Princess Secrets they Don't Tell You

[swdke]

Last time we cruised, the escargot in the dining room was not on the menu and one only learned of it the night it was offered if the waiter mentioned it. Next time I'm asking a head waiter on the first day of our cruise when it will be offered. Not willing to take a chance of missing it...a cruise without escargot is just a boat ride.

 

I agree with you, I love escargot!!! On a Med. cruise in 2000, and a Baltic cruise in 2005, I asked the waitor if I could order it every night. Then, that brought the head waitor to our table, so I asked him too. Why this involves the head waitor I have no idea. No problem. Escagot everynight, it was wonderful. Last year on a New England cruise, I didn't bother asking becasue we had anytime seating. But, I do have a Caribbean cruise coming up and I hope to see if I can still over everynight. It will be interesting to see if my request will be granted or not.

[caribill]

Why this involves the head waitor I have no idea.

 

Waiters are not allowed to take special off-menu requests, only headwaiters and the Matre d'.

[AlainBob]

On the larger ships, such as the Ruby, Emerald, Crown, etc., there is a secret door that leads out to a deck above the bridge. It's a great place to be during sailaway. Just go to the Lido deck and go all the way forward. You will see a door on either side. Go through those doors to another door that leads to a few steps leading to this deck. However, these doors are locked while at sea. It's way too windy and therefore dangerous.

Here is an example of that secret place...

 

 

Alain R.

[epicureancruiser]

I've read about that on here. But, we where on the Caribbean Princess in April and found ourselves at the Pursers desk for some other reason, I think maybe just to break some large bills, and I asked about getting a deck of cards. I think the guy may have rolled his eyes at me and just pointed to the nearby gift shop. We went in there and sure enough they had decks of cards for sale.

 

You can buy used decks of card (almost new) for $1 in the casino.;)

[cruisefan22]

Here is an up dated list of helpful tips Please note none of these are mine, but all from Princess cruisers This will be my 2nd trip on Princess.

Some may be outdated or not on all ships/just for general help

enjoy

GRAND PRINCESS TIPS

 

• Check out the Sanctuary $ (search the boards for description using the word Sanctuary) but you have to get there as soon as you get on board if you want to reserve for the entire cruise.
  
• Also Chef's Table is fantastic ($75 per person) but it includes all wine, food, a cookbook, a photo, and a rose for the ladies. I have done it twice and once on the Ruby, and it was the highlight of the cruise. You have to call the DINE line and ask to be put on the list, and there is no guarantee you will get it
  
• Ask your travel Agent to fax a request for the egg crates for bed tell them you want a top sheet as well, as I don't like the duvet cover without the top sheet.
  
• I always ask for a terrycloth robe and usually get it
  
• Most of the evening entertainment is focused on Deck 7, Promenade, with the Princess theater, Crooner's piano bar, Wheelhouse, Explorer's and Club Fusion. But, the entertainment on Deck5 in the Piazza also offers an alternative. For a really lovely place to have a pre-dinner or sunset watching cocktail, try the little area outside (aft) of Adagio. Also, Skywalker's offers incredible views if you prefer to be indoors.
  
• The International Cafe on Deck 5 is not the only place that you can use the coffee card. Use it in the dining rooms for espresso based coffees, and also on a few of the bars on Lido deck for same and brewed coffee. If you ask at one bar and they don't have same, they can tell which ones do.
  
• In the morning, you can get waffles at the pizza stand.
  
• Princess makes lovely ice cream and sorbets, which are on the luncheon and dinner menus. My favorites are the pink grapefruit and honeydew sorbets. They also make lovely soufflés.
  If you want a breakfast (or for us hot tea) delivery before the times that are listed on the order card, just write in the time you want delivery. It will arrive on time, or most likely a few minutes early.
  
• Most importantly, don't disembark without a couple of future cruise credits.
  Have a wonderful cruise!
  
