CalLuvsCrusingToo

Sorry you had to go thru that mess.

Skagway is one of the places we don't book anything, No tours, just walk the town.

Therefore we can leave the ship later, when lines die down, No hurry.

The Main street area (Broadway) is so easy, just walk down one side to Bites on Broadway...

say Hi to the owners, and get a Cheese biscuit (sooooo Good).  Then we walk down the other side of the street....Hit Wells Fargo if need more cash, Post office to mail anything, and end with souvenir shopping at the large store before we get back on the ship. 

Lather rinse repeat, past decade. ☺️

I have gotten down to only One cruise later this year, so its time to book again. 

I have been putting off this chore for months, and watching offer after offer expire.

So I bit the bullet to try booking with a Princess cruise vacation planner.

Heres my experience booking a Casino COMP cruise with new CVP….

I had actually spoken with her months ago, but she was unable at that time, to book for me.  
Contacted her recently, and Yes a Cvp CAN book your Comp cruises now. 

(I have had No experience with Discount casino cruises)
I sent CVP an email with all the details of cruise we wanted to book.
Date, Ship, Casino offer Campaign code, etc.  
I even had a Cabin# picked out that was showing available.

Cvp first booked FOR me, and sent me an email Confirmation.
But I noticed it was for a Guarantee cabin, and Not the cabin# I wanted?
Also, her cost was almost $200 more than I saw online.😲
So we played telephone tag, but what ended up happening….

I went online to book thru my Emailed casino Offer, and booked cruise myself, including picking a Cabin. It was Not easy because when it asked me to Log in to complete info?   It would Not let me complete it, or save it?
I had to Back Out of booking (after I had logged in).
Once I went back in?  My info was IN the registration, I was able to SAVE it, and go to Second Guest registration.  (Good ole Princess website🤦‍♂️)

Once the online Offer booking was completed, I got to the end, where it said Pay now, or Hold.
Like I said, my Pay Now amount was Less than Cvp.
So I hit HOLD. 

Called her back immediately.
She was then able to complete booking, and emailed me the New Confirmation#.
I paid the Lower online cost, and got the Cabin I wanted!🤩

then, I wanted to make sure our Princess Plus Comp offer perks were added to the Rez?

Yes, it was. 

I confirmed by looking at (Luggage) Travel Summary on my Princess account.
All the Plus perks were added separately for each of us.

But, my Freeplay was Not listed?
So I will need to call back about that…. so Check your Travel Summary and Print it. 

Make sure its all there.

Just wanted to let you know my experience with a new CVP.

Its a whole lot better in the long run for me, than going thru the casino Call Center. 

Call center was a deal breaker for me.  I had nothing but mistakes & headaches working with them.

Good luck with your bookings!

And remember to SAVE your online Email offers to book them when youre ready.

Most AK towns the ships go to are walkable.  If you can bring a stroller? That would be

easy to do on your own.

Or rent a car with a carseat. 

Easier to get around on your own and less exposure for your baby.

You really don't need to book excursions and be subjected to buses and lots of humans.

If you have questions about a particular town?

Ask away....

On 5/25/2023 at 5:05 PM, emmak8 said:

Call 800 901 1172 to get a cruise vacation planner if you have an offer.

Yes!  That is the correct # and was told they Will book casino COMP offers

as well. I was able to request a CVP, so will be booking an offer soon. 

Thank you emmak8

On 5/21/2023 at 4:52 PM, emmak8 said:

Has anyone booked a casino offer (not the casino discount- the free room offer) using a princess vacation planner?  I booked the last offer using CVP and on the travel summary it says travel agency is Princess cruises. The cost was as if booked through casino and paid.  On previous offer booked through casino rep the travel agency is casino comp on my travel summary.  Another weird thing is the travel summary states there are 0 formal nights and 0 smart casual nights. Has this happened to anyone else? I plan to call CVP tomorrow as well as casino dept. 

Can I ask HOW you got a Cvp for Casino COMP bookings? 

What # did you call?

I have inquired in the past on CC, but didn't get a straight answer.

I'm not asking for names... just want to know how we can get a cvp for Casino Comps?

I've tried and struck out, was told they can't do that.

Thanks

Have you gone to any of the Game shows like in Explorers or elsewhere?

I recognize the puppy pic with Asst. CD "Angie"

She has a big smile in that pic, but rarely had one on the Wake show.

Cruise director Cole had "Angie" appear Everyday on the Wake show.

In a nutshell, it felt cringe worthy.

It could be so much better.  Like.....invite Other staff on the show.  Angie is Not it.

I don't like to come down on Ruby, but when weve been on 4 other ships recently,

Ruby needs to make some entertainment changes.  

Like I mentioned, use OTHER Asst. CD's for Wake show.

They had a couple other Asst. CD's that were quite good at one of the shows, and we wondered,

Where have they been hiding these guys?

Mostly Rubys Game shows weren't very funny, and not good fun compared to the others weve seen.

On Ruby we usually left early.

