Torfamm

On 12/11/2022 at 6:30 PM, HeddaGarbled said:

Has anyone ever managed to find an Ephesus tour that didn’t end with a carpet demonstration?

If you book a private tour it is possible 

I would consider trying to hire a private guide who could pick you up at the hotel in the morning and drop you off at the ship in the afternoon 

6 hours ago, TBfrPH said:

Hello all.  If you are currently sailing on Royal Princess, please consider posting a Patter from a sea day.  We are booked to sail in about a month, and would like to get an idea of the current line-up of live music acts in the various lounges. 

 

You can see what is scheduled for your cruise in the Journey View activity timeline in the app. I’ve seen it start to populate as much as 60 days before sailing 

I agree that Celebrity and Princess are more alike than different. One thing that hasn’t been mentioned- Princess has self-service laundry. It is very helpful on long trips

On 12/10/2022 at 7:08 AM, PhillyFan33579 said:

Sort of surprised that a lot of experienced cruisers would do a B2B without having the same cabin booked for both (or more) cruises. Having the same cabin is my first rule when booking a B2B. 

It would always be my preference but I wouldn’t stay home over it. If the itinerary, dates, and price all match my needs it might very well be worth the trouble.

1 hour ago, Steelers36 said:

Okay.  I understand where you are coming from.  What you have reproduced are the specific Reward terms (for the Princess Gift Cards), which AARP Rewards has provided pretty much verbatim from the Princess Gift Card website (as though buying from them directly).  The actual AARP Rewards Terms and Conditions here:   https://www.aarp.org/about-aarp/rewards-terms-and-conditions/  

clearly indicate AARP Rewards program is only for US residents.  

 

But they seem to lock it up like military secret since providing a US mailing address and a credit card with US billing address is insufficient to get a purchase to work.

 

I see. So the issue isn’t the Princess gift cards but participating in the AARP Rewards program at all. I guess that makes a certain amount of sense. Is the a similar organization in Canada as there is with Automobile Clubs? 

4 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

I'd like to hear more on Princess' side of the story - like why they had to reverse course mid-voyage?  Also, IDK why people are using a social media App owned by the CCP when they could have contacted PCL directly or posted on their Facebook page if they wanted more public to see it.  They could have contacted Reuters or AP.  You couldn't pay me to use Tik-Tok.

I’ve seen it on the Princess Twitter account, and their Facebook page as well if I remember correctly. They are posting it all over

6 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

6 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Hi.  I appreciate you posting this information and tagging me.  At this time, I do not need any Princess Gift Cards.  When I was trying to purchase some before, the final step was always failing on my credit card (and I even tried with a friend's PC who has a US VPN).  I do not want to risk doing a purchase and having it work as I will "own" at least one gift card.

 

I did some poking around their website and recent information seems to indicate that Canadian residents cannot participate in AARP Rewards.  IMO, I ought to be able to purchase cards using my US address and a US credit card.  When I tried this before, I was stymied at every turn and spoke to them on the phone.  Apparently, they had an IP address block and could detect I was not in USA (hence my effort to go around that with a US VPN). 

 

We will be in FL after Christmas and I could try it there, but I just don't need/want any GC's now as we have no immediate cruise plans.  But a friend might.

 

Would you mind telling where you have seen this information or announcement.  I am looking for an official source that you saw since I cannot do a live purchase attempt.  Thanks!

It’s under rewards terms when you select a Princess gift card. I have no idea if Rewards membership is limited to US residents,  but it states explicitly that Canadian residents can purchase e-gift cards for delivery by email https://www.aarp.org/rewards/redeem/#all_rewards

3 hours ago, brisalta said:

They are not AARP cards. They are Princess Cruise Line gift cards sold via the AARP rewards web site.

Yes, that is correct. The Princess Cruises gift cards sold on the AARP Rewards site are now available to Canadian residents. They were not in the past 

@Steelers36 the website shows that AARP gift cards are now available to residents of Canada

17 hours ago, hozelovr123 said:

Discovery Princess upcoming on the 10th. How do I know which nights are formal nights? 

You can see which nights are scheduled as formal nights in the Journey View activities timeline in the app. Every evening will show either “casual” or “formal” portraits. I’ve seen it populate as much as a couple of months before a cruise.

4 hours ago, mfanderso said:

I just tried to purchase OBC for my upcoming cruise using gift cards as payment method and that option wasn't available for me.  I thought I had seen it earlier.  I know when I was on board in October, I had no problem giving the gift cards to Guest Services and have them apply them.  I guess that is what I will do again.

It can’t be done on the website but you can do it by phone if you want.

8 hours ago, Jadn13 said:

 

Never had an issue before and have applied GC for excursions and OBC in the past. This may be a new policy.

