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I gave the room attendant 200.00 on first day and asked for extra towels. Came back to the room after lunch and it looked like I was in the towel section of bed bath & beyond there were so many towels!!!
Excellent recommendations for embarkation day. One thing I do is to watch a number of full ship reviews by various cruise vloggers in the month or so before cruising so I will have a very good idea of where everything is in board, comes in real handy on ships that have elevators that don't necessarily go where you think they might go.
Sounds great! Where/how do I find these cruise vloggers? We're about to take our first cruise in 2 weeks. Princess. We're sailors so normally sail our own boat!
I enjoyed your video but you really didn’t address how to SAVE money whilst on a Princess cruise. I’ll be taking my third princess cruise very soon to Norway. On this one I booked soon after Covid so they were giving away everything! and so I’m getting free Wi-Fi, free steward tipping and a free beverage package ($12 and under incl alcohol) So I’m pretty happy about that. Travelers just be aware that the spa will try to upsell you to expensive creams and they show you your wrinkles etc. etc. I didn’t really appreciate that on my first crew Princess cruise where I got a massage only. Also because I’m going to Norway this time where the temps will be between 51 and 68 only I doubt I’ll be tempted to use the sanctuary which is terrific and you feel like you’re some sort of millionaire sitting there being waited on. It’s very quiet also! I also think one of the pools on the sky princess is heated I think it’s the adult retreat pool and luckily it’s going to be just a stones throw from my cabin, which does have a balcony but an obstructed view, but honestly if I paid extra for every little advantage I wouldn’t be able to go on this cruise at all. At this point I’m looking at $5200 folks. My husband was going til recently but has long Covid so... Keep in mind things like yoga are extra so just stick to the main gym if you wanna save some money. I did my own yoga on a borrowed mat on the upper deck and it was sensational.
We always cruise with Princess. Can’t wait to go on a cruise in Fall, since the last we cruised was in Panama Canal in 2019. Our planned cruise were cancelled twice during pandemic…
Speaking of the medallion - I forgot mine in the room one time, and didn't want to go back and get it. We didn't think anything about it until we met our room steward who was waiting outside of our room at 8pm, waiting for me to leave the room so he could do turn down service. Oops! They know if you are in the room, by the signal your medallion sends out.
When you do excursions or get off the ship, do you have to wait until a certain time to get back on or can you get on and off as much as you want? I’ve never been, but I’m always curious how that works. I get bored pretty easily and if I don’t see stuff I want to explore I’d rather just get back on. 😅
Get off and on the ship whenever you wish while in port once the ship is cleared by local authorities. Medallion will be scanned when you leave and again when you return along with a security/bag check.
We embark Saturday for our first Princess cruise, glad to hear about the Ocean Medallion orientation (thanks!) as this is a new thing for us. I've found the app to be difficult at times so far compared to the RCL version we used a couple months ago. Hopefully they will get us on the right path.
Really enjoy your videos… you get to the point instead of gimmicks and nonsense-chatter that is everywhere. Thumbs up Just a quick note… the link to the power bar is a surge-protected power bar that is not permissible on board ships because they are fire hazards. (I’m buying a power bar as I’m headed on the Crown Princess and it has only 2 plug outlets - I think you showed me that! Thanks! )
When I pack, I put shirts, under garments, socks and other wearable items in zip organizer packs that I purchased on Amazon but are sold on any travel or luggage website. I put my dress clothes on hangers in a garment bag, bathroom items in my bathroom kit, I can unpack in five minutes or less.
We just booked a 20 days Caribbean cruise for November and December ! I’m excited that’s why I am now preparing for it. Thank you for making this video it will help us out a lot !
Your videos are EXCELLENT! One question. You say NOT to arrive more than 30 minutes before your scheduled check-in time. What happens if you arrive AFTER your scheduled check-in time?
Our first Princess cruise is in 2 months. I've downloaded the app, uploaded the info, got the green line confirmation and ordered the medallions. I will be looking for all the Princess info I can gather. Thanks.
TY - great tips! Quick ? Do you need WiFi to use the Ocean Now good or drink delivery on the ship? I REALLY don't want to have my phone, work, etc bothering me so was NOT going to purchase the WiFi.
We like to have ice in our room. We have tipped our cabin steward at the beginning with the expectation that the small ice chest we bring stays full of ice. We haven't been disappointed on any cruise by our cabin stewards.
