Mary loves to travel

@wowzz. interesting about Bistro Sur la Mer. Seems some (like us) really like it, others not so much. BUT, for what it’s worth, on the Princess web site, deck plans, there are 2 options for Sky: before or after April 8. Both still show Bistro Sur la Mer in its current location on deck 7.

@fruitmachine I just looked up the dates for the Children's Festival in May... it's May 27 through June 3. We will be in port on May 29th. What do you think will be the impact of this festival? thanks much, Mary

There seems to be some sort of a glitch where changes to one thing cause the airport transfer to be dropped. It happened to us when Shareholder OBC was added, then again this weekend when I added EZAir.

Of course Princess should have sorted this out by now. However, in my recent experience, it can often take QUITE a long time to get a refund settled. Mary

If you look when booking some cruises, there is an option to book the Cruise only, or to book what they call a CruiseTour. The way to really know the price of the pre or post cruise "tour" is to compare, on the day one books, the price of the Cruise Tour versus the price of the cruise only, in the same cabin. If one doesn't do that, you can see what the price difference is for future cruises, and will get a good idea, but you won't know the exact extra paid for the Tour (since prices can change often). Make sense? Mary

I'm thinking this was a "Cruisetour". I wonder if it will be refunded to you as a check, or as an FCC?

about the weight claims being off: the weight supported by the hook is when hanging from the ceiling. If using the hook on the wall, the amount of weight it will hold is much less, because the force can more easily pull the hook off the wall - hope my explanation makes sense 🙂 We, too, love the magnetic hooks. We hang clothes on hangers from the ceiling to dry, put hooks by the door to hang medallions, hats, sunglasses, masks, etc. We use regular (non-hook) magnets to stick tickets, notices, even maps to the wall above the desk. Enjoy, Mary

We plan to stay in Buenos Aires for a few days post cruise. Trying to decide between Recoleta and Puerto Madero. Any advice? thanks, Mary

@terry&mike I, too, love Merrill Moabs! Wore a pair through Norway, a week in Rome, and all the Med ports last fall. They were great on all surfaces and went well enough with shorts, pants, and even sundresses 😀 Do you understand the difference between the “Waterproof” and the Gore-tex versions? I now realize mine are Ventilator model, but kept my feet dry through showers in Tromso ( the rain pants likely helped there). Trying to decide if I need official waterproof version of Moabs for Iceland in June (and S America/Antarctica later). thanks! Mary

Maybe. As it turns out, I also have a cruise booked in 2024. Excursions have been bookable for months, so not too early to book excursions for 2024 cruises.

I, too, have had experiences where I had to switch browsers to get something to work. Mary

wow, most are staying on. That makes sense. Enjoy!

Hello there! how fun 🙂 Share all your tips & tricks that you learn. Hope to see you on another cruise soon, Mary

We, too, are on that trip! The rollcall hasn't been too active yet, but I think it will pick up soon. Have gotten nice tips already from this "Live" thread -- thanks, @LACruiser88

oh, that's disappointing! Hope the family health emergency is quickly resolved. Hugs, Mary

Following along from Silicon Valley! We'll be on the Sapphire for the Antarctic leg, San Antonio to BA, next Jan. Looks like you have an amazing trip ahead of you. Mary

Different from what you've already done (as those are great ones): Juneau: float plan to Taku Glacier Lodge with fresh grilled salmon. It's a beautiful place, nice sightseeing flight in, just a great excursion overall. Skagway: Hike & Float the Chilkoot Trail (we also did the helicopter glacier walk in the morning). Ketchikan: a tour to one of the totem parks would be good. We did this in conjunction with a beautiful guided hike (but not a Princess Tour). Then lunch at Alaska Fish House & walked along the salmon ladders on our own. an earlier time in Juneau, we took the Mt Roberts Tram and hiked around - beautiful!

I'd never seen prices for Reserve / Club class that high.... went and checked for our 3 upcoming cruises. The upgrade today would cost $61, $41, and $90 - that's per person - wow, $90! BUT, on that cruise, there was only 1 R/C class left, or select a Guarantee. I'd say "supply & demand". Mary

According to the tax tables, when one’s income is low enough.

In this case, the person who is "no longer working" has paid taxes in the past. We could easily get into an entire discussion around who pays for what & when (why limit it to medical?? there are always people who pay more than they receive ... look at fire insurance as just one example), but maybe outside the realm of cruise critic?

Wow.

We work with a PVP that we love. As far as price drops (for the same cabin), sometimes she can just reprice our existing booking, but sometimes the great deal we spotted is for 'new bookings only'. Most of the time, the savings is still in our favor even with having to rebook excursions, etc. On the last one, we lost our great internet price, but the overall drop in price was still quite a nice savings, so we went ahead. So, rebooking or repricing? It depends on the details of the promotion. Mary

Loyalty Level and the app is kind of a funny thing. We had 2 cruises booked, then turned Platinum, and booked a 3rd cruise. Only the most recently booked cruise showed us as being Platinum in the app. I assumed it would eventually work itself out... but it didn't. We were unable to book dining times before final payment for 2 of the 3 cruises: those still showed us as Ruby. It seems the app pulls loyalty level from the Confirmation. I asked our PVP to update the 2 earliest reservations to show our current loyalty level; she did and we got new Confirmation emails. Then, the app showed us as Platinum for each of the 3 upcoming cruises. Mary

ok I'm in the US, but in my Medallion app, it shows both the 1 device and the 4 device plans, plus a note that says as Platinum, either package will be 50% off. So, I get charged at the 50% off price, no fooling around with refundable or non-refundable OBC. Mary

odd that it wanted payment usually Holds can be placed with no payment.