yapmom

On 9/13/2022 at 12:15 PM, Loveh2ofl said:

There were no chairs of any kind when we were on the IP in May - as others have mentioned one side is quarantine deck so could only enter the area from the starboard (right) side.

Is Emerald deck always the COVID isolation area😳?

On 5/26/2019 at 2:31 PM, dillie said:

Hello Danish viking I was wondering if you could help me with a couple of questions?. My family & I are on Celebrity Silhouette stopping overnight in Copenhagen 4th and 5th June have booked Hop on hop off tour passes With Tivoli Gardens passes we can’t wait. But we have a couple questions if that’s ok. We have worked out the hop on hop off buses will have stopped by the time we’ve finished at Tivoli and thought we’d get a taxi back to the ship at Oceankaj. Do you recommend a taxi company? Should we prebook a taxi? Are there taxis near Tivoli we can get?. How much roughly for 4 adults?. Also we have a collapsible wheelchair that folds in the boot of a car. 

 

Thanks Dillie

Can you get on the hop on hop off buses from Oceankaj? Thanks!

Thank you everyone! We have booked with Alla tours as it provided us with the most sights for the money. After careful reading of both Trip Advisor and here, felt comfortable going with them and convinced hubby that it would be alright.

Thank you! This is very helpful. My hubby is not real comfortable about doing things on our own but I have convinced him we will be able to handle this fine. We are arriving on June 23rd and am having a little bit of trouble figuring it out from link provided but am hopeful I will before then. 

My hubby and I will celebrate our 30th anniversary while in Copenhagen on our cruise. I know there are lots of beautiful places to get a photo that day but was wondering if there would be any spots that would be great and close to the ship. I would like to get a more dressed up photo then go back to the ship and change into comfortable clothes for the day. We arrive at 5 am and leave at 6pm. But maybe too silly to bring clothes just for a picture as I am trying to pack light for exploring Germany after our cruise so might not but thought I would check out locations just in case. Thank you!

4 minutes ago, dogs4fun said:

Yes, we absolutely loved our tours with Alla and were very satisfied (we have visited Russia multiple times and have taken several tours with Alla).  Alla guarantees that you will NOT miss your ship - you can read it in written form on her website under the FAQ. FYI : Alla is rated #1 on TripAdvisor and is highly regarded on these forums as well - her reputation would be destroyed is just once she missed getting her clients back to the ship in time for sailing. This is true for all of the top tier companies - if you check-out the top companies listed on TripAdvisor you will see that virtually none of them have ever missed getting back to the ship in time for departure.

Thank you. I was just coming back here to amend my post as I found the FAQ page but had read the reviews about that company. I appreciate your help! Really looking forward to this trip and love hearing from people who have been.

Thank you again!

Hi everyone! My DH is not very adventurous and would prefer to use a tour from the ship. I am concerned that we will not get as good of an experience as we would in a private tour. BUT this is OUR 30th anniversary trip and want him to be comfortable also. Has anyone been on one of these please and could share their experience? He is mostly thinking about the fact that princess will not leave without their tours.Thank you very much!

29 minutes ago, mskaufman said:

In St. Petersburg we used SPB and friends used the ship tour.  Both were two day tours. The ship tour was about 15% more expensive.  Our tour included a subway ride, canal boat ride and the hydrofoil to Peterhof.  Otherwise the tours covered the same ground.  Our friends had no complaints about the size of the group or the service provided.

Thank you very much for the information! I appreciate it.

8 hours ago, kitkat343 said:

We traveled with a 3 year old and always felt completely safe and comfortable with our private tour.  We were on a private tour for just our family and skipped the very long lines outside all the museums that were just for group tours to prevent bottlenecks from forming inside.  Maybe he would also feel more comfortable on a private tour for just your family?  That way he can control the itinerary and go back as early as he needs to feel safe.  It’s more expensive than a group private tour, but I’m not sure if it’s more expensive than a princess tour. 

