Princess Secrets they Don't Tell You - 2013 version

[paul929207]

I am curious. I was going to purchase some Internet time but now wonder... I have a data plan with AT&T on my iPad as well as the option to use wifi. Will the Internet be available through my data plan or must I purchase Internet time from the ship?

When at sea, the only internet connection is thru the ship's system. In port, you can usually find either free wifi (may have to buy a drink) or cheap internet cafe.

[dorisis]

Tea Time on the Emerald Princess was from 3:30 - 4:30 every day. I agree that the scones were great; served with cream and jam. The scones were the last items served. The waiters started with mini sandwiches, followed by cookies/slices of pound cake, and then the scones. So, save room for them. The only disappointing part about the tea time was that the tea was Lipton, poured from a silver teapot. When you are seated, you walk past a beautiful display of different types of tea (Darjeeling, English Breakfast, etc.), so I found it peculiar that they served Lipton.

 

You can ask for whatever type of tea you want but you will get a tea bag. I agree about the Lipton Tea.

[chamima]

I didn't realize they give you the book. I assumed the reason they post it on their website a couple months in advance is to allow folks to go out and buy it/ read it/ and then have the book club discussions on board. That was a complete surprise to learn they give you the books.

 

 

Just to clarify - they lend , not give, you the book.

And, depending on how quick a reader you are and how long your cruise is, you might be better off reading, or at least starting, it before the cruise.

[caribill]

Just to clarify - they lend , not give, you the book.

And, depending on how quick a reader you are and how long your cruise is, you might be better off reading, or at least starting, it before the cruise.

 

And they may not have enough copies for everyone.

 

Also, the attendees should be be prepared to lead the discussion. The Princess staff person there usually has not read the book.

[Kentchikan]

I have Verizon and they have a plan you can get for traveling which is much cheaper than it would otherwise be. I learned it the hard way because I accidentally left my phone on and even though I had it in the safe it still managed to connect and rack up big bucks. Which is ironic considering that it's sometimes hard to connect when the phone is in my hand! You might want to check with ATT to see if they have a similar plan.

ATT is currently on my bad list because of horrible email issues that have been going on for over two months and they seem to be unable to solve them.:mad:

 

Sent from my Samsung capsule.

[loliola]

I have Verizon and they have a plan you can get for traveling which is much cheaper than it would otherwise be. I learned it the hard way because I accidentally left my phone on and even though I had it in the safe it still managed to connect and rack up big bucks. Which is ironic considering that it's sometimes hard to connect when the phone is in my hand! You might want to check with ATT to see if they have a similar plan.

ATT is currently on my bad list because of horrible email issues that have been going on for over two months and they seem to be unable to solve them.:mad:

 

Sent from my Samsung capsule.

 

That's great and will be helpful while you are in port...but it won't do you any good while on board!

[weaselwatchr]

Yes, the book club will meet early in the cruise on a sea day. At that time, the book will be distributed. Then there will be a meeting to talk about the book towards the end of the cruise. Both meeting will be announced in the Princess Patter.

 

On my cruise, they just had the book at the library and you picked it up.

 

 

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[Kentchikan]

That's great and will be helpful while you are in port...but it won't do you any good while on board!

 

It is supposed to use the onboard cell phone connection but charge you less than would be charged if you just used it without the plan.

[Borisbuddy]

I'd like to say thanks for the great idea about avoiding the buffett line, made by Kentskie early in this thread. It said you'd ultimately consume less calories at meals by eating in the dining rooms, (versus going to the buffett & piling on a Mt. Everest of food on your plate!) I know this would be true for me, as I struggle with my weight already. Much more civilized to "dine" than to "pig out". Thanks very much for this great idea!

[pablo222]

I'd like to say thanks for the great idea about avoiding the buffett line, made by Kentskie early in this thread. It said you'd ultimately consume less calories at meals by eating in the dining rooms, (versus going to the buffett & piling on a Mt. Everest of food on your plate!)

