jat1977

2 hours ago, MissP22 said:

How have people been showing the results of their tests at the terminal?

Which is better, a copy on the phone or will they accept a printed copy?

We had both but showed the printed copies. No problems at all. 

23 hours ago, kywildcatfanone said:

Are these tests not free anymore?  I go to the links from Princess for CVS or walgreens and they want like $119 for this test?  Is there no place you can schedule and get them for free anymore?

CVS asks you a series of questions...if you answer yes to either of the first two (about being unable to socially distance or about being concerned about that while being in a high exposure environment [or something to that effect]), you should be to schedule for free.  If you answer no to those questions, it will tell you that you aren't eligible for a free test. At least that is how it was for our family of 5 in mid-February. 

My parents used Walgreens and did not have to answer any similar questions. Their tests were free, and Walgreens did not make distinctions between testing for travel and for illness. But again, that was back in mid-February. 

59 minutes ago, Ombud said:

Our December voyage substituted another port so no reimbursement (overnight in Cartegena)

 

 

We leave Sunday. Was hoping for a substitute port since we already had two sea days scheduled. But they just removed GC and made it a third sea day. We'll be watching for a refund of the port charges. 

7 hours ago, tawlaw1526 said:

Very interesting, I will be on the Sky the week of Feb 26th and it is currently scheduled to be in Grand Cayman on Feb 28th.   I wonder if we will go or have an itinerary change.   As of now, we have not been notified by Princess of any port changes.  

We were not notified and we leave Sunday. On our roll call, someone pointed out that Grand Cayman had been removed and changed to a sea day (confirmed by looking at the itinerary on the website). A little surprised Princess didn't at least send an email. 

Article mentions that the government extended its temporary ban on ships through 2/28/22 with the option to extend it further. 

It was on our upcoming itinerary, and we are bummed as we've never been and this will be our second time missing it (first time was the result of the first pause), but I'm not surprised. 

https://www.caymancompass.com/2022/02/03/cayman-in-talks-to-welcome-back-cruise-passengers/

18 hours ago, Therese S. said:

Question - Has anyone cancelled who used Bonus Gift Cards as part of the payment, was the value of your Bonus Cards restored by Princess? 

I plan to call the gift card center on Monday, but was curious if anyone has experience with this type of issue. 

Our cruise in 2020 was cancelled by Princess as part of Pause 1.  We had used a bonus gift card to either pay part of the fare or towards a pre-booked excursion (I can't remember which).  It had an expiration date in 2020, but Princess refunded it to that original card and apparently removed the expiration date because when we rebooked last Summer for an upcoming cruise, we used it towards the fare.  

Has anyone had problems using a digital Covid test result from either Walgreens or CVS? I've read that CVS typically sends the results by text, and their website says you can save the results to your phone.  I see on the Princess site that it says digital or email results are acceptable, but just wondering if anyone had any problems using the text link provided by CVS/Walgreens and showing the results in that format?  

Asking because we have (vaccinated) kids and they cannot have their own CVS account since they are minors so the only easy way to get their results is via text (I've read you can call a special number to get them sent via secured email or faxed but that seems tedious especially when you are in a time crunch to get the results before boarding).  

On 1/27/2022 at 7:36 AM, jeno said:

I just went back into the CVS site to schedule our test appointments.  Last week they were free and this week $139 pp. I wonder if that has to do with the free home tests that are being sent out.  I wonder if I’m doing something wrong on the site or different than I did last week when I first looked. 

I noticed that change as well.  I discovered that if you answer no to all the questions, it will tell you that you are not eligible for free testing and that you have to pay the fee.  But if you answer the first question yes, about being concerned about the high transmissibility and inadequacy of social distancing, it will allow you to book the test without mentioning a fee.  It may also allow you to schedule the free version if you answer the second question yes, which is about whether you have been in a place where social distancing could not be done, but I'm not sure as I answered yes to both the first and second question.  Personally, I think anyone who goes to a restaurant, church, school, gym, grocery store, etc. can honestly say they have been somewhere where social distancing was not possible (at least not completely), or, at the very least, that they were concerned about the inadequacy of social distancing.  