Welcome Drink:. I have sailed with Celebrity 10+ years. At boarding area they have always greeted guests with a tray of mimosas, champagne or juice. Cabin Attendant:. They have several cabins to tend so upon greeting I give a paper list of what I would like ( ice, remove items from fridge, etc.) Cabin Attendant:. They work so hard to make our trip memorable so I, too, always give an additional tip at end of each cruise (I usually do back-to-back(s) so at the end of each trip. Same if I have same Dining Room servers. I am hopeful and anxious for my booked Celebrity to Asia; Japan is still on a CDC #4 category. Thank you for your videos 🛳️.
I’ve never sailed with Princess before but will be in April 2023. I automatically get Elite status on board so is there a place to exchange my blue medallion for a black one before checking in since we get priority embarkation?
We sailed at Christmas. I took dollar tree stockings and gave them filled with candy and money to all crew we had relationships with. They were so appreciative. They were homesick and I think it helped.
Two questions 1. How much is a good pre trip tip you gave your attended? 2. If you have a drink package, is it working or available the moment we board the ship? Thanks, love your info and tips
Medallion contact number in the app for Australia has engaged tone. Cruise cancelled on Coral Princess 22/08/22 DineMy Way reservations don’t work. You enter the details and confirm and it doesn’t register. Some ports still shown as QDN! Princess selling cruise with new itinerary. Previous contract terms acknowledgement not recognised. I had to do this again. Previous payment for my wife not recognised and cannot change within the app. Once all 4 back to back cruises were there in the app. This no longer so. The medallion pre cruise is a massive FAIL.
I do not drink alcohol, but I head straight to Alfredo's when I am on Royal class ships. I am usually at Alfredos every day. The food is fabulous and the location is perfect. Unpack is the greatest. Be at home for a week or ever how long your trip is. I will be on Ruby 31 days from late Dec 22 to late Jan 23. Just relaxing the Princess way. No Alfredos on Ruby but slice and salty dog will take care of me just fine.
One thing we always do on Embarkation Day is visit the spa to enter their free draws and to register for the thermal spa package (if the ship has the package). If it does it is usually half price. The package gives you entry to the spas hot tub, steam room, thermal spa beds, lounge area.
Awesome video Ilana! I normally like to get a delicious drink/ margarita as soon as I get to the lido deck. 🍸 🧉 🍹 And, I use to nap during sail away.... but you are right....that was a big mistake.😏
Just came back from the 3-27 Discovery. We disappointed.. boring cruise. Food is bad, cutting to the bone. Dancing will be in the Hallway only. Disco is OK but really bad music. Cannot find music at all. Guest performance is also bad. Booking for dinner is a pain every night even though it is only 60% full. As Elite, you have nothing to do or watch at all. No more free internet. The app does not work. My Balcony room has been reduced by 2 ft in length and 3 feet in width. Only 1 chair with no where to seat, no sofa any more. Crew are not trained yet and running around like chicken without heads. NO RECOMMENDED.
Getting ready to take our first Princess Cruise on the 27th. Thanks for all this great info! Ive watched your must have videos and have purchased many of your suggested items and used them all on our Mexican Rivera Carnival Cruise this past December. Now getting ready for our back-to-back and first Caribbean Cruise on the Caribbean Princess. I appreciate all you share. Thanks and God Bless ♥️♥️♥️🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
There’s just nothing better than a B2B, right? Thanks so much for watching and for your kind comments. So glad my videos and suggestions have been helpful
One thing that is nice about the new Medallions is you can also make your dining reservations before you even board the ship. Using the app you can make all your dinner reservations for the entire trip. So if like my wife and I like to go to the show at 1930 (7:30pm) so I have all our reservations set for 1700 (5 pm). Now you can do this on embarkation day but if you wait you may not get the time you want. Through the app or even online you can set it up. I set our 30 days before our cruise on the Discovery Princess. Our last cruise we went down for dining and there was a line of people that didn't know you could do this ahead of time and we got in the reservation line and were sat right away while the other line had to wait tell reservations were sat and see what was available.
Leaving Saturday on my first princess cruise. This video was a great reminder. I am very confused about tipping. I usually sail in the haven on NCL and bring quite a bit for tips for the butler concierge and csbin steward. Another princess video suggested bringing small bills for tips for all room service 1-2 per drink maybe 5 per meal. I want to be sure I have enough with me. We are in a suite snd I did get 50 1's and 50 5's do I need more?
Me and my wife booked our first cruise for March 4th for a 14 day East and West Caribbean on the Princess Sky. And are trying to figure everything out. These videos are amazing and thank you for all the tips. We normally just fly to Hawaii each year but we want to start seeing other countries and eventually the world. I think cruises might be the way to go to open our horizons.
