lstone19

3 minutes ago, JimDee363636 said:

My guess is @lstone19is a lawyer (or, like me, a retired lawyer)

I'm not (maybe I should have been) but I did take a class in Purchasing Law. While the class dealt with commercial purchasing (I was attached to my employer's purchasing department although I was not a buyer), one of my key takeaways from that class was the problem when either a buyer or a salesperson give the other party the assumption that they can bind their employer (or apparent employer in the Princess case) when they can't and the other party relies on that assumption.

41 minutes ago, memoak said:

Except that fast food workers always have name tags with the name of the food company but hardly any of them work for the parent company since most fast food places are franchises with different owners

It's all a matter of what a reasonable person would expect. I'd expect someone on a Princess ship wearing a Princess name tag to be an employee of Princess. I'd expect someone at the Future Cruise desk wearing a Princess name tag to be acting on behalf of Princess in selling future cruises or packages that include future cruise credit (I would not expect the same of a Crooners bartender even though that person is wearing a Princess name tag). In a fast food restaurant (and perhaps because I do understand how franchises work), I'd expect someone wearing a name tag of the restaurant to be an employee of that restaurant but not an employee of the franchisor). 

2 minutes ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

Stewards, waiters, cooks, bartenders, etc. are crew, not staff. Entertainment team (and others) are staff.  And then there are officers. I don’t claim to know the details but have learned that there is a big difference onboard regarding the privileges and responsibilities of the various members of the ship’s company. They are acutely aware of those differences. 

As I understand things, crew is normally only in public areas of the ship when working. Staff and officers, OTOH, have public area privileges and you might find them eating in the buffet and other restaurants or having a drink at a public bar (met two different CDs (in the pre-ED days) having a drink in one of the bars).

13 minutes ago, doghog said:

I've always thought contracted employees should wear a different type of name tag. But, if there is a problem with a contracted employee (photographer, ect.) that is reported to Princess the responsibility falls back on Princess to handle it with the contracted employee/employer. 

That’s the key point - Princess is responsible for the performance of its contractors. Too many people here will dismiss complaints about a contractor’s performance as if Princess is not responsible for their performance. They’re Princess’s contractors, not mine.

Another key point (IANAL but I did take a class that touched on this) is the concept of “apparent agency” where someone is put in a position that leads a reasonable person to believe they are an agent (legal sense of the word agent - someone who can sign contracts and make commitments on behalf of another party) of Princess. I think I’m a reasonable person and I would believe that anyone I deal with at the Future Cruise desk is representing Princess in the absence of a very clear disclosure that that is not true.

4 minutes ago, memoak said:

You really need to define staff. As far as I know all stewards, waiters, cooks, bartenders, laundry workers etc are all employees of Princess. Spa, Future cruises and casino employees are all contracted by the venue

But they all wear Princess name tags. By doing so, Princess gives the impression that they are Princess employees and represent Princess.

2 hours ago, memoak said:

This is a third party vendor not Princess   

So? Is their contract with you the passenger or with Princess? Who let them on the ship - you or Princess? Their contract is with Princess and therefore Princess is responsible for their actions because someone is responsible for their onboard conduct and it sure as heck isn't the passengers.

If this is for a summer Med cruise, then there is almost no chance you'll actually end up in a DF (as someone else said). The Princess summer Med schedule has each seven-night segment made up of six different cruises as marketed (the current 7 nights, the first week of a 14 night cruse, the second week of a 14 night cruise, and three 21 night cruises (one each from Rome, Athens, and Barcelona). Cabins are fixed for the season as to which marketing cruise they'll allocated so I assume that each of those six cabin allocations contains only one DF. It will go to someone who needs an accessible cabin.

Data point: We took a move over offer off today's departure from Rome and will go next Spring instead. We had a DF guarantee. When the move over department was done, we had an assigned DE cabin for next year (and hoping it will be upgraded from there).

On 4/11/2024 at 6:52 AM, lstone19 said:

 

I'm booked on Apr 27 as well but did not receive an offer. But that departure starts the summer rotation and people boarding Apr 27 could be doing 7 nights to Athens, 14 nights to Barcelona, or 21 nights back to Rome. It would be useful if the OP would say how long they are on and how they booked (travel agency or direct). We're on for 21 nights booked through a travel agency.

