leck57

We have already hit December 1 here (it's 7am as I write this) and there's no new App yet on Play Store. Not that I'm concerned. We know that there is going to be a massive blood pressure rise among us on here when it comes out so let's think of our health.

We are doing our first cruise from the new Brisbane port in Feb so cannot answer with certainty until then. However, there is no public transport. Personally I would just call an Uber when you are ready and then do as you say as regards leaving your luggage at the airport and then the train back to the city. The distance from the terminal to the airport isn't far so an Uber will not cost much, and likely far less than any Princess offering. There is also a taxi rank at the port.

That seems to be the usual ploy with all cruise lines. Just jack up the base price and make people think that they are getting a genuine discount. Celebrity seem to be the worst at doing this from "deals" that I have checked lately.

The last cruise we were on it was free to access but there were a few kids around. If it was supposed to be adults free, it wasn't being enforced.

Yep and it's usually closer to 0%.

Maybe I'm just too pedantic 😐

It's only baked in to the fares for Australian based cruises. I have cruises booked in Europe and Asia and have taken Peincess Plus. For us CA is not part of the Plus package. We either pay it in advance, have it added daily to our ship board account, or visit customer services on board and have it stopped.

Oh no. Get the popcorn out - the tipping debate round 2376886 is about to start, just as soon as our friends in the US wake up.

Find a new doctor.🍷

Both great ships. Celebrity and Princess are more alike than different in my opinion. I certainly wouldn't pay extra for Concierge class which I did once. Aqua class maybe but not Concierge.

OK, thanks for replying. It's still there for me.

Might be wrong but I'm guessing you are not from the US. What they call entree is what we call the main Course. Apologies if my assumption is wrong.

Sorry for my dumb question. Where in the App does (or did) show what Package you had. When I click on the "Payment Methods and Packages" heading it just took to a page with a link to the Personalizer, where it showed what package I had purchased. I'd not previously seen it on the App.

I recall this was a problem a long time ago and I think I had a similar issue the very first time I entered info (thank God it carries over and you don't have to do it again). I am testing a memory that has consumed much alcohol since that time but in my case I think it was the format I was entering my mobile phone number. I either had to ignore the first "0" or it was something to do with the Country Code (in our case here it is +61) Another option is give the App a miss and use the option on the Personaliser where it states on the first page of your booking to use a web friendly version if you don't have a compatible device. Might work and save a bit of frustration.

We have a similar problem although not with dining. If I even try to look at cruise ship excursions for our second cruise the App keeps showing excursions for the first cruise. Of course they STILL haven't fixed the problem where I see the little exclamation mark which indicates I haven't chosen my Medallion wearable. I have done it and have the confirming email but the App says otherwise.

It's been revealed that there were less than 10 Covid cases and less that 10 gastro cases. Our media down here is just scum and love to jump on stories like this, especially after the Ruby situation a few years ago.

I get you Dog. I think a few people need to go back and read posts from a few pages back. I agree that it seems that CA now just goes in to general revenue that pays for everything, including wages. I refuse to pay the staff wages. Raise the cruise fares if need be, but it would be more transparent. I have never removed auto grats in the past but will be doing so now based on what I have read here. I'll tip certain staff in cash on board. However it is clear that if we remove CA it makes no difference to what the room stewards, dish washers or whoever get paid. Some seem to get a warm feeling by paying the CA but if it just goes to general revenue it may well be paying bonuses to the IT staff who quickly deal with problems with the Medallion App.

Agree. We in Australia would generally struggle to get the survey done within three days as it can take at least 24 hours flying just to get home from any place in Europe. Doing a survey the day after you get home while getting over the return travel is not the highest priority.

Not much to keep you occupied for more than a day or so in Southampton in my opinion but would definitely recommend you catch the ferry over to the Isle of Wight and spend some a day there. Plenty to see over there and very easy to get to by frequent ferries. If your husband doesn't want to drive there are a few day tours from Southampton you can also book.

We've stayed in Leonardos which was pretty good. Breakfast great but their in house meals for dinner were not too good. However heaps of restaurants within a few minutes. For our cruise from there in July we are trying the Holiday Inn this time which is not as expensive and gets good reviews. Both are close to the port although with bags it may depend on what dock you leave from as to whether you'll need a taxi.

I thought with the bidding process you were at least upgraded to the next category such as Balcony to Deluxe Balcony. Like you, I thought you'd get upgraded to Deluxe and get a sofa. I certainly wouldn't bid for an upgrade that was just a same type of cabin in another location.

I agree with the comment about sales. It is usually "up to 50%" and most cruise offered it is 10% (and usually on a fare they had jacked up anyway). Celebrity are worse as they have a sale with 40% off all passengers now down here but when you start looking, for example a14 day cruise for balcony is around $8000 which is ridiculous. You take the 40% off and the price is still higher than you'd usually pay. Most cruise lines should be done over for misleading advertising. Unfortunately the smaller ships like Azamara are still quite expensive but the lack of activities due to the smaller passenger number, would bore me to tears at this stage of my cruising life. Perhaps they'll be quite suitable when I'm in my 80's.

I agree. We just had Paul McCartney here. He is 81 and his concert was louder than anything I've heard on a Princess ship. That aside I do wish the Piazza itself was a bit quieter especially through the day.

I would think the insurance increase would be minimal. Yes, it is a downside but I would have thought, only minor when you consider the overall cost. Then again, I often read where people have paid thousands for a cruise and write pages about a $10 increase.

Hmmm. Just to clarify, again, our Plus and Premier packages DO NOT include crew appreciation. We either have the prepay option or they are just added to our onboard account as they always have been. No change for us. I know you are likely correct in the way Princess' bottom line is determined but it doesn't sit well with me the my CA payments are just paying the crew basic wages. An alternative line of thinking could be that Princess just bake the CA into all fares and start a marketing campaign that all cruises are gratuity free and di away with this bs. My next cruise for example is 22 days and if they added the roughly $450 pp gratuities into the cost I wouldn't really notice. My fare cost is about $8000 per person so would another $500 deter me. Probably not.