cruiseintoheaven

Oy, my head hurts and I’m too old for change!  I thought I saw a comment within this thread that you can still submit your request through email directly to Princess - can someone confirm that?  

3 hours ago, caribill said:

 

Nope. Can be used for anything OBC can be used for.

Hoping you and majority of replies are correct.  I can’t find anything on my documents or inside personalizer that says “shore excursions” in relationship to the OBC in question.  The ONLY time it was mentioned was when my TA told me about it verbally and he was unclear on what it could be used for.  

1 hour ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

This thread is several months old...sale is long gone.  Once on board you can use OBC for anything.

Actually I started a new thread  on the topic….the sale may be gone but not all of the bookings have sailed.  So far the news is good - that you can use it for other things. 😀

58 minutes ago, MustangGT said:

It can be used for anything onboard.  The amount is added to your portfolio as a credit.

Great!! 

57 minutes ago, EconDoc said:

So far, it seems these can be used for anything that OBC applies to. Whether that changes in the future, we don’t know. 

That would be great if it stays that way.

Hello all, getting back to cruising after almost 3 years and can’t wait!  My question is this:  right before final payment I did a price check and was pleasantly surprised that my TA was able to lower the fare substantially - yay!  He also said the new fare came with $100 pp OBC for shore excursions.  But then he said he thought you could use it for anything, or maybe not.   So it sounds like I may have to call Princess but thought I would ask if anyone knows about this?  Our personalizer doesn’t specify what it is for.  On our documents from TA it just says Love Boat PPlus for our booking.  Thanks for any light you can shed!  😀

Has anyone who has cruised lately know if the OBC can be used for anything other than excursions?

3 hours ago, Mo Jito said:

A shot from Take 5. Really liked the decor in here - and a beautiful inlaid wood dance floor. Great variety of delicious cocktails 🍸 and excellent jazz trio. Not really my genre, but we really enjoyed our stop here after the production show last night.

We enjoyed this venue on the Sky….spent some time there most nights - very convenient to the theater as well.

5 hours ago, Buckeye10640 said:

Thanks for the info. I truly hope that the lack of chairs is not a daily occurrance. Guess I will find out next month.  Sometimes we want to be outside but in the shade. I was looking forward to using that area since we are booked on the Sun deck. 

I’m almost certain that the chairs will be out for most of the voyage.  I think the day we boarded it was very windy, and we were a bit worried, but they were in place pretty quickly.   

4 hours ago, Buckeye10640 said:

Hmm...where are the chairs around the pool?

We were regulars at the Retreat Pool on the Sky - our cabin was right across from it.  If I recall, they didn’t put the loungers out if it was windy, the pool was quite shallow, more like a dipping pool.  Cannot recall if there were stairs - though given the depth probably not necessary unless you need a little assist getting in and out.  We spent most of our time in the area up above the pool as there wasn’t much sun around the pool itself.  It’s a nice area but quite a bit different than the other Royal class ships.

I’m not lobbying to defy the rules, rather I am questioning the rules themselves - are they necessary?  Are they able to be fairly enforced?  Why are some other lines not requiring masks?  What happens differently between day 9 and 10 on a cruise?  These seem like valid points or questions.  And I will either cruise and comply or not cruise - I’m not a rebel without a cause. 

39 minutes ago, Buckeye10640 said:

So...I am in agreement  with requiring vaccines and  testing, and had accepted the requirement to wear facemasks in elevators (I use stairs) and shops and the casino and crowded indoor areas,  etc. But this new 100% masked indooors, sip and mask policy for 10+ day cruises is just taking things too far. If they are that worried then just test us all midway thru the cruise.  I am a 'rule follower' by nature but I am sorry to say I may be sipping ALOT in the bars and eating areas at least. 

I will spend as much time as possible outdoors and meanwhile I pray nobody decides we need an OUTDOORS mask requirement too before my  10 day Nov cruise.......

 

I agree, and think this is destined to do nothing but make both crew and pax miserable.  Are they really going to monitor everyone at all times and step in to enforce this while people are eating and drinking?  

Ugh.  We realllly want to cruise, last one was February 2020 on the Sky.  Currently booked on the Enchanted 2/28 10 night S. Caribbean.  We’ve lost a few folks on our roll call because of this.  
 

I feel like much of this is “Covid theatre” for lack of a better term.  I understand Princess wanting to keep pax/crew healthy for many reasons but this just seems confusing and like overkill.  Make it a requirement to be fully vaccinated and let people enjoy themselves.  I mean - am I nuts thinking that those of us itching to get back to cruising are already aware that a ship is not the safest place to be if you’re worried about Covid, but are happy/willing to assume that risk?!?

I’m sure I’m being short-sighted and not seeing the bigger picture.  Going to make final payment on our cruise at the last possible minute and see/read what pans out in reality.  

I’ve pretty much cancelled all of my plans for the next week to follow along and live vicariously through everyone posting from the ship!  Thank you!!!

20 minutes ago, PrincessLuver said:

 

We just had friends who had a Carnival cruise booked in February 2021 and said that Carnival canceled it today.....

