cattolica

There has been a craps table on every Princess cruise we have sailed. My husband only likes to play craps. Just as a note, the craps table did not usually open until 9pm. On most cruises there aren't many craps players, it was usually pretty dead and he was the only player.

Lived in the L.A. area for decades, I would not recommend the 11am flight especially since you are arriving on a weekday. The stress of getting to the airport on time could really spoil your whole vacation.

Just because you sign up for self disembarkation does NOT mean you will be in the first group. You don't just go get in a line. Each group is limited to 200 passengers and there are usually 4 to 6 groups. Not everyone can be first off the ship.

Think about booking the later flight and asking to be in the last group to disembark. By then it will be later and the better part of the morning rush hour will be gone (of course unless there is a mass accident or construction). Then you can relax in your shuttle or taxi ride to the airport and getting through the lines and to your gate. If you still have time to wait it will give you time to have a relaxing lunch at the airport.

Just some suggestions.

http://messages.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1808632&page=3

Look at the photo in post #58 Cabin E304

Depends where you are on the Emerald Deck as to how much of an obstruction. We were on the Dolphin Deck and could see that the cabin below us was looking at a top portion of a lifeboat.

Found this doing a "Google" search. I believe this is still just an asphalt lot. It is an "overflow" docking area when there are too many ships in port. The one time I had any experience with this Berth was when meeting a crew member. He advised us that the guests were being shuttled from the terminal area you are familiar with down to Berth 46.

I am not sure if this information is still accurate but you can probably contact the Port of Los Angeles to confirm.

Berth 46

PORT OF LOS ANGELES

3011 Miner Street

San Pedro, CA 90731

(310) 732-3508

http://www.portoflosangeles.org

Use: Outer harbor cruise ship berth and site for major public events

Land area: 12 acres

Total berth length: 1041 feet

Berths: 1

Height: 16 feet

Water depth: -51 feet

Terminal features: 12 acre asphalt pavement backland with a concrete wharf

OK Everyone, the OP does not have time to change flights they are leaving in 6 days.

That being said. If you only have your carry-ons from your flight you should be fine sending them through the scanner at the cruise terminal. Since your flight doesn't get in until 1pm, your cabin will be ready when you check in. Just be sure to stay on task once you land and get yourself in a taxi and over to the port. If you ship sails at 4pm you need to be checked in no later than 2:30pm

Have a great cruise and Happy Holidays. :-)

If you do an internet search for the cruise ship docking schedule in St. Thomas you will see that the Royal docks at Crown Bay every other Wed. Choose the month you will be there and you can see where you are scheduled to dock. The weeks they dock at Havensight are usually those that either the RCCL Allure or the Oasis are also in port.

Exactly what I thought. DH took the picture......I would not go out on the Skywalk.

It looks in your photo as if at night if there is a light on inside the cabin and the curtain is open that you would be able to see a little way into the cabin.

Here's a photo.

Good Luck,

We were Platinum. There were so many Elites on our cruise, they put the overflow Elites in the Platinum seating area. It was an absolute zoo. Not sure time is going to fix the number of people who are leaving the ship and then those who trying to board the ship.

Last year I did a B2B on Allure of the Seas and Ruby Princess. I got over to Terminal 2 around 9:45ish and there was a line outside that grew to about 150 people by time they opened the doors. I was Gold then, and embarkation was a unmitigated disaster, people standing and sitting everywhere along the walls, floors, and in between.

 

I've gone from Gold to Platinum since last year so I'm hoping the waiting area, and embarkation, is a little more organized by time the 12/1 sailing arrives and they've fined tuned the experience a little bit from the previous cruises. ;)

That's a bit early. They won't be ready for embarking passengers. We arrived at our off site parking lot earlier than expected (10am). The shuttle driver headed over, we sat in horrible traffic inside the port area for about 30 mins. I didn't care, he was the one that had to deal with the mess.

Disembarkation of the previous passengers will still be going on. We were able to get checked in around 11:15, didn't board until around 12:15 and it was a mess.

I am sure it is going to take longer since when we boarded they were not doing a extra check for wine so there was no special area for people to go if they exceeded the free allowance. I hear they are doing that now.

