* OCTOBER 29, 2024 UPDATES: Princess has increased the daily price of the Premier package by $10 to $90 but it now includes unlimited drinks and specialty dinners for qualifying restaurants (super pemium restaurants or experiences like Chef's Table, Love by Britto, 360 and Spellbound do not qualify). Thank you to several viewers who corrected or clarified some key points: * The Plus package limits drinks with alcohol to 15 but all other drinks like coffees and soft drinks are unlimited. * Sailings from Australia already include gratuities in the cruise fare so they are not a feature of the Plus or Premier packages. * There are four Princess ships (in addition to Majestic) that feature an indoor pool: Grand, Coral, Island and Diamond. * Princess has released a new app with a different looking interace but similar functionality. Note that in most cases, your Princess login won't work on the new app and you need to use your booking number to login. * On some newer ships like Regal and Enchanted, Princess has converted the venue next to the casino into a non-smoking extension of the casino. Note that the main casino floor continues to have a large smoking section (around 40 to 50% of the space on most ships, 70+% on Enchanted, Discovery and Sun). Several people have reported that Australian itineraries are completely smoke-free indoors, including the casino.
Mini Suite Bath ; Can't recommend if your tall or have hip or leg medical issues. Climbing in or out can be a problem, The bath is set a Step higher than the deck level (Allowance for drainage) which leaves little head room for taller Guests.
Gratuities don't seem to be included in Plus and Premier packages for Asian cruises either - just booked a cruise from Tokyo to Singapore and Gratutities are in addition to the packages. Gratutities for Australian cruises are included in your cruise fare, so doesn't get added to your onboard account.
Hello,first I want to thank for your video,it's very well done. My first cruise of my life will be this July/2023. We are 2, I don't drink at all, my husband a bit more, but I heard we have to buy the drink package for both because we are in the same cabin? And also do we have to pay for sanctuary? Thank you
@@trikynguyen3680Thank you for the feedback! Yes I think you’re required to purchase the Plus package for at least 2 people in a cabin if you’re not traveling solo. I’ve heard that you can buy the plus package for just one person when you’re onboard but don’t know that for sure. Yes there is a fee for the Sanctuary: Lounger is $40 for a full day, $20 half day, $300 for the week. Cabanas are $220 for a full day, $140 half day. I hope you enjoy your first cruise!
Thanks for your video. Doing my 2nd Pricess cruise in July. I have a slight problem with the Packages. Because I dont drink except for a cappachino here and there I cant wrap my mind around the fact that I am the only person who thinks they ought to have another level for non-drinkers. BTW double deserts is also a no go for me. End of my unpopular opinion. Thanks again for your work.
Thank you for your feedback and perspective. You are one of MANY who has mentioned to me they are frustrated there isn’t a package option without alcohol!
Even though you may not drink alcohol, I suggest to people to just pencil it out. Hubby does not drink alcohol either, however, his hot cocoa drinks and bottled water to take onshore make the math workout. Agreed, those special desserts also look disgusting to us.
We sailed on the Regal Princess in February. My husband ate at the international Cafe so many times that he was on a first name basis with two workers by the second day!!!
Funny but agree it is a great spot. We often have a light lunch there, and sometimes a breakfast sandwich. Of course always accompanied by an espresso based coffee
We are considering taking the Regal as well. We are in our mid-40's, not partiers by any means but want enough things to do. Have read that Princess could be a bit boring. Do you think Regal was boring?
@@kathleenduggan9955 fair enough and well deserved ☺️. Just to be clear, you relaxed but had plenty of fun activities to do should you have chosen to do them correct?
Just came back from 13 day New Zealand/Australia cruise. It was HORRIBLE. -Princess changed our 2 balcony rooms to the other side of the ship and put a cabin between us 2 weeks before our departure date. (They said SORRY YOU DIDNT CATCH THIS EARLIER SO WE COULD FIX IT. I reminded them WE did nothing wrong.) Gave us $25 on board credit and a bottle of wine. Refused to do more. It changed the whole dynamic of our trip. We chose that side of the ship so we could see the New Zealand coastline instead of open water and we couldn’t open the balcony divider and have a large balcony to share. UGH… -Daughter’s NEW room smelt like poop (came twice to fix her toilet), sink stopper stuck and couldn’t use the sink, shower dripped, poor seal around balcony door that let in smoke stack smoke into her room, balcony divider outside banged open in the middle of the night and needed to be fixed. -My room…blood/lipstick on blanket at end of my bed when I first went into the room and the fridge was broken. I wonder how the two families in our original rooms faired. -Room attendant got Covid mid trip and had to isolate. We got sick soon after and my daughter had to go on antibiotics. -Ship ran out of Diet Coke cans and bottled water. -Food was sub par. We lost weight cuz food so bad. -Shows on board equivalent to high school performances. We actually got up and left one show. -One ply toilet paper. They gave my daughter flowers after her toilet exploded on her and into her shower and gave us $50 towards a spa treatment which was an empty gesture. You could only use it when we were in port (we went on excursions then) and you still had to make up the difference of a treatment which was at least $150. So the $50 gift would cost us $100 to use. Thank you? So bad. Princess only cruise line that has EVER changed our rooms randomly. We booked these rooms a year in advance. NEVER again with Princess.
We recently just got off the sky princess, this was my 17 cruise. Without a doubt the most crowded ship I have ever been on. The food quality has definitely went down and this is coming from a food service professional and an executive chef. Entertainment was lacking. Mini suite and steward was excellent Being an elite princess cruiser I am going to look at other options since cutting corners seems to have went a little far. We are still quests and customers and not $$$
FYI…I’ve been on 35 cruises on Princess & like yourself have been on a variety of ships. Interesting about Alaska ports. Maybe I’ve been lucky but I’ve never experienced an extremely long line either getting on or off the ship. One tip with the room service card put out for breakfast. I wrote on the card things not listed like French Toast which was delivered. I would also just circle 7 am on the card & with in a short time the food was delivered. When I book a balcony I prefer the Caribe Deck 10 as the balcony is larger & partially covered & uncovered especially if you don’t want to be in the sun. I’ve also learned that if I want to sit at the same table every night I mention that the first night. When I've done that I was genuinely able to walk in directly to my table each night. A tip for the Sanctuary is to make a bee line there when you 1st board the ship to get the day & time you want but for me more importantly where my lounger was located. I agree the service there was excellent. Thanks for sharing your experiences & tips.
Not me. When people anywhere in your vicinity order drinks their table / charge can appear on your medallion account. Happened to me a couple of weeks ago. Showed up on my account statement they emailed me as I was disembarking. Call them to alert them and was told it's too late the Trip's already over. 😡
We loved the medallions on our January cruise. Always check our onboard statement every couple of days as mistakes can happen. Even with the medallion the waiter usually asks for your room number and they can hear you wrong. As long as you check your statement while you're on board they will fix any issues.
An excellent list. I just returned from Caribbean Princess and had a fantastic time. The casino experience was excellent. Luckily the craps table is on the nonsmoking side. I wish they would but slot machines in Churchill’s and make the main casino non smoking
Thank you. Apparently you can't take a travel kettle on board ! I'm just one of those who like a cuppa when I wake up, not an hour later when I'm showered and dressed etc. I will book via room service or ask for a kettle x
Agree - I definitely enjoy coffee right away! The good news is that Princess room service is usually very fast. If you do the breakfast card, just know they usually come 10-15 minutes BEFORE the time you select :)
I’m a non smoker but I am glad they allow smoking because my husband & some of our friends smoke. If I don’t want to deal with it then I go to a nonsmoking location
Thank you for your info. I have a problem with Princess that caused me to cancel a 55 night half world cruise. . It’s a lot to do with the charges now put on things that used to be included in the usual fare. Example . Entry to casual dining like Alfredos pizza, room service etc. So I recently did a 3 night cruise on Majestic princess. I had booked the Plus package ( accidentally I might add , but that was ok) We enjoyed the inclusions but found we only had a couple of drinks … and when I went to order wine , I was shown a small card with about 5 wines only that was available to me on this package. I had assumed I could look at the wine list and choose one I wanted ( under $15 of course per glass). The stuff they had on the card was disgusting… We went to Alfredo’s because we got two visits to the casual dining. All great as usual, despite having to line up for about 45 minutes to get in. We had a look at the ice cream Sundaes that were on offer.. honest to goodness ,anybody with any respect for their health would not be having two of these every day so I’m pretty sure princess had added these on as a filler as such. In other words it makes the package look like you’re getting a real lot of stuff, but most people probably wouldn’t use it that much. The same with the gym class, I’m on holidays. I have no intention of going to a gym other than walking through it to have a spa treatment -so there is another useless thing for us and probably a lot of other people as well. Our three day cruise was good. We were happy with the inclusions and we only paid about $300 for the couple extra -from the standard fare. So now we get to the world Cruise that I had booked. We’re looking at about 20 odd, thousand dollars. And I looked at the plus package and it was an extra 7 1/2 thousand dollars for my husband and myself to get this added to our fare . so because it was such a long cruise, I was curious as to how many visits we could have to the casual dining. I asked the question online and everybody said 2 🤷♀️ I thought this couldn’t possibly be true. How could you give two on a three day cruise and for a 55 night Cruise still only get two visits to a casual dining venue. I contacted Princess and they said no you only get two. Then I found out that the world Cruise is four cruises back to back. so since we had paid for all four cruises, at least we should have got was eight visits to a casual dining. I won’t go on and on about this because there were other things that annoyed me -one being the size of their cabins in comparison to say a royal Caribbean Cabin of the same category. So I cancelled. And I’ve booked another Cruise with Holland America. I’ve never sailed with this company before, but they offered a thing called the HAVE IT ALL package. This was $75 Australian, so only $10 more than majestic. But what did it offer ?? Wi-Fi? Yes Drinks yes THREE visits to their specialty restaurants! $300 US to spend on their excursions. These inclusions are much more useful than the stupid ice cream Sundaes , gym, classes, and two lousy visits to a casual dining that used to be included anyway. I will Cruise princess again, but I won’t take the package and waste my money. And I won’t cruise with them for quite some time because I’m really really annoyed with what they’re doing. And yes I’m sure they could not care less.
@@fluffytail6355 not our problem! I don’t blame him for being mad! When I spend top dollar I want top dollar amenities ! Some delicious coffee , good creamer, no watered down liquor!!!
Well stated! I have sailed on Princess a couple of times and I find that Princess is very disorganized and not very accommodating. My room had the bunk beds attached to the wall and I find myself bumping into it on many occasions. There is only 2 of us in this room. When asking guest services to switch our room they refused and the ship was not sold out. Very disappointed with Princess and I am very reluctant to sail with them in the future.
Hello, it's Michelle from just down the road in Kingston. I'm so excited that my husband and I are having our first holiday in 11 year, taking the Sun Princess 7 day Mediterranean cruise in Sept. I'm watching so many videos for feedback. This was great advice.
Hi Michelle! Thank you for watching, I'm glad it was helpful. I'm excited for your cruise! I've only heard amazing things about cruising the Mediterranean and what an added perk to be doing it on a brand new ship that's the first of its class! And September is a perfect time to go. I hope you have an amazing time!
