TessieTravels

Thank you everyone, I have not had such a enjoyable read through as this one, my cheeks STILL hurt from smiling and laughing so hard at some of your comments and photos.

We will be on the Island Princess in Dec for a 10-day cruise and there was an inquiry if anyone was aware if Princess still did White & Gold Themed Formal Night as the second formal night anymore.  Does anyone have any suggestion on who to contact with Princess to get that question answered or does anyone have any current knowledge of this?

1 hour ago, marden1970 said:

TessieTravels - where in Sparks are you?  We're out in Spanish Springs.

Marden1970, so are we! Near Alice Taylor school. Hi neighbor! 🙂

5 hours ago, Wink87 said:

Yikes! I just reserved my first Princess cruise and got a cabin and location that is ideal for so many reasons. If I tell my TA to mark it "no upgrade" is there still the chance Princess might do it anyway?  I've never had this happen on another cruise line.

Wink87, yes it is still possible, but what I have learned is just to check your booking regularly on the Princess website and take Thrks advice and write a letter to the CEO if you run into any issues with the auto upgrades.  At the end of the day, I am sure that Princess wants to keep you as a happy and loyal customer.  I will report back if I run into any changes as we are in the home stretch and we sail in 79 days!!!

12 hours ago, TravelGirlinDallas said:

Do they email you when they change your cabin, or do you just have to keep checking your booking constantly?

TravelGirlinDallas, I did get an email notifying me of my auto upgrade before I assigned my booking to a travel agent. This second time, they notified my TA, but she didn't say that Princess said it was a auto upgrade, she just asked me if I requested the cabin change.  I have read where others were not notified, nor was their TA and they found out just by checking their booking.  However, the response they received from Princess is that they did notify via email.

So, the valuable lesson I have learned is that even though I am now working with a TA, I am routinely checking my booking to see if I still have the cabin I booked/wanted.

20 hours ago, caribill said:

Yes, Princess does consider mid-ship to be a better location than fore or aft.

And, yes, Princess considers the higher the cabin is, the better the location is.

Some passengers agree with Princess about this and some do not.

caribill, which proves the saying that no one care make everyone happy.  But, a CC member reminded me that I'm still on a great vacation, so this is definitely a good problem/non-problem to have.

20 hours ago, sandancer said:

Quite the opposite for us. Booked a mid ship and have been moved to aft. Not wake view - I wish!

sandancer...WHAT!?!? oh my gosh, what is going on? I'm giggling over here because now nothing is making sense.  That is so bizarre that you have been moved aft from mid-ship.  Okay, new theory, maybe Princess is just wanting us to talk about them.  Isn't there a saying that even bad news is good news because they are talking about us...

21 hours ago, sloopsailor said:

When doing a mock booking for a mini suite on a Royal Princess cruise we are looking at, when I allow Princess to select the cabin for us, they selected M105, one of the forward facing cabins at the very front, the ones with the steel railings and potential weather related balcony access limitations. There are literally dozens of standard mini-suites available in the same price category along the sides of the ship, so I find it perplexing that the cabin they direct people to is one that most people wouldn't even consider as that location has limitations that more common cabins don't have.

Sloopsailor, you are so right! By the way, I wish I had thought about doing that to test my theory, because had I done so, it wouldn't have supported it. That is perplexing.  I have to tell you, I am so grateful to everyone for engaging in this thread, I have learned so much and I LOVE cruising and talking about cruising.  Everyone's thoughts, tips, strategies are invaluable to me. Thank you so much!

22 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Princess also believes that a higher deck is more desirable so they now place suites way up high?  On the older Grand Class ships, Suites were on deck 10.

 

I don't like the direction Princess is going with their ship building (bigger is better).  MY DAYS are numbered.

I am with you cr8tiv1, I enjoy being closer to the water line, looking for sea life playing in the wake or swimming by the ships side.

23 hours ago, Thrak said:

We often choose a balcony cabin in the aft portion of Caribe deck. (This is on the older ships of course as the balconies are much larger and half covered.) On our upcoming cruise (also on an older ship - Ruby Princess) we deliberately chose an aft interior cabin on Rivera deck as - not only was it much less expensive - my wife wanted to be able to just slip out the back door to the aft pool. She loves that pool and there is a bar right there as well as access to the buffet. It's her "hang out" area when the weather is warm. I didn't have a problem with choosing an interior cabin this time so we booked it. (Our TA always, as a matter of course, has our bookings marked as "no upgrade".)

