jasmith52

Thanks Everybody

 

So it is jeans & polo top breakfast and lunch, trackie & t-shirt walking round the ship and maybe breakfast, trousers & shirt for dinner and suit for formal nights.

It's quite casual for breakfast and lunch.

The only rule that I can discern is...As long as the private parts are mostly covered then you are good to go !

You may be in violation of the Passenger Vessel Services Act, since your cruise could be considered as two separate cruises. You cannot cruise from one US port to another US port without stopping at a distant foreign port - and no Canadian port is considered a distant foreign port.

You could "accidently" stay out too late to catch the ship in Boston..... Darn, I missed the ship !

Then pick up the ship again in Rhode Island.

On our 2017 Canada/New England cruise, my wife and I would like to visit our son who lives in New Hampshire. In order to have a reasonable time to visit, we plan on leaving the ship in Boston and re-boarding in Newport, Rhode, Island, the following day.

 

We will advise the ship's authorities of our plan before we leave. Has anyone else done this and are there any problems we haven't foreseen?

haven't done this myself. But my advice would be to contact Princess right away and find out if there indeed are any issues on their end.

Peety:

You seem to know just enough to embarrass yourself.

The latency up and down to a 22k mile high satellite is around one tenth of a ms not 450 ms.

The handshake takes place once, then the downstream flow begins.

Again it's all about bandwidth of the system and the sharing amongst users.

Pretty much the same as in other locations as the ship's internet uses geosynchronous satellites. Slow to very slow is how I'd describe it. Mostly depends on how many others on the ship are sharing the bandwidth.

 

I have been on two cruises where geometry was a problem. Seems on certain courses in certain locations on certain ships, the line of sight between the satellite dish and the satellite can be blocked by the ship's superstructure. This happened to us on both the Dawn Princess and the Ocean Princess.

 

Because the staff has to do business over the internet, one day at sea we noticed a temporary course change performed just to allow the internet to function for an hour or so!

Geosynchronous satellites and ship course have little to do with the onboard internet experience. The end-use antenna's can be made to track satellites at any orientation even in rough seas.

What's more likely is that the communication link has limited bandwidth that is shared amongst many users. That results in a poor user experience onboard. I suspect that if you got on the internet at 3:00 AM that your experience would be much better. A much faster(higher bandwidth) satellite link can be made to happen but not at a price-point that many would be willing to pay for.

What do you expect out in the middle of the Pacific ?

How about sending and receiving a few texts here and there and then maybe give up the surfing until you get to a beach in Hawaii.

About ocean view cabins: the big issue (aside from a flatulent husband) is whether or not you have drop down bunks above the bed area. Some OV cabins have them, some don't. The bed has the pillow end up against the window, so if you want to watch the whales cavorting from your cabin, you need to kneel on the bed. When you get out of the bed, tall people will need to duck to avoid the beds hanging folded up against the wall.

Both these problems can be fixed by having your beds in the twin configuration, but DH won't hear of that!

We always bring a small electric fan in case the room is hot. Air freshener is a good idea, too. (You ate WHAT? Oh, no!)

Tina:

Oh sure, the flatulent husband is fun at parties and in elevators, but perhaps for you a window that opens would be a good thing. Oh sure the fan helps but the open window is better.

We are just back from a Hawaii cruise out of SF- we found the rough seas uncomfortable and would not recommend it if you have any doubts. Some days it was difficult to walk around the boat without hanging onto the handrails and the tender into port was actually dangerous with several people falling. The islands were lovely but too many rough sea days for us.

That's the thing about cruises on the open ocean. You are subject to weather and ocean disturbances. Rough weather can happen anywhere, not just to Hawaii. I was on a very rough Mexican Riviera cruise where you had to stay inside off the decks for a day and a half. The cruise ships being really big and having stabilizers help ride out those rough seas better than smaller ship. Still rough weather isn't so much fun.

To further beat this obstructed ocean view versus balcony choice some more. The real reason to choose a balcony cabin is that balcony cabins (and Premium ocean view cabins - not regular OV cabins) get "fine amenities" whatever that is. So for that bottle of conditioner and a better bedspread I suspect many would cough up an extra thousand or so !

