Lots of things cost extra!

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LovetheSea

Guest
Hi I am taking the Crown Princess in Oct. I am finding out that many things I thought were included are for and Extra fee. I knew about the specialty restaurants of course, but was surprised that the "adult sanitary" that they go on and on about is for a fee! $10.00 half and $20. whole day. Do they have food there too? Is it extra$$? The Chef's table is $75.00 each! The International cafe has me confused. Some things are free and some things aren't in the same place? Do you ever get ice cream you don't have to pay for. Maybe at dinner? I just hate to be nickel and dimed to death the whole time. It just bugs me.I have been on 26 cruises so I don't expect everything to be included But it does seem excessive on the new Princess ships :( Can you still use the Lotus pool for free? I prefer to donate my money to the ship's casino.
 
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serene56

Guest
we are on the Crown come February.- our cruise is out of Fort Lauderdale and dont know if things are different when doing the specialty cruises.

ice cream is free at the buffet but only during a set time. Ice cream is available in the dining room after meals-
Ice cream can be had for a fee at the ice cream place..
On Princess web site is a ice cream card-- since we average aout one milkshake/ice cream per week--not worth it for us.

the Santuary-- there is a fee to use their aroma rooms spa. But after taking a tour on the Caribbean Princess we decided we wont be using this room so saved our money. the pool and gym there are free..

I dont think i will be doing the Chef's Table for $75.00 pp. It is a fabulous experince for those that want to pay--but i can come up with a lot more stuff to do for 150.00 for the both of us.


The international cafe--most is free- some stuff is charged for.. what is the difference I have no idea. I just hope there are signs on stuff that says free or $$ before i make a choice. I hate to have to ask all the time. This cafe was not available on the CB when we cruised last year.

Personnally- I dont mind paying as we go-- I do not want that stuff included in my cruise fare as i wont be using it---free or fee.

Princess is the only cruiselines that we buy the soda card-- it costs us 62.00 total for 2 cards compared to carnival or royal who wants over 50.00+ for one.
 
J

juggles

Guest
jeez, I didn't pay for any extras!!!
icecream is available unless you want specialities, then there is a booth you can buy from. I dined everywhere for free, food is absolutely great...I didn't pay extra, don't know where you get your info from.
 
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LovetheSea

Guest
I have cruised on Princess a few times. Sapphire being the biggest so far. I got the info on the charges by reading reviews from passengers that have cruised on the Crown Princess. Celebrity tried to have a fee for a while on their Tholassotherapy pool on the Millennium class ships. There was such a BIG negative response to it, they took out the barriers and it is now free. It was the only inside pool on the ship!
 
W

Web

Guest
Love theSea, have you gotten your cabin assignment yet? We're sailing on thye Crown in OCtober & we just got an e-mail with our assignment. We had booked at Cat BE guarantee & we've been assigned a BB on the Riviera Deck. I'm not complaining at all, but it seems way early to be assigning the guarantees.
 
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serene56

Guest
[quote juggles]jeez, I didn't pay for any extras!!!
icecream is available unless you want specialities, then there is a booth you can buy from. I dined everywhere for free, food is absolutely great...I didn't pay extra, don't know where you get your info from.[/quote]

other then the dining room at set times-- where else can a person get the free ice cream
 
C

Cruise cutie

Guest
:wave..there is free home-made ice cream in the Horizon Court every single day from about 3:30 to 4:30..give or take, and it is wonderful, they have toppings..and it is super fabulous.. enjoy!!.just ask the Food Captain in the Horizon Court the first day..:)/..I am not a huge ice cream freak but I adore the home-made they have !! the pistachio, macadamia,coconut and hazelenut is YUMMO!!. Whoo ee I feel the pounds amassing....:)..Joanne
 
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Gayle V

Guest
Hello LovetheSea, At the Cafe on the Emerald Princess the pastries all seemed to be free, while the coffee cost extra. I thought it odd. You could buy a coffee card, just like the soda card. We didn't buy either. We did pay the extra for ice cream sundays at the Ice cream bar, on a few days.

We too find all the nickel and diming to be very annoying. Even worse is having to ask everywhere, is this free, or is this a cost. Annoying and embarassing.

About the pool at the Lotus area, no you definitely do no have to pay for the Sanctuary to use that pool. It does kind of look like you would, though. I think for this reason it isn't very crowded ever.

Here's a hint, if you go down the stairs to that Lotus Pool, you can go into the glass doors in that area and inter the Spa area itself. You can use the sauna and the steam rooms there. They are through the spa locker rooms. There is no cost for them. Again, not many people ever go there, because those areas seem to be closed off to the public, when in actuality they are not. It seems like the only people who even find those places are people who, for one reason or another, have come to the spa (like for a massage) and then realize they can use the sauna or steam room anytime they want. That's what happened with me.
 
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Mbandy

Guest
One thing that took me by surprise on my one Princess cruise was no free drinks. Usually you can get fruit punch, lemonade, iced tea, etc for free on ships. On Grand Princess it was Coffee or ice water only (except at meal times) and that was it.
 
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Gayle V

Guest
Gee, Mike, that's a surprise. When we were on the Emerald Princess, I remember having iced tea and lemonade at the buffet area every day. Is that what you meant?

(If you're talking about getting something free to drink from the bars, the only thing I've EVER gotten free from a bar server, on any ship, is water.)
 
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serene56

Guest
yep- no lemonade at the buffets
in th emorning there was some choices of orange or apple juice. Even saw some cranberry and tomato but the rest of the day-- iced tea was all the choice
 
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Mbandy

Guest
You got iced tea serene56?

It wasn't an option on Grand Princess or at least if it was I couldn't find it. Had to stick with Rum Punch instead :cheers

We like cranberry juice for breakfast but on some lines it is not an option for room service any more.
 
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serene56

Guest
we did get iced tea= there were quite a few containers of it.
But that was the worst tasting tea I ever tasted in my life.
 
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