tert333

I am looking at booking the indulgence package to lock in the price, paying for it on my credit card.  If for some reason, I decide to cancel the package prior to sailing, can I do that, and if so, are there any fees?

Has anyone tried to apply for the Shareholder Credit for a cruise leaving in 2025.   The website says it is only applicable for cruises up to the end of 2024?

Our cruse docked near the downtown and you could easily walk to the town.

On 5/20/2024 at 8:55 PM, tert333 said:

You may want to check your account.   I received a similar letter and they did apply the credit to my existing cruise.   I have sent "Alvin" and note to ask to apply the credit to my next cruise in Jan 2025.  Will see how that goes.

As a follow up, I sent the note to Alvin and they applied the credit to my cruise that was booked in Jan 2025.  Well done Alvin!

On 5/16/2024 at 3:19 PM, ChutChut said:

I received it and have a cruise coming up this Fall. Had no intention of quitting Princess at all - just wanted the elevator fixed - which they did while I was onboard (it kept closing on people when they stepped over the threshold). I told my daughter she can use the extra $50 to buy something for herself in one of the shops.

You may want to check your account.   I received a similar letter and they did apply the credit to my existing cruise.   I have sent "Alvin" and note to ask to apply the credit to my next cruise in Jan 2025.  Will see how that goes.

On our Jan 3, 2025, departure time is 7PM

There is a group of us traveling on the Oasis in April.   One couple have booked a flight for 8:40AM.   I normally don't book anything before noon.   Do you think there is any chance of them making the flight with no checked luggage?

Also, I picked up a bottle of wine at 45% of posted price of La Crema Sonoma Pinot Noir for $45.66(CAD).   It seemed to be a pretty good deal if you want to have wine at the dining room.   I believe the corkage fees are now $25(US), if you want to bring your own wine.

4 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

I will never get the chance to do 360 since I don't plan (99% no) to be on a Royal Class ship.  Saying that....

 

I thought 360 was by invitation to suite passengers.  Did hear/read that 360 was being offered to a few mini-suite passengers for $140 ????

 

I have only witnessed the parade of staff and plates during a Chef's Table.  Just happened to be in the Crown Grill when the Chef's Table was being offered.  Also was told that there are multiple seatings for this glorious event during the voyage.  Everything is included in both dinners (liquor paired with dishes).  

 

You would need to contact the DINE line in order to place your name in a lottery for the Chef's Table.  I don't think you can invite yourself to 360.  

If you can do the 360 experience, I would do it.   It was the best experience we had on any ship.  Being immersed in a specific area, with videos of the area as they present the food, was something we have not had before.   We would definitely doe the 360 experience again!

Its funny why Princess has such a large OBC for the 2025 South American cruises and Celebrity just cancelled their 2025 south american cruises on the Equinox.   I would not be surprised if Princess gets rid of the OBC soon as there are less ships now going....

It was originally scheduled for September 26, 2023.  However, I see that has now been filled with a cruise.

Below is the link for new cruises announced today.  Strangely, the heading is titled 2024 expeditions but they also talk about 2025 cruises.   However, I do not see anything on their website for 2025, so maybe they will be released later.

https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2023/07/atlas-ocean-voyages-announces-2024-world-voyager-expeditions/

22 hours ago, kiwimum said:

We were on the 2022 sailing, booked for 2023.   The Santiago to Buenos Aires leg was fully booked.   Many large South American extended family groups.   This was a memorable voyage.   Very well done for Christmas and New Year festivities.  On the down side weather was not the best, snow, seas very  rough, ports missed.   Captain McBain, HAL certified captain and Ice Pilots from Chile and Argentina kept us safe at all times.   The worst seas were leaving Antarctic waters heading for Montevideo.  No chance of stopping in the Falklands.  
if you have the chance to sail this voyage, do it!

We are thinking about doing the cruise from Santiago to Buenos Aires and saving Antarctic until another time.   You mention the worse was Antarctic.  For those not taking the extra 4 days in Antarctic, would you say the seas were still rough as well?  My wife tends to get seasick and not sure she would want to do this cruise if the seas were rough most of the time.  A day or two would be probably ok.

I was a bit disappointed that you can not start in Buenos Aires and end in Santiago, with a stop in Antarctica, like the one on January 4 of next year.   That means I will then also consider the celebrity cruise on the Equinox as well.

It is not until around the end of the month - Thought I saw the date of July 27 somewhere....

I got 10 PUPs as well.

We were not in a suite.  Was in a suite the previous cruise and are Platinum.  Not sure how we got invited, but it was the best dining experience we have ever had.   It put Le Petit Chef on Celebrity to shame.   The visuals, along with the food and wine pairing, coupled with the level of service was excellent!

An experience not to be missed if given an option.

3 hours ago, lx200gps said:

Great to hear that facial recognition is there as well. Did you disembark from SP or Long Beach?

San Pedro. 

Just got back from a cruise terminating in LA.   US customs did not say a word to us, except enjoy your day in LA!

We have a princess cruise sailing out of Vancouver to LA September 20.  It makes one stop in Victoria the next day, along the way and we just received an email from princess stating that we had to complete the arrivecan app prior to boarding.   I do understand why we need to do it, but will complete it so we do not have an issue at the pier.

3 hours ago, Middleager said:

Bank of Nova Scotia is based (headquartered) in Toronto.   Just like Bank of Montreal is based (headquartered) in Toronto.

 

The Bank of Nova Scotia Passport visa card does not have foreign currency conversion fee (2.5% for most CCs) and provides 6 Priority Pass lounge accesses.  They converted the reward points to Scene points last year and had problems, and lost mover than 35k points in that conversion (which they admit having system glitch, have a case file, but still didn't get those points back to me yet).

