cavecreekguy

12 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

Here is today's Daily

 

I have fond memories of the "pub crawl" events that were discontinued years ago. I hope the "bar hop" is similar.

Thanks so much for your posts. I'm boarding Nieuw Statendam May 5 and have been curious about recent menus and activities.

You never can tell...

I did a North Cape cruise June 2023. It was much warmer than I expected everywhere. For example, it was 32 degrees C ( 90F) at Trollveggen (Åndalsnes). I was glad I packed extra polo shirts and shorts.

I really enjoyed having a glass of wine and a snack on my balcony with all that gorgeous scenery passing by.

Last June on Princess, the bus for my cruise line excursion picked us up and dropped us back off right next to the ship.

I just went to HAL website and am seeing "Today only $1 deposit all products."

I tried to redeem my perks a couple days ago. After submitting, I was wondering how they'd know what booking to apply it to as I wasn't asked my booking number. I guessed they'd just apply it to my next cruise.

Next day I received this email saying:

"There has been an issue with your application for onboard credit on your upcoming reservation (Booking #: departing on ). Holland America Line has shown an error as follows:

• The name used in applying for this credit does not match the name on the booking.

Holland America Line has asked you to resubmit your application through the Stockperks app with the correct details and we will endeavor to process your claim promptly."

This email has blanks where my booking number and departure date should be. I wasn't asked for this info when I redeemed my perk so I'm guessing that's why it was denied. I guess that's the glitch.

I tried again to redeem my perk. This time I was asked for my booking number and departure date. Hope it works this time!

4 minutes ago, kfarist said:

7 days

I think that works out to $42.57/day. It's up to you if it's "worth it." I'm someone who spends time in my cabin, so a balcony for that price is a bargain and totally worth it to me.

You can hold out hoping for a lower upsell offer but it may not happen.

20 minutes ago, kfarist said:

Leaving in a week on a cruise. New to HAL, but cruised many times. We booked fairly last minute in a cheap interior room and still do not have an assigned room. I have got many paid upgrade offers over the last month for different rooms (obstructed OV, OV, verandah) but this week the email only had verandah and the upgrade was $149 pp. Is this worth it? I thought if I got another email offering $99 I would pounce, but I know there is a possibility of getting upgraded even without paying as it seems the ship may be quite full. 

 

Thank you. Looking forward to experiencing HAL. 

How long is your cruise? I got a similar offer many years ago on a 7 day RT Alaska cruise on the Volendam. It was very much worth it for me.

On 3/17/2024 at 3:36 AM, Superfez said:

Thank you KitKat. I'd hoped you would reply having seen your useful comments on other posts. 

Knowing about the pram is great.

 

I am still trying to work out if we can do both Loen and the glacier in one day- P&O not doing me any favours with the non specific arrival and departure times.

We planned on doing the 'gondola' at Strandafjell instead of Loen (to spread the days activities) but P&O excursion has an age restriction on that - no idea why as if I book direct I can book the infant in for free... 🤔🤔🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️ 

A call to the excursions team is on the cards. 

June 2023 Sky Princess docked in Olden. There were three ships that day, but only room for one at the dock. An Amaraza ship was anchored right in front of the Loen skylift.

By the time I finished my cruise line excursion in the early afternoon I read that the Loen skylift was sold out for the remainder of the day. So if you want to do the Loen skylift you may want to purchase tickets in advance.

June 2023 I did Molde the Adventurous Atlantic Ocean Road tour with Norway Excursions. It was almost half the price of the comparable Princess excursion. I was very pleased.

I added myself to a waitlisted excursion a few days after final payment on my upcoming May 5 Baltic cruise. I received an email about 3 days later telling me I cleared the waitlist.

I've been on the Volendam a couple times and it's a sister of the Zaandam.

As rodndonna mentions, the lower promenade deck (deck 3) has a full wrap-around outside deck. I love the inside or ocean view rooms on that deck because it's so easy to pop outside on either side of the ship. Its a wide deck where there are often nice loungers. It's also covered in case of inclement weather.

I believe there's also a forward-facing outside deck under the bridge that's accessible to passengers.

HAL also often opens the bow up to passengers during scenic cruising.

I wouldn't hesitate to book an inside or an ocean view on the Zaandam.

One other consideration...if you take a ship's excursion, where does it end?

Not sure about Princess, but when I was on HAL 2016, all the excursions dumped everyone off in town, so you had to either take the cable car or donkey path back to the ship.

There were three ships and the line for the cable car was 1.5-2 hrs to get down and back to the ship.

I won't go to Santorini again because of this.

1 hour ago, Ombud said:

@cavecreekguy. Umm it should matter to you what the supplement is. the lower the supplement the lower your actual solo fare. You'll still pay 100% of your per person taxes / fees / port charges (those aren't doubled for solos). 

2800 base fare

5600 for 2 in room.

3960 with 40% supplement 

5600 with 100% supplement 

I've never seen Princess completely eliminate solo supplement in my 50+ cruises. 

