dreaminofcruisin

We will be spending the night before our cruise at the Holiday Inn Express Richmond. It appears that the Bridgeport Station is a 10 minute walk from the hotel. I'm wondering if that is a good option to take the SkyTrain to the cruise port or should we use the free hotel shuttle back to the airport and take the Sky Train from there?

Would the train likely be really crowded on a cruise day, so we would have a hard time finding space for luggage and it would be better to go back to the airport since it would be empty leaving from there?

Our cruise is on a Saturday in July and it appears there will be 3 ships in port that day.

Or....am I mis-reading maps and not even looking at the right train?

Any additional advice?

Thanks!

WOW!  The prices have just gone crazy!
I booked an aft (side) balcony last week with Plus for $4808---a bit high, but it is 14 days...

Today the price in the same area with Plus:  $7308!!!

I wouldn't count on it.

It seems that you are at the whim of whomever is at Guest Services in my past experience.

2 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

I can see why Princess sent out the notice.  It is probably generated automatically.  It registered the gift card payment and then notified you that there was still an outstanding balance.  Princess, is in fact, doing you a favor to let you know that you still had a balance.  Otherwise, you run the risk of the cruise being canceled for $3.22

 

Stores do this all the time when you use a gift card.  It deducts that payment and will show you that you still have a balance to pay.  The "cashier" is the verbal written notice.  They won't let you out of the store without paying what is still considered "due".

I could understand that.

However, the one I got was AFTER I paid the balance in full. So, my outstanding balance was zero (and it appeared as zero on what they sent), yet I still got the notice......  🤷‍♀️

1 hour ago, cruisinsince75 said:

I paid off our cruise today with two gift cards and the remaining $3.22 on a CC.  While I was entering them, I got two of these notices via email. (see below) However, they still showed on the invoices.  Once I completed entering the last gift card, I got an invoice showing it paid in full and the notice was no longer there.  Has this happened to anyone else?  Is that normal and do I need to be concerned,  

THE FINAL PAYMENT RECEIVED WAS INSUFFICIENT TO COVER THE PRINCESS VACATION PROTECTION/PLATINUM VACATION PROTECTION FEE. THE PRINCESS VACATION PROTECTION/PLATINUM VACATION PROTECTION HAS BEEN REMOVED FROM THE BOOKING.

 

Yep. Same thing happened to us. Not sure why Princess can't get this right. Don't worry about it.

26 minutes ago, DrewCC2225 said:

Yeah sorry no indoors on the enchanted. Crown/Island/Grand have the indoor pools. End of October in NY is usually a little chilly.

Nope.

Coral, Island, Grand, Diamond, Sapphire and Majestic have indoor pools.

On 5/14/2024 at 7:50 PM, BamaVol said:

I recommend stopping at a bar on the way to dinner and getting a glass to go.  We do that and then order a second glass from the waiter after we are seated.

...or just ask for a 'double' when you order it either in the bar or when in the dining room.

45 minutes ago, Pajay1962 said:

We will be on the Princess Sapphire in June, going from Vancouver to Whittier. I have arrangements at the Shrine of St. Therese in Juneau to renew our wedding vows. We have an excursion through Princess to Mendenhall Glacier prior to the renewal, so I'm wondering if I HAVE to return on the Princess Excursion shuttle to the ship from Mendenhall, or do they allow us to not return with them? The reason for this question is we pass the Shrine when going from Mendenhall to the ship. I'm thinking of getting transportation from Mendenhall to the Shrine, and then to the ship. This would save us a lot of time. Does anyone have any experience with something similar?

If you are going to get your own transportation from Mendenhall to the Shrine anyway, maybe you should save the money for the excursion and use it for a car rental....assuming you can get a car at the ship somehow. Then you could just take the car to Mendenhall on your own and travel to the Shrine when you are ready to go.

Just a suggestion.

The 'usual' canned soda selection includes: 

Coke

Diet Coke

Sprite

Root Beer

Orange Soda

Tonic Water

Club Soda

Ginger Ale

Also included are: Red Bull, Perrier, San Pelegrino and Mocktails.

That being said, there are no guarantees all cans are always available on all ships. There are random reports of 'other' varieties showing up. I think this usually happens in Europe where some substitutions might be made. (You can find entire threads on Coke Zero, which seems to randomly show up mostly on European cruises.)

Regardless of whether or not you feel like tipping above the amount of included gratuities....the MOST important thing you can do if you have exemplary service from a crew member, is mention them in the post cruise survey. I have been told by several of them that this plays into their bonus pay and time off.

I'm 'in the middle' on the additional gratuities. If I have a steward, server and/or bartender that provides better than average service, I might give them a few dollars at the end of the cruise. Some cruises I find no one that fits the bill. Last fall on the Enchanted, I nearly ran out of my tip cash as there were so many that were outstanding!

Interesting situation. I'm sorry I don't know the answer, but if it was me...I think I would try it and see what happens.

Good luck!

Welcome to (posting on) cruise  critic.

6 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

 

Apparently, Canadian rules only allow one open bar per deck while in Canadian waters.  We had never heard of this ridiculous rule!  We walked to the Crown Grill Bar and found it 5 people deep with a line down the hallway!

