We've done it!

[katiec68]

Originally Posted by Omega1

I like the 'swapped snow for sea' in your signature!
In your cruise personaliser check out the exchange rate for buying on board credit. In July we got $1.53 to the £. I realise it is locked in at the Princess rate when you booked, but it's worth checking and if it is a good rate you wouldn't need to buy until next August and reassess the rates then.
Did you get any obc from Princess? I've just had an email offering obc on that cruise $50pp for the cheapest inside cabin - more for balconies. If not, get them to honour it. Every little helps.
Edited to add that there is an active roll call for this cruise on Cruisecritic.

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Thanks

Ive checked my personaliser but cant see where I can purchase it?

We have got $150 - $75 each - enough for a couple of drinks

We are in a B2 Balcony cabin on Caribe deck.

And thanks for the heads up on the roll call - off to have a look (am off sick with vertigo so can spend my days planning )

Katie x x

[stecee]

That's great, I'm sure you will love it.
Incidentally, sailing in to NYC is on my bucket list.

[Omega1]

Well, we got back from our far east cruise two weeks ago and the price of the Crown Princess transatlantic had more than doubled!
Well, today they dropped the price back to October levels and so we've booked - along with our return flight (direct to Manchester for £209pp inc 23kg luggage).
Planning to have three nights in NYC post cruise but the hotels are eye wateringly expensive - Princess wanted £550 per night for the Hilton. A bench in Central Park is currently the favourite.
Now for the planning - it's almost as good as the cruise itself.

[katiec68]

Originally Posted by Omega1

Well, we got back from our far east cruise two weeks ago and the price of the Crown Princess transatlantic had more than doubled!
Well, today they dropped the price back to October levels and so we've booked - along with our return flight (direct to Manchester for £209pp inc 23kg luggage).
Planning to have three nights in NYC post cruise but the hotels are eye wateringly expensive - Princess wanted £550 per night for the Hilton. A bench in Central Park is currently the favourite.
Now for the planning - it's almost as good as the cruise itself.

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Woo hoo. I looked a couple of weeks ago and cabins seemed really expensive with not a lot of choice :-(

Did u get the cabin you wanted?

We have booked the circle tour from Rekyavik through princess. I didn't want to risk being at the furthest point from the ship and breaking down!

Aren't NYC hotels very expensive? We have the Courtyard by Marriott booked at £240 a night but it's a bit of a nasty sting in the tail :-(

Still with all the food we'll have eaten we can save on food :-)

Katie x x

[Omega1]

Originally Posted by katiec68

Woo hoo. I looked a couple of weeks ago and cabins seemed really expensive with not a lot of choice :-(

Did u get the cabin you wanted?

We have booked the circle tour from Rekyavik through princess. I didn't want to risk being at the furthest point from the ship and breaking down!

Aren't NYC hotels very expensive? We have the Courtyard by Marriott booked at £240 a night but it's a bit of a nasty sting in the tail :-(

Still with all the food we'll have eaten we can save on food :-)

Katie x x

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Yes we got the cabin we wanted - we go for inside cabins as we never seem to spend much time in there (too much going on around the ship or ashore). This will be our 14th cruise with Princess, which means we get the perks of the top loyalty level - free internet, free laundry, wine tasting, priority tendering and best of all, free bar set up in the cabin!
We've started to look at what to do in the ports of Lerwick and Reykjavik. In both places we're thinking of renting a car. We've done this in lots of places around the world and it works well for us. We feel we get to see a lot, with the ability to stop when we see something interesting and it's good value. Very often we share the car with another couple we meet on the ship or pre-arrange on Cruisecritic - makes it even more economical!
I know what you mean about possibly missing the ship but with Reykjavik we don't leave until 10pm and we plan on being back by 4/5pm at the latest to have a look around. We plan on doing the Golden Circle with some extra bits.
I've already reserved a hire car in Lerwick, we're never going to be more than 25 miles from the port and we always go to the furthest point first and then work our way back.
We've booked our one way trip to Southampton from the North West on Eavesway Cruiselink.
Still looking at hotels in NYC - every time I go on Booking.com, I need a lie down in a dark room with a strong drink.
Have you had any thoughts about the two stops in Canada?

