2BeOnaBoat

MUCH, very MUCH to my surprise Global Entry is OPEN at Port Everglades.(Princess) Global Entry line is to far left side and there is a sign.

 

Dismbarked Saturday Oct 18, 2015.

Do you have to have your Global Entry card with you? I know with the airlines they just print TSA PreCheck on the ticket.

Is this a record?

I still fax but the process is very improved.

My new Princess Atlas just arrived! Let the dreaming begin!

 

I'm really drooling over a 29-day cruise from Sydney to LA on the Emerald.

 

I think I can endure the flight to OZ if I know I don't have to fly all the way back. And I'd celebrate another senior b'day Down Under! ;)

Atlas or Wish Book? :D

...When debarking, you're herded into a lounge waiting to get off the ship. We self embark, walk down to where the Super Shuttle is, board and leave. Not so with Princess as you will wait and wait and wait until they have a full bus...

The lounge with the wait and wait and wait has nothing to do with Shuttle vs Transfer and everything to do with disembarkation. If you have an early flight then Princess will hold others back while trying to get you off in time. Everyone can't just walk off at 8am but it is nice when you get to. If I have to choose between a Princess lounge and an Airport one, Princess wins every time. I'm never one of those that takes off running when my color is called.

If it's speed you're after then a cab beats both the shuttle and transfer as the cab won't be loading anyone else along the way nor waiting to fill up.

I'm so excited. I'm leaving in 3 days on the Emerald. This is my second princess cruise. I haven't been to the crown grill or the crab shack and I want to do both. Does anyone know what night the crab shack is available? And do I need to make reservations? For the crown grill, is it better to go earlier on the cruise?

My itinerary looks like this...

Saturday - 1st day

Sunday -sea day - my guess formal night that we will do.

Monday - Grand Cayman til 4.

Tuesday - Cozumel til 6

Wednesday- at sea

Thursday- :( the cruise is over

 

So trying to figure out when to do Crown and what night is Crab Shack.

 

So excited!!! Happy dance!!!!!

Come join our Roll Call or at least get caught up. It's gotten quiet. I'd do the Crown on the first night not sure about the Crab Shack. A few of us are meeting at the Outrigger bar for sail away.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2144254&page=9

That's funny, because we are visiting family in Texas next month and decided to extend our time with a cruise out of Houston, low and behold, it's on the Caribbean Princess (our first sailing on her)

 

For us, the determining factors are varied, but have included:

Price

Home port (prefer San Francisco)

Associate Cruise Director

Size of ship

Length of cruise

School & Work Schedules

Ports of call

I like the Caribbean Princess in fact the shopping cart handle is one of my favorite ship features. But it seemed like 4 of my 1st 6 cruises were on that ship.

IMO, you skipped the most important option: ship. That's how I pick a cruise.

HA. I've only done this once but it gets added to my list as well. Somehow I have would up on the Caribbean Princess too much. So I booked a Houston trip to try a different terminal and ship. I would like to try a smaller ship as well.

Hi All

What about using a system of cruise points

you get a point for every $100 spent on cruise and a point for every day

you reach levels based upon total number of points, which gives you basic rewards, with a menu of the things to pick from, the higher grade the more menu

you items you get to pick.

 

yours Shogun

I think using days is more accurate. And people who pay nearly double like me can accept it as long as we can still wine - oops, Freudian slip?

If you change to $<insert preferred currency>$ then privilege can be bought. I'm sure Princess has a good way to compare apples to oranges, no need to throw in a banana.

The short b2b2bs are making elite a joke - said the hypocritical guy packing for a 5 day caribbean cruise on Sat.

Most electronic devices use a USB cord that plugs into a receptacle that plugs into the socket. I bring an adapter with four USB ports. Much easier, lighter and convenient than brining a power strip.

FitBit is USB charged as well. I love my adapter. I never travel without it.

None of your complaints have anything to do with "nickle and diming" but an overall decrease in the entire cruise experience (food, staff, coffee, drinks, etc.).

