Sunday, April 2, 2023

Pre-cruise advice for Princes Cruises

 I just booked my third Princess Cruise in 2 years.  Why- they are going to the places I want to go, for as long as I want at relatively (the key word is relatively) decent prices.  I like cruises to be 14 to 20 days as this way I am relaxed when I get off.  

I was given the advice from a fellow solo traveler that you can get a back to back Alaskan cruise at very low prices.  They were definitely right.  The 14 day cruise on the Sapphire is costing about $650 per week for an obstructed ocean view guaranteed.  They no longer offer cabin selection for obstructed ocean view.  I really like to pick my own to get the best view but at this price I am taking the risk.

Below is some pre-cruise advice for Princess and some mitigation suggestions

1. If you pre-book the internet which I did as its half off for Platinum members book it at time of booking via your travel agent.  The only issue I am having which is the same each time is that the purchase shows up on the website when you log in but not the app.  Call to get that corrected as otherwise you have to line up at guest services when you get on board to correct it and then go to the ocean ready area for a setup. So annoying. 

2.  Pre-book your shore excursions early as the good ones always seem to sell out early.

3. Use a travel agent to do your booking - as the few times I booked thru Princess directly I did not get as good of a deal and the agent will help you with pre-cruise issues.

4.  I have booked the ezair option twice now when the price was better than booking direct and they guaranteed flexibilty and getting you there same day  However they will only pre-ticket before final payment when you pay in full and then the ticket is no longer flexible.  Its annoying when you like to pre-select your seats.  And if you are Canadian - Air Canada will charge in US dollars for the seat selection (it works out to about the same price Canadian). 

I hope this helps 

Marcia


MSC cruises - pre cruise advice and some updates once on board

 I am trying MSC again in June, even though it took them 14 months to return my money after cancelling my cruise due to the COVID pandemic.  I tried to book any other cruise line for a cruise to Iceland but they were all about 40% more, so I am going to risk it on the MSC Virtuosa.  Below are some things I learned in the pre-booking process and advice to mitigate any potential issues

1.  Read the reviews on Cruise Critic, Cruiseline and in particular as this cruise leaves out of Southhampton - you need to read the TripAdvisor UK reviews as they are many more reviews on this site.  Note the reviews are mixed with more leaning to the negative side.  The primary dislikes appear to be food (it’s like that for most cruises so I tend to disregard them as food is to personal taste), lack of public INDOOR spaces for seating and relaxing. It appears there is lots of outdoor seating but in northern climates this does little good.  Universally all reviews say guest relations is a nightmare to deal with.  On the positive side the cabins get very positive reviews with a few complaints on the size.  The reviews also say the staff (excluding guest relations and shore excursions) are great and very service oriented)

Take the negative reviews as potential problems areas so far other than the line ups  for internet help, getting dining time set and booking the carousel shows, no problems.

2. Don't expect a lot of shore excursions to be available.  In some of the ports I am going to there are no shore excursions offered, and for the few that are they are much more expensive than if you booked a local tour.  My suggestion is you create your itinerary and find local tours or explore on your own using public transport.  That is what I am doing in every port.  I found that in Reykjavik you can take the local bus to downtown and the harbor or walk. Its a similar situation in all of the other ports.  

3. MSC doesn't advise pre-cruise,  if transfers to downtown areas will be available in the ports. However reviews show that they appear to be but at a much higher cost than local transport.  Again do your research and importantly print out instructions, prices using rome2rio, or google maps.  Get printouts of the local bus routes by going to the local transport sites.  Note almost all buses require exact change for tickets.  Pre-purchase some local currency in small amounts to cover these expenses.  I always purchase a minimum of $50 per port in local currency,

4. I pre-booked a guaranteed ocean view cabin and while they say the cabin number usually will be provided 2 weeks before the cruise, they assigned my cabin within a few days of booking.  It’s an unobstructed ocean view which would have cost me about $200 more if I picked my own cabin.  Its risky to book a guaranteed cabin but in this case it appears to be ok except its beside an elevator.  Reviews rave about how quiet the elevators are but I will just have to see.  It’s people talking while waiting for elevators that can be an issue.  Remember to bring ear plugs.

the cabin is clean, small and you can not hear the elevator.  

5. MSC does not offer transfers from UK airports to the cruise port. In this case I am using National Express direct buses from Heathrow to Southhampton. Its about 15 pounds if you pre-book each way. Its only a 10 minute walk to the cruise terminal from the bus terminal.  I am going in the day before as the UK has so many people on strike. 

6. MSC will not confirm your dinner dining room time pre-cruise. This is for all categories but if you are the Bella option (the only one offered to Solos- clearly they don't want our extra money ) you may not get your desired early dinner time regardless if you booked really early as I did. 

Went day one to sign up for the time and restaurant. About a 15 minute wait.

7. You will get almost no pre-cruise emails from MSC - they don't try to sell you anything. They only sent me one cabin upgrade promotion but the prices are double for singles so never a good deal. 