[MrsBC]

Princess (and Celebrity) are our favourite cruise lines - the food is amazing, so many options for evenings (bars, casino, shows, lounges with live music etc ) and the entertainment in the theatre is fab.

[katiec68]

Originally Posted by Omega1

Yes we got the cabin we wanted - we go for inside cabins as we never seem to spend much time in there (too much going on around the ship or ashore). This will be our 14th cruise with Princess, which means we get the perks of the top loyalty level - free internet, free laundry, wine tasting, priority tendering and best of all, free bar set up in the cabin!
We've started to look at what to do in the ports of Lerwick and Reykjavik. In both places we're thinking of renting a car. We've done this in lots of places around the world and it works well for us. We feel we get to see a lot, with the ability to stop when we see something interesting and it's good value. Very often we share the car with another couple we meet on the ship or pre-arrange on Cruisecritic - makes it even more economical!
I know what you mean about possibly missing the ship but with Reykjavik we don't leave until 10pm and we plan on being back by 4/5pm at the latest to have a look around. We plan on doing the Golden Circle with some extra bits.
I've already reserved a hire car in Lerwick, we're never going to be more than 25 miles from the port and we always go to the furthest point first and then work our way back.
We've booked our one way trip to Southampton from the North West on Eavesway Cruiselink.
Still looking at hotels in NYC - every time I go on Booking.com, I need a lie down in a dark room with a strong drink.
Have you had any thoughts about the two stops in Canada?

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Can I bring my laundry bag to you and have a drink while we wait

Car hire isn't something I had thought about - might have to have a look - like you say we dont leave until quite late in Reykjavik
The Shetlands are my ancestral home so Id really like to have a look around.

We cant afford to spend a fortune on excursions as we have a caribbean cruise booked for the Jan (my 50th) so I'm thinking we might have a self walking tour of some of the ports!

The New York hotel prices are killing us - we have a hotel reserved at £250 a night but I'm almost wishing we didnt!
Will just keep searching but I'm not hopeful of finding anything much cheaper

The inlaws had offered to take us to Gatwick so we could get the train to southampton but they are now going to be away! So we are going to have to leave the car at Heathrow and then get the National Express to Southampton - the flights back to Gatwick were over £100 more but in hindsight would have been a better option

Originally Posted by MrsBC

Princess (and Celebrity) are our favourite cruise lines - the food is amazing, so many options for evenings (bars, casino, shows, lounges with live music etc ) and the entertainment in the theatre is fab.

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Thank you

[Omega1]

Originally Posted by katiec68

Can I bring my laundry bag to you and have a drink while we wait

Car hire isn't something I had thought about - might have to have a look - like you say we dont leave until quite late in Reykjavik
The Shetlands are my ancestral home so Id really like to have a look around.

We cant afford to spend a fortune on excursions as we have a caribbean cruise booked for the Jan (my 50th) so I'm thinking we might have a self walking tour of some of the ports!

The New York hotel prices are killing us - we have a hotel reserved at £250 a night but I'm almost wishing we didnt!
Will just keep searching but I'm not hopeful of finding anything much cheaper

The inlaws had offered to take us to Gatwick so we could get the train to southampton but they are now going to be away! So we are going to have to leave the car at Heathrow and then get the National Express to Southampton - the flights back to Gatwick were over £100 more but in hindsight would have been a better option




Thank you

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The NY hotels bit has been the one down side of what would have been a relatively inexpensive adventure. In the the end we booked the Hotel St James, a few blocks from Times Square ($477 plus tax for three nights) - it doesn’t get the best of reviews with many commenting that it is ‘tired’ but almost all say that it is clean and that’s important! We won’t be spending much time in there really.
We’ve got a bit further with the planning and will book a rental car in Lerwick, Akureyri and Reykjavik. Isafjordur, Halifax and St. John’s all seem to be walkable.
I’ve sent you a PM about car hire.