We've booked a mini-suite for next May on Island Princess going to Alaska. Was wondering if there is a special boarding line for those with suites, as there is on RCCL.

Also, was wondering about this ship. Anyone have any thoughts? This will be our first Princess cruise.

Hi LanieB,
per Princess' own Cruise Answer Book, they have a Platinum Check-in for Captain's Circle Platinum and Elite members "and passengers occupying full suites." So this probably excludes mini-suites.
However, they also have an Express Check-in which you can use if you have completed your immigration paperwork and provided your credit card information 45 days prior to sailing. I have done this previously and once past security, you practically walk aboard. And the new e-boarding pass should make it go even faster.
I can't tell you anything about the ship--I'm sailing on it for the first time just ahead of you in April to Hawaii--also in a mini-suit--but I CAN tell you I've been sailing Princess for 30 years and never been dissapointed.
I had a mini-suite on Sapphire Princess in March and it was our best experience ever.
I'll post for you when I get back with any last-minute tips.

f-mattox, thanks for the reply. On our last cruise, RCCL, we booked a jr suite and was able to use their express boarding. Was on the ship in less than 10 minutes. Was hoping that would be the case this time.

We'll look forward to hearing your reviews in April.

Hi LanieB,
I leave Saturday on the Star Princess and have booked a mini-suite. This will be my 5th cruise with Princess and I have never had a long wait to board. Even when we arrived 30minutes early and were in a line 75-100yds. long it only took about 10-15 minutes to board. There is a "special" boarding area for mini-suites but the other boarding areas monved quickly. Like mattox, I have completed the pre-boarding requirement and have the new e-boarding pass. When we return I'll let you know how things went.
Enjoy Life & Cruising
Caseyg

Hi caseyg55, I have a mini-suite booked on the Princes Diamond in 4/07.This will be my first trip on Princess cruise line. Could you tell me more about the E-boarding pass? I went through a TA and have not received our boarding information yet. I have been on Carnival in the past and the information is on their web-site. Any other additional information on pre-boarding requirements would be appreciated. Thanks

Hi Shipshape,

I tried to get an answer for you about etickets on Princess but was not able to complete the process. If you go to the Princess website, it will tell you to complete their immigration form and print your eticket. I am booked for a cruise in March, and have already completed the immigration form on-line. When I tried to print my eticket, on-line, I learned that you can't do it until your cruise is paid in full. My final payment does not get charged to my credit card until the end of December, so I was SOL. I assume I will have no difficulty once my cruise is fully paid for. I am told you need the eticket to board. If you booked through a travel agent, get your booking number and try to get the eticket on-line. Otherwise, call your TA. Good luck!

Just want to add that the e-boading pass is not available until 75 days before departure.

We used their e ticket with priority boarding for the first time on Dec 5 in LA & although the e ticket got us through the first check in line in a breeze everything came to an abrupt halt after that. We've never had a slower boarding process ever. I suppose we just got there at the wrong time (around 1 PM). Their priority boarding only gets you through the check-in counter & nothing more. The second line formed around the corner for the security check-in which took about 20 minutes. The third line formed at the top of the escalator for another 20 minutes to get past the photo stop- even if you didn't want it you had the line to wait it & then step past. Then came another 15 minute line which split into two & rejoined once on board to have you cruise card picture taken. I don't know if this is typical in LA but it's not in Ft Lauderdale. We always breeze through. I could understand the security people not giving priority but Princess should have their priority check-in apply to all their lines. With the large number of repeat Princess cruisers the priority check-in is also beginning to mean less since more than half the ship were repeaters anyway.
After we got to our room & had lunch I looked out balcony to see that there were hardly any people waiting to board- like I said, it really depends on when you arrive but it a tough thing to do after traveling over 8 hours just to get to the port.

I think you are right RichC; it really depends on what time you arrive at the pier. And you may have hit it right when some transfers arrived from LAX. We sailed on Sapphire Princess in March. We arrived at 2:00 and were onboard by 2:15. Sorry you had such a long wait--seems to be a fair amount of luck involved.
MERRY CHRISTMAS and better luck next time.

Living in Florida we always take a bus service provided by "Cruise Connection". For $59 per person round trip it takes us right to the pier & we usually arrive befor noon at Ft Laurerdale or Miami. We never have much of a wait to board. I suppose we got spoiled by not having the crowds to contend with.