More Princess Cruises Tips and Tricks
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- Опубліковано 16 жов 2024
- Hey cruisers, we’re back with Part two of our Princess Cruises Tips and Tricks series. But first, did you know that I write reviews after every cruise? It’s true I do. And I post them on cruiseline.com? I’ve been doing it for years. And now I can happily say, this episode is sponsored by cruiseline.com? where you can find reviews, photos, and tips from real, everyday cruisers. So go check it out. Post your own photos and reviews, and have some fun reading others.
Now on with Princess Cruises Tips and Tricks part two. Oh, be sure to check out the first video if you haven’t seen it yet.
Princess is making some great moves with their technology, and this starts before you even step foot on a ship. Princess has something called the Cruise Personalizer. This is where you’ll plug in your passport information, and agree to your passage contract, but it goes far beyond that! You can research and book shore excursions, plug celebrations like birthdays and anniversaries into it, and even make dining and spa reservations before your cruise.
Once onboard, Princess has another terrific web tool to enhance your cruise experience. It’s called the “Princess at sea” app and it’s a FREE way to access the activities and entertainment schedule onboard. We like to use it to check our stateroom account charges now and then, and to keep track of our port and itinerary info. It also allows you to communicate with your cruise companions onboard using the built in Princess messenger.
Alright, let’s get to the fun stuff. On my last cruise on Star Princess, I tried my first Sea witch craft beer. Princess’s brewmaster partnered with several different breweries to provide a variety of different beers with unique flavors.
Princess Tea time is quite posh. Seriously though, you’ve gotta try it. Generally, teatime is held in one of the main dining rooms on sea days around 3 or 3:30pm, and we totally recommend it. It’s lively, casual and something you have to try at least once.
If time by the pool is more your thing, you should know that many Princess ships offer covered pools onboard. What this means is that on rough, windy sea days, or in colder weather destinations, you can still enjoy the pools and hot tubs without worrying about the elements.
So, how about food? There’s a lot more to Princess’s cuisine than your standard main dining room menus, baked Alaska and buffet fare. Special menus themes and AND dining venues like North to Alaska, Curtis Stone’s SHARE, and regional specialties can be found on all their ships.
Another tip- many people don’t know that tapas-style appetizers are served at the wine bar on many Princess ships when you order a glass or a flight of wine.
Princess offers one of the best Future cruise desks at sea. What does this mean exactly? Well, as a benefit to sailing with Princess, you can reserve your next cruise with them for a reduced deposit and score some onboard credit as well. Really, there’s NO catch here friends. You simply stop by the future cruise desk, fill out a form, and voila! You can even transfer the booking to your travel agent back home AND you don’t even have to choose a date for your cruise until you’re ready.
Princess has been offering some GREAT deals lately on Photo packages. This varies from ship to ship, so be sure to jump online before you cruise to check this out, and check with the photo staff once onboard about available packages.
Princess has a lot more in the works for it’s loyal cruisers in the coming year, including their Ocean Medallion Class cruises, and a beautiful new ship, Majestic Princess which sets sail on her maiden voyage this Spring. As always, we recommend you do your research before your voyage. Be sure to read real reviews of Princess ships at cruiseline.com, and check out other traveler’s photos there as well. When you return from your sailing, you can help other cruisers by posting your own review and photos at www.cruiseline... as well.
Thanks so much for watching. Be sure to leave your Princess tips and tricks below, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter for updates on our cruise travels, and until next time, we’ll see you on the high seas.
Here’s a link to my favorite Alaska pre-cruise book, which comes
with a map to hang on your stateroom wall:
amzn.to/2oZ0A2C
Room Service “Pre Breakfast”
Most mornings we would get up around 6:30 and have a very light breakfast delivered (usually a croissant, some fruit, and coffee/tea) and enjoy that on the balcony as the sun rose. Very nice way to start the day
Just returned from our first cruise ever, on board Regal Princess! Thanks for your tips, they came in super handy. We loved afternoon tea, and my tip would be, if you can afford it, go Club Class which comes with some of the mini suites and full suites and gives you priority dining, embarkation and debarkation. A night in a hotel either end plus all transfers to the airport was a relaxing start and end to the trip. Tracy, I watched so many of your videos before we went and it was so helpful. Back in rainy UK now and planning our next cruise. Alaska here we come!
+Sarah Byfield thanks for sharing! So, you were in club class?