And it's not just the balcony. Balcony rooms are bigger than ocean view rooms on Grand class ships

According to cruisedeckplans.com, balcony and ocean view cabins on the Grand are exactly the same size at 168 square feet of cabin space. Of course the balcony cabin does have an additional 46 square feet of balcony space. Interior cabins are slightly smaller at 160 square feet.

Princess suggests otherwise.. That the balcony cabins are indeed larger ...

Quotes from the Princess website:

<Balcony>

The spacious approximately 232 to 274 square-foot balcony stateroom is appointed with fine amenities and outstanding views from an approximately 47-square-foot private balcony

<Ocean View>

The Oceanview stateroom is approximately 163 to 171 square feet and features a picture window^ for memorable views.

Look at the attached photos - What do you think ?

I have stayed in both type cabins on a number of cruises and believe that the balcony cabins are indeed larger. Either way I had a great time - You're on a cruise - how bad can it be? Yet as I posted, balcony cabins are better, and for me, it's worth it to pay more for a balcony. On a Hawaiian cruise you'll be in that room 15 days (10 sea days) so you had better enjoy it.

Also for what it's worth...Princess has an ocean view cabin category called "Premium OceanView". They claim that those rooms are 206 square feet and are layed out like the balcony cabins sans the balcony. But the obstructed ocean view cabins we speak of are the smaller size.

I agree though, obstructed Ocean view rooms are a great value.

I have sailed in obstructed ocean view (window) and in balcony cabins. Balcony cabins are better. That's why they cost more and evidently many agree with me. Only you though can decide if it's worth the cost to you or not. To me it's worth it. If the balcony cabins weren't better they couldn't sell them for more as nobody would pay extra.

And it's not just the balcony. Balcony rooms are bigger than ocean view rooms on Grand class ships

If you think the spread in price is big on Hawaii cruises check out the price spread in Panama canal cruises.

In my opinion my little balcony is better than the Princess Sanctuary space.

The biggest con I find is making sure I "get my money's worth".

 

 

Fun with Math...

 

If the drink package costs $56.35 then for $10 drinks you'll need to drink 5 or 6 drinks to "break even"

 

with $7 drinks you'll need to drink 8 drinks a day.

 

with $6 beers you'' need to drink 9 drinks a day.

 

Now - Who says that math can't be fun ?

 

Are you up to the challenge ?

We like the 8:00 P.M. because we enjoy the sunsets and do not like being rushed after returning from shore excursions. That is not normal for us at home but since we are on the road we really enjoy the late sitting. One thing to consider is with a late leisurely dinner, timing for shows can be a challenge.

 

Steve & Vicky

I prefer the late dining myself for exactly the reasons you stated. However my wife (the boss of me) can't wait that late to eat so we always get the early dining.

On sea days the high tea is usually around 3:30 or so. If you go to that and get out at maybe 4:15 it's only another hour or two until dinner. High tea works much better with late dining.

One more benefit of late dining perhaps not so applicable to a Panama cruise. There are generally only adults in the late dining. That's a big plus to some of us.

I tried that guarantee was assigned same level in a lousy noisy position.

How do you know that the carefully picked room you selected isn't a lousy noisy cabin ? Do you know where all the pumps and machinery are ? I suspect that what you pick is just as random as the GTY cabins.

You don't know what you don't know.

By far the best part of getting a whopper discount is when you compare with your brother-in-law (Who booked with his own TA) your super low rate.

This experience is well beyond money and worth far more than the actual discount you received. A highly recommended experience !

Some people post they get 20% off their rate but don't know how a TA can do that unless I am wrong thinking that a TA cannot get more than 20% commission.

Sometimes when cruises aren't selling well, the lines will give blocks of rooms or volume based discounts to certain agencies to move them. If you can hook up with them you can (sometimes) get a whopper deal.

The big(bigger) discounts are only for certain cruises where one of the agencies is (extra) incentivized to fill those cabins. Your run-of-the-mill TA probably doesn't have access to these deals.

Discounts greater than 20% are real. I can attest to that.

That's fine but you're giving up a 10-20% discount from the fare you're paying Princess when you book directly. Ten to twenty percent every time you book a cruise. How often do you get a 10-20% price drop?

Sometimes when cruises aren't selling well, the lines will give blocks of rooms or volume based discounts to certain agencies to move them. If you can hook up with them you can (sometimes) get a whopper deal.

In those cases the discounts can be much much larger than your 10-20%. And all the while the cruise-line can have their normal prices.

