Booked first Princess cruise, what are the must do's?

[octoberdana]

We booked our first cruise ever on Princess we will be in a balcony cabin on the Caribe deck. We've heard these are great cabins and we are super excited.

 

Anything that seasoned cruisers would recommend that we must do on our first Princess cruise?

[Kmkub]

Where are you going and for how many days? What things interest you most?

[dcrow72]

Crown Grill is worth the $25 up charge if you like lobster and good steaks and have a good appetite.

 

You can bring a bottle of wine each at no charge in your carry on.

 

International cafe (IC) is open 24 hours. all the food is free. great soups and sandwiches (they will put in panini press for you if you ask). Chicken salad and shrimp salad are great too. Loved the croissant donuts in the morning.

 

The aft pool area (if you aren't on the Royal) is a great place to sit outside, have a drink and relax.

 

Have fun.

[UPGrandma]

Have a great time!!!

[Alaskanb]

Try the afternoon tea and pub lunches.

[AZ Ocean Lover]

The pizza and grill are great. The main dining room is open until 1:30 on the embarkation day (but "helpful" staff will steer you to the buffet). You can get waffles for breakfast but sometimes you have to look for them (we found them in the ice cream stand). Don't try to do everything the first day. We have learned to space things out.

 

You will love it.

[AKman2495]

The best thing you can do-when you get on board-is to forget about everything you "must" do and just have fun. Unless you are on a 1 day cruise, you will have time to enjoy the features on the ship. Of course, you won't be able to everything...but who cares!!! you're on a cruise!!!

 

That said, the best thing you can do now is to ask questions here and memorize the deck plans so that you can have some sense of where you are on board. That will save a lot of time looking for things on board (On my last cruise there were a lot of first timers-even after 4 days, they were clueless about which was was forward or aft and just which deck they were on!) Try not to be like them. :)

 

The Princess Patter is the little newspaper that comes out every evening. Read that and you will find out what's going on the ship-check everything because the list of dining venues on the back may list a special dining event that might not be general knowledge. IF you read the Patter, you can plan your upcoming day without having to remember the "must dos" (even if that means just lounging by the pool).

 

Learn as much as you can here and when you're aboard, just have fun.

[octoberdana]

We are going on the Eastern Caribbean cruise stopping at Princess Cays, Grand Turk and Caicos, St. Thomas, and San Juan.

 

My DH really would like to snorkel, we both like to sit and read and enjoy the quiet (which is why we got a balcony).

 

We like shows and theatre, musicals, movies. My hubby will like looking at art. I will want to shop at some point, probably at one of the ports.

[Julia’s Journey’s]

We are going on the Eastern Caribbean cruise stopping at Princess Cays, Grand Turk and Caicos, St. Thomas, and San Juan.

 

My DH really would like to snorkel, we both like to sit and read and enjoy the quiet (which is why we got a balcony).

 

We like shows and theatre, musicals, movies. My hubby will like looking at art. I will want to shop at some point, probably at one of the ports.

 

 

Have a look at the port of call forums and join your roll call on the roll call forums to meet people sailing with you.

Buy FCC's. ;) do a search on here for all the info :)

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - Oy, excuse the auto correct ;)

[Kmkub]

You will be very happy, Octoberdana. Keep an eye out on the Patter each day - it gets delivered each night for the next day's agenda. (The backside will give you dining information, sometimes including if there's a theme.)

 

 

The biggest "I wish I had knowns" between cruise 1 & 2 were - gelato in the International Cafe, English pub lunch on sea days and I really wish I had known that there was no charge for room service.

 

The two up charge restaurants are both worth it. Our favorite is the Crown Grill.

[Colo Cruiser]

We booked our first cruise ever on Princess we will be in a balcony cabin on the Caribe deck. We've heard these are great cabins and we are super excited.

 

Anything that seasoned cruisers would recommend that we must do on our first Princess cruise?

 

What ship.

[octoberdana]

What ship.

 

 

Caribbean Princess

[Colo Cruiser]

Try the Pub lunch served on sea days.

[Working 2 Cruise]

Movies under the Stars... fun!

 

Try to do the ultimate balcony dinner, it's so worth it! It's $50 ppl, and food, including filet mignon and lobster, is fantastic, and so is the service. It's awesome! It also includes a photograph, a cocktail with appetizers, and a split of champagne. To me it's so much better than the Chefs Table ($95 ppl).