- Sheri
Can't wait! Booked 20-day Regal Princess repositioning cruise, Ft. Lauderdale to St. Petersburg, Russia. Almost wish it wasn't booked yet, because I'm crazy with anticipation!
I know how you feel I've been waiting a year for our Alaska cruise in June!!!sounds so fun.
We love Princess too!!! One more thing: They offer a "Pub Lunch" in the Crown Grill a couple times on sea days. They serve great Fish & Chips, Steak & Kidney Pie, sometimes fried shrimp & AMAZING Bread & Butter Pudding. AND it's free!!! Check the back of Patter daily for this as it's not well advertised. Totally worth catching this.
Thanks for the info!!!!
I am so addicted to all of your videos and info!!! So informative and helpful!
+deidra page thanks so much! We appreciate you watching!
Red and Blue Carpet
When going to your room the first time, look at the carpet when you get in the hall. There is striping that runs the length of the hall. Red on one side and blue on the other. It is very easy to get disoriented on these ships and the carpet color helps you walk down the correct side
Ah, yes! Good ones!
Princess At Sea
Have to remember this is a web page, not an app so your phone will not give you an indicator when things have been updated. The site has a lot of good info, including a digital copy of the patter, and allows you to calendar events, create your own, etc. Patter is uploaded nightly around midnight and it was fun to review that on our phones before sleep and kind of plan the next day. Remember to refresh the web page so you can see your messages. This is a great way to communicate when you get separated and is completely free. Leave your phone on “Airplane Mode” and log into the ship’s wifi. You DO NOT need an internet package to utilize this site.
Thanks John - excellent tips.
The Princess at Sea mobile feature is AWESOME! Like Sheri said, go into Airplane mode to disable "roaming" cell at sea service, then enable WiFi. BAM, you're in. We use it set set reminders for onboard activities, like culinary demo's, etc. It's like having a Pocket Princess Patter (can I copyright that???)
+meinkephoto haha! We will call it the ppp
Great videos. We've only done two cruises ever and both were on Princess. First cruise was on Coral Princess to Alaska and we took advantage of the Future Cruise Sales benefit and booked our next cruise on the Royal Princess last year. Mediterranean cruise Rome to Athens. Loved it! And of course, we did the Future Cruise Sale again and booked the Regal Princess for next year. Scandinavian Cruise roundtrip from Copenhagen. We always splurge for the Mini-Suite too! We would love to try another line, but we are totally hooked on Princess now and love all the "extra touches." Thanks so much for your great channel!
Our pleasure and thank you for the great info!! 😎
WONDERFUL information and style of types for Princess! I am looking at buying my husband a dream Alaskan Cruise for his birthday this Summer. You have helped and I love your Saturday live stream!
we just returned from being on the Ruby Princess I have definitely been working on my pros and cons review. thanks for your amazing reviews on cruiseline.com I absolutely love and rely on cruiseline.com whenever I have questions on ports I've never been to. amazing....
So happy that my 2 favorites....Cruise Tips TV and Cruise Lines.com have made a partnership!!! :0) What a great combo!!! I have been using both of you for my cruise info. and ideas ever sense I got the bug and y'all are both great!!! :0) Thanks so much!!! Great blog!
See you on Saturday (not quite the high seas, but always enjoy the live stream)!
Your videos are so helpful!! We have a 10 Night Southern Caribbean Cruise booked this fall on the Regal Princess for our 20th anniversary and can't wait!! we booked the mini suite :)
+supersuperwendy you will love that mini suite. Happy anniversary!!!
I. Love. Tea.Time! I've never done it on Princess Cruises (I've never even sailed on Princess) but when I went on Carnival Splendour, they had Tea Time from 3:30 - 4:30 on sea days and I'd always go with my friends from Circle C; we were a huge group but we always had an amazing view of the sea in the Golden Pearl Dining Room (I might've gotten that name wrong) and it was always really nice to feel pampered, plus the smoked salmon and macarons were *divine*: we even brought some smoked salmon and green tea back to the lounge for our director!
Extra Power in the Staterooms
We had a mini suite with 2 TVs. Behind each TV was a wooden panel. Move the panel and there is an extra outlet.
Will be on the Emerald Princess on the 30th of March for 28 days, our longest cruise yet, This will be out 25 cruise between Carnival, NCL, Royal Caribbean and Princes, We're Platinum Members too. This 28 days cruise will be awesome, round trip out of Los Angeles, Hawaii , Tahiti, Bora Bora and a couple othere places, getting close....Thanks for the tips and what not, even though i'm familiar with Pricness, always looking for updates too....thank you....
