First Time Cruise

[wingnut32]

Folks Ive picked out a 7 night California Cruise for October 2024 for a 50th Birthday for my wife. She always wanted to see SF and LA and had talked about a cruise so this kind of checks all boxes. Ive went for a room with balcony and the plus package as we both like a beer and a wine! and its coming in at £2418. The question I have is does that price look good for what we are getting, should I wait? Also any tips on that route would be greatly appreciated! We are in LA for the previous three nights.

[kywildcatfanone]

You can always book the room you want and watch prices and if they go down adjust.  If you find a room you want, book it and then watch 

[Rick&Jeannie]

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

[lx200gps]

44 minutes ago, wingnut32 said:

Folks Ive picked out a 7 night California Cruise for October 2024 for a 50th Birthday for my wife. She always wanted to see SF and LA and had talked about a cruise so this kind of checks all boxes. Ive went for a room with balcony and the plus package as we both like a beer and a wine! and its coming in at £2418. The question I have is does that price look good for what we are getting, should I wait? Also any tips on that route would be greatly appreciated! We are in LA for the previous three nights.

Welcome to Cruise Critic. We just finished a California Coastal ourselves. EXACTLY which itinerary are you looking at, exactly which dates, which ship, which departure port and is the price you are quoting per person or for the two of you?  And yes, you can always book now to grab your preferred cabin, then re-fare if the price drops later on, some time before final payment..

[wingnut32]

Hi , thanks for the reply. Its October 5th 2024 on the 7 day classic California departing from LA. The price is for the two of us. Ah, so pay deposit and if price drops along the way I can get the lower price?

Edited October 27, 2023 by wingnut32

[Cruisintimer]

6 minutes ago, wingnut32 said:

Hi , thanks for the reply. Its October 5th 2024 on the 7 day classic California departing from LA. The price is for the two of us. Ah, so pay deposit and if price drops along the way I can get the lower price?

Yes, before you make final payment, call customer service or your travel agent if you have one.

[wingnut32]

Just now, Cruisintimer said:

Yes, before you make final payment, call customer service or your travel agent if you have one.

Thank you, glad I posted here lol!

 

[lx200gps]

2 minutes ago, wingnut32 said:

Hi , thanks for the reply. Its October 5th 2024 on the 7 day classic California departing from LA. The price is for the two of us. Ah, so pay deposit and if price drops along the way I can get the lower price?

That would appear to be the 7 Day California Coastal on the Discovery, almost exactly the itinerary we did two weeks ago, and for which there are TWO current "Live From...' threads going on right now here on CC. Great itinerary, almost the same as we did, save that we didn't get to go to Monterey and had to settle for two nights in San Francisco. I very much wanted to visit the Monterey Bay  Aquarium. And yes, before final payment if the price drops you can re-fare and get the lower price. Only caveat is that when you re-fare, the person doing the work has to be careful to get your exact cabin re-assigned to you. Usually easy to do but requires a bit of care when doing the re-booking

[wingnut32]

1 minute ago, lx200gps said:

That would appear to be the 7 Day California Coastal on the Discovery, almost exactly the itinerary we did two weeks ago, and for which there are TWO current "Live From...' threads going on right now here on CC. Great itinerary, almost the same as we did, save that we didn't get to go to Monterey and had to settle for two nights in San Francisco. I very much wanted to visit the Monterey Bay  Aquarium. And yes, before final payment if the price drops you can re-fare and get the lower price. Only caveat is that when you re-fare, the person doing the work has to be careful to get your exact cabin re-assigned to you. Usually easy to do but requires a bit of care when doing the re-booking

Fantastic, was it your first time? What was your highlights?

[Dee_Jay]

Since wingnut32 listed his price in pounds, I'm assuming he's from Britain.  I seem to recall complaints that bookings in Britain are not allowed to refare. You should contact Princess or your TA and double check this before booking.  Other than that, the price you list is about the same as we paid last year for a similar cruise.