• On our last cruise on the Grand we learned that you can have escargot anytime but you need to let the dining room know 24 hours in advance.
  
• That's true for most dishes. I know we missed crab legs as they were the same night as our chef's table. So the maitre D took the order for us for the next night.
  
• I don't know about the bigger ships, but the small ships have ice cream at the buffet from 3:30 to 4:30 each afternoon
  
• If the ship has "Scoops" or an Ice Cream Bar on the Lido Deck, the ice cream there is now free and they have discontinued the free ice cream at the buffet. Thankfully, I was able to get free chocolate or vanilla hard ice cream at Scoops since I didn't care for the soft-serve. If you don’t like the cones, bring a small, empty dish from the buffet and tell them you have a wheat allergy. They'll put the ice cream in the dish.
  
• At dinner, you can ask to see the menu for the next night, if you don't like what is on the menu you can ask for something different and they will make it for you, they are very accommodating. I also ask for fresh berries for dessert and they are usually very obliging.
  
• Many people think that the salads, sandwiches, and pastry in the International Cafe cost extra, but they are free!
  
• You can order a complementary plate of assorted stuffed olives at the martini bar.
  
• If you bring wine onboard you can pick up wine glasses at any bar or just leave your room steward a note to always leave clean glasses in your room.
  
• If you pre purchase internet minutes before you leave you will get free minutes based on the package you pick.
  
• If you are staying in an interior stateroom leave the TV on the bridge cam channel it will give the illusion of a window and if you leave it on all night it will serve as a night light.
  
• On all the cruises we've been on, we have asked for Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice in the MDR at breakfast, and there was no charge.
  Much better than the frozen concentrate
  
• This no longer exists. They now charge for fresh squeezed. Sorry!
  
• Cookies and milk about 3pm.
  
• Onion soup is available every night
  
• I use room service as my wake-up call. I hang the request on my door before I go to bed, they knock on my door at the time I request and they have coffee and pastries for me.
  
• Yes they have pineapple juice
  

`` I have requested it on the card you fill in for room service breakfast. It isn't one of the choices on the card. Sometimes I get it and sometimes not.

• Yes, you can bring wine, soda and water on board with no problem....enjoy
  
• volcano dessert, available on children's menu basically a huge banana split – yum
  
• - books in the library are free to borrow, as long as you return them before you get off
  

And has anyone mentioned that if you've finished with your own book, there is a little cupboard in the library for 'passenger exchange'? This is open even when the rest of the library shelves are locked and - particularly at the beginning and the end of the cruise - you can find an interesting selection of those paperbacks which people have read and don't want to carry home.

• - popcorn during muts(MUSIC UNDER THE STARS)
  
• - always ask for what you want, the staff try to accommodate to the best of their abilities
  
• I bring packets of Crystal Light [so light to carry] and mix it with water and ice from the buffet and, I'm all set with my drink.
  

You can bring an insulated mug [also very light] and use that to put your ice tea or your soda in. We also bring cans of caffeine-free diet coke.

• One of the dining rooms will be open for lunch on embarkation day although you are usually directed to the buffet. We think the dining room is a better experience and starts the cruse off perfectly.
  
• No one has yet mentioned what we thought was a Big Secret! Our TV on the last 2 cruises wouldn't shut off so called pursers desk. They talked us through how to unplug it, leave it alone for a minute and then replug! Now that in itself was great but, when you open the little door under the TV for the plug, well, there are extra outlets not being used! This was great when the shortage of outlets to recharge everything we needed to recharge was a problem! Not any more.
  
• sit at a slot machine and insert your cruise card (which is also your cabin key) and ask for money from your account to be loaded to the slot machine. The charge that will appear on your account is the amount you asked for with no service fee added. If you go to cashier a 3% fee will be charged. When you are finished at the slot machine, be sure to upload any remaining money to your cruise card (actually, it is to a ship's computer so if you lose your card, the money is not lost -- the cruise card is the vehicle to identify yourself). Then you can bring your cruise card to the casino cashier and ask to be given cash for the money that has been uploaded.
  
