Arizona Wildcat

53 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

OK.  Has anyone done a Princess Norwegian Fjords cruise?  It is looking like HAL vs Princess right now.

Just Celebrity  and HAL to Norway.  The key is getting to smaller ports and more of them.  If Princess does 14 days then flip a coin.  Both very similar

9 minutes ago, omeinv said:

Hanlon's razor: "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity ."

 

It's most likely that in processing a stack of Shareholder Benefit requests someone put somethign from one reservation onto a second.  For there to be monetary gain, and thus the potential for a kickback, the customer would have to remain unaware, and keep the booking with the travel agency.  Not likely. 

 

Harris

Denver, CO

Agree - An illegal kickback?  Why?  How?  Why would a large TA risk losing all Celebrity business for a few dollars they could receive on one mostly comped booking.  Makes no sense.

Celebrity likely made a mistake in coding.  Something that happens often.

24 minutes ago, AbbyCruiser45 said:

Thank you so much for your detailed response. I'll pass on that info to her. We did not realize there was an avenue to release the booking back to Celebrity. 

Couple things, Expedia would have no way of knowing about your mother's cruise.  Have heard of Blue Chip using group cabins that could account  for the transfer.

Is it possible that your mother accidentally booked using Expedia?

There is really no downside in Expedia having her booking compared to booking direct.

I suspect this thread will be deleted because of mentioning a TA.

We cruised Celebrity on Apex to Amsterdam then went to Norway.

But not on Celebrity!  Cruised to Norway on HAL.  The reason is simple.   It takes a day and a half to get to Bergen.  A 7 day cruise thus leaves only time for 3 ports in southern Norway.  For the same $$ HAL - last year - offered 14 days and 8 ports.  The experiences of the additional ports and seeing the high arctic was exceptional. 

As for HAL.  It was simply put OK.  The food good.  The buffet OK.  Entertainment no contest as Celebrity much better.

But for experiencing Norway.  Absolutely not close.  Look for a 14 day cruise to Norway.

2 hours ago, carlp said:

our cruise is set for November, and I've been unable to make reservations for Spellbound

all other dining is open

anyone leaving in Nov/Dec able to make reservations?

What ship?

1 hour ago, Blockschip said:

We received a Move Up offer email yesterday for our Bermuda cruise in July, with options for upgrade to suites only (since we are already AquaClass). But suites are showing as all sold out 🙂

Because someone in a suite could need to cancel for personal reasons.  RC said somewhere in 1% area cancel.after final.payment.

16 hours ago, dalmoradie said:

 

But wouldn't the lower categories open up if it was move up bids?  and do they even award bids this far off from sailing date?

Of course lower categories would open up with moveup bids accepted.

Bids are not usually accepted this far out.  It is likely that all suites are booked TODAY and also likely that one of more will open up as passengers often need to cancel close to sailing date for all sorts of reasons.

My TA said demand for Alaska was "off the charts".  She has no group space remaining for June and August.  Only a few cabins in July.  Several cruises nothing.  Prices high in her opinion and moving higher.

I expect as said the odd cabin to open each week.

23 minutes ago, Potstech said:

On the old app you could group people by booking number so one person could make dining reservation for all.  Any idea how to do this in the new app?  Looking at the Sun Princess Dec7 cruise. Logged in under my name not the booking number.

You need to link all the reservations together.  Log in with your booking number.  

I note we were not looking for an early dining time and simply did it right after boarding as had too many issues with the app.

52 minutes ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

I can’t help but wonder how many great TAs there will be left selling Princess if they’re spending all their time getting avoidable issues resolved for their clients. I mean, once they start pushing minimum wage because of the pre- and post-cruise effort they’re putting in, there are plenty of other occupations to consider. 
 

The answer is not “let a TA handle it”. The answer is fix the darn problems. 

Agree with your sentiment.  I worked for a TA that booked travel for university and State employees for years.  My bookings were never for cruises.  Those still there report that the job has become more challenging.   The reasons pretty clear. 

A huge turnover of workers since Covid

Travel companies struggling to hire workers in the US/Canada/Europe etc.

Thus offshoring to hire and the resulting difficulty in training and supervision.

My statement is that my TA will go the extra mile as I have been a loyal customer and we agreed they would call each company/cruiseline once a day so as to deal with multiple issues on one call.  They are well paid and I try to be patient as I do not need to call.

PS - I deal with Iots of stuff once on board like dining.

11 minutes ago, ddled said:

OK-I am the OP and I have the end of the story-ala Paul Harvey. I sent an email to the head of Customer Relations - the address is earlier in this thread.  I included this original post and a few comments about how I thought they needed to pay attention to this kind of matter. I got back an email, a text and just today a phone call from Princess. They wanted to make sure that the matter had been resolved, and that I was satisfied. As a bonus from them they are including a nice amount of on board credit. So the lesson. I guess, is that the squeaky wheel does get greased, and that it pays to bring things to their attention. I am impressed and think the situation was handled very well. Mistakes happen,  but the significant part is how they are rectified. I am very pleased.  Just to get ahead of any questions- Yes, we are really booked on Royal in June, no I am not some kind of bot or stand in for Princess, we are just 2 retired teachers that are cruising. I just felt I had not received the kind of service I was used to and said so.

Absolutely correct.  You clearly explained the situation in a factual manner.  Most companies actually welcome customers telling them about problems.  It is only through people such as yourself that the dreadful decline in customer service will be corrected.

To get a drink with the medallion the order goes to a bar, then it is prepared, next a server is called,  then they bring it to you.  30 minutes, while silly, is actually not bad.  

Personally except in very unusual circumstances I would go to a bar - 4 minutes or less - get my drinks and go to wherever to enjoy.

