first princess cruise some questions

have sailed RCI ( diamond + ) / NCL / Carnival ( also in this order of favour )

have seen the itinerary from LA to Hawaii / Bora Bora ….back to La

love the itinerary and it is our 40 wedding anniversary in 2020

Emerald Princess going in February 1 and Island Princess going in April 11(2020)

the itinerary is the same, we love to dive / snorkel / hike and adore nature / wildlife

which one would you pick and why.

we like all kind of ships ' big or small' we like eating when we want and whenever we want,we like all kinds of food. we like a drink or 2 before dinner but we can live without alcohol, we like to walk around go to the gym enjoy watching the ocean, see a good show, loose some money in the casino and interact whenever we like. what is important is that we want a quiet and peace full cruise, we hate to hear loud music and lots of noise during night time. so a good and quiet room is also very important.

is there a member program that we can link to Princess ?

(if we could do the itinerary with RCI or Celebrity we probably would not choose Princess just because of the benefits)

thanks for the help to decide which one to take

have a great day

That is a great itinerary and one we have looked at booking.

I would choose Emerald as Island was badly modified from its original specifications and now has too many passengers for the available seating in dining rooms, leading to long lines for dinner.

It now also has decreased public space for passengers.

I believe they were going to modify Island's sister ship Coral but have wisely decided not to do so in the light of adverse passenger experiences on Island.

I have noticed that in the offers I have had where Coral and Island operated the same itinerary then Island always has more availability and lower prices.

As far as cruise date is concerned I have been to Hawaii twice in February and it seemed like there was a LOT of rain. When I was there in April it seemed drier, that's anecdotal not factual evidence however.

After your first cruise on Princess you get to be an automatic member of Captains Circle. Takes quite a few cruises for it to be worth anything.

If first time passengers are referred by an existing member then you will both get a small OBC if you follow the referral rules.

have sailed RCI ( diamond + ) / NCL / Carnival ( also in this order of favour )

have seen the itinerary from LA to Hawaii / Bora Bora ….back to La

love the itinerary and it is our 40 wedding anniversary in 2020

Emerald Princess going in February 1 and Island Princess going in April 11(2020) the itinerary is the same, we love to dive / snorkel / hike and adore nature / wildlife which one would you pick and why. We like all kind of ships ' big or small' we like eating when we want and whenever we want,we like all kinds of food. we like a drink or 2 before dinner

Lots of bars, enjoy a drink at Crooner's or at Vines wine bar before dinner

but we can live without alcohol, we like to walk around go to the gym enjoy watching the ocean,

The ship has a 360 degree promenade to walk around. It also has a gym open all day, no charge.

see a good show,

There will be shows, singers, musicians, comics, magic, local Polynesian culture shows, live music every evening in the lounges, game shows, trivia games, karaoke theme nights, deck parties and more.

loose some money in the casino

No problem the casino will gladly accept your money.

and interact whenever we like. what is important is that we want a quiet and peace full cruise, we hate to hear loud music and lots of noise during night time. so a good and quiet room is also very important.

Princess does not have loud parties, and the passenger base is active but not all evening party types. The ship kind of quiets down between 11pm and midnight. Select a cabin on a deck with cabins above and below.

 

is there a member program that we can link to Princess ?

You will be a member of the Captain's Circle after your first cruise. As you are from the EU you will have to specifically indicate you want to be a member.

 

(if we could do the itinerary with RCI or Celebrity we probably would not choose Princess just because of the benefits)

 

thanks for the help to decide which one to take

have a great day

See above for some comments plus see below.

Another vote for the Emerald for all the reasons posted by Griller.

Dining. The Emerald has lots of choices for dining. For flexibility for the evening meals in the main dining rooms choose anytime dining, or if you can afford it book a Club Class mini suite or full suite which includes dining in the Club Class section of the dining room. The Emerald also has the buffet area which is open from 6am until 11pm every day, never closes during that time. There is also the International Cafe open 24/7 for light sandwiches, salads, soup, desserts, and some breakfast items. On deck by the pool there is a grill, pizza and soft ice cream. A few times during the cruise there will be a no charge pub lunch in the Wheelhouse Bar. All these are no extra charge. There three alternate restaurants which have an extra charge, Crown Grill (steak & chops), SHARE, and the Salty Dog burger in the Wheelhouse Bar.There are also some special meals like The Crab Shack, Balcony Dining, Chef's Table.

In Bora Bora book Patrick's Tour, do it early it will fill up. Here is the link http://www.maohinui.net/en/a-propos-de-maohinui/item/42-patrick-tairua

Hawaii has lots of nature and it is just beautiful. In American Samoa you can take a bus trip into the national park. The park service is on the pier go early to sign up. No charge. You can also go to Tisa's. A beachfront bar/restaurant. Tisa will be at the pier or you can contact her on the internet.

This cruise has lots of sea days, 18 of them of which there are 8 in a row at the end. So if you don't enjoy sea days this cruise is not for you.

One other point. The ship has self service laundries on each deck. US$3 for a wash and US$3 for a dry.

If you book join the Cruise Critic Roll Call. Our roll call for this itinerary was very active.

By the way your English is very good.

No one ever tells me my English is very good, and I think even fewer people speak my country's language, like 8% of 5 million, than Flemish!

Nice of you to give them the full rundown on Emerald P, its always been good for me.

