Topic: Sea Princess Cruise Carribbean 21 March 2011

Hi,
Well we really enjoyed our cruise. Sea Princess was wonderful and her staff excellent. 23kg of clothes is quite a lot - I didn't even wear some of the things I took. Formal evenings were very formal - everyone joined in (it was Christmas and New Year) but the other evenings were more casual. Shirts/trousers for men but us women still 'dressed'. Drinks were expensive but were even more expensive in our Manchester hotel before we left! We bought one soda package - allowing us to get coke, etc - two glasses at a time. Not really sure it was worth it though as we spent just about every day off the ship and by the time we got back were ready for a drink!!!! I think this was about $4 a day but you had to sign up for the whole cruise. Little tip - take american dollars with you. The ship did not have an ATM machine and friends of ours had great difficulty changing their money into American dollars. They had to change just enough for each island at the ATM when we arrived. Another couple we met used Travellers cheques and were able to change these on the ship.
It was our first time with Princess and although the food was not quite up to Celebrity we had a wonderful holiday and will certainly travel with them again.

HiYorkshire Castleford,
did you fly with Thomas Cook if so did you book your luggage in the night before at Manchester? if you can would be a nice lie in for us :D

Hi,
We did fly Thomas Cook but don't know about checking in the night before. Checking in was excellent - Princess have their own check-in desks and there were about 5 open so we had no queues although we did go fairly early as we were in an airport hotel. The seats are 3-3-3 so if you check in late you will probably be split. One family of 4 were sitting at the end of four rows behind each other. Also you will be in exactly the same seats coming home. That is really well organised on the ship so that you don't have to go through any fuss at the airport. Actually we were very impressed by the organisation of Princess Cruises. Have a great holiday - I know you will - but get in touch if there is anything else I can help you with.

QUOTE:

We've encountered this last year on holiday in Tenerife(charging for being overweight, but they seem to allow it on the way out, cos our cases did not have so much stuff in them on the way home..... no toiletries etc), which is why I wanted to know about baggage allowance. I am required to take medical equipment (CPAP machine)with me which I have to take on board as hand luggage, so I am penalised regarding my hand luggage, cos this is counted as being my hand luggage, which I have always thought unfair. My TA thought I would be ok with it but when he's checked it with tour operator, this has been confirmed that this is my hand luggage.

Hi Texmex. I understood that if you get a letter from your doctor stipulating that it is required medical equipment, then you can take it as extra hand luggage. It might be worth speaking to Princess special needs department to clarify this. We are taking some medical supplies, so hope that this is going to be the case, or we could be in serious trouble

Yorkshire: Glad you had such a great time. Were you able to negotiate your seats on the plane, or was it all fixed before you got there? Can you recommend any of the tours that you did? Would really love to hear

QUOTE:

Just remember you can also carry 1 Bag onto the plane, fill this up with shoes, all your electrical stuff, cosmetics. Take your bathroom stuff that when you finish your cuise you can leave there,,, We have just returned and the airports are now red hot on weight, and they do charge if overweight.. Not like the old days where they used to let you off with a few kilos over

Do not take your bathroom stuff in your hand luggage ! You are allowed only 1 small plastic (sealed) bag for ALL liquids (100ml only max each) and that has to include Medicines such as Ventolin for asthmatics. Leave toiletries (shampoo, sunscreen etc. all heavy!) behind at home and buy anything you need in the caribbean. its cheaper there and on the ship ! Also remember you can wash clothes for nothing (buy powder on ship) so minimise day wear and fit in evening wear ! You never wear it all I promise. Ps I buy colourful kaftan in the caribbean ($10)and wear that on casual evenings/over swimsuits/to the Spa/lunch in the restaurant or buffet etc.

[QUOTE=Silverjan, M Harborough;29365]Hi Texmex. I understood that if you get a letter from your doctor stipulating that it is required medical equipment, then you can take it as extra hand luggage. It might be worth speaking to Princess special needs department to clarify this. We are taking some medical supplies, so hope that this is going to be the case, or we could be in serious trouble

Hi Silverjan,
My travel agent checked with Princess re CPAP machine being taken on board the plane (I do have aletter from hospital stating it is medical equipment), and it was Princess who informed him that that would qualify as my hand luggage, although I not sure if he told him what the medical equipment actually was. I will try contacting Princess myself nearer the time, just to see what they say (I have noticed in the small print in their brochure that they like to be informed of passengers who have a CPAP machine and using it on board).

Hope you have a good time and let us know all about it when you get back.

Tex

Hi Yorkshire,

Thanks for giving us a rundown of your trip, any other info would be helpful. Did you book any trips on the ship or did you do your own? Where did you visit?

Tex

Ps. Do British mobile phones work on board the ships?

Hi,
Yes mobile phones do work but are very expensive I believe to use on the ship. Our friends tended to use them when they were on the islands. We only went on the railway journey in St. Kitts from the ship's tours. It was very expensive but we enjoyed it - unless you are a train buff then an island tour would be much cheaper. The only other tour we booked ahead was with Cosol Tours in St. Lucia. We had been recommended this by a former passenger and can honestly say it was worth every penny (or dollar)! We booked it on the internet and paid when we arrived. All the other islands we hired a mini-bus. We were really fortunate to enjoy the company of the people on our table at dinner and so we went out together each day. So at dinner we roughly decided what we wanted to do/see on the island the following day then negotiated a minibus which stayed with us - taking us where we wanted. Usually a good island tour followed by a couple of hours on a beach. However, it was nice to have our 'own' driver as we could just decide to stop for a drink, etc. when we wanted. If you are not in a group then each island has taxis waiting for you to do your own thing or join a group - doing much the same as us. I envy you - have a great time. Tip: make sure you put your liquids in a small plastic bag for Manchester airport or you will have to BUY them - 2 for £1!!!!

Hi Texmax

Yes, I went on to my travel agent yesterday also, and she has confirmed what you have said. However, she too just went to the flight desk and not the special needs department, so I may try that in the not too distant future. My TA was not at all helpful and gave me a lecture on security of all things!!

Apparently it is ok in USA but not in UK to carry on this 'extra'!

I suppose we can always get round it, but it is just the inconvenience of taking less when you need to take more.

Thanks for your best wishes. Hope you also have a fantastic cruise.

Hi everyone, roughly what are the flights times to & from the UK for this trip?

Thanx

Tex