[Marronnier]

Typically for cruises booked in the UK, the deposit is non-refundable so the option to cancel and rebook at the lower fare is generally not available to us. So the OP is wise to ensure the deal they are booking is the right one for them.

[BamaVol]

Princess has recently announced a change in pricing policy.  They intend to start low and raise prices as the departure date nears.  It’s too soon to tell how successful this strategy will be.  But, if it works the way they want, you are wise to book early.  And as others have pointed out, monitor for price drops up until final payment.

Edited October 27, 2023 by BamaVol

[wingnut32]

2 minutes ago, Marronnier said:

Typically for cruises booked in the UK, the deposit is non-refundable so the option to cancel and rebook at the lower fare is generally not available to us. So the OP is wise to ensure the deal they are booking is the right one for them.

Exactly, I dont really know what is reasonable although it seems like it is. Its off to Las Vegas after the cruise so a few pennys might help in the slots 😀

[Marronnier]

7 minutes ago, wingnut32 said:

Exactly, I dont really know what is reasonable although it seems like it is. Its off to Las Vegas after the cruise so a few pennys might help in the slots 😀

Some UK agents offer packages that include international and domestic flights and 'stays' in either Las Vegas, Los Angeles or San Francisco. These packages can offer good value for money.

[mtnesterz]

Hope you enjoy your first cruise! And welcome to Cruise Critic.

Be sure to join your Roll Call here:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2961574-discovery-princess-7-day-classic-california-coast-october-5-2024/#comment-66041807

[JGmf]

We did the California Coastal this past June.  We had a great time; and it was really nice to visit those cities, especially San Francisco.  I recommend you stay in Santa Monica as it's very pedestrian oriented with nearby Pier and plenty of shops and restaurants.  Nearby, too, is Venice Beach.  Plus, there are plenty of touristy day tours that kick off from there.  The Uber to the San Pedro port costs about $60 for us. 

[wingnut32]

47 minutes ago, JGmf said:

We did the California Coastal this past June.  We had a great time; and it was really nice to visit those cities, especially San Francisco.  I recommend you stay in Santa Monica as it's very pedestrian oriented with nearby Pier and plenty of shops and restaurants.  Nearby, too, is Venice Beach.  Plus, there are plenty of touristy day tours that kick off from there.  The Uber to the San Pedro port costs about $60 for us. 

I was thinking Santa Monica would be the best place, has anyone got any hotels they could recommend?

[JGmf]

@wingnut32 Definitely check-out the West Coast Departures board for more information and other recommendations, but we stayed at the Shore Hotel...and would do it again.  It's very clean and modern with a nice pool and in-house place to get a bite/drink (but there are better eating and drinking places nearby). 

 

Definitely go to The Misfit Bar on Santa Monica Blvd.  It's a beautiful place with outstanding (and very $$$ reasonable) happy hour food and drink specials.  It's popular with the locals.

 

[wingnut32]

5 minutes ago, JGmf said:

@wingnut32 Definitely check-out the West Coast Departures board for more information and other recommendations, but we stayed at the Shore Hotel...and would do it again.  It's very clean and modern with a nice pool and in-house place to get a bite/drink (but there are better eating and drinking places nearby). 

 

Definitely go to The Misfit Bar on Santa Monica Blvd.  It's a beautiful place with outstanding (and very $$$ reasonable) happy hour food and drink specials.  It's popular with the locals.

 

Thanks for you reply, much appreciated!

[Cruisintimer]

3 hours ago, wingnut32 said:

I was thinking Santa Monica would be the best place, has anyone got any hotels they could recommend?

We always stay at Hilton Doubletree in San Pedro, nice/clean accommodations and a free 5 minute shuttle to the pier.  

[JF - retired RRT]

On 10/27/2023 at 2:25 PM, wingnut32 said:

Hi , thanks for the reply. Its October 5th 2024 on the 7 day classic California departing from LA. The price is for the two of us. Ah, so pay deposit and if price drops along the way I can get the lower price?

Yes. Unless you live in the UK.