You got it right on most things. Now everything is about money. But unfortunately you do have many people who still smoke, myself included, but you’re right about Enchanted Ship casino and fog of smoke lingering to the non smoking areas. It’s gets very smoky in there. My suggestion would be keep small area / section with proper smoke filtering system.
Agree, and they now I hear they have turned Churchill's into an Arcade. I am going on Enchanted for the first time. I have looked and nowhere does it say on deck plans where the designated areas are, if you could tell me it would be much appreciate. Loved Churchill's on Diamond.
@pamelalambe1356 There is a dedicated smoking area on Deck 17 (I think) aft. Comfortable seating with ashtrays and nice attendants. They also have coffee and water available. I don't smoke anymore, but I met some great people there when I did. At the time I really appreciated having a comfortable place to smoke with nobody giving you dirty looks.
Good video. I have booked a 12 day Southern Caribbean on the Regal Princess and a 29 day Seattle-Singapore cruise on Discovery Princess in 2025. After cruising on HAL and Celebrity in 2024, I decided that it was time for a change. We really enjoyed the entertainment and the food on the Regal Princess in 2023 and the pricing is right. One thing that is more unique on Princess that you did not mention is the availability of self-laundry facilities which is critical on a 20 day cruise. That will allow us to significantly reduce teh luggage we will bring along.
Thank you for the feedback. You're absolutely right about the laundrettes - that is a unique feature that not all cruise lines offer. I've used them quite a few times to iron a shirt last minute!
Good tips thanks. The only negative experience we have had after three Princess cruises was in the dining room....on the same ship. We took a back to back cruise. The first cruise in the dining room the food was bland. On the second cruise in the same dining room it was much better. New chef? Responding to complaints? No idea but it was better. Also agree that the nightlife depends on the ship. For this RC and HAL are much better.
@@wisdomSP Fantastic! Enchanted is a great ship! Hope you have a great time! If you ever find yourself at Crooners bar, say hello to Ozzy for me - he's the best bartender on the ship!
Thank you for evaluation, my husband and I are cruising in March on the Sky princess. I had hoped the casino would be less smoky than our last cruise on Royal. It sounds like it won’t be.
Thank you for watching and for your feedback. Unfortunately Sky is a lot smokier than the early Royal class ships where the smoking side was on the smaller bank of machines on the starboard side of the tables. On the newer ships, it's the reverse. That bank is now the non-smoking side with the larger port side all smoking. The good news is that not everyone is smoking since the smoking side is usually where all the good machines are located! I hope you still get to enjoy your cruise!
We have 32 Princes cruises under our belt and have enjoyed the excellent incremental changes to the ships we did not notice besides your excellent tips. Nexk time we book Princess we will check if Crooners is still there. 😢
Just did a cruise on the Regal out of Galveston last week and Crooners is still there but only a bar and some seats. I did notice a piano but never heard anyone playing it.
Just got off the Crown Princess to Mexico, will be taking her again in September to Alaska. We dined in the Botecelli dining room which is aft. The line can get long and twisted as there isn't much wait room. We did get waved through each evening to the same dining table which helped. Crooner's Bar is the best place to hang out, although the Wheelhouse has better IPA beer. Service in the Crown Grill is spotty, one evening extremely fast, the next really slow. We've experienced this on other Princess ships as well. Best thing, Elite and Platinum members have priority disembarkation. Thank you for the video.
We did one of the ships that had the nightclub raised up on kind of a spoiler and that's what they're taking off.. and it was really a fun space and it was used a lot! & getting rid of the casino bar that stinks.. I play Slots and it's almost impossible to get a drink from the servers that walk around, between machine switching I go to the bar and grab a drink myself. Princesses definitely trying to attract younger family since they're the ones that generally spend the most money on kids. It also depends on your itinerary Panama Canal is always going to be a snooze especially if not during the summer vacation months
I Hate the strong smell in the casinos that's why i hardly gamble on cruises that has too much second hand smoking. Free smoking ships or one that has an area very far away from smokers will get my $$$$$$$ money😊. Otherwise, I'm out!
Come on 75% of the casino?! In this day and age there should be no smoking in interior spaces anywhere on the ship! Or at minimum they need to drastically increase the ventilation in the casino to remove the smoke!
I just got off a princess cruise and the casino allowed smoking everywhere if you were playing. It stunk..i stunk..i had to wash myself and my hair and my clothes after playing. It was not good!
Just returned from Harmony of the Seas (Royal Caribbean) and their main casino is smoking but problem is smoke travels all through corridors outside into front of dining room. I don’t gamble but had to avoid this dining room at all cost. Terrible!
Just booked our first cruise! Itll be for early this summer aboard the Discovery Princess. We got the Princess Plus Package. Your video was very enlightening, thank you!!
You may not have experienced difficulties with other cruise lines in challenging ports however can say that Norwegian is notorious for it so just for a bit of balance not sure that can be pegged entirely on Princess.
Thanks for a great video. I find your take to be very accurate and I learn something new each time . After our Xmas cruise on the Caribbean Princess, we are doing a repeat for this year’s holiday on enchanted... the passengers on Princess are so very kind, easy to talk to, and albeit “more experience”, far more interesting!
Thank you for watching and sharing your feedback! Really appreciate it! If you enjoyed Caribbean I think you’ll love Enchanted. It’s now one of my favorite Princess ships.
@ralphg2436 yes it is! I’ve posted 2 videos about it. Full review: Caribbean Princess offers the best of older and newer ships th-cam.com/video/sBpW0T4k6V8/w-d-xo.html . And update: Is the trash talk about Caribbean Princess true? I went back to find out th-cam.com/video/3FCpBJ3lclA/w-d-xo.html
Thank you for a great video! I wish you had touched on Princess's enrichment programs, and your thoughts on them. I love enrichment and it's a key reason I enjoy Princess in Alaska.
Thank you for the feedback. Princess was not at their best when I sailed to Alaska on Majestic last spring - a lot when wrong and there wasn't much enrichment to speak of so there wasn't much I could say on that topic unfortunately.
Booked a year in advance. 5th cruise suite customer Premier pkg we paid 22$ for them to mail the medallion. 10 days before cruise they reneged. Canceled the mailing. Refused to credit the 22$. Travel agent and I spent hrs several days to no avail. If we cant board. Princess will never see us again.
Lots of what you talked about sounds like some of those east coast ships/experiences differ slightly from the Ruby, Discovery, Crown and Grand Princess ships which sail out of the west coast. I've been cruising since the 90's, on NCL, Royal, Carnival and Princess and I enjoy Princess.
great video :) ive just subscribed to your channel :) its its deb from tasmania australia :) weve just booked our first princess cruise on the crown princess for a 2 night cruise in may 2026 :) im really looking forward to it as i also have booked us both the premier plus package :) im hoping that the entertainment and the night time vibe onboard will be great :)
Hey Deb! Thank you for watching and for the feedback! I’ve heard amazing things about the Crown and you can’t go wrong when you have almost unlimited access to premium booze! 😉
thats what i thought hehe we never buy an alcohol beverage package, we occasionally get a refreshment package, but im totally excited about the perks included :) @@TheChillCruiser
Great video, keep them coming!! This may sound petty, but the delivery for the medallion device is not free if you are not Elite. Otherwise there is a charge for home delivery, I just pick mine up at the beginning of the cruise. That way I have more money to spend onboard!! Thanks again for the info!
Thank you for watching and for the feedback! I really appreciate it. Very good point about medallion shipping charges if you don’t have Plus or Premier package - I didn’t know it’s included with Elite. Cheers!
As an agent, I concur. A lot of people assume it costs money for a travel agent, but it costs nothing extra (like you said) and not only can we make sure you’re on the right ship for your preferences but also get you perks that the cruiseline alone won’t give you (just like you said)
Medallions are currently only shipped to USA and some Canadian locations. I am on a cruise next week and this is what the Princess app says very clearly in the check-in section Europe and the rest of the world as well as some places in Canada will get there soon, but not yet.
I enjoy your videos as you are informative and easy to listen to. You get to the point with no drama and click bait. Keep it up. We will be going on our second Princess transatlantic this week. So much has changed since last year. I hope I love it as much as I did the last one.
Thank you for that feedback! I really appreciate it - especially the part about avoiding click bait and drama. I hope you enjoy the TA - please do report back on your experience if you get a chance.
Please be aware that if you book your trip in Australia princess plus and premier do not include gratuities. Therefore it is not worth having, especially if you do not drink alcohol
Cruises that depart or arrive in Australia must incude gratutities in the cruise fare - so they don't get added to your onboard account. The Plus Package is $65 AUD without gratutities or $60 USD ($92 AUD approx) when it includes gratuities.
Last year from Singapore start Diamond princess to Thailand and Vietnam. The terminal arrangements Is a very poor to get on ship. And the food is limited.....
Princess does not mail the medallion to Canadian addresses. Good info, even though I have had 22 cruises with them. So agree about flying in the day before. The brochure deck plans always used to show by a symbol on each cabin whether it had a 3 rd or 4 th berth, but you are right now that we have to check online for deck plans. I hate that as it is so difficult to judge what is over or under a cabin. I much preferred when brochures were readily available. Thx a lot, well done. From Chris in Vancouver.
Thank you for watching and for the feedback! Really appreciate it! Princess announced recently that they will now mail medallions to Canada as well as the US. My friend tested it on a January cruise and it worked well so that’s good news!
@@TheChillCruiser ok, good to know. We will expect ours then for our June cruise. We fly to UK June 2, but cruise is June 14, so hope we get before we leave.
That's disappointing to hear about no Crooner on the Majestic, we're on that ship in October, and that was our group regular meeting spot, we've sat for hours enjoying the entertainment. Also, while I agree with the odd way they have their decks , and it's sometime confusing to get to a certain location, we've always looked at it as part of the experience and just enjoyed the cruise. Life's too short to worry about those things, we've learned that the hard way. But others, I'm sure feel different and that's absolutely fine.
They did have a pianist performing by crown grill on Majestic but it seemed he was told to perform very low key elevator music. The leadership on the ship at the time was horrible - I hope it’s a much better situation when you’re onboard because Majestic is a beautiful ship overall.
Hey Steven! Great to meet you as well! Those were fun times at Crooners! How was the rest of your cruise? I’m at andrew@thechillcruiser.blog if you’d prefer to email! 😁
Greetings. Very Informative video. Being freshly retired and a newbie at Cruises I am curious as to what you mean by ''Older Grand Class of ships''. I am looking at some cruises in Europe and I want to make sure I don't embark on some ready to sink POS. Go Sens Go!
Go Sens Go! Princess has a fairly large fleet and most of the ships that aren’t Royal class are Grand class meaning they’re a decade or 2 old. I sailed on the 20 year old Caribbean Princess in October and loved it. Each class has its pros and cons - what the older ships lack in modern style they make up for with more amenities like a wraparound promenade, a proper night club and observation lounge along with all the tech from the newer ships.
Been on three Princess ships so far other then Ruby Princess ship food being not as good as the other two ship been I been on the cruise line is pretty good I would definitely recommend them to other people.
