First impressions of Caribbean Princess

 My first impression of Princess cruises was at the LGA airport.  There were  hundreds of passengers waiting for the shuttle bus to the ship which was docked in the container port of red hook in Brooklyn. Ugliest port ever. The wait was over an hour for me but many had been waiting hours.  I went down a level and by chance the first bus had arrived.  No communication and just chaos.  

At the port the terminal was empty so I checked in quickly and got on board.  The first impression from the outside view is rust bucket.  An equal amount of rust and white paint chipped.  On the inside it’s very old like it’s passengers.  Wow I forgot that the Princess passenger profile is old ,  not newly retired but nearly dead.

However my obstructed view cabin is lovely, clean and decent view out the window.  The outside of the window has quite a few very dead bugs.  I called guest services and someone will clean it when we are in port. 

The buffet was fine but much smaller than Ncl , Rccl or Holland America.  Dinner in the Palm restaurant was good, and service reasonable with about an hour to get thru dinner. 

I have yet to see entertainment but the port consultant is so boring 

Hope this helps

Marcia

Air Canada and Pearson airport are not as bad as portrayed

 First let me say I had anxiety for weeks tracking my upcoming flight and used flight aware.com. I highly recommend this site.  As was the average delay for my outgoing flight was 40 minutes delayed.  

Here’s what was great about Air Canada

They communicated constantly about the status of the flight

The checked bag was there on arrival and the pilot communicated that the passengers bags who didn’t make it were being taken off

I highly recommend apple AirTag as I saw my bag was in LGA upon arrival 

Here’s the need to know about Toronto Pearson airport 

for USA flights arrive 3 hours ahead. It only took minutes to Check-in as I did it online the day before. The automated kiosks gave me the boarding pass and bag tag and then you drop the bag thru the automatic handler. Easy Peasy.

The security line took about 35; minutes and USA customs another 35 minutes.  The longest wait was Tim Hortons at about 40 minutes. They are beyond slow.

I had time for tea . 

Overall I liked air Canada and the efficiency of the way the security and customs was set up.  It’s not there fault that there are so many travellers.

Hope this helps

Marcia

Last minute details to take care of before your cruise

 I am on a Princess cruise in 9 days and Princess keeps sending reminders to do the following:

- Because my cruise is longer - 16 nights - you must have at least one covid booster - this is new so be aware on longer cruises the cruise lines are upping the requirement

- I have to have an antigen or PCR test no longer than 2 days before the cruise (mine is booked)

- take a carry on with at least 2 days clothes as the airports are still having baggage issues and make sure the apple itag is in the luggage to be checked 

- re-check your excursions - mine requires mosquito spray for Greenland and a coat as it has a high of 10 degrees celcius in summer

- check to see if the cruiseline upgraded you - no such luck on my part

- pack (and then take less) than what you planned

- wear your heavy shoes on the plane/1st day and pack the lighter ones in your carry on

- print out an extra copy of the flight and cruise details for those at home 

- start to get excited (even if your worried re covid, the airline issues etc)

Hope this helps 

Marcia

10 Tips for airport , airline and baggage delays

 Like many I am going to travel this summer. I am going on a cruise mid August out of New York and have seen and heard all of the travel chaos at Pearson Airport.  I have read many tips on what to do this summer but not all are practical for me and others.  However I am passing along tips just in case a few help you.

First heres an article on smart travel 

7 Tips for Surviving Summer Travel Chaos | Adobe Stock (smartertravel.com)

Now the ones I will be using

1. If you have an APPLE device - get and Apple AirTag for your luggage. It will help you track any luggage you have in transit. I have one and it was easy to set up.  The cost of the tag, and holder was about $60 with tax

2. Try not to check luggage but if your like me on a 2 1/2 week cruise - you need it.  But take a carryon with a few days changes of clothes, shoes and the mini toiletries, medications. I hate having to do this but its the Airline fault that we have to be so careful

3. If its a cruise your on, book their transport to/from the airport as they will watch your flights coming in and know if they are delayed.  Note have their phone number ready for calling if your delayed - every cruise line provides a special number to call. 

4. Its recommended you take the first flight out but Air Canada has been cancelling the first flight more often so I am on the second (there are several flights to New York). 

5. Use  :flightaware.com to track your flight and the conditions at the airport.  Its much better than the airlines tracking status but the airline does give you reasons for delay or cancel

6/ Arrive (according to the Airport and Airline at least 3 hours early for your flight to US

7. Have all your documents out and ready for inspection - for me its the vaccine report, the covid test report, passport, boarding pass etc.

8. Take a direct flight if possible  - I am as its pretty easy to do from Toronto to New York

9.  I wrote to the Airline and Transport minister - it is said one letter/email represents 1000 people who feel the same way - I hope so.

10 .  Pack your patience and niceness ... your going to need it

Hope this helps

What to do if the price of the cruise drops after booking?

 I just experienced a $1000 drop in the price of my Greenland cruise after booking.  Below is are some tips to get the best and cheapest price and a summary of my experience with Princess Cruises.

Tip 1.  Always check the price of your cruise after booking, particularly at the 2-3 month mark before departure . Prices often reduce around US holidays (mine was Memorial day).  Make sure you use the exact same requirements (i.e same cabin type, number of passengers, currency type) to check the price. Also make sure it is offer the same benefits (i.e. on board credit amount, gratuities, internet etc). 

Tip 2: If the price drops significantly take a screen print or picture so you can send it to the travel agent or cruise line customer service if required.

Tip 3:  Call your agent/cruiseline customer service same day as prices change almost daily. 