(Don't get me started on the Comedian that was so bad on the first night, much of the audience

left and he didn't appear again like he said he would.  Pretty sure he was dumped off asap)

I tried to leave a review for the Cruise director, but couldn't find a drop box anywhere... so dropped off suggestion letter at Cust. Serv desk.  Hoping he got it.

When we were on Emerald for 2 weeks, our evenings Always included the 8:30 Game shows,

because they were That GOOD!!   CD and Asst'd CDs were great.

Heres hoping its getting better on Ruby.

Nice of you to share.  We got off Ruby Sunday, to make way for you! lol

Agree with much of what youre saying, like upping their game in Dining.

We had some oddball waiters in MDR's.  I think we tried all 3 dining rooms.

Our best dining was Crown Grill, but you get what you pay for.... well you know what I mean.

One MDR towards end of evening, like 8pm, the waiter began singing & humming so

loudly that it seemed like he was trying to annoy us so we would Leave!

It worked.

We left shortly thereafter. 

Some of the staff on Ruby seem like they are more than ready to vacate the ship.

Good luck, I hope you have a wonderful experience, and surrounded by happy crew.

Congrats on having minisuite to yourself!

A few ships (if youre lucky) carry Harney & Sons Cinnamon spice.

We learned to like it so much, I order it directly from the company now.

Its a little pricey, which is why I doubt ships carry it anymore.

I always ask at the IC day one.

Seems when their out.... they stay out.😐

Last month, we were in the Sanctuary going thru the locks and glad we were.

Mainly cuz the folks below us,(all forward) some in chairs, others standing.... were getting Blown to bits!!!

I don't know How they stood it.

The ships flags flying above in Santuary, were beating so hard I expected them to rip any minute.

My advice, if its the least bit windy, look to be Behind a glass wall somewhere.

5 hours ago, Froufie said:

Also considering a cabin on plaza vs fiesta decks on the Island princess for an upcoming transatlantic.  From what I have found out - the OV window on the Fiesta deck is much larger than those on Plaza deck (as pre refurbishment these were the 'hallway' larger OV windows).  Obviously when the cabins were added they didn't 'change' the windows.

 

The other benefit is the room configuration - on deck 5 from what I can see in the OV cabins the bed is under the (smaller) window - so hard to look out unless you are of course on top of the bed.  Looks like in the Deck 6 Fiesta cabins the configuration has the bed along the wall allowing for a fabulous view from the extra large window.

 

My main concern as others have mentioned is a) noise from the casino and b) lingering smoke smells in and around the hallway - these two possibilities are what is stopping me at the moment.  The only two fiesta deck cabins still available are aft ones F522 or F526. (and looks like there is a door at the end of the hallway/near F526 that leads into the casino??? - wondering how often it is used and if noise/smoke would 'wander' into that area?)

 

Looking for any comments on these cabins but more specifically noise/smoke issues due to proximity of the casino.

We stayed in one of those rooms, and if you are a gambler, you will luv it.

I am NOT a smoker, and unbelievably we didn't smell smoke in our cabin.

However I Did notice one man who had booked the End cabin, so he could

easily duck into casino to smoke. 

I saw him do that few times and he wasn't there to gamble, just smoke.

We found that private hallway to be a  plus. 

Nobody went down there unless they had a cabin.  I would book it again.

Enjoying all your pics!  Deja vu

Can't believe we were just there at the Locks, couple weeks ago....

We reserved Sancturary too, and had booked seats First, getting dead center forward.

We thought, this will be awesome....

Didn't take long for the foursome, who booked a couple rows Behind us, to move forward

and Stand in Front of our loungers most of the time.  ☹️

Can't believe Sanctuary staff let them do that?  

The foursome could have easily moved over a little, and never did.

It was pretty rude. So much for having reserved seats in Front.😞

Think our Fav stop was Panama City.

As much as we liked seeing Cartegena, the Highrise Haves, vs. the Shanty Have Nots, was

very evident.  We traveled over an hour each way thru some of it.... sad.

But very thankful for all we got to see, and enjoying your Live reporting! 

Great job!

Only movie stars, tv stars onboard, while everyone at the Pool was someone you would

want to look at. 😆

Enjoying reading your TR. 

Looks like you took a small boat tour thru the old locks.

Did Ruby go thru old or new?

Also wondering if any of you have been in casino, and how smokey is it?

Is Discovery going to be based out of SF for the season?

How did I not know that....

We sailed on Discovery twice in March, but had to fly to San Pedro.

SF no flights!  yay

1 minute ago, CalLuvsCrusingToo said:

 

We just completed April 1 -16 Panama Canal on Emerald.

Great trip, heres a few Comments for those asking on here:

 

DJ Lovely is sooooo Funny!  anything she Hosts or participates in?  Attend!

Most of the shows 8:30pm in Explorers are a HOOT! 

Many nights we saw the 7:30 show in Princess theater, and then left alittle early

to get a good seat in Explorers!  Always a good time!

 

Panama Canal transit day.  I was out very early to get pics around the ship.

