berlingo

Ok, such "profane" fact as staircases do not really bother me and limit my cruise/ship experience... ;)

 

 

Sorry but when one descends to sarcasm to belittle a fellow forum members good intentioned response, it is always a good idea to make sure one uses the correct "word".

 

Perhaps one was trying for "profound"?

Hmm. Then the mini suite is not going to give me a set up similar to that of Disney because i am looking for unrestrictec access to the balcony when the kids are sleeping. Maybe i should rephrase it. Think of a sofa as a straight horizontal line. I am looking to sleep the kid on tbe horizontal line because the sofa is simply made up as a bed at night (with an actual comfortable mattress!). I want to avoid the child creating a "T" as he sleeps because the bed is pulled out of the sofa at night (a traditional.sofa bed). When pulled out it blocks access. I think a tundle wouild.block access too, although maybe not as badly because the child is still.sleepong horizontal to the couch (creating an "11" if you wiill).

We did once have the configuration you require in a mini suite on the Grand Princess and we also preferred this arrangement. However this appears to have been an exception and all our other mini suites have had the double sofa bed.

Access to the balcony is definitely awkward and involves squeezing past the foot of the sofa bed but we do not find it too big a problem. Also the beds are only in this position for a few waking hours each day. All but one of the double sofa beds have been very comfortable and our two daughters usually alternate between the Pullman and the sofa each night.

Overall we have been very pleased with our mini suites and Princess are our favourite cruise line.

Happy sailingx

Another vote here for a mini suite.

We always try to book when there is a promotion on the 3rd and 4th passengers price and have always managed to get a good deal. We like the extra space over a standard balcony and having a bath.

Access to the balcony is restricted but not impossible when the beds are down.

You can bring on as many soft drinks and bottles of water as you like. I understand that you can put a luggage label on a pallet of such drinks, leave with the porter at Southampton with the rest of your luggage and it will arrive at your cabin. Alternatively you can do as we do and load your drinks into your hand luggage and carry it aboard. We use a small wheelie case. You are also allowed to take a bottle of wine each. This can be a nice cabin treat.

We love Princess and cruised a number of times from Southampton. It is a bit daunting planning your first cruise but once on board everything will fall into place. Cruises are the easiest holidays ever and there is nothing like your first cruise. Happy sailingx.

Thank you all.

I had not thought about him needing a card to check in with on embarkation. We are travelling to Southampton separately.

Any suggestions please?

Our 18 year old nephew is joining us for his first cruise this summer. He will be in his own cabin across the way from us and is very excited. We are looking forward to him joining our family for the trip and introducing him to the joys of cruising. He is working as an apprentice and will be funding his own expenses on board.

Now this is my query. He does not have a credit card ( and I do not like the idea of him having one at his age.) Therefore I was planning to add him to our account and he paying us for his expenses at the end. This is what we do with our daughters who each have a print out in their name. However my nephew will be in his own cabin and has a different surname.

Does this plan sound feasible to you seasoned travellers? Are there any pitfalls we should be aware of? Could I set this up when we input our details online? Or should we do something else completely?

Many thanks Juliax

Another vote for a mini suite on the Grand Class of Princess ships eg Grand, Golden, Crown, Carribean , Emerald etc. We have no experience of the Royal or Regal Princess so cannot comment on these.

We always travel with our two daughters in a mini suite, this year they will be 22 and 18 years old. There is plenty of space including lots of storage for all the clothes etc. For us it works really well. However we are from the UK so may be more used to living in smaller homes and only having one bathroom between us?

I think it is good to remember if you are 18 to 20 something you are all looking to make friends and want to meet other youngsters. If there is not a Meet Up scheduled approach the Cruise Director who in my daughters experience is always willing to help you set one up. You then have a great excuse to introduce yourself to others and invite them along.

My daughters are never short of things to do. Chilling, hanging out with new friends and making arrangements for the forthcoming evening seems to take up an awful lot of time! Late nights ending up in the International Cafe chatting seems to be the norm. Breakfast is not something they see much of.

This year we are gaining another 18 year old, our nephew, and I am sure he will love it too. Happy cruisingx

As far as Club Fusion is concerned we have stayed in most of the starboard minis on Emerald and have not had noise problems from there or anywhere else. They are great cabins and our favourites. Not tried the port side ones so cannot comment.

My daughters have cruised when there have been hundreds of children on board and when there have only been a handful. Regardless they have always had a wonderful time.

Princess seems to attract a nice group of people. In all our cruises we have only experienced and observed respectful behaviour from our fellow passengers.

Our daughters have enjoyed doing grown up things with us such as dressing up, dining together, taking galley tours, attending shows but have also loved the more independent activities at the kids clubs. We have never cruised on an all singing ship but we really have not felt we have missed anything.

The Princess staff have always been excellent with us and our children. As far as cabins go we always opt for a mini suite. We find the extra space well worth the money especially when tired little ones need a nap and the bath is very useful for a little quiet time.

Anyway hope you all have a fantastic cruise whatever you choose. Just a word of warning not to make the holiday too enjoyable. Ours are 22 and 18 this year, they will be holidaying on their own but also insist on a family cruise with the parents!

Last summer we took our first cruise since I was diagnosed with high grade ovarian cancer in March 2014.

This cruise was a big deal for my husband, children and I. We had been through a scary, awful 18 months and I was still in the middle of chemotherapy. Major surgeries and many chemo sessions have left me physically and emotionally weak. However I was determined to minimise the impact of my illness on my families enjoyment of this well deserved holiday.

Reluctantly I agreed that I would need to use a wheelchair on board. The distances involved would be too much otherwise and I would want to save my energy for other activities which I could enjoy with my family.

