Barry H

On ship tours and transfers from the airport. Princess will be in contact with the transfer coach so they will have an estimate for arrival. Princess has a window (time period they can delay leaving port). When the time is up the ship has to leave or pay extra port fees. If the delay is excessive, the ship will leave. It is then up to Princess to get you to the next port (travel, accommodation and meals) and board you on the ship. If you travel on your own and miss the ship, staff will assist you to get to the next port at your expense.

On the Sun TA cruise there was no issue around reserved seats being available to everyone five minutes before production showtime. The reason is there was a full house 30 minutes before showtime. The best seats in the arena are the center section facing the stage. To get these for the first production show you need to be there about 90 minutes before showtime and wait in line for the doors to open.

We are on the transatlantic crossing in two weeks. We will definitely request a kettle for our cabin. We had a kettle on the Sky transatlantic last year as it finished the British Isles cruise season.

Does the Eatery on Deck 9 have a self service beverage station with Hot Water and Hot Chocolate? If not, where can I get hot water to make my own tea / coffee? Are kettles available for the mini-suites?

For my upcoming Sun Princess cruise I bid slightly above minimum for a mini-suite, cabana deck mini-suite and sanctuary class mini suite. Two weeks our from the cruise I was successful. I won a mini-suite upgrade (my lowest bid) and was assigned a cabana mini-suite. Only negative is that it is a connecting cabin. Winning bid is about one quarter of the upgrade cost when we submitted our bid so we are happy. Looking forward to all the extra room.

Single day Medallion net is $15 for elite and platinum (this is half price).

We bid on three different upgrades for our upcoming Sun Princess cruise. We received a confirmation email and then another stating that we were outbid for one of the category upgrades. Suggestion was that we modify our bid. We bid what we were comfortable as we are OK with our existing cabin. We were not going to get into a bidding war.

We always purchase travel medical insurance ($5,000,000 coverage) in addition to Princess. Princess evacuation coverage is limited to $75,000. That may get you ashore but not necessarily home.

The Infinity Beach Club has raised their rates. Now US $60 each with $20 food and beverage credit.

We have always used EZ Air for our European and Trans Atlantic cruises. Best advantage is that you don't have to put up money for the flight until final payment date (unless you are using points). We keep track of flights and have re-fared flights a few times to save more money. Our best deal was a one way flight on Air France where we upgraded from premium economy to business class for ~$200 Cdn each. It was a no brainer. Closer to travel date the same flight was priced 4 times higher. Advice: book as early as possible and watch for price reductions, especially around sale dates like Black Monday. If you can get a really good deal directly through the airlines you can always cancel the EZ Air flight with no penalty.

At terminal 2 there is a shared shuttle service that charges $11 pp. This is similar to the cost of a taxi including tip.

Royal class ships require low tide to sail under the Lions Gate Bridge. An early arrival time is required for the ship to be docked for morning disembarkation. This sometimes results in an early departure from the last Alaskan port. Same does not apply to the Caribbean and Grand class ships.

We were on the Regal where there was a butchery demonstration. All meat is frozen and then thawed in special rooms. The only place where the fish may be fresh is Alaska where the ship may get fresh salmon.

All of the cabins on the Sun have a couch. That is why they are deemed deluxe. On royal class ships you only get a loveseat in deluxe balcony and above categories.

Enchanted has deluxe balcony cabins that come with a love seat. More room than a balcony and less expensive than a mini suite. On the Caribbean Princess you need to upgrade to a minisuite to get a couch in the cabin.

Elites are able to book dining anytime after booking. If not elite you may have to wait until final payment date (90 days out) before booking.

We don't drink the liquor so we swap out the mini bar set up for 8 Dos Equis, 6 sprite and 6 water. Works well for us as we don't have the drink package. I bring a foam can/bottle cover and take a beer to lunch in the buffet. Never an issue.

My biggest complaint is that you can't select your bar set up mix from home. I add this to every review but no response. It would save the staff a lot of work as they have to put your changeout together anyways. Last cruise on the Sky the changeout did not arrive until the evening of the second day meaning I could not enjoy it for two days.

We are also fans of ice wine. It is available in 375 or 200 ml bottles. We bring our own bottle of ice wine with us and enjoy it in our cabin. We pack a couple of small wine glasses that are available at the dollar store. Cost will be a fraction of what Princess would charge.

The "free" area at Amber Cove is the pool area. Food and drinks around the pool are extra.

After final payment date open the Princess app and select dining options. You have the opportunity to book dining for each day or for the whole cruise. We will be on the Sky shortly and booked a private table for 2 in a dining room at 5:30 for the whole cruise. Once onboard, if you like the table and waiters you can ask the host to reserve that table for you for the rest of the cruise. This will possibly work because you are the first in the dining room. Don't expect the same if you book dining after 6:00 pm.

Good to know as we will be on the Sky in two weeks

Taking the Sky Princess Nov 10, 2023. At final payment date the ship had a lot of cabins in all categories. Then the price reductions to fill the ship and now it appears to be sold out. Single supplements were reduced to ~20-25% so there are a lot of singles booked. That should reduce the number of passengers. With fewer families than other itineraries, few cabins will have extra guests. That should be a full ship but less than 100% capacity. On popular cruises the capacity can exceed 110% with 3rd and 4th guests in a cabin.

There is no more free wifi for platinum or elite. What you get is a 50% discount on purchased wifi.

Like auto gratuities, I suspect that the service charge goes into a pool of money for the beverage service staff.