I spoke too soon. We did receive a moveover offer on 4/15 and took it. We rebooked for next April. As the offer was for up to 30 nights or two 15-night cruises, we will do 28 nights - two 14-night cruises as Princess markets it repeating the Barcelona to Rome segment. We had enough other things planned for this summer that rebooking this year was not an option for us and unlike most years when the summer Med ship stays and does slightly different fall itineraries, this year Sun Princess heads to Ft. Lauderdale in September and it's Island Princess, which I have no desire to go on after its butchering, doing the fall Med cruises.

3 minutes ago, karatemom2 said:

Most native Californians find that term as a reference to our home state ridiculous and lazy. For example I would never refer to some other US states as “Flori”, “Ari”, “Washi” , “Virgi”, or “Monti”, just to rattle off a few examples to illustrate how silly it is. Just call it by its proper name like you would any other state. We live in California. 

Well said Karatemom2. And similarly, Frisco is a city in Colorado that has no ocean-navigable water.

22 hours ago, Pops37 said:

First time I've got this notice from Princess. It looks like maybe the Sun is overbooked for April 27th, and the offer is like denied boarding compensation if applied to alternative cruise.

Has anyone had similar offers for experience with this?

Thanks

I'm booked on Apr 27 as well but did not receive an offer. But that departure starts the summer rotation and people boarding Apr 27 could be doing 7 nights to Athens, 14 nights to Barcelona, or 21 nights back to Rome. It would be useful if the OP would say how long they are on and how they booked (travel agency or direct). We're on for 21 nights booked through a travel agency.

3 hours ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

The pier is in SFO - downtown.  Walking distance from Fisherman's Wharf. 

For most people, SFO refers to the airport. SFO is the code for that airport. Rarely is it used to refer to the city itself and I'd dare to say never when referring to local transportation.

8 minutes ago, TPKeller said:

 

Wow, I hadn't heard about that one before.  Wikipedia confirms the span length, but also reports that the clearance is only 138 feet.  So if that lower clearance (Key bridge was 185) is inherent to the design, it may not be the best choice.

 

Theron

No, it is not inherent to the design, just all they need there.

1 hour ago, KmomChicago said:

7pm in Norfolk and Legend hasn’t departed yet.

Looks like it departed about 8pm. Not a surprise as they would have needed to wait for buses from Baltimore and given they're several cruising hours south of Baltimore, they have plenty of time to easily make the next port on time.

27 minutes ago, E-burgGrammy said:

The Bay Bridge is only 186 feet tall one foot taller then the key bridge.  Only way Baltimore could get larger ships if the build a cruise port beyond the Bay Bridge to my knowledge

Initially, no benefit from a higher bridge. But build it and then if the Bay Bridges are replaced, it's ready.

9 minutes ago, RFerrington said:

They already have a tunnel.  I believe that the FSK bridge was built to accommodate the transport of materials that could not, safely, be transported via tunnel.  Not sure another tunnel would work....but I totally understand your thought process on this....

Actually, they already have two tunnels (or six depending on how you want to count). There's the original Harbor Tunnel (I-895) and its approach roads (the Harbor Tunnel Thruway) which opened in 1957 - two two-lane tunnels. And then there's the Fort McHenry Tunnel (I-95) which opened in 1985 - four two-lane tunnels. While they take different routes under the harbor and the Fort McHenry Tunnel runs closer to downtown, they are functionally parallel for through traffic.

15 minutes ago, jaygatsby27 said:

Tappan Zee was more fun to say. 

Was? Some of us still say Tappan Zee. Thruway and NY state employees may have to use the other name but they can't make me say it.

2 minutes ago, Cruisin_Mo said:

I know Carnival will work things out, but I'm curious on how they are going to scramble employees in Norfolk. It's not like if they had moved to a port that's currently used for cruises. Norfolk closed in October and wasn't supposed to reopen until Feb 2025, so there aren't employees easily available. Sure they can bus the Baltimore employees down for check in, but what about things like the cruise parking lot and the porters, plus other places I cannot even imagine that would not have the employee infrastructure in place.

