rheathslc

On 3/31/2022 at 10:50 PM, OzKiwiJJ said:

Yes, it is an extra charge. We had a look around it on embarkation day when we did a Sydney to Tokyo repositioning cruise on Diamond in 2018. Nice pools but not hot enough for me so I didn't bother trying it out. As far as I can recall most of the sessions are bathing suits required but they did offer one or two sessions a day in the more traditional Japanese manner - ie segregated nude bathing. 

 

Diamond regularly cruises out of Japan and I imagine it would be very popular there.

Did you happen to note what the charge per session was?

8 hours ago, deb18560 said:

I was bored tonight and looked through the available staterooms. There are over 500. Did you get the email with the itinerary change? My husband did, but I didn't.

I do that too! Haha! I did that a few days ago and was pleasantly surprised. I'm still in an inside cabin but might try to get a balcony and I'm glad there are plenty left. Plus it means fewer people on board which is always a plus to me. I did get the email but only after I logged into cruise personalizer and saw that the image for the cruise had changed and that usually means an itinerary change so I checked and sure enough, no Ketchikan.

54 minutes ago, deb18560 said:

We're on the same sailing!

Yay! I think I've seen you on the roll call. It's very quiet though. Usually there's more activity on the roll calls when we're this close. 26 days!

9 hours ago, VibeGuy said:

It’s rare there’s anything happening in Fusion past 10:30 or so, so those guests must have a very different definition of “late into the night”. My bigger concern about aft balconies on Emerald at the moment is that promenade starboard aft is being used for crew smoking at night and it can really be smelled in some cabins.  

I had that issue on the Ruby in November. CruiseDeckPlans showed that the starboard side was used for crew smoking area so we switched our Emerald deck mini-suite to the port side only to discover once onboard and after complaining about the smell that they had just recently switched the crew smoking area to port side. Ugh. We didn't want to move to a Dolphin deck mini-suite (all that was available) late on day 2 of a 5 day.  We booked the Emerald deck mini on purpose for the covered balcony. They did comp us a nice bottle of wine for our inconvenience though.

5 hours ago, Mrgoodbar said:

Hi all, I am thinking of booking the diamond next spring to Mexico. Since she was reconfigured for sailing from Japan, anyone been on this ship lately from the US?  Also, thinking about booking an aft suite but noticed they are right above what look like vents, should I be aware of any issues in this area?  Price is considerably less than the Discovery but still not cheap.  Any help is appreciated!

 

Thanks!

We are booked in an aft suite on the Diamond for two 5-day B2B cruises in September 2022 which I think are among her first cruises back in service since the shut down. I have done a ton of research and we picked a Vista Suite, D739, which is on the far starboard side and not directly next to a vent. There are some reports of there being noise and/or occasional food smells from the vents from some passengers but most people I've seen reviews from say it's not too much of an issue. A lot of people consider any of the aft cabins, suite or not, the best on the ship. I HAVE seen numerous complaints about the aft cabins on Emerald deck though as they are directly above one of the lounges and people can hear loud music late into the night.

2 hours ago, KISS Kruiser said:

Thank you.  I just didn't know if noisy neighbors was a legitimate complaint or just a normal part of cruising.  

Normal noise is one thing but I would also have addressed something like you described. I had a neighbor (a few balconies down the hall) who was clearly very drunk and screaming from his balcony at other boats as we left San Francisco including yelling super harassing things to the Coast Guard escort. Who harasses the Coast Guard?!? It was over the line IMO so I called passenger services AND sent a message in the crew chat feature of the app. I called because I wanted them to hear that the guy could be heard from INSIDE my cabin from two or three balconies down. They sent someone to talk to me and then they talked to him. I didn't hear a peep the rest of the cruise. I would have been terrified to address it in person. For sure always go through passenger services. That way they don't know who made the complaint and can't retaliate.

