BamaVol

Sept 6, 3:00 PM Sapphire Princess inside passage.

It might be hard to believe if you spend too much time on this board, but Princess gets some things right. It appears that some change took place in the last 6-9 months and shareholder OBC is now granted very quickly.

I purchased an ocean view guarantee for last week’s Sapphire to Alaska. I bid on an upgrade to a balcony and won A420. It is mid-ship, right across from the main elevators and staircase. It was convenient to almost everything food and drink related. I was worried about noise but it was never a problem. At worst, we heard carts rolling overhead at times. It didn’t appear that that cabin class was sold out. I did see aft cabins on the Aloha deck that didn’t appear to be occupied and right before sailing, interior cabins were heavily discounted. When I had not heard from Princess with 30 days to sail, I bumped my bid by a little. I got the upgrade 24 hours later. We were pleased with our cabin. But there are so many variables, it’s hard to say that it would work the same for others or even for us next cruise.

Add to that the advantage of a larger screen that you don’t have to burden yourself with bringing along. Maps, photos and certain websites are better viewed on the larger PC screens than the phone or iPad I travel with.

Yes, or possibly a few days before sailing. I would have thought port fees were relatively fixed. I have no clue how the port or cruise line calculates them.

It’s a nice facility. The machine to dispense tokens is right in each laundry, although you may have to try more than one as they are sometimes empty or out of order. I took pictures of everything including token dispenser. This is one of two laundries on deck 12, Sapphire Princess last week.

We have twice now gotten a port fees credit without dropping or replacing a port. It was $18-25 pp each time. I have no idea what the reason was, but I spent it like any other OBC.

Something slightly different happened on our first cruise. We were stopped in Nassau. My wife never anticipated the window washers when she stepped out of the bathroom without her robe on! 😮

But it is a way of saving money on a future cruise and only available onboard.

In my case, the DR Mgr managed my dietary peculiarities. I thought that was worthy of recognition. The hostess at the door was the one who arranged for us to sit at the same premium table 5 out of 7 nights last week. That was worthy as well. And there was a cocktail server in the Wheelhouse who made a beeline for us every time we came through the door. If we’d been consistent, I’m sure she’d have brought our drinks without having ordered. That merited daily tips and a larger one on the last night. She got a mention as well. our cabin steward screwed up in a couple small ways. He was quite young and I felt like he might be new and still on a learning curve. I did leave him a small tip to compensate for him having seen me naked when he burst into the bathroom unannounced. He did not get a mention in my survey.

Just my opinion, but I despise the word “fair”. In my mind, fair is when two or more parties agree to something, however reluctantly. Fair is not something one side determines.

That’s horrible, if true. It can take several days to get back home and a couple more to feel normal enough to tackle the survey. It should count as long as the survey is still open to be completed. I ask permission to photograph name tags with my phone as a reminder of the crew members who have made our cruise a great experience. On our last night on the CB in March, I pointed out a crew member to a uniformed officer and demanded he be promoted immediately because he was responsible for my cruise being perfect. I’m sure it didn’t count but it got a smile from both of them.

In many years of business and leisure travel involving hundreds of hotel rooms, that has happened to me twice. I remember once walking into a room and hearing someone in the shower. That was a close call. Only once did I meet the legitimate occupant face to face. We were both shocked. But, there were also quite a number of times I was assigned a room that wasn’t ready to occupied - usually unmade beds. Mistakes happen more often than they should.

I experienced no pressure whatsoever. The woman was happy to sell me FCD.

I stopped by the future cruise desk on board last week. The deal that I was offered is OBC per person from $25-150 depending on cabin and length of cruise. I put $100 down and have a year to deliver a booking. Otherwise Princess refunds my $100.

I got my upgrade about a month before sailing. I bumped my bid and heard within 24 hours. You might try going a tiny amount higher and see if that elevates you above everyone else.

I got an unpleasant surprise last week. My wife was out on deck and I was in the bathroom, about to take a shower. I heard the door open and called out “hello”, expecting my wife to answer. Instead the door of the bathroom opened, and there was the cabin attendant. He was very apologetic, and explained that he thought he had left a bottle of cleaner in our bathroom. Upon reflection, he made two mistakes. First, he did not knock and announce himself. Second, the screen at the door should have shown that I (or at least my medallion) was present in the room. It’s no big deal. At least for me. He may have needed a case of mind bleach afterwards. But, it was a reminder that there are locks on cabin doors for a reason.

I looked at my March folio. No Ft Lauderdale taxes were charged. That could mean one of several things. I may not have had a drink while in port, but that’s unlikely. They may mot have recorded it until we left port. They may not have been charging taxes in March. There may have been no FTL tax in March. Who knows?

Yes, my Princess Plus included up to 15 drinks a day. As I explained, the drink charges on my folio were glasses of wine that exceeded the $15 limit. I paid the difference in price, plus a service charge, plus tax in one location. My Alaska cruise did not port in Florida. I don’t recall paying a tax in Ft Lauderdale on a previous cruise. I’m not sure I still have that folio from March. I provided Juneau as an example that it does happen.

It can be accessed via the app while on board. They email me a copy prior to disembarkation. I had Princess Plus. The bar charges are from buying wine at Vines with a price greater than $15.

It can be accessed via the app while on board. They email me a copy prior to disembarkation.

Even with a beverage package, there is an adder for tax where charged. You don’t sign anything with Princess. At least I never have. You will see it in your folio if you look. others may not specifically charge the tax, but they do remit it. But that’s like the furniture store that advertises “tax holiday” pricing. The tax is built into their prices.

Mention it to whom, the Princess employee working in the Internet cafe? That person had nothing to do with the language on the website. Go ahead and complain here. You have. Thats fine. But drop it after that.

Don’t expect lots of vegetarian options in a Princess MDR.

We don’t even drive in the same day. We’re about 5 hours north of Ft Lauderdale and bad stuff happens on Florida’s Turnpike every day. Much safer to book a room and enjoy a day at the port city.