gmjc2

Just returned from UK on a TA with Princess. Most people complied with the mask rules and the washing stations. On the last day we all had tests and the Captain announced that it was 100% negative. Great news!!!

If you are disabled and need wheelchair assistance thru customs/immigration you will get through much quicker normally but the issue on the day I went thru was the wait for assistance. I was picked up at the gate by a electric cart that took me to a wheelchair access area. I sat there for almost 2 hrs waiting my turn as they were inundated by a huge disabled crowd all arriving at once and were short of staff.

So if you are disabled be aware this could happen again. I was not strapped for time that day but on the 5th my disabled hubby will be needing to get to the Sky shuttle so hoping it will not be the same issue.  

On 10/7/2021 at 5:57 PM, wowzz said:

Seems amazingly risky, just to avoid paying $60 or so for a Day 2 test.

There have been horrendous delays at Heathrow recently,  for an assortment of reasons,  and four hour waits to pass through Border Control have been common.  

It is not just the 60 pounds there are also the hotel and taxi fares to consider. Yes it is a risk but most flights from the Americas arrive very early and the shuttle guarantees to get you to the ship on time. 

Hubby will fly into LHR at 6:40am so hoping for no issues. I am already here so the way things have been going this year it is likely to be me having issues with the trains! Hoping to meet up at the ship around noon.

Lovey1103------Did the passport show up yet?

I am so sure everything will be okay so I have you down for the Meet and Greet and Slot Pull....

22 minutes ago, compozer said:

Then I am out $1800 for our 2 first class tickets

 

Wow! I misunderstood. I thought it was 900 with the change fee which would make the fare around 280 or so. Mine is 363 from Orlando to Heathrow but that is economy.

When I changed a flight on Celebrity air last June it was a 200.00 change fee which they waived for us because we have medical issues that make it difficult to do anything early mornings as the airline had scheduled us.

1 minute ago, compozer said:

Thanks but I am not on the Sky.

 

 

I also did try to cancel it and a popup screen came up saying I would have to pay the penalty.   

 

 They also are charging me the fee for just changing the flight time.    

 

As I have said, my cruise personalizer said I was 46 days out so I was within the timeframe,   and my TA agreed that I should be able to do it.   I did screen shots showing the 46 days out.

 

cjpj,   I was very nice and I have used your technique to warm them up many times.

If you can find an outside flight at a reasonable price would it be cheaper to just abandon the EZair flight instead of cancelling? Just an idea!

I had my flight changed by the airline ( lost my non-stop😭) The new flight they gave me was unacceptable so I called EZair. They changed me to the flight of my choice and no fees of any kind. I was well within the 45 days for the flight but they said they go by the cruise date.

I would refuse to pay that fee. Would it be cheaper to cancel it and book another flight?

12 hours ago, 1965 said:

For our Nov.  trans Atlantic cruise out of Southampton I booked our flights thru ezair. We fly nonstop Dallas to London Heathrow, then nonstop Ft. Lauderdale to Dallas, for $286 pp. I check daily. The flights have since gone up. I think when I first booked the flights they were $501 pp. 

Is that the Nov 5th Sky TA. If so are you interest in the Meet and Greet, Slot Pull, Gift Exchange or LCR games.?

Just now, skynight said:

FYI for the future. Go to Princess.com web site. Select on board our ships, deck plans and then the ship. Select the cabin of interest. Information regarding obstructions and any other differences will be shown in red print. You cabin shows

Special Notes:
WHEELCHR ACCESSIBLE SHOWER ONLY/NO TUB

Thanks for the useful info.

7 minutes ago, skynight said:

Not obstructed. Obstructed view balcony cabins are on deck 8. It will be covered by the balcony of cabin B304 above. Balcony is 4ft. deep and as wide as the cabin, approximately 13ft. 

Thanks for the info. We were given this cabin because there were no accessible available in the category we paid for. We forgot to ask if it was obstructed. 

Does anyone know if the C304 balcony is covered or obstructed on Sky Princess?

No experience with Princess but other cruise lines have refunded unused OBC before we even got home!

We are on that Nov 5th TA. Hope you make it and we see you at the Meet and Greet and Slot Pull

Our daughter was booked on a flight to UK to visit her grandmother when we checked her passport. To our dismay it was going to expire soon. We sent it with the extra expedite charge and it came back in only 3 weeks. This was in March/April so they may be busier now but hang in there!

14 minutes ago, Bruin Steve said:

Not Acrimonious at all...Just commenting that the poster was WRONG--not of opinion, but fact.  That is NOT a distinction between the two.  BOTH cruise lines treat shore excursions the same.  BOTH, for the most parrt, meet on the ship and you get led to the bus.  It is a distinction by port only...nd, in a few ports, both have you meet at the pier.

