-Lew-

You should be aware when booking a balcony cabin that those located on Caribe deck generally have the largest balconies of any regular cabin on the ship at about 9'x9' vs 9'x5' for cabins on other decks. The interior of the cabin will be the same as other regular (non-suite) cabins. The balconies on Caribe deck are half covered so you can be out in the sun or in the shade as you desire.

 

Our preference is a cabin from about mid-ship toward the aft end for the smoothest ride. Cabins aft of the aft elevator are very quiet since there is very little hallway traffic.

 

Lew

 

The information is on the Carnival Corporation website under Investor Relations, Shareholder Benefit (http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=140690&p=irol-sharebenefit).

The link you provided brings you to another link that provides a description of the benefits for the various CCL brands. It's not the Carnival shareholder benefit request form.

 

Lew

 

Lew, just a question. Where did you find the Princess form to download. The carivalcorp website makes no mention of a Princess form, just to fax the proof of stock ownership with the same information that is on the Princess form.

 

I think I will resubmit my info on the Princess form just to be on the safe side. I don't think I included my e-mail address.

 

Princesses website seem to somewhat lacking.

I got the form here on the Princess board in a post by Astro Flyer. One would think there would be a link on the Princess or CCL Shareholder site for the form.

 

I think you'll be fine without using the form as long as you've included all the necessary info in your original request. Sending in the form in addition to your original won't hurt though. I can tell you that it's taking about 15 days right now from submission to confirmation.

 

By the way, I followed your thread regarding the issues you had with your flights. I'm very happy you were able to get it solved in your favor. :)

 

Lew

 

I like to think of it as more of a fluke and illustrates the inconsistency of Princess.:rolleyes:

Mike... I hear you loud and clear!

 

When Liza McDaniel was in charge of Shareholder Benefit, turn around time was consistently 3 to 4 days. Never had to follow up or wonder whether she received a request.

 

Aaaah...the good old days...

 

Lew

 

Thanks Lew and again if they spelled out the requirements AND pointed to this form in their corporate shareholder document lots of angst Could be eliminated.

Makes perfect sense... :rolleyes:

 

 

I am waiting to see if the 2 requests I faxed in together will both be approved at one time .... there's one that is 35 days from sailing, and the other is 77 days out. (The 2nd one has been paid in full since the day I booked it at the end of January.)

No comment...just wanted to say hi, Mary Lou! :)

 

I faxed in my request on June 18 for our August 18 cruise and received an email confirmation within 45 minutes

Okay...that's obviously a world record!! :D

 

Lew

I've attached a copy of the latest Princess Sharholder Request Form.

 

As mentioned above, the Restrictions lists This offer can only be applied to bookings under deposit. I fully understand why they want to apply the benefit to bookings after final payment has been made. Rewording that provision would save everyone a lot of time and angst.

 

There is a line for your email address. If you provide it, you will (should) receive an email confirmation.

 

There is a statement on the form that Requests will be handled within 7 days. That's not happening and again, is another cause of angst. Leave that statement out or change it to in a timely manner will help matters.

 

Finally, yes, CCL stock has increased $3 in the past month. Welcome to the roller coaster! Take a look at a 1-year chart for a wild ride. :eek:

 

Lew

Princess Sharholder Request Form 2013-14.pdf

Although it's not necessary to use the form, I've attached a copy of the 2013-2014 version.

 

Lew

Princess Sharholder Request Form 2013-14.pdf

We found La Patisserie on the Island Princess to be quite disappointing...

 

Lew

 

The Island has the International Cafe update. The IC has 24 hr good brewed coffee.

The deck plan for the Island Princess shows no International Cafe.

 

Lew

It appears your cabin is 233 square feet including balcony while the one next to you is 222 square feet including balcony. The deck plan shows an extension into the hallway that others do no have, so yes, your cabin is a bit larger.

 

Lew

 

The size listed usually includes the cabin and balcony. Your balcony is likely 36 square feet (9' x 4') or less.

 

Lew

 

But what is your liabilty after you secure approval? None if you get a signature. The bank takes the loss. In Europe and elsewhere they have put the liabilty is on the merchant and consumer. And in many places the terminals are not connected to a network so approval can't be gotten instantly.

I could tell you some stories that would make your head spin. Over 25 years there instances where we deserved to be charged back due to errors on our part. However, there were also times when we were charged back when we did everything correctly and received electronic approval. We'd appeal, but it did no good.

 

Does your business have chip and pin terminals?

We sold in 2004, but no, we did not have Chip & Pin terminals. I don't believe there are any Chip & Pin terminals in the US.

