socialworker

I became very ill on a recent Princess cruise. Medical center bill exceeded $4,000. Advised by attending physician to allow them to transfer me to local hospital upon arrival back in port. I declined their “offer” and made it home. Once home, I was hospitalized for 5 days but those expenses are covered by Medicare and my supplement. How do I get an itemized medical bill from Princess? They’ve already been paid by my credit card company.

We are “Elite” with Princess and always purchase the “better” coverage.

Thanks for any help offered.

I'm unsure of what I'm seeing in the Upgrade Offer.  We have an obstructed ocean view that's really not obstructed and we're happy with it.  The offer from Princess contained three possible upgrades, Oceanview, Standard Balcony and Premium Balcony. Then we decided what we'd be willing to pay for each balcony option (only worthwhile choices). When I clicked on submit an upgrade bid, what popped up was a box with a line with a red dot and the number $1040 and the continuation of the line. Under that was the "button" to "submit a bid."  I was afraid to click the upgrade button because I sure didn't want to bid an additional $1040 per person. 

Can someone please explain how I go about submitting a bid and what the heck was that $1040 representing.

Thanks.   

I apologize for beating this old horse to death, but I'm still unsure if we need Pre-Travel Tests for our cruise departing Vancouver on 9/3/22.  We know we don't need pre-entry tests prior to our flight from Chicago to Vancouver, just the completed ArriveCAN form.  We also understand that we could be selected for a random test by airport authorities. But will we need to show negative test results (taken 48 or 72 hours previously) in order to board Royal Princess in Vancouver? 

I know Princess lifted testing requirements for sailings less than 16 days in length, but does that override Canada's restriction(s)?

Thank you all for your help.

We love CDP also.  It really helps when you're looking to sail on a "new" ship.   

I have the same problem with our January 30 cruise on RCCL Allure.  I had to cancel first and second cruise of a b2b2b because I tested positive for Covid.  Second cruise was removed almost immediately, but first one still shows up with boarding info. I called RCCL to make sure it had been canceled properly and according to them, it's good. Guess I'll eventually find out. 

Thanks for sharing this information. We've been cruising for 30+ years and we've done many b2b and now b2b2b, but I never knew one could do a side2side.  In fact, I wanted to get off one RCCL ship and get on another the same day but didn't know how I could do it with the testing requirement.  This info has opened up a whole new world for me....Game Changer!

Does RCCL give price adjustments?

10 minutes ago, skynight said:

Only Princess can assist. Call Princess exactly 6am Central Time. They open 8am Pacific Time. They are open Monday through Saturday, don't believe they are open Sunday.

They open at 8:00 am - Pacific Time, which is 10:00 am my time.  I finally have them on phone. Apparently I was mistakenly charged for an upgrade I declined. Agent is currently requesting revenue department refund charge to my credit card.  Glad I caught it now.

Weird…My statement shows a payment charged to my credit card that I did not authorize and that I have no clue what it was for, but it now shows up a credit to my account.  The last thing we need is another onboard credit. I try to contact Princess via phone and their hours conflict with mine. The recording refers me to an online chat, but I’ll be darned if I can find it.  Help!

Oh, we haven't loaded the "app" and I know it will be a mind boggling chore, but I'll give it a try.  If you never hear from me again...

3 minutes ago, skynight said:

Works either way, no difference. If you book two seven day cruises as a single 14 day voyage you will receive 1 cruise credit for each 7 day leg. Works out the same if you book as two separate 7 day cruises.

Would need to look through cruise log, but there was some benefit to doing 2 cruises rather than number of days sailed.  Maybe we did 2 really short cruises, b2b.

On 6/26/2021 at 9:36 AM, phabric said:

I have seen a cruise I am interested in.  Can be done as two 7 day (B2B) or 14 day cruise.

 

Is there any advantages if booked as B2B vs 14 days?

When we started out with Princess, it didn't make any difference to us 2 Seven day cruises or 1 fourteen day.  But once we were closing in on "Elite" status and we wanted "Free Laundry" for an upcoming 16 night cruise, we booked two back to back short cruises, simply to reach Elite.  It worked!  

On 6/23/2021 at 2:39 PM, mtnesterz said:

Everyone's different. As you've read above, some, like us, take this itinerary again and again. Some can't take those five sea days coming home. As mentioned, the first day or so out of the west coast can be rough seas.

Helps to plan things to do those five sea days eastbound. Make your stop in Ensenada something to look forward to. We liked the Casino tour and wine tasting.

If considering flying into LA and sailing from there, don't do the Feb 13, '22 as that is the day of the Super Bowl and the venue is right by LAX. Traffic will be nuts! Roll Call posters are saying hotels already booked up.

