Reina del Mar

We have used them in Barcelona. The check in staff thought we were there for one night, but once we explained, everything was fine. We were a party of eight, dumped the suitcases in the room and headed out to explore. We were able to use the pool area later on, and even managed ( by sharing towels) to shower before being picked up for our evening flight.

We use Princess hotel and transfer packages if we are sailing from a port which is new to us..especially if we don’t speak the language (South America) . If we are sailing from a port we know, we book our own hotel and take a private transfer or taxi. You will find the Princess package much more expensive as the price is per person, but takes the stress away. Booking your own is usually about half the total cost ( for two travellers) of the Princess offering.

Very impressed with the library on Coral Princess. Haven’t seen anything like that on any of the newer ships. Such a shame ! I buy good condition books in Charity shops, then leave them after every holiday..cruise or otherwise.

Write Elite in large letters and request cool wash on the outside of the bag. Take a photo of everything you are sending for laundry. You can request washer/dryer tokens from guest services if you happen to be passing. I take my own (Purex or similar- available on Amazon) 3 in 1 sheets.

Definitely bring what suits your hair. Tried using ship’s products in the past and hair was even more out of control than usual. I usually take bar soap , bar shampoo and bar conditioner…at the very least take a ‘heavy duty’ conditioner.

When we returned from our cruise around Australia, we spent a few days in Sydney before flying home. We had booked lunch in The Sydney Tower, and although I had some dreadful lurgy, we kept the booking. It wasn’t that expensive..a three course buffet lunch with a glass of wine was just over AUD 200. As we didn’t have a lot of time, we had pre booked. Views were spectacular. We first did the tower about thirty years ago and I had some nausea when we descended, but all was fine this time.

Priority disembarkation was for Elite status. Sorry I didn’t notice whether there were taxis available at the port. We did however use two different taxis to get us around in Darwin as we needed to visit somewhere which was a bit far to walk with knee issues. Taxis came quickly and were reasonably priced on both outward and return journeys. We used cash so not sure if you could use credit card.

I agree the library on Coral is amazing. Would hate for Princess to turn it into something else. However- as previous posters have mentioned- money talks and the library/ card room do not make extra revenue so not holding my breath!

We have always received our final folio whilst waiting in the lounge to disembark. After our last cruise, around Australia on Coral Princess- 26 days- we did not receive anything. Fortunately, I had printed out a folio before disembarking. Credit card bill matched what I’d printed out. Surprisingly, totally out of the blue, I have received the final folio , by email, this morning. We disembarked on 26th. March and today is 2nd June. No discrepancies but something is not right for Princess to take just under ten weeks to send it !!!

Can anyone say what the usual tip might be? I know it is a personal choice, but some ideas would be helpful. Thanks.

I would add..take your own ‘home pharmacy’. Costs of cough mixture and painkillers etc are highly inflated. Also, don’t buy watches onboard. My husband buys a watch every year from Fossil..(unnecessary I know and keeping them all in batteries is ridiculous) anyway, he usually buys from outlets and has never had an issue. The only one he bought on a Princess ship, at full price, died within a few weeks of getting home..it wasn’t just the battery but the watch itself.

Have never thought to pack a hairdryer in recent years but on our latest cruise (Coral) wished I had. Square, wall mounted hairdryer which was definitely not very powerful and quite noisy. Maybe a heated styling brush would have been useful.

Thank you- sounds great.

Interesting. We have seen someone refused entry to the MDR on Emerald Princess in the Caribbean, post Covid, for wearing shorts. Was quite shocked as they were smart, formal shorts. The man behind him was allowed in…he was wearing tatty, paint-splattered overalls !!! It was a smart casual night..but go figure !!

Thank you so much..husband will be delighted. We take formal clothes for longer cruises or when it’s a cruise with no moving hotel to hotel. Must admit to not taking much notice of what others wear if I am honest…but don’t want to feel uncomfortable. Thanks again.