4 hours ago, cgolf1 said:

Somewhere on here I saw it mentioned that people with food allergies should report to one of the main dining rooms when they board the ship. Is this just to confirm the allergy, or do they allow you to peorder that nights meal, I am gluten free? Or is this not needed at all? It would be nice to be able to preorder the first nights meal to make the first service go smoother for the 3 non GF people in our group.

You need to notify Princess in your Cruise Personalizer of your special needs now.

I suggest stopping by the MDR to verify that they have your notification.

Have found the first night always a bit chaotic so easier to just let your server know of your needs - both then and at every meal.  Also having a fixed dining time and table would make things go more smoothly.

Never assume they looked at your profile alert on your medallion.

I cannot remember any ship that did not have steel floor, ceiling and walls except the old Stockholm built before WWII.

24 minutes ago, Speedo said:

Does anyone know what time passengers without ship tours can get off the ship in Dun Laoghaire, Ireland. I need to meet family there and I need to know when they can meet us at the pier. It is a 7:00 am arrival. Thanks

As soon as your ship is cleared by port authorities.  Could be 7am if you are docked.

Again. . .  The ship could also be late.  Is this a tender port?  That could add as much as an hour or more.  As you Platinum or Elite?  If so you could tender quickly.

Have often had matinee shows on TA cruises.  Times are scheduled to avoid conflicts with guest lecturers.

26 minutes ago, ccheng6401 said:

I just got off a Princess cruise and bought a few FCDs when onboard. I just booked a couple of 2025 cruises directly on Princess.com. I understand that I have 60 days to transfer to a TA (I read someone said 90 days?).  Anyway, I always use the same TA website so I think I can transfer my bookings to them. I have never done this before so I have a few questions.

 

1)     Can I transfer my bookings to a travel agency (firm) and not a particular travel agent (person)?  

2)     If I find better pricing after I transfer my bookings to a TA, can I transfer again before the final payment date?

3)     I noticed my TA doesn’t show the same available staterooms like what I saw on Princess.com. If I book a stateroom that’s not showing on the TA site, can I still transfer my booking to them?

4)     Memorial Day is coming and July 4^th is not that far away. Princess may have some promotions during the bigger holidays.  I think I have time to wait and compare all TA promotions before I transfer my bookings to one of them and then get repricing.  Is Memorial Day sales usually better or July 4^th?

 

Thank you!

You can transfer your booking to a TA.  Simply call your TA.  I would see if the TA has their own promo.  You gave a limited number of days to do the transfer.

If your fare goes down before final payment you can reference.  After - too bad 

13 minutes ago, Water_Baby_ said:

We had an infinite balcony room on Ascent and it was the worst part of the room. Our pros and cons:

 

PRO

• There's a bit more space

 

CONS:

• You lose the use of the balcony as a second room. With a regular balcony, one can sit outside while the other sleeps, watches TV, reads, whatever. Even if one sits out with the door closed, once the window is open the AC goes off.
• Captain locks off the window from time to time for weather reasons and I would like the choice to go out on the balcony to see how conditions are
• It's not at all a balcony experience. It's like sitting beside an open window. You don't get the outdoor experience.
• The shade wasn't as room darkening as the old blackout curtains

 

We would downgrade to a OV before booking another infinite balcony. 

Simply put either you agree with Water and won't sail with an IV or you like the open feeling and don't care about having a real balcony. 

We like and use a real balcony

We set a record when we were in Nfld with 75 and clear.  Absolutely no fog and clear skies.  Next trip the opposite.

Bring an umbrella and clothing to layer up if needed.

Google is your friend for weather.

And yes it can have gale force winds and much cooler.

7 minutes ago, swabs said:

Anyone know when the activities schedule is likely to appear on the Medallion app?

 

Now only 22 days till we sail.

 

Im sure on my last years Princess cruise the events/activities appeared much sooner.

 

All info gratefully received 😎

 

 

 

Sometime between now and when you board.

It seems to completely vary by ship.  Some ships have most everything posted weeks ahead and others only maybe a week ahead.  I would also look at my roll call.

Strangely things like trivia etc often do not appear for some ships any sooner than the nightly entertainment.

On 7/20/2023 at 12:49 PM, Hello, Newman said:

Princess absolutely DOES provide this service.  On our recent transatlantic cruise on the Enchanted Princess we stopped by Guest Services and exchanged a few hundred US dollars to Euros.  

Yes if sailing in Europe you could get Euros on board.  But the 3% exchange fee charged by some DEBIT cards is far less than getting then on board, at home from your bank or using a credit card and a cash advance.

Just use a BANK ATM using a debit card when you arrive overseas. 

Agree with the last poster.  Santa Barbara has restricted port calls and Monterrey banned them for larger ships.

In Catalina simply use Google and search companies offering excursions.  There are at least 4.

West Coast cruising has become very different and not nearly as much fun.

Gave it 3 tries on our last cruise and handled it on board.  Will do the same for upcoming cruises.  Unless trying to eat at 6pm or easy to sort on board.

Australia has always had a number of large groups or whole ship charters.

Remember the web site is wonky at best and hopeless often; thus gave you contacted Princess by phone, a TA , or a CVP.

I would never book on their website.  Too much $$ to be saved with my TA.

46 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Logan is not far from the terminal.  From the bow of the ship/Gym, you can see the runways.  

 

Have a back up plan if flying in the same day.  Remember there will be time zone changes.  And Texas has some wicked weather that will ground/delay planes.

 

I used UBER from the ship to Quincy Market.  Cost me $16...including the tip.

The problem is you have either a long drive (1 hour+) or a huge wait if there is an accident in the tunnel.  We usually take the harbor shuttle and stay near the pier..

Strange, you did not ask for the $50 B2B discount.  It might be applied.  Take a look.  If not, either you or your TA likely will need to request same.