drblue

It is way in advance, but we just booked in a balcony cabin. I hope we get lots of fellow travelers along the way. :)

Thank you for all the suggestions. I got some good ideas.

Thank you. This gives me a good idea.

We are sailing from Singapore on the Saphire Princess in a few weeks. It is our first time on Princess cruises.

Does anyone have a copy or picture of the room service menu?

I would really appreciate it.

We have a cruise in Southeast Asia coming up in December, and we are adding a few extra days in Tokyo as a stop over plus a few days in northern Cambodia at the end of the trip. We are 2 adults and our young son. You can imagine that packing adequately would be an important factor of our trip. Coming from California, we are planning to reduce our packing items as much as we can. The obvious reason is to cut the formal wear.

In addition, we have eaten many of our dinners at the buffet section during the formal nights. Many of the reasons have been mentioned here:

- It is faster to eat at the buffet than at the MDR. When you have a child, it is important.

- For picky eaters, you can actually see the food items displayed, and you can try a little bit before serving a full plate.

- The waiting staff at the buffet are usually not working in a hectic schedule as they are during breakfast and lunch service.

- Many people mentioned the warn items (not really hot). This usually happens when the buffets first open, and the hot water stations have not been burning long enough. If people arrive a little bit after opening the doors, the food is warmer and the lines dissipate.

I hope this helps.

I would book it and then wait for an offer that brings the price down. Then, just call Princess or your TA and get it reduced.

It seems, however, that Caribbean sailings are higher in price while the Asia promotions are more significant as Princess sends more ships to that part of the world. This year, we are sailing on a South East Asia cruise for 11 days with Princess on December 18 (high season). The initial price for an Ocean View was $1800 pp. Then, it dropped to $1199, and I got my fare reduced. Now, it went back up to $1500. It pays to keep checking the pricing schemes. It is all about supply and demand.

Thank you for the suggestions. I will take them al into account.

Hello dear cruisers,

Thank you for all your comments and suggestions. I am now more convinced that I will take the Princess bus into town. It seems that everyone agrees that it is hot and humid; so, water will be a necessity.

Thank you,

JAVIER

Hello fellow cruisers.

We are gong to Asia on the Sapphire Princess in December 2015. It will make a stop in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei. Many of the excursions seem rather expensive and do not spend enough time in any interesting areas.

QUESTIONS:

1. Has anyone taken the Princess bus from the port into downtown Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei?

2. If so, what is there to see nearby (Mosques, Palaces, River Tours)?

3. Did you hear comments from other travelers on this Do-It-Yourself approach to visiting Brunei?

I will certainly appreciate all the information you can provide

Javier

Hello fellow cruisers.

We are gong to Asia on the Sapphire Princess in December 2015. It will make a stop in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei. Many of the excursions seem rather expensive and do not spend enough time in any interesting areas.

QUESTIONS:

1. Has anyone taken the Princess bus from the port into downtown Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei?

2. If so, what is there to see nearby (Mosques, Palaces, River Tours)?

3. Did you hear comments from other travelers on this Do-It-Yourself approach to visiting Brunei?

I will certainly appreciate all the information you can provide

Javier

I am glad to see more people already booked this cruise. We were waiting to see about the flights situation, which are now available. We are planing to book this ship on for the Dec 24th sailing (2 adults and our 7 year-old son). We have taken several cruises, but never with RCaribbean (only Celebrity, MSC, Norwegian, and Carnival). Therefore, I have a few questions for you all:

1. Does anybody know about the recent upgrades when the Legend went off to dry land for refurbishing?

2. Has anyone traveled on this ship with kids? Do you still recommend it?

3. Does anyone have recent pictures of the Kids Splash pool?

4. Can you think of any advantages of traveling on a smaller (and older) ship vs. a more recent and bigger RC ship?

I will certainly like to hear all your opinions and suggestions. I hope to join you all once we book this trip.

Drblue from southern California.

The itinerary sounds exciting. I always travel with my son as well (7 yrs old). I have a couple of questions for you:

1. Do you know if you have any landings in Antartica?

2. Or is it essentially just cruising along the coast?

3. Would there be opportunities to view wildlife?

Morning folks.

 

Taking the little man (8 mo old) on his first cruise next week. while getting organized I started thinking: "what if I brought my baby monitor on the ship" Would it work to give me enough range to relax in the lounge down the hall?

 

Obviously I would test it out to see what sort of range it actually has before leaving him. But I'm wanting to know if anyone has used one before? What are your thoughts - does all the metal on the ship render it useless?

 

specifics:

I am in the rear Right corner of the ship, deck 8

Deck six has a lounge area right below us (2 decks)

Anglecare monitor

 

Thoughts?

Am I wasting my time hauling the anglecare, or is there a better solution?

 

Thanks

B.

Hello ,

Here are my two cents based on cruising experience with a baby/toddler: baby monitors do not really work on a ship. Their construction frame does not allow for the transmission of sounds very well. It might be OK for going to the next cabin for a quick 1 minute check, but definitely not something you can really rely on.

Now, as far as leaving your baby alone, it is certainly your parenting style that would determine how confortable you feel with that decision. You know what is best for your child. However, take into account potential differences that you may encounter on a ship in comparison to your own home.

1. Too many of the ship's personnel have a key to your room. You never know!

2. Emergency fire doors can potentially close at the hallway level, and hence deny you access to your baby in case of an emergency.

3. Something could happen to your baby while you are not there, and you may not be able to hear it (like moving to a face-down position where they cannot breathe).

4. If you are on a bar a few floors down, you might be too far to react to a real emergency, even if you can hear the desperate sounds of a baby (If a baby stops breathing, it only takes 1.5 minutes to stop the flow of oxygen to the brain).

So I agree with some of hte posters that it might be better to wait until your child goes to sleep and then take the baby with you on a stroller. That way, you can have a good time without the unnecessary worries of your child's safety. After all, you do want to enjoy your vacation.

We did on our Poesia transatlantic a couple of weeks ago. We were told to write a short note with the amount we wanted to pay (nil in our case) and sign it and hand it in at reception. I got the girl at reception to countersign mine and give me a photo copy just in case they "lost" it. A lot of people were doing this as the word spread that they were accepting these notes. When we received our final account the "service charge" had been removed.

Unfortunately the other "service charge", the 15% on all drinks has to be paid.

 

Cheers.

Andy.

This is good to know. I think the SERVICE charge should be paid, provided that the service is actually appropriate. If it is below general standards, I have a huge problem with having to pay a "service" fee for really bad service.

We are cerainly not demanding travellers at all. In fact, we usually go with the flow and we are very easy going. However, since many of the customer complaints about MSC are about bad service, this is an issue that just does not go away. I'm hoping that the service is just Ok, and I really hope we don't find ourselves in a position to make that decision to adjust the amount.