Princess Only Shore Excursions Confirmed

[LEtue]

8 hours ago, RosieCanberra said:

 

A friend booked a Royal Caribbean cruise and was given a seven page document listing all the requirements, including only doing ship excursions. So I guess they are all the same. 

I recently. booked a Princess cruise for June 2022 and didn't receive a similar notice regarding ships excursions....

[mcrcruiser]

imo if any cruise line makes restrictions so restrictive ,many or most will not take that cruise  . Why would any one want  to be on a ship for the sake of being just on the ocean with on board restrictions & tour restrictions in place as well . 

We have a Sept 7 .2022  R/T from SF to Alaska .a 10 day cruise .If the restrictions are too severe we would cancel before final payment .

We could fly to  Anchorage ,rent a car  ,stay at B$Bs   cheaper than  a cruise cost  & have the freedom of our car & where we wanted to eat 

 We also have a 18 night  Hawaii cruise  booked with holland America  for Feb2 ,2022 . I could not imagine just ships tours in Hawaii . If that were the case ,we cancel that one as well 

 

 

Edited April 14, 2021 by mcrcruiser

[K.T.B.]

21 hours ago, OCruisers said:

Are other cruise lines doing the same?  

 

Yes.  I know MSC is definitely doing this.

[Ride-The-Waves]

On 4/12/2021 at 11:55 AM, beg3yrs said:

While it's certainly a possibility those will be Princess-only excursions, the statement doesn't specifically exclude independent operators who work to get approved by Princess to run their own excursions. If I were such an operator I'd be working hard to get certified.

Princess does not conduct its own tours. It contracts with local tour companies.  The real challenge for Princess will be to let go of these restrictions once local authorities deem it safe for independent touring.  The profit from ship-sponsored tours is significant.

[Ride-The-Waves]

3 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

imo if any cruise line makes restrictions so restrictive ,many or most will not take that cruise  . Why would any one want  to be on a ship for the sake of being just on the ocean with on board restrictions & tour restrictions in place as well . 

We have a Sept 7 .2022  R/T from SF to Alaska .a 10 day cruise .If the restrictions are too severe we would cancel before final payment .

We could fly to  Anchorage ,rent a car  ,stay at B$Bs   cheaper than  a cruise cost  & have the freedom of our car & where we wanted to eat 

 We also have a 18 night  Hawaii cruise  booked with holland America  for Feb2 ,2022 . I could not imagine just ships tours in Hawaii . If that were the case ,we cancel that one as well 

 

 

Have you looked at Alaska car rental rates lately?  Outrageous!  $1000/week.

 

Its not the cruise line making the restrictions, its the country/state/port doing it for the safety and health of their citizens.

[Ride-The-Waves]

23 hours ago, Thrak said:

I can't see how 'bubble shopping' could work. Try telling the local businesses that, "This store gets the cruse people spending money but your store can't have any". That would be sure to engender some pretty harsh feelings.

Done all the time.  Tour company/guide takes the group to a contracted store.  Its easy.

[voljeep]

5 minutes ago, Ride-The-Waves said:

Done all the time.  Tour company/guide takes the group to a contracted store.  Its easy.

so, they close down the store - do whatever cleaning is necessary - let only the Princess 'bubble people in, no other tourist - Princess tourist shop, then leave, still within the Princess bubble - then the store re-opens to others ?

 

so just like when a private party on Princess takes over a venue for a period of time

 

 

[dog]

53 minutes ago, Ride-The-Waves said:

Done all the time.  Tour company/guide takes the group to a contracted store.  Its easy.

Remind me of tour in St Petersburg Russia. The only ships we went in were the 2 the guide took us to. Never let us out of her sight Red October Ru private 2 day tour 

[SHIP TRAVELER]

On 4/12/2021 at 10:30 PM, USERBOYD66 said:

What will the staff do with their time/hours off?  I know they like to find free wifi or some place new and good to eat.  Or, go to Walmart!

I would think that the "bubble" would be burst if the crew are not kept on the ship.  If they wander freely and then serve you dinner in the MDR, what is the point of keeping you locked up.  Of course, trapping the crew on the ship would make for miserable employment conditions for them.  I also wonder what is being done about locking up the crew on MSC ships currently sailing.  What about the shore side, ticket takers and baggage handlers on the day you embark the ship.  The whole thing is sort of mind blowing.  Glad it is not my problem to solve.

[JF - retired RRT]

14 hours ago, dog said:

Shops, bars, restaurants are places where covid-10 is widely spread even fully vaccinated epilepsy should still be following some of the health & safety procedures for the near future. If these are important to wools they should delay cruising. 

OOOH! That darned auto correct.

[dog]

1 hour ago, JF - retired RRT said:

OOOH! That darned auto correct.

You are Welcome. Happy to give you a reason to smile. You should see some of the other bloopers this iPhone has done. 

[Roberto256]

2 hours ago, SHIP TRAVELER said:

I would think that the "bubble" would be burst if the crew are not kept on the ship.  If they wander freely and then serve you dinner in the MDR, what is the point of keeping you locked up.  Of course, trapping the crew on the ship would make for miserable employment conditions for them.

I thought the plan was 'no shore leave'.

 

There are a couple crew members that I know pretty well...

 

They are so anxious to return to ships, and making money, that they are ok with any restrictions.

 

One girl, who is a waitress, told me that she misses her passengers.