I’m not surprised - we have the Sky booked for Feb 2021 but don’t think it will happen, which is why I said possibly maybe hopefully kinda a little optimistic about Feb 2022!  🤪....

I thinks it’s a bit naive to think this will magically be gone Jan. 1 - the whole winter to me is a long shot.

I’m thinking it’s going to be a vaccine and/or effective medical therapies that will give cruisers the confidence to sail, not a date. I’m (very) cautiously optimistic about Feb 2022 as a safe bet to book.


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We are booked on the Sky Princess for Feb. 28th using Future Cruise Deposits ($200.00 total). Final payment is not due till Dec. 28th, so we will wait till then to make a decision. I'm hoping Princess will cancel so we will receive double credit on our FCD's. We would very much like to go on this cruise, but don't see it happening with the virus spreading in Florida. I expect the cruise port in Ft. Lauderdale to be closed this winter.
 
Cheers - Ken & Darlene
 

I am certain that this question has been asked before, but I can't seem to figure out the correct search words to find an answer.  Thanks in advance for any help.
 
We have a cruise to Alaska scheduled next May.  I booked through Princess and I want to add flights through them to avoid dealing with the airlines if the cruise is cancelled (they also cost a little less).  My daughter is thinking of joining us on the cruise and found the same cabin type through an online agency for several hundred dollars less than Princess.  If I cancel and rebook through the travel agency, will I still be able to buy flights through EZ air?  (I have no need to keep my cabin, so rebooking isn't an issue).  We haven't been on a cruise ship for many years, and we've never flown to a cruise destination, so this is all new to us.
 
I appreciate your responses.

I'm pretty much in the same place.  My view on masks is NOT political whatsoever.  I wear one routinely when I leave my house, but that is for life's necessities like going to the grocery store.  When it comes to my company returning its employees back in to the office, or me going on a cruise, or me going to Disney World, I do not want to do any of those things if wearing a mask, or converting hallways into one-way streets, or wearing gloves, or scanning around in a 360 degree circle making sure my distancing is proper is part of the work-around solution.  I can't really have fun if 70% of my waking hours is spent trying to comply with rules.  And I'm not arguing against the rules. I get it.  I agree with them.  I just don't find them to be compatible with my vacation spending.  I will wait until the rules are no longer needed.  Rooting hard for the Oxford vaccine to be the solution!    

So what we have been doing for the last10+ years is misinformation?  Highly unlikely.  Have a cruise set up right now that the only deposit we needed was our Future Cruise Credit.As have the other two people that are supposed to travel with us. So where is it wrong? 

I called today to cancel a cruise on Princess that sails out of Florida in Feb 2021. 
 
I was asked if I wanted to wait a few more months to cancel as I would receive double my deposit when Princess cancelled as those voyages would not be sailing.  I asked "You are telling me Feb of next year will not sail?" and He repeated "correct and you would get double your deposit if you wait until we cancel". I again asked "Feb of 2021 is a no go?" and again I was told "correct".
 
Take it for what you want. I did cancel and was told he could not tell me how long it would take to get my deposit back. Not a problem as I filled with my credit card and already have a provisional credit which will become permanent in 30 days according to my credit card company.  

Test


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40 minutes ago, cmh said:

Thanks for the great review.  I read somewhere that there was no library on the Sky.  Is that true?  We are doing a transatlantic cruise in April and I will need to bring books if none are available onboard.

That is correct - no library which is a shame to me as an avid reader.  In the Internet cafe there is a table in the back with a daily sudoku puzzle, a few books to exchange and some board games.  
 

as an aside -  I don’t recall if this is true of the other ships, but on the Sky, Vines has a long disciples table that was usually occupied by folks playing card games.  

11 minutes ago, JF - retired RRT said:

Excellent review. Thank you!

 

RE: the communal glass dispensers. On our most recent cruise, my biggest issue was that the "nozzle" got full of moist(?) sugar and plugged up. The only way to get sugar was to open the dispenser, tap the lid on something until the obstruction came out, then replace the lid.

Pretty sure that defeats the cleanliness of the dispenser.

Yes, and I would make the case that the already “iffy” containers needing to be handled and opened by guests makes it even more of a red flag in the sanitation department.  I will bring my own sugar packets on our next cruise!  

1 hour ago, susancruzs said:

Well thought out, constructive comments, people shouldn't criticize an informed opinion.

 

I've been reading about portions at IC, other ships, too, I'll have to see how it is in August.  I go to the IC for breakfast and lunch avoiding the buffet area.  I like little tastes of several salads so will be interesting! 🙂 

 

The talk about the theater has been an ongoing thing, on more reviews other than Royal class.  I don't know the answer.  I have sensitive hearing (for an older person) so I tend to arrive later, find a seat way back.

 

Cold water in restrooms bugs me.  It is a health concern, I've complained to local places I frequent about their lack of hot water in restrooms.  One we no longer go to because owner got nasty with me when I mentioned it.

 

Thanks!

 

 

Yes, that’s our pattern too - though we sometimes eat breakfast in the MDR.  The salads for lunch are still tasty but if like you mentioned you want a little bit of this and a little bit of that etc it’s a challenge or requires multiple trips.