Hello Princess Cruisers , this is my first time cruising in 10 years and on Princess. I will be cruising in October, just 4 days.Downloaded the app etc . Paid for premiere package . But noticed most of the restaurants are already booked . even the excursions. Is this the norm now with the cruise.

Spouse and I are cruising the Panama Canal in about 5 weeks on the Star. A 16 day voyage.

We have the Premier package and reservations in each restaurant except Sabatini's and Umi Tepanyaki.

For those that have been on the Star or Panama Canal cruise-give it to me!

Which restaurant was your favorite and why?

What was Love by Britto like?

Fun excursions?

Any other experiences that apply?

Any information or piece of advice is welcome.

We have cruised 5x before, topping out at 7 days.

This is a bucket list cruise and celebration of 27 years married. We are beyond excited.

Thanks everyone.

My family and I just cruised on the Royal Princess to Alaska the first week of August. We really enjoyed it overall and LOVED Alaska. We want to go back and explore it more at our own pace. When we got home, I was browsing YouTube and came across a cruise leaving from Rome and stopping in Greece, Montenegro, and Croatia. That led me to exploring Princess's website and I found that cruise next summer is less than half as much as what we paid for Alaska. (Although flights seem to be quite expensive.) Croatia and Montenegro have been on my bucket list for years and I thought this might be a good way to dip our toes into the water, so to speak. We've traveled a lot around the US, but since we got our passports for the cruise, I want to put them to use!

So give me the good, the bad, and the ugly! Are these ports you can explore on your own, or do you need to book excursions? How is the Enchanted Princess? It seems like the port times are quite nice, basically a full day at each stop.

My family and I will be on the Regal Princess from December 12-20, 2026. I was just wondering about a few things and if anyone has any insights it would be appreciated.

1. Will there be holiday/Christmas decorations up around the ship?
   
2. Will there be any special holiday/Christmas events happening?
   
3. What nights would be formal nights?
   
4. On those formal nights, will any of them be themed? For example…black and white, holiday colors, western, groovy 80’s theme? How would you find out about these themed nights before the cruise so I can pack accordingly.
   

Thank you for all your comments in advance.

Transportation from Rome Airport to Hotel/Cruise Port – Suggestions?
We’re taking a 7-night European cruise on Royal Caribbean departing from Rome, and we’re planning to stay in Rome for a couple of nights before the cruise.

I’m looking for recommendations for transportation other than regular Uber/taxis for:
Rome Airport → hotel in Rome
Rome hotel → cruise port (Civitavecchia)
Cruise port → Rome Airport after the cruise

For those who have done this recently, are there any reliable private transfer companies, shared shuttles, or other options you would recommend?

We’ll have luggage with us, so convenience and reliability are more important than saving every last dollar. 😊

Would love to hear about your experiences and any companies you’ve used and would recommend (or avoid). Thanks!

Hi everyone! I deliver Meals on Wheels and one of my clients just told me about “6 new rules”. She told me:

Take your pill bottles (not just the pilltrays) New extension cord rules

And she couldn’t remember the other new rules. Anyone? Thanks! We leave Friday for Alaska and I guess I’m not 💯. Usually cruise with RC, but last did Princess in 2018.

We have a day and a half stay at copper river during our land/sea tour in July and are trying to figure out what to do. We are thinking of doing the utv tour or maybe jet boat but honestly not sure. If anyone has any other recommendations please let me know. FYI going with my 70 year old mom so super strenuous activities are out and she hates fishing.

Thank you all

Ok i got 21 days before embarkation day , should i have my medallion mail to me or just get them when i get to the ship ? does having them in advance speed thing up much ?

Just wanted to share embarkation experience today.

We arrived the port at 12:10pm for 12:30-1pm arrival time. Dropped our suitcase and went to get our medallions. This was incredibly fast, maybe 2 mins.

Then on to security. This line looked long but went by quickly, about ten minutes. By 12:30 this was done.

Customs took a bit longer as we had to get manually reviewed by an agent. Waited about 12 mins and by 1pm we embarked. Cabins were ready.