[The grey cruisers]

We are going on the Eastern Caribbean cruise stopping at Princess Cays, Grand Turk and Caicos, St. Thomas, and San Juan.

 

My DH really would like to snorkel, we both like to sit and read and enjoy the quiet (which is why we got a balcony).

 

We like shows and theatre, musicals, movies. My hubby will like looking at art. I will want to shop at some point, probably at one of the ports.

 

 

Take your own snorkel we always do you do not need flippers in those waters. The art auctions are interesting we have bought three paintings they are great value too. We have the late sitting as find it less rushed and still get to see most shows. You can take one bottle of wine each to have in your cabin, you will have a great time we only go with princess and have two more booked, when on board go see about the future cruise credits well worth doing and no obligation.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[trbarton]

Here's some ways to get additional "Onboard Credit". If anyone has prior military service submit a copy of your DD214 for additional credit. Have at least 100 shares of Princess stock and get additional credit. Since December of last year through September of this year I will have earned $750 additional credit. Great return on my stock.

 

Tom:D

[Dreamer333]

The Princess Patter will be your bible. I love getting it each night so I can plan all my activities for the next day.

[timetravler]

As soon as you board, you can go straight to your cabin. Princess always have the cabins ready when you board. Then if your onboard before 1:30, eat in the dinning room instead of the buffet. Very relaxed and not crowded.

[Paula_MacFan]

I second the recommendation for pub lunch - very good! Also you will love the Caribe balcony! So nice to have privacy when you want it, and the extra large balcony area is great. The Crown Grill and Sabatini's are both wonderful treats and the price is a bargin compared to land restaurants. We're not big fans of the MDR (too noisy and crowded for us, but we do go on occasion) but the specialty dining is superb! Excellent service in a quiet venue.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[sept10dsm]

Here's some ways to get additional "Onboard Credit". If anyone has prior military service submit a copy of your DD214 for additional credit. Have at least 100 shares of Princess stock and get additional credit. Since December of last year through September of this year I will have earned $750 additional credit. Great return on my stock.

 

Tom:D

 

Yes, these are great ways to earn OBC! We did the military the first time our last cruise. We didn't realize it was available! Now more in the information on the Princess website. If it weren't for these boards, I wouldn't have known.

[sept10dsm]

I second the recommendation for pub lunch - very good! Also you will love the Caribe balcony! So nice to have privacy when you want it, and the extra large balcony area is great. The Crown Grill and Sabatini's are both wonderful treats and the price is a bargin compared to land restaurants. We're not big fans of the MDR (too noisy and crowded for us, but we do go on occasion) but the specialty dining is superb! Excellent service in a quiet venue.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

 

The pub lunch is very good! We did it all 4 times it was available on our AK cruise.

[geoherb]

With a Caribe Deck balcony cabin, room service for breakfast is a must at least once. We had the Ultimate Balcony Breakfast on our cruise last month--but only because it was a gift. The regular breakfast would have been fine.

[deminggraham]

If you have not already done it, join your Roll Call. The members there can suggest things to do, and may have activities such as a Meet & Greet, Slot Contest, Cabin Tour and private tours at the Ports of Call organized. It is a fantastic way to make friends before you cruise and get invaluable information.

[RetiredNTraveling]

The Princess Patter will be your bible. I love getting it each night so I can plan all my activities for the next day.

 

Or in some cases "Not to Plan" and just go with the flow! Relax & Enjoy the cruise as the Caribbean Princess is a great ship! You have made a good choice!:D

[NorthCoastCruisers]

Here's some ways to get additional "Onboard Credit". If anyone has prior military service submit a copy of your DD214 for additional credit. Have at least 100 shares of Princess stock and get additional credit. Since December of last year through September of this year I will have earned $750 additional credit. Great return on my stock.

 

Tom:D

 

Tom thank you for this reference to prior military service. When booking our May 31 Alaska Cruise (our first cruise) the question about military service was active or retired (meaning 20 years of service) but no reference to veterans. After reading your post I googled Princess Military Onboard Credits and found the form to request the credit - it clearly states that veterans also get this credit. We got my DH's DD214 and submitted our request for the $100 credit!! So again a big THANK YOU.:D