 

The only downside to a private tour tour is that russian rules grant cruise lines the right to give their tours priority disembarkation (you can check here or on princess forum to see if they’re really doing that).  And customs lines can be long in St. Petersburg.    But you will lose a ton of time with a larger princess group.  And you can start later on day 1 and earlier on day 2 with a private tour to avoid lines.  

Yes, there will be a 90 minute delay for tours other than princess there. Thank you for the information.

9 hours ago, GradUT said:

I have not been on the Princess ship’s excursion in St.Petersburg, but I saw those groups when we were there and they were LARGE—about 2 1/2 times larger than any of the private excursions.  I appreciate your wanting to make your husband comfortable, but why should you have to be relegated to a sub-par experience because of his “preference”?   Unless he has a well-founded reason for choosing a LARGE ship’s excursion over a small private excursion, then book the private excursion and let him deal with it.  There are hundreds of threads on this forum about the reliability and excellence of the tours offered by companies such as Alla, SPB, and TJ Travel.  If he reads those threads, he should be convinced that a small excursion with a private company is the best way to tour St. Petersburg. 

Thank you for the info. He does not come on this forum. I pass on information to him and will do so. Thank you for your help.

6 minutes ago, dogs4fun said:

Saint Petersburg is one of the few ports where the ship tours are also very good (although the groups are larger and prices higher than independent tour companies). Most of the members on this forum book with the independent tour operators (we have booked with Alla Tours on several visits) so I would recommend that you post your query on the Princess boards to garner more replies and accurate information about the Princess excursions.

Thank you! I will do that. Alla Tours is who I have been looking at. Were you comfortable with and satisfied with them in St Petersburg? Do they guarantee that you won't miss your ship? That is one of his big concerns. Thank you!

Hi everyone! My DH is not very adventurous and would prefer to use a tour from the ship. I am concerned that we will not get as good of an experience as we would in a private tour. BUT this is OUR 30th anniversary trip and want him to be comfortable also. Has anyone been on one of these please and could share their experience? Thank you very much!

Just got back from this cruise and we had wonderful weather. Mostly smooth except just before the Panama Canal and the two days after. And a little windy for those two days also. I have motion sickness but no problem that my sea bands didn't handle. Our cabin was midship but ate in the buffet at the front of the ship and attended events in the princess theater.

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Thank you everyone!

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Hi! Quick question that I should thought of sooner as we board in a few hours. I would feel better giving my luggage directly to Princess or at least being with it till it gets to Princess hands. I'm have read about porters not being Princess employees and was wondering how hard it would be to accomplish my goal? Thank you so much!

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The sanctuary is fantastic for the canal. They served us breakfast mimosas and lox and bagels that was fantastic and lots of cold wash cloths and very comfortable chaise lounges with a covered area to block out direct sun. They had assorted pastries and quiches and cold drinks were delivered all day long .A great lunch was served in the afternoon. Later in the day they had sweets and smoothies. They also have the ship photographer come and take your picture with the locks in the background. They area also has a private bathroom for guest which is a nice convenience.

Sounds lovely[emoji4] What was the cost and when/how can we reserve it? That's my hubby's 65th birthday and I want to make it as special as possible. Thank you!

Another couple of general questions: We have an inside Caribe cabin and wondered if anyone has any tips. Could you store a large suitcase under the bed?

Thanks! So excited to go!!!

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Good Morning,

I am looking to book cabin E728 on Coral Princess for a full transit west to east Panama Canal cruise in Feb and cannot find a review of this cabin. Any information is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

We had a fantastic trip to Cuba returning last Friday, Feb 5th through Charlotte NC for our US entry port. I had read that most people didn't have any issues upon returning from Cuba and the site info for US travelers on yourcubacruise.com assured us also : "If you receive a customs form to complete or are asked by US immigration or customs officials what countries you have visited, do not hesitate to say Cuba. This is a completely legal trip. You are allowed to bring back $400 of goods purchased in Cuba with up to $100 in rum and cigars (plus unlimited value of art and informational materials)." Other US visitors had written to print out and take your p2p documents although they had not been asked for them. Since our experience was different, I wanted to share.

