LIVE - Caribbean Princess, Aug. 2, 2014

[dorisis]

Thanks. If I get the erroneous charge worked out, I will come out 11 cents ahead on our onboard account--not that I'd expect a refund of that amount. It was great to come home with more cash than I started with.

 

We had 28 cents left on 1 of our cruises and they called us back after we had gome past the checking out spot to come to Passenger services. That's when they gave us a quarter and 3 pennies.

[LovetheSea]

geoherb Thanks for answering my pool question. I haven't been on this for a few days. Just saw your response. We will be on this ship in Sept.

[Daniel1313]

Thanks for following along with me on our cruise. I still had Internet minutes leftover this morning--about an hour's worth out of my 150 free minutes. I typed most of the posts in Word and copied and pasted them over onto this thread. It took an average of 3 minutes per post to do that and to read any messages posted since my last update. It's an easy way to do a live thread.

 

We made it off the ship and to the airport fine. There was a problem with our last statement. They charged us for the Ultimate Balcony Dinner and the bottle of wine we had with it. I had prepaid for it and traded in the half bottle of champagne for the wine. The woman at the passenger services desk first tried to tell me the $100 charge was posted as a credit at the beginning of the statement, but that was my shareholder credit. She then tried to say that the $33.35 charge was the coffee card, but that was posted early on DH's statement. She finally found the credit and said it would be posted later today and the bottle of wine charge taken off. I made her write that on my final statement in case it doesn’t get posted.

 

Because of the delay at passenger services, we ate our last breakfast at the International Café. It was tasty. By the time we made it to the Coral Dining Room for walk-off disembarkation, they were calling our group, which was the last. They were running about 20 minutes behind schedule.

 

I found out that the people in charge of the luggage were serious about not letting people in too early. A couple were trying to claim red tag luggage as we walked by. The guy would not let them in since they were not supposed to be off the ship yet. We were in the Customs and Immigration line for about 10 minutes. It moved quickly. A lot of passengers were carrying off their luggage. We also saw a couple who had flown down with us who are staying for the cruise this coming week. They were going to do some things in Fort Lauderdale instead of waiting for the group. I think someone said there were 500 or so passengers doing the back-to-back cruises. There were more this week than last since the cruise before ours was substantially the same itinerary.

 

The cab ride to the airport was quick. We had about a 10-minute wait in the queue for taxis. The fare was $11.70 before tip. It’s always quicker to the airport than from. Once we got inside around 8:30, they were not letting anyone with flights after 10:30 to check in at the main counter. They sent us downstairs. The funny thing is that there was no line down there, and we checked in much quicker than we would have. For this flight, DH did not get the TSA precheck, so he had to wait in line with me. The line was very long. It took about half an hour to get through it. A guy came through to let those people who got to the airport later than they should have move ahead of the line. It was a little before 9:00 and he was letting anyone with a flight before 9:55 go through. They could have made it if they had waited with us.

 

I paid the extra fee so that we did not have to check in online yesterday morning from the ship with Southwest. If I had not gotten such a good rate on airfare, I probably would have just tried signing in. On one cruise, the Internet connection was very slow, which is another reason I did it ahead of time. If I had known how well the Internet connection was going to work on the CB, I might have just checked in yesterday instead of paying the extra fee. The good news is I won more than enough in the casino to cover the charge. This is the first cruise in a long time where I’m coming back with more money than I carried on board. We spent a total of $50 for our excursion in St. Thomas for the ferry ride to Water Island, drinks and lunch, and tips. Once my credit gets posted to my onboard account, I should end up breaking even due to our credits and the refunds on taxes.

 

I have always received my boarding passes when I have princess check me in. They take your luggage so all you have to do is go straight to security. No waiting in any line other than security line.

[A1A]

Thanks for the live from Geoherb! We really enjoyed your posts and all the information that you provided!

Cheers!

Ken

[geoherb]

I received a phone message from Princess' customer service yesterday. I'll call back later today to try to resolve being charged for the bottle of wine that we should not have been charged for.

[geoherb]

And the good news is that when I spoke to the representative a minute ago, she is going to be able to credit back the amount of money that we were charged erroneously. She said she would have done it automatically yesterday, but she could not do it since the amount was greater than what they charged my credit card (by 11 cents). The other option was for her to send a check for the full amount. I told her it would be fine to forget the 11 cents--easier for me and for Princess than going with a check.

[Colo Cruiser]

And the good news is that when I spoke to the representative a minute ago, she is going to be able to credit back the amount of money that we were charged erroneously. She said she would have done it automatically yesterday, but she could not do it since the amount was greater than what they charged my credit card (by 11 cents). The other option was for her to send a check for the full amount. I told her it would be fine to forget the 11 cents--easier for me and for Princess than going with a check.

 

Good deal. :)

[dorisis]

Geoherb,

Glad everything worked out to your satisfaction.

[geoherb]

Thanks. I'll keep checking my credit card online to see how long it takes for the credit to show up. When I received a partial refund for a shore excursion on my March cruise on the Ruby, it took several weeks.

[Lostincruisin]

Good deal. :)

 

I was just on another thread on C/C and I saw a post of yours... (small world, cruise critic) :)

 

I asked you if you would be kind enough to let me know how you got the Princess elite status icon. Would really love to have this on my profile when I post. I took me long enough to get there.

 

Thanks for any assistance you can provide me.