I'm so sorry that happened to you and I have to say I am extremely disappointed by the response you received. If I were you I would follow up with Princess again. Don't let this slide. Saying that the Passage Contract is something that everyone violates?!? Just no. That's not okay. What the heck is the point of the contract if it isn't going to be enforced? Especially when someone was violent with another passenger. Even it was your word against his. 

On 4/20/2022 at 11:18 AM, deb18560 said:

This will be our first Princess cruise. Is it worth doing the Sanctuary on an Alaska cruise in May? Everyone talks about strategizing for sun or shade for warm cruises, but will it be frigid in Alaska? Thanks!

I'm on the May 21st sailing to Alaska on the Crown rt from Seattle and plan on booking the Sanctuary  as soon as I get on board. I don't anticipate it being full except for the Glacier Bay day which costs more and has a few other perks. It will probably be very cold and windy and likely will be rainy and I still plan on booking it. I will have lots of warm, cozy clothes and can bundle up. But I'm in an inside cabin on this one. If I was doing a balcony I might forego the Sanctuary on this one. But probably not. I really LOVE the Sanctuary.

On 4/10/2022 at 7:12 AM, Kathyrd said:

We are new to princess we have a penthouse suite with a huge balcony at the back of the ship . Is there a benefit to the sanctuary other than an additional place to relax?

I love the Sanctuary for the service you get from the Serenity Stewards as much as the peace and quite and great views and the great (complementary and exclusive) food they have for breakfast and lunch. Sure the name is a little fussy but they do a wonderful job. With the new app you can order just about anything you could possibly want delivered to your stateroom but it may or may not be the same person and they may not remember how you like things. Plus (and this may have changed since November when we were last on board with Princess) when do do get delivery to your stateroom they were NOT bringing it into the cabin for us. We had to meet them at the door. So you have to keep popping up and down to answer the door.  If you're on the balcony it's hard to hear them knock. The stewards in the Sanctuary anticipated our needs and offered to refill our drinks before they were empty. And if you have the drinks package you can only order one drink at a time with the app. I'm weird, I like to cut my white wine with san pellegrino and I had to place two separate orders on the app to be delivered to our room. Sometimes they came together, sometimes not. Our Sanctuary stewards brought both at once. And remembered I didn't want ice. I gave an envelope with a cash tip to each of the four stewards who worked the Sanctuary during our cruise on the last day. They more than earned it. I'd say it depends on if you have the budget for it and want to splurge. You can probably get a very good experience on your own balcony. We're sailing in one of the aft suites on the Diamond for my 40th in September and I'm SOOO excited. Enjoy!

On 1/2/2022 at 6:16 PM, beachump said:

Is there any other ADULTS ONLY pools onboard that are free?   Do they charge screaming kids extra for their pools?

I didn't see if you got a comprehensive answer. If you did already just ignore me. 🙂 

The Crown/Grand class ships (Grand, Sapphire, Diamond, Emerald, Ruby, Crown, Caribbean) have the outdoor Lotus pool (including two hot tubs) which has signs posted saying that it's adults only. They also have aft pools that are adults only (on some at least - possibly all of them). Neither have a fee to use. A lot of people assume the Lotus pool is part of the Sanctuary because it's accessed from either stairs right next to the Sanctuary entrance or through the Lotus Spa and thus has a fee for use but it is not (and some people may be miffed I'm giving away the secret 🙂). There are even really nice wooden loungers with cushions around the perimeter of the pool that are sheltered from the wind and have sun and/or shade depending on the time of day/sailing direction. I LOVE both pools. 

The Royal class ships have a Retreat pool which is adults only and is adjacent to the Sanctuary toward the front of the ship. On the Majestic it's called the Hollywood Pool and Conservatory (no Sanctuary) and the pool is fully enclosed. It's very nice but they host music/dance club type events there in the late evenings. There is no fee for the Hollywood Conservatory and I THINK you can use the retreat pool without a fee but the nice cabanas do have a charge per day or half day. 

