Papa Yoda

Yah.  Being tracked has emotional overtones that we cannot fathom.  The benefits of using medallions on a cruise to us have little to no bearing vis a vis a stalking event.  

OP:  I hope you are able to move beyond the events and enjoy cruising.  Overall a cruise ship is itself an exceedingly safe environment so I'm hoping you and family can use the tools that make it easier and more enjoyable.  I can't imagine the pain you've gone through and can only hope Princess will make it work for you!

23 minutes ago, cruzsnooze said:

The Island Princess does not have a concierge lounge so that suite benefit is a waste. The Island does not have an international cafe. The best perk you will definatly enjoy will be the club class/reserve class dining room. 

Love the Reserve dining, no resers, just show up!

Plus: Suite Breakfast in Sabatini's!, same day laundry, fruit basket, mini-bar, embarkation champagne, 2 bottles of water, chocolate covered strawberries on formal nights, canapes daily, choose from MDR menu to be delivered to your stateroom.

Welcome,

my experience with an Amazon Kindle is that it can't handle the web "splash" page needed to log onto ship's WiFi (where you have to input cabin and birthdate). The embedded web browser throws an error or hangs.  

The Princess app works for your phone but not for tablets that need a "compatible" browser to sign in.

May have to wait for a port where your phone can be a hotspot.  (I use a "travel router" to connect to ship's WiFi, can you get one via Amazon overnight?)

Wow congrats!

The aft suites on Island were added with the remodel, Vista suites are on Lido and Aloha and are partially covered.  We were in L724 on Lido and could see most of the balcony of the Aloha deck suites below us.

Photo of L724 balcony.  It is narrow with a table and 2 chairs and 1 lounger.  We didn't hear any noise from Teen Center - usually it was adults playing skeeball we heard as walking past.  The remaining Vistas on Caribe and Dolphin are the originals on the sides (plus they have whirlpool bath tubs  the new suites don't)

The Thermal Suite is included and for Lido suites - it is a short hallway away.  Also access to the gender specific sauna is just a bit further down the hall.

We got soot one time while in port - a lot of it.  Otherwise none.

Soot

Vista suite on the side  (D630) from 2017

On 5/31/2024 at 3:32 AM, latebloomer56 said:

I was told no Thermal Suite on the Grand? Would you know where this is located or is it just part of Lotus? Thanks

There is no Thermal Suite on the Grand.  

2 hours ago, voljeep said:

Pro Tip - If you know you will be using the washing machine and dryer - get your tokens ahead of time.  Never know when the token machines may be down or out

If the token machine appears down, power cycle it.  Ran into that last month, pulling the plug and putting it back in worked.  On boot up could see it's Windows.

C750 balcony is shallower with two beams - definitely inferior to D738/739 deeper with one beam.  Both are covered.  We've stayed in both on similar ships.  Recommend D738.  We're in D739 on Sapphire next week.

Kinda dumb, the old app showed the no charge on the last page, the new one charges your card -- I never let it sit long enough to show a credit I guess, I cancel as soon as the charge shows up.  Seems a waste for them, to do it that way especially without a note saying that's what they're doing - typical Princess shenanigans,  We usually go to Sabatinis so we stop in there on our embarkation walkaround and see the person at the desk, could do the same at the other one.. 

On some of our Medallion cruises, the machine would log us out and bank our funds if the Medallion was "too far away" from the machine - even while we were sitting there.  While we do make sure to bank any money before leaving, I suppose based on experience if you just get up and walk away the machine will log you off and bank your money.  I may try it with a small amount left.

On 2/13/2024 at 3:11 PM, DShock said:

Pinnacle RCCL cruisers but this itinerary was perfect. So we just booked this one.  Always wanted to see this part of the world but at this point in life we absolutely hate long flights.  So this one is perfect.

We will need to figure out all the new Princess Medallion stuff but have time to do so.  One of the things we love about Royal is their Coastal Kitchen.  Anything like that on Grand?  Is there a Roll Call for this cruise?

Check out Sabatini's

Menu is on Princess website

My biggest issue with pre-ordering Medallions is getting my picture to come out right, too many times I wind up looking like Charlie Manson or with an "up the nose" selfie....