 

The total cost of the cruise is the total cost of the cruise. If I'm traveling as a solo, my "base fare" is the fare that cruise costs me, as a solo. It doesn't matter to me what two people in the cabin would pay per person, because that doesn't apply to me. All that matters to me is what I would pay for that cruise.

On 8/9/2023 at 7:04 PM, cheezenip said:

Not everyone has the luxury of having the "doesn't matter to me what the single supplement is" attitude you possess. Economics for some solos is a significant factor when cruising.

On 8/9/2023 at 11:11 PM, Buckeye10640 said:

Some of us are price sensitive and it does matter what the supplement adds. I am actually looking for something out of FL now and actually dont care where I go if I can get a reasonable (for me) price, which would not be a 100% supplement. 

I'm very price-sensitive, which is why I look at how much the cruise costs in total.

If the total cost of the cruise for me as a solo is $5,600, I don't see why it matters if that's $2,800 pp with a 100% supplement vs. $4,000 pp with a 40% supplement. The cost to me traveling solo is still $5,600.

I'd find such a list interesting, but as a solo cruiser, I don't see the value in it. When I search for a cruise I look for the itinerary I want, then the price. If it's a price I'm willing to pay I go with it. Doesn't really matter to me what the single supplement % is. Am I missing something?

15 hours ago, trbarton said:

I’m aware that a Deluxe Balcony has a sofa. What makes it a Premium? Location?

 

Tom😀

I've stayed in both deluxe and premium deluxe balcony cabins on Sky. There was no difference inside the cabin. In general the premium deluxe cabins have a larger balcony.

In addition to the partial deck plan image in post #7, there are also premium deluxe balcony cabins forward on deck 9 (cabins D145-D225) as well as wake view premium deluxe balcony cabins on the other decks. On the deck plans it looks like some of those wake view cabins may not have larger balconies.

I was in M621 on the Sky Princess last month, right across from the entrance to the laundry room. All I ever noticed was an occasional soft click sound of the laundry room door closing. I only noticed it when I was awake.

I certainly could be wrong, but I don't think all excursion slots are available for advance booking.

When I look at excursions for my upcoming cruises, it sometimes shows how many tickets are available. I've never seen more than 20 available, even though I know the tour accommodates more than 20. I would expect by now to have seen at least one that had more than 20 slots available.

When I was going to the Caribbean last February one excursion I was interested in was full for weeks and even with checking regularly there was no availability. Once on board there was plenty of availability.

Same thing happened last month in Norway. The Princess excursion to North Cape was booked a few months in advance. I checked every day and nothing ever became available. Once on board not only was there availability, but at multiple departure times.

1 hour ago, Robkat said:

And do you get "charged" for 2 drinks off your daily 15 allotment ?

Yes, it counts as 2.

I haven't tried with cocktails, but I always order a double pour of wine in the MDR so the one glass lasts the entire meal.

There's a Hilton Garden Inn at Heathrow's terminal 2. If you fly into terminal 2 or 3 you wouldn't need a hotel shuttle.

3 hours ago, Jadn13 said:

Hi All!

 

Does anyone have experience flying into LHR a day early and then returning the next day to the airport to meet the Princess transfer?

 

**I know about National Express and will consider as an option but we would need to take a Taxi/Uber from the Bus station. to the ship. My team can’t pull suitcases and walk on uneven pavement for long distances. 
 

Any experiences with the Princess Transfer please share. Where/How to find the Rep, Which Terminal? 

 

I did also post on a UK Transpo thread but figured many are traveling this route currently the main board could be of great help.

Thank You! 

 

I just did this last month. I stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn at terminal 2 and met the Princess reps near Cafe Nero in the arrivals area the next morning. Very easy. I'd recommend meeting the rep at terminal 2. After boarding the bus at terminal 2 we went to pick up some passengers at terminal 3 but by then most seats on the bus were taken.

Currently on the Sky Princess. I walk into my cabin and the light in the closet area comes on. I guess it's a motion sensor, so I start fiddling with all the light switches. I can't seem to turn the light off. After a while it turns off. But I'm like, really? I can't turn a light off that I NEVER WANTED ON IN THE FIRST PLACE?!?!?

My cabin steward says it was an upgrade from the recent drydock. When I complain he eventually says "Oh maybe I can get maintenance to do something." I had a few post-its I brought on the ship and tried to use one to cover the sensor. Kind of worked a little depending on where I was in the area. Hours later I see my steward again and tell him it's REALLY bothering me. When I returned to my cabin someone had covered it with paper and tape. I'm so happy it doesn't come on anymore when I don't want it to. But I would really like to be able to turn it on when I want, and TURN IT OFF when I don't want it.

I had seen discussions on here about the motion sensor floor lights but they never bothered me. I guess I'll have to start bringing duct tape and everything like others have mentioned.

Be prepared!

"Hammock Area – Another first for Princess, relaxing hammocks allow Park19 visitors to take a break from exploring to hang out with family and friends."

I'm looking forward to the "Hammock hog" threads.