I plan on showing up around 10am.... :D

I seriously doubt that was the master key that the room steward left in the light slot. Our room stewardess used a "dead" blue key card to turn the lights on. She had her master key attached to her uniform.

We never used our key card to turn on the lights. I left an empty gift card in the slot.....when we left the room we just pulled it up and left it resting above the slot. Towards the end of the cruise we found that any business card or piece of paper folded to fit worked well.

After that the room stewardess just used the gift card we had in the slot.

Did you try that "master" key card to see if it actually opened your cabin door? How do you think they went to clean other rooms if they left their master key in your room? If in fact I am wrong and it was a master key card, I would have been looking for their supervisor to return it.

We just got back yesterday from our 7 nights on board the Royal. While we experienced some of what you experienced, overall a very enjoyable trip. We had very slow service a couple of times in the Anytime dining.

 

My main complaint was my room steward. While pleasant and very willing to help, the lights in the room only stay on if your card key is in the slot on the wall. Not just once but 3 times he left his master key in our room and we had to chase him down to return it. We never had washcloths in our room, and were only provided robes on the last night of the cruise (we were in a mini suite). But my primary concern was the obvious breach of security.

Linda

All I can say is WOW. We were on the same cruise. Service was spectacular. Ate in the Concerto Dining Room many times. Never had slow service and enjoyed the company of other cruisers. We always sat at a table for at least 6 but, usually 8 or 10.

Our Room Stewardess was top notch. Everything was great. Robes were delivered a few hours after boarding. She really deserved the extra tip we left for her this morning.

Didn't get off in Princess Cays so don't know anything about the tenders.

There was an a notation in the Patters that Contractors were onboard laying new/additional internet cables. We knew to expect slower internet speed. Luckily were didn't need to use it very much, but it worked well enough for us to check e-mail which is the only reason we use it.

Thanks to the crew and other cruisers we had yet another great Princess cruise.

Thank you for a great post. It was a pleasure to read.

We never choose our cruises based on ship. We will be sailing very soon on the Royal. Just looking forward to being on a ship. Our trip was not based on which ship.....just timing and price. I know we are going to have a great time as we always do.

Security will be much tighter at LAX since the shooting. It might not be the disembarkation from the ship that slows you down but more likely the time spent getting through the airport. Also, that is a Monday morning and traditionally freeway traffic can be heavier on Mondays LA.

We lived in the Los Angeles area for decades so have had a lot of experience with their heavy traffic.

No, on the Coral Princess in Nov. it was the starboard side on the Promenade deck, just outside Churchhill's.

Is that a policy for all Princess ships?

When did they make the transfers non-refundable? We have cancelled transfers before with no penalty.

My DH plays nothing but craps and has always either purchased some casino credits before leaving home or makes sure he has the cash already with him. 18 cruises many different ships........every one of them would have charged him the 3% surcharge whether he got the money from the cage or buying chips at the craps table. He asks on every single cruise and always gets the 3% surcharge answer.

So, if someone isn't being charged the 3% charge it is either a mistake or they are probably a big gambler. The casinos will most likely bend the rules if they are dealing with someone who is going to drop a lot of cash.

On both of our Golden Princess cruises (early 12/08 & 12/10) decorating had begun by the time we boarded. However, around the last couple of days of our 14 day cruise they really kicked it up a notch. So, most of the decorations were not in place until after the 20th of Dec.

Skiiergirl - A couple more good authors in the same vein are Jeffrey Deavers, Stuart Woods and John Sandford. All are excellent~!

 

Cattolica - Those titles sound like Diane Mott Davidson! If you haven't read her books, they are excellent too. Main character is a caterer who always gets involved in a murder. Lots of cooking and recipes too!

Yep, the Joanne Fluke books are similar to Diana Mott Davidson. The only difference is the main character runs a bakery......and there is a bit more humor in the story.....you sort of forget that it is a mystery. :-) I have read one of the Davidson books.

How about the author Joanne Fluke?

Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder

Strawberry Shortcake Murder

Blueberry Muffin Murder

Lemon Meringue Pie Murder

Fudge Cupcake Murder

(there are more books.....I just have not read them yet!)

I recommend reading them in the order listed above. They will have your laughing.........much like the Janet Evanovich books. But watch out, you might get alittle hungry.......some of the recipes are included in the book. My husband is also reading them....so they are good for women and men. :-)