Right, not routers or repeaters.  Cisco Aironet Access Points are in some cabins (suites especially - behind the TV) and on the ceilings of passageways.  As noted they are white boxes some with a blue light on (hopefully).  They home back to ethernet switches in the electrical closets.

There are none on cabin balconies.

We hit about $400 with Premier just by opening our cabin door.  One hit was $250. 15 day Hawaii cruise a year ago.  And we do appreciate the better wines...Sadly, Fortuna Luck didn't give us the 5 grand, or a free cruise, or even $100K at the end of cruise drawing.

29 minutes ago, victory2020 said:

Thank you so much for these great pictures! Helps me make my decision

That is a picture of the balcony of an aft Vista Suite - on Sapphire that would be a picture of D738.  The D741 pic is correct.

ETA - we've stayed in the equivalent to D741 on other Grands and it does have a queen bed or 2 twins.  

13 minutes ago, jagoffee said:

 

I thought the same thing.  (Like Apple Pay) but the above post makes it seem otherwise.  

I believe you are right - the 3rd party is this Radiqal LLC outfit.  At least CC info is going to them and not every merchant out there. 

This thread: 

I haven't read the whole thread, but I'd figure that PCL is acting as a Credit Card clearing house / transaction processor, no CC numbers or PII are given out to merchants.  They charge shoreside merchants a transaction fee.  The only way they could do that was if they were processing the transactions themselves, not your CC company.

ETA:  Shoreside Medallion charges go to your onboard account, not your CC.

15 hours ago, Thrak said:

... The next 5 segments of the cruise are all in AUD and I don't want Princess adjusting my money to AUD. I will take it out via the casino before the end of the first segment.

I think you have to cash out your Casino account at the end of each segment if they are booked as separate cruises and not a single cruise, Casino accounts don't carry over (at least they didn't) like shipboard accounts. 

Or did you mean to clear any OBC / credits?

I tend to cash out every time I play if the cage is open.

1 hour ago, pugbeary said:

Sounds like it will be fun!!!   Maybe it will become a regular thing for me😀

... except for the hostess Fortuna Luck: 

2 hours ago, TCTXCruiser said:

Do you know if the room service dinner menu includes the special items in the MDR on formal nights too?  

Yes - any MDR menu item.  

We won just under $500 on "door prizes" on Sapphire last December, so the premier package (sort of) paid for itself with OBC.

C'mon, it's a 20th anniversary cruise, even if you think it's a waste, the experience is once in a lifetime for them.  Or have them try for Chef's Table (another one of a kind experience), < $100 each including wine!

Knowing and being parents, the all cash idea is likely to result in them not spending it.  Buy them a couples massage or something they would never consider buying for themselves.

We trade out spirits for vodka and gin. Beer for anything other than two Xes. Still have a few dozen Sky vodkas

On 3/8/2023 at 10:38 AM, JimmyVWine said:

I'm not sure what a "leftover guide" is.  The companies that are being used all have multiple guides.  It's impossible to predict if the person assigned to "Tour #2" is going to be better than the guide who is assigned to "Tour #4".  It's not like the tour companies are pulling people out of line at the unemployment office.  Maybe the "best guide" was scheduled for an off day that day, but pulled back into service because of the need for all hands on deck.  

True story:  we were waiting on line for an excursion on Maui (Road to Hana).  We got into an elbowing match with this couple who insisted "they were there first".  Upshot:  we got a van with a smaller group and a better guide,  So don't let karma get in your way, be cool and hang loose!

We're signed up for the Tracy Arm excursion and Hump Island Oyster Farm (Ketchikan).  Our Tracy Arm excursion in 2017 was redirected to Endicott Arm due to ice in TA (late May).  We enjoyed the excursion and had a great time anyway.

Did Hump Island in 2019 and loved it. Small family run Oyster farm partnered with a kelp farmer - the best Oysters and a good time at the touch tank -- DW likes to grab the sea cucumber.  Helped them pull star fish off the oysters in a cage that had got dropped.  2019 was the first season for this tour. If you appreciate oysters this is a great tour.