 

Lew

 

Just to reply to -Lew-'s comment that the pin gets imbedded in the chip. Not mine. Just like the black stripe on the back of cards, it only contains the account info. When you insert the chip into the reader it connects to your bank and then when you enter your Pin it is encrypted and sent to the bank system to verify you are using the card and not someone else who has just stolen your card and fakes your signature (happened to me to the tune of $1000!).

With the Andrews FCU card the PIN is embedded in the chip and on the mag stripe. The text below was taken from a FAQ on the Andrews FCU website:

I am sure the reason that the US is not jumping on board is the cost of the terminals. I guess it is cheaper to pay for the fraudulent purchases than to replace the terminals.

I have no doubt that the cost of upgraded point of sale equipment would be borne by the retailer, not the financial institutions. Fraud, in most cases, is the financial institution's problem, not the retailer's.

 

Lew

 

The merchants don't want to go to the expense of new terminals and the card issuers don't want to go to the expense when terminals won't accept them. In that context chip and pin cards would only be for the convenience of those of us who are world travelers. Unfortunately we are a minority of US card users.

I disagree...

 

How does one account for nearly 100% participation in Europe and Canada? VISA and Mastercard are the major issuers of credit cards there also.

 

As for the expense incurred when a terminal won't accept a swiped card, as a business owner for 25 years, I can tell you the business bears the additional expense of securing approval...not the issuer or the financial institution.

 

Lew

 

I just got my chip and pin card from Bank of America.

Are you sure it's a Chip & Pin and not a Chip & Signature card? I ask because I see no mention of Chip & Pin on the BOA website.

 

There is a FAQ on the BOA site that discusses their chip card here. Here's a quote from that FAQ:

 

 

Did BOA send you a PIN to use with your card? This can't be a PIN you chose after receiving the card because it needs to be embedded in the chip before the card is sent to you.

 

If you really do have a Chip & Pin card, great! I just wouldn't want you heading over to Europe thinking you had one if you didn't.

 

Lew

 

Lew, Having some fun with the Anderson folks. We followed your lead but noticed that they have credit limits up to $50,000 which is pretty high for Visa/MC. So of course we asked for the max just to see what they would do. Got an e-mail the following day asking for income verification and tax returns :). Still waiting for the card (and the credit limit) but we did get our PIN today.

Hi Hank…

 

Yeah, I requested a high limit too and they asked for backup data. They said they'd okay a $7,500 limit right away with no additional info, so I took it. With that and my Cap1 card I'll have more than enough.

 

One thing they don't tell you is how to logon to your VISA account online. Let me know if you need instructions.

 

Also, you need to create a verbal password to use if you need to discuss your account over the phone. Again no instructions.

 

Lew

 

Posted from my iPad Mini

 

Anyone know if you have to unfreeze all three reporting agencies, or only one?

They checked only Experian when I applied.

 

Lew

 

Posted from my iPad Mini

 

Having a few issues getting the credit union form completed - very frustrating. And Chase may have the chip/pin (we have 2 Chase accts and neither has that), but I do know there is a transaction fee - more important than the pin is no transaction fees - that is why we keep the Cap One cc without the pin.

I had no issues completing the online application. Perhaps you should try a different web browser.

 

Be careful with Chase or JP Morgan cards as they are likely chip & signature cards.

 

Lew

If anyone does get an Andrews VISA and has issues viewing their account online, post here and I'll outline the procedure. It's a bit different than other credit card accounts I access online.

 

Lew

 

Posted from my iPad Mini

 

Does anyone know what ship Godwin is working on this summer or where he will be working in January 2014? We were lucky enough to sail with him on the Ruby in July 2011 and on the Emerald in July 2012 and he really made our anytime dining experience excellent!

According to Generoso in February, Godwin was sailing in southeast Asia and would be throughout the summer. Beyond that, no clue...

 

Lew

 

Belated Happy Birthday Lew.

Hello Roger & Val...

 

Thank you for your kind wishes. I had a wonderful birthday. :)

 

Nan and I look forward to cruising with you once again. I guess we'll both just have to book as many cruises as we possibly can in hopes that happens again some day.

 

Warm regards,

 

Lew

 

Well, Happy Birthday!!! No harm, no foul. sometimes it's hard to follow threads when we're all typing at the same time:D

Thank you for your understand and good wishes. :)

 

Lew

It was fantastic…thank you.

 

Lew

 

Posted from my iPad Mini

 

Lew,

I wasn't responding to your posts, but the other person (from Canada) who said they had chips in their cards. I totally know that the Andrews card is C&P :)

Yes, that was brought to my attention by flames9 above and I did apologize for my errant post. I extend my apologies to you directly now.

 

I attribute my behavior to too many mimosas at brunch today…it's my birthday! :rolleyes:

 

Lew

 

She (slidergirl)was referring to Quatro Romeos post.

You're absolutely correct. I completely missed that and I apologize to slidergirl.

 

Lew