Walkabout in Lisbon Portugal port

 Having been to Lisbon before, I did a walkabout from the ship.

Tips for a nice walk or if you are staying in Lisbon

Walk, and Or take the train as the trams especially #12 is packed and has pickpockets 

If staying in Lisbon stay near the train station, it’s easy from the airport and the you are in the heart of the action

On a cruise you come in on the port side. Get up early to see the sail in

Walking around the commercial gates and the streets around is easy, it’s the hills that will give you the work out

The walking on the promenade is pretty but long.

A Tuk tuk is 20euros per person for 4 in this electric car for 1.5 hours. A good deal.

The custard tarts are amazing and they always ask if you want two

Be careful on the steps up and down the hills as there are loose rocks

Shopping is cheaper on the side streets

The “sexiest washroom in the world “ is 4 euros in commercial square

Have a coffee and use the restaurant ones for free

Hope this helps

Marcia

Ponta Delgado port review

 Having taken the hop on hop off last time around the island(which I highly recommend as the internet service is good and both routes were pretty). This time I walked up to the Presidential palace gardens. It’s a 15 minute walk up hills from port, but not difficult as the slope is not steep. You need ID to enter (driver’s license is fine).  It costs 2 euros and only 1 euros for over 60.  It is a very pretty garden and lake to walk around. I would recommend it. You need an hour if you like to take pictures and stroll. The washroom is very clean.

The downtown is small and pretty. Note they have to cleanup each morning due to the homeless sleeping in shop doorways.  The church’s are free and only closed during mass and weddings.

Shopping includes tea grown on the island (I found it weak).  As well as lots of tacky souvenirs. I bought the small jams. 

Hope this helps

Marcia

Regal princess transatlantic cruise review updated June 2024

 after the cruise was  over I realized this was the worst of the Princess ship I have been on. Below are my impressions :

Regular balcony cabin:

Smaller than other princess ships 

Balcony full of rust

Balcony loud as all day there is constant drilling near the lifeboats. I am 7 levels above the drilling and it’s very loud

Overall cabin clean and bed comfortable 

Food:

Repetitive in Horizon buffet and desserts were not edible. I only ate the jello after trying many 

Main dining room had cold food the first night but hot after I complained. Still the preparation was not up to par with other Princess ships.

Same exact dinner menu as every other Princess ship other than Alaska, but prep and taste somewhat different and poorer. 

Like the new Ramen soup daily at lunch in Horizon

Entertainment:

Most performers the same as other Princess ships, causing me to skip 3 shows so far as these acts suck 

Tv movies and television shows full of really old movies and none of the newer releases

Trivia good and on several times a day… most popular amongst guests

Entertainment team just ok 

Service:

Horrible first day, but I completed their survey on second day and they were very quick to respond to broken shower, sandy balcony and cold food.  Fill out that survey if you are experiencing issues. They impressively and quickly respond 

Guest profile:

Old, and disabled are the majority . Next biggest group are active seniors

A smattering of young people

Overall, old ship in need of refurbishing . Freezing cold pools that have been closed most of the time

The crew is using this cruise to replace carpets, and fix things.

Staff ok but very few smile and most just seem tired and ready to finish their contracts 

Overall it’s not a Princess ship I would recommend as the vibe is tired and boring

Hope this helps

Marcia

Packing for a transatlantic cruise - tips

 I am going on my 5th transatlantic cruise and have become quite adept at packing for one.  I typically do not stay longer in Europe (coming or going) because I like a 2.5 week vacation. I find more just doesn't fit my lifestyle at home.  So my tip if you are going to stay longer before or after the cruise - take as little as possible as carrying a suitcase around in Europe on the trains etc. is only meant carry on luggage.  In most countries the luggage area is small and fills up quickly. Also the steps up and down are tricky with luggage ( I have broken wheels to prove it).   England was the worst for travelling by train with a piece of luggage - they only have the carry on top shelf on most trains. Where there is room for luggage - make sure you lock it and have sight of it on stops as so much is stolen from bags, even the bags themselves. 