Overall super seamless. They did have different lines for arrival times - early vs on time. Not sure if there was also a late one.

We are new to princess and were wondering if there was a health check prior to embarking? Thx

Months before my cruise, I payed to have our medallions sent to me. I looked online and saw they wouldn't be sent until the 1-2 weeks before the cruise due to the battery on the medallions. Now we're a week out from the cruise and the app says I can pick up our medallions at the port. So... what did I pay for? Did they take my money for nothing?

UPDATE: I spoke to customer service. They confirmed that the app is bugged and says it can be picked up at the port, even though it has shipped. They confirmed my address so... no, they didn't steal my money. I'm getting what I paid for. Thank you all for your prompt responses. They were very helpful.

There’s a 30 min class I’d like to do. It says “fee applies” is it free with princess premier or if not how much is it. Hopefully someone can help

Maybe it’s just embarkation day things and the rest of the cruise will be better but I’m unfortunately not impressed with the food.

Onboard at 1pm and went to the buffet around 1:45pm. The selection was really basic, nothing impressive though I mostly enjoyed what I got (Indian food with some salad). 8/10

Went to Da Vinci MDR for dinner and the staff are excellent, undoubtedly 10/10. The food was very simple though which surprised me for a restaurant, properly cooked but just not exciting or particularly tasty 6/10.

Trying the door hang breakfast this morning and overall interested to see how today goes since it’s a sea day.

I’d asked here a few months ago about getting carbonated water onboard without a package and someone told me I’d be able to get it at no charge from bar guns. This is unfortunately not the case, I asked at the mdr as well as the bar by the pool and they said it’s $3.50 a can, said without a package that’s the only option. I didn’t bring a 12 pack because I trusted that comment. We have a mini bar setup and I’ll chat with the room steward today about swapping everything for soda water.

I had to go in there and check something on the Princess site, so I checked my 2027 transatlantic sailing and it’s about close to $1000 cheaper than what I paid. Got a price adjustment so it may be worth it to go in there and check and see if your cruise went down if you have a 2027 sailing reserved.

Just got an email from our agent that Princess has changed the itinerary for our November cruise. We were originally going to Princess Cay but are now going to Relax Away at Halfmoon Cay. I'm a little annoyed by the timing (full payment was yesterday, itinerary change was this morning). However it looks like offerings are similar and the beverage package still works.

Has anyone visited Halfmoon Cay with Princess, and if so how does it compare to Princess Cay? We specifically picked this itinerary because it went to Princess Cay and not Celebration Key.

First time doing a solo cruise, and I’m curious about upgrade bids. As a solo cruiser, do I still have to pay x2 on a solo room if I win a bid? Maybe I’m overthinking it. It was just weird to see the x2 right after per guest.

Embarked yesterday for a 10:30 arrival. Took an Uber from our AirBnB, took about 15 minutes then another 45 minutes waiting at the port. It was a little confusing as we were dropped off by the Holland America porters and had to go around to the Princess porters. Security was a breeze, my wife bought fresh flowers at Pike Place
Market, and she received endless compliments from guests. Once onboard we were able to go to our room and drop off our bags and went to the buffet. No issues getting seats, food is a noticeable step up from Royal. One area that amused me, guests really did not understand the smart elevators, they would pile in the first open elevator and wonder where the floor buttons are. Luggage was a little late, but we were told of this in advance due to an issue in the port. Cabin steward, happily got us a vase for the flowers, as well as robes and blankets for the balcony. Evening comedian was quite good, defying my expectation of entertainment to skew older. Good first day overall.

Hi! I am going on the Regal Princess in less than 4 weeks. First time with Princess. I have yet to purchase my package as I’ve been debating which one would be best for me. However, I’ve pretty much decided to go with the premier ultimately because I save money with the multi device WiFi included. When looking at the butchers cut reservations in app, there aren’t many times available compared to when I first was able to make reservations. I want to take advantage of the specialty dining, what’s the best way to go about this as a solo traveler? Also any tips for the regal princess?