 

I just did it last week but I suppose it’s possible. I have encountered agents who don’t know how to apply a gift card but not a policy prohibiting their use

2 hours ago, iamaqt2 said:

Nope.. Just went through the wringer trying to add the 3 cards I have to my account.  I originally called the casino dept whom I'm booked through.  They couldn't help me so transferred me to Princess customer service.  Princess customer service told me they couldn't do it and it would have to be done through their Onboard Services department, so they transferred me.  The Onboard Services department told me this can't be done pre-cruise and must be done once onboard at Guest Services.  
At this point my frustration was off the charts, so I reached out through the chat function, and they gave me a number to call who handles the gift cards.  Turns out this was a 3rd party who only manages the gift cards for Princess, and has zero affiliation with Princess other than that. 
In fact the lady from the gift card department was adamant that Princess says you can purchase OBC through your personalizer on the website with these gift cards.  I told her that was not a payment option on their website.  She insisted Princess says it is.
So I dig some further digging.  Turns out Princess will not let you add gift cards as OBC precruise.  Per their website: "The Princess Cruises Gift Card may also be applied toward the guest's onboard folio account once the cardholder embarks a Princess Cruise line ship for their cruise vacation experience.  To apply a Princess Cruises Gift Card to your folio, you must present your Gift Card to the Passenger Services Desk onboard your cruise."
So while you can use it to purchase a cruise, if you want to use it for OBC you're going to have to go stand in line at Guest Services and hope you get an agent who knows how to redeem these.

 

I purchased OBC by phone pre-cruise in November and had no problem paying with gift cards.
 

I’ve also never had any difficulty paying my account with them at guest services either. My only suggestion would be to avoid doing it on the first or  last day of a cruise since it can be busy.

8 hours ago, damiross said:

I ran the figures for my 5 day cruise.  I don't drink.  I get Wi-Fi at half price (should be free but that's another story).  I have already prepaid the gratuities.

 

The bottom line? Standard fare, port extortions, pre-paid Wi-Fi, gratuities, and the soda package comes to $70 less for the cruise than using the Plus program.

That’s an easy answer. For you it would all be about coffee, water and mocktails. I’m sure lots of people would spend $14 a day on those items so Plus still might be a good deal.  

If I drink 1 specialty coffee, 1 bottled water, 1 cocktail, and 1 glass of wine daily, $14 a day for beverages is a great deal.

18 hours ago, peterhof said:

With the “2 nights dining in a specialty restaurant” is that for any length of cruise? We are on a 14night cruise, so do we get the same as those on a 4 or 7 night cruise? Can you see what I’m getting at? Princess need to clarify all these anomalies me thinks

It is as stated - 2 per cruise. Good value on a 4 night? Maybe. Not so much on a world cruise.

It was at 6:35 on Saturday. We were scheduled to arrive at 4:00 and told to expect walk offs to begin at 7:00. Those times are all the earliest I’ve seen in Port Everglades.
 

I’d only book flights before 11:00 if I was comfortable with having to deal with a missed flight though. For every time a ship is cleared early, there is a time when it is cleared late. If you are still sitting and waiting at 8:35 will you be stressed?

My booking confirmation for a Mediterranean cruise included instructions for those returning to the airport in Rome to get the transfer to Civitavecchia. Obviously, they expect many to do it

14 hours ago, ratherbecruzin said:

Where is the best place to park for a ten day cruise out of Fort Lauderdale?

You can check for discounted prices at https://onestopparking.com/

Last time I parked the price at Park N Go was the same as parking at the Port Everglades garage. I ended up booking Park by the Ports at One Stop Parking and was very happy with them 

Just now, MissP22 said:

I must have forgotten about that. My husband doesn't remember it either. 

Old age is getting to us. 

To be fair, it’s been a long time since any of us has seen a phone book!

2 hours ago, MissP22 said:

I don't ever recall addresses' being shown in our area. 

Really? That’s interesting. Phone books had addresses as well as phone numbers in all of the states that I’ve lived in.

2 hours ago, cruzin4us said:

I think the price increase would almost be more tolerable if they just would have said "due to the current market and the cost of inflation, we regret we are going to increase the prices.   We will also will also be increasing the daily gratuities as an incentive to get more crew".    I could have almost stomached that, but the free fitness classes and 2 extra desserts was a stupid reason.

 

I agree Princess Plus was a great deal compared to other cruise lines drink packages. I would absolutely have understood a price increase. What bothered me was that the first price increase when Premier was introduced came with a corresponding increase in wine prices that put a number of my regular choices above the price limit for Plus. I wish they’d just raised it $20 at the beginning. I also think this is all a better value for those who take short cruises. Maybe offering a number of specialty dining meals or exercise classes proportionate to the length of the cruise would have been more palatable.

You can see which nights and at what time shows are scheduled. In the Journey View Activities timeline in the app. I’ve seen it populate as much as a couple of months before a cruise

1 hour ago, Potstech said:

As is apparent they truly are. But then why did the app accept the passport card scan instead of rejecting it. Most that you say that is clearly posted IS NOT to people with poor eye sight or first time cruisers.  My friends were not the only ones with passport problems because there were several other having similar problems.

 

The website might be clear in very small lettering and many people here at the terminal gave varying renditions on what was required. Clear, probably, in print that can be read by all, not hardly.

It sounds like the TA is incompetent if they don’t know that the travel summary and other paperwork would outline passport requirements. That said, if the passengers weren’t able to read their travel summary for whatever reason - eyesight, language issues, illiteracy etc. , they should have asked someone to do it for them and perhaps relied on their TA to do it. There is no way Princess was unclear about this in the travel documents 

Their travel summary should list the passport requirements. Mine clearly stated that a passport book is required for my Panama Canal cruise. What a shame that they didn’t see it