Also, I believe that Walgreens is still offering their Rapid NAAT test (Abbott ID Now) which is an acceptable test for free, without asking those questions. 

1 hour ago, CruisinFinsUp said:

https://www.visitcaymanislands.com/en-ca/travel-requirements/faqs

 

The Cayman Islands currently is in their definition of "phase 5"  The next stage is full opening from the looks of it.  Perhaps the folks at Princess are hoping that in 3 weeks the Cayman government will update policies, and they will be permitted to cruise there, and until they know they are not, they are not changing the itinerary.      

The Carnival Cruise Line folks took a different approach and cancelled and rebooked their ships.    

 

The Carnival brand has completely different rules and protocols than Princess.  I've found few similarities in the policies between the two.   Even the covid protocols and policies are somewhat different.    

 

Each of Carnival Cruise Line and Princess are wholly owned subsidiaries of Carnival Corporation PCL, and they operate independently of one another, along with all the other brands they own.   https://www.carnivalcorp.com/corporate-information/our-brands

 

Thanks for this. Last I checked, Grand Cayman was still at level 4 so that must be recent.  And it is helpful to know that Carnival and Princess's protocols and policies are different. 

23 minutes ago, toofewcruises said:

I wish I knew!  I am on the 1/31 cruise and we still don't know anything!  From what I have read, we are unlikely to stop at Grand Cayman... but it would be nice of Princess to let us know that ahead of time!

Yes, I agree.  Hoping we both get some confirmation soon!

Haven't sailed with Princess before but have a cruise scheduled for next month.  Our itinerary includes Ocho Rios and Grand Cayman.  I know Grand Cayman has remained closed to cruise ships thus far, and I saw that Carnival took it off itineraries for several of its upcoming cruises in February and beyond.  I also saw that Carnival kept Ocho Rios on the itinerary for some ships and just replaced Grand Cayman with Costa Maya, but then for others, it completely changed the itinerary to replace both Ocho Rios and Grand Cayman with either another Mexican port, Honduras, or Belize.  Since Carnival owns Princess, I'm sure an itinerary change is coming, at least for Grand Cayman, but not sure how close Princess gets to a scheduled cruise before that happens.  Our cruise is less than 3 weeks away, and I'm trying to plan for shore excursions, but waiting for the change so I know which ports to look at.  I saw that Grand Turk just reopened and I'd love for that to be our replacement (missed it twice), but I know that's likely wishful thinking.  😄

*I'm aware that cruise lines can change an itinerary even when we are on board, but I'm specifically wondering about timing of pre-cruise changes.  

We have the same two stops as part of our mid-February itinerary. I recently read that Grand Cayman imposed new requirements for cruises, which I believe cruise lines will be unable to meet...at least in the short term (primarily because of the first port of call requirement which would seem to require changing a lot of things around). 

https://www.travelweekly.com/Caribbean-Travel/Cayman-Islands-to-welcome-a-cruise-ship-with-conditions

As for Ochos Rios, I believe they are allowing cruises in, but they recently turned away a Princess ship (I think the Emerald) due to positive cases on board. 

Does anyone know if Princess has temporarily suspended excursions to Chichen Itza? When I Google, I can see it as an excursion but when I click on the "book it" link, it just brings me back to the Princess log in page. And it is no longer showing as an excursion for our particular cruise (mid-Feb.).  I checked the website for Chichen Itza and it appears to still be open. So I'm just curious if perhaps my inability to see it means Princess just isn't offering it currently or if it means it is full or something else? 

