00:00all cruise lines are different and if
00:01you are going on a Princess Cruise For
00:03the First Time these tips tricks and
00:06Insider Secrets will help you to save
00:07money and have a better Cruise
00:14hi there I'm Ilana from the website
00:16lifeboatcruise.com welcome or welcome
00:19back to my channel now I recently came
00:21back from I think this was my 10th
00:23Princess Cruise and you know what a lot
00:25of things have changed so even though
00:28I've done a video all about Princess
00:29Cruise tips and secrets the fact is I
00:32have some new information to share with
00:34you whether you're a First Time Princess
00:35Cruiser or a big princess fan this video
00:39will help you to know what to expect and
00:41I've included some helpful tips along
00:43the way these are the things that I wish
00:45I knew if I was cruising with Princess
00:47for the very first time now before I get
00:49started I did want to mention that if
00:51you like this video if you find it
00:52helpful informative or enjoyable in any
00:55way then please do give this video a big
00:57thumbs up I really do appreciate it and
00:59please subscribe to the channel if you
01:00haven't done so already let's get
01:02started what to expect when you're
01:04cruising on Princess Cruises Princess
01:05Cruises is a premium cruise line so it
01:08is in the same category as Holland
01:11America and celebrity and basically what
01:14you're going to find when you cruise
01:15with Princess is they are very beautiful
01:17and elegant cruise ships now their
01:20cruise ships have quite a few pools
01:22quite a few hot tubs activities for
01:25people of all ages and when you walk
01:28into a Princess cruise ship you are
01:30going to see that the atrium well
01:32basically they call it a Piazza is
01:34really the Hub of the cruise ship or
01:37like the heart of the cruise ship where
01:38a lot of different activities are going
01:40to take place now while you're not going
01:42to find water slides and race cars on a
01:44Princess cruise ship there definitely is
01:46something for everyone and the
01:48programming in terms of the activities
01:49during the day and the evening on
01:52princess is quite good Princess Cruises
01:54is also well known to have good
01:56itineraries good food and good service
01:58okay so what I've done is I've divided
02:01this video up into about 20 different
02:03points or categories so to start with
02:05there are three different ways that you
02:08could book your Princess Cruise or
02:09basically three types of cruise fares so
02:12you have have the princess standard rate
02:14which is basically your cruise only rate
02:17now there have been some changes that
02:19princess has made so I will address
02:21these in the video and I will be talking
02:24about what currently is included with
02:27each type of package or Cruise fare now
02:29you also have princess plus and this is
02:31arguably very very popular princess plus
02:36is available for sixty dollars
02:37additional per person per day and what's
02:40included in Princess plus is your crew
02:43gratuities or your crew appreciation you
02:46also get unlimited Wi-Fi of one device
02:48per guest and you get the princess plus
02:52beverage package now the princess plus
02:54beverage package is not only for alcohol
02:57but it does include drinks up to 15
02:59alcoholic drinks per day but it does
03:02also include specialty coffee specialty
03:04tea energy drinks Blended juices soft
03:07drinks fresh juices and more now
03:10princess plus has gone through a few
03:11changes since it its Inception a couple
03:14of years ago and now princess plus also
03:17includes two casual dining options now
03:19the casual dining restaurants depending
03:22on the cruise ship include alfredos and
03:24Gigi's it also includes O'Malley's and
03:27it also includes Kai Sushi now with
03:29Princess plus you'll also get ocean now
03:31delivery this is basically delivery of
03:33food drinks and different products
03:36brought to you basically almost anywhere
03:39on the cruise ship and you also do get
03:41free room service now if you have the
03:43standard package those things are extra
03:46now in addition you also get two
03:48complimentary Fitness classes we
03:50actually did a stretch lab class on our
03:53last Princess Cruise really did enjoy it
03:55you also get two premium desserts per
03:57day I did try them I could never eat two
03:59a day but they were pretty decadent and
04:02you do get unlimited juice and vegetable
04:05Blends at the juice bar now depending on
04:07how you Cruise the princess plus package
04:10can really be worth it and can be a
04:12great great way to save money now for
04:14those that like an even more
04:15all-inclusive type Cruise you do have
