Reina del Mar

13 hours ago, possum52 said:

I agree Julie. A forty five minute trip each way sounds over the top too. It is only 21.7 km from the East Arm Wharf to the CBD. Must have been very slow shuttles.

We can only discuss what we experienced !

It might only be 21.7 km but that’s how long it took. It seemed an extremely long return journey when the air con died on the coach and no substitute coach was sent. The lack of air con might have meant the driver needed to travel more slowly on the return journey, but not for outbound journey.

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2 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

 The one free stocking of the mini-fridge with 9 alcohol and 9 nonalcoholic beverages 

We can also buy 12 bottles of water for $7.09 once onboard, which is all my DW drinks. 

 

Sorry if it sounds like I am nit-picking..we’ve always had 20 items in the mini bar set up and was under the impression that the water packages needed to be ordered prior to sailing.

29 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

we bought it online and didn't have to deal with anyone "playing dumb"

Shame it is not an option to book on UK personaliser !!!

At least we could use our OBC and were aware of the difference in prices. 😂

Make sure you are charged for the Classic Soda Package and not the Non Alcoholic Package, as there is a huge difference in price between them. 

When we wanted to buy the Classic soda package, the staff ‘played dumb’ and tried to get us to sign up for the non Alcoholic one..even asking a supposed supervisor. It wasn’t until I showed them what the Classic package was on the internet, that they agreed I could have that…Maybe they’re on commission ??? Or perhaps they didn’t know the difference themselves, although that seems unlikely when they are trying to sell the packages. Who knows ?????

This was Coral Princess, February 2024.

Shower curtain, small bathroom. Covered irritating night light on bedside tables with plasters…..and just remembered we forgot to remove them !! Whoops !

Iechyd da !!!!  

Not an Arsenal Supporter !

Thanks for the suggestion..but I am not really into UBER..too technical for me.

50 minutes ago, KforKitty said:

In January it took us just under an hour to clear immigration at Miami.

 

Catherine 

That doesn’t sound too bad. Perhaps I’m fussing about nothing.

Many thanks.

Lots of coughing on Coral Princess on Round Australia cruise in March. Ended up joining the coughing, but three Covid tests proved negative. Felt dreadful during flight home and did a fourth test before visiting Doctor…all still negative. Tests were within date.

Have since read that many people were diagnosed with Lower Respiratory Tract Infections.  Six weeks after coughing started, I am only just beginning to feel more like myself. Sure many people on the flight must have thought I had Covid with all the coughing. Perhaps the tests do not recognise the latest strain, but whatever it was, I have never felt that dreadful in all my life !!

Many thanks. Will check out Viator to compare.

1 hour ago, winty said:

Hi, I’m a Brit and been through miami airport many many times. It can be an absolute nightmare - usually takes an hour or so but has taken us a couple of hours before. This year however, we sailed through - There was no queue and we were through within about 20 minutes.
My advice is to be prepared just in case!! You can always have a coffee if you get through quicker than you thought.  

Thank you for that..If we are meant to land at 4pm, what time would you suggest we book a transfer for ?  Or maybe just grabbing a taxi when we’ve got through would be easier?

We are thinking of using Booking.com airport transfers which we used in both Singapore and Sydney..in February this year. Both worked well. They track flights and allow a certain amount of waiting time.

We usually book a flight to Atlanta where we clear Immigration and Customs, so we just walk out of FLL after a domestic flight. We shouldn’t have let the travel agent persuade us this was a better deal as it looks like it will be pretty stressful !!!!

Thanks for your thoughts.

Just that really.

We  (stupidly) booked to fly into MIA rather than FLL for a cruise out of Port Everglades.

Want to arrange a transfer to hotel in Fort Lauderdale and need to know approximately how long it might take to get through Immigration for Brits. Would be about 4pm on a Thursday.

Many thanks.

2 hours ago, Ellipooh said:

I currently have 10 cruises in my Captain's Circle, so I am at Platinum. 

I have a 28-day cruise next year that I would really like to take as an Elite.

 

Don”t get too excited- Elite benefits have been drastically cut back in recent times.

You get the same embarkation and disembarkation lounge as Platinum. Same half price wi fi if not taking Plus/Premier package. Same lounge for evening drinks/ snacks if you want to attend.

We had one mini bar set up on a 26 day cruise.

Laundry is free, but not express,   you would have that in a suite anyway and it would be express. 

Priority water shuttles if not docking in port.

Opportunity to order canapés on formal nights…nothing exciting to choose from in my opinion.

10% reduction on shop purchases and shore excursions.

Enjoy if you manage it !

Be aware there are different types of package-

Classic Soda Package. $17.69. Per person per day including service charge (18%)

Zero Alcohol Drink Package. $35.39 pppd including service charge (18%)

The staff selling it on the first day must have been on commission on our cruise as they kept telling us we wanted the zero alcohol package and wouldn’t sell us the classic till we showed them what we wanted on Princess website !!!

On the Classic Soda Package, we were served cans of Coke Zero and Sprite Zero on our Australian cruise. Didn’t see Diet Dr Pepper. A variety of Mocktails was available..bottled water was not.

We did a 26 day cruise, which could have been booked in multiple segments. We booked it as one Round Australia cruise and only had one mini bar set up. Asked the steward to swap for what we would use and he’d brought our preferences before we set sail.

Disembarked 26th March…still no sign of folio being sent by email…thank goodness I printed out folio half an hour prior to disembarkation…just in case !!! Received Credit Card bill yesterday and seems to show the same amount as the copy I printed on last day.

Usually receive email of folio, together with survey whilst waiting to disembark. …another ‘upgrade’ !!!!

Yes I appreciate that- but there certainly is for Darwin!  Maybe extended port hours to allow for transfers although that would obviously cost more to sail faster and better organisation for port disembarkation - so many people complained at having to wait till 1 pm for a shuttle when docked at 9 am- we were fortunate to have priority disembarkation but not everyone did!  Also poor information from port information talks for Adelaide and Melbourne where Port of Adelaide and Port of Melbourne were recommended was not helpful!. Free shuttles were helpful but when their air con doesn’t work it is not comfortable.-  Having said all that, we did enjoy our cruise.

On 4/24/2024 at 9:48 PM, rosevew said:

It was just an offer for the King's coronation so don't expect it again anytime soon!

Thank you for that information..had no idea it was offered for King’s Coronation. Shame it is not an annual ‘sale’ !!!

Thank you for your comment!

On 4/15/2024 at 2:14 AM, arxcards said:

If the onboard currency for your cruise is as you describe, in $AU, gratuities are included in the fare. 

This is correct for cruises booked and paid for in Australia. For those of us booking elsewhere, gratuities are added daily on the standard package and included with Plus and Premier packages if paid in GBP or US dollars.

Used the AUD25 shuttle. Seemed fine but no one checked tickets on either outward or return journey…whether everyone had paid, I have no idea.

Disappointing this dock is so far from town. 25 dollars this time and 28 dollars from previous dock, so probably a little closer.

We did Princess’ circumnavigation of Australia for 26 days on 29th February 2024. Enjoyed our time on board the Coral Princess.

However, it seems that Princess is now using industrial ports, quite a way outside the towns they purport to be visiting. In most cases shuttle buses were provided without cost, but the organisation for shuttles was poor and time on land curtailed.

In UK, the plus package was on offer at half price, last year.

Does anyone have any insider knowledge as to whether this might happen this year, please ???

Many thanks.

6 hours ago, Lucky TGO said:

No, it’s been off the menu for years 😳

Tony

This is not correct…available as ‘favourites’ in Australia…March 2024.