jayred1

First time on Princess and we have our Medallions ... curious if those picking up theirs at check-in get their names engraved on them?  No concerns either way, just curious.

Sailing on Dec 3 ... I may load the new one on Friday.  If I have problems, I'll just uninstall it and continue using the old app since it sounds like they are two separate apps.  

We're on her for our first Princess cruise in four days ... thanks everyone for the reviews!

40 minutes ago, dream54ing said:

 

Doubt there was a beta version testing of the app because most app like this require actual cruisers to test, essentially we will be beta testers from time of release till February when it shut down the old app. 

 

 

 

They have thousands of cruisers (their employees) on every cruise who could have been testing the new app the last couple of months.  Many companies beta test by setting up various scenarios and have a small number of employees attempt changes - in this case, make dinner/excursion reservations/changes on a secondary database.  This method also controls the dissemination of information about the app prior to release. Some of the ships' staff has likely been their beta testers.

4 minutes ago, Tough said:

I ordered my medallion and it was shipped but apparently the usps lost the package. Can I get a new one at the port?

Yes, you'll be directed to the Blue line (rather than the Green line) and it will only be a short delay to assign a new one.

I booked a room there for the night before our cruise in early Dec.  Haven't ever been there, so I can't help you with neighborhood.  I booked it because a good brewery (3 Sons Brewery) is next door with good brews and food.  We're beer fans so this will be a chance to have some quality ones prior to the standard ho-hum fare available on the ship.  Also, a short ride from the airport and to the ship.

@Australia08 How can you go to Trillium and only have one???  Great beer there!  Much better than anything on the ship.

2 hours ago, 9tee2Sea said:

I purchased an RFID holder for my Meddallion ( it's actually made for your car Key Fob).  I tested it out the other day with my Key Fob, and it really works.  I could not open the car door until I took the Key Fob out of RFID pouch.  I stilll to old school for this ne technology, so when onboard, I will go to guest services and ask for a room key card.  It will be like the old days, present the room card yo the bartender, order my drink.

If you are not planning on using your Medallion and just wanting to keep it from connecting, you don't need an expensive RFID holder.  Wrapping it in aluminum foil will do the same thing - it just provides a metallic shield to block RF signals (electrical engineer who worked with RF circuitry/systems).

According to Google Maps, it is 1.2 miles (23 minute walk) to Water Taxi Stop #3 via 15th St.

A similar 1.2 mile (24 minute walk) to Water Taxi Stop #4 via 17th St.

11 hours ago, TTEllis said:

Btw that invoice is "funny" furreal. It's got too much stuff crossed out and too much other stuff added on in small numbers. Looks scammy too me.  

Keep it simple get one price from whichever travel sight you happen to use. Last thing you need is some BS surprise when you walk into your hotel on your vacation. All you want is your key card and a vodka martini especially after flying all morning and half the afternoon. Hotwire homey, no worries. 

Btw Trivago is such a scam, that travel site Rocks if your a 1st grader, past that, right it's for 1st graders only!!

 

Did some digging into Agoda and it is a legit online travel agency.  It has been around for 18 years and is one of the largest services for Asian travel.  Although less known in North America & Europe, they are owned by Booking Holdings (a NASDAQ 100 company, also owner of Priceline and Booking.com).  Frommer rates them the #4 best hotel booking service - better than Expedia, Priceline, TripAdvisor and Hotels.com (Hotwire didn't even make their Top 10).  https://www.frommers.com/slideshows/819303-best-and-worst-hotel-booking-sites-for-2023

Here's another link that describes Agoda ...

https://luxuryunderbudget.com/is-agoda-legit

21 hours ago, brunello22 said:

I am traveling back to FL that week / weekend as well.  I got the Riverside Hotel for 3 nights on Hotwire for $129/night + tax.  Look up 3.5* in Downtown/Las Olas area.  Hotwire shows 3 possible hotels you may get, but you can pretty much figure out which hotel it is by the picture shown on Hotwire, and then confirming that on the hotel's website itself (prior to booking on Hotwire; booking through Riverside directly was something like $190/night + tax).  The caveat is you pay upfront to get that rate, but trip insurance is usually recommended in the event you need to cancel.

I looked at the Hotwire site for our one night stay post-cruise downtown and the picture is the same that is used by other Riverside listings at a very good price.  However, I decided against booking since you can't select which room (we prefer a King instead of a Double (Riverside's cheapest room).

8 hours ago, trbarton said:

I’ll see if I can contact the web site as it’s not the hotels. I’ll post whatever I find out. 
 

