masscruiser2010

Has anyone been notified of a change in the final payment date for the 51-night South American cruise on Marina departing Dec. 18?

Thanks in advance.

For those of us who need higher-speed internet to stay in touch with our businesses while cruising, this is VERY good news.

https://www.thestreet.com/investing/royal-caribbean-fcc-starlink-internet?puc=yahoo&cm_ven=YAHOO

Does the Norwegian Star have a Haven? 

TIA

Well, here is the freshest info on this subject -- which I just received this morning from the Princess "Customer Solutions Department."

The Passenger Services Act, also known as the Passenger Vessel Services Act or PVSA, prohibits ships of non-U.S. registry from embarking and disembarking passengers at two different U.S. ports.  Such travel would constitute point-to-point transportation between two U.S. ports, a practice prohibited on foreign flagged vessels.

An exception to this general rule allows passengers to be transported between two U.S. ports if the cruise itinerary includes a port call at a "distant foreign port".  Distant foreign ports do not include Canada, Mexico, Central America, Bermuda and most Caribbean islands.  South America and the ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao) do qualify as distant foreign ports.

Based on the above information we must regrettably deny your request to embark the Crown Princess in Honolulu, Hawaii on 13DEC22 and disembark in Los Angeles, California on 22DEC22.

That presumably should end this discussion.

I am also very interested in an answer to Kathy's question.  We are doing a Whittier-Vancouver-Whittier back-to-back on Royal Princess, and have gotten a variety of conflicting stories about what happens in Vancouver.

In record time, the Princess response came back today.  DENIED!  No explanation.  Just a flat rejection of the request.  Since there was no PVSA issue involved, I guess we know that Princess, at least at the moment, is NOT approving requests for downlining.

Well, my TA talked to Princess this morning and the rep filled out an “Itinerary Deviation Request Form” and said it would take a couple of weeks to have it processed.  Didn't sound like there would be a problem, but we'll see.  I'll let everyone know.

Forgive my push back, but do you know this FOR SURE for Princess?

Thanks

Thanks for the quick response.  I know COVID halted downlining on Royal Caribbean and Celebrity.  Princess too?

Thanks

Has anyone ever paid full fare for a cruise, but boarded the ship (deliberately -- some call it downlining) at the first or second stop after it sailed?  Is downlining something Princess would agree to if arranged in advance?  If so, who do you have to contact to get it approved?

Thanks.

On our Trans Atlantic earlier this month on Queen Elizabeth, internet connectivity was quite good -- better, for example, than our recent experiences with Silversea or Holland America.  We had the premium plan, and I was able to use DropBox to move files back and forth to my office.

Yes, I am eager to hear about the wifi as well.

Appreciate your thoughts on BEST Southampton hotel to stay in night before cruise.

Thanks in advance.

My Mom used to say, 'I've seen cattle burned worse that lived.'

Anyone know what time breakfast closes in Club Orange on sea days aboard the Rotterdam?

Thanks in advance.

Ocean Players Club is the organization that is over all the casino clubs of the various cruise lines owned by Carnival Corp.  This includes Princess, Holland America, Cunard, Costa, Seabourn, etc.

The other major cruise lines -- NCL, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, MSC -- have their own casino clubs, and you have to deal with them individually.

There is NOT a company that runs the casinos on most cruise ships.  Most of the cruise lines run their own casinos.

How late is Sabatinis open for breakfast?  Does it vary on sea days and port days?  We hate being forced to go to breakfast early.

Thanks

I get casino offers -- free cabin or suite, onboard credit, etc -- all the time from Holland America.  Given that Holland America and Princess are sister lines under the Carnival corporate umbrella, has anyone ever used their casino standing on Holland America to get a casino offer on Princess? 

What is the highest minimum blackjack table on Princess ships?  $25?  $50?  $100?  And on the highest minimum table, do they deal out of a continuous shuffling machine or a shoe?  If a shoe, does the dealer hand shuffle or use a machine to shuffle?

Thanks.

This summer, we are doing a seven night cruise from Anchorage to Vancouver on Royal Princess immediately followed by a seven night cruise from Vancouver to Anchorage.  We have booked the same cabin on both cruises.  Will we have to get off the ship in Vancouver and go through Canadian immigration?  Will we be able to leave our belongings in our cabin in Vancouver?  What about Covid testing, both for entry to Canada and reboarding the ship?  Love to hear from someone who has done this (except for the Covid testing) in 2019.

Before sailing to the Bahamas on Crystal, we had to obtain a Bahamas Health Visa.  Is that required for the Oct. 20 Scarlet Lady voyage to the Bahamas as well?  I don't see any info on this.

Thanks

Wow!  That was certainly not our experience.

The front desk provided a porter for our bags both on arrival and departure.  And when we arrived at 8 am, an early check-in -- which we had requested in advance for an added fee of $50 -- had us in bed sleeping off the time change within minutes of our arrival.

I can't comment on breakfasts because we discovered that the mezzanine coffee shop on the outdoor balcony of the bookstore around the corner -- the oldest bookstore in Iceland -- had great cappuccinos and pastries, and we did that every morning for probably 1/3 of the price of the hotel prix fixe breakfast.

We stayed in the Hotel Borg for three nights before a cruise in July.  VERY nice, and very well located.

The Port Agent in Reykjavik told us there were 615 passengers on this cruise and that there would be 800 next week.

Just got the exact same email for the July 3 cruise!