04:18princess Premier princess Premier by the
04:20way is 80 per person per day and what
04:23that includes is everything that is
04:25included in Princess plus well plus more
04:28so basically when it comes to the
04:30beverage package you get the premier
04:31beverage package and that includes
04:33drinks up to twenty dollars the Wi-Fi
04:36you get up to four devices rather than
04:38just one you still get the crew
04:40appreciation you also get two specialty
04:44dining restaurants so if you would be
04:45going to those specialty restaurants
04:47anyway this is fantastic in terms of
04:49casual dining you have unlimited casual
04:52dining you also get a photo package
04:55during your cruise you get unlimited
04:57juice of course you get unlimited
04:59Fitness classes you get those premium
05:01desserts you get a medallion accessory a
05:04little bit more on The Medallion later
05:05on in this video and you also get
05:08reserved seating for the production
05:10shows now just like with Princess plus
05:12you you get the ocean now activation fee
05:15included and you do also get
05:17complimentary room service now if you do
05:19have the standard package and this is
05:21definitely going to be the best rate
05:22available and for some people this is
05:25going to be really the best value but
05:27you can still opt in to pay for room
05:29service this is five dollars per
05:31delivery and you can also set up that
05:33one-time activation fee for 14.99
05:36beverage packages now something to note
05:39when you are cruising with Princess is
05:40honestly it's not worth it to buy any of
05:42the beverage packages the best value is
05:45going to be if you're going to get a
05:47beverage package anyway is to opt in to
05:50princess Plus or princess Premiere bring
05:52a bottle of wine on embarkation day so
05:55this is a really good way to save money
05:57or even just to bring your favorite wine
05:59that you like to drink you can bring one
06:01bottle of wine per person on embarkation
06:04day now you can actually drink this in
06:06your cabin without any additional cost
06:08but if you do bring your bottle of wine
06:09to the main dining room you are going to
06:11have a corkage fee of fifteen dollars
06:13The Medallion now princess has had the
06:16medallion for a few years now so I know
06:18a lot of people are aware of it but
06:19basically The Medallion replaces your
06:21cruise card it definitely adds
06:23convenience because as you walk to your
06:25cabin when you're within a few feet well
06:28basically the portal outside your cabin
06:31door is going to recognize you and is
06:33going to sort of unlatch or open that
06:36door so it definitely allows you to go
06:37hands-free as you go into your cabin
06:40beyond that you're going to also use
06:42your medallion when you leave the cruise
06:44ship when you come back on it's also
06:46what you're going to use to get drinks
06:48and pay for different items now when you
06:50do get on board your Princess cruise
06:52ship you are going to get a lanyard that
06:55does come for free but if you want you
06:57can also purchase accessories so they
07:00include wristbands bracelets Clips those
07:03are all pretty nice and if you want you
07:05could buy them before you get on your
07:07cruise on the princess website or you
07:09can buy them on board as well now a
07:12little hack or a little tip is you can
07:13actually buy different accessories that
07:16are compatible on Amazon and some people
07:19what they like to do is actually use air
07:21tag accessories I will leave some links
07:24of some suggestions Down Below in the
07:26description of this video now Beyond The
07:28Medallion itself you do have an app that
07:30you can use on board and by the way if
07:33you're not really feeling like having
07:34your phone with you all the time when
07:35you're on the cruise that is okay there
07:38are also portals on the cruise that you
07:40can check the activities and some
07:42different things as well but if you do
07:44use the app on your phone that is where
07:46you can order items to your cabin or
07:49through the ocean now delivery to
07:51basically almost anywhere on the cruise
07:53ship you can also take a look at your
07:55daily planner as well now speaking of
07:58the daily planner although it is
07:59available on your app and you can even
08:01make reservations you will get a
08:03physical copy of the daily planner in
08:06your cabin as well maybe it is optional
08:08but I've basically been getting it on my
08:11last couple of Princess Cruises and in
08:13the past it used to be called the
08:15princess patter but I noticed on my
08:18recent sailing it was just called the
08:20event listings please let me know if you
08:22have failed with Princess before or