Thank you for your objective review of Princess. Regrettably, while I am a platinum member I have a lot of reservations about Princess travel in the future. They keep cutting back and cutting back and Nickel and diming, and making it more of a revenue based experience rather than a relaxing experience.I wrote a letter to the president of Princess, expressing my concerns, showing that I’ve been on 8 princess cruises across the world from South America to Russia to all over the Caribbean and the Mediterranean to Asia hoping they’ll begin to see some reason. There’s a lot of things princess could do to make the experience far more enjoyable. Princess, according to two websites that I read made $4.2 billion in 2023. It’s not like they’re hurting after Covid anymore. That’s long since died, cruising has rebounded with a fury. Unfortunately, this cruise line has chosen the opportunity to further cutback the benefits and make it a more of a hassle-based experience.
yes, I hate being nicked and dimed. Seems just like the grocery stores that raised prices & sited "supply chain" and then inflation issues. No more supply chain issues and inflation has dropped yet grocery prices stay high = record corporate profits. Princess is taking away more and more features. What happened to all-inclusive? Used to be you just paid extra if you wanted an upgraded stateroom. Now everything is tiered pricing.
RIU oops nice, but appears to be limited in its offerings in the dining venues and lacking top shelf liquors in the lounges, so I wouldn’t really consider this as a premium offering. I’ve heard the same for their 2 locations in Aruba for both day package guests and regular overnight guests.
One more thing. Each ship can be a different experience, and that is typically based on the ship’s Captain. A well run ship is obvious, as is a lackluster run ship.
I THINK that it is good to post reviews for our cruising even if they are positive or negative (in a respectful manner) so that the cruise lines start paying attention to us the customers. I have cruised multiple times (20+) in different ships, my favorite for NON STOP FUN ARE L: #1 Carnival followed BY #2 Royal Carribbean, the rest are very nice in their own way and the food varies but none compare to those two. Never a boring moment. I'll be sailing on Enchanted Princess this October 2024 to Canada & New England, this will be my 4th experience with Princess and my first on Enchanted. I pray that i don't get too bored and that the casino is doable (not too much second hand smoke) and the shows entertaining because if it happens then I won't be giving it a 5th shot lol. It is too much money to waste just to be on a boring ship. I WILL POST AN HONEST REVIEW WITH PICS AND VIDEO UPON MY RETURN. 😅😅😅😅🎉😊😊
We were on the Sky for 14 days and I can tell you that the average age of the passengers was about 68 years old! There were people sitting in the Piazza napping in the afternoon! 😴
@@heathermichael3987I enjoy being among the older group. Much more respectful to one another. That does not mean that services should be less or entertainment an not be more lively.
The free steam/sauna rooms are being removed from the mens/womens locker rooms when the ships go into dry dock. The Emerald and Ruby have already had theirs taken out. The paid steam/sauna rooms on these ships are terrible.
We booked with the Ruby just a few weeks ago to Alaska. Never been on a cruise, so really looking forward to it. This is a big drag about the saunas, was really looking forward to this feature.😢 Thanks for your explanation of features etc, we are trying to learn a lot ahead of time. Any suggestions for flights from Toronto to Vancouver, prices are getting up there thanks to Mr T
In Australia-There is absolutely no smoking in pubs,clubs restaurants,cafes or casino's .Not even in prisons. Pretty much a smoke free zone everywhere which is brilliant.
Hello thank you for the great video and the extra info , i have been digging all the dirt up i can find lol we are going on our first cruise ever and its on Princess Majestic Alaska Cruise . We signed up for princess plus and we are 17 days out from launch day lol sorry you had a bad time on Majestic i hopr our trip fairs better and that yours was just a fluke . I dont mind smoke tbh wife and i vape now so smoke is no issue and we vape disposables so not blowing great clouds of berry blast everywhere lol or anything like that . From what i have seen on our plus package my liver might die but my wallet is still gonna be fat when this is over lol . Is there any info or advice that you or anyone else can give for first timers that are just dipping the toe in ? Thank you again for the video .
Majestic is a beautiful ship - she just wasn’t well managed on my cruise. I’m sure things are much better now. See the travel planning section of my channel for lots of tips that might help - including my top 10 tips to save time and money. th-cam.com/video/R_cjThm7KhI/w-d-xo.htmlsi=ciElAXTZQjy4tH30 I hope you enjoy your cruise!
Just returned from a Princess cruise. Good info here, but there are a couple updates. There are areas on the ship that you can't use the app to order drinks. Deck 16 would not allow us to order drinks almost the entire cruise. Also, ordering drinks 2 years ago using your Medallion worked better than our last cruise. This past week we ordered drinks and at least 33% of the time, we never received our drinks, even after that app said they were "delivered." It was a hassle using the Chat option to find the issue, and get a refund if there was a delivery charge, etc. Opening our cabin door was slow at times as well (maintenance was finally called when the cabin steward and we were unable to enter our room). Entertainment was lacking as you stated, and the comedy shows were "hit & miss," which is one of the things we usually enjoy. Thanks for the review/inputs!
The entertainment was weak ! Every night when they had the DJ it was the same playlist repetitively ! We never once got one buzz off of a drink at all! Loved the wine at every dinner! Also they had the worse tasting coffee ever! Bring instant coffee and your creamer or you’ll be needing coffee!!!!!
Princess interior or ocean view cabins that are coded on the deck plans (by color) to accommodate up to 4 people, by default have the pull down bunks--notice cabin capacity to know about bunks
I’m confused - deck plans on princess.com are color coded by cabin category not capacity. The only way I’ve figured out how to determine capacity is by filtering # of guests. What am I missing? Or are you referring to plans from a 3rd party?
We did a Princess cruise out of Galveston earlier this year. Ship needed updating, food service was slow (2+ hrs to have dinner, 1.5 hrs for breakfast), food was just average. We had a nice time but were disappointed overall. Met a couple who had 28 cruises on Princess; had the highest status you can get. They said service and amenities had gone downhill ever since Carnival bought them and they were never coming back again. (Had some disappointing experiences on their last 4 Princess trips.)
Sorry to hear about your experience - I think you unfortunately sailed at a time when the ship for whatever reason wasn't at its best. I've found service in the main dining room on most Princess ships has been usually very prompt (once you get a table of course). All cruise lines have cut back since Covid - the line that seems to have cut back the least is Holland America, which I was really impressed with. Still feels very much like a premium experience in most areas.
@ Please don’t be an apologist for Princess Cruise Line. We met many people on that ship who were long time Princess cruisers who told us the same thing. Their service and experience have gone downhill since Carnival bought them.
Ty for this vlog! Question for you and your lovely commentators. I wish to tip the crew appropriately, probably maybe a bit extra. How can I know how, how much of pre-paid tips go directly to the underpaid staff? “Included” is one thing, but how real is that? So, how much is appropriate to tip on top of the “included” portion? Srsly want to know, been asking on lots of vlogs, no answers so far. Tipping in the US is such a weird thing…
Thank you for watching. Regarding tips, this article from Cruise Critic offers a good overview: www.cruisecritic.com/articles/an-insiders-guide-to-tipping-on-a-cruise
@@TheChillCruiser Ty so much, very helpful. Weird this is all so secretive. Tipping ought to be normalized, or done away with. What a weird gray area we’re in. Tbh the suggestions here seem v low. Love to know what the shared out tips really come out to. Will do more digging. Meantime this is v useful, so thx!
You mentioned in your video that the casino comps have changed over the last few years, could you explain in more detail. We used to get comps for balcony rooms and mini suites, now for some reason our offers are for interior rooms.
Since I've only been part of the program for just over a year, the only big change I'm aware of is the one I mentioned (eliminating Princess Plus from interior and balcony CBS offers). But I keep hearing from long-time players that they've been steadily reducing comps over the past few years since demand is so high and ships are almost always selling out.
Our NZ trip was rubbish. They lost and damaged my luggage for two day just for starters. The price of an internal was as much as a balcony on other lines. The mains especially the beef was second rate though the pastry chef is a god. Myself and other vets we were with were supposed to attend a ceremony at Napier but they decided not to stop there and offered no compensation. We could never get to see a movie with it booked out almost instantly. At Dunedin they wanted Au$300 to take a train trip that is normally NZ$74 at the RR station. The one off ship tour we did take was good though. Getting off it took 3 hours of waiting and when we did they lost my ladies luggage and it cost me $55 to get it back from some company they left it with when they found it.
Thank you for the video. Have you sailed on Grand? If so, can you tell me what casual dining options they have? I've heard they only have two, so I'm guessing Premier would be a waste. thank you.
Sorry no I haven't sailed on Grand but it looks similar to the 2 other Grand class ships I've sailed on (Caribbean and Ruby). After a quick check, it looks like they do only have 2 specialty restaurants (steakhouse and Italian). Food is usually very good at the steakhouse, Italian can be hit and miss. I wouldn't get the premier package just for the specialties - but if you would enjoy the other perks (unlimited casual dining and fitness, higher drink cost limit, 4 devices for internet etc.) than it's still a great deal. You could also just go to the steakhouse twice - they have a pretty extensive menu with seafood as well as steak. Just be sure to reserve as far in advance as you can as it's usually sold out well before the cruise begins.
First and last time on Princess, Regal Princess. We only do the included food choices and the main ding room choices were very limited and honestly not that good, first time both my wife and I lost weight after 8 nights.
Sorry to hear that you didn't enjoy the food! Princess can be very inconsistent - great food on one ship and not-so-great on another just a few months later. It's a shame you had this experience because Regal is usually a great ship.
I hate the casinos because of the smell and flashing lights - seems every ship I've been on I've been stuck having to walk through that area - I think NCL was the worst. I hate they're taking over the bar areas - I dont' care for the bars per se but they're a nice place to sit and relax and visit and listen to music. the casino not so much though I enjoy the casino machines on Virgin Voyages and have played some on Carnival with a friend at one nearby. but I don't spend a long time there and definitely too loud for visiting
It seems the casino is very strategically placed to force folks through to get to other venues. Solstice class ships on Celebrity have a go-around but not as necessary since their ships are completely non-smoking
Does anyone have any information on kids in the kid’s club? Did they enjoy their time there? We are heading to Mexican Rivera on Discovery in a week. We are traveling with our family and grandchildren children ages 5-12. Last year was the grandchildren’s first cruise. We were on Royal Caribbean lines. I had to book Princess because of the timing of the children’s spring break. I’m looking forward to it but I want the kids to have a great time on board.
Hi Debbie - what kind of information are you looking for? After a quick search, I noticed there's a Cruise Critic review of the ship as well as a tour video on the Princess site.
We're sailing on the Echanted Princes next month. First time Princess cruisers. Thank you for this informative video. I have several questions. is there an extra charge for the international Cafe? I read that the Princess plus package gives you access to an unlimited juice bar. Does this include juices such as fresh squeezed vegetable juices (carrot, celery, etc. ) or are we talking just fruit juices like orange or grapefruit juice? Royal Oasis class ships have juice bars within their spa area (Vitality Cafe) that offer fresh juices and smoothies. How far out from the sailing can we expect to get our Medallions in the mail? Thank you for your help.
The food at the International Cafe (IC) is complimentary - the coffee drinks are a la carte pricing unless you have one of the drinks packages. I have never been able to find the juice bar but I know the buffet and the IC offer different juices and smoothies in the morning. I'm sorry I can't offer more detail about the types and quality of juices - hopefully someone else can address that. Your medallions are mailed a week or 2 after you complete check in using the app. If you don't receive them in time, or if you lose them, they can issue you new ones at the port. I hope you have a great cruise!