Thanks for the info on the Princess at Sea app. I had just heard about the NCL iConcierge app (which they charge for). Nice to know that no more walkie-talkies needed to stay in touch with your family while on a ship!!
Oh how I wish I were enjoying high tea and scones on a Princess ship right now!!
Shari, thanks so much for all the details. We've sailed all the usual lines Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Norwegian and several times on Celebrity but never Princess. Everything you talk about sounds like a really quality vacation on Princess, maybe just a bit more luxurious than the other lines. I'm totally sold! We had booked an Alaskan Cruisetour with Celebrity with friends in an Aqua spa level cabin for June 2018 but sadly we had to cancel because of repairs we had to do to our house after some storms but we are looking forward to possibly a cruise in 2019 and I'm betting it's going to be a Princess cruise 😁.
That’s awesome! Hope the house repair is going well.
Wonderful video! I LOVE your shirt, Sheri!
We also love princess. We will be going on our 18 th one this April for 15 days and then again in November
The All Inclusive Photo Package
We bought this and we maximized our value. That said, Princess does not seem very knowledgeable about what you get so I thought I would make that clear to everyone. When I called and enquired, here is what I was told and then the reality.
You get one print, any size, of every picture taken of you on the ship with the exception of Black and White ones. Any extra prints are $10.00 per. At end of trip you get a thumb drive with ALL the digital photos.
The reality is close to that. You do not get a print of anything taken in front of a “White Screen” or any Black and White ones. Included are the embarkation photos as well as the ones taken in port when you first leave the ship. Also, you do not get “any size”. For the posed pictures, you get the 8x10. If you want a smaller size, $10.00. The Thumb drive is really cute. Looks like a ship.
Thanks for the tips. Your presentation skills are excellent, a real pleasure to watch.
Thank you. Your kind comments are appreciated.
A trick for the in room refrigerator. Keep the cabinet door open. You'll find out it cools faster.
+Jim Knox good one! Let that heat out!
Princess' "Princess at sea" app is MUCH better than the NCL app. The NcL app can't even remember what activities you have coming up.
thanks for the princess tips. we have booked our first princess cruise on the royal princess this fall. i really like their website, real user friendly. princess looks very elegant, beautiful...i cant wait!
Princess is indeed ALL of those things. LOVE!
Can you pack non alcoholic drinks and snacks in your bag for Ruby princess? looking to save money so I can do things like the spa
crystel caires, yes you can. We usuallly take a case of water and a 12pk or 2 of soda. just stick a luggage tag on them and let the porters take care of getting it to your room.
My family and I are going on our first cruise ever this summer. We are taking an Alaskan cruise on the Emerald Princess. There will be 6 of us (me, wife, 3 kids, and grandpa). My 2 older kids are 23 and 20 so they will find plenty to do. My youngest is 10. Do you have any input as to the children's programming on the Princess lines?
Perfect! These are great tips, I will definitely have to go to tea time!
+Emily Babye it's wonderful!!
I have a question about Internet Packages on Princess. When we cruised at the end of Nov 2017, Internet packages were based on minutes (X minutes for X $). When I shop online for my Dec cruise, it appears now that packages are based on bandwidth (lower cost packages allow you to check email and higher priced ones allow you to stream music, etc). When I called Princess the info they described referenced the previous packages and not what was described on the web page. Do you have any details as to the Internet Packages offers? Thanks in advance.
Sounds interesting, love the Next Cruise option. Princess does have some interesting itineraries, and cruise tour in Alaska. I've watched a few videos and the Atrium and Pool areas look amazing.
We're back from the Pride, both sick, although mine appears to be a 48 hour version. My wife's has turned into bronchitis. Over half our FB group seems to be sick with something, a few with norovirus. Of course it's a cruise in the winter, it happens. I am not happy with selfish/restless/asshole nature of some of the passengers as the cruise neared it's end, which crossed over in the germ sharing department. Allegedly the buffet got quite sneezy, shovy, and arrogantly cutty the final day, but I started avoiding the Lido deck entirely.
Sanitation on the Pride: The water in the staterooms was yellow and smelled slightly funny. Many of us guys got accused of not flushing, initially. Your Time Dining dishes remained on the tables until someone used them, only dirty dishes were removed after seatings. I wonder if having white wine could produce a clean looking glass? Oh and early in the cruise, I ate one bite of a sandwich in the Deli, and my stomach was turning for an hour. My wife who hate half her sandwich, spent 2-3 hours puking.