• I like being able to launder my own underwear.
  
• Dumb and Dumber on some of the ships with the really good C/D's.
  
• The white pizza day.
  
• The grilled chicken on the LIDO deck at a table for two. The spa/wave pool without the wave machine going
  

· If you want to find out about when your favorite item will be on the menu, ask your waiter or headwaiter, they know and are usually very willing to tell you.

· And beer. We were told beer is not considered alcohol, go figure, and allowed to bring on board at every port. Once not even in a bag.

• When you get to your cabin and meet your steward you can request topsheets for your bed (I don't like having only a duvet over me), extra pillows, ice bucket for chilling wine of champagne, extra shampoo etc., wine glasses, and you can borrow a corkscrew if you want to ask the steward for it.
  
• Some of the first things we do after boarding, is we always request that the steward remove the soft drinks and bottled water from inside and on top of the fridge to make room for our own drinks.
  
• Also, another request right after getting to the cabin is extra hangers. Even if they don't have wooden ones, they do have plastic and metal. Easier to hang things up (evening tops, golf shirts, etc) than making piles in the closet.
  
• Unpacked suitcases usually fit fine under the bed and leave more room on the floor of the closet for shoes. Another stop we make is a trip to the PSD and have them make a hole in our card which we hang on lanyards. Finally, whenever we fly to or from a destination to board the ship, we always include a weight hook to make sure we're not over whatever the allowance is when we check in.
  
• Under your bed is there is stored more bedding - only found it prior to disembarkation when checking that we hadn't left anything behind. Would have been useful as we did feel a bit chilly at night going through the fjords.
  
• You can get cocktails for $2.99 in all the bars after 8.00pm - limited range but includes Pina Colada and Long Island Ice Tea. PC in the Crooners bar was good as it was frozen.
  
• Get your coffee card on the 1st day - this entitles you to 15 coffees but also unlimited pots of tea and I think hot chocolate. You can sit in the peaceful surroundings of the International Cafe -get proper tea in a nice pot and save your coffee for when you really need it.
  
• You get a lovely hot and tasty cup of tea in the dining room at afternoon tea - the only good tea we got on the ship!!
  
• There is another electrical point under the bed. If you forget your adaptor as we did, you can get one from your room steward but this is hit and miss. We forgot ours but Steward told us he wasn't able to get one for us - other passengers managed to get one though?
  
  

Hotels in Fort Lauderdale

 

· 17th St is the main drag that runs by the terminal which is on the corner at Eisenhower Blvd.

There are quite a few hotels within a long block or 2 of the port.

The Renaissance/Hilton Marina are right on that corner.

· I would recommend the Hilton Marina. It is literally 2 minutes away, has shuttle service, and you can catch the Water Taxi to almost anywhere in Fort Lauderdale AND you can watch the other ships sail in and out right from their pool area! This is a great hotel and I use it every time I cruise out of FL.

· I don't know when you are leaving but we are leaving on 12/8. We booked on Hotwire ( 3 star HollywoodAirport) and got the Holiday Inn Express now listed for $52 per night. Others on our roll call bid through Hotwire on the 3 star Downtown -Las Ollas-Port Everglades and got the Hyatt Place for $59. These rates are for 12/7 but you can check on the descriptions for 12/7 and then look it up for your dates. Both of these hotels have free shuttle from the airport and to the cruise terminal. They do not have free parking while you are on the cruise. I understand that LaQuinta has free parking. Happy hunting.

· We have also stayed at the Hyatt Place booked through Valuetrips - it was a great value. Cost was $89, we used the Hyatt certificates bought through Costco and it worked out about even by the time taxes were added. The nice thing was that there was a shuttle from the airport, breakfast the morning we stayed, and a shuttle to the port - all of the same price. One thing to keep in mind, when we were there they let you start signing up for the cruise shuttle at 3:00 the afternoon before, if you wait too long you'll end up leaving later than you probably want. It really isn't far from the pier so a cab won't cost too much if that’s the case. One other thing, it takes a couple of days to get confirmation of your booking so don't panic if it doesn't show up right away.