I think you have the best post on this thread so far. I don't see any evidence of "nickel and diming". There is dissatisfaction and that seems to be more on topic. Maybe this was just a poorly named thread. A lot of the complaints are more about a "cheapening" by Princess by cutting costs.

Things like the eucalyptus soaps or wine sommeliers were removed and the perception is that of "being cheap". I find that valid. Why pay Prince$$ money for Carnival cruising? Price wise Princess seems to be competing with Celebrity, who are they competing with in quality?

 

I think its un fair for those with 150 sea days to get same as folks with twice as many sea days on my last cruise the table average was around 30 cruises,

 

So how about keeping the basic benefits like checkin tenders etc

 

Then putting all other benefits on a menu

 

with folks selecting the number based upon sea days, say any four for elite

going up by 1 for every extra 50 sea days

 

I don't like any change based solely on the number of sea days. As a solo cruiser I pay close to double - my New England 7 day interior for next year is $1963 for me and $2028 for a friend and his wife. I see no problem in getting double credits to their one. If you do it by sea days then either I should get an amount that corresponds to the amount I pay or they should get fewer.

I could see Princess adding a new category, but removing perks or changing the math will be received with backlash.

Things like the 'most traveled' lunch reward the top xx number per cruise. That's 'day' based not 'credit' but it's still an incentive based perk. That might be an easier sell. Offer new perks for the top xx per cruise but find a blend of days/credits. Princess can fill in the x's and figure out the algorithm.

I would suggest a Princess package for your first time and their shuttle air conditioned buses.

 

I have always used Princess transfers, until my last cruise a few weeks ago.

Ruby Princess - California Sampler.

I went in a day early and because I booked late, no Princess Packages available. I booked the hotel on my own and decided to grab a Super Shuttle as recommended on here. (Best Western Plus San Pedro)

 

For me, the Princess Package has spoiled me :)

Nice hotel, with bar and grill, nice breakfast and nice air conditioned buses to take you to the port.

 

The hotel I booked was not great, but it was "okay".

No restaurant in the hotel, only vending machines

Super Shuttle had an hour plus wait as they had some difficulties with two of their vans. So, I went over to Prime Time Shuttle at LAX.

 

The van was already crowded, so I squeezed in. There was room for one more and we circled the airport looking for more passengers. Took about 45 minutes. He would pull up and wait and turn the car off and it was hot. Van was old and seats were uncomfortable.

 

We then left the airport and took 4 different people to their homes.

I guess I assumed this was for hotel transportation.

I got on the Prime Shuttle at 5:30 pm and got to my hotel at San Pedro at 8:20 pm. The closest place to eat was a block away. Dark street, so I ate at the vending machines.

 

I'm glad others have had good experiences with Super Shuttle and Prime Time. But for me, my one and only time, was not good.

I've had a similar experience with Super Shuttle. The driver actually pulled over and was bidding on jobs. Those drivers own their vehicle not Super Shuttle and they get paid for fares - so an empty van is NOT an option. I was the 1st one on and last one off.

Princess charges $19 per person each way. If it's $15 for the Super Shuttle, I'd rather go with Princess.

I've also had flight delays and was greeted by a limo. The bus had left and was gone for the night and the driver said the limo was cheaper to drive than a smaller bus. Another couple was scrambling around the airport as the hotel shuttle was done for the night. Princess treated me like a King that night! For 4 bucks!!

If I go with a few friends we'll split a cab as Princess and Super Shuttle both charge per person not destination. Once you get to 3 people, a $45 cab ride is a another option.

Can a platinum member bring a non-platinum guest to the cocktail party? I'll be traveling with my sister and brother-in-law next year who are new to Princess and ocean cruising. I would like to bring them to the cocktail party so that they can see how much fun it is to keep cruising. Thanks for any replies. P.S. I never received a pin, either.

The correct answer is - no. But if you go and see how crowded it is and it's not then you could probably smuggle then in once. But I would introduce it as a perk to look forward to and don't try to take them every night. Now if your cruise is full of Plat/Elites then it will be crowded and it's best to just let them get a peek.