I just returned from the same cruise with Princess out of Ft. Lauderdale. Embarkation was a nightmare. No distinction in boarding classifications, no boarding times, etc. one, long, chaotic line to get in. At least a one hour wait to even get in the door, then another hour to get through their boarding process. The Medallion Net does not work in port. Period. Very, very disappointing boarding experience.
If the weather is warm, go up on deck and have a "Dirty Banana" and take a look from the rail of the cruise port. Do all the muster stuff, Make reservations for the Sanctuary, any specialty restaurants, or the spa. Then have a pizza at Alfredo's. The extra gratuity is touchy. What if they think it isn't enough? Hard to decide.
Unfortunately the very buggy Medallion App makes many of the must-dos so difficult and, with hour plus waits to talk to customer service, few to no alternatives to solve problems. It's so bad I don't want to take Princess cruises any more.
I am a travel agent who recently completed my courses with Princess and will be going on a Graduation Course cruise. It will be my first cruise as well.
Do they still require vaccination cards? We are on a smaller older Princess ship: Island Princess. We have heard many people complain about the smell in the restrooms. Any suggestions?
Re drinks: I don't drink much at home but on a cruise ship I drink a lot, partially because I try to take advantage of the beverage package which I always get, and partially because I like to just taste a lot of different drinks I would never ever drink at home. So one of the first things I do when boarding is grab a drink, and it's usually champagne because it feels celebratory.
Hi Alana, great video! What is a good rule of thumb for tipping your steward/stewardess? I have heard 10% of the cost of your cruise. Is this too much or not enough in your opinion? I'm not sure why, but no one will ever give a number!
Same question, esp comparing the ore-paid gratuities v paying yourself. I’d honestly prefer to choose (and imagine I would pay more) but they don’t happen to mention what that would be. It’s very confusing!
The first thing we do is drop off our carry on luggage in our rooms, change into swim suits and head straight for the pool ! Grab a beer and relax ! Can't wait to cruise again !
Sorry if this sound silly but I did my stuff on my Cell phone; All new to me, and I guess I got it all as it says I'm Green lined....but where do I find the area where I can print out our Boarding Pass!
My wife and I never cruised before and are considering it this year for our vacation. We were watching this video and you said put you phone on airplane mode, but never said why. I think for our first cruise it should be a smaller and older cruise ship. Because if we like it, and are thinking about doing it again next year we could pay an extra 100 for a newer cruise and be blown away. What I'm saying is we love the love boat television show, so if we got on a 30 year plus cruise ship like the margaritaville at sea for 3 days and 2 nights to the Bahamas that would be awesome. And next year do a week on a more modern cruise ship for a week. Typically we do one mini vacation at Daytona Beach, a weekend, then later we will do a hole week at Daytona Beach.
If you are Elite in Princess for the first time, you will note that the mini-fridge has been stocked. Know that you can ask for items to be swapped. Maybe swap the whiskey for vodka or wine .. or swap all the alcohol for non-alcohol. Ask the stweard or leave them a note.
It’s been a while since we sailed from Florida (we are UK based) and I was told on Edge when at Florida port the drinks packages pays for your drinks but you still need to pay tax until it’s in international waters.
Interesting. I’ve heard this on NCL, but hadn’t on celebrity. If so it will only be 1$ or so per drink. This was the case on NCL out of NYC for me a few years ago
Like most things Princess, the luggage tags are buried not in the app, but on the Princess website. You have to login, then “booked guests, manage this booking, oh fuck, I can’t find it anymore. STUPID! Oh, there it is, in TINY PRINT at the top of the webpage, it says Luggage Tag & Travel Summary…
Excellent advice particularly for novice cruisers. We depart the UK for the Canary islands in seven days and had decided to check out Alfredo's for lunch on this occasion hoping it will be open against going to the buffet which can be busy.
The app crashed my phone. l went on a cruise to get away from my phone. I needed some water and was refused without my phone. You cannot have fun with the damn stupid phone pestering me all day. Phones were floating in the pool all over the place.
Another interesting informative video. I am so pleased when I get a notification of a new one. I love the idea of picking an embarkation time. I would pick the earliest too. 😀😀
Can you bring a steamer in your checked bag? Do you have to have the princess app downloaded on all of your devices? Thanks for your help! Your videos are very informative and our party of 5 will be cruising for the 1st time in July on the Majestic Princess! Yay!