Tom😀

I'm also curious what you find regarding the Agoda deal.  They had the Riverside listed at a price that was about $45 less/night than the other sites.  I've never used Agoda, but it appears legit (sister company of Bookings,com) and there was no destination fee for that hotel.  Since it doesn't charge the CC and has free cancellation until 48 hrs prior to reservation date, I booked it.

1 hour ago, mypc said:

Hello! Did you end up staying in A742 on Grand Princess? Any feedback - good, bad, or indifferent? Many thanks in advance!

Doubt CaptKlutz will reply ... that cruise was 9 years ago and their last post was over 6 years ago.

5 hours ago, lhsail said:

Interesting. So, we can purchase on board with OBC and if we purchase the Princess Protection we don’t the 8% on the package cost?

That's assuming between now and sail date,

a) they don't discontinue the practice of first day sales, or

b) they don't increase the cost of the package.

My Princess rep told me about a week ago to keep an eye open for the upcoming July 4th sale.  We're on the CB for the Dec 3 date.  She didn't know how much the sale would be or if it would just include additional OBC.  Also wasn't sure when the sale would begin.  Stay tuned?

The fact that this thread has gone on for 12 pages is both hilarious and asinine.

How much does the water taxi cost? Are there lots of them waiting at the pier? Do they take you to town?

The water taxi runs about every 10 minutes - $7 per person; however, our cruise ship (Jewel OTS) provided coupons for $1 off/person. Or you can take a taxi from the pier for $3/person.

Yes, the water taxi takes you right to the beach - walk across the beach and you're right on Front Steet in the middle of Phillipsburg.

We toured the island via Twin Island Excursions and spent a couple hours at Friar's Bay. The beach was very nice, not many people and Kali's Beach Bar was open for food/drink (chairs/recliners/umbrellas available). Our kids (late 20s) had fun walking the nearby trails and viewing the iguanas. I enjoyed talking with Kali about the beach/bar and the hurricane. Our tour guide, Rick, did a great job showing us the entire island and our time at Friar's was an enjoyable/relaxing portion of the tour.

I did the same thing ! I specified my payment amount and then entered in my credit card information. I got a error so I re-entered the credit card info not realizing the payment amount field defaulted back to the whole cruise balance. Like over 1000k - I immediately called and they fixed it but I had to wait I think 5 business days and ofcourse it was over a weekend.

A million dollar cruise? Where did you go and did you buy everyone drinks??

There have been a number of posts about this subject in the St. Maarten board. You might find your answer there.

Thanks for this link...very helpful. If you, or anyone has taxi'd from airport to cruise port recently, can you comment on availability of large, van-type taxis? We are arriving this Saturday (6 of us) and am wondering if we will be able to get a taxi that can handle the 6 of us plus luggage (1 piece per person approx.) Assuming there are large taxis, would you assume the rate to be the same ($19 each way?)

 

Thanks!

Tim

Can't provide any recent feedback (it's been a few years), but they we took a large van for 7 plus luggage on our last trip without problem. You'll also note at the bottom of the previous linked website it states that the rates are for 'up to 5 people' and additional people are an additional $2/person - so I would expect that vans are available for larger groups.

Here's a link to taxi info that is very handy. Also, you'll see that the cost is $10 for Old San Juan > Pan American Pier (+ $1/bag). https://sanjuanpuertorico.com/taxis/

Oh this is awesome. That's not too bad I guess. I assume this is per taxi and not per person right?

Yes ... if I remember correctly it is for up to 5 people. Additional people are something like $2-3/person.

Using hotels.com "CasaBlanca Hotel has no availability for your travel dates on Hotels.com :(

Keep looking at the same places. People are booking multiple rooms and/or changing hotels all the time. When there is no charge to cancel, people are booking at different sites as insurance in case the hotel gets booked up by FEMA recovery workers. What is closed today could be open tomorrow.

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The beaches are coming back, slowly. Went to Rhythms last night for dinner and there is more sand washing ashore all the time, still lots of exposed rocks though unfortunately. Basically, all of the west end beaches are the same right now, less sand than before and rockier but certainly usable. You just need to wear sandals or water shoes to really enjoy them.

Hi Drake - Thanks for the beach update. We're going to stop in St. Croix in early January on the RC Jewel (first time visit). We're searching for recommendations of things to do (post-Maria). We're touring with our kids - us in our 50s and kids in their late 20s. Any suggestions? Thanks!

For everyone curious about their itinerary changes, the RC homepage has an itinerary update link at the very top of the homepage (it's now titled 'Royal Returns to St. Thomas, San Juan and St. Maarten'). It lists all changes for every ship through April.