Tip 4:  Make sure you know what you want the outcome to be - for me it was an upgraded cabin and a credit (mine was to my credit card) but often they will offer onboard credit.  If its onboard credit make sure its usable for everything - i.e. crew appreciation, shore excursions etc.)  You need to be able to tell them what you want.

Tip 5: If you want an upgrade make sure you have the cruise ship deck plan open on the web so you can see the placement. For me I wanted an obstructed or non-obstructed ocean view.  If its obstructed - key in the cabin number and ship and search the web.  There will often be pictures of the view on the obstructed. For me 2 of the cabins available only has a small portion of the view blocked.  Also check the web for "worst cabins" on the ship.  Mine said there may be noise during the day from rehearsals on the deck below but not during/after show.  

Tip 6: Do not give up if the customer service rep is not helpful  (always get their names) - in my case I wrote the president of the cruise line as the customer service people kept transfering me and I got cut off and hanged up on. I also asked for a supervisor.

Tip 7: Thank the rep who helps you 

Ok now for my experience:

Once I saw the price drop - I tried the cruise sales specialist first but she was off.

I then called customer service. The first rep (Rep 1 even though I wrote down the name), quickly put me on hold and then disconnected me after about 20 minutes.

I called back and after waiting - you will always wait at least 10 minutes to get connected. The second rep Rep 2 said only customer solutions can help and she will transfer me - and she tried staying on the line until I got connected but the Customer Solutions Rep hung up on me immediately.  (its now been about 2 hours).

I call back and got Rep 3 - I told her the story and she said there was nothing she could do she had to transfer me to customer solutions - I said I wanted a supervisor - she refused and transferred me to the customer solutions line. The message said the wait time was 30 minutes plus - It was actually 47 minutes but Rep 4 connected.  I told her my story and she wanted my phone number so if for any reason we got disconnected she could call me back. 

I told her what I wanted - she offered me a refund of the difference but I would lose part of my shore excursion credit and option 2 - the upgrade (I checked the cabin on line) and a partial credit.  She waited until I checked online and  while I tried to pay the difference on the shore excursions. When it wouldn't allow me she took the payment over the phone.  

In the end, I got the upgraded cabin I wanted, a large credit $800 plus dollars to my credit card and then I paid the shore excursion difference (US dollars).  In the end I saved about $400 plus Canadian dollars on my cruise, and I have the better cabin, same shore excursions. 

Is it worth the pain - 4 plus hours, several hang ups but I was determined and persistent. 

The cruise line should just automatically refund the difference but they are betting you won't act - but not me and really not you if you take advantage of the tips.

Hope this Helps

Marcia

What are the best sites to get cruise port info?

 I am always asked where I get my cruise port info.  Below are my favourite sites for cruise port info

1. Whats in Port - has the most ports and most info - the link is 

Your cruise guide to 1200 cruise ports of call (whatsinport.com)

2.  Cruise Critic - sometimes a bit light on info about port but the cruise reviews and port reviews by passengers often reveals a lot about the issues they encounters and reviews on the shore excursions are helpful - the link is

Cruisecritic.com

3.  Local authorities travel and tourism sites - key in you city or town and go to the official website - they have the best links to weather, travel requirements etc

4.  General articles from news sites .. I found these are often the most indepth

Hope this helps 

Marcia

Why I decided to travel again - trip to Greenland on Princess Cruises anyone?

This is the longest I have waited to book again (not including the COVID lockdown) and I have the travel bug again.  But I wanted something a bit different and am not trusting Europe just yet.  So when I saw a sale from Princess cruises for a Canada/Greenland cruise I decided to book as it includes 3 ports in Greenland and 3 in Canada.  As always solo is 100% extra  supplement on the sale price so my booking for an interior was $2600 Cdn, with approximately $300 in taxes.  But they included a $398 USD credit for shore excursions and I knew I wanted Greenland shore excusions.  

I checked multiple travel agencies but all were more expensive then Princess so I booked directly but here's the downside. 

1. The cruise fare had to be paid in full this month. (no buyers remorse period). and no refund after middle of June

2. Not much choice of cabin at the sale price so I am in the upper floors near the front of the ship - not ideal if you don't like to feel the movement of the ship. However the sales rep put me on the list for an upgrade and is giving me some kind of coupon book (be aware that I am told these books are not great value especially for the solo traveller as two for the price of one are usually the dining deals)

3. Yes its a large shore excursion credit, but almost all of the shore excursion are sold out in Greenland (all in two of the smaller ports) - and I especially wanted the cruise amongst the icebergs.   They don't tell you that when you book.  So they hook you with a shore excursion deal  on false pretenses.  I found some shore excursion in the Canadian ports (Halifax and Sydney and Nuuk Greenland) but again all the ones in the city of St John's were sold out.  Princess reps should really tell you about the status of shore excursions for the people who book (4 months ahead).

As always, heres some tips

1. Check multiple agency sites to see if you can get the best deal before booking - in this case Princess Cruises was the best price even with the 100% single supplement

2. Ask before you book if shore excursions are still available in the key ports of your cruise, as especially in Greenland there are not other operators available. 

3. Ask to be put on the list for an upgrade but beware you may get an upgrade in the same category just at a higher price and it may not be in an ideal location,

 4. Ask if there are any other offers they can provide - in my case it was the coupon book.

5. Ask about the cost of transfers - in my case the price is cheaper than a cab in New York and in Canadian dollars. As solos can't share a cab - this is a consideration.

6. Ask about the price of the internet - Princess has the best price compared to RCL and Holland America - as on a per day basis its about $11 CDN per day by paying before the cruise.

Hope this helps

Marcia