08:24you've sailed recently please let me
08:26know if that's a change that you noticed
08:28as well The Love Boat now if you used to
08:30watch The Love Boat you probably will
08:32like some of the references that you
08:34might find on board Princess Cruises to
08:36The Love Boat but in particular There Is
08:39The Love Boat horn this is very special
08:42and something to look at self-service
08:45laundry now it might not sound like much
08:47but if you've cruised on other cruise
08:49lines that don't have self-service
08:51laundry you know that this is something
08:53that is pretty good so if you want you
08:56can actually do your laundry in the
08:58self-service laundrette you have a
09:00washing machine you have a dryer and you
09:02even have irons and ironing boards so if
09:04you just want to even iron something on
09:06board you can do that now you could
09:08bring your own detergent or you can
09:09purchase it right there and you will be
09:12using your medallion to actually pay for
09:15it now speaking of laundry and ironing
09:17you might be wondering what is the dress
09:18code like on Princess Cruises well like
09:21a lot of cruise lines the dress code has
09:23really relaxed so basically it's casual
09:25or smart casual sort of Resort style
09:28most of the time and they do have formal
09:31nights as well now their formal nights
09:33have become a little bit less formal you
09:35definitely still see people wearing
09:37suits or tuxedos evening gowns cocktail
09:40dresses but you also see people wearing
09:42a nice dress a nice pair of pants for
09:44men a nice shirt so not necessarily true
09:48Black Tie formal now a little tip on our
09:50cruise we had two formal nights however
09:52on our first formal night I'd say more
09:54people dressed up for that one on the
09:57second formal night it was a white and
09:59gold theme of course this was completely
10:01optional but if you'd like to bring a
10:04white outfit this would look quite nice
10:06on a cruise as well now when it comes to
10:08your pre-cruise planning I highly
10:10suggest that you make as many of the
10:12reservations that you really want to do
10:14make them before your cruise and in
10:16particular this can actually be a money
10:19saver so when I did book my spa
10:21appointment I booked that before my
10:24cruise and I noticed that the prices
10:25while they weren't more expensive once
10:28we got on board and when you book it
10:30pre-cruise you'll actually see that
10:32sometimes the price is actually less for
10:35some of the different days when you're
10:37on your cruise and you're even going to
10:39find that sometimes the pricing even
10:41depending on the time that you go will
10:43be different so definitely take a look
10:44at this and when it comes to shore
10:46excursions in my experience they've also
10:48been a little bit less expensive by
10:50booking them before the cruise these
10:52Sanctuary now the sanctuary onboard
10:54Princess cruise ships while it is really
10:56popular with Princess Cruise passengers
10:59and you can book a half a day you can
11:01book a whole day or you can book the
11:03entire week it is really very nice but
11:06something that you'll want to do is to
11:08reserve you have to do this in person
11:09when you board your cruise so even
11:11before you do your email Master before
11:13you grab a drink before you eat anything
11:16when you get on board on embarkation day
11:18head straight up to the sanctuary
11:20because it does book out fast explore
11:22the cruise ship now something else
11:24you'll want to do also on embarkation
11:26day ideally is really explore the cruise
11:29ship Princess cruise ships sometimes
11:31have some areas that well they may not
11:34be obvious and there are some people who
11:36didn't even realize that there was an
11:38adult-only pool on their cruise ship for
11:40instance until the end of the cruise so
11:42you don't want that to happen to you so
11:44something to do is as soon as possible
11:46is walk all the way forward on the top
11:49deck you might find an adult only
11:51Retreat pool that is such a beautiful
11:53area but it's not necessarily obvious
11:56now also at the back of the cruise ship
11:58you could find a really nice outdoor
12:00area where you could eat in back of the
12:02buffet and many of the Princess cruise
12:04ships have an aft pool as well what food
12:07is actually included on Princess Cruises
12:10so there really is a lot so the main
12:12dining room is is included you also have
12:14the international cafe and this is
12:17really casual but very good food that is
12:21included so there are sandwiches there
12:23are sweet and savory snacks now also at
12:25the international cafe you can get
12:28coffee but that is not included so to