We did put down that we visited both Jamaica and Cuba on our forms. We were questioned on our initial customs stop and then unknown to us were stamped for secondary customs questioning. When we reported for the 2nd questioning, we were questioned why we went and did we have a license and paperwork proving our license? I gave them our p2p paperwork and the lady questioning us read through it all and them said she was going to have to talk to her supervisor. Upon return, she told us that we were not allowed to bring anything back into the US from Cuba and would have to search all our bags. We had brought back minimal items: 1 bottle of rum, t-shirt, and other little items totaling $48. We had to tell her each item that she removed that was from Cuba. Then she conferred with her supervisor again, finally allowed us to keep our items. We were informed again that we were not allowed to bring anything back because we didn't come directly to the US from Cuba and that they were letting us bring those items in even though not allowed. I told her that I had checked the state department site before leaving and I didn't see anything about that requirement. She said the rules were constantly changing and what was in effect today might not be the same yesterday or tomorrow. She again informed me that was the rule and not to trust "these groups". Now, I completely believe that the People to People group is legal and our trip was also. We followed the program completely and brought back very little. My reason for posting this is to be sure that the US passengers do have your p2p paperwork with you just in case and to know that we did have this experience in Charlotte. Maybe the customs official was just having a bad Friday night. Go and enjoy but have your paperwork with you just in case. I think ours was the exception not the rule.

Attached are some of the daily programs, including a couple of the non-P2P versions.

Thank you so much for the great information! We are on the Jan 29th sailing and are anxiously awaiting our Cuba experience.

Returned to Montego Bay this morning. P2P program a joke. The tours were terrible. A waste of time. The history lecturer was bad. NO ONE asked for MED insurance. You get a visa and are allowed off the boat at will. The cruise itself was ok. Food commensurate with cost of the cruise which was not a lot. AC had difficulty quite often. Bars don't know how to make mixed drinks. Staff amazingly nice and hard working. Service in dining room challenging. Dinner @ 2.5 hours. The kitchen is in chaos.

 

Did we have a good time ? Yes. Accept it for what it is... A destination cruise. If you are used to RC or Princess or even better. Don't go, you will be miserable

Thank you Bruce for the info. Was wondering what was needed for P2P requirement? Just membership? Thanks so much!

My DH and I are booked for this cruise leaving MoBay on 1/29/16 and are so excited. Have been reading through this forum all afternoon and am even more excited. Anyone else going to be on this cruise?

Are there any American's out there who've booked this cruise using the People to People license with FFRD? It appears this specific information has been taken down from the cruises' web site but when I reached customer service by phone today, they said the information will be back up within a month!! We have time to figure this all out since we're not going until January 2016. I'm just curious how this will all work and what I should be prepared to do.

Also, is Cuba really serious about the need to provide proof of medical insurance? Does this happen when you enter the country? I heard you can buy insurance at the Havana airport but we're flying into Montego Bay and meeting the ship there.

Thanks folks!!!

We are looking to go on the Jan 29th cruise. Am so excited to see Cuba before it changes. Gathering information and hope to book today!

Thanks johndru, that's exactly why I was wanting it also. I have used priceline before but not hotwire. Good luck on your quest also.

I did it thur Hotwire. It's a 3.5 star.

I got the Silver Cloud-Stadium for our post cruise one night-7/19 for $107. Were already staying in downtown pre-cruise @ the Westin for 3 nights.

Not sure how hotwire works, I see that you only know the star rating and the location so how are you knowing it is the silver cloud-stadium? Sorry for being stupid.:o There is a great price listed today for a 3 1/2 star for downtown and I hate to miss it.

Thanks,

I was wondering what would be the best way to get from the Amtrak station to the Westin Grand Vancouver Hotel? It looks like we will be able to walk to many areas from the hotel including to Canada Place, is this correct?

Thanks for your help,