 

CIBC Aventura visa card has FYF (First year free) and 4 lounge visits by Visa Airport Lounges.   BMO Ascend World Elite Master Card also has FYF, and 4 Lounge Key lounge accesses.

Yes, you are correct.  I was saying that just so that people would be able to guess the bank and I would not be in any violation of any cruisecritic "third-party recommendation" rules. 🙂

1 hour ago, CDNPolar said:

There are a number of threads on here in various forums that people are discussing the challenges with airports, staffing, luggage, connection times, etc.

 

From our experience in the past year with multiple flights - all connecting - we don't book any connection now that is not at least 2.5 hours. 

 

We have flights coming up to Spain where we transfer through Amsterdam in 23 days and there was a 1 hour 45 minute connection time available and we opted instead for a 6.5 hour connection time.

 

Because we are coming out of Toronto, we are most often connecting in Europe somewhere, and most often in the Schengen region.  This means that we have to do a passport control before moving on to our next flight.

 

We have had nightmare close calls with 2 hour connections where our initial flight out of Toronto Pearson is delayed, and of course that means delay in arriving in Europe, then massively long lines at passport control, and then on top of that having to change terminals... and if anyone has had to go from B to A in Frankfurt, you know what I am talking about.

 

To us, air travel is "hurry up and wait" and even though we are extremely seasoned air travellers, we just don't see the need for the anxiety of short connections.  Yeah, we would rather not have to endure an extra four hours in an airport, but the comfort of knowing that we don't have to be stressed and we can take our time comes with benefits.  We have RUN to gates and barely made it before aircraft doors have closed.  We have been the ones saying excuse me, I have a short connection, can I step in front of you.  There is no need to get your blood pressure up.

 

We "buy" credit cards that we have no intention of using to charge anything JUST for the airport lounge benefits.  The one year annual fee is nothing compared to the value that you get from the airport lounges when you have a longer connection.  With a 6 hour connection time, you cannot spend the whole time in the lounge as some only allow you to enter within 3 or 4 hours of your flight time, but you can shop the airport, find a quiet place and listen to an audio book or play a game and then move into the lounge and have a bite to eat and a drink before your flight.  Even if you pay per lounge visit, if you look at what you would spend in an airport restaurant for a meal and alcohol, it is often more than the lounge visit costs.

 

We spend a lot of time choosing our airline, our connection airports, our flight times, the aircraft type, and the seating configuration.  One key detail that is always there for us now is the connection time.  We also often - especially for cruises or a tour type package - arrive the day before and pay the one night hotel.  This is also a key consideration when we head into Canadian winter as there can be weather delays.

 

Don't create stress in your travels.  There is nothing worse in the world than being late for your cruise or tour.  Choose your connection times wisely.

 

Happy flying!

Good summary.   In regards to credit cards, I have a card from a major bank based in Nova Scotia that has a visa card that gives free access to six lounge visits.  If you keep $5K in the account they also waive the annual fee for the card.  With it you also get a free safety deposit box and some other perks.

28 minutes ago, PacnGoNow said:

Me too.  You’re probably on a longer cruise like we are.  Enhanced cruises are longer and more cases are probable. Hence, masks are possible.  I’m glad they are sending specific requirements out to everyone on the Enhanced cruises. 
 

Here’s the verbage for those on Enhanced cruises, so you know what to expect… for now anyway.

 

Quote:

 

Welcome! We're thrilled that you have chosen Princess Cruises for your vacation. We can't wait to help you create those "only on Princess" moments.

Since you are sailing on an Enhanced Guidelines voyage we wanted to share some important information for your upcoming cruise:

• You must be fully vaccinated and up to date which means you have received all the doses in an authorized or approved primary COVID-19 vaccine series at least 14 days prior to embarkation. Up to date means that a guest is fully vaccinated, and received at least 1 booster dose, if eligible before embarkation. Guests are considered "up to date" from the date of receiving their booster dose.
• Please remember to upload your proof of vaccination while getting OceanReady.
• You must also upload proof of a supervised negative test taken within 3 days of boarding.
• Guests may also have to wear masks and undergo testing during the voyage.

Additional information on our onboard guidelines can be found at our CruiseHealth site.

 

Unquote

 

It is a unclear on what "up to date" is.   If I have had the primary series and 1 booster, that would imply to me that I am "up to date"   However, in Canada, we are up to date if we have taken all of the boosters that we are eligible for(which could mean 2 boosters in many cases).   A lot of people are holding off on the second booster as they would prefer to get the bivalent booster.

1 hour ago, broberts said:

 

This may be true for some cruise lines, but not all and as post #1 lays out definitely not a requirement of GOC. In fact the ArriveCAN instructions say that it should not be used by those boarding a cruise that leaves Canada and does not return.

 

A number of posters that have consulted their cruise lines have reported being told to use the port of embarkation, i.e. Vancouver. I have not seen a post saying that cruise lines are suggesting use of any other port. Regardless, any Canadian port used as the port of entry in this situation is a false statement so it really doesn't matter.

I reached out to Princess and they recommended that I do the arrivecan app.  However, I agree that I do not think I need to do it, but I guess there is no harm in doing it just in case. 

12 hours ago, stefndoug said:

Our cruise does Vancouver, Victoria, at sea (2 days) and then San Diego.  I am just going to use Victoria as my arrival port.  Normally you don't do US customs at Canada Place with this itinerary (I have done it 3 times already), but I am just going to pretend that we do and then consider that we are entering Canada again in Victoria 🙂  Boy, what a pain in the ass.  Can't wait until all this is done.

We have something similar where we leave Vancouver, stop at Victoria and end up in LA.   I did not think that you needed to do the Arrivecan app for Victoria as you are not leaving Canadian water between Vancouver and Victoria?

Do you normally do US customs in San Diego in your case?