 

Princess automagically "upgraded" us to a mid ship interior cabin. (Yes, as I said above, we had "do not upgrade" on our booking but, as we all know, that is more of a "request".) I contacted our TA and got the original room back. Then it happened again and, once again, we got the original cabin back. Then it happened again. By this time I was getting pretty peeved. Our TA made a special point of getting our original cabin back. This was the fourth time we "booked" this same cabin.

 

I sent a (nicely worded) email to John Padgett. I didn't expect any actual response but... I was very surprised when I got a phone call from Princess. Not only did they apologize (somewhat profusely) for repeatedly changing our cabin but they also added a credit for specialty dining to our booking. I was totally blown away. While I doubt very much that Mr. Padgett read my missive and had someone contact me it is good to know that he has efficient minions. (Seriously, why would the president of Princess take the time to read my email and respond...)

 

I still check our booking regularly but, so far, it has stayed where we initially booked.

Thrak, thank you for the tip.  I do realize that at the end of the day, Princess wants to keep us happy, but sometimes the "mechanisms" in place may cause some of their passengers undue stress and frustration.  But, now as I think about this, could this be a means to have us constantly thinking about our upcoming sailing as well??? I hope you don't mind my stealing your idea if they "upgrade" us again.  Not only for this sailing, but that is a valuable nugget of information for future sailings and even if it is on another brand.  Truly genius, because how often do those at the top hear from those of us using/loving/enjoying their products?

23 hours ago, Buckeye10640 said:

Used to prefer aft until I tried Lido and Sun Deck (on Enchanted). Now I prefer forward on these decks. Never had a mid-ship cabin. 

Buckeye10604, I'm going to have to take a look at those decks then as well as I would like to have other cabin preferences so that I can have more options when looking at prices, itineraries, or even a late booking. thank you for the recommendation!

23 hours ago, AZjohn said:

I think you are on the mark! 😉 

AZjohn, I have been reading about the challenges on getting back to "normal" staffing levels so I was wondering if that could it.  So, it is helpful hearing that other people think that is more the reasoning as well.

23 hours ago, PRINCESS Sweet Pea said:

But, there are those forward or aft cabins that some people might want.  And, it seems that 'no upgrade' is completely meaningless to Princess right now.    I have heard of some people who had booked their favorite aft  wake-view cabins while they were still available right after the cruise booking opened up, and now Princess is changing them!!!  Not a good thing.

Princess Sweet Pea, once I started researching it and wondering why, I started seeing a trend as well.  I think I have come to the conclusion that companies do have to try different ideas/strategies in order to see the response and not get stale or complacent.  So, maybe the response they are getting is more positive then some of us outliers that prefer the Aft or Forward cabins.  I can see the excitement in getting a "you've been upgraded" message and if stats show that mid-ship is more desirable, Princess maybe receiving more positive feedback. But, then again, I heard with their new bidding for upgrades, why would they be also doing these auto upgrades.

On 9/22/2022 at 7:30 PM, 1emerald1 said:

Mid-ship low is my preference, due vertigo and inner ear disturbances.

1emerald1, I never even thought about how ear issues could affect someone on a ship. yikes. So great to know though in case I have family and/or friends with similar issues and I can recommend the low mid-ship location.  Thank you!

54 minutes ago, Expo67 said:

On deck 8 the 2 cabins E732 & E733 are aft facing and have windows the look out on the aft deck area on the Emerald Deck.

Yes, and we are looking to move my mom from an inside cabin down the hall E716 to the OV E732 (but it is on the starboard side which Princess said was going to be an isolation hallway), so I have been checking Princess's website to see if/when they possibly open E733 since we are now in E737.  My other though is to just to move her to the OV and then hope either E733 becomes available or, maybe if they upgrade her to a balcony, it won't really matter where she is on the ship because at least she is in a balcony and it will be another vantage point we get to experience the canal at.  We haven't been able to find anyone to travel with her, so she tends to prefer the inside cabins and then has been fortunate to get upgraded.  But, if she is in an inside cabin, we prefer to have her close to us so that she can enjoy the balcony with us.