The Coral And Island have Lotus Pools as well and they are covered but are NOT adults only (not that I noticed anyway). The Coral has a small pool at the very back of the ship that is part of the Sanctuary and requires you to pay the Sanctuary fee to use (which is at the back of the ship on the Island and Coral vs. at the front on the rest)

53 minutes ago, 1emerald1 said:

My steward flat out refused to service twice a day, on the Discovery.  Where on the app can I find this?  Sorry to be a pest but I've looked everywhere and do not see it.

Are you on board right now? It's in the Ocean Now section of the app I think. It's not something you have access to in advance of the cruise.

The Full-Suite benefit PDF has undergone significant changes since I last looked at it only a few weeks ago (month or so at most) Some of the things I noticed that changed or are missing:

• No pillow menu
• mini-bar set up is limited to voyages of 6 days or more (I'm annoyed by this as we have two 5 day B2Bs booked in September and I wouldn't be surprised if we don't get the set up for those)
• I THINK the complimentary specialty dining on embarkation evening WAS on voyages 4 days or longer and now it's 6 days but I might be mistaken on this one
• no complimentary Platinum Studio sitting
• "Upgraded bathroom amenities" no longer specifically mentions eye mask and bath salts.

There may be others. I saved the previous version on my work computer and will check it on Monday. New version is attached

PrincessSuite_eFlyer.pdf

On 4/21/2022 at 6:16 PM, miagirl said:

thanks to both of you.  I had a feeling that a glitch was the answer but I wanted to be sure.  I LOVE those beds!  Strange that the Enclave is enhanced but it's $10 less.

 

Nan

Oh, and I might be wrong but the two different prices might be for a single person and a couples pass. The couples pass is usually significantly less per person per day than the single pass. That $10 difference does seem strange. I would expect the couples pass to be more than only $10 more than the single but who knows.

On 4/21/2022 at 6:16 PM, miagirl said:

thanks to both of you.  I had a feeling that a glitch was the answer but I wanted to be sure.  I LOVE those beds!  Strange that the Enclave is enhanced but it's $10 less.

 

Nan

I LOVE the thermal suites on the older ships so I've always insisted on sailing on a ship with one. I had a chance to sail on the Majestic last October and the Enclave is even better than the original thermal suites. The hydrotherapy pool is a delight. Not as hot as a hot tub so you can stay in for longer and just totally relax. You're going to love it! 

14 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Good luck if you are going out of San Pedro.

Pier 27 in San Francisco thank goodness. Sailed out of San Pedro last month on the Majestic though. It was the first cruise out of that terminal since the shutdown and it was so disorganized and the ladies handing out passes were not very accommodating or interested in hearing what people were trying to explain. 

On 11/9/2021 at 10:37 AM, generichandle said:

A question I cannot seem to get answered. While onboard, can I order food from the MDR and have it delivered to my cabin? Or is it just 'junk food' you can get on DMW?

Suite passengers get access to an expanded room service menu that includes some options from the MDR. Are you sailing in a suite?
And the food options for us lowly non-suite people were pretty good. Caesar Salad, Cobb Salad, Burger, other sandwiches, pizza (for a charge), desserts, etc.  I'd rather order those than do the buffet personally.

14 hours ago, Buckeye10640 said:

Mine is customized with a design.I do not see how one can tell for certain about  any status when looking at a customized medallion?? Seems they would need to be scanned....

8 hours ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

Just an FYI. I’ve had 3 medallions for 3 cruises issued to me since my July 25th sailing this year. I always get custom artwork on the front. I noticed I wasn’t getting my 10% discount in the stores. When I asked about it the sales person (this was on the Grand in Oct) said she couldn’t see my status on her screen. I had to take off my bracelet and show her the back of my medallion that was black to get the discount. 