Check to see that Princess didn’t change your room number ahead of your trip. We booked New Zealand/Australia a year ago and we just got back. They changed our cabins without telling us. Our rooms were originally booked side by side balcony rooms and they put us on the other side of the ship and a room between us. They couldn’t explain why this happened and said we caught it too late for them to change it. We did nothing wrong. Rude Princess manager called Ram on the phone gave us $25 on board credit and a screw top bottle of wine. Keep checking and make sure they don’t randomly move you guys too.
I hear you but don’t see Princess changing this anytime soon. They seem to be doubling down on their existing casino approach and trying to attract more gamblers from other lines. Celebrity is 100% non-smoking in all indoor spaces throughout their fleet if you’re looking for a smoke-free environment.
This will be my 1st Princess cruise in Nov on Ruby, hopefully there is a Night life. I am having difficulty using Princess website, not finding alot there like the Gratuties had to ask my TA how much they were.. How much are drinks if you don't buy the Plus or Premier package?? Like other cruises 13-15 a drink?
Yes drinks are around $10-12. You can check out bar menus on my website: thechillcruiser.blog/2023/11/15/bar-menus-on-caribbean-princess/ . Princess calls tips “crew appreciation” so that’s why you might have had a hard time getting info. It’s $16 daily (if you don’t have the Plus or Premier package, which includes tips). See here: www.princess.com/html/global/disclaimers/crew-appreciation/
@@TheChillCruiser another cruiser posted that although they prepaid gratuities it was clear that their room steward expected additional tipping. Is this typical?
Are you asking about mini suites or cabins in general? For a particular ship--?? Minisuites and above generally have curtains. There are usually at least 2 outlets in each cabin in the desk area. I have posted several cabin tours to my channel, including this minisuite tour on Enchanted Princess: th-cam.com/video/5dvfXuz0BeI/w-d-xo.html
I did my first video reviewing a cruise to Alaska on Majestic last year. I liked the ship but a lot went wrong (long lineups for everything, canceled glacier stop, zero nightlife). The Dine My Way program, which contributed to some of the issues, will be replaced with what sounds like a better approach starting September 14. People have commented more recently that they had a good experience on Majestic so it looks like things have improved.
I haven’t been on Sun yet but it looks like the main production shows (and theater design) are very different along with more entertainment options in the dome in the evenings. I hope to be able to answer your question based on first-hand experiences this summer 😉
I think you’re mistaken, I’ve been on Princess 100+ days and I am a platinum member. First of all never ever buy the Princess packages, why? Number one you always get on board credit if you’re dealing with a reputable travel agency. In my case, I got a total of $850 on board credit for two people on a 16 night cruise coming up this summer up board Caribbean princess, it doesn’t make sense to buy the onboard packages number three the onboard packages presumed you’re going to drink six drinks a day to break even. While you may party and whoop it up the first couple of days I don’t think unless you’re alcoholic you’re gonna be drinking six alcoholic drinks every day. And while this also includes other drinks like coffee, drinks, and sodas, it’s still doesn’t work out as a financial benefit if you do a cost benefit analysis. Lastly, I don’t understand why anybody goes to a specialty restaurant unless you enjoy spending extra money. The main dining room offers at least three or four options for main course and three or four entrées and three or four desserts, all of which have always been delicious. And if you don’t like what you get, you can always change it for something else without any kickback from the staff. So, after being on eight cruises with Princess and 125 days, never ever buy the premium plus package, you’ll never get your moneys worth out of it unless you’re an alcoholic in my opinion. Remember, even if you love to drink and your spouse doesn’t touch alcohol they’re going to charge you $60 per day per passenger, not for cabin! So if your wife or loved one, spouse doesn’t drink, it doesn’t matter. They are going to be charged $60 a day for soda and coffee drinks. Also, as far as restaurant, access and main decks, the same thing occurs on Holland America having been on two cruises with them, two different ships. Some dining rooms are only accessible through the aft stairwell.
I don’t think you can make a blanket statement to say never ever by the Princess packages. For some it definitely isn’t worth it and they probably shouldn’t. But others it can be worth it. We prefer to get it for one simple but important reason for us. At the end of the cruise, there is no surprise bar tab. Peace of mind is priceless! We also enjoy the Crown Grill, and even though it’s an additional charge, it’s still cheaper than a land based steak house and offers a different option to the MDR, which is nice on a longer cruise. I’ve never cruised with less than $400 OBC which I could use for drinks and specialty restaurants but that is always my “casino” money, which I turn into cruise offers if I’m lucky 😂.
I'll be cruising on Princess with 2 kids for the first time in a few weeks. Initially I wasn't going to buy any package but the other parties we are going with all bought either a plus or a premium package so I caved. I'm kind of peeved by having to purchase packages for two instead of one since none of my kids are drinking age.
@@shuhanchen You only have to purchase the drink package for every guest of drinking age in the same stateroom. If it's just you and your kids in the cabin, then you should only be required to purchase 1 package.
Do you have to pay extra to eat via "Dine My Way". Just booked a Princess cruise and was confused how it works. On Carnival yoj can eat a njce dinner in the dining room with your group every night and its included...
15 alcoholic drinks per guest with a package. Coffee drinks, soda etc are unlimited. Premier package will include unlimited alcoholic drinks later this year.
Is princess making the changes to the dancing space and casino bar on all smaller ships such as taking the "night club" out on deck 6 on coral princess?
Sorry I've never been on Coral so can't comment but hopefully someone else can answer. I have heard they're removing amenities like the sauna and steam room when Grand class ships go into dry dock. Caribbean still has the casino bar and night club - someone on the ship told me that the night club would be removed on its next update but I can't confirm whether that's actually the case. Princess is not very transparent about its ship updates (or anything really). Sorry I couldn't be more helpful.
The sofa spins into a single bed. In my Sky mini-suite cabin tour I show how it works (and with the queen bed split into twins). th-cam.com/video/qOFPf26VJ7s/w-d-xo.html . I would guess there is a bunk that pulls down from the ceiling in rooms that can accomodate a fourth person. See lesson #9 at 07:09 in this video for instructions on how to identify rooms that can accomodate 3 or 4 people.
While I love the extra space in a mini-suite but, both my husband and I have balance issues and stepping in and out of a tub can be treacherous. So when we have one, I take my showers in the ladies gym!.
Hello, can you tell me how strict is the dress code on formal nights? Is a nice shirt with a tie (but no jacket) OK? FAQ says "Tuxedo, dark suit or dinner jacket and slacks for men". Thanks!
In my experience, they don't enforce any kind of dress code and there is a wide range of dress on formal nights. But I have noticed that more people are dressing up in full suits and fancy dresses on Princess than I've noticed on other lines since the 2021 restart. My advice is wear what you're comfortable with. I think a shirt and tie without jacket would be more than ok.
* OCTOBER 29, 2024 UPDATES: Princess has increased the daily price of the Premier package by $10 to $90 but it now includes unlimited drinks and specialty dinners for qualifying restaurants (super pemium restaurants or experiences like Chef's Table, Love by Britto, 360 and Spellbound do not qualify). Thank you to several viewers who corrected or clarified some key points:
* The Plus package limits drinks with alcohol to 15 but all other drinks like coffees and soft drinks are unlimited.
* Sailings from Australia already include gratuities in the cruise fare so they are not a feature of the Plus or Premier packages.
* There are four Princess ships (in addition to Majestic) that feature an indoor pool: Grand, Coral, Island and Diamond.
* Princess has released a new app with a different looking interace but similar functionality. Note that in most cases, your Princess login won't work on the new app and you need to use your booking number to login.
* On some newer ships like Regal and Enchanted, Princess has converted the venue next to the casino into a non-smoking extension of the casino. Note that the main casino floor continues to have a large smoking section (around 40 to 50% of the space on most ships, 70+% on Enchanted, Discovery and Sun). Several people have reported that Australian itineraries are completely smoke-free indoors, including the casino.
Mini Suite Bath ; Can't recommend if your tall or have hip or leg medical issues. Climbing in or out can be a problem, The bath is set a Step higher than the deck level (Allowance for drainage) which leaves little head room for taller Guests.
Sapphire has an indoor pool also
Gratuities don't seem to be included in Plus and Premier packages for Asian cruises either - just booked a cruise from Tokyo to Singapore and Gratutities are in addition to the packages. Gratutities for Australian cruises are included in your cruise fare, so doesn't get added to your onboard account.
Hello,first I want to thank for your video,it's very well done. My first cruise of my life will be this July/2023. We are 2, I don't drink at all, my husband a bit more, but I heard we have to buy the drink package for both because we are in the same cabin? And also do we have to pay for sanctuary? Thank you
@@trikynguyen3680Thank you for the feedback! Yes I think you’re required to purchase the Plus package for at least 2 people in a cabin if you’re not traveling solo. I’ve heard that you can buy the plus package for just one person when you’re onboard but don’t know that for sure. Yes there is a fee for the Sanctuary: Lounger is $40 for a full day, $20 half day, $300 for the week. Cabanas are $220 for a full day, $140 half day. I hope you enjoy your first cruise!
Thanks for your video. Doing my 2nd Pricess cruise in July. I have a slight problem with the Packages. Because I dont drink except for a cappachino here and there I cant wrap my mind around the fact that I am the only person who thinks they ought to have another level for non-drinkers. BTW double deserts is also a no go for me. End of my unpopular opinion. Thanks again for your work.
Thank you for your feedback and perspective. You are one of MANY who has mentioned to me they are frustrated there isn’t a package option without alcohol!
Even though you may not drink alcohol, I suggest to people to just pencil it out. Hubby does not drink alcohol either, however, his hot cocoa drinks and bottled water to take onshore make the math workout. Agreed, those special desserts also look disgusting to us.
We sailed on the Regal Princess in February. My husband ate at the international Cafe so many times that he was on a first name basis with two workers by the second day!!!
That’s funny! It’s a great spot.
Funny but agree it is a great spot. We often have a light lunch there, and sometimes a breakfast sandwich. Of course always accompanied by an espresso based coffee
We are considering taking the Regal as well. We are in our mid-40's, not partiers by any means but want enough things to do. Have read that Princess could be a bit boring. Do you think Regal was boring?
@Aecon31 nope I had a wonderful time. I'm constantly busy throughout the year so it was welcoming to just sit and lay like a slug for a week
@@kathleenduggan9955 fair enough and well deserved ☺️. Just to be clear, you relaxed but had plenty of fun activities to do should you have chosen to do them correct?
Just came back from 13 day New Zealand/Australia cruise. It was HORRIBLE.
-Princess changed our 2 balcony rooms to the other side of the ship and put a cabin between us 2 weeks before our departure date.
(They said SORRY YOU DIDNT CATCH THIS EARLIER SO WE COULD FIX IT. I reminded them WE did nothing wrong.)