This is one of our favorite winter getaways but we love sea days.  Unfortunately we originally booked for 2/13/22 on the Grand but as noted above, Super Bowl Sunday is 2/13/22 in LA which made finding hotel space impossible.  Our solution, we booked the 10 day Mexico cruise leaving 2/3/22, problem solved!

Just learned my July 18 cruise on Allure out of Cape Canaveral is canceled. Not sure what to do now.  Struggling with air and hotel reservations since they’re non-refundable. My mistake!

Looks as though you're planning to do SA only since you're looking at 14 day cruises. We did the cruise to Antarctica with Princess in 2010 (r/t Buenos Aires) but we have not done it with Celebrity.  We are "Princess" people although we started out as Celebrity folks many years ago.  I suppose the experience will be similar whichever line you choose, so I'd take the itinerary that sparks my interest more so than the other.  If you're looking for cabin advice, I can't help you there nor do I think it's all that important when you're doing this cruise because you'll want to be outside a lot and running from side to side or front to rear.  Well that's how I remember it anyway.  I got a great photo of an avalanche on our trip but to do so I had to race up three flights of outside stairs and then jump up on a bench.  We got into the Falklands so I guess we were very fortunate.  Seriously, you can't go wrong whichever cruise line you choose.

On 1/16/2020 at 1:53 PM, snoozecrooze said:

I have not personally sailed with Captain Todd McBain, but I did a quick search that I hope can help you out a little bit. 

1. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2051245-captain-todd-mcbain/

2. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/1603863-tell-me-about-capt-todd-mcbain/

 

Overall, it seems that the opinion (based on a small sample size, of course) is mostly positive and that he runs a ship well. 

Captain Todd McBain is a fantastic captain because the safety of his passengers and crew is his primary concern. Plus he is articulate and keeps everyone informed throughout the cruise.  I once told Princess that Captain McBain should train all their captains because he doesn't allow passenger criticism to override safety and he exudes confidence at all times.  Moreover his announcements are both professional and personable.  I have no worries when McBain is at the helm!

We also stay at HIE for it's location - close to restaurants and port.  They were building a new pool earlier this year so I'm hoping it is finished now.

How crazy does it get at the pier during disembarkation with everyone waiting for their UBER?  I'm guessing this would also be one of those "prime times" when the basic rates are increased.  Yes or no?

We've always tipped our waiters in the specialty restaurants and we've actually had a few waiters return our cash with the reminder that their tip was "included" in the price of our meal.  We had one waiter say to us: "Why would you want to pay twice for the same service?"  We were amazed...

We purchased the "Unlimited Dining Package" because we're celebrating our 30th anniversary and my husband loves to try all the different restaurants on the Allure.  Last year, same ship, we bought the 3 night package, but we ended up paying "full price" for some of the others he wanted to try.  When we were considering the unlimited package, we actually did the math and for us it will save $.

Now I am confused; we booked last month (May, 2019) through our travel agency so are we disqualified from receiving the stockholder's OBC?  I printed a few copies of the request form just in case.  We've used this type of benefit on Princess (Carnival Cruise Lines) for years; on that line we can combine all the OBC benefits we qualify for, i.e., military, tier status, booking promo and you still get whatever OBC your travel agent provides.  So...this is great news from RCCL.  If you can add any tidbits to my understanding of how this is going to work, please do so asap.  Thanks. 

On ‎4‎/‎9‎/‎2019 at 5:19 PM, NavyVeteran said:

No, this is not true.

 

If the travel agent pays you the OBC from its own money or from its commission, then it is refundable.

 

If the travel agent provides OBC it received from a Princess promotion, than it may not be refundable.

 

Check with the travel agent when it quotes the OBC. The agent should tell you (in writing) whether or not it is refundable.

NavyVeteran is correct.  OBC refund hinges on origin of OBC from TA.

Yes, I tip $5.00 per attendant, each way.  When getting onboard, I tip "pusher" in cruise terminal and then again for ship's personnel who takes me onboard.   I also tip "pusher" in airport - one getting on and another getting off.  It's just a part of my travel expense.

This has been answered multiple times so I'll keep my comments brief.  We just returned from our annual cruise to Hawaii.  We had a lot of OBC, plus our gratuities were prepaid.  Given my mobility issues on this trip, we knew we'd never spend it all but fortunately almost half of it was refundable (military and travel agency).  We even bought our tablemates a dinner drink just to use up the non-refundable portion.  If past history holds true, we should receive our refund check within 4-6 weeks.  

The embarkation lunch in the MDR is my favorite meal because it has great food and it's peaceful. It's just what I need after fighting the crowds getting onboard.