rheathslc

That's what I was wondering. I saw a TA tour video of the Sanctuary on the Discovery that was taken during the preview cruise and there were no pads on the chairs at the time but they were added later. But with this cruise on the Sun being for paying guests you would think they would have added them. But then again, it also seems many other finishing touches are not complete throughout the ship so maybe the pads are just still not delivered or something. My other thought is that when it rains, the Sanctuary stewards have to run around and remove/cover all the pads on the loungers because the pads would take much longer to dry than the standard webbing on the sunbeds. Maybe Princess decided too much time was taken up by that process. It looks like there are pads on the loungers in the Signature section and the ones under the dome as well so I'm worried that this is the more likely explanation. Which would be a huge disappointment. Those unpadded loungers are definitely not as comfortable and I'm not about to pay a premium to use them.

Much like the deep Caribe deck balconies on the Grand/Crown class ships. They used to not even charge a premium for those. Now they do in most cases.

Seriously! As much as I love the Sanctuary that's too rich for my blood. Guess that's one way for Princess to curb demand.

Much better than the penthouse suite balconies on the Royal Class ships! Even just a little more depth makes such a huge difference.

It's not quite 8am in Civitavecchia. Passengers will be on board in a few short hours! Hope all of you boarding today have an amazing trip!

Good to know. Thanks. 🙂 I'll keep your fingers crossed for you! I'm really hoping I get mine too.

There are always last minute cancelations. So Princess is trying to maximize their potential revenue. Before the upgrade bid system some people would share stories of getting upgraded for nothing or very little at the last minute, sometimes even after boarding. This new system allows Princess to get every last possible dollar by knowing in advance those who are willing to pay for it. With the new system People on totally sold out cruises sometimes - but admittedly not often - get notified a few days before the cruise that they finally got their upgrade bid accepted. So it's worth bidding if you're willing to part with the cash. Since the Princess upgrade system started my philosophy has been to book a cabin category I know I'll be satisfied with (based on availability obviously) and then bid as much as I'm comfortable with for any cabins I would LIKE to have knowing I'll still be happy even if I don't get one.

Here's a link to my post regarding this exact topic from another thread. Hope it helps. 🙂

You're right that the Press Release itself didn't detail the exclusions but it was shown all over the website and in other versions of the announcement. The Press Release was just the short and sweet version. I received an email on Dec 5th 2022 announcing the changes since we had a cruise booked with Plus at the $50 level and it clearly says you can choose to upgrade to the new package and pay difference or keep the old package at the $50 price. It is also still listed in the package FAQ on the Princess website and it's very clear in the terms and conditions. I get that someone not paying super close attention could miss this info but that doesn't mean that there was no information about the new perks being excluded for people who paid the old price.

Okay, on my phone it won't let me delete those emojois in my quote. I use cruise deck plans dot com extensively for looking at specific cabins and seeing general layout but one of their super valuable tools imo is they have of list of obstructed view cabins with pics. It's really great if you are wanting to book an OV cabin directly. Since you won't get to choose one with an upgrade bid, the list will give you a good idea of the range of views you might get. I'd say that minimum bid is worth it. Even if the OV are currently sold out. If others bid for a balcony that are currently in an OV then they may accept your bid.

Thats a great upgrade price for that 10 day cruise! Since that cruise is sold out I think at this point the only time an upgrade bid would be accepted is if (when) someone cancels. So for that one you may hear back as late as a day or two before the cruise. We had to cancel that one unfortunately but did so before final payment but there will almost surely be other late cancelations. I'm in the same situation for the March 31st cruise on Discovery. We're in a Mini-suite and bid on two Reserve Class mini-suite options and a Vista Suite but those are all sold out so we would only get it if someone has to cancel in the next 38 days. I draw hope from my experience last May on a sold out Alaska cruise. Placed a low end bid for interior to balcony upgrade but the cruise showed sold out. Got the upgrade notification about two weeks out. 🤞

Congrats! On the long crossing to and from Hawaii that will be nice to have. I can handle interior if I need to but being able to see daylight is really nice.

This!

I think the issue most people have right now is how late this cancelation happened and the lack of detailed information. And if they REALLY didn't know before Tuesday night that they would have to cancel that points to some serious failure within the organization. To top it off all of the social media and news around this seems be ignoring this cancelation almost completely. People feel like their very valid frustrations are being minimized. It's not always about money or the compensation people are given. A business I have been loyal to for years that sells annual planners had a major fulfillment issue this year. Many people still don't have the 2024 planners they ordered months ago. People are understandably very upset. And we're talking $50-$100 orders, not the thousands that go into the cruise fare, airfare, etc. The CEO has regularly issued statements taking full responsibility and apologizing as well as keeping people updated on the process of fixing the mess. The way this company has handled the situation and the transparency and accountability have made me even more likely to continue using their planners in the future even with the issues they had. That's what people want from Princess right now. Accountability and transparency. With all the factors right now the apology that came with the notice didn't feel very genuine especially in the face of continued promotion of the ship all over SM. That's just my take on it though.