Gave us $25 on board credit and a bottle of wine. Refused to do more. It changed the whole dynamic of our trip. We chose that side of the ship so we could see the New Zealand coastline instead of open water and we couldn’t open the balcony divider and have a large balcony to share. UGH…
-Daughter’s NEW room smelt like poop (came twice to fix her toilet), sink stopper stuck and couldn’t use the sink, shower dripped, poor seal around balcony door that let in smoke stack smoke into her room, balcony divider outside banged open in the middle of the night and needed to be fixed.
-My room…blood/lipstick on blanket at end of my bed when I first went into the room and the fridge was broken.
I wonder how the two families in our original rooms faired.
-Room attendant got Covid mid trip and had to isolate. We got sick soon after and my daughter had to go on antibiotics.
-Ship ran out of Diet Coke cans and bottled water.
-Food was sub par. We lost weight cuz food so bad.
-Shows on board equivalent to high school performances. We actually got up and left one show.
-One ply toilet paper.
They gave my daughter flowers after her toilet exploded on her and into her shower and gave us $50 towards a spa treatment which was an empty gesture. You could only use it when we were in port (we went on excursions then) and you still had to make up the difference of a treatment which was at least $150. So the $50 gift would cost us $100 to use. Thank you?
So bad. Princess only cruise line that has EVER changed our rooms randomly. We booked these rooms a year in advance.
NEVER again with Princess.
I’m so sorry to hear - that’s a horrible experience and it doesn’t sound like Princess handled it well at all.
This needs to be a screenplay. OMG. How awful- toilet exploded on daughter?
@@m.s.2549what Princess ship were you on?
We recently just got off the sky princess, this was my 17 cruise. Without a doubt the most crowded ship I have ever been on. The food quality has definitely went down and this is coming from a food service professional and an executive chef. Entertainment was lacking. Mini suite and steward was excellent
Being an elite princess cruiser I am going to look at other options since cutting corners seems to have went a little far. We are still quests and customers and not $$$
FYI…I’ve been on 35 cruises on Princess & like yourself have been on a variety of ships. Interesting about Alaska ports. Maybe I’ve been lucky but I’ve never experienced an extremely long line either getting on or off the ship. One tip with the room service card put out for breakfast. I wrote on the card things not listed like French Toast which was delivered. I would also just circle 7 am on the card & with in a short time the food was delivered. When I book a balcony I prefer the Caribe Deck 10 as the balcony is larger & partially covered & uncovered especially if you don’t want to be in the sun. I’ve also learned that if I want to sit at the same table every night I mention that the first night. When I've done that I was genuinely able to walk in directly to my table each night. A tip for the Sanctuary is to make a bee line there when you 1st board the ship to get the day & time you want but for me more importantly where my lounger was located. I agree the service there was excellent. Thanks for sharing your experiences & tips.
Thank you for sharing your own tips and experience - all very helpful! I'm going to try the French Toast trick on my next cruise!
Love the medallions!
Not me. When people anywhere in your vicinity order drinks their table / charge can appear on your medallion account. Happened to me a couple of weeks ago. Showed up on my account statement they emailed me as I was disembarking. Call them to alert them and was told it's too late the Trip's already over. 😡
We loved the medallions on our January cruise. Always check our onboard statement every couple of days as mistakes can happen. Even with the medallion the waiter usually asks for your room number and they can hear you wrong. As long as you check your statement while you're on board they will fix any issues.
An excellent list. I just returned from Caribbean Princess and had a fantastic time. The casino experience was excellent. Luckily the craps table is on the nonsmoking side. I wish they would but slot machines in Churchill’s and make the main casino non smoking
I’m glad you enjoyed your cruise on Caribbean! That’s a great idea for Churchill’s! Much better use of the space than an arcade.
Thank you. Apparently you can't take a travel kettle on board !
I'm just one of those who like a cuppa when I wake up, not an hour later when I'm showered and dressed etc. I will book via room service or ask for a kettle x
Agree - I definitely enjoy coffee right away! The good news is that Princess room service is usually very fast. If you do the breakfast card, just know they usually come 10-15 minutes BEFORE the time you select :)
I’m a non smoker but I am glad they allow smoking because my husband & some of our friends smoke. If I don’t want to deal with it then I go to a nonsmoking location
Thank you for your info.
I have a problem with Princess that caused me to cancel a 55 night half world cruise. .
It’s a lot to do with the charges now put on things that used to be included in the usual fare.
Example . Entry to casual dining like Alfredos pizza, room service etc.
So I recently did a 3 night cruise on Majestic princess. I had booked the Plus package ( accidentally I might add , but that was ok)
We enjoyed the inclusions but found we only had a couple of drinks … and when I went to order wine , I was shown a small card with about 5 wines only that was available to me on this package. I had assumed I could look at the wine list and choose one I wanted ( under $15 of course per glass). The stuff they had on the card was disgusting…
We went to Alfredo’s because we got two visits to the casual dining. All great as usual, despite having to line up for about 45 minutes to get in.
We had a look at the ice cream Sundaes that were on offer.. honest to goodness ,anybody with any respect for their health would not be having two of these every day so I’m pretty sure princess had added these on as a filler as such. In other words it makes the package look like you’re getting a real lot of stuff, but most people probably wouldn’t use it that much. The same with the gym class, I’m on holidays. I have no intention of going to a gym other than walking through it to have a spa treatment -so there is another useless thing for us and probably a lot of other people as well. Our three day cruise was good. We were happy with the inclusions and we only paid about $300 for the couple extra -from the standard fare.
So now we get to the world Cruise that I had booked. We’re looking at about 20 odd, thousand dollars. And I looked at the plus package and it was an extra 7 1/2 thousand dollars for my husband and myself to get this added to our fare . so because it was such a long cruise, I was curious as to how many visits we could have to the casual dining. I asked the question online and everybody said 2 🤷♀️ I thought this couldn’t possibly be true. How could you give two on a three day cruise and for a 55 night Cruise still only get two visits to a casual dining venue. I contacted Princess and they said no you only get two. Then I found out that the world Cruise is four cruises back to back. so since we had paid for all four cruises, at least we should have got was eight visits to a casual dining. I won’t go on and on about this because there were other things that annoyed me -one being the size of their cabins in comparison to say a royal Caribbean Cabin of the same category.
So I cancelled. And I’ve booked another Cruise with Holland America. I’ve never sailed with this company before, but they offered a thing called the HAVE IT ALL package. This was $75 Australian, so only $10 more than majestic. But what did it offer ??
Wi-Fi? Yes
Drinks yes
THREE visits to their specialty restaurants!
$300 US to spend on their excursions.
These inclusions are much more useful than the stupid ice cream Sundaes , gym, classes, and two lousy visits to a casual dining that used to be included anyway.
I will Cruise princess again, but I won’t take the package and waste my money. And I won’t cruise with them for quite some time because I’m really really annoyed with what they’re doing. And yes I’m sure they could not care less.
First world problems, buddy. A lot of people would LOVE to afford a cruise or even a vacation yet here you are griping about little issues. 🙄
@@fluffytail6355 not our problem! I don’t blame him for being mad! When I spend top dollar I want top dollar amenities ! Some delicious coffee , good creamer, no watered down liquor!!!
The full World Cruise on Coral 2026, comes with Comped Premier Package and Airfare.
@@fluffytail6355 Wow, lets talk Third World Calcutta, pooping in the street. Oh, that's San Francisco, who knew?
@@fluffytail6355some of the points that she made here make sense, they were spending a lot of money so maybe those expectations are valid.
I love princess and this is probably the most comprehensive and accurate breakdown!!!!!
Wow - thank you!
Well stated! I have sailed on Princess a couple of times and I find that Princess is very disorganized and not very accommodating. My room had the bunk beds attached to the wall and I find myself bumping into it on many occasions. There is only 2 of us in this room. When asking guest services to switch our room they refused and the ship was not sold out. Very disappointed with Princess and I am very reluctant to sail with them in the future.
Sorry to hear! That’s unfortunate they couldn’t/wouldn’t move you.
The Grand class ships have indoor pools, as do the Coral and the Island ships.
Hello, it's Michelle from just down the road in Kingston. I'm so excited that my husband and I are having our first holiday in 11 year, taking the Sun Princess 7 day Mediterranean cruise in Sept. I'm watching so many videos for feedback. This was great advice.
Hi Michelle! Thank you for watching, I'm glad it was helpful. I'm excited for your cruise! I've only heard amazing things about cruising the Mediterranean and what an added perk to be doing it on a brand new ship that's the first of its class! And September is a perfect time to go. I hope you have an amazing time!
You got it right on most things. Now everything is about money. But unfortunately you do have many people who still smoke, myself included, but you’re right about Enchanted Ship casino and fog of smoke lingering to the non smoking areas. It’s gets very smoky in there. My suggestion would be keep small area / section with proper smoke filtering system.
Agree, and they now I hear they have turned Churchill's into an Arcade. I am going on Enchanted for the first time. I have looked and nowhere does it say on deck plans where the designated areas are, if you could tell me it would be much appreciate. Loved Churchill's on Diamond.
@pamelalambe1356 There is a dedicated smoking area on Deck 17 (I think) aft. Comfortable seating with ashtrays and nice attendants. They also have coffee and water available. I don't smoke anymore, but I met some great people there when I did. At the time I really appreciated having a comfortable place to smoke with nobody giving you dirty looks.
Good video. I have booked a 12 day Southern Caribbean on the Regal Princess and a 29 day Seattle-Singapore cruise on Discovery Princess in 2025. After cruising on HAL and Celebrity in 2024, I decided that it was time for a change. We really enjoyed the entertainment and the food on the Regal Princess in 2023 and the pricing is right. One thing that is more unique on Princess that you did not mention is the availability of self-laundry facilities which is critical on a 20 day cruise. That will allow us to significantly reduce teh luggage we will bring along.
Thank you for the feedback. You're absolutely right about the laundrettes - that is a unique feature that not all cruise lines offer. I've used them quite a few times to iron a shirt last minute!
Good tips thanks. The only negative experience we have had after three Princess cruises was in the dining room....on the same ship. We took a back to back cruise. The first cruise in the dining room the food was bland. On the second cruise in the same dining room it was much better. New chef? Responding to complaints? No idea but it was better. Also agree that the nightlife depends on the ship. For this RC and HAL are much better.
Thank you for the feedback and for sharing your experience! That’s great there was such an immediate improvement in the MDR!
Embarkation day number 2 coming up! Can't wait! I sub now. Thank you.
Thank you! By embarkation day number 2 do you mean you're on a back to back or going on your second Princess cruise-?
@@TheChillCruiser This will be our second cruise. We sail on the Enchanted Princess.
@@wisdomSP Fantastic! Enchanted is a great ship! Hope you have a great time! If you ever find yourself at Crooners bar, say hello to Ozzy for me - he's the best bartender on the ship!
Thank you for evaluation, my husband and I are cruising in March on the Sky princess. I had hoped the casino would be less smoky than our last cruise on Royal. It sounds like it won’t be.
Thank you for watching and for your feedback. Unfortunately Sky is a lot smokier than the early Royal class ships where the smoking side was on the smaller bank of machines on the starboard side of the tables. On the newer ships, it's the reverse. That bank is now the non-smoking side with the larger port side all smoking. The good news is that not everyone is smoking since the smoking side is usually where all the good machines are located! I hope you still get to enjoy your cruise!