 

 

This has been true for many years. We first heard of it on an East coast Canada New England cruise in 2017. At least you will only be briefly in Canadian ports. On our cruise it was several days.

Why not get 2 mini-suites next to each other?

Big enough in the couch area for 4 of you to sit and socialize in either cabin.

On Royal class ships there is a curtain between the bed and sofa area for the early risers.

As long as you stay away from the fire doors, the balconies can have the partition between them opened up.

Do pay attention to your email though. We have had them change our departure terminal (notifying by email) as late as the day before..... 

It sometimes takes a day or so to get the email which contains the FCD. If you are planning on booking while on the ship, do it at the beginning of your cruise. I haven't tried the new app, but the old app made it so easy to just do the purchase in the app.

9 minutes ago, jean-lynd said:

I have read that if you keep your ice bucket in the fridge and keep the outside cabinet door open it keeps it nice and cold in the fridge. I will see if that works in July!

You might have to request the ice bucket from your steward.

Our last few cruises, there has been no ice bucket unless requested.

8 hours ago, Potstech said:

How do you link them all together?

When I read this I realized this is a good question as I haven't done this yet in the new app.

I'm going to need this when my reservations get wiped out for the new dining.

I found this in the New App thread....I can't try it as I don't want to mess up my reservations, but this was someone's suggestion:

You click book dining…pull up the MDR you want, look at the date, see top right corner. Person outline with a +.  Click on that and add the other person’s booking number.  Select the person/persons you want to add to your reservation.

Good luck!

45 minutes ago, latebuyer said:

Is there a fridge in the room where I can put cans of pop? I appreciate peoples responses. I know some can't understand those of us who don't get packages.

In addition to the fridge in your room, if you like your drinks on ice, you can request ice by asking your room steward. I  think it is also an option to request it on the app.

3 hours ago, deadzone1003 said:

Isn't it all about perceived value?  If you are wine drinker who normally drink higher quality wines, then the Plus package will taste like "swill".  By going to the Premier package, are you getting that value?  Everyone has different perceived value by going the package route rather then purchasing by the bottle or bringing your own plus paying the corkage.  If you find the plus package wines acceptable and you drink alot of it, then the value is there.  You really don't know until you start drinking those Plus wines that it is of acceptable value to you or not.  Everybody has different taste.  

The wines I drink at home are usually in the $10-$15 /bottle range, not exactly high end.

I have yet to find anyone who likes the Canyon Road whites. It's a shame since many of the wines we drink at home (under previous drink packages) are wines that we found on Princess and liked so well that we now drink them at home. I'd happily pay the few extra $s for the ones over $15, but even then the white wines by the glass are really limited.

It does seem like the selection is better for red wine drinkers. The whites are the ones that are really lacking.

2 hours ago, smwg said:

Maybe they couldn't find you.  That happened to me once in the buffet area.  Lots of people to look through.  I finally went to the area where the table cleaners put the dirty dishes and asked someone there.  Sure enough, they had my drink and were still looking for me.

With the old version of the app, someone mentioned there was a way in the app that lighted up when they were trying to deliver it. I don't know if that is still true. Maybe watch for a server looking lost, turn on your flashlight on your cell phone and wave it in the air?.....

🤪

I should also add for white wine drinkers, the Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio included on the Plus package is Canyon Road for cruises from North America. That is really swill and undrinkable for me (and nope not a high end wine drinker).

For cruises from Europe, on the Plus package, they were offering Adesso Chardonnay and Tini Pinot Grigio and I found those much more palatable.

1 hour ago, HMSDingy said:

Can you choose glasses on the regular wine list or does it have to be only on the Plus selections. 

You can choose glasses on the regular wine list.....IF they are sold by the glass. Unfortunately, the ones sold by the glass are a very limited number. If you find one by the glass you would like that is above the $15 limit, they will just charge you the difference plus 18% (tip) of the difference, so usually just a few dollars total.

I think 'officially' Princess states you can bring on up to 12 cans at embarkation. However, I would be really surprised if they stopped you from bringing on a few cans that you pick up at a port stop. (Bring a small backpack with you off the ship.)

33 minutes ago, CenTexan said:

First time to have Plus package. I have never used the Ocen Now feature in Princess app on previous cruises.

 

So if I am in the theater waiting for a show, should I flag down a waiter to order drinks - or just do it through the app?

 

What about for sitting at the pool?

 

Thanks.

Our last few cruises we haven't seen any wait staff in the theater. Sometimes they set up a little portable bar at the entrance. We usually either pick up drinks on the way to the theater, or go get our seats and DH goes out and gets us each a drink....since we usually have to show up 30 minutes early at a minimum anyway.

6 minutes ago, HMSDingy said:

Ok but the wines on that 2024 list that I found have many wines that are sold here in Montreal. For example the list has an Attems Pinot Grigio at $11 per glass. That wine sells here for $20 and there's also a Mionetto Prosecco sold here for $18 also at $11 per glass. I've had the prosecco before and it's not too bad. 

Where have you seen this list that has Attems Pinot Grigio?

I haven't seen that on a ship in a long time....