8. MSC will offer you two types of internet - a basic for reading emails (but universally all that purchased it say it doesn't work well) and the streaming and download version for double the price, which I purchased at $224 for two weeks. It is a luxury that I will not do without. 

9. The MSC for me app seems ok but the true test will be when I am on board.  At this point I can not pre-book shows etc, but perhaps on board?

Easy to do once on board.

I hope this helps

Marcia 




Tuesday, December 13, 2022

Wonderful Antigua Guatemala tips

 I took the shore excursion to Antigua Guatemala. It takes 90 minutes from the port to the city. A nice comfortable drive, as it’s a new highway. You will pass 2 volcanoes. 

Antigua is an on your own tour. You can hire a guide for $15 pp. but you don’t need one. It’s easy to walk, lots of shopping, restaurants etc.  With Mayan women don’t touch their goods or they will follow you til you buy.  If you want to buy start at half price.

It’s a pretty town with the volcano in the background, with cobble stone streets, low rise buildings. Lots to take pictures of including the people. 

Tips

US dollars are fine for shopping but not restaurants - you need Guatemala money

Make sure you trace your steps back to the meeting place as all streets look the same  - use landmarks and street names

Protect your wallet/ purse

Bring a sweater as the elevation is 5000 feet

Take lots of pictures 

Have fun bartering 

Hope this helps

Marcia




Friday, December 9, 2022

Costa Rica or Panama?

 Just visited both Costa Rica and Panama.  I preferred Panama.  Costa Rica has become quite commercial and more expensive than Panama.  You can do many of the adventures for a lower cost.  In Costa Rica I did the coffee plantation and Sarchi,  neither was fabulous and the 5 hour tour was 9 hours due to the highway being closed.  I thought the oxcart factory in Sarchi was very good and lots of handicrafts to purchase.

I did old town and modern city tour in Panama City.  The skyline is beautiful in Panama. The old town has a beautiful church- San Phillip.  You can bargain for everything.  I got good prices for everything -shawl meuli(?) purse etc.

Tips 

No tours are needed in Panama City . Take a cab to old town or the free shuttle for the mall.

You need a tour in Costa Rica. They are expensive.

Hope this helps.

Marcia 

Saturday, December 3, 2022

Diamond Princess back in service - my review

 Diamond Princess is back in service. My 20 day cruise has only about 1100 passengers and the same amount of crew.  Here’s the good and not so good

Cabins

Smaller than most other Princess older ships

Very comfortable beds

Lights near the bed and washroom come on automatically 

As always the cabin steward is excellent 

Love that they added the extra charging usbs by the bed to the light stand

Food

The food is ok in the buffet but repetitive 

There is no international cafe. 

The pacific moon restaurant has the best ambiance 

Dinner food is usually quite good but so many shrimp dishes

The omelettes are very good

Ship layout 

Same as the other ships , with lots of self laundries 

Love the deck on 7 - kept nice and wider than the other

They have closed the front of the ship on 14 - not good when coming into port


Staff

Friendly 

Some responsive and some useless 

Like the cruise director and most of her team -A good experience with them

Many in training  on ship


Princess will no longer give you back the port fees when they cancel a port

Ship has toilet and air conditioning issues at back of ship and cabins starting with a 3 so beware regardless of floor

No pools are heated so we’re unusable even though it was really hot

Passengers really old - avg. age over 70

Entertainment in theatre really bad

Movies in room good with lots of selection 

Overall a blah kind of ship with nothing memorable 

Hope this helps 

Marcia








Hope this helps

Marcia


Expensive cruise port of Huatulco

 It was my first time in Huatulco and the port expert said it was about 1 mile to Crucecita the town from port walking. Warning it is 2.3 miles and hilly each waywithout shade.  The church is definitely worth a visit. The shops and markets are just ok.

But this port is very expensive for a Mexico port.  They don’t barter even in the market. It’s the same stuff of ceramics, t shirts etc. but double the price of Manzanilla.

The beach by the ship looked dirty so go elsewhere by water taxi or taxi.  The rates are posted to the more popular beaches. 

I found the number of pickups with security men with machine guns disconcerting.

Overall not a port I would visit again.

Hope this helps

Marcia

Thursday, December 1, 2022

Is Manzanilla cruise port worth a visit?

 Manzanilla is not worth being a destination on its own, but it’s ok as one of many ports on your Mexican cruise.  There was a recent earthquake so there is a damaged Malecon, and many buildings.  Below is what is good about this port:

1. Easy walk off the ship and a five minute walk to the old town and the Sailfish sculpture.

2. Shopping while not plentiful is cheap for T-shirts, hats. But not many ceramics

3. Locals are friendly

4.  Wall art is really interesting- photo worthy

5. Fisherman are fun to watch bringing and selling fish

Not sogood 

beaches are far away

You can walk the old town in an hour

Malecon is under construction 

Overall an ok port for one visit

Hope this helps

Marcia

Beware - RCL USD to CDN$ exchange is bad and you can not book flights in USD on a CDN$ booking

 I just booked my flights for an upcoming cruise on Harmony of the Seas transatlantic.  After checking several websites (airlines, Expedia, ...