I didn't even think about the implications of the custom medallions. How silly that they can't tell without looking at the medallion. I swear on one of the Medallion Class Mondays videos they put out earlier this year one of them mentioned how the crew would be able to easily tell your loyalty status when you approach because the medallion transmits your info to whatever devices the crew use. 
I was worried about this as I recently qualified for Platinum status after we had already booked this cruise and I had to email my Princess Vacation Planner to have him update my details so I showed as Platinum on the app and on my travel summary but they still sent me a Ruby level medallion. At least now I know I can get a sticker once on board. But they had better let me in the priority boarding group that I qualify for. I will raise a stink if they don't (in a nice way - it's certainly not the fault of the hard-working crew at the pier or onboard that this system is still fraught with issues).

22 hours ago, AZjohn said:

I’m a little confused…. Isn’t the whole reason for using the medallion is so you can keep it in your pocket or hung around your neck under a shirt and the signal will automatically show up on the computer screen without fumbling to get it out?
 

if so, why would the color matter?

For some things they can read your medallion as you approach but with others you had to tap the medallion on a reader. Mostly during embarkation and disembarkation but also for the muster station check in. So having it under a shirt or in a pocket would be a little inconvenient for those times. I got a clip and a bracelet to use mine with and that was nice as I could just tap my wrist on the reader and not have to fumble with the lanyard.

9 hours ago, brisalta said:

 

In the process of updating that what did they break in the Medallion app instead?

Well dining reservations haven't worked for over a week so that's fun. We leave in 17 days and can't even view anything other than the first day's reservation.

On 10/27/2021 at 2:55 PM, brisalta said:

They still need to update the deck plans in the Medallion app to show that Sabatini's is on board the ship and not SHARE.

It's updated now.

9 hours ago, caribill said:

Now those fantastic close-to-embarkation day fares are very rare. Princess (and its competitors) would rather sail with a few cabins empty then sell a big bunch of cabins at a greatly discounted price.

I continue to watch the fares and available cabins even after I have made final payment partly to see if it's worth asking for an upgrade and lately to see how full the ships seems. Of course since some people book guarantees it's impossible to know for sure. But my most recent cruise on the Majestic this month was less than half full and they did heavily discount the cabins in the two weeks or so before sailing but what I discovered was that if you wanted the Princess Plus you would be paying over $100 per day for it which is more than if you just bought the beverage and wifi packages and prepaid the gratuities separately so that wasn't really worth it. But if you don't want wifi and don't drink the base fares were really great.

On 9/29/2021 at 5:25 PM, SwimCarrie said:

 

I'm sure my PVP thinks I'm a delight! 🤣

 

I have been doing the same thing and even once promised my PVP that I wouldn't make ANY more changes. Changed twice more after that. Ended up with a gorgeous club-class mini with a bigger balcony on the Majestic for only $28 more than I paid for an aft balcony after originally booking an inside for a solo getaway. And just switched to an Emerald deck (covered) mini on the Ruby for $4.40 TOTAL more than the aft balcony I moved us to after remembering that the Dolphin deck mini I originally booked was uncovered. Haha. I really like the aft cabins for the wake view and bigger balcony but the bathrooms are so cramped and there's nowhere to sit other than the bed. I'm still debating whether or not to switch back to the aft balcony but also like the extra space of a mini. And this next one is my partner's first cruise. I really want him to love it. I feel like I should send my PVP flowers for putting up with me and my ever changing whims. I'm sure he breathes a sigh of relief once I've finally embarked.

This is great news to me! I LOVE Sabatini's and wasn't impressed with the Share menu. I can now book Sabatini's for our Nov 22nd cruise for Thanksgiving this year. Woohoo!

@Steelers36 got this from Princess yesterday.

Just now, PacnGoNow said:

Would be nice if they would just put an alert on the app.

Well, that would just be too simple.

@trbarton and @Ronnieslady Princess sent an email yesterday that they were working on the dining portion of the app and to not try to make or change any dinner reservations so I just stayed clear of the whole app for the night. Hopefully whatever they were doing is what caused your problems and it's fixed now.