Regarding the loud parties, sometimes the band in the atrium area can be loud, but if you move to a higher deck it will be quieter. The same is true in the lounges and the showroom, move to the back if it is really loud for you. If you like the International cafe, you may want to take your food to go to a quieter area.

Buy 100 shares of Carnival stock and get tax free OBC's every time you sail.

I was on the Emerald in Feb/Mar this year 30 days and her sister the Ruby a few years back to the Med for 28 days. For the length of the cruise I would choose the Emerald. I did, as I am going on the Feb 01, 2020 cruise. International Café is good. If you are an early riser like myself, you can get coffee there and not have to order room service. Depending on your cabin choice, located on the ship. At the front/bow you can really hear the anchor let go when you have to tender. As for noise else where, there are plenty of quite areas you can find. If you get a balcony cabin, a lot of quite out there.

Buy 100 shares of Carnival stock and get tax free OBC's every time you sail.

$59.98 per share, up .80 today, was up yesterday as well after a bad start.

Somehow due to a fluke I bought some at $58.35 yesterday morning just before they recovered.

looks like it might break $60 again soon, it did recently for a very short time until the Turkish Lira collapsed and spooked the whole market.

There are such large swings in CCL, we are just bit players, there are buys/sells of 100k shares at a time, affects the price drastically. Those guys are not in it for the OBC.

thank you all, what is clear for me is to take the Emerald Princess and not Island Princess so if we book this cruise it will be the one leaving LA on Februari 2020.

We have been to LA about 20 years ago and to Hawaii in 2009 'we did spend one week on each island and loved it ' but this cruise is for visiting and snorkelling Polynesië, and yes we do love see days.

About those shares you are talking about, I do follow the stock market yes also the Nyse but what I've heard is that you cannot combine OBC you get from having shares of Carnival with the OBC you get from your travel agent, and I do book my cruises with a travel agent in the United States not in Europe, so I get OBC.

Anyone can clear this for me if that is true ?

Related to this cruise, as I am not familiar with Princess ,is there a good time to book this cruise, for ex the WOW sale of RCI is a good time to book a cruise. I will take a look at their website off course but in case you know please tell me your Princess booking secrets :)

again thank you all for your time

wishing you a wonderful day…. or evening

" Griller, may I ask what your language is " ?

If you like your cocktails try to book during the sip and sail promo and the beverage package will be included if you are in a balcony or higher stateroom

Yes you can combine OBC on Princess, we all do it, some of us military, future cruise, loyalty, travel; agent and stock

Irish Gaelic. A totally useless language nearly anywhere in the world. Spoken on a daily basis only really in the West of Ireland and there only in certain towns which you may see have a "Gaeltacht" sign on your way in.

No wonder we all speak the language of our historical colonial oppressors.

We did this cruise last year on Emerald and absolutely loved it. I don't like Island Princess at all so this would be an easy decision for me. Emerald Princess is great. Island Princess is my least favorite Princess ship.

Yes you can combine OBC on Princess, we all do it, some of us military, future cruise, loyalty, travel; agent and stock

 

Irish Gaelic. A totally useless language nearly anywhere in the world. Spoken on a daily basis only really in the West of Ireland and there only in certain towns which you may see have a "Gaeltacht" sign on your way in.

 

No wonder we all speak the language of our historical colonial oppressors.

"The following 2016 census data shows:

"The following 2016 census data shows:

The total number of people who answered ‘yes’ to being able to speak Irish in April 2016 was 1,761,420, a slight decrease (0.7 per cent) on the 2011 figure of 1,774,437. This represents 39.8 per cent of respondents compared with 41.4 in 2011... Of the 73,803 daily Irish speakers (outside the education system), 20,586 (27.9%) lived in Gaeltacht areas."

:D

Thanks Kevin or should I say

Statistics...……………….. I am wrong saying 8% then as real everyday domestic speakers are only 73,803 out of 4 million odd of us still living there.which works out sadly to only about 2% if my maths is right.

I had heard it was increasing a bit but the census figures suggest otherwise, if all of us Irish citizens eventually could speak it fluently as a first language it could be a bonding force and give us more of a sense of a real national identity separate from our colonial past.

I have been trying to brush up a bit but we seem seriously short of Gaeltacht areas in central Florida

We did this cruise last year on Emerald and absolutely loved it. I don't like Island Princess at all so this would be an easy decision for me. Emerald Princess is great. Island Princess is my least favorite Princess ship.

Island is also my least favorite Princess ship. Emerald is one of my favorites.

Buy 100 shares of Carnival stock and get tax free OBC's every time you sail.

One of the big plusses for us along with the military OBC!

Thanks Kevin or should I say

 

Caoimhín?

Statistics...……………….. I am wrong saying 8% then as real everyday domestic speakers are only 73,803 out of 4 million odd of us still living there.which works out sadly to only about 2% if my maths is right.

 

 

I had heard it was increasing a bit but the census figures suggest otherwise, if all of us Irish citizens eventually could speak it fluently as a first language it could be a bonding force and give us more of a sense of a real national identity separate from our colonial past.

I have been trying to brush up a bit but we seem seriously short of Gaeltacht areas in central Florida

You will have to come down to Delray some Sunday afternoon for a great session at Tim Finnigan's. This is part of the problem:

This is my favourite, its not what you first think, have to watch it till the end