Sundiego

21 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

I couldn't find a TA local to me that discounts cruise fares.  I gladly give up being local in return for her 8% discount.  Her services are great too.

@RocketMan275, we used to live in Huntsville and have a mutual friend (Nancy). Email me when you have time!

Denise ( sun.diego at g mail)

We have sailed Alaska on all 3 cruise lines. Our most recent was Sept 2022 on the NCL Bliss. We are big fans of NCL but honestly, the Bliss was not that great for Alaska. It's a great ship, but also a big ship and was docked far from the ports. We kept saying how relieved we were that we had been to the ports before because getting off the ship and "into town" was a hassle and I imagine some first time cruisers were surprised and disappointed by that.

I recommend Princess and if you have a choice of ships (and I'm guessing you will), the smaller the better.

Enjoy!

Denise

@no1talks and @RichYak I was able to confirm that info you gave me regarding earned points expiring. You are correct and thanks so much for bringing that to my attention. Decision made. I'll let status expire. Too many other cruise options out there to jump through the hoops to keep it. 

Thanks for all the helpful feedback!

Denise

On 5/24/2023 at 6:41 AM, no1talks said:

 

I think your entire loyalty status is wiped out, if too much time passes between cruises.

 

Whether some ranking is matched and some earned is of no consequence. It all goes back to zero, as far as I know.

 

Maybe it is different now, but I would not make the assumption.

Wow! That seems really unfair. We have status with other cruise lines, some of which we haven't cruised in quite some time and those aren't affected so I had no clue this would happen. I'll check further but thanks for bringing to my attention!

Denise

14 hours ago, dd likes to cruise said:

Don’t you get % off with that membership also?  

Thanks for this! I over-looked that benefit. I did double check and the discounts also apply to silver & gold. We have "earned" gold status so even if Diamond expires, we would still get discounts.

Denise

4 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

I believe status match is a one time thing.  If it expires, you can’t match again, you start all over.  If it’s important, just grab a 3 day cruise in steerage.  We will welcome you.  EM

When I said "we would only cruise the YC" I meant that IF we were cruising the YC, I'm not sure the Diamond status matters. We have no problem with steerage. It's the "grab a 3 day cruise" that's an issue. Traveling from the west coast to Florida coast can get pricey, plus there are no direct flights for us so it's not so easy-peasy. I'm just trying to think through the pros & cons of DIAMOND before we let it expire.

Thanks.

Denise

We are Diamond through a status match since 2018. We haven't sailed MSC since pre-Covid (Sept 2019). Before then, we enjoyed 3 Yacht Club cruises, including a transatlantic. Our Diamond status will expire at the end of October, 2023.

Our dilemma... should we try to squeeze in an MSC cruise before the end of October? Since we would only cruise the YC, I'm not sure if the Diamond status really gives us much benefit. If we lose the Diamond status, I don't think we could get it back through a match because honestly, it was easier to qualify back in 2018.

So, expert advice needed 🙂 Should we scramble to keep that Diamond status or not bother?

Thanks!!

Denise

On 5/12/2023 at 1:17 PM, RocketMan275 said:

You've found a good one.   I'm amazed at those on this board that try to convince me that my TA doessn't really give me an 8-10% discount.  

I don't know why there's so much criticism of @RocketMan275 method. I do the exact same thing. My TA discounts the fare (especially for Princess cruises). Sometimes the larger "umbrella agency" she works under has free gratuities on top of discounts. She can quickly view any casino perks I might have and applies them. She ensures the Veteran perk gets applied. If we want to upgrade as prices start dropping after final payment, she willingly helps with that. If I need to reach her, I usually just send a quick email and she gets back to me quickly. Someone on this site gave me the name of my TA about 5 years ago and we use her for every cruise, regardless of cruiseline.

~Denise

Hi there! We spent a number of days in Dublin a few weeks ago. Friends recommended Darkey Kelly's and it did not disappoint! The food was good, the bar prices reasonable. It's by the lobby of the Harding Hotel. Great music later in the day, but sounds like you won't be there past lunch. Temple Bar (the actual bar) is crowded and pricey. Locals don't hang out there. The Temple Bar area can be over-the-top touristy so if that's not your thing, I'd wander away from it.

Denise

On 4/9/2023 at 7:49 AM, Moxiefurball said:

I don’t travel that often, just taking a Europe trip late summer this year.  Thought?

Just to give you a real-world example, we just flew back from Dublin where you clear US customs in Dublin (as opposed to arriving in the United States). Although the Global Entry kiosks would have breezed us to the front of the line, there was no line 🙂 so it didn't make a bit of difference. On the other hand, my sister and her daughter came back from a European trip and cleared customs at IAH (Houson). They were in line for over an hour after a long fight and tiring trip. She would have gladly paid $100 for that one global entry had she known.

~Denise

We just spent a week in Dublin so I have some recent first hand experience.

1. Do it yourself, don't use a ship's excursion for Dublin. The transportation system is reliable and super easy. Use Google Maps and clicking on the transportation option you'll see the DART is a straight shot into town.

2. We were somewhat under-whelmed by the Guinness Storehouse. They no longer brew the Guinness there so we found the tour to be over-the-top touristy. Unless you're a huge fan of Guinness, I'd skip it and have your Guinness elsewhere, like at The Brazen Head, Dublin's oldest pub. Or Darkey Kellys if you want to add an order of small bites or lunch.

3. Our favorite "touristy" thing in Dublin was the Irish Whisky museum. You can book it online directly through the museum. It is very central, across from Trinity College (Book of Kells). 

Hope this helps!

~Denise

Question...

