jagoffee

On 12/31/2023 at 9:31 AM, DaKahuna said:

 I still think they are talking around the issue.  If someone orders a glass of Decoy Cabernet  or Conundrum Blend  in Luminae is there going to be an up charge or not?  I still don't see an answer to this in their communications.  There was no upcharge for either on our last cruise but now both appear to be $19 vs $17. 

 

Why wouldn’t there be an up charge in Luminae if a wine priced above the limit.  Hasn’t that always been the policy.

The Retreat lounge has historically has not include an up charge.

This has been my experience for many years.

3 hours ago, CruiseMob said:

Yep, which is why I'm concerned I won't have the boarding pass as I can't find that on the old app or website like I did the luggage tags.

 

Also anyone else notice how on the shoreside page it says items with * are required but only the zipcode has a *. Obviously not true and so weird.

1 hour ago, Papa Yoda said:

I haven't read the whole thread, but I'd figure that PCL is acting as a Credit Card clearing house / transaction processor, no CC numbers or PII are given out to merchants.  They charge shoreside merchants a transaction fee.  The only way they could do that was if they were processing the transactions themselves, not your CC company.

 

ETA:  Shoreside Medallion charges go to your onboard account, not your CC.

I thought the same thing.  (Like Apple Pay) but the above post makes it seem otherwise.  

25 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

I've never figured out how they choose the booking.    I always do all the bookings and pay with my credit card but about 1/2 the time Iain is the Record Holder and eligible for bidding etc.

Jim, are you always the first one to log in after the booking has been made?

On 12/29/2023 at 8:25 AM, deliver42 said:

By not reducing the price, it means that all suites have a hefty price increase.

Difficult to know for sure that no prices with the removal of the gratuities from the AI.

I am seeing inflated prices on all of my purchases.

32 minutes ago, TM said:

The ability to exchange for coffee cards was eliminated a few years ago.  

At the same time that coffee cards were eliminated if I remember correctly.

2 hours ago, San10s said:

I am pretty update that Princess is forcing us to register a credit card with the ‘Shoreside Transactions’ in order to be in the GREEN Lane! I have a CC on file for our ship’s account but I DO NOT want a 3rd party keeping my credit card on file.  I don’t shop on shore with a CC. 
 

Since I refuse to register any Shoreside credit card info, I am in the Blue Lane…. And as punishment for failing to abide with their demand, they won’t let me complete our Medallion Order!!! (Which should be shipped to me since we have the Plus Package!! 😠). I will be sending off an email to express my dissatisfaction with this process. 

I am sure it will not make you feel any better and I agree that it should be optional.  I am fairly certain that a third party does not have your credit card information,  Just your ship information.  It would certainly be safer to use a Medallion than your CC for purchases.  (Due to the fact that the on shore merchant will not know your CC number.
 

 This is why I use Apple Pay at home whenever possible, so the merchant does not have my CC information.

But I do not see any reason that your CC information needs to be inputted a second time on the AP as your Credit Card is already in Princess’s system for your account.

1 hour ago, Shippy said:

  On the blog for my particular cruise, people are already booking the 360 dining experience.

Not sure but I assume they are paying.

We are in a suite & the app wants me to pay the full price. I have spoken to 3 different people at Princess.

2 say it is no longer a suite perk. The third says to wait until you are onboard.

 I want to assume the first 2 people are wrong.

My issue about waiting until we are onboard is that I want the early dining. We are old & can not eat late..

I know seating is very limited & if I wait until we are onboard, all the early dining slots might be gone. 

Any advice ??

I am also staying in a suite.  The 360 is listed on each of my print summaries.  (Under the luggage tag/print summary).  Although I could book my Included Speciality Dining, I could not book the 360 in advance.   

18 hours ago, MsSoCalCruiser said:

It doesn’t even list the Casual Dining but it does list Fitness Classes and it only shows 2 classes for the entire 14 days. 

7 hours ago, MountainEER74 said:

My travel summary for a 17 day b2b (10 and 7) does not show casual dining, ocean now delivery, or free room service. It does show only 2 fitness classes, 2 premium deserts per day, and free medallion shipping.

1 hour ago, MsSoCalCruiser said:

Same here. 

Sorry that I confused the situation.  My printed summary does not show Casual dining on either the 14 day print summary or the two seven day print summaries.

Also I have the Premier package and not the Plus.  But my 14 day single booking did reflect a dollar amount for four speciality restaurants.  The same amount as the sum of my B2B seven day versions.   Others have reported the same.  
 

obviously not exactly the same situation,

2 hours ago, MsSoCalCruiser said:

 

Our Sun Princess cruises are a 7 day Eastern Caribbean and a 7 day Western Caribbean but it was booked as a 14 day cruise so we could keep the same cabin. The same cabin supposedly was not available if we booked it as two 7 day cruises. It counts as 2 credits towards loyalty but we only get 2 Casual Dining credits and not the 4 that we should. It makes absolutely no sense to me but that’s what we have been told. 
 

I’m sure what I order in the MDR (shrimp, salmon, steak and everything else) will cost way more than a pizza with no cheese (dairy allergy). Seriously, who comes up with this stuff? 

From my experience, you have beer given incorrect information.  Go on line and pull up your reservation.  Click the luggage  tags/summary. Click on the travel summary and on the last page you will find what is included on B2B cruise sold as a single 14 day cruise.  You will see that you get the number of benefits with your 14 day cruise as you would with two 7 day cruises.

1 minute ago, Iamcruzin said:

They always added the tip to drinks so no difference there. Restaurant service was always included with the auto gratuity.

Of course.  I thought we were discussing the 18% service charge that is now being added to the  Speciality restaurant fee, it is likely to be same as the charge for drinks.  It is not optional and it cannot be removed.