 

Except ... the dining room is no longer open for lunch on port days.

A major disappointment to me.

[OCruisers]

Except ... the dining room is no longer open for lunch on port days.

A major disappointment to me.

 

:( We miss that too. Sometimes, on port intensive cruises we take a break and spend the day on the ship or just walk around town for a short while. Being able to have lunch in the MDR was nice.

 

Note: On our last cruise we had two port stops that didn't arrive in port until 1 or 2 o'clock. The MDR was open on those days for lunch.

 

LuLu

~~~~

[dorisis]

I'd like to say thanks for the great idea about avoiding the buffett line, made by Kentskie early in this thread. It said you'd ultimately consume less calories at meals by eating in the dining rooms, (versus going to the buffett & piling on a Mt. Everest of food on your plate!) I know this would be true for me, as I struggle with my weight already. Much more civilized to "dine" than to "pig out". Thanks very much for this great idea!

 

DH calls the buffet the TROUGH. For me it is appetite spoiling to see passengers with plates so loaded and many going back for 3 or 4 desserts. UGH!!!

[OCruisers]

DH calls the buffet the TROUGH. For me it is appetite spoiling to see passengers with plates so loaded and many going back for 3 or 4 desserts. UGH!!!

 

:D That's what my DH always says when we walk past and many are anxiously awaiting the MDR opening the door for dinner -- "Hogs to the Though"!!

 

LuLu

~~~~

[Kentchikan]

I'd like to say thanks for the great idea about avoiding the buffett line, made by Kentskie early in this thread. It said you'd ultimately consume less calories at meals by eating in the dining rooms, (versus going to the buffett & piling on a Mt. Everest of food on your plate!) I know this would be true for me, as I struggle with my weight already. Much more civilized to "dine" than to "pig out". Thanks very much for this great idea!

 

So true. Since we started eating only in the MDR we no longer gain weight on the cruise. OK full disclosure I did gain 1 pound on our last 10 day Alaska cruise but our neighbors went on a 7 day Alaska and ate in the buffet frequently he gained 7 pounds.

[Kentchikan]

:D That's what my DH always says when we walk past and many are anxiously awaiting the MDR opening the door for dinner -- "Hogs to the Though"!!

 