My parents and my family are booked on a February cruise.  The cruise was paid for mostly in FCC from a cancelled cruise, though we did pay the remainder via CC.  I checked the other day and saw that my parents' category of cabin had dropped almost $800 in price.  I was the one who booked the cruise through a travel agent (we've used the agency before though not this agent) so I called to inquire if they could refare their cabin.  He told me he would look into it and get back to me.  Well yesterday he calls and tells me he was able to refare and had already done so.  In the process, the majority of my parents' OBC was forfeited, which they knew was a possibility but they were ok with because they were going to still come out ahead.  The agent also told me that he was unsure whether Princess would refund FCC or my parents' credit card.  I told him I wanted to request a CC refund since that is what my parents were anticipating and they would not want to forfeit most of their OBC in lieu of FCC because it is unlikely they will cruise anytime soon after the February cruise, and I know FCCs have expiration dates.  He told me that it was up to the Princess accounting department, and that now that he had accepted the refare, he could not change it back.  However, he did say that when Princess called him back, he would ask about a refund to CC.  Whenever I have called to ask about a refare before, the agent checks and then calls me back to let me know my options before proceeding further.  That did not happen here, and now I'm concerned that my parents will be in a worse position by taking the refare and ending up with FCCs they likely won't use.  Does anyone know how Princess applies refunds in this situation (i.e., where it was paid for partially in FCCs and partially via CC)?   And after a refare, is it possible to get an old promo back if there was a misunderstanding about a refund?  

Regal March 22, 2020

Cxld by Princess during Pause 1 (March 12)

Option 2 selected on March 12

FCC received mid-April

Refund processed 5/29 and received 6/7

18 hours ago, Coral said:

I was given 2 different dates. I was given a process date and then a release date where it is sent to the bank. I think Princess is processing thousands of refunds and then every 2 weeks, releasing the funds. I think Princess told you correct that it was processed. I am guessing they will release the funds this Friday and you will see the refund next week (probably Wednesday or so).

 

Or maybe they were released this past Friday and then will show up this week. I am guessing next week though by their pattern.

 

I have friends on my sailing who received their refund 2 weeks earlier than I did.

Thanks for that clarification . . . I am happy to report that this morning, I received an alert on my CC that we had received our refunds.  I just checked online and our 100% refunds have been posted.  Now I just need to see if the remaining $227 we had as purchased onboard credit has been refunded to our gift cards.  I tried to call, but their phone systems are not taking calls because they are closed on Sundays.  However, at this point, I am just happy to have the cruise fare returned.  

This was a long and frustrating wait, but I am thankful Princess lived up to their promise.  I hope they do the same for everyone still waiting.  

Still waiting to see the actual money hit our Bank of America cc. Princess told us on 5/29 that our refunds had been processed that day.  Our TA followed up 6/1 and was told the same thing.  Since I have been checking our cc account every day and have not seen the refunds, I called BOA yesterday to see if they could see that the refunds were at least pending and nope! 

But our cruise was on the Regal 3/22 and ppl on that same cruise had their refunds processed the same day as ours (5/29) and have already received the money! 

I have seen a few ppl say that their refunds which were supposedly processed somehow got held up by Princess for some "unknown" reason and I am beginning to think that is what happened to ours. 

I was so excited when Princess told us that our refunds had been processed but now I am back to that VERY frustrated feeling. 

7 hours ago, BettyCruiser said:

I received all money due to me! Processed 5/29, posted to all three different accounts on 6/2.

 

Regal 3/22/2020

canceled by Princess 3/12

option 2 submitted 3/12

FCC was posted back in April

 

I hope all others are sorted out soon.

Congrats! That was our cruise too (and we selected option 2 on March 12 like you did) and I think you responded to me last time I inquired about whether anyone from that cruise had received a refund yet.

I called last Friday (5/29) and was told that our refunds had been processed that day too.  However, as of this morning, nothing is showing on our cc.  I'm hoping that maybe by Friday, we will see it in our account.  But glad to see that someone from our cruise has actually received something! 

No refund for March 22, but did receive 100% FCC a few weeks ago.  

March 22 Regal Princess - anyone receive a refund from that one yet?  I am wondering if they are processing by ship and then by sailing date specific to that ship?   Princess has repeatedly told me they see us in their system for processing, but I have seen numerous reports now that people have been told by Princess that they are done processing March . . . which clearly isn't true.  I even called my CC company to see if they could see on their end that we had a "pending" credit refund from Princess and NOPE.  