12:30get the included coffee you would have
12:32to go to the buffet now beyond the
12:34international cafe the other casual
12:36options that you have is on most
12:38Princess cruise ships you're also going
12:40to have a pizzeria that is poolside and
12:43you're going to have a burger grill as
12:45well now on the Lido deck look out for
12:47the buffet the buffet is going to be
12:49open for breakfast lunch snacks and
12:52dinner and you'll find swirls which is
12:54soft ice cream as well oh and I almost
12:56forgot to mention although there is a
12:58five dollar delivery fee for room
13:01service if you have the standard package
13:03so it is included with Princess plus and
13:05Princess Premiere but there is still
13:07free or complimentary room service that
13:10is available for breakfast with the
13:12breakfast card word princess cabins now
13:14something that you should know about
13:15Princess cabins is they have this
13:17extremely large open closet and they
13:20also have sort of a cupboard with
13:22shelves so those are great if you want
13:23to put your packing cubes in and really
13:26a good big closet if you want to hang up
13:28things you could even either put your
13:30luggage straight under your bed or you
13:32could even store it in your closet it is
13:34really so roomy now when it comes to the
13:37cabins they have super comfortable beds
13:39I think they call them princess luxury
13:41beds and they honestly are some of the
13:43most comfortable mattresses and beds and
13:46linen that I've ever had on a cruise
13:48ship so really nice but something that
13:50you should know is that interior cabins
13:52Ocean View Cabins and even balcony
13:54cabins don't come standard with a small
13:57sofa or loveseat so you are going to get
13:59a desk in there and it is still going to
14:01be a good amount of space but in a
14:04standard balcony cabin you are not going
14:06to have a sofa so if you do want to have
14:08a sofa or a loveseat you're going to
14:10want to make sure that you do book a
14:12Deluxe balcony cabin or above now
14:15something that I love about Princess
14:17Cruises is they still have twice a day
14:20housekeeping so really nice so basically
14:23you have your morning cleaning and you
14:25also have a turn down Service as well
14:27now when it comes to your cabins you can
14:30also get in your cabin you can get free
14:32bathrobes you might have to ask your
14:34cabin attendant or before you go
14:36sometimes you can note this on your
14:39booking on the app towels so sometimes
14:41people ask are towels included on
14:43Princess Cruises especially if you want
14:45to get off the cruise ship and go on
14:47excursions so yes you do get towels for
14:50use both on the Lido deck and you can
14:53bring them off the ship as well now you
14:54don't have to sign out for your towels
14:56the way you have to on some other cruise
14:58lines but you do have to make sure that
15:00you do bring them back at the end of the
15:02day now speaking of getting back on the
15:04cruise ship after a day in Port
15:06something that you are going to see with
15:07Princess Cruises is they do often have a
15:10booth set up where they have cold towels
15:13that they are giving you this is really
15:15nice after a hot day and they do have
15:18citrus water as well so it's a really
15:19nice welcome back activities and
15:21entertainment so on Princess cruise
15:23ships you're going to find a lot of
15:24different types of entertainment both
15:27during the day and during the evening so
15:29especially in the Piazza you'll often
15:31see a lot of different activities going
15:33so you might have dancing with a live
15:34band you might have activities you might
15:37have demonstrations you might have even
15:39line dancing or Zumba classes in some of
15:42the different lounges you'll find trivia
15:43in Richmond seminars and even Bingo now
15:46in the main pool area you'll find that
15:48at different times of the day that you
15:50do have a DJ playing or a live band and
15:53you might have some different activities
15:55with the cruise passengers as well now
15:57in addition to that there is also a big
16:00screen that princess calls movies under
16:02the stars and that's playing movies
16:04during the day or sometimes it is a game
16:06or a concert or even exercise in the
16:09morning time and in the evening time you
16:11do have movies as well well so if you
16:13sometimes don't want to necessarily
16:15catch a Broadway show or go have a drink
16:18at a bar but you want to do something
16:19like just catch a movie you can actually
16:22do that on your Princess Cruise now the
16:24evening entertainment onboard princess
16:26is quite varied you'll have Production
16:28shows you'll have guest entertainers