54 minutes ago, Expo67 said:

Just got off the Island after 60 nights which were all spent in the aft section of deck 8 starboard side...

49 minutes ago, Expo67 said:

There were several decks … all on the port side that were closed for isolation while we were onboard. All Thea’s on those decks were located on the port side and in the mid section of the deck from the aft elevator forward.

Expo67, holy smokes, I turned a little green with envy...60 days!!! Wow, an adventure I hope to experience in the years to come.  Thank you so much for your information and experience on the Island.  I have been hearing about the refurb, so maybe while we are onboard we will look at booking on the Coral next just to get an idea of the difference.  We do enjoy the smaller ships so far.  Again, thank you for your information!

10 hours ago, Loveh2ofl said:

@TessieTravels

"But, I am concerned that they will decide to close access to the aft deck on deck 8 to everyone during our sailing and that makes me very sad."

 

Don't fret - you'll be on a beautiful ship and the 'secret' aft deck 8, while there, wasn't a place we hung out because my husband was leery of all the covid cabins nearby to get there.  I  went there frequently but since there were no chairs, I didn't spend much time and never saw anyone else - except while transiting the Panama Canal.  You can get aft views from the sports deck if all else fails 😉 

 

If you're in the very aft cabin then don't you have a 'window' facing aft?

 

Loveh2ofl, what a wonderful and accurate perspective.  I started focusing on the wrong area, you are so right, we will be on a wonderful ship, on a bucket list adventure and so privileged to be able to afford this opportunity.  Thank you for the reminder, I sometimes need help seeing the forest through the trees.  🙂

Well, it happened again (thank you again Loveh2ofl for your insight on the isolation deck as it prepared me).  Princess kicked us out of our cabin and relocated us to a cabin near the elevators vs moving us the same cabin location but on the port side vs the starboard side (as it was available).  A call to the TA whom reported that Princess decided to make the starboard side of that aft deck the isolation hallway vs the port side (which, by the way ALL the cabins showed available when I went looking for another possible cabin.  A bit disappointed, but at least we still have the very aft cabin on deck 8...for now.  I have a feeling that something is going on with Princess and relocating or "upgrading" cabins with no notice.  When I checked the cabin availability, most of the "available" cabins are forward or aft and the midship, aft-midship, forward-midshipe are nearly all occupied.  I'm not sure if it is due to staffing issues or something else, but I am becoming more concerned that Princess will be making both hallways isolation cabins over the next couple of weeks or months and then possibly showing the cabins as available to entice new bookings?   Or, maybe I'm being to cynical.  But, I am concerned that they will decide to close access to the aft deck on deck 8 to everyone during our sailing and that makes me very sad.

I hope this does not come across as disrespectful in any way as that is not the intent.  It is more an observation due to Princess's persistence with not honoring our "no auto upgrades" that they confirmed is on our booking (and I understand that I agreed in the Passenger Contract that Princess has the right to move our cabin for any reason, at any time without notice). We are booked on the Island Princess in December and I have noticed something very peculiar ... it appears that Princess cruisers LOVE the Mid-ship location or Princess LOVES "upgrading" passengers to mid-ship and then work their way to forward and aft cabins.  On our particular sailing, the majority of the cabins mid-ship (from mid-aft to mid-forward) have very few available cabins, whereas Forward and Aft have quite a few cabins and entire hallways available.  Is this normal for Princess Cruises?  A preference for mid-ship vs forward or aft cabins?  Or, (and I suspect more realistic) due to Princess "upgrading" guests so that we are consolidated closer together in mid-ship cabins due to staffing OR so that more ideal cabin locations are available for new bookings?

I am so glad I found this thread.  Thank you all for the insight.  We are booked on the Island Princess in Dec. 2022 and Princess has swapped our "perfect" cabin TWICE now informing us that we have been "upgraded" to a cabin near the lifts/elevator and stairs (high traffic area vs very low traffic area).  The first time they moved our cabin, Princess was gracious enough to put us back in our "perfect" cabin with a "no auto upgrade" notice since our preferred cabin was still (thankfully) available.  We decided to move our booking to a TA to better monitor and this time Princess reps reported to our TA that "yes, there is a note for no upgrades", but Princess is making that particular hallway an isolation hallway (which I can respect); HOWEVER, 1. the hallway on the port side showed ALL the cabins available.  Why wouldn't they make that hallway the isolation hallway since no one has booked a cabin there or they "upgraded" everyone that had? So odd of a decision in my opinion, but I can only think that there is more to the story that I'm not privy to. The good news is at least my TA was able to get our cabin switched to the same cabin but on the Port side.  I am not very confident that Princess will honor our request to stay in that cabin/deck and per our passenger contract, I realize they have every right to change our location at any time, for any reason without notice.  The OTHER interesting tidbit of information is that my mom is booked in an inside cabin in the same Starboard hallway, yet she has not been relocated to another interior cabin or "upgraded" to a non "isolated" hallway, maybe that notice will come soon. 