Is there any freshly brewed iced tea on the ships????

The buffet iced tea is instant made with a tea syrup plus water when you pull the lever. I assume that the iced tea you get from the specialty coffee house is brewed.

I might add that the spread they put out almost every afternoon/evening at the Elite Lounge is pretty good as well. They serve a different variety of items every time.

It's not like we otherwise don't get fed. Between the dining room and the buffet and the high tea we all get way way more than we really need. I wouldn't pick a cruise based on the frequent flyer lounge appetizers.

I agree with your comments on the serenity of the lounge. It's a great spot.

It probably depends on where you're flying from. For us traveling from the West Coast, we'd rather do it all at once. Our flight left LAX just before midnight, so we were tired enough to actually fall asleep not too long after boarding. We slept about 6 hours and didn't feel too bad at the end of the 15 hour flight. In contrast, our 10 hour flight to London was much harder. It left at around 5:00pm, so we weren't ready to sleep for at least 5-6 hours after boarding. We ended up with about 1-2 hours sleep and felt awful the next day. We always allow at least 2-3 days in our destination city between flight day and the start of the cruise.

Not everyone is lucky enough to sleep on airplanes. My last (connecting) flight coach class back from AUS took 25 hours door to door. Got up way too early to make the first flight. Long flights can best be described as torture and I felt like %!@ when I arrived. I can certainly see the attraction of cruising rather than flying. It's so civilized.

Appreciate this above excellent summary by Kartgv. Well done by this San Diego cruiser!! For our original poster, it is a case that you absolutely cannot fly or would just like to avoid that long of an air journey?

 

As detailed below on my live/blog, I just wanted to share that the "PRIZE" of Australia and New Zealand is well worth the long, long journey. Maybe for either early or late in the season you could go to or come back from being in these areas via a cruise ship. To lessen the burden of these long flights, you could "BREAK IT UP" with key stop-overs. Our flights were Columbus to Dallas/FW and then to Honolulu. Spent time there enjoying Hawaii. Then we flew to Australia. Same way in returning back. Did four days on the Big Island to re-fresh and lessen the long, long flight challenges.

 

Reactions? Added questions??

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 157,933 views for this posting.

What you suggest is to wrestle off the scab of air travel slowly by adding more airports and more hassle. By your suggestion it is better to take your pain slowly than by quickly pulling that scab off all at once.

Perhaps it is more tolerable that way, Perhaps not.

Originally Posted by jasmith52 View Post

Although there are differences, Princess and Royal Caribbean are more the same than they are different.

This is crazy talk. This is like saying that Celebrity, Princess, RCL, Norwegian, Oceania, Holland America, Carnival and the like are more the same than they are different. Of Course, they are ships that sail on the ocean. If one cruises enough, the same differences are what make the difference between lines. Not that they are more the same than they are different.

 

I assure anyone that RCL and Princess are not the same at all in terms of cruising differences.

 

 

Enjoy a Princess cruise and see if you like it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Walt: 46 day countdown.

We'll think what you want.

Oceana aside, I stand by what I posted. There are differences to the mass market cruise-lines but they are all more the same than they are different. I would enjoy a cruise on any of them.

I now have 4 cruises booked between now and 2018

So many Buffets.....

So little time !

This has got me wondering, if the original poster decides to go ahead with this cruise idea but disregards your advice on booking what will he need to do?

 

If people had previously cruised with Princess your advice should presumably be different but what would it be to people under those circumstances?

 

Regards John

If I may...

Presumably the TA or the cruise-line is familiar with the ship(s) and can make intelligent suggestions to the novice. Presumably once you've been on a Princess ship you could then consider booking without so much help. Perhaps then a discount online source could be used.

just my two cents

Although there are differences, Princess and Royal Caribbean are more the same than they are different. I enjoy both cruise lines and would sail with whomever has a better itinerary or better price. You'll have a good time on Princess.

Book with whomever you are comfortable with.

Closer to pizza is always a good thing. :D

Pizza is good ! I Agree ...

We had one of those Lido cabins for a Hawaiian cruise. What I liked about that location was the easy access to fresh and hot french fries smothered with Mayo and ketchup just steps away. Those FF right out of the fryer were the best as an afternoon snack !

Where are they going to put all of these ships?

I suspect that at least some of those ships are going to serve the growing Asian/Chinese market.