Just called Princess and inquired about the status of our refund.  March 22 cruise. We picked option 2 on the day they announced pause 1.  Still not showing as processed.  But the rep gave me the standard "we are going by sailing date starting with earliest cruises first" and she me told ours was one of the earliest.  I told her I had read that ppl with cruises after ours had already received refunds, but she couldn't explain it.  To her credit, she was very sweet and took her time looking over everything and confirming the amount of FCC for our kids (as we can't see it since they don't have their own Princess accounts).  

While the fact that ppl who picked option 2 without disputing are finally seeing refunds is good news, I'm frustrated that they keep saying it is going by sailing date order when that clearly is not the case. 

*I did ask if Princess was also being affected by CC's furlough of employees, and the rep confirmed that about 50% of Princess employees have been furloughed. 

4 minutes ago, Geoffa30 said:

Called Princess UK this morning. Was told our refund was processed yesterday and the money should with us within two weeks. I asked whether this meant it had to go through further processes at a Princess and was told no it’s my card company that will take this long. Was told the FCC element is being dealt with separately. We shall see but won’t start celebrating just yet.

What was the date of your cruise and did you cancel on your own or did Princess cancel it? 

6 minutes ago, ALWAYS CRUZIN said:

Maybe if we all just understand that when the refund offers started they did say 60-90 days and understand that is what it will take. Almost 60 days for us. If you happen to receive your refund sooner. Great, if not. You all knew how long it might take. So no sense to complain and talk about the cruise line as if they were hiding something or holding our money to benefit them. I am sure they wish this was all over as we all do. Speculation and accusations do nothing to help at all.

Speculation would be based on an assumption that may or may not be true.  But it isn't speculation when I was personally told by a Princess rep that they were processing refunds based on sailing date (and I believe this was posted on their website at some point too) and today we learn that people with sailing dates after ours already have their refunds, but we do not.  Even if Princess isn't hiding anything or doing anything nefarious with customers' money, they certainly can't claim to be organized.  Reading this entire thread proves that as everyone seems to get different answers depending on who they talk to, and as others have said, Princess keeps "moving the ball" as to when refunds are going to be processed.  

FWIW, my TA got back to me after talking to Princess about our reservations.  Princess told her that they are still processing our refunds and that we should give them a few more weeks.  🙄  May 12 marks 60 days and I think that is long enough.

2 minutes ago, hm9912 said:

You need to file a dispute with your credit card company. Don't wait and expect Princess to just automatically issue a credit card refund. Princess will only give you a future cruise credit

Did you file a dispute with Princess before getting the refund on your Princess Visa?  If not, then it can be assumed that (1) there is no real order to how they are processing refunds and (2) they might be giving preference to customers who utilized credit cards affiliated with their brand.  

I have already downloaded all of my invoices for the purposes of filing a dispute with my CC company.  I also contacted our TA (an online agency) to verify that our refund was not going to them first and then being distributed to us (we paid the TA's invoices but our payments on our cc always showed as Princess charging us).  I am ready to file a dispute if May 12 comes and goes.  

48 minutes ago, hm9912 said:

I just checked the balance in my Princess Visa Card this morning and I received the refund for the two cabins and the two tours that we booked on the Sky Princess cruise for us and the grand kids on April 4th that Princess cancelled.

Thank you Princess and hopefully we will all be able to cruise again in the not too distant future. We also received the travel insurance premium from Allianz that we took out for the grand kids about a month ago.

We also previously received the Future Cruise Credits from Princess about a month ago. We chose Option 2

Howard

Happy that someone has gotten something!  However, this also proves that Princess is NOT processing refunds in the order of the cancelled cruises.  Our cruise was March 22, cancelled by Princess on March 12.  We got the email a week ago that they were still working on our refunds (we had two cabins).  After reading the note above, I just checked our cc, and nope, no indication that our refunds have been processed, i.e., no pending transactions.  Curious if Princess is refunding those who have credit cards affiliated with them first . . . would not surprise me.