 

Regards

Loretta

Boynton Beach, Florida

[Colo Cruiser]

I was just on another thread on C/C and I saw a post of yours... (small world, cruise critic) :)

 

I asked you if you would be kind enough to let me know how you got the Princess elite status icon. Would really love to have this on my profile when I post. I took me long enough to get there.

 

Thanks for any assistance you can provide me.

 

Regards

Loretta

Boynton Beach, Florida

 

Hi, here ya go! http://www.princess.com/downloads/index.jsp

[geoherb]

I'm finally getting around to doing laundry. It was nice to come home with some clean clothes last weekend. I pulled out the Patters from my bag to answer a question someone posted about dining on the CB. I will add them to my inside recycling bin. They won't make it to the outside recycling bin for a few days. Ask now if you have any more questions that would be in the Patters.

[Vacationdreamer<><]

Do you pay extra for things like trivia & champagne ring toss? Mini- golf?

[caribill]

Do you pay extra for things like trivia & champagne ring toss? Mini- golf?

 

No charge

[geoherb]

There's a putting green on the Caribbean Princess, not a mini-golf course like some ships. See the Sports Deck on the deck plans: http://www.princess.com/deckPlans.do?shipCode=CB.

[geoherb]

Resolution to the extra charge. I checked my credit card online this morning and the credit appeared, dated yesterday. I'm happy.

 

So while it's preferable to have things worked out while on the ship, things can still work out afterwards when passenger services can't make an immediate correction.

[jb9991]

I am booked on the Sept 13 Caribbean Princess. 7-night with Princess Cays, St. Maarten, St. Thomas & Turks & Caicos. 2nd & 6th day at sea. I am trying to figure out which nights would be formal. I called Princess & they couldnt tell me.

I know the 1st sea day would be one, but the 2nd sea day is the night before debarkation. So for those who would care to give an educated guess, would it most likley be the port day with the earliest departure? That would mean the 2nd & 4th nights would be formal. Trying to decide when to do the UBD. Thanks in advance

[counsdr]

There's a putting green on the Caribbean Princess, not a mini-golf course like some ships. See the Sports Deck on the deck plans: http://www.princess.com/deckPlans.do?shipCode=CB.

 

Geoherb, would you please tell me where the secret staircase/passage is that you spoke about?

Thanks,

Cheryl

[geoherb]

The secret doorways to get to a deck above the bridge are at the front of the ship on the Lido Deck. Here's the link to the CB deck plans: http://www.princess.com/deckPlans.do?shipCode=CB for your to see it after changing the deck to Lido.

[Pia1913]

I am booked on the Sept 13 Caribbean Princess. 7-night with Princess Cays, St. Maarten, St. Thomas & Turks & Caicos. 2nd & 6th day at sea. I am trying to figure out which nights would be formal. I called Princess & they couldnt tell me.

I know the 1st sea day would be one, but the 2nd sea day is the night before debarkation. So for those who would care to give an educated guess, would it most likley be the port day with the earliest departure? That would mean the 2nd & 4th nights would be formal. Trying to decide when to do the UBD. Thanks in advance

 

Did you check your pesonalizer? It sometimes tells you there. Second formal could be last night; I've seen them do it even though it makes no sense. Otherwise, the earliest port day departure preceding it.

[Lostincruisin]

I am booked on the Sept 13 Caribbean Princess. 7-night with Princess Cays, St. Maarten, St. Thomas & Turks & Caicos. 2nd & 6th day at sea. I am trying to figure out which nights would be formal. I called Princess & they couldnt tell me.

I know the 1st sea day would be one, but the 2nd sea day is the night before debarkation. So for those who would care to give an educated guess, would it most likley be the port day with the earliest departure? That would mean the 2nd & 4th nights would be formal. Trying to decide when to do the UBD. Thanks in advance

 

I am leaving this Saturday, September 6 on the Caribbean Princess but I am taking the western itinerary however I took your itinerary in July on the Caribbean Princess and the second formal night was Thursday not Friday. Was captain circle repeaters party and formal night Thursday evening. Hope that is helpful. I know the princess staff always says they don't know because it is at the discretion of the captain but generally you will never have a formal night the night before disembarkation

It actually makes no sense to have people dressing in tuxedos when they have to have their luggage out before midnight LOL

Have a great trip and I will leave the light on for you ...regards Loretta

[geoherb]

I am booked on the Sept 13 Caribbean Princess. 7-night with Princess Cays, St. Maarten, St. Thomas & Turks & Caicos. 2nd & 6th day at sea. I am trying to figure out which nights would be formal. I called Princess & they couldnt tell me.

I know the 1st sea day would be one, but the 2nd sea day is the night before debarkation. So for those who would care to give an educated guess, would it most likley be the port day with the earliest departure? That would mean the 2nd & 4th nights would be formal. Trying to decide when to do the UBD. Thanks in advance

I'd guess you'd have formal nights the first sea day and then two days later when you leave St. Thomas at 4 p.m. Our formal nights were the third and fifth nights on our cruise. Our cruise itinerary was different, going to St. Thomas, San Juan, then Grand Turk. Our ship left San Juan at 5 in the afternoon before the second formal night.

[jb9991]

Thanks! And did they have lobster on the 2nd formal night?

[geoherb]

Yes, they had the lobster and "king prawns" (grilled shrimp) combo served on the second formal night. The other entrees were rockfish in bay shrimp and wine sauce, pheasant, beef Wellington, and red wine braised short ribs.

[jb9991]

YUMMY! Thank you so much! One week to go!