If you are just going on the transatlantic cruise - you can and should take a piece of luggage so you have all the things that make you comfortable.  Note you will stop in 4 or 5 ports before you disembark, so take your notes about these ports with you.  I have also found they tend to change ports more on atlantic crossings due to high winds/waves.

Here's the must things to take:

- a normal wind up watch as you will be changing the time 6xs and the fitbit/apple watch can not keep up with the time changes . I usually have a $10 watch on me.  Going to Europe they tend to change the time mid day and west bound at night.

- If you can afford it - take the internet package as downloading books/games/your email is worth it.  If you are platinum or elite there is usually a discount - on Princess its 50% off or $12 USD per day.  Note the internet may go down a few days but they will give you a refund for those days.

- Layering of your clothing - tee shirts, and sweaters and hoodies.  I take enough tee shirts so I only have to do laundry once.  On Princess they have self serve laundry at $6 USD for the wash and dry.  I take my own soap due to allergies.

-  Minimum of 2 pairs of shoes - 1 casual and 1 dress up

- light dress up clothing ( I wear each 3x) without washing til I get home). You will have 3 dress up nights

- books if you haven't already downloaded them on your tablet

- all the toiletries you need as you will be 7-8 days straight at sea and supplies are limited aboard the ship and expensive especially cough syrup, advil and conditioner.  They don't have benedryl or polysporin or cough syup  in the shops - you will have to go the medical center and its 3x the cost. 

- bar soap if you prefer it as the ships only have the squeeze bottles 

- bar shampoo as the ship shampoo will dry out your scalp

- a bathing suit, sun hat and sunscreen as going thru the caribbean it sill be warm

- mitts, rain coat and a warm hat as the middle of the atlantic is windy and can get rainy and quite cold

I always try to book an ocean view or balcony as you will need natural light. 

Your sense of humour as some on board get quite annoying on a long cruise

Hope this helps

Marcia

Princess Cruises is "email" non-responsive - some tips if you still want to book with them

As of June no response.

As you know from my recent blog I tried writing to the president of Princess Cruises to tell him about the horrible booking process.   Based on a suggestion comment on the blog I messaged him via Linked In. Well over a week later no response.  You will have to call and wait to get to speak to the customer service center.  As you know I have had little to no luck with their phone support.  My suggestion to you is not to book Princess unless:

- the price if phenomenal - to get these prices you have to wait until about 6 weeks before the cruise leaves.  Note you will not have cabin selection and likely the price of flights will be higher than if you book earlier (but you still save overall).  Sign up for their emails to get these deals.

- you are prepared to wait a long time to speak to customer service via phone as they do not respond to any emails 

- you book your own flights to pay the baggage and seat fees in CDN dollars

- you don't want any real family friendly activity on the boats (no slides, bumper cars etc)

- you don't care if the pool water is cold

- you are willing to deal with their cumbersome app.  And on most cruises a few days without internet (but they have refunded me part or all of the cost)

- you are willing to pay 25USD per day for internet - unless you are platinum or above and then its 50% off (the only reason I still get it)

- you want the company of seniors as the vast majority of clients are retirees

- you have a travel agent to mitigate the pain of dealing with their customer service

Hope this helps

Marcia 

My letter to J Padgett - President of Princess Cruises - Its just too hard to book a cruise with them - BUYER BEWARE

 I thought I would share the letter I recently wrote to the President of Princess Cruises. I re started sailing with them after COVID.  I have no issues with their ships but booking with them has been a nightmare on ever single booking (5 in the past 2 years).  I have finally given up. Below is the letter I wrote to their president. If (and that is a big IF) I will share his response.  All I have to say is buyer beware: booking with them is just not worth it for you or your travel agent.  You have lots of choices and no other cruise line has been this difficult to book with.