Right now they don't have any 2011 prices showing so we are waiting for them to appear to try to get this hotel for our January trip.

· Priceline downtown four star will get you either the Renaissance or the Hilton Marina. Both actually within walking distance of three port but I would not recommending walking. Both hotels are very good. I am currently trying on Priceline for Nov 6 and have been turned down at up to $70. I think it can be had for 85-90. Neither have shuttles but a taxi is only $10.

· We haven’t stayed at Hyatt Place in a few years but have recently seen some not so good reviews. I can get the Embassy for $160 as a Hilton Honors member which is free to join and is a very nice hotel with breakfast and a happy 2 hours included.

• I am only responsible for typos feel free to correct:D
  

We just returned from a 10-day Alaskan cruisetour on the Island Princess and found several of the above tips/hints/suggestions very helpful! Here are comments on what worked well for us:

1) We loved the tip about having the room card on a lanyard, so we brought lanyards from home and after boarding and then finding our room, we headed right down to the Passenger Services Desk and had them punch a hole in our room card, then placed it on our lanyard. We wore the lanyard almost the entire time we were on the ship and it was great having it always right-at-hand when needed. We didn’t have to search our pockets or wallets for the card and that was a plus!

2) We brought an extension cord and used that for charging our electronics, plus I had brought along a small electric alarm clock (there are no clocks in the room) as I tend to wake up frequently during the night and didn’t want to have to hassle with finding the time on my cel phone, so having the extension cord came in really handy for that.

3) We found the extra outlet behind the TV so that was great knowing it was there if we needed it.

4) We brought our larger digital camera with changeable lenses, which was great for taking awesome pictures, but having a smaller point-and-shoot camera came in handy on those rainy days when we didn’t want to haul out the larger camera.

5) A couple of days before our cruiseI had read about some Princess beds not being very comfortable and that egg-crate mattresses were available on a first-come first-served basis, so I called Princess and requested one. When we got to our room, I mentioned it to our cabin steward (as it wasn’t on the bed when we arrived) and later that evening we had one.

6) There were plenty of hangers in our room, so we didn’t have to ask for more, but we did ask for a top sheet for the bed. We loved that hint, too.

7) As I am a Diet Coke fan, I purchased the soda package and was happy to have my Diet Coke fix every day, all day. To me it was well worth the purchase price. I used my soda mug most of the time, but there were also times I got a large soda since it contained more than the mug would hold.

8) My husband drinks regular coffee and at the buffet they only have regular coffee mugs. He would have liked to have brought a travel mug from home so that he could fill up his travel mug and bring it back to the room, plus keep the coffee hot for a longer time.

9) Although I did bring a couple of suction hooks to hang things up in the bathroom if needed, since we didn’t use the hot tub or pool, and didn’t need to hang anything up to dry, we didn’t end up using them at all.

10) If you have a hairstyle that heavily relies on styling it with a hairdryer, consider bringing one from home. The hairdryer in the room is adequate, but that’s about it.

11) If you’re doing the cruisetour, make sure you carefully read about the luggage information specifically regarding when you switch from land to ship or vice versa. Our travel agent did not forewarn us about how our luggage would be handled and thankfully I read it and therefore was prepared for how that was going to pan out. You can read about it here under “Luggage”:

http://www.princess.com/learn/faq_answer/cruisetours/cruisetours_alaska.jsp

12) Although we did not purchase any internet packages, we brought along our laptop and downloaded the pictures from the cameras on a regular basis so that we had a backup of the pictures should anything have happened to the cameras.