Thank you for allowing me to vent about my situation. 🙂

OldtimerBill, yes, you can stay on the bus for the entire loop.  I read somewhere that the entire loop if you stay on is about 1.5 hours.  I was thinking along the same lines, doing the whole loop then riding the loop for the 2nd time and getting off at the stops we decide we would like to explore a bit more.  We will be in Cartagena in Dec 2022 on Princess.  I tend to get overwhelmed with street vendors especially when I am not familiar with an area, but we do want to see the fort & walled city, but I think depending on how many street vendors we see will help with our decision to get off at those stops.

On 9/13/2022 at 9:15 AM, Loveh2ofl said:

There were no chairs of any kind when we were on the IP in May - as others have mentioned one side is quarantine deck so could only enter the area from the starboard (right) side.

Loveh2ofl, thank you for that information, I have been wondering why all the aft balcony cabins on both sides are still available (aside from the one we booked on the starboard side), I even was automatically upgraded, but I called Princess back and said that I did not want to be upgraded, I wanted that specific aft balcony cabin and they reinstated that cabin for me.  But, your info will prepare me in case they do move our cabins, I will understand why. 

22 hours ago, KreinKrunker said:

A number of years ago we went to Alaska on either Coral or Island.  There used to be lounges on some of those decks.  There were none on that trip.  First stop in Ketchikan we went ashore and purchased some very inexpensive "bag chairs" and used them on the back deck. As I said it was years ago, and it was a higher deck.  Those decks no longer are on the Island.  The Coral now is one of our favorite ships, with 88 days on her and Island (before the ruining of the Island).

KreinKrunker, I noticed that the Coral had what looked like a number of aft open decks, we love the aft, we probably miss a lot, but watching and listening to the wake is so relaxing to us.  That's a really good idea, instead of adding the weight to our suitcases and possibly not evening needing the extra items, maybe we won't bring our compact camping chairs, maybe we will just buy some in Cartagena if the room stewards don't recommend us bringing out our cabin chairs.  Thanks for the suggestion!

23 hours ago, vjmatty said:

Please do….the Island get a bad rap because of some modifications about 5 years ago so I’d be interested to hear from someone who is new to sailing Princess. I sailed on her to Alaska in 2013 before the changes and loved the midsize ship, but it m not sure how the changes have affected the cruise experience. I see you’ve sailed Celebrity regularly… I loved Equinox and I’ve got us booked for Summit next year to Bermuda and Charleston in Aqua class, and Infinity in 2024 to Israel and Egypt. One thing I’ve noticed lately is a lot of people cruising outside their usual box of familiar cruise lines, and we are no exception. 

I promise to do my best to take notes and do a review when we return and maybe it will inspire me to do other reviews as I do appreciate all those other cruisers when they do one.

On the Celebrity topic, we really enjoyed our Aqua Class experience on Celebrity which we have done once when we cruised to Alaska, it was such a treat. The allocated dining room was a great hit with us, we had the majority of our meals there and had no desire to eat anywhere else since the food and service were so enjoyable.

We haven't done a really large ship yet as we tend to like the smaller feel, but maybe we will try the Equinox in a few years just to see what a mega cruise ship experience is like.   

Give those puppers extra cuddles!

23 hours ago, vjmatty said:

Yes, actually it’s an Italian Greyhound which is like a miniature version with slightly different ears and body shape. We have three of them 🙂

On 9/11/2022 at 4:03 PM, Sea Hag said:

I hope you'll come back and let us know if/how that worked out for you. It looks like a great idea to me.

yes, I will definitely report back. It seems like such a great little deck to hang out on without the crowds.