DH and I each have plenty of OBC. I booked an excursion online a few weeks ago for a September cruise. On the Princess site, it shows the excursion as booked and paid. But looking at our OBC, I don't see where it's been deducted. I know it hasn't been paid via credit card. Is this typical?

Thanks!

~Denise

2 hours ago, Babr said:

As I mentioned earlier, many depend on their credit card travel benefits for cancellation/ interruption. This is not likely to work for the OP since she/he specifically mentioned that the pre-existing conditions waiver was important to them.

 

Neither Chase nor any other credit card covers pre-existing conditions for the cardholder, traveling companion, or family member. Anyone who relies on credit card coverage needs to be clear about what this means and how it might impact them.

I get your point and agree with you. But for us, pre-existing conditions is important for the medical coverage. The cost of the cruise is secondary and we essentially self-insure that expense using the credit card insurance as a possible back-up. And again, agreeing with you... credit card insurance should not be relied upon in every circumstance.

As we've gotten older, we have become more concerned about medical limits and less concerned about insuring the value of the trip itself. We purchase IMG insurance through Trip Insurance Store. Owner Steve posts here a lot and they are very helpful! Coverage is primary and med limits are good. We use a $500 trip cost which keeps the premium affordable. As far as insuring the cost of the trip itself, we charge the trip expenses to our Chase Sapphire credit card which offers travel insurance. While we haven't had to file a claim through Chase, we did file a med claim with IMG and it was handled just fine. In November 2022, DH had to visit ship's medical center (long story short, cough that required antibiotics and bill was $1760). We uploaded requested docs to the IMG website and felt the claim was paid in a timely manner.

Hope this helps!

Denise

11 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

IMT seems to be having some, uh, difficulty with just about all of the questions.

Wait, no.  The questions are fine.

It's the non-answers that are the problem...

 

One way I try to vet potential new business entities is to see how they respond.  My thinking has always been that if they aren't really wonderful while they are initially trying to *sell* to you, what's the chance that they will be very responsive and helpful if there are problems later...?

 

GC

DITTO!! Thanks for this post. I was beginning to think it was just me. An entire forum section devoted to showcasing them and their answers are, uhm, well they are NOT answers.

Safe and happy travels to you GeezerCouple 🙂

Denise

On 2/22/2023 at 8:30 AM, cwayne said:

Do not travel enough out of the country to warrant an annual plan. Just wanted info on whether to insure a b2b separately or as a unit

This was a great question. I don't think "Insure My Trip" understands what a B2B cruise is! Essentially it's two cruises but ONE TRIP. I don't know why they think annual trip insurance is even relevant to this discussion. 

On 2/21/2023 at 7:25 AM, InsureMyTrip said:

What is an "emergency assistance company" ???

On 2/21/2023 at 8:45 AM, InsureMyTrip said:

Is this for real? The op asked about age cut-offs. How does saying a 90 y/o "may cost more" even begin to answer this questions? Of course it will cost more! But is there an age where an elderly person is uninsurable?

1 hour ago, XBGuy said:

It is a pretty fair walk to the Suite Concierge Lounge which is quite far abaft as you can see from the deck plan.  It was not a big deal, at all, for us, but I don't know if you have any physical limitations.  From our suite on Deck 11, we climbed two flights of stairs to Deck 14 and headed aft.  Since you are booked on Deck 12 (A101 by any chance), you will have to climb one flight.

 

Bon Voyage,

No physical limitations. We had a similar "walk" with a Neptune suite on HAL and it's actually a good excuse to get a few extra steps in 🙂 Thanks for the feedback!

Denise

PS ... it's A102

Thanks for posting this question! We just booked a premium suite (S5) on the Regal for a Sept British Isles cruise.  We have cruised A LOT but only a handful of times on Princess.

Can someone who has been in one of those forward facing suites comment on the best deck? We booked Aloha (deck 12) thinking that would be the "shortest" walk to the Concierge lounge on deck 14. Thoughts on the bridge overhang or anything else we should consider?

Thanks!!

Denise

On 2/3/2023 at 10:22 PM, Upper Bob said:

These are the scotch and whiskey selections from the Enchanted Princess last year. This is from the Crooners and Take Five drink menus and each had the same selection. Good Spirits will also have the same selection.

 

OP here... thank you! If they do indeed have Bushmills, that will work 🙂

Denise

Haven't cruised Princess in awhile. Husband likes Whistle Pig but I don't see that or any other rye whiskies. I did find this list on another site. Does it look like a pretty accurate list of his options? Thanks!

Denise

2 minutes ago, gracebest said:

Hi, the same thing happened to me for a cruise in a few months.  I emailed with some requests and gluten/dairy free diet concerns for my granddaughter and received the canned response that I should hear from someone within 48 hours.  It’s been well over 2 weeks, and nothing yet!  Do you ever get a response?  Thanks.

Some helpful person in this thread told me to call instead which I did. The lady I talked to was awesome and sorted everything out. Only a certain percentage of reservations are open prior to sailing, I believe one of the dates was not available but once onboard, our concierge desk was extremely helpful in doing everything we needed. 

Denise

Just off the Escape.  I would visit the "restaurant reservation people" shortly after boarding to get this checked off your list so you can get on with enjoying your cruise 🙂  Restaurant reservations are located at the far end of the Guest Service Desk (left hand side). They have all the menus available if you want to look at them before choosing a restaurant, but it sounds like you've made your choices. Have a great cruise!

~Denise

Just off the Escape transatlantic. At one of the officer Q&A's, the question was asked if the "Behind The Scenes" tours were coming back. The answer was yes, very soon they will be back.

~Denise