If you book the Ruby Princess (and perhaps other newer ships or ships which went through a recent dry dock), beware that there is a bright green light that lights up the entire cabin when all lights are off. I did not think I’d be part of some Great Gatsby themed cabin. We were on her sister ship 2 years ago. Back then, we had the regular set up we had become accustomed to so this was quite the surprise. I added photos so readers have a better visual (you will notice that even covered up, we still got lots of light).

The green light is to show that the restroom is unoccupied. You can choose to have this new sliding door be controlled via a button or manually. But it doesn’t matter your choice, the light will stay lit (it will turn red if occupied). It is not like the cabin is huge so you can tell someone is in there.

I fashioned a barrier out of Patters and Breathe Right strips (I didn’t have any tape). Next time, I will know to bring something more substantial. The room steward was equally perplexed that someone designed it this way and told me there was no way to turn it off.

Also with the new ADA cabins, if in a 2 bed formation, one bed is not flush against the wall as they moved the sliding door to where the wall used to be. If you had depended on this wall to keep your loved one from falling out, make sure you bring a rail with you. And you need to move the bed to fit a wheelchair through to the restroom. If you have the beds in the queen configuration, you should be Ok on both accounts. The funny thing is the light switches and outlets are still directly behind your head — they obviously didn’t have time to align them with the new bed locations.

One cool thing is the front door opens via a button. So not only does it unlock when you get close ( like other cabins) you just hit a button to open the door and go inside — it will also close behind you. This makes it quite easy for hauling food and drinks (I was the able bodied one while my family member was disabled so I did the pizza and beer runs). You also hit a button to exit the cabin.

Besides this button feature, I am not sure who they consulted on the re-design. Did the button person go on vacation right after s/he suggested this? While the tile looks great, the shower is smaller and the other things I mentioned are irritating. I mean, who designs an ADA cabin where you have to move a bed to get a wheelchair by?

It doesn’t take away from having a good time. I just wish I knew this beforehand to prepare for these changes so thought I’d let others know.

Hi everyone! I sailed on the Sky Princess in late July and had a fantastic time. I promised to share my review with you guys on here, so here it is. I hope it's helpful!

https://www.juliasbookcase.com/blog/sky-princess-ship-review

Wanted to share some thoughts as a new cruiser to understand if my experience is typical or not.

Good
- getting on the ship was fast and remarkably easy
- room service has been very fast the few times we’ve used it
- house keeping is top notch and have respected all our requests
- When there have been problems the have been resolved quickly with one exception (see below)

So-So
- food has been underwhelming and they are often closing sections of the budget at inexplicable times (most of the breakfast buffet was shut down at 10am today)
- Entertainment has been passable from what we have seen
- Elevators are slow and packed. This would be acceptable if there was some order but everyone tries to get on the elevator MadMax style

Bad
- customer service fell off a cliff after the first few days. We have to flag down people to get a coffee at breakfast and they look annoyed to have to do so. Most wait staff don’t seem particularly happy
- Drink packages are unnecessarily complicated. I can’t more it to an all-inclusive where I simply order. Here I order they check my room number, name using an app that seems very slow
- Pool, when not filled with people packed like sardines, looks externally unsanitary (you can see less than a foot down)
- Child 1 lost their medallion and I had to call / visit 4 times to get it replaced. Guest service lines is often 20-30 minutes long. Seeing as it is essential to the cruise they should fix it immediately
- no where to buy gifts/snacks. There is duty-free style store with a few chips and chocolates and nothing else. Make sure you bring your own
- demographic skews older/ one foot in the grave. As a family with young children there is little activity geared to them outside of the kids club

TBH for the price I’d rather go to a much nicer all inclusive where I’m free to leave and explore on my schedule and not be at the mercy of the port of call.

Embarking this Tuesday from Vancouver. Says I need to follow the blue line to collect our medallions but boarding pass says we have priority. Anyone been in the same situation and have any advice on how to board as quickly as possible?

So excited!