The acrimonious part is the word ---NONSENSE. Totally unnecessary to insult like that. Opinion/fact no difference to the way you answer a post. Be polite not argumentative.

On 9/14/2021 at 6:18 PM, Moonarino said:

I was thinking more of bringing an inflatable futon.

Love it!!!

11 hours ago, scottca075 said:

It might sound small and silly, but I am so used to the Princess' giant screen that they use for Movies Under The Star and for various other things during the day; it seems completely strange when I am on cruise ships that don't have a giant screen for movies and concerts. It might sound small and silly, but I really miss it when ships don't have it. If there were two similarly situated cruises and one ship did not have the giant screen, that would be enough to tip it for me.

 

It might not be a big deal on a cruise were you are in a new port every day, but on a 15 day cruise with 10 sea days, it actually is a pretty big deal.

Not small and silly at all! Whatever makes your cruise experience enjoyable is important to you and probably others!

On 9/14/2021 at 11:43 PM, Bruin Steve said:

This take is just plain NONSENSE...

Both (or actually ALL) cruise lines are pretty much the same here...and it is port-specific...

We've been on Princess ships where the shorexes in certain ports (Mexican Riviera) were "meet on the pier"...and most Celebrity ships we've been on, the shorexes meet in the Showroom.  In fact, we just did B2Bs on Apex in the Med...and did shorexes for every port...and every one was "meet in the showroom" at a specific time.  The shorex people there give you the numbered stickers and have you wait in a specific area of the room until they call your tour number and someone then leads you out to the bus...

 

But, yes, for example, we've been to Ensenada on Princess, Carnival and NCL...and EVERY one of them had us meet our shorex ON THE DOCK...where the tour company has its people waiting with signs...

 

It's pretty much standard for most cruise lines (We've been on ten different ones) and for most ports...

 

Remember that the cruise lines themselves do NOT actually conduct the shorexes...They are done under contract with local providers in each port and almost ALL of the cruise lines use the SAME providers in each port.

 

One problem with these sorts of comparison threads is that lots of posters have only anecdotal evidence from limited numbers of cruises--usually far fewer cruises on whichever line they claim is "worse"...

Why make this acrimonious? All are entitled to an opinion and differing views make the thread more interesting. 

20 hours ago, Quins13 said:

Thanks all,

 

No idea re the Ice cream area in the buffet! Was only on for 3 days…

Thanks. When we were on the Island Princess back in 2010 the ice cream bar was very poor so was hoping it had improved. 

23 hours ago, Quins13 said:

Hi,

 

Recently booked a cruise for next July whilst on Sky Princess a week ago.  The Future cruise person said we could change that cruise if we wanted to within 60 days without penalties.
 

Called up today to try and move the cruise and Princess are claiming this is not possible and saying there is a £150 admin charge.  This is not what future cruise said, but there is nothing in writing.  Anyone got  any knowledge or experience with changing a cruise booked onboard.

 

thanks in advance

Sorry.    Change of subject. As you have up to date info on Sky--could you tell me if they have an adequate Ice Cream area with toppings/cookies etc on the buffet?

P.S.  Forgot that we wish Celebrity had self-service laundry

        Hoping that Princess has better free choices for ice cream. Our Island P experience in 2010 was only soft serve with no toppings allowed unless you paid. Celebrity had a great ice cream  bar on the buffet.

We were on Celebrity Millennium in June. We were unable to go to the shows because they had cancelled the early performance as there were only 498 passengers on board. We are early to bed ( or at least cabin) cruisers. We were very upset about that.

Food was good for the most part. Buffet was not self service but as we were almost always the only diners present it was not an issue. One thing we were not happy about was the lack of social distancing in the MDR! The tables were all together in a cluster with half the dinning room empty. We insisted on being given a table away from all the others. The way it should have been for all!

Hopefully the situation will improve soon but it is not guaranteed!

We are on Sky Princess for a TA in Nov so hoping for a better experience. It is only our 3 rd Princess but we have sailed on many Celebrity cruises as we are Elite. 

Past cruises--nothing current that I have seen on the roll calls and threads I frequent. Nice to hear from you.

On 9/12/2021 at 4:01 AM, SwankieG said:

He’s very much alive and still performing. I took my parents to his show two years ago for their anniversary and I was beyond surprised by how good the concert was. 

Does it show my age if I start singing " tie a yellow ribbon around the old oak tree" LOL!

We are on the Sky Nov 5th Transatlantic. Has anyone knowledge of cabin C304--accessible next to the elevator?  Thanks.