Took me about 2 hours, front to back, and around and around decks 7/8.

This was a great place to be.

Around 11am, I finally went up to Sanctuary for the rest of the afternoon.

We had booked the Sanctuary for PC day, as soon as we got onboard Embarcation.

we were First to book, and got the best seats Resrved up front.

Price was $60, but worth it IMO.  We treated it like paying for a tour.

(Full days were $40, and Half days $20 for sanctuary)

 

We booked different Dining MDR's thruout the 2 weeks onboard.

Booked "Dine my Way" on the tv,  the day of and it worked out Great.

(Instead of booking same mdr everyday) it was nice to try different places.

We also enjoyed Sabatinis and Crown Grill one night.

 

Not sure if your Itinerary hits some of the same ports we did?

 

Will touch base later....

 

Enjoy your trip!

 

 

Ooops, forgot to mention something...

The Spa, upselling.

I must admit, this ship seemed the Most upselling of any Princess ships

I've been on recently.

Also, in the salon.  I went in for hair service.... the beutician began to sell

me on not only hair products, but also face, and gave me a shoulder massage.

It was awkward, and I didn't really appreciate it.

So just headsup.  Maybe its a new manager?

Not sure why..... but felt they weren't listening, and I had to say 2-3 times what I wanted

and NOT all the other things they were suggesting.

Was a turnoff.

Too bad, because I would have gone back for other services.

We just completed April 1 -16 Panama Canal on Emerald.

Great trip, heres a few Comments for those asking on here:

DJ Lovely is sooooo Funny!  anything she Hosts or participates in?  Attend!

Most of the shows 8:30pm in Explorers are a HOOT! 

Many nights we saw the 7:30 show in Princess theater, and then left alittle early

to get a good seat in Explorers!  Always a good time!

Panama Canal transit day.  I was out very early to get pics around the ship.

Took me about 2 hours, front to back, and around and around decks 7/8.

This was a great place to be.

Around 11am, I finally went up to Sanctuary for the rest of the afternoon.

We had booked the Sanctuary for PC day, as soon as we got onboard Embarcation.

we were First to book, and got the best seats Resrved up front.

Price was $60, but worth it IMO.  We treated it like paying for a tour.

(Full days were $40, and Half days $20 for sanctuary)

We booked different Dining MDR's thruout the 2 weeks onboard.

Booked "Dine my Way" on the tv,  the day of and it worked out Great.

(Instead of booking same mdr everyday) it was nice to try different places.

We also enjoyed Sabatinis and Crown Grill one night.

Not sure if your Itinerary hits some of the same ports we did?

Will touch base later....

Enjoy your trip!

We just got off from a 2 week PC trip. 

Theater was crowded at both Theater times it seemed, as with the nightly Games,

usually in Explorers on deck 7, and Club Fusion.  We always arrived 15 mins before to get a seat.

We enjoyed them a lot. 😆 DJ Lovely is soooo funny, and Ent staff did a Great job!

MDR's, we went to All of them equally.  I usually looked at the Dining list on room TV,

and booked a Private table at whatever MDR had a table available at the time we wanted.

Booking same day, worked very well. ☺️

Only annoyance was the lady who scans your medallion at the door to MDR,

NEVER looks to see you booked a Private table. 

And ALWAYS ASKS if you want to Share?🙄

She had an attitude when you insist you Want a Private table.

HELLO! were standing there with masks on...does that scream, wants to SHARE a table?😷😷

1 hour ago, Cruise Raider said:

 I think I may need to check my dates.  
Ahh yes, ours is April 30th on the Royal.  
The Embarcadero will be crowded that day.  The Royal will be at Pier 27 and the Ruby will be at Pier 35.  
That ought to be fun!  
 

Yikes will definately get there Early as usual. 🤭

15 hours ago, sfpd3000 said:

Which one is April 30th?  Grand?

Were doin Ruby.

17 hours ago, Cruise Raider said:

I hope we see you again soon.  We have 2 more cruises booked for this spring out if SF, one on March 27 and one on April 30th.  

Were doing the April 30 out of SF also. Pier 27 I figure.

Til then its San Pedro...

I remember day we embarked at Pier 27, when the Blue Angels would be flying.

When was that.... Sept.?  I don't recall, not that long ago, anyway...

Luckily we got to ship EARLY.  Traffic only got worse and the line Long....

We had terrific seats up on deck to what we Hoped would be best seats EVER for Blue Angels.

Well, it was overcast/cloudy that day, and we could HEAR them, but really didn't see much.

So much for our terrific planning! lol

NOT fans of those annoying auto-lights.

We also put the throw pillows underneath the nightstands to block them from coming on.

And put duct tape, whatever works to cover the Light sensor in the closet area.

Who needs a beacon as bright as Luxor pyramid at 3 am?😳

22 minutes ago, crazycatlady82 said:

I stopped engaging with them lol.

You went above and beyond! 

Thank you for your service Mrs. Patience😆

YES some great comps CAN be given IF you play enough for ship, or shore.😆