out into the country side, even included a river tour to see monkees, sloths, alligators. He took us to the edge of a banana plantation and explained all how that was done, he spoke very good english and could answer any questions you had so it was a fun time. I think the entire tour was like 4 1/2 hours..you just have to find someone at the pier and negotiate a price. Don't sign up with the first group of guys waiting right when you get off the ship.

So the ship itself is showing its age..we had a balcony cabin on deck 10, and the walls of the balcony are paint spattered as well as the floor, they don't clean the glass under the railing very often so hard to see thru, so we cleaned it ourself by leaning over and washing it good. The room itself was very clean, not very big but OK. The International cafe is on deck 5 and they used to have free coffee but not any more, and of the regular coffee and specialty coffee has a charge but all the little sandwiches and dessert and stuff is still free, so still fun to there and sit around and chat.

We had made reservations for the Coral ding room at 5:20 every nite for the 6 of us so we went down there the first nite just before 5 when the ding room opens, found the man in charge and saw a nice table for 6 by the window and asked if we could have that table so we got it and then asked if we could have it every nite and was told that was not possible. So the problem is that at 5PM people start showing up that do not have reservations as well as those that do and they just start putting people at any table. We finally got him to agree that if we showed up at 5 every nite he would give us that same table, but do not be late since he would not hold it past that. So we ended up having to eat at 5 every nite but for the table by the window and the waitress we had (her name is Criselle) it was worth it. If yo can get her table (she usually has 3) you will enjoy her very much...good luck. And as a side note, eating that early is not all that bad because the show in the theater starts at 7:30 and if you are not there by 7 you may not find a seat. It was packed every nite and by 7:15 the was not a single seat left. So eating early may be a good option..we were usually done in time to go to the theater and get good seats for all 6 of us with no trouble..that was between 6:45 and 7 PM.

We tried to eat breakfast in the MDR on the first morning but it was so slow and everything came out cold, so we went to the buffet for breakfast after that. When to get off the elevators that are by the buffet (deck 15) if yo go left or right yu will see a sign for either Steamers Seafood or Planks Barbeque..Those are not open any more but you can go there and eat and it is usually less crowded that the buffet seating. And they also have another buffet in there towards the back end of the ship where you can get custom made omelets in the morning and just about anything else. Or you can go to the main buffet and get your food and then head back towards the aft end of the ship and find lots more seating there. Just remember if you go into the buffet on one side of the ship you cannot get around to the other side without going back out by the elevators or out the other end by the swimming pool.

For a very quiet place during the day to go sit and read or play cards, go up to deck 19 to Skywalkers nightclub. You can only take certain elevators that will go to deck 18 and then you walk up a long ramp to deck 19. Incredible views and lots of comfy places to sit.

At the forward end of the swimming pools on deck 15 is the Salty Dog Grille and Slice..great for hamburgers/hot Dogs, Pizza and other things.

I will say that the Ocean Medallion works very well (we had heard so many stories about how bad it was to use and all that). When we got to the port I had not taken our pictures but had filled out all the other info so the lady took our pictures, was gone for 2 minutes and handed or medallions to us. We connected all our group of 6 together and we could find each other no matter where we were on the ship. And when you walked up to your cabin the door automatically unlocked and you just went on in. The are big pictures of the ship by the elevators and you just press your medallion on the symbol and you can find the other sin your party or you can click on any floor and find out what is there and then you can hit "take me there" and it will give you a route to take to get to where you want to go. Actually it works quite well and is very easy to use.

I can't think of much more so hope you have a great cruise..if I can answer any more questions I will certainly try.

I thought I read somewhere that there is a "Steamers Seafood" or maybe called "Planks & Steamers" on the Caribbean Princess.  I think someone said you could eat breakfast and lunch there but dinner was a 12.00 charge.  I looked at all the deck plans and cannot find such a restaurant so is there one and if so where is it, and has anyone actually eaten breakfast or lunch there.  Always looking for little out of the way places.  Thanks

Tell me more about the chefs table..what is it, how many people can do it, is there a cost involved, etc.

Thanks for all the info on this cruise..we will be going on the Feb 10 Panama Canal cruise.  One other question...did they do surf & turf one night and if so is there an extra charge?

Thanks

Thank You..now maybe I can figure out our dining times

Should have said showtimes on Caribbean Princess cruise on Feb 10.

Can anyone tell me the showtimes for the Feb 10 Panama Canal cruise...Thanks

What benefits do you get when you own some carnival stock?? I assume they are the same for all the cruise lines that carnival owns?