LuLu

~~~~

 

A friend and I went on a tour in a downtown area where they served champagne at every stop. Two of them had a lower grade Champagne. Bad stuff. At the second one we said, "Oh look more pig swill."

[Kentchikan]

Except ... the dining room is no longer open for lunch on port days.

A major disappointment to me.

 

I agree. I've asked why and they always say that they don't have a large number of people using it on port days but many people ask about it. I'm thinking if all those people ask about it they could maybe get enough people to make it viable. On the other hand it does give staff a much needed break.

[Kentchikan]

I'd like to say thanks for the great idea about avoiding the buffett line, made by Kentskie early in this thread. It said you'd ultimately consume less calories at meals by eating in the dining rooms, (versus going to the buffett & piling on a Mt. Everest of food on your plate!) I know this would be true for me, as I struggle with my weight already. Much more civilized to "dine" than to "pig out". Thanks very much for this great idea!

 

Thanks. If forced to eat at the Buffet the trick is to think of it as a regular dining room and just as you wouldn't go into a restaurant and order everything on the menu you only need to try one or two items. It works better in theory sometimes just before the "I'll have a little dab of this and just a smidge of that." sets in.:rolleyes:

[caribill]

On the other hand it does give staff a much needed break.

 

Probably no break for the staff.

 

They will be assigned to the buffet area to help handle the larger number of people there.

[Kentchikan]

Probably no break for the staff.

 

They will be assigned to the buffet area to help handle the larger number of people there.

 

Probably true on some lines but I've talked to dining room staff on Princess and they say that sometimes they are assigned elsewhere but often they have free time. Sometimes they get off sometimes they just sleep. Sometimes they go shop often at Walmart.

Edited July 23, 2013 by Kentskie

[Borisbuddy]

When my son was working on the Disney ship, he said 1/2 the crew is allowed of ship at every other port. I hope it's true for all of them, but maybe some essential people never get off. Sure would be good for moral, as these poor people get really depressed. Many times my son would just catch up on sleep, (the entertainers party pretty hard after hours). They do hire buses to drive crew to Walmart, it's high point of their week. Also they get very tired of the crew mess, so love to get off ship to find people food. Occasionally the entertainers would be offered 1/2 price excursions, so my son got to do some really fun stuff! (sorry off topic but interesting)

[usctzn]

Prior to my trip around Japan a few weeks ago, I had a difficulty to find the Princess Port Guides, those 4 pages blue pamphlets with very useful information and maps. I could only download two for Osaka and Busan (Pusan), but they looked sooooooooooo outdated. I collected the guides distributed on the Sun Princess and attached them to this message. Hope it will help future cruisers.

Aomori.pdf

Hiroshima.pdf

Kanazawa.pdf

Maizuru.pdf

Sakaiminato.pdf

Busan.pdf

Sapporo (Muroran).pdf

[jennyg2610]

My. Princess secret is about pre-purchasing Internet minutes prior to boarding the ship.

 

You get more bonus minutes by pre-purchasing the Internet minutes online from the gift shop on the Princess website. You access this by clicking on the "Booked Passengers" then "Gifts and Services " then "Communications". You can then purchase the Internet minutes from this website. You can then sometimes get additional bonus minutes once you are on board using a coupon from the book in your stateroom.

 

Also you can have your remaining wine stored in the dining room for another day. They then retrieve it for when you ask at the next dinner. We have also been told that if you order a bottle in vines you can have the rest stored and retrieved for dinner, but we have never tried this.

 

Gail

 

That's right about the wine, on our last Princess cruise we had a bottle of wine with our name on it at all the bars we frequented. Sounds like we are alchos but it was a lot cheaper to do this. We also bought a bottle of wine each when we were ashore to drink in our room.

 

 

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[Kentchikan]

When my son was working on the Disney ship, he said 1/2 the crew is allowed of ship at every other port. I hope it's true for all of them, but maybe some essential people never get off. Sure would be good for moral, as these poor people get really depressed. Many times my son would just catch up on sleep, (the entertainers party pretty hard after hours). They do hire buses to drive crew to Walmart, it's high point of their week. Also they get very tired of the crew mess, so love to get off ship to find people food. Occasionally the entertainers would be offered 1/2 price excursions, so my son got to do some really fun stuff! (sorry off topic but interesting)

 

Very Interesting. I so fondly remember the days when partying all night and sleeping all day was probable. <sigh>

Edited July 23, 2013 by Kentskie

[Belle]

Crew..They do get time off. Just not

every port. But since they do the same

route most cruises(in that season) They

usually able to see every port.

They don't have as many hours off but

some go to Walmart for supplys, phone calls,

see some of the ports. beach time or just sleep.

 

Buffet..As Kentskie just act like a dinning room.

Take a salad, meat or fish, veggie, potato or pasta

Then dessert. Like a regular dinner.

Don't need to eat everything. My opinion only but

not always followed. Like two desserts. LOL

[t60]

Prior to my trip around Japan a few weeks ago, I had a difficulty to find the Princess Port Guides, those 4 pages blue pamphlets with very useful information and maps. I could only download two for Osaka and Busan (Pusan), but they looked sooooooooooo outdated. I collected the guides distributed on the Sun Princess and attached them to this message. Hope it will help future cruisers.

 

Thank you, that´s really helpful as many of the Non Japanese guides are also quite out of date. I managed to print off some from carnival (I think)

The Port information given on our Circumnavigation of Australia was really poor. It might be helpful to post your message on the ports of call board as well

 

Sandy in Spain

Edited July 24, 2013 by t60