But who in this analogy would be the Apple or GM as customers of the cruise industry? I don't think this is quite the same. There aren't huge corporations out there booking up 90% of all the sailings to which the cruise lines all cater. This industry is almost entirely driven by demand from individuals. Sure, one or a hundred or even a thousand individuals might not register. But at some point the number of people leaving the brand over these kinds of frustrations would reach a critical mass. So unless they're counting on just constantly attracting new customers that will have an impact. And it's pretty basic business sense that keeping a current customer is more cost efficient than trying to attract new ones right? But I do get your point. Princess is certainly acting as if they really couldn't care less that several thousands of guests are upset.

I am not remotely interested in ever sailing on RC but I still followed all the announcements and the lead up and the reviews from the first passengers and I agree. Flawless is the word. I'm a die hard Princess fan but this whole situation was handled so poorly from the planning to the communication and I don't blame people if they end up writing Princess off after this.

How awful. You're not the first I've heard from that says that if anything goes wrong Viking is terrible to work with and doesn't seem too concerned about making things right. I'll keep that in mind. Usually Princess does a pretty good job, this current situation notwithstanding. I feel so bad for all the folks affected by this one. What a mess.

FWIW, I did a full assessment of the costs comparing a Princess Mini-suite with Viking Junior Suite and because so many things are included in the Viking fare it was actually almost the same final price per person per day (if you include the Plus package, excursions, thermal suite access, etc). The main drawbacks for us currently are that the deposits are much higher and the final payment is due much sooner. And I've heard it's hard to get money back from Viking if you do have to cancel. But we're pretty close to making that switch anyway even though I finally hit Elite status with Princess. It just means we would have to save up in advance versus being able to book a year or more out and make payments over time.

Fair. I just find it convenient on those occasions that I'm carrying a coffee each for myself and my partner or two plates of pizza. Those slices slide right off the melamine (or whatever they are ) plates if you're not careful. Even as a former server with excellent carry skills it can be hard to juggle while trying to unlock the door. I'm not saying it's a must have. But it's certainly nice and I enjoy it. And as a 41 year old, I feel my extra 6 years of life give me the wisdom to make that judgment. 😁

To each their own. But I will say I'd rather wait a few extra minutes and be able to not interrupt my current activity whether that's relaxing with a book by the pool or playing cards with my travel mates in the piazza. The door unlocking thing really isn't about laziness. It's more about having your hands full. Surely even you have had situations where you'd have to set something down or shuffle things around in order to pull out your card. It's a convenience that can make life aboard just a tiny bit easier. Plus a cruise is a vacation right? Shouldn't we get to be a little lazy if we want? The leap from enjoying having your door unlock for you, to you should "just get rid of the locks altogether" seems pretty silly.

1. Love the sport clips (not the recycled plastic ones though) 2. I don't presume to speak for all women on anything but this: We want more pockets! 🙂

That's what I thought. At least for my first several cruises between 2007-2013. They had your cabin number, dining room/time/table number, muster station, and even your folio number IIRC. If someone found your card they could find you pretty easily.

That's totally fair. If it helps at all, I travel alone frequently - sometimes to and through very remote areas with no cell service so staying aware and taking precautions is a top priority for me - and overall I feel that the Medallion provides more privacy and security from risks posed by other guests than the old key card. Those had all kinds of info on them. Didn't they even list your cabin number? Losing that was a far scarier prospect to me than losing a medallion. And I do stay aware of who is close by as I approach my room just in case. I personally take comfort in the tons of cameras and pretty much ever present crew. Now the medallions do provide lots of info to crew but that worries me far less. 🙂

Exactly! This actually happened to me during the pandemic shut down. I was still working in the office. Someone waited for me to step away from my desk and took my keys from my desk (which I usually keep locked up but forgot to that time), quickly found my car in the parking lot, stole it, and in less than an hour was knocking on my front door. Luckily my partner was home sick and scared them off when he answered the door thank goodness. You're absolutely right that risk is everywhere. Even without the Medallion someone could pretty easily overhear you saying your cabin number at a bar or dining room. And even though I know crimes do happen on cruise ships there are cameras almost everywhere. I travel solo often (land and sea) and feel safer alone on a cruise than any other place. I do pay attention to my surroundings and stay aware of anyone that seems out of place or creepy but that's true of anywhere I would go. All in all, I don't think the Medallions introduce any significant extra risk but have several benefits. A win in my book. 🙂

I was on one of the Crown Alaska cruises in May 2022 with the engine issues. They had to cancel several ports and as a consequence we had several more sea days, which I was honestly fine with and actually gave me a lot more time to really explore and enjoy the ship. In my experience the Crown is very dated looking and a bit worn but clean and well maintained in general. The crew were also amazing and made the trip for me. I was solo on that cruise and had a fabulous time. Although that was still in the early days after the restart plus early season for Alaska. I think we sailed at about 50% capacity on that trip. We don't have children and prefer Princess for that reason but I also am able to find joy in seeing kiddos have fun and enjoy themselves even if they are loud so I generally don't mind the handful of kids that are around on most Princess cruises. In certain seasons there will be more families - think Spring Break, Christmas, summer. I typically spend most of my time in the adults only areas and seldom visit the buffet except for early in the morning when it's less crowded so even on full cruises I am usually able to avoid crowds and children when I want to. I think it all comes down to where and how you think you'll spend your time onboard. The Crown and other older ships still have lots of cozy and enjoyable spaces that make them worth sailing on imo. They also sail to some great destinations.