It was the right decision. We had the most wonderful holiday together and things almost felt normal for a while.

However I was aware that people seeing me wheel up to the theatre, restaurant etc and then walk to my seat may wonder what was going on. Illness and disability is sometimes more complicated than we think.

Could Lisa's comment be in reference to live in-house musicians and performers

I wonder?

My understanding is that Princess are one of the few lines which still employ their own band of musicians and performers. Many others use only pre-recorded backing tracks etc.

On our 14 days on the Carribean in August we noticed a definite decline in the number of in house production shows. The issue was not how many shows a night but the number of nights when a production show occurred. It did occur to me that it was difficult to see how an in house production team was viable when they appeared in so few shows.

In addition we noticed that much of the entertainment followed a rigid pre- planned format even when there were live performers. This produced a unsatisfactory audience experience, where performers were unresponsive to their audience. It was a bit weird really being live but not feeling live due to the lack of interaction with the audience.

You have to pay fines to take your children out of school to go on vacation?

I have learned something new today. If you don't mind me asking, what are the fines?

 

Back in the day when I took my children, the schools would have their homework all ready for them to take and work on. No problem at all.

In England this has been happening for a few years now.

The government have removed a Head Teachers ability to authorise up to 10 days absence for family holidays in term time.

Therefore all such absences are held to be "unauthorised " and the parents fined approximately £60 per day per child under the provisions of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act. Prosecution is also possible with parents being jailed.

It is all relative really.

We live in England and this week booked 14 nights with Princess around the Med next August. The mini suite for the four of us is £4000 in total which is an excellent deal for us. We are sailing from Southampton so no flights are needed. Also it falls within the school summer holidays so no fines to be paid!

However for us to sail around the Carribean it would be at least twice the cost and would involve paying school fines.

So for us the question is why is it so expensive to not cruise around the Med?

Hi are you sure the new cabin is R605 because according to the deck plans this is a balcony cabin?

Brilliant sale for us!

We have saved over £3000 with this promotion because we are booking for four in one cabin. The 3rd and 4th passenger prices are just £140 each. This is the promotion we hope for every year.

Each promotion works for different people so it is a matter of waiting for the right one for you. Once this sale is over the 3rd and 4th price we jump back up and the couple price will fall.

Thank you Princess!

We too always cruise with the four of us in one cabin, originally in ocean views but now a days in a mini suite. Our daughters are now 21 and 18 years and sharing has worked well.

Yesterday we booked again for next summer on Emerald paying just £140 each for the girls on a 14 day Med cruise so it certainly makes financial sense. We have also sailed in four berth mini suites on the Grand, Crown and Carribean. All of these ships have a double sofa bed with a pull down bunk above it.

Have a lovely Christmas cruise OP and I would love to here how the four berth works on the Pacific.

Please do not let these discussions worry you about your upcoming cruise.

We have always chosen Anytime Dining on Princess and have never found it a big problem. We do a mixture of just turning up and making reservations. This summer on the Princess we were in a party of seven. Sometimes we dined together or on tables of four or two. Making a reservation for formal nights worked well as everyone does seem to want to eat at the same time. At other times we would expect to be given a pager and then go for a wander or a drink. Occasionally even when we were after a table for seven we would be seated straight away.

We love dining on Princess and it is always the highlight of our evening. Good food, good wine and excellent company. How could it be any better? Take the evening at a leisurely pace, relax and enjoy would be my advice.

We love the aft mini suites they are great cabins. The veiw is straight down to the sea and no obstructions. The extended balcony on E730 and E731 are extra nice but the regular balconies are also very good.

I agree that you will see different forms of attire when sailing from different ports.

Cruises departing British ports are in our experience much more formal in the evenings. Passengers are mainly British and most will have driven to the port so do not have to worry about the weight of their luggage. Also use "Brits" tend to enjoy dressing up.

On our last Princess cruise in August I saw no one in shorts in the evenings, anywhere. On formal nights it was back to back dinner suits and long dresses. Smart casual evenings were very smart and dressy. We have also noticed that the longer the cruise the dressier the passengers have been.

I too would go for the mini every time. The sleeping arrangements are so much better and the extra space everyone has makes for a much more relaxing holiday.

The tip I would give would be to look for a mini which sleeps four rather than three.

The reason is that these cabins should have a sofa bed and a Pullman. The Pullmans mean that the cabin reminds much more usable in the mornings before the steward stores it away.

Plus the last sofa bed my daughters had on the Caribean Princess was literally wooden boards covered with a strip of foam an inch thick as a mattress. It took numerous calls to housekeeping and three extra mattresses before it was possible to sleep on it!

Apologies if you already know this but if you book identical balcony or mini suite cabins opposite each other then you could have quite a long walk to get to one another. The corridors for port and starboard cabins are quite separate. They only link together at the three staircases which are placed at the front, middle and aft of the ship.

THANK YOU! I should have been more specific, we are looking at getting the "Soda and more" with the juices, but NO booze. So we get the tumbler no matter when it's purchased? I kind of want to have as much set up and paid for as possible to minimize the bill on board lol

We pre-paid for our package this August. Our tumblers were waiting for us in our cabin along with our coffee cards.

Happy sailing!:)

Having spent the last ten years looking for the best 3rd and4th passenger deals I am none the wiser as to how the pricing is calculated.

My aim is always to pay 99$ each for our daughters and often succeed. However I can never stop a pattern and it still seems quite random.

Princess do though consistently offer our family the best deals.

We were on Carribean Princess for two weeks last month and never noticed any vibration. Our cabin was an aft mini suite on Emerald. It was briefly noisy when docking but that is always the case.