13) If you can do a flightseeing tour of Mt McKinley, make sure to do so--it was absolutely breathtaking and awe-inspiring, and an incredible way to end a fantastic trip!

[Astro Flyer]

If it is not on the menu how do you know which night it is available?:confused:

If you pay the extra fee ($25?) to dine at the Crown Grill there French Onion soup is much, much better than in the dining room. Many times the soup offered in the dining room is also available in the buffet.

[cruiznagainandagain]

Here is an example of that secret place...

 

 

Alain R.

 

That is awesome! A picture does say a thousand words! Thank you!

[luvinretirement]

I've read about that on here. But, we where on the Caribbean Princess in April and found ourselves at the Pursers desk for some other reason, I think maybe just to break some large bills, and I asked about getting a deck of cards. I think the guy may have rolled his eyes at me and just pointed to the nearby gift shop. We went in there and sure enough they had decks of cards for sale.

 

The last few cruises we've been told we can buy used cards in the Casino -- I think they're $1 per deck.

[luvinretirement]

popcorn during muts(MUSIC UNDER THE STARS)

 

Its actually Movies Under The Stars.

[donna5]

7)

8) My husband drinks regular coffee and at the buffet they only have regular coffee mugs. He would have liked to have brought a travel mug from home so that he could fill up his travel mug and bring it back to the room, plus keep the coffee hot for a longer time.

 

REI has the best travel mugs

http://www.rei.com/product/769058 (This is the one we got)

 

http://www.rei.com/product/769056

 

Clip this mug on your backpack and you're ready for an outdoor adventure accompanied by your favorite tasty beverage.

•Double-wall, stainless-steel mug keeps 16 fl. oz. of liquid hot or cold

•Splash-proof lid is easy to sip through while on the go; lid screws into place, ensuring it won't pop off

•Spring-loaded gate allows you to easily clip the mug to any strap on your backpack

•Non-skid pad on the bottom keeps the mug from sliding away

•Stainless-steel body and liner cleans up easily

 

What's great about these are the non slip bottom and the caribiner like handles. So when you are at the airport you can just hang it on a strap of your carryon. Get the stainless one, since some reviewers complained about the color coating coming off. We have a bunch of different travel mugs we have taken in the past but this one doesn't tip over as easy. The hubby likes to go get us coffee as soon as he gets up, so it's easier for him to get it back to the room.

[lbryant]

In one of the pre-cruise emails we received from Princess, we saw something about being able to enjoy desserts from Sabatini in their adjacent bar - is that true?

Of course, now I cannot locate where we saw/read/heard it. Can anyone confirm that? And if so, is it available any time in the evening?

 

Thanks

[metairiegal]

Here is an example of that secret place...

 

 

Alain R.

 

That is basically where our cabin is. :eek:

We are all the way forward on the Lido deck, cabin L101.

[Daphne]

if you go down to the pastrie and coffee bar they have fresh brewed coffe instead of what they serve in the dining room

[Princess422]

No one has yet mentioned what we thought was a Big Secret! Our TV on the last 2 cruises wouldn't shut off so called pursars desk. They talked us through how to unplug it, leave it alone for a minute and then replug! Now that in itself was great but, when you open the little door under the TV for the plug, well, there are extra outlets not being used! This was great when the shortage of outlets to recharge everything we needed to recharge was a problem! Not any more.

 

That is probably the most helpful tip I've ever heard! We had such a hard time with outlets on my two Princess cruises - between cell phones, cameras, iPods and curling irons, it was terrible. Nothing was ever fully charged. And next time I'm taking my Nook, too, so the extra outlets will be very useful!

[cruiseron36]

We take along a small 4 outlet (2 on each side) power strip. It is very small. I bought it on line somewhere but can be obtained at most elecctronic nstores.

[cruiseron36]

if you go down to the pastrie and coffee bar they have fresh brewed coffe instead of what they serve in the dining room

 

This will cost $1 or $1.50 unless you buy a coffee card.