<typo fixed>

We are going on two back to back 10 day cruises on the Emerald and Island Princess from Jan 4-24th 2016. Is there any way of finding out what movies are scheduled on the ships for that time.......thanks garry

Back to your question. Not really.

You can look at the Documents section of your Cruise Personalizer for the Pre-Cruise emails that will list entertainment and show you who will be your Captain, Maitre'D, Cruise Director etc. You can also follow 'Live Froms' here on CC. But movies and entertainment may not match your cruise as these change.

They decorate the Piazza pretty well. Make sure you see the pumpkin carving in the patter, those guys are amazing.

A couple of years ago I took candy with me. I started giving it out at the airport. I gave candy to the baggage handlers, airlines employees, shuttle driver, cruise check in counter, employees in the lounge, the picture takers and finally what little was left over to my room steward. Not one complaint. :)

I've found the Emerald to be less crowded that the Caribbean Princess. But I base my cruises on itinerary or price. I'd look at the stops between the 2 and decide which you rather do. Neither ship will disappoint.

It's like a passenger P/E statement.

Sorry Balance Sheet - I think. Account classes were a LONG time ago. ;)

JF-retired RRT, will Princess automatically deduct daily gratuities with our OBC?

Also, do you think they will let you pre-pay gratuities with OBC?

OBC is onboard credit, so if it shows up as a room charge then your credit will apply. It's like a passenger P/E statement. You have credits and debits with a column for the running balance or amount due.

I'm not sure about Pre-Paid but I assume it shows up as a credit along with any OBC. If you have enough OBC then you should skip the pre-pay.

For me it what I packed more than what I forgot. I had an old backpack that I threw my electronics, pair of shorts and a book into. Going through airport security they found something odd and pull the bag aside. It was a single 38 caliber bullet! The bag had been used as a range bag many years before. My cousin's daughter even took the bag to Spain on a school trip.

They called the local police who came and questioned me for about 10 mins. I had to sign a form allowing them to dispose of the bullet. I joked with the 'ready to arrest me officer in charge' if they were just going to shoot it. She looked me over, cracked a smile and let me go.

On the way home, they pulled my backpack as it had some hair pins in it. Obviously it was my cousin's as I have as much hair as this smiley face... :)

We joke that Hermione's magic purse is more plausible than not. But my backpack continues to get a thorough inspection before and during travel.

Gingerbread souffle for dessert

MMmmm that sounds good.

On the cruise from Quebec to Ft. Lauderdale, Hurricane Sandy kept us out of all of our ports but Charleston, South Carolina. No NYC, no Boston, no Maine, no......but we saw wonderful spots up and down the St. Lawrence.

 

The captain's decision kept us safe.:)

I was on a different ship for Sandy. Instead of 1 day in Bermuda we got 3 in Boston.

The Captain wasn't the only one making decisions. We had to be back on board by 4pm. The Captain would then communicate to us whether the Coast Guard would let us leave. And twice they told our Captain - No! :eek:

Join your roll call too. You can get specific information about your individual cruise. What others are doing etc.

Sea Day Tues 9/29

 

Two more men died of scurvy and madness during the night so we threw them overboard this morning.

 

Norris

Great sense of humor. :)

One of my favorite things about cruising is a simple one. The MDR has orange sections for breakfast. Sometimes it's the simple things that matter.

At costco you can get a large hotdog and soda for $1.50.Ha,ha.

 

long cruiser

That's a nice Kosher dog too.

I buy my organic beef and chicken at CostCo.

And has anyone had their rotisserie? Mmmm!

I wish I had paid attention a few years ago when I first heard about purchasing stock in Carnival. It would have paid off big time. However, I am now starting to look seriously at it. I know this isn't the time to buy, but I'd like to verify that 100 shares is the minimum number to own for the OBCs and any other perks. Is that correct? Anyone who can help a novice is much appreciated.

Diana

100 on the dot. Any more and you get the same benefit, any less and you get nothing.