We usually cruise Celebrity but are booked on the new Sun Princess and we are super excited….cant wait!
I'm a big fan of Celebrity too. Hope you enjoy your cruise on the Sun!
Nice info regarding Enchanted Princess, which is the next one I'll be trying. Thanks.
Came back from Alaska cruise in July-Aug and everything was great 👍 no issues no lines in any port including Vancouver first and last day
Fantastic! Thanks for sharing your experience! My Alaska cruise on Ruby in July was fairly smooth as well
We have 32 Princes cruises under our belt and have enjoyed the excellent incremental changes to the ships we did not notice besides your excellent tips. Nexk time we book Princess we will check if Crooners is still there. 😢
Just did a cruise on the Regal out of Galveston last week and Crooners is still there but only a bar and some seats. I did notice a piano but never heard anyone playing it.
Just got off the Crown Princess to Mexico, will be taking her again in September to Alaska. We dined in the Botecelli dining room which is aft. The line can get long and twisted as there isn't much wait room. We did get waved through each evening to the same dining table which helped. Crooner's Bar is the best place to hang out, although the Wheelhouse has better IPA beer. Service in the Crown Grill is spotty, one evening extremely fast, the next really slow. We've experienced this on other Princess ships as well. Best thing, Elite and Platinum members have priority disembarkation. Thank you for the video.
Thank you for watching and for sharing your experience!
No priority disembarkation for platinum and elite.
Hi, yes it’s pretty quiet on princess ships, that because it’s an older crowd that loves the quiet..if you want a party boat, go to carnival…
Just booked an Alaskan Princess cruise this summer.
Wow......you must love cruises, this is my first cruise and I cant wait!!
Great video.
Thank you for the feedback. Hope you enjoy Alaska (and cruising)!
Us too so excited
Same here! We are going in August on the Princess Ruby for our 25th wedding anniversary.
We just returned from our first ever cruise, went to Alaska on the Ruby princess and had an amazing time! You’ll
Love it.
We haven't been on Princess since 2018 but are Platinum, so we did quite a few before! These tips are useful, thanks.
Thank you Evelyn! I love your profile pic at the Celebrity martini bar. One of my favourite places!
We did one of the ships that had the nightclub raised up on kind of a spoiler and that's what they're taking off.. and it was really a fun space and it was used a lot! & getting rid of the casino bar that stinks.. I play Slots and it's almost impossible to get a drink from the servers that walk around, between machine switching I go to the bar and grab a drink myself.
Princesses definitely trying to attract younger family since they're the ones that generally spend the most money on kids. It also depends on your itinerary Panama Canal is always going to be a snooze especially if not during the summer vacation months
The smoking in casino is a bummer!
No smoking on any cruises out of Australia. . It’s so great!
I Hate the strong smell in the casinos that's why i hardly gamble on cruises that has too much second hand smoking. Free smoking ships or one that has an area very far away from smokers will get my $$$$$$$ money😊. Otherwise, I'm out!
Going on my first Princess cruise out of Southampton in May, side by side with Norway Fjords cruise on Royal. Thanks for a super helpful video! 😎
Thank you for watching and for the feedback. I'm glad you found the video helpful. I hope you enjoy both cruises!
Thank you for sharing. The information. Will be cruising soon.
You’re most welcome! I hope it was helpful. Let me know if you have any questions.
Come on 75% of the casino?! In this day and age there should be no smoking in interior spaces anywhere on the ship! Or at minimum they need to drastically increase the ventilation in the casino to remove the smoke!
Agree!
I just got off a princess cruise and the casino allowed smoking everywhere if you were playing. It stunk..i stunk..i had to wash myself and my hair and my clothes after playing. It was not good!
Just returned from Harmony of the Seas (Royal Caribbean) and their main casino is smoking but problem is smoke travels all through corridors outside into front of dining room. I don’t gamble but had to avoid this dining room at all cost. Terrible!
Agree 1000000000000%
Agree…. No smoking in casino!!!’
Just booked our first cruise! Itll be for early this summer aboard the Discovery Princess. We got the Princess Plus Package. Your video was very enlightening, thank you!!
I'm glad the video was helpful. I hope you have a wonderful cruise!
We are also booked on princess discovery this summer to Alaska!
You may not have experienced difficulties with other cruise lines in challenging ports however can say that Norwegian is notorious for it so just for a bit of balance not sure that can be pegged entirely on Princess.
Thanks for a great video. I find your take to be very accurate and I learn something new each time . After our Xmas cruise on the Caribbean Princess, we are doing a repeat for this year’s holiday on enchanted... the passengers on Princess are so very kind, easy to talk to, and albeit “more experience”, far more interesting!
Thank you for watching and sharing your feedback! Really appreciate it! If you enjoyed Caribbean I think you’ll love Enchanted. It’s now one of my favorite Princess ships.
@@TheChillCruiser - I am excited for the wakeview pool!
@ralphg2436 yes it is! I’ve posted 2 videos about it. Full review: Caribbean Princess offers the best of older and newer ships
th-cam.com/video/sBpW0T4k6V8/w-d-xo.html . And update: Is the trash talk about Caribbean Princess true? I went back to find out
th-cam.com/video/3FCpBJ3lclA/w-d-xo.html
Thank you for a great video! I wish you had touched on Princess's enrichment programs, and your thoughts on them. I love enrichment and it's a key reason I enjoy Princess in Alaska.
Thank you for the feedback. Princess was not at their best when I sailed to Alaska on Majestic last spring - a lot when wrong and there wasn't much enrichment to speak of so there wasn't much I could say on that topic unfortunately.
Booked a year in advance. 5th cruise suite customer Premier pkg we paid 22$ for them to mail the medallion. 10 days before cruise they reneged. Canceled the mailing. Refused to credit the 22$. Travel agent and I spent hrs several days to no avail. If we cant board. Princess will never see us again.
We've been on the Regal and are returning to it next month and doing a repositioning cruise on the Majestic. Your observations are quite helpful.
Thank you for the feedback! Regal is a great ship - hope you enjoy your cruises!
Lots of what you talked about sounds like some of those east coast ships/experiences differ slightly from the Ruby, Discovery, Crown and Grand Princess ships which sail out of the west coast. I've been cruising since the 90's, on NCL, Royal, Carnival and Princess and I enjoy Princess.
Just got back from a 9 day cruise on the Explorer of the Seas. Great time
Explorer of the Seas-?! Do you mean Discovery Princess?
@@TheChillCruiser No Explorer of the Seas. I was on it from the port of Miami on March 22- 31st.
great video :) ive just subscribed to your channel :) its its deb from tasmania australia :) weve just booked our first princess cruise on the crown princess for a 2 night cruise in may 2026 :) im really looking forward to it as i also have booked us both the premier plus package :) im hoping that the entertainment and the night time vibe onboard will be great :)
Hey Deb! Thank you for watching and for the feedback! I’ve heard amazing things about the Crown and you can’t go wrong when you have almost unlimited access to premium booze! 😉
thats what i thought hehe we never buy an alcohol beverage package, we occasionally get a refreshment package, but im totally excited about the perks included :) @@TheChillCruiser
Very informative video. And some great tips on the changes that were unknown since our last cruise with Princess.
Thank you - I’m glad it was helpful!
Great video, keep them coming!! This may sound petty, but the delivery for the medallion device is not free if you are not Elite. Otherwise there is a charge for home delivery, I just pick mine up at the beginning of the cruise. That way I have more money to spend onboard!! Thanks again for the info!
Thank you for watching and for the feedback! I really appreciate it. Very good point about medallion shipping charges if you don’t have Plus or Premier package - I didn’t know it’s included with Elite. Cheers!
Elite don't get free medallion mailing.
It’s easier to let your travel advisor find the type of cabin you want. You never pay more with an agent and you often get extra perks.
As an agent, I concur. A lot of people assume it costs money for a travel agent, but it costs nothing extra (like you said) and not only can we make sure you’re on the right ship for your preferences but also get you perks that the cruiseline alone won’t give you (just like you said)
Great job. I like the Mini-suites but many have exposed balconies.
Medallions are currently only shipped to USA and some Canadian locations. I am on a cruise next week and this is what the Princess app says very clearly in the check-in section Europe and the rest of the world as well as some places in Canada will get there soon, but not yet.
I enjoy your videos as you are informative and easy to listen to. You get to the point with no drama and click bait. Keep it up. We will be going on our second Princess transatlantic this week. So much has changed since last year. I hope I love it as much as I did the last one.
Thank you for that feedback! I really appreciate it - especially the part about avoiding click bait and drama. I hope you enjoy the TA - please do report back on your experience if you get a chance.
I think Princess has returned to traditional dining, which is great!
Please be aware that if you book your trip in Australia princess plus and premier do not include gratuities. Therefore it is not worth having, especially if you do not drink alcohol
Thank you for clarifying! I wasn't aware of this.
Cruises that depart or arrive in Australia must incude gratutities in the cruise fare - so they don't get added to your onboard account. The Plus Package is $65 AUD without gratutities or $60 USD ($92 AUD approx) when it includes gratuities.
Last year from Singapore start
Diamond princess to Thailand and Vietnam. The terminal arrangements
Is a very poor to get on ship.
And the food is limited.....
Princess does not mail the medallion to Canadian addresses. Good info, even though I have had 22 cruises with them. So agree about flying in the day before. The brochure deck plans always used to show by a symbol on each cabin whether it had a 3 rd or 4 th berth, but you are right now that we have to check online for deck plans. I hate that as it is so difficult to judge what is over or under a cabin. I much preferred when brochures were readily available. Thx a lot, well done. From Chris in Vancouver.
Thank you for watching and for the feedback! Really appreciate it! Princess announced recently that they will now mail medallions to Canada as well as the US. My friend tested it on a January cruise and it worked well so that’s good news!
Yes it does, since 2024. Update your notes, sir.
@@TheChillCruiser ok, good to know. We will expect ours then for our June cruise. We fly to UK June 2, but cruise is June 14, so hope we get before we leave.
The Casino doors were left propped open on my cruise and the smoke wafted everywhere. ugh!
Sorry to hear!
Some countries - you pick your medallion at check in. Australia being one of
This used to be true for Canada but now the medallions are being mailed to passengers
That's disappointing to hear about no Crooner on the Majestic, we're on that ship in October, and that was our group regular meeting spot, we've sat for hours enjoying the entertainment. Also, while I agree with the odd way they have their decks , and it's sometime confusing to get to a certain location, we've always looked at it as part of the experience and just enjoyed the cruise. Life's too short to worry about those things, we've learned that the hard way. But others, I'm sure feel different and that's absolutely fine.
They did have a pianist performing by crown grill on Majestic but it seemed he was told to perform very low key elevator music. The leadership on the ship at the time was horrible - I hope it’s a much better situation when you’re onboard because Majestic is a beautiful ship overall.
Hey Andrew! It was nice to meet you on the Enchanted Princess.
Hey Steven! Great to meet you as well! Those were fun times at Crooners! How was the rest of your cruise? I’m at andrew@thechillcruiser.blog if you’d prefer to email! 😁
Greetings. Very Informative video. Being freshly retired and a newbie at Cruises I am curious as to what you mean by ''Older Grand Class of ships''. I am looking at some cruises in Europe and I want to make sure I don't embark on some ready to sink POS. Go Sens Go!
