BigGuy25

Got off the Emerald in LA the day you were beginning your voyage … so, I’ve been following.  News reports this morning say that housing on Maui was already at a critical shortage before the fires … and thousands have been displaced because of the fires. Lots of power outages and many without fresh water. The state government is working with resorts to get people to leave the properties so that rooms will be available to house those displaced. Airlines have been sending larger planes to the Island to help accomplish this larger than normal exodus of vacationers.

Once, shortly after departure from a port, we returned to the port because someone onboard became critically ill.  But, shortly after docking, we cast lines and we’re at-sea again!

Sailed from many ports all around the world but US ports include New York (Red Hook), New Orleans, Los Angeles, Port Everglades, Port Canaveral (Orlando) and Miami.  Don’t have a real favorite but we certainly enjoyed spending time before and after the cruise in New Orleans.

We upgraded from TSA Pre-check to Global Entry.  The way things are going, we’ll likely need to renew it before we ever use it!!

2022 is the earliest for us too!

I'm not worried about my family's protocols.  We're not hiding under our beds.  But, we wear masks outside whenever we can't social distance, sanitize and wash hands frequently, stay away from large gatherings, and don't eat inside restaurants .... and would never go out "partying" in a city before boarding a ship.  But, I'm not at all as confident in my fellow passengers.  We already have the "anti-maskers" in every city in the country constantly putting others at risk.  Why should we believe these people would be more cautious before boarding a ship?  I'm sure many voyages will go off without incident.  However, I won't take a chance being on one of those that doesn't. After 30+ cruises, 2022 is the earliest we'd consider booking again.

Pretty much, anything that works on an iPhone it will work on an iPad!

10 hours ago, ldubs said:

I wonder how would they even track that.

If we’re talking about the ship’s shuttle from the airport, they check everyone in. So, I think they’d have a pretty good record of those who were on the bus.  Those from hotels or private shuttles from parking lots would be another story.  Very interesting thread. One I hadn’t thought about.  We’re not cruising before 2022, so we’ll be following early voyages to see how everything “shakes out!”

6 foot 5 inches ... 200 lbs+.  Say no more!!

We flew Business Class through EZair (last year) into Barcelona and back from Rome.  The price we found was remarkable and MUCH less than any other Business Class fare we could find. We were very pleased.  It was Delta into Barcelona and Alitalia from Rome back to the US.  To me, it often seems like EZairs international fares are better than their domestic fares.

Nope.  We’ll be carefully watching all of the “start up” cruises hoping they go well.   But, after 30+ cruises, we’ve pretty well determined it will be 2022 before we consider our next voyage.  Ironic, since just yesterday we finally had our COVID delayed Global Entry interviews and drove home wondering when we’ll actually use the status?

We sailed from (and back to) Sydney on a New Zealand Cruise. It is a spectacular port. But, I’m guessing sailing into port (if you didn’t depart from there) would be more special.  When you sail from Sydney, you’ve been looking at the amazing Opera House all day so it’s not quite as unique as seeing it for the first time as it gets closer and closer on your approach.

I’m in the same situation. My understanding from the Princess agent when I called was that the FCD would automatically be refunded if I did nothing ... or ... I could have it extended if requested. 

We generally find better fares on EZAir when traveling internationally. We had a great business class fare through Princess last October.  Domestic seems to be kind of a toss up.  Sometimes great ... sometimes not so much.  As others have said, the good thing about EZAir is that you don’t need to pay when you book the ticket and can cancel or make changes anytime you want up until payment is due.  

8 hours ago, Bgwest said:

The $100 "you purchase onboard to be used as deposit on a future cruise", is NOT an FCC (Future Cruise Credit). It is an FCD (Future Cruise Deposit).

Geez!!! It’s amazing how we can nitpick someone just simply trying to pass on some information.  Yes, after 30+ cruises I realize that it’s for a cruise deposit.  But, here’s where you find it on the Princess website.

10 minutes ago, suzyed said:

 

And you have two years to use them and if you don't you're supposed to get your money back. (I am referring to FCD purchased previous to the mess going on now.)

I'm the OP of this thread and I was answering the question asked by several.  The thread was referring to the $100 FCC you purchase onboard. Our two years on one of them that we have (due to a cruise we cancelled) is expiring next month.  We CAN have a refund if we want it.  But, Princess will also now extend the expiration date if we'd rather keep it!

No, it was just simply the $100 FCC you purchase onboard to be used as deposit on a future cruise.

Princess just started a policy that allows expiring FCC’s to be extended. I received an email yesterday informing me that my DW and I each have one that is expiring next month. I won’t be booking now so I called Princess to update the credit card info for the refund. The agent informed me that FCC’s can now be extended. She wasn’t sure how long but expected it would be for at least a year.

Mine’s off too. But, since I don’t have anything currently booked, I’m going to leave it alone for now. Princess has to figure this out and, if many correct them, they may not know which are are correct and which are wrong!  Whatever, I’ll check in a few months and make the change if it’s not already fixed.

And, even in "good" times, the time on hold waiting for an EzAir person to answer can often be VERY long!!

With 30+ cruises behind us, friends always ask which was our favorite.  It's always a difficult question because we've had such amazing adventures all over the world.  But, one we really enjoyed was on the Island Princess in French Polynesia.  Loved the breathtaking beauty and simplicity of the islands. We then took off for 5 days at sea (stopping for a few hours in Kirabati) and ended touring the Hawaiian islands.  Great voyage!!

Because of what others have said about LeHavre (even though we had no issues docking there),  if you haven't spent much time in London, I'd do Southhampton for sure!

22 minutes ago, trbarton said:

Are your bookings booked direct with Princess or through a T/A?   I’m through a T/A & also Elite so I don’t know it matters where your booking was made. 
 

Tom😀

We booked through one of the large TAs. I think the email came Wednesday.

We're Elite with no current bookings (cancelled Vancouver to Hawaii at beginning of pandemic).  We received the email for the Friday event.

No email for me!