 

She is clearly a nicer person than I am!   I have encountered some passengers that I instantly

looked forward to 'missing';  and I didn't even have to work for them.

 

[Ride-The-Waves]

3 hours ago, SHIP TRAVELER said:

I would think that the "bubble" would be burst if the crew are not kept on the ship.  If they wander freely and then serve you dinner in the MDR, what is the point of keeping you locked up.  Of course, trapping the crew on the ship would make for miserable employment conditions for them.  I also wonder what is being done about locking up the crew on MSC ships currently sailing.  What about the shore side, ticket takers and baggage handlers on the day you embark the ship.  The whole thing is sort of mind blowing.  Glad it is not my problem to solve.

In many ports the crew stays in the pier side shopping mall for the free wifi and cheap calls home.  Many have families and can't freely spend.  Plus its much less expensive for them onboard - to include drinks.

[Steelers36]

5 hours ago, voljeep said:

so, they close down the store - do whatever cleaning is necessary - let only the Princess 'bubble people in, no other tourist - Princess tourist shop, then leave, still within the Princess bubble - then the store re-opens to others ?

 

so just like when a private party on Princess takes over a venue for a period of time

 

 

If the store isn't deemed clean enough for visitors, then how can it be clean enough for locals?

[joepeka]

Just coincidently, I received an email today from Princess announcing that shore excursions for our Majestic cruise a year from now are available to purchase. No mention of Princess-only excursions allowed on the cruise but the usual disclaimer about best price guarantee. Of course, this is a year away and much can change.  😬

Edited April 14, 2021 by joepeka

[HBCcruiser]

6 minutes ago, joepeka said:

Just coincidently, I received an email today from Princess announcing that shore excursions for our Majestic cruise a year from now are available to purchase.

I received the same for our April '22 Hawaii cruise. I did notice more time slots that you had to select and the option to hire personal drivers through them. Not sure if that means anything but...

[joepeka]

3 minutes ago, HBCcruiser said:

I received the same for our April '22 Hawaii cruise. I did notice more time slots that you had to select and the option to hire personal drivers through them. Not sure if that means anything but...

I too noticed the small group and private vehicle options but just assumed that has been a Princess excursion option for a while?

[HBCcruiser]

1 hour ago, joepeka said:

I too noticed the small group and private vehicle options but just assumed that has been a Princess excursion option for a while?

Hmmm I never noticed the 5 different time slots (usually 2) or the cars for hire. Could be I just never paid attention. I usually like booking my own excursions. 

[trvlwrld]

When you book a shore excursion you only have 24 hrs to pay upfront...not something I am willing to do so far out when ships aren’t even sailing yet...just another way for Princess to hold on to my money!

[caribill]

16 hours ago, LEtue said:

I recently. booked a Princess cruise for June 2022 and didn't receive a similar notice regarding ships excursions....

 

Any regular scheduled Princess cruises do not currently have any restrictions on going ashore. The restrictions that are in this thread are for the special pandemic cruises.

 

Whether or not "regular" cruises will have any such restrictions is yet to be known.

[Roberto256]

11 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

If the store isn't deemed clean enough for visitors, then how can it be clean enough for locals?

My experience has been that locals don't generally patronize the tourist stores.

 

Apparently, most of them got all the tanzanite they wanted before the only mine closed...

 

[john1970]

I am booked on a UK seacation in September. I was browsing the excursions and saw one for Liverpool which was an 8 hour trip to an outlet mall. I can't see how that can fit into keeping the passengers into a 'bubble'. In the description it says that it's basically free time to shop. How is this any different from passengers leaving the ship and going shopping on their own? I am happy to adhere to their terms and conditions but I am wondering about their logic and questioning if some of this is to make as much money as possible from a captive audience.

[ontheweb]

6 minutes ago, john1970 said:

I am booked on a UK seacation in September. I was browsing the excursions and saw one for Liverpool which was an 8 hour trip to an outlet mall. I can't see how that can fit into keeping the passengers into a 'bubble'. In the description it says that it's basically free time to shop. How is this any different from passengers leaving the ship and going shopping on their own? I am happy to adhere to their terms and conditions but I am wondering about their logic and questioning if some of this is to make as much money as possible from a captive audience.

How is this different from leaving and shopping on your own? The only difference seems to me to be that if you take the ship's excursion, they get paid for you to shop on your own. I guess they also provide transportation to and from the mall. But otherwise there is no difference, especially if it is seen as part of protecting you from Covid exposure.

[Ride-The-Waves]

All the whining is amazing.

 

We received the same email for a regularly scheduled trans-Atlantic in March 2022.  Couple of months ago booked a 12-hour tour with Princess for Marrakech.  No bookings yet for the other ports.  Local restrictions likely currently preclude unlimited tourist roaming off a cruise ship.  Could be lifted a year from now but that is speculation.  Princess appears to be doing things to help passengers return to cruising and to enjoy ports and new experiences.  FYI - the expensive car/van tours have been offered for years...  Likely still too early to safely book local tours even if approved by Princess.  For as long as I can remember cruise lines have contracted with local merchants for tours to stop and shop.  Experienced this in Scotland in 2019 and of course in Russia.

[caribill]

6 hours ago, john1970 said:

I am booked on a UK seacation in September. I was browsing the excursions and saw one for Liverpool which was an 8 hour trip to an outlet mall.

 

How much of that 8 hours is actually at the outlet mall?  How much time on the bus?

 

Even in normal times I would not sign up for an 8 hour shopping excursion.