We cancelled a cruise on Jan 18, 2022 and received a FCC equal to half our cruise fare but it states that we must book and sail by Jan 18 2023.  Is it possible to book a cruise in 2022, pay for it with the FCC and then cancel that cruise and book one in Feb 2023 or would we lose the FCC from the 2022 cruise.  We already had a cruise booked in Feb 2023 but it seems that we can't use the FCC to pay for that cruise since it is after Jan 18 2023.

If you cancel 30 days or more before your cruise you will get back on your credit card one half of the cruise cost plus all of the port fees.  The other half of the cruise cost plus the insurance (if you bought Princess insurance) will go back on your account as a FCC.  We cancelled a cruise on Jan 18 and the part that went back to our Credit card was there in 4 days..yesterday the FCC showed up in our account.  It states that the FCC must be booked by and sail by Jan 18, 2023.  I think if you already have another cruise booked after Jan 18, 2023 you can still use the FCC for that cruise???

27 minutes ago, Tedferg said:

How quickly did you get refund? We cancelled two cruises on Jan 10, one for us one for daughter, we got CC refund for ours but so far not daughter's and no FCC.

I only cancelled yesterday 2/18 so I don't have any refund yet.  The FCC may not show up for 30 to 60 days.  Supposedly the part that goes back on my credit card will show up in a matter of days.

43 minutes ago, JVilleGal said:

Ok my head is spinning! I booked a girls trip for Feb 26 2022. And purchased PVP (not Standard) which gives 100% back (in some form Or another).

We are more than 30 days off out, FCC expiring 12/31/2022 are likely worthless to us as my daughters both work. 

Goal is to get as much back on CC as possible and end up with FCC as far out as possible. So I have two paths to cancel CFAR thru Princess TI or ????

 

in reading the website it seems they are applying cancellation penalties as normal and if you cancel either way whatever the normal penalty is (50% for us today I think) you get that back as a FCC vs loosing it completely. Oh I’m confused after reading all your posts and reading the confusing website. Can someone clarify my options. 
AND I read the part about FCC are 12/31/2022 and also the FCC extends for 1yr from issue. BUT turn it says normal penalties apply right in the next sentence.

HELP!!

As long as you cancel 30 days or more before your cruise Princess will give you back one half the cruise cost back on your credit card and the other half plus insurance (if you bought their insurance) that total will be as an FCC.  And now the FCC is good for 1 year from date of issue.  I think that normal penalties apply if you are within the 30 day window.

43 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

 

https://www.princess.com/plan/cruise-with-confidence/cancellation-final-payment-policy/ .  Has your TA been able to use the PVP first for other clients?

We just cancelled our Feb 18th cruise yesterday which kept us outside the 30 day requirement and we got half of our cruise cost back on our card and the other half plus the insurance we had paid back as an FCC which Princess now says we will be able to use to pay for our cruise in Feb 2023.  Their new policy states that the FCC is good for one year from date of issue and I think that what Princess is saying is that the FCC will take 30 to 60 days to show up on your account so Feb 2023 will be within a year of "issue".  Hope all of this is correct..Princess has been wrong before.

50 minutes ago, Tedferg said:

It states 

• Applies to voyages departing through September 30, 2022.
• Applies to bookings made through March 2, 2022.

So, I would think Yes

how did you earn a FCC in Mar 22..It is only Jan 2022 right now...maybe I am more confused than I think.

1 hour ago, dog said:

One year from the date FCC is issued 

So is the FCC issued the day I ask for my cruise to be cancelled or the day that it appears on my account which could be up to 60 days after I cancel my existing cruise?  If I cancel my cruise on 1/18/2002 I assume I can use the FCC for a cruise the departs either on 1/7/2023 or 1/17/2023.  Is that correct?

So now I notice the the Princess website says "FCCs issued under the Book with Confidence policy will expire 1 year after they are issued."  It does not say I have to book and sail by that date.  So can I cancel a cruise on Jan 18, 2022 and use the FCC's to pay for a cruise in Feb 2023?? 

Has anyone even heard any rumors as to whether Princess may extend the Dec 31, 2022 deadline for using FCC's?  It would be nice if they moved it into 2023 since we always cruise in Feb or Mar so having it expire in Dec does us no good.

We are on the Feb 18 sailing on the Enchanted.  What happens if the ship gets to a port and we cannot go ashore because of Covid.  What does the ship do just stay there tied up for a day or what??

I got the above survey with only the 3 questions and no other chance to state other opinions..maybe they don't want to hear anything more

6 hours ago, MissP22 said:

We just received our survey this morning. It questioned your feelings about your shot status and how you would feel about cruising in the future if everyone had a booster shot.