Go Sens Go! Princess has a fairly large fleet and most of the ships that aren’t Royal class are Grand class meaning they’re a decade or 2 old. I sailed on the 20 year old Caribbean Princess in October and loved it. Each class has its pros and cons - what the older ships lack in modern style they make up for with more amenities like a wraparound promenade, a proper night club and observation lounge along with all the tech from the newer ships.
The ships have all been refurbished. Consult a good travel agent for advice .
Thanks for the video, as a Canadian, I appreciate the advice from another Canadian’s perspective 👏
Thank you for watching and for the feedback!
Been on three Princess ships so far other then Ruby Princess ship food being not as good as the other two ship been I been on the cruise line is pretty good I would definitely recommend them to other people.
Thanks for sharing your experience!
We have been on 9 Princess cruises and never had a bad cruise.
I love Princess 🇦🇺❤️🚢
Thank you for your objective review of Princess. Regrettably, while I am a platinum member I have a lot of reservations about Princess travel in the future. They keep cutting back and cutting back and Nickel and diming, and making it more of a revenue based experience rather than a relaxing experience.I wrote a letter to the president of Princess, expressing my concerns, showing that I’ve been on 8 princess cruises across the world from South America to Russia to all over the Caribbean and the Mediterranean to Asia hoping they’ll begin to see some reason. There’s a lot of things princess could do to make the experience far more enjoyable. Princess, according to two websites that I read made $4.2 billion in 2023. It’s not like they’re hurting after Covid anymore. That’s long since died, cruising has rebounded with a fury. Unfortunately, this cruise line has chosen the opportunity to further cutback the benefits and make it a more of a hassle-based experience.
So sad.
Did they reply?
yes, I hate being nicked and dimed. Seems just like the grocery stores that raised prices & sited "supply chain" and then inflation issues. No more supply chain issues and inflation has dropped yet grocery prices stay high = record corporate profits. Princess is taking away more and more features. What happened to all-inclusive? Used to be you just paid extra if you wanted an upgraded stateroom. Now everything is tiered pricing.
@@lauracepuran8324 Amen! I’m switching to Azamara
Unfortunately Covid is not gone but the extra cleaning measures have. Several guests came down with it recently while on west coast cruise.
RIU oops nice, but appears to be limited in its offerings in the dining venues and lacking top shelf liquors in the lounges, so I wouldn’t really consider this as a premium offering. I’ve heard the same for their 2 locations in Aruba for both day package guests and regular overnight guests.
One more thing. Each ship can be a different experience, and that is typically based on the ship’s Captain. A well run ship is obvious, as is a lackluster run ship.
I THINK that it is good to post reviews for our cruising even if they are positive or negative (in a respectful manner) so that the cruise lines start paying attention to us the customers. I have cruised multiple times (20+) in different ships, my favorite for NON STOP FUN ARE L: #1 Carnival followed BY
#2 Royal Carribbean, the rest are very nice in their own way and the food varies but none compare to those two.
Never a boring moment. I'll be sailing on Enchanted Princess this October 2024 to Canada & New England, this will be my 4th experience with Princess and my first on Enchanted. I pray that i don't get too bored and that the casino is doable (not too much second hand smoke) and the shows entertaining because if it happens then I won't be giving it a 5th shot lol. It is too much money to waste just to be on a boring ship. I WILL POST AN HONEST REVIEW WITH PICS AND VIDEO UPON MY RETURN. 😅😅😅😅🎉😊😊
We were on the Sky for 14 days and I can tell you that the average age of the passengers was about 68 years old! There were people sitting in the Piazza napping in the afternoon! 😴
That's funny. The average age on Princess seems to be 60+ on a 7 day cruise and it seems to get older the longer the itinerary.
That actually works for me , I’m younger then that but I’m ok with that
@@heathermichael3987I enjoy being among the older group. Much more respectful to one another. That does not mean that services should be less or entertainment an not be more lively.
@@TheChillCruiserof course the age goes up the longer the cruise. We retired people have time to do it
Just returned on sky princess and the average age was young 800 children 40 / 60 and 70 and over not many at all
The free steam/sauna rooms are being removed from the mens/womens locker rooms when the ships go into dry dock. The Emerald and Ruby have already had theirs taken out. The paid steam/sauna rooms on these ships are terrible.
Oh, this makes me sad. . . One of my favorite things to do when on board!
That's unfortunate. Thank you for sharing!
Cruise ships in general (per usual), are offering *less for more $. Quite sad.
We booked with the Ruby just a few weeks ago to Alaska. Never been on a cruise, so really looking forward to it. This is a big drag about the saunas, was really looking forward to this feature.😢 Thanks for your explanation of features etc, we are trying to learn a lot ahead of time. Any suggestions for flights from Toronto to Vancouver, prices are getting up there thanks to Mr T
Um , I was going princess for Alaska but this changes things .
In Australia-There is absolutely no smoking in pubs,clubs restaurants,cafes or casino's .Not even in prisons.
Pretty much a smoke free zone everywhere which is brilliant.
Fantastic!
Great informative video
Thank you!
Hello thank you for the great video and the extra info , i have been digging all the dirt up i can find lol we are going on our first cruise ever and its on Princess Majestic Alaska Cruise . We signed up for princess plus and we are 17 days out from launch day lol sorry you had a bad time on Majestic i hopr our trip fairs better and that yours was just a fluke . I dont mind smoke tbh wife and i vape now so smoke is no issue and we vape disposables so not blowing great clouds of berry blast everywhere lol or anything like that . From what i have seen on our plus package my liver might die but my wallet is still gonna be fat when this is over lol . Is there any info or advice that you or anyone else can give for first timers that are just dipping the toe in ? Thank you again for the video .
Majestic is a beautiful ship - she just wasn’t well managed on my cruise. I’m sure things are much better now. See the travel planning section of my channel for lots of tips that might help - including my top 10 tips to save time and money. th-cam.com/video/R_cjThm7KhI/w-d-xo.htmlsi=ciElAXTZQjy4tH30 I hope you enjoy your cruise!
Just returned from a Princess cruise. Good info here, but there are a couple updates. There are areas on the ship that you can't use the app to order drinks. Deck 16 would not allow us to order drinks almost the entire cruise. Also, ordering drinks 2 years ago using your Medallion worked better than our last cruise. This past week we ordered drinks and at least 33% of the time, we never received our drinks, even after that app said they were "delivered." It was a hassle using the Chat option to find the issue, and get a refund if there was a delivery charge, etc. Opening our cabin door was slow at times as well (maintenance was finally called when the cabin steward and we were unable to enter our room). Entertainment was lacking as you stated, and the comedy shows were "hit & miss," which is one of the things we usually enjoy. Thanks for the review/inputs!
Thank you for the feedback and for sharing your experience. It does seem like their ordering system has a few bugs since they released the new app.
Nightmare!
The entertainment was weak ! Every night when they had the DJ it was the same playlist repetitively ! We never once got one buzz off of a drink at all! Loved the wine at every dinner! Also they had the worse tasting coffee ever! Bring instant coffee and your creamer or you’ll be needing coffee!!!!!
Oyster bay sauv Blanc. Fabulous
Princess interior or ocean view cabins that are coded on the deck plans (by color) to accommodate up to 4 people, by default have the pull down bunks--notice cabin capacity to know about bunks
I’m confused - deck plans on princess.com are color coded by cabin category not capacity. The only way I’ve figured out how to determine capacity is by filtering # of guests. What am I missing? Or are you referring to plans from a 3rd party?
We did a Princess cruise out of Galveston earlier this year. Ship needed updating, food service was slow (2+ hrs to have dinner, 1.5 hrs for breakfast), food was just average. We had a nice time but were disappointed overall. Met a couple who had 28 cruises on Princess; had the highest status you can get. They said service and amenities had gone downhill ever since Carnival bought them and they were never coming back again. (Had some disappointing experiences on their last 4 Princess trips.)
Sorry to hear about your experience - I think you unfortunately sailed at a time when the ship for whatever reason wasn't at its best. I've found service in the main dining room on most Princess ships has been usually very prompt (once you get a table of course). All cruise lines have cut back since Covid - the line that seems to have cut back the least is Holland America, which I was really impressed with. Still feels very much like a premium experience in most areas.
@ Please don’t be an apologist for Princess Cruise Line. We met many people on that ship who were long time Princess cruisers who told us the same thing. Their service and experience have gone downhill since Carnival bought them.
Ty for this vlog! Question for you and your lovely commentators. I wish to tip the crew appropriately, probably maybe a bit extra. How can I know how, how much of pre-paid tips go directly to the underpaid staff? “Included” is one thing, but how real is that? So, how much is appropriate to tip on top of the “included” portion? Srsly want to know, been asking on lots of vlogs, no answers so far.
Tipping in the US is such a weird thing…
Thank you for watching. Regarding tips, this article from Cruise Critic offers a good overview: www.cruisecritic.com/articles/an-insiders-guide-to-tipping-on-a-cruise
@@TheChillCruiser Ty so much, very helpful. Weird this is all so secretive. Tipping ought to be normalized, or done away with. What a weird gray area we’re in.
Tbh the suggestions here seem v low. Love to know what the shared out tips really come out to. Will do more digging.
Meantime this is v useful, so thx!
@@TheChillCruiser, thank you for the link 😊
Great video
Thank you!
You mentioned in your video that the casino comps have changed over the last few years, could you explain in more detail. We used to get comps for balcony rooms and mini suites, now for some reason our offers are for interior rooms.
Since I've only been part of the program for just over a year, the only big change I'm aware of is the one I mentioned (eliminating Princess Plus from interior and balcony CBS offers). But I keep hearing from long-time players that they've been steadily reducing comps over the past few years since demand is so high and ships are almost always selling out.
Our NZ trip was rubbish. They lost and damaged my luggage for two day just for starters. The price of an internal was as much as a balcony on other lines. The mains especially the beef was second rate though the pastry chef is a god. Myself and other vets we were with were supposed to attend a ceremony at Napier but they decided not to stop there and offered no compensation. We could never get to see a movie with it booked out almost instantly. At Dunedin they wanted Au$300 to take a train trip that is normally NZ$74 at the RR station. The one off ship tour we did take was good though. Getting off it took 3 hours of waiting and when we did they lost my ladies luggage and it cost me $55 to get it back from some company they left it with when they found it.
I enjoy watching the videos BUT my Aldi never has any of the items you show, nor is it that organizes.
Thank you for the video. Have you sailed on Grand? If so, can you tell me what casual dining options they have? I've heard they only have two, so I'm guessing Premier would be a waste. thank you.
Sorry no I haven't sailed on Grand but it looks similar to the 2 other Grand class ships I've sailed on (Caribbean and Ruby). After a quick check, it looks like they do only have 2 specialty restaurants (steakhouse and Italian). Food is usually very good at the steakhouse, Italian can be hit and miss. I wouldn't get the premier package just for the specialties - but if you would enjoy the other perks (unlimited casual dining and fitness, higher drink cost limit, 4 devices for internet etc.) than it's still a great deal. You could also just go to the steakhouse twice - they have a pretty extensive menu with seafood as well as steak. Just be sure to reserve as far in advance as you can as it's usually sold out well before the cruise begins.