I just found out that there was a case of noro early on in the cruise, and that individual was isolated to their cabin (fun points!). No one was told of this, or ever encouraged to wash hands / use hand sanitizer, at any point in the cruise. Often times a sanitizer was not clearly visible from the main entrance, a few times I had to make circles to find one that was stocked. I would be shocked if any more than 10% were using them. Quite a difference from my last cruise on Celebrity, where they have a bubbly person using a bota bag, and enforcing it ("Washy Washy!")
The good news from the seasoned Journey cruisers: there are normally 3-4 ambulances waiting on disembarkation, and we should be thankful that most of us only came down with colds. While the norm sounds like something to look forward to, I'm going to pass on future Journey cruises with Carnival.
Go to 7
You cannot walk the length of deck 6. If you want to go from one end to the other, suggest you go to 7, walk on either the inside or outside to the other end, and then go down one floor to 6. This is really handy when you want to go to Botticelli’s for tea.
Good tips, thank you!
is there is particular section of the ship that's best for someone easily sea sick?
Do you have any videos on Princes full suite services?
Is the drink package worth it ?
do you guys ever cruise out of Florida?
I'm going on the Coral Princess in 10 days! Have you been on that ship? What is it like? I am 17 and I am interested in what's available for teens to do on the ship.
I haven't been on Coral, but you will love Alaksa. You may find on a 10 night cruise that there are not as many younger people for you to hang with, but it depends on the time of year. You will love the teen club, ping pong by the pool deck, and doing fun stuff in the ports. Take some music and headphones, a good book and plan to take a TON of photos to make your friends back home jealous. The pools on Princess are heated and awesome. Enjoy them, and the hot tubs.
Do you know if you need a passport for closed loop cruises on princess? We want to go to alaska, have been to mexico before with out problem. I have a bit of a complication with my 13 year old so I wouldn't be able to get her a passport with out a lawyer and a man hunt
I’m not sure but I’ll suggest checking with the cruise line directly :-(
Is the afternoon tea included in your fare?
+Merewyn Janson it sure is!
CruiseTipsTV fantastic! Love high tea.... 😍
Hello Sheri! I have a question
Which package would be better?
Drink Package or Specialty Dining?
(Norwegian)
+The Gaming Techs you'll get more bang for your buck with the drink package if both people in your room drink. If not, the dining package is awesome!!
CruiseTipsTV So for a kids this would not be a good package? Or if you have a family of four (2 adults, 2 children) would this be a good package?
+The Gaming Techs with kids i would choose dining and something else like free gratuities, shore ex or internet
Great video "Seriously" 3:31
Can you bring water and liquor onboard?
Is WiFi free ?
Yes for Princess app only.
.Hi I'm cruising on the Emerald princess of C at all the 1st week of August. I have the unlimited soft drink package. do I just ordered drinks at any bar. Or do I have to use of certain cup they give to you. Do they still give out the travel cup ?.. Thanks if anybody could help and if anyone else is on the Emerald princess on the scene crews please give me suggestions comments or anything please
+mm11234 you can order them at any bar. I don't believe they serve canned coke, but rather bar/gun soda, so be prepared for that. They will give you a complimentary cup but you don't have to use it.
love your info
+GeeDub Walker thank you!
Hey Sheri - would you say Princess is your favorite cruise line? I know you've posted some great things about Carnival too... just wondering what your favorite line is?
+Sparkly Ocean we have spent the most time on princess and have earned platinum loyalty. That really makes the experience awesome for us, but we also love carnival, and several other cruise lines as well. For us they're all very different and we sail with each for different reasons. Carnival is really fun and lively, Norwegians freestyle Dining is our favorite, and we also enjoy royal Caribbean and HAL.
The coffee punch card is no more honored- the medallion replaced it
Did you ever cruise on royal Caribbean
+Shawn Mackay we have and plan to do an episode soon :-)
CruiseTipsTV Hi!! New subscriber here! Love your channel and all the info!! I had a question about excursions..Have you ever booked an excursion at the port and not ahead of time..would you recommend that? Going on the Carnival Miracle in June!! 🤗 Thanks for the help in advance! 😃
Beware the Princess Coffee Card. Princess killed the Coffee Card as a physical card. Now the credit is imbedded on your room card. You pay for 15 specialty coffees at one fee, but any unused coffees DISAPPEAR at the end of the cruise. Yep....They CANCEL your unused purchases. YIKES !!
I was in prencess cruise as room service STEWARD