bartelbee

Does anyone know if there are any restaurants you can't book with a TA gift? We're on Harmony and there are many choices, including Izumi Hibachi.

Thanks so much for the heads up--we were able to save a hundred dollars by cancelling and rebooking our deluxe package.

We're doing the 1 day Crown, Seattle to Vancouver, then the 3 day Ruby, Seattle to L.A.

So far, we received an upsell offer for a balcony to full suite for $200-229pp, and then another offer to a mini for $29pp on the 1 day Crown. Today we were offered a balcony to mini for $69pp on the 3 day Ruby. Been there, done that with the mini and as much as we'd love to try the "suite life" on Princess (we're fairly new to the line,) we currently have corner afts on both sailings and we want to try those, too. Now if they offered an upgrade . . .

We're one of those leaving today (I hope.) Luckily, we're local, so we don't have to wait in the parking lot or some hotel (been there, done that, didn't enjoy it all.) So far, we've heard nothing more from Princess, so I imagine it will be a very late departure. And yes, I'd rather wait than experience the rough seas, so I guess we'll just have to find some other fun way to start our vacation.

In case it helps . . .

We were just offered an upsell on the Crown this morning for the 2/1 sailing--from a balcony to min for 79 and to a suite for 209.

Thanks for this thread--we'd never have known about Stan Grainger otherwise. What a great tour, and what a wonderful tour guide. From the very first email, he made everything so easy and pleasant. Not sure how he managed it (the morning traffic in town was awful) but he got us to every site well before the other tours, and even though we had separate groups in the van, he made sure each person was enjoying themselves and seeing what they came to Grenada to see. Well worth every penny.

As an "added" attraction, Sunday will be the Super Bowl and Princess does a pretty good job with it. We had so much fun last year, we decided to do "football-at-sea" on the Crown again this year.

Though we mainly sail Royal Caribbean, we really enjoyed our 3 Princess cruises, 2 of them on the Crown. Loved being able to grab a quick bite at the Trident Grill or the pizza counter right there on the pool deck, rather than fight our way through the Horizon Court. The drink package is a great convenience also, especially when traveling with others, since there's no worry or arguing over who's going to pick up the tab. If you get the chance, try the tiramisu martini at Adagios--so different and delicious. I also liked having wine and tapas at the wine bar before dinner. We had anytime dining so we'd take our pager and wait there, leisurely sipping our wine until they called us.

Just got off the Adventure 11/28 sailing and they offered the C&A discount for the ultimate drink package only, though you could still buy it mid-week as long as there were 4 days remaining. They also offered the punch card for $75. Both offers were on flyers in the cabin the first day.

We just got off our first Princess sailing (a b2b in a mini suite. We agree with DanaPointBob that the Golden needs work, but after over 40 cruises on other lines, we also agree that a cruise is what you make of it and we wouldn't hesitate to sail her again.

Our primary issue was that the exit nearest our cabin (our access door to the elevators) was blocked off for two days of the first leg and another for the second, meaning we had to walk all the way to the next exit, and then back again to access anything in the aft part of the ship. Not a tragedy; just a frustration. Another frustration was the closing of the pool deck bathrooms for the second leg. I know they need to maintain them but I missed 20 minutes of the movie, trekking down to the next restroom, and then waiting and waiting because one of its two stalls was also out of order. We never did get to swim; apparently they're also having trouble with the heating system for the pools and they were all very cold. All minor conveniences which in no way ruined our experience, but add them to other reported issues, and I do think Golden could definitely benefit from a refurb.

To the OP, I don't know which deck your mini is on but we found the Dolphin open balcony to be rather pleasant. Yes, it's bit weird at first, knowing people can look down at you, but the open air feel was well worth it to us, especially at sunset, and at night, watching the stars.

Hopefully, the Golden will have resolved all her issues by 12/3, but even if not, I feel confident that you will still have a great cruise. I just wish we could be sailing with you.

From what I understand, the Doubletree has just opened under the Hilton brand--used to be the Best Western Hotel Pierre. It's in the Condado/Miramar area.