@@TheChillCruiser is the casual dining that I'm wondering about. If it's only Alfredos and Vines, then the Premier is not worth it.
First and last time on Princess, Regal Princess. We only do the included food choices and the main ding room choices were very limited and honestly not that good, first time both my wife and I lost weight after 8 nights.
Sorry to hear that you didn't enjoy the food! Princess can be very inconsistent - great food on one ship and not-so-great on another just a few months later. It's a shame you had this experience because Regal is usually a great ship.
Love this content, subscribed!
I'm glad you like it! Thank you for watching and subscribing!
I appreciate your straight forward presentation. Thank you!
Thank you Denise for watching and sharing your feedback!
Thanks for cutting the chit chat down a lot. Many tip sites take forever to get to the point!
I hate the casinos because of the smell and flashing lights - seems every ship I've been on I've been stuck having to walk through that area - I think NCL was the worst. I hate they're taking over the bar areas - I dont' care for the bars per se but they're a nice place to sit and relax and visit and listen to music. the casino not so much though I enjoy the casino machines on Virgin Voyages and have played some on Carnival with a friend at one nearby. but I don't spend a long time there and definitely too loud for visiting
It seems the casino is very strategically placed to force folks through to get to other venues. Solstice class ships on Celebrity have a go-around but not as necessary since their ships are completely non-smoking
Does anyone have any information on kids in the kid’s club? Did they enjoy their time there? We are heading to Mexican Rivera on Discovery in a week. We are traveling with our family and grandchildren children ages 5-12. Last year was the grandchildren’s first cruise. We were on Royal Caribbean lines. I had to book Princess because of the timing of the children’s spring break. I’m looking forward to it but I want the kids to have a great time on board.
My friend was on Sky with her 10 year old son in January and he really enjoyed it. He tried it out (hesitantly) on day one and loved it right away.
Can you order from the International Cafe and have it delivered to your cabin?
You can have drinks on their menu delivered and some food (like some sandwhiches) but most IC food options are not on the room service menu.
We are cruising for the first time with sapphire princess. I have not been able to find any information specific to this ship.
Hi Debbie - what kind of information are you looking for? After a quick search, I noticed there's a Cruise Critic review of the ship as well as a tour video on the Princess site.
Try TH-cam
Smoking, are you kidding! I have done 10 cruises and 150 days out of Australia and no inside smoking at all!
We're sailing on the Echanted Princes next month. First time Princess cruisers. Thank you for this informative video. I have several questions. is there an extra charge for the international Cafe? I read that the Princess plus package gives you access to an unlimited juice bar. Does this include juices such as fresh squeezed vegetable juices (carrot, celery, etc. ) or are we talking just fruit juices like orange or grapefruit juice? Royal Oasis class ships have juice bars within their spa area (Vitality Cafe) that offer fresh juices and smoothies. How far out from the sailing can we expect to get our Medallions in the mail? Thank you for your help.
The food at the International Cafe (IC) is complimentary - the coffee drinks are a la carte pricing unless you have one of the drinks packages. I have never been able to find the juice bar but I know the buffet and the IC offer different juices and smoothies in the morning. I'm sorry I can't offer more detail about the types and quality of juices - hopefully someone else can address that. Your medallions are mailed a week or 2 after you complete check in using the app. If you don't receive them in time, or if you lose them, they can issue you new ones at the port. I hope you have a great cruise!
Check to see that Princess didn’t change your room number ahead of your trip.
We booked New Zealand/Australia a year ago and we just got back.
They changed our cabins without telling us. Our rooms were originally booked side by side balcony rooms and they put us on the other side of the ship and a room between us. They couldn’t explain why this happened and said we caught it too late for them to change it. We did nothing wrong. Rude Princess manager called Ram on the phone gave us $25 on board credit and a screw top bottle of wine.
Keep checking and make sure they don’t randomly move you guys too.
I love casinos but cannot deal with smoke. I hope Princess changes this on their ships makes no sense for all its customers.
I hear you but don’t see Princess changing this anytime soon. They seem to be doubling down on their existing casino approach and trying to attract more gamblers from other lines. Celebrity is 100% non-smoking in all indoor spaces throughout their fleet if you’re looking for a smoke-free environment.
This will be my 1st Princess cruise in Nov on Ruby, hopefully there is a Night life. I am having difficulty using Princess website, not finding alot there like the Gratuties had to ask my TA how much they were.. How much are drinks if you don't buy the Plus or Premier package?? Like other cruises 13-15 a drink?
Yes drinks are around $10-12. You can check out bar menus on my website: thechillcruiser.blog/2023/11/15/bar-menus-on-caribbean-princess/ . Princess calls tips “crew appreciation” so that’s why you might have had a hard time getting info. It’s $16 daily (if you don’t have the Plus or Premier package, which includes tips). See here: www.princess.com/html/global/disclaimers/crew-appreciation/
@@TheChillCruiser another cruiser posted that although they prepaid gratuities it was clear that their room steward expected additional tipping. Is this typical?
Curtains between bed and sofa area? Power outlets for CPAP machines?
Are you asking about mini suites or cabins in general? For a particular ship--?? Minisuites and above generally have curtains. There are usually at least 2 outlets in each cabin in the desk area. I have posted several cabin tours to my channel, including this minisuite tour on Enchanted Princess: th-cam.com/video/5dvfXuz0BeI/w-d-xo.html
What are your thoughts on the Majestic princess We are on there in Septemeber
I did my first video reviewing a cruise to Alaska on Majestic last year. I liked the ship but a lot went wrong (long lineups for everything, canceled glacier stop, zero nightlife). The Dine My Way program, which contributed to some of the issues, will be replaced with what sounds like a better approach starting September 14. People have commented more recently that they had a good experience on Majestic so it looks like things have improved.
What about the Sun Princess? As far as entertainment would you put it in the same category as the other new ships you mentioned?
I haven’t been on Sun yet but it looks like the main production shows (and theater design) are very different along with more entertainment options in the dome in the evenings. I hope to be able to answer your question based on first-hand experiences this summer 😉
I think you’re mistaken, I’ve been on Princess 100+ days and I am a platinum member. First of all never ever buy the Princess packages, why? Number one you always get on board credit if you’re dealing with a reputable travel agency. In my case, I got a total of $850 on board credit for two people on a 16 night cruise coming up this summer up board Caribbean princess, it doesn’t make sense to buy the onboard packages number three the onboard packages presumed you’re going to drink six drinks a day to break even. While you may party and whoop it up the first couple of days I don’t think unless you’re alcoholic you’re gonna be drinking six alcoholic drinks every day. And while this also includes other drinks like coffee, drinks, and sodas, it’s still doesn’t work out as a financial benefit if you do a cost benefit analysis. Lastly, I don’t understand why anybody goes to a specialty restaurant unless you enjoy spending extra money. The main dining room offers at least three or four options for main course and three or four entrées and three or four desserts, all of which have always been delicious. And if you don’t like what you get, you can always change it for something else without any kickback from the staff.
So, after being on eight cruises with Princess and 125 days, never ever buy the premium plus package, you’ll never get your moneys worth out of it unless you’re an alcoholic in my opinion. Remember, even if you love to drink and your spouse doesn’t touch alcohol they’re going to charge you $60 per day per passenger, not for cabin! So if your wife or loved one, spouse doesn’t drink, it doesn’t matter. They are going to be charged $60 a day for soda and coffee drinks. Also, as far as restaurant, access and main decks, the same thing occurs on Holland America having been on two cruises with them, two different ships. Some dining rooms are only accessible through the aft stairwell.
I don’t think you can make a blanket statement to say never ever by the Princess packages. For some it definitely isn’t worth it and they probably shouldn’t. But others it can be worth it.
We prefer to get it for one simple but important reason for us. At the end of the cruise, there is no surprise bar tab. Peace of mind is priceless!
We also enjoy the Crown Grill, and even though it’s an additional charge, it’s still cheaper than a land based steak house and offers a different option to the MDR, which is nice on a longer cruise.
I’ve never cruised with less than $400 OBC which I could use for drinks and specialty restaurants but that is always my “casino” money, which I turn into cruise offers if I’m lucky 😂.
Thank you @@katjar4881 for chiming in here. You read my mind!
I'll be cruising on Princess with 2 kids for the first time in a few weeks. Initially I wasn't going to buy any package but the other parties we are going with all bought either a plus or a premium package so I caved. I'm kind of peeved by having to purchase packages for two instead of one since none of my kids are drinking age.
@@shuhanchen You only have to purchase the drink package for every guest of drinking age in the same stateroom. If it's just you and your kids in the cabin, then you should only be required to purchase 1 package.
@@TheChillCruiser The Princess customer service person that spoke me on the phone insisted I can only buy 2…. 🤦♀️
Do you have to pay extra to eat via "Dine My Way". Just booked a Princess cruise and was confused how it works. On Carnival yoj can eat a njce dinner in the dining room with your group every night and its included...
Hi there - Princess is the same. Meals in the main dining rooms are included in your cruise fare.
Probably been asked many times but is it a maximum of 15 drinks per person or per room?
15 alcoholic drinks per guest with a package. Coffee drinks, soda etc are unlimited. Premier package will include unlimited alcoholic drinks later this year.
Is princess making the changes to the dancing space and casino bar on all smaller ships such as taking the "night club" out on deck 6 on coral princess?
Sorry I've never been on Coral so can't comment but hopefully someone else can answer. I have heard they're removing amenities like the sauna and steam room when Grand class ships go into dry dock. Caribbean still has the casino bar and night club - someone on the ship told me that the night club would be removed on its next update but I can't confirm whether that's actually the case. Princess is not very transparent about its ship updates (or anything really). Sorry I couldn't be more helpful.
@@TheChillCruiser thank u for the reply and thnx for all your informative videos about princess.
Regarding the mini-suites, I only see one bed. We have 4 people. Does the sofa pull-out to make a bed or are their bunks for the 2 other people?
The sofa spins into a single bed. In my Sky mini-suite cabin tour I show how it works (and with the queen bed split into twins). th-cam.com/video/qOFPf26VJ7s/w-d-xo.html . I would guess there is a bunk that pulls down from the ceiling in rooms that can accomodate a fourth person. See lesson #9 at 07:09 in this video for instructions on how to identify rooms that can accomodate 3 or 4 people.
@@TheChillCruiser thank you so much for that information. It was very helpful! Please keep up the good work you do!
While I love the extra space in a mini-suite but, both my husband and I have balance issues and stepping in and out of a tub can be treacherous. So when we have one, I take my showers in the ladies gym!.
Thank you for sharing your experience. I'm sorry to hear about your experience with the tub!
Hello, can you tell me how strict is the dress code on formal nights? Is a nice shirt with a tie (but no jacket) OK? FAQ says "Tuxedo, dark suit or dinner jacket and slacks for men". Thanks!
In my experience, they don't enforce any kind of dress code and there is a wide range of dress on formal nights. But I have noticed that more people are dressing up in full suits and fancy dresses on Princess than I've noticed on other lines since the 2021 restart. My advice is wear what you're comfortable with. I think a shirt and tie without jacket would be more than ok.
@@TheChillCruiser Thanks! 😃