Have you seen anything that has suggested that the fee can be removed?

1 hour ago, Iamcruzin said:

This is such a common practice at land restaurants now that I'm not surprised that it has trickled down to cruise ships. Royal Caribbean has already put this in place I think pre covid. The club house cafe in our community adds a 20% gratuity.  My pet peeve is that at land restaurants they don't always tell you and many don't spot it on the check and leave an additional gratuity. I wouldn't be surprised if passengers remove this tip like they do with the auto gratuity for the staff. Tipping is an American custom and not recognized internationally. None of these ships are registered in the U.S. So when in Rome....

I am fairly certain that the service charge on drinks and Specialty restaurants cannot be removed.  

1 hour ago, Iamcruzin said:

This is such a common practice at land restaurants now that I'm not surprised that it has trickled down to cruise ships. Royal Caribbean has already put this in place I think pre covid. The club house cafe in our community adds a 20% gratuity.  My pet peeve is that at land restaurants they don't always tell you and many don't spot it on the check and leave an additional gratuity. I wouldn't be surprised if passengers remove this tip like they do with the auto gratuity for the staff. Tipping is an American custom and not recognized internationally. None of these ships are registered in the U.S. So when in Rome....

I am fairly certain that the service charge on drinks and Specialty restaurants cannot be removed.  

14 hours ago, SSAtlantic said:

OP here. Thank you to all who answered my questions. I did go ahead and book our flights with EZ air. I was able to select seats in United for both legs. However, while our return flight shows those seats gone on United site, our flight over shows our seats as still available. How long should I give this before calling and is it better to call EZ air or United directly?

TIA

Do you have a FF number and an on line account with United?  If yes, I suggest you log in, put in your flight record locator and select/confirm your seats.  
 

The ability to do this might be negatively impacted if all flights are not operated my United.  (Might be a code share operated by a Partner airline)

1 hour ago, 1965 said:

On the Enchanted b2b we got 2 mini bar set ups. We got 4 whiskeys with each. 

What brand?

Thanks.

3 minutes ago, MacMadame said:

That's what people are reporting happened to them. Doesn't help me as our cruise is 16 days and is a single cruise. Oh well, it's over a year away so maybe they'll change the policy by then. Or change what is offered in a way that pisses me off. Either could happen from what I see. 😄 

Same thing happened to me on a true 28 day cruise RT from San Pedro.

19 minutes ago, Potstech said:

I wonder why they do not provide whiskey or rum in the mini bar set up.

I do not think the minibar set up is intended/designed around a selection process. Of course Princess has always allowed you to swap out based on what is available.  I am confident that Princess does not carry small bottles of rum and I do not recall ever seeing whiskey in their choices.  
 

Of course that does not mean that Princess could not redesign the process and offer a wider choice an/or a individual preselection.  (Except that would take more resources)

14 hours ago, Snaxmuppet said:

You are correct... crazy isn't it. Just how a policy like this can make it into reality eludes me. It is the kind of policy implemented without any kind of thought or scrutiny... 

 

... it is Princess... what more can I say 🙂 

It is the same with all the features and benefits.  Perhaps if the World Cruise is a combination of multiple of numerous back to back cruises, you will get the benefits for each segment.  That is the way it works for a 14 day cruise that is really just two 7 day cruises.

of course if the cruise is a single 28 day cruise that is not availalbe to book as a B2B, you are correct.

12 hours ago, dolphfan said:

EZ Air was great when booked them in August. We have them booked again in January and it has been crazy, When we first booked we had direct flights to FLL and back. In recent weeks we have had flight changes emailed to us, and now we have one connection going to FLL and two connections coming home. I am worrying that the more connections that you have the more chances that we miss a flight!

What airline?  Do you think the airline perhaps eliminated their non stop flights?

40 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

The only way to book in the Retreat is with the PDP and Wi-Fi, no choice but to take the AI, unless you make a move up bid from a verandah with no AI.

Or now the Aqua Class.

Does not make sense to me, since you do not need any kind of drink package to Ken’s drinks in the Retreat lounge.

Perhaps some one order a bottle of wine?

14 hours ago, startedwithamouse said:

Why?  It was listed for a few months back when it was new. 

 

It was included when booking suites. 

 

There was also a mailer sent to us promoting 360 is included when booking a suite. 

 

"An experience that is as memorable as it is priceless, 360 is currently available exclusively for guests booked in suite accommodations on Discovery Princess and Enchanted Princess or for guests sailing on the Discovery Princess or Enchanted Princess that book a future cruise with suite accommodations on any Princess ship including Princess Premier at non-cancelable rates. Invitation access may also be gained from participation in specific “VIP” casino gaming and retail event sailings."

Thanks.  I confirmed that is listed as a benefit on my two April cruises.

2 hours ago, rj59 said:

It's automatic now, and I see it as soon as I book. The ID verification systems can be difficult, but are inescapable now. The same id.me account that I use to verify military status for Apple discounts is the same one I need to view my social security account. 

Apple offers discounts for veterans or just active military?

Maybe someone has a screenshot. 

No, it does not.

18 hours ago, SDWalt said:

I read free is going away on the 360 for full suites.  I believe those booked before December 1(?) will be grandfathered in for the free benefit, after that everyone will have to pay $150.

7 minutes ago, memoak said:

If you look at suite perks when you look at deck plans for the Discovery it does not show 360 as a perk

I am fairly certain that the 360 dining experience has never been documented as a suite perk.  It has been reported as being the practice on current cruises.  Those of us in a suite obviously hopes that it continues.  I would guess it might depend on many now suite guests are booking the 360 experience.