Two things I've never seen you recommend for taking on a cruise is a night light and a digital scale to weigh your luggage. The night light is very handy in the bathroom for those really dark cabins at night and the scale takes away worry whether your suitcase will be a couple pounds overweight when you get to the airport.
Love the video. We have only cruised once and it was on princess and embarkation day was not fun. We got on board, didn't know to eat right away. We couldn't find a spot to sit. Post day 1 we had a blast. We're on the Enchanted Feb 17th for 10 days and so excited. But we learnt so much on day 1. And we enjoyed that free beverage as well.
My wife and I booked a honeymoon for November in the Caribbean on the Caribbean Princess! These videos are so helpful!! We can’t wait for our get away.
Princess Cruise #25 is booked for October. We wanted to check out the Discovery Princess and booked a cruise for that reason. The itinerary didn’t matter to us, we have been everywhere. Most likely we will just hang out on the ship or our balcony when in port. As far as gratuities, I always pre-pay or get a package that includes gratuities, but if our cabin steward has some time off while in port, I usually slip him or her a twenty dollar bill to help defray phone calls or cover a few incidentals. I have no expectations because if that. I also give a little more at the end of the cruise.
Thank you, very informative video, this our 4th Princess cruise, going on the Sky, but the first one with medallion, I pack with hangers because we are local, very easy for us to unpack.. there is always new things to learn, thank you again!
Agree with you totally about Alfredo's. Love it there. Since we have next to nothing for breakfast on embarkation day, if we're on a Royal class ship, that's our first order of business for pizza and beer or a cocktail. We are not spa, enclave, or sanctuary types, so b-line to Alfredo's it is! 👍👍👍😋
How does the Medallion device work for cruisers who are not tech savvy or don't have a cell phone? Do you need your phone with you at all times on the cruise to use the device? We normally place our phones in the safe and only take them on shore excursions. Thanks.
That’s a good question. You don’t need your phones, as the medallion works without your device. There are portals around the ship and your stateroom tv can be used to access other features
We have always tipped extra to cabin staff. And in the days of set dining at one table, we would also tip the waiters as well. We have always had such wonderful service on Celebrity, Princess and NCL and love to give the staff some extra.
Thanks for sharing! We’ve also had some amazing waiters that have made the dining experience so special. When we can have the same servers we also appreciate that
@@LifeWellCruised I do send Amazon packages to our crew members after the cruise, that way I know what type of snacks they like and personal hygiene items. Specially now where at many ports the crew is not permitted to go ashore. It works well. Of course it only works for US ports. the front office will have all the information for the port authorities mailing addresses.
Hi Ilana, most of your tips, other than being cruise line specific, hold across the board for other lines as well. The one extra thing I did on embarkation day while walking around the MDR on the Millennium, was to find the exact table number we wanted to sit at for dinner for the entire cruise. That gave us the perfect spot to relax for dinner. Hi from Bob and Jill ( who loves the colors and design of your blouse) in Connecticut.
@@dianeallen7313 Hi Diane, the Cafe in the Solarium was hardly open. And we were in the pool there everyday. But yes the buffet is open when you embark. It was a great ship and we lucked out having an aft corner Family Oceanview Veranda 8166 for just us two. Hi from Bob and Jill in Connecticut
Thank you for your helpful video- A few questions please:1) How do you know when the cabins are ready so that you can then go to them? 2) Where do you sign up at for Chef’s table? 3) Do they post somewhere or where do you find the information about what main items that will be offered in the main dinning room for each night of the cruise? I am asking this because I will want this information before making reservations of which nights I will eating in the main dinning room and which nights I will eat in a specialty restaurant. Thank you
Good questions. I think they announce on the intercom when cabins were ready. It was definitely by about 1. I’m not sure of sign up for chefs table - I think it would be on the medallion app or on the tv or portals now, but it may be in person at guest services? Perhaps someone else knows the answer to this one We asked at MDR about menus and we’re only able to see the next nights menu from maître d. I never saw a menu for all nights. We took a chance on this
We just made reservations for a specific time every night. We then looked at menu daily and decided whether or not we wanted to actually eat there. Honestly we ended up in buffet most nights.
Hi, we have been at the Chef's table multiple times, and you must sprint to the nearest phone and call the dining line the minute you board.. Don't wait till you get to your cabin. On a 7 day cruise, there are usually two Chefs' dinners. Good luck, it's a lot of fun! They have eliminated the galley/kitchen walk-through because of covid, hopefully, they will bring it back. Oh and yes........ Cocktails are a must ASAP cheers!!!