[Princess422]

10) If you have a hairstyle that heavily relies on styling it with a hairdryer, consider bringing one from home. The hairdryer in the room is adequate, but that’s about it.

 

I thought passengers are not allowed to bring hairdryers on board? If that is not the case - or if it is one of those rules that is never enforced - I would really love to know, because my long hair takes FOREVER to dry with the crappy one in the cabin. My tiny $9 Revlon travel hairdryer works 10x better, so if I can bring it on board next month, I will!

 

Otherwise, I'll just bring dry shampoo and hope that I can get away with shampooing in the shower every other day... but I'm afraid that with the damp air from the sea, the dry shampoo won't be enough and I'll have to get it wet every day.

[Toto2Kansas]

Personal hair dryers are not banned on Princess. You can bring your own, no problem.

[PescadoAmarillo]

In one of the pre-cruise emails we received from Princess, we saw something about being able to enjoy desserts from Sabatini in their adjacent bar - is that true?

Of course, now I cannot locate where we saw/read/heard it. Can anyone confirm that? And if so, is it available any time in the evening?

Yes, it's true, at least on the Ruby and Emerald. The desserts are extra cost, about $5 to $7, IIRC, and are available in Adagio. I believe they're only offered in the evenings when Sabatini's is open. If you're in a mood for a fancy dessert, but not interested in Sabatini's (or have done it before), it's a nice option to have.

 

You're allowed to bring hair dryers on board. I bet a lot of people do, as the ones supplied aren't very powerful. You're even allowed to bring curling and straightening irons, although that's a little scary to think about.

[Astro Flyer]

if you go down to the pastrie and coffee bar they have fresh brewed coffe instead of what they serve in the dining room

And brewed coffee is free if you have a specialty coffee card.

[CrusinAgain]

Oh yeah, we did it! On the Sapphire Princess Nov. 2008. We heard somewhere that we could order what was being served in the dining room on our balcony....no charge. We had a mini-suite on the Dolphin deck. We had 2 other couples from other cabins ( one was in a inside cabin 2 were in a ocean view cabin).

Here's how it went down. No one in our group wanted to dress up to go to dinner. But we all wanted the lobster...what to do?? I called room service...yes the very same number that you would call for any room service. We requested this...gave them the cabin number of our friends that wanted to eat with us in our cabin, asked for all the dinner to be delivered to our cabin. We each ordered about 3 lobster dinners. Rolling trays came down the hallway, one after the other. We all had our lobster dinner in our cabin...no charge. Oh yes we did.

 

Wow how nice! I wonder if other cabin categories can do this also other than the mini-suites and up.

[Princess422]

And brewed coffee is free if you have a specialty coffee card.

 

And if you're a big coffee drinker, even if you don't usually enjoy specialty drinks, I strongly recommend getting the coffee card! That is the one tip I would give to any coffee lover on a Princess cruise. Try it for yourself if you like, but I think the coffee provided in the dining rooms and in the buffet upstairs (and by room service as well) is horrible! (My father calls it "Navy coffee.") I used less than half of the 15 specialty coffees for which they punch your card, but it was well worth it for nine days of unlimited good coffee - and it will be another week's worth, at least, since the cards don't expire and I will have it for my next cruise. And maybe the one after that. Really, it's a great investment for coffee drinkers, especially if you're going to take more than one cruise with Princess.

[don'tleavewithoutme]

Bring (or buy souvenir) magnets - perfect for putting the ship directory, copies of Patter, a map, etc, on the wall of your cabin. Saves clutter on the desk/table and works wonderfully. The magnets that are a clip are very useful, too.

[caribill]

In one of the pre-cruise emails we received from Princess, we saw something about being able to enjoy desserts from Sabatini in their adjacent bar - is that true?

 

Thanks

 

Yes, it is true on the ships that have the Adagio bar adjacent to Sabatini's.

[susnurse]

Does that include mini-suites?