16:29you'll have live music you'll have a
16:32piano bar on our most recent cruise we
16:34had an amazing Duo that played in
16:36O'Malley's Irish pub now speaking of
16:39shows you are going to want to get there
16:40early especially if it is in a lounge so
16:43make sure that you are there 15 to even
16:4530 minutes in advance now I have one
16:48more tip and if you love food then
16:50you're going to enjoy this one and then
16:52I have some really good money saving
16:54tips that many of them you could use and
16:57you may not have known about so when it
17:00comes to the food now this is not
17:02included this is specialty dining but if
17:04you do have the princess Premiere
17:06package or even if you just want to do
17:08this a la carte something that you might
17:11want to try is some of the special
17:12dining restaurants now in particular if
17:15your cruise ship has the catch by Rudy's
17:17it is I think now maybe my all-time
17:21favorite specialty restaurant it is so
17:24good oh I have a couple that I really
17:25like but I absolutely love this one and
17:28this is by Rudy Solomon he is actually
17:31now the head of culinary arts for
17:33Princess Cruises but we found all of the
17:35specialty restaurants the crown Grill
17:37sabatinis to be excellent money saving
17:40tips now some of these you're going to
17:42actually need to take advantage of
17:43before you actually board your cruise so
17:46the military benefit now princess at the
17:48time that I'm filming this video does
17:51have a military benefit program and
17:53basically you can get anywhere from
17:55fifty dollars to two hundred and fifty
17:57dollars do take a look at the terms and
17:59conditions for that now you also have
18:01the refer a friend program so if you
18:04have a friend that you think might want
18:06to sail with Princess and they have
18:07never before then what you can do is you
18:10can actually fill out a form it's on the
18:12print this website you can refer your
18:14friend when they sell you get 25 onboard
18:17credit and they get 25 on board credit
18:20as well book with a travel agent now
18:22booking with a travel agent is a good
18:24way to not only get the same price that
18:26you'll get directly with Princess
18:27sometimes you actually can get a better
18:29price as well but you often will get
18:32extra amenities including an onboard
18:34credit and a coupon book The Princess
18:37referral program now this is different
18:39from the refer a friend but basically if
18:41you are working with a princess vacation
18:43planner then what you can do is you can
18:46refer somebody to work with them there's
18:48a forum like always to fill out but you
18:51can get an additional onboard credit for
18:53that the shareholder credit now this is
18:56definitely a tip that a lot of princess
18:58Cruisers or a lot of Cruisers in general
19:00use is by being a shareholder for
19:04Carnival Corporation now when you sail
19:06with Princess and some of the other
19:08Lines within Carnival Corporation as
19:11long as you have a hundred share years
19:12of that Carnival stock then you do get
19:15an additional onboard credit as a
19:17shareholder benefit being a captain
19:19Circle member now being a captain Circle
19:21member just means that you are a past
19:23passenger with Princess and you are
19:25automatically enrolled by the way in
19:27this when you start cruising with
19:28Princess but they do have early booking
19:31discounts they do also have Early Access
19:33to some of their itineraries which is a
19:35nice opportunity as well book on board
19:37to get a future Cruise credit now while
19:39you won't get a benefit on the cruise
19:41that you are on it gives you a head
19:43start on the next crew so what you can
19:45do is you can put down a hundred dollar
19:47deposit per person towards a future
19:49cruise and by the way you do not need to
19:51book it right on that cruise ship you
19:53could simply fill in a form and you can
19:55put in a deposit for an Open Booking get
19:57home and you could book it once you're
19:59home with your travel agent or online if
20:02you like so you can make those decisions
20:03later but you are going to get an extra
20:05onboard credit on your future Cruise now
20:08I'd love to hear from you please let me
20:10know if you're a first-time princess
20:11Cruiser or if you been on Princess
20:13Cruises before and if you have sailed
20:15with princess please share your extra
20:17tips and tricks down in the comments
20:20below because I know it is going to help
20:22other people I hope that you enjoyed
20:24this video if you did please do give it
20:25a big thumbs up I really do appreciate
20:27it and please subscribe to the channel
20:29if you haven't done so already bye for
20:31now and happy cruising