AFAIK, parking lot and porters (baggage handlers) are port employees, not cruise line employees. Even the check-in employees may be port employees who are just wearing the appropriate uniform for whatever line they're working. For those that are port employees, they may be full-time employees who will get a few hours handling bags rather than handling cargo.

A few years ago, I was on a cruise that had to reverse the order of two ports due to weather. It was no big deal - the dock workers got new assignments for the day and the tour operators changed their schedule to accommodate. 

2 hours ago, Wehwalt said:

I would suspect that the cruise lines do not want to be in the business of busing people from Baltimore to Norfolk. I anticipate generous cancellation policies, but it won't be their job to bus passengers except for returning from the voyages that have already started. 

I can only say good luck to the passengers then. There is nowhere close to the same amount of air capacity to Norfolk as to Baltimore. Norfolk handles less than 25% of the passengers BWI handles in a year and National and Dulles are also alternatives for getting to Baltimore. Norfolk handles only about 2 million departing passengers per year (a little over 5,000 per day).

55 minutes ago, merryjewelhound said:

I don't know how often the Sun will stop at Santorini, but the lines are crazy long for the Gondola (the lift) and the donkey rides. There are 2 smaller ships here also.

Once Sun Princess starts the regular summer 21-night itinerary (bookable in seven night segments), it will be at Santorini once every three weeks on the Tuesday after it departs Civitavecchia (Rome). We're on it out of Rome on 4/27 and are the only ship scheduled to be there that day.

6 minutes ago, DonEllen said:

So I am very confused. I have not cruised in about 12 years (2012). I have a Princess Cruisetour to Alaska booked. Are meals still included in the booking? I know you can pay extra for Premium dining but are basic no frills meal still included in the basic booking? 

You mentioned a cruisetour which has both a cruise and a tour component. The answer above is correct for the cruise part. For the tour part, most tours do not include meals although the last I knew a meal package is included. Some of the Princess upper-end tours (the name they use for them escapes me at the moment) do include meals.

MDR = Main Dining Room (on most ships, there are multiple main dining rooms but they all serve the same menu - think of them as different sections of the same dining room).

22 hours ago, startedwithamouse said:

Magic to Do isn't a magic show and has little to do is with magic acts.

Correct. "Magic To Do" has its origin as a title as the opening song of Pippin (music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, original Broadway production directed by Bob Fosse) and IMO, is more a reference to the magic of live theater as a story comes alive right in front of you (Pippin is a show within a show - the song Magic to Do breaks the fourth wall and has the cast singing to the audience welcoming them to the show). Read the lyrics of the song and it will make a lot more sense.

42 minutes ago, beshears said:

I am trying to find a list of the MAIN staff on the Regal Princess, as I wound up taking pictures with a couple of them. I was able to find the Captain's name was Ed Perrin, but I would also like to know the names of some of them that are "next" in line or command to him, "if??" there is a list?

As said above, Ed Perrin is not a current Princess captain. We had him as captain on Regal Princess in 2016 but he left Princess for Virgin sometime after that.

2 minutes ago, petez said:

Slightly ominous that ALL Sun Princess cruises up to 4th May are showing as Sold Out on the UK website

Most have been for a couple of months. Nothing ominous here.

2 minutes ago, Nekosabre said:

Yes the ship time is updating to match local times of the destinations. 

My experience is unlike other lines, Princess always changes to match local time. And on some itineraries, it means lots of changes. On a 19-night Pacific partial Panama Canal cruse in 2019, after leaving Los Angeles (GMT-7/Pacific Daylight), we went forward two hours to GMT-5/Central Daylight for two Mexican ports, then back an hour to GMT-6 for Guatemala, then ahead an hour to GMT-5 for Panama (even though no port call), back to GMT-6 for Costa Rica and Nicaragua, forward to GMT-5 for another Mexian port, and finally back to hours to GMT-7 for the return to Los Angeles.

I cancelled the two I had booked which given how far out I am from the cruise should trigger refunds. I then tried using Chat on the website to ask why I wasn't seeing my dining credits. The chat agent tried booking them and encountered the same problem. He opened a ticket but I doubt anything will happen. Given memoak's comment above, if needed, we'll try booking on board.