Yep, next week at this time we'll be on the plane to LA. I wished we lived in that area so we could take advantage of the Mexican, Hawaii & Alaska cruises without all the travel. We've been to the Caribbean so many times that the only thing I really enjoy is the cruise itself. I doubt if I'll be posting as often this year since the internet is no longer unlimited & I'm not sure how long the 200 "free" minutes will last with the s l o w connections.
btw- did you hear the Princess (on some ships & some cruises) will no longer allow cabin credit to be used for casino or gratuities. Another perk gone by the wayside. I don't know how they'll handle the credit I have since we got some from the internet & some from having booked on board last Feb. If they limit my future cruise booking credit I doubt if I'll "buy" any more since we don't drink that much or spend much in their shops we'd have to use it for photo's, bingo or tours to get full value from it. (things we don't do in the Caribbean)
I hope Princess isin't shooting itself in the foot with the onboard credit thing. I would not be happy if I had some kind of credit and was then told how I could or could not use it. Sometimes they have to find these things out the hard way.
It's funny you should mention living in the area to take advantage of the proximity to cruises. I've been to the Mexican Riviera and Alaska so many times I really only look forward to the cruise--I don't even get off the ship in some ports. But I've never had a real Caribbean cruise.
Anyway, have a great trip. I can't recall if you have been on Diamond Princess before; if not, I'm sure you are going to love it. Honestly, I think it's a notch up from Island Princess.
Posts: 3378 | Location: Costa Mesa, California | Registered: November 16, 2006
This will be the first time for the Diamond for us. I can't say I really like the larger ships any bigger than the Island- all you get is more pax it seems & more walking (although I could use it).
I first noticed the change in cabin credit when I was just looking for future cruises on http://www.bestpricecruises.com/ The cabin credit shown for some Princess ships was limited while other ships it wasn't. Their message was " Shipboard credit cannot be used towards gratuities or casino charges."
and from http://aolsvc.res.travelocity.aol.com/ecruise/CruiseSearch.do the message was "Onboard Credit will appear on guest's account aboard the ship. Onboard Credit cannot be used for gratuities or casino credit. Onboard Credit may not be redeemed for cash; has no cash value and is not transferable. "
Like I originally said, it doesn't pop up for all Princess cruises & I'm not sure if it applies to ALL cabin credit although I can't see how they would segregate the dollars. You could conceivably get credit from you TA, directly from Princess when booking or from future cruise booking when onboard. I can't possible see how they would be able to keep it all straight. My only thought is that they won't & the new ruling is applied to all dollars.
Just when I thought they couldn't possibly take back anything more they've done it again...de-valuing my cruise. The next big thing will be the fuel surcharge in Feb or March. I can understand their situation with the rising fuel prices but I afraid it's going to cause a big reduction in cruising until the public get used to the new prices for a while.
That may well be; but according to Neil (TravlPro) it hasn't had much of an impact yet--of course it was just announced.
As for Diamond Princess, I think you are going to be pleasantly surprised. It is a little shorter than Island Princess and carries more passengers, but I've never felt crowded or been aware of the extra capacity. I think Diamond (and Sapphire) are better designed and utilize their space better. Island Princess has a lot of wasted space aft that Diamond uses to good advantage. I actually felt more crowded at times on Island Princess.
Anyway, I'll be anxious to hear your thoughts.
Posts: 3378 | Location: Costa Mesa, California | Registered: November 16, 2006
Just when I thought they couldn't possibly take back anything more they've done it again...de-valuing my cruise. The next big thing will be the fuel surcharge in Feb or March. I can understand their situation with the rising fuel prices but I afraid it's going to cause a big reduction in cruising until the public get used to the new prices for a while.
