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However, before you decide to skip the shopping talk altogether, the shopping guides are a wealth of information. They’ll often tell you the best way to get around the ports, and other information about what’s going on when you’ll be visiting. Just take their advice about the “approved” shops with a grain of salt. Your shopping host will encourage you to visit these specific shops, will give out coupons, and will sometimes even be in a shop (usually a high-end jewelry store) when you visit ports.
Although Princess cruises gratuities are automatically added to your daily invoice, they can be altered
This way, those who tend to book longer sailings aren’t penalized. Getting a bottle or a glass of wine instead, depending on your package, is one of the Princess cruise tips and tricks that will save you money. For a big meal, there is the main dining room (dress code of no shorts or tank tops at dinner), a buffet, and specialty restaurants (extra fee). Each of these will feature full meals and scrumptious desserts. We realized that this list of Princess cruise tips and tricks needed to be written when, after two consecutive weeks onboard the Island Princess, we were still discovering new things.
Consider a non-Princess shore excursion
Also, the specialty restaurants can be busier on formal nights, because they don’t have a formal dress code. If lots of people on a cruise are avoiding dressing up, the specialty restaurant reservations can fill up fast. Princess is one of the only cruise lines who allow passengers to bring water and soda onboard during embarkation. This is one of the best Princess Cruise tips that’s helpful to know before embarking.
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This new program isn’t entirely transferable like the paper cards were, but they do allow some flexibility. The specialty coffees can be given to another passenger, but the brewed coffee and tea may only be consumed by the person who has the package on their account. On sea days, you may find yourself lounging at the pool or doing other outdoor activities. Therefore, we recommend bringing plenty of sunscreen, a sun hat, and a lightweight cover-up that can serve as sun protection if needed. You don’t need to bring a beach towel, as they are available at the pools and can be taken ashore at ports.
Learn something about the cruise ports
They're people looking to explore the world in a comfortable, classy sort of way that also is relatively affordable. Princess offers a lot of globe-circling itineraries of the sort often offered by high-end luxury lines. For each night of your sailing, you’ll earn Captain’s Circle points.
There aren’t any soda fountains on the beach, and the canned soft drinks aren’t covered in any beverage packages. Another change to the program is that the amount of specialty coffees you can order is based on the length of your cruise. If you enjoy a glass or two of wine with dinner and you have opted for Princess Saver, you will save money if you order a bottle rather than a glass.
Entertainment and activities
If you have several electronics, bring along a power bar to charge multiple devices at once. On our Regal Princess cruise, we had two phones, two iPads, two laptops, and two cameras – all of which would be drained after a day. It’s never fun waiting to get a sufficient charge when you could be off exploring. Seasoned Princess cruise goers don’t feel obligated to follow the menu. If you want a selection of appetizers instead of a main – go for it. If you can’t decide between two entrees (and are hungry enough) – order both.
things I liked better about Princess Cruises than Royal Caribbean
In addition to such venues, Princess offers a lot of enrichment activities on its ships. The line has partnered with Discovery to offer a Discovery at Sea program on vessels that includes activities like stargazing with a specialist from a top deck. The program also brings destination specialists and naturalists on board in places such as Alaska to offer insights. Princess ships also offer a Chef's Table experience — a concept the line pioneered in the cruise world. Those sailing on a Princess cruise longer than 14 days will receive $250. Shorter sailings between 7 and 13 days will receive $100 onboard credit.
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Of course we sampled each other’s dishes, and they were both amazing. Princess is owned by the Carnival Corporation, so Carnival shareholders are eligible for free extra onboard credit. You have to own at least 100 shares, but you’ll get extra OBC for each Princess cruise that you take.
The screens show movies, concerts and sporting events during the day, but at night they really shine. The one big "attraction" that you will find on the top deck of Princess ships, always at the main pool area, is a giant Movies Under the Stars movie screen. A growing number of cruise ships now have movie screens on their pool decks, but Princess pioneered the concept. There's also an adults-only pool area toward the front of the vessel, along with an extra-charge, adults-only relaxation area called the Sanctuary.
The buffet is always packed on embarkation day, as everyone heads straight to eat after boarding the ship. Alfredo's Pizzeria offers a wide variety of pizzas to enjoy for lunch - it's the best way to start your cruise vacation. Princess Cruises is one of the premiere cruise lines in the industry, similar to Celebrity Cruises and Holland America. You can expect a more upscale, refined experience when you sail onboard a Princess cruise ship.
That said, Princess strongly recommends that all travelers bring a passport. Princess is particularly known for cruises to Alaska, where it dominates the market for cruises along with sister line Holland America. In a typical year, Princess deploys seven or eight ships to Alaska in the summer — far more than most other lines. It also operates its own wilderness lodges in the state, as well as tourist trains and buses. It uses the lodges, trains and buses to offer a range of 10- to 17-night Alaska "cruisetours" that combine a cruise with land-based touring. The line's ships visit more than 380 different ports and destinations and take passengers to more than 100 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Inside, the experience revolves around dining, classic showroom entertainment and a classy bar and music scene — just as it has on Princess ships for years. The buffet will be busy that first day, so avoid it if you can. I found the food on the Regal Princess to be pretty good for the most part, but there were outliers.
This is where you'll get insider cruise tips on when there are onboard boutique sales. You can also check with your host about any onshore purchases you are interested in making, that way you'll get the best bargains and quality. One of the most important steps you can take before your next cruise is to do your excursion homework before you depart. It won't take long to navigate through shore excursions to plan your vacation days. Availability for everyone is not guaranteed on each excursion, so you'll want to pre-reserve shore excursions early for anything you want. The other advantage to planning in advance is making sure you bring anything that an outing might call for, such as hiking boots or water shoes.
So what happens if you have one of the old cards, and it has no expiration date (some do and some don’t)? When Princess transitioned to the new coffee program, they announced they would continue to accept the cards through August 31, 2019. You’ve probably seen news articles (or YouTube videos) about passengers who get left behind in port. The departure time was changed, and the cruisers missed the announcement in the newsletter.
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