"Dear Mr. Padgett

Although I know this will likely not get responded to, I thought it prudent to tell you why you have lost a long term guest on Princess Cruises.  I am booked on Regal Princess   for the transatlantic cruise   and have had a thoroughly frustrating and annoying booking process with your company.   Below is what has happened:

When I booked on January 10^th, as I always do I tried to book the flights thru Princess  same day– the price was $850 roundtrip, but when I pressed to book your site went down – so I called  and waited the obligatory 45 minutes to get to speak to someone  and she couldn’t help (and no apology for my inconvenience).  So I tried again later  on line and guess what during that time the price went up to $951. But what are you going to do – I booked the flight anyway.   You need to know as a Canadian when I book thru Princess to get the guaranteed arrival on the first day to book seats and baggage I have to pay in USD not Canadian as Princess is a US booking agent.  So I always pay 33% to 35% more for these services but I do it as I (used to) like Princess.

Thru my travel agent we tried to buy the internet at time of booking (I always do and as a Platinum member its 50% off), but guess what they told her we now only get 10% off). I then called myself and they told me its still 50% off, but as I wanted to pay in CDN dollars thru my agent she tried calling back  on the Monday to get someone else (that is what your guests have to do to get the correct information) and guess what you had raised the prices over the weekend for the internet.  You didn’t inform guests who had booked and there was no pre info on your website of the price increase.   After several calls later and an informed supervisor we were able to buy the internet package at 50% off and the supervisor hearing what both my travel agent and I had been through gave me on onboard credit to make up the difference as a “goodwill gesture”  as you had just raised the price that day and we had made 3 calls (each at a 30 to 40 minute wait and be transferred several times).

So now the final straw, was your company sent me an offer for my cruise for $1331 versus the $2075 I paid for a guaranteed balcony.  I always have to pay the single supplement as I travel solo (so I am paying a 100% more for my cabin).  I contacted my travel agent and she called on my behalf  to see if Princess would do something and again she had to talk to 3 people before the last one said – “Read the fine print”.  Its for new bookings only and Princess will not help in any way.  You can cancel the booking but it will cost more than what your client paid.  I wasn’t looking for a refund for the difference – just some acknowledgement of my loyalty - I would have been delighted if they had said I will put her on upgrade list for a deluxe balcony versus the balcony (it would have cost your cruise line nothing) , but no your uninformed, unhelpful staff who either get the info wrong or just transfer us to another person who are adamant and quite pleased with themselves for quoting the fine print.

Please stop having your customer service reps and supervisors say when they first speak to customers “Thank You for your loyalty”.  As I don’t ever feel like a loyal customer after having to wait on the phone so long and then get misinformation or no help or snarky remarks re the fine print.

I got a travel agent so I wouldn’t have to deal with your staff (as the long waits and misinformation have happened before on all my bookings) but to no avail even travel agents go thru the same long waits on the phone, get the wrong information and get transferred several times.

Its time for you to empower you customer service reps to have some empathy for your guests and do small gestures to make your customers feel like you still want their business.

I had planned to book another cruise with Princess for later this summer, but now I will not even consider Princess Cruises for future bookings.  I take three cruises a year – always longer than 2 weeks at a time and usually Princess gets at least 2 of my 3 bookings.  But now I am just tired and annoyed.  It shouldn’t be this hard to do business with your company. 

I would like a response (just to see if someone cares about the Princess customer)."

I never got a response

What’s better as a port - Tenerife or Gran Canaria

 I visited both Tenerife and Gran Canaria ports this voyage and below is my comparison 

Tenerife port is walkable, las palmas is not. You have to take bus 1 or 12 to get to old town in las palmas. It’s 1.4 euros each way and you pay on the bus . Note they give change.

Gran Canaria has a few museums - the cathedral (4euros). Go to the top by elevator in the tower(included)

And Columbus house (4 euros).  Both are worth the entry fee and are really close to each other 

Tenerife doesn’t have museums but the auditorium and palm gardens are close by - 10 to 15 minute walk from the port

You can walk from the ship to the port entrance in Gran Canaria but you need the shuttle in Tenerife. Get off early or it can be hours for the shuttle.

Gran Canaria has a beach -10 minutes walk and Tenerife has a public pool that is huge near the auditorium. It’s only 5 euros.

The market is excellent in Tenerife and horrible in Gran Canaria

Personally I prefer Tenerife as I like to walk, and it’s not a huge city and not as crowded as las palmas.

Hope this helps 

Marcia