Rich you'd think with things like the fuel sur-charge and other costs and benefits changing there would be some resistance. I though so too. The best recent example of such a retro-active price increase that we have hind sight on was the Alaska tax. That was $50. per person add'l gvt tax on every passenger on every ship on all Alaska routes. That one happened exactly like this one, it went into effect Jan 1st, 2007 and everyone who was already booked, even if paid in full had to absorb the extra $100. on their cabin. I heard from several people who said that was it, they were no longer going to plan for an Alaska sailing in the future. Those who were booked did not cancel and booking actually increased even after the tax was imposed. This year, as with every year in recent memory there are the same number of ships or maybe more. I believe they've reached capacity at most of the ports of call for the short season so unless they create new ports they can't really add any more ships. This year with the tax in place bookings are strongere than ever and many ships and sailing dates for next summer are sold out and most that remain are nearly booked to capacity. It didn't hurt the Alaska market for the cruiselines at all.
That may well be the reason they were not at all reluctant to impose this fuel sur-chagre (purely speculation on my part). In the short time it has been in effect I have contacted all the clients affected from the list I've recieved (many people) and there are only a handfull who have not yet called me back. I've not had a single cancellation and very little serious complaints. One very angry email I was asked to pass on to HAL and a few comments similar to the ones found on this site objecting to the scope of the charge but it has been just a ripple overall.
With cruising becoming more and more popular and baby boomers retiring there may be a few who make a stand and cease cruising. They will be so few and so easily replaced in the market today, they unfortunately, will not be greatly missed by the cruiselines. That's harsh but it's a reality. Overall, cruising remains the best value in the vacation world. The pricing has changed very little over the past 30 years as other things have skyrocketed in price. As long as it remains such a great vacation and great value these little ripples in their pond will not affect the market.
We are booked and ready to go to Hawaii. Can't wait. We have been trying to book some adventures on line. We really want to go to a luau. We have never been to Hawaii. We are in Honolulu till 11:00pm. The luau's we have checked out get over at 9:00pm. with an 1-1/2 hour ride back to port. Has anyone tempted this and had any problems with getting back on time?
Posts: 3 | Location: oceanside, california | Registered: November 11, 2007
Hello fellow Southern Californian, and welcome to cruise-chat; you don't say which line you are traveling on, but my wife and I went to a Luau on Kauai when we were there on Island Princess last April. We opted for Kauai because there were too many other things we wanted to do in Honolulu.
The tour was called "Luau and Romantic Ceremony" and we would highly recommend it. It was during the day and we had a leisurely tour of Smith's Tropical Paradise, which it truly was; then the afternoon luau and the brief but very touching renewal of vows/declaration of love ceremony.
If you are not on Princess, but your tour is through the ship, you have no worries: even if you hit a snag, they will wailt for you. Even if your tour is independent of the ship, you should know they have a vested interest in getting you back in time.
In any event, have a wonderful cruise and keep in touch.
Posts: 3378 | Location: Costa Mesa, California | Registered: November 16, 2006
Thankyou so much for your info. We did look into going to the one you mentioned, but have already booked another exursion. Its great to know that the ship will wait. Oh by the way we are going on the Diamond. Thanks again!!!
Posts: 3 | Location: oceanside, california | Registered: November 11, 2007
Hope you're enjoying Diamond Princess to Hawaii! We'll be boarding as you disembark on Dec 3rd. Wanted to know what to pack, so hows the weather for your crossing to Hawaii? Maybe you'll be able to post during your cruise on those long lazy sea days. ENJOY!
Diamond Princess to Hawaii Cruisers I would like to hear about your cruise especially the weather and the seas at this time of year. We are booked for Feb 1 '08 Aloha....
Posts: 1 | Location: Yosemite National Park | Registered: November 19, 2007
Hi there. We are just now porting in Hilo. The trip here ha been a little bumpy. Thanksgiving day we finally got some sun and the waters calmed down alot. Your going to love it. I will write more later. Its almost time for us to get off of the boat. Ya hoooo. Karen
Posts: 3 | Location: oceanside, california | Registered: November 11, 2007
Hi all, The weather continues to be OK fairly calm seas but it's cooled off considerably since we left Hawaii. NOt many people in the pools. Food has been great- gained to much weight. I'll give a full report as soon as we return home. Rich
