On 3/5/2024 at 12:59 PM, crusin1112 said:

Ok since this is my first time purchasing a dining package i want to piggyback off my question in the OP.  I purchased the 3 night package and it says that Royal will make a courtesy reservation on either night 1 or 2 for me and the other 2 dinners i will have to reserve once onboard.  Question is.....am i able to see the ''courtesy reservation TIME that Royal has made on night 1 or 2'' for me in advance?  Just wondering, thanks all!

I can see on the App and on the calendar on the website that they made a courtesy reservation for us at 6PM on Day 1.  Unfortunately they don't say which restaurant it is for and 6PM is a little early for us on Day.  I called (the standard RCL phone number) to try and see if I could move it to Day 2 or later and they said I would have to do that on the ship.  Has anyone had any luck getting them to change it before the cruise?

7 hours ago, hcat said:

Do they still have Q sine on  any of the ships.. ?   It is listed under specialty  dining  but we have not heard if it still exists???

 

 We really enjoyed it a few times.  It was a small venue with whimsical decor(like Alice in Winderland,), an ecceltic  tasting type menu and some of the best food and service on Celebrity!   

 

At some point they may have tried the animation there .. We would have skipped that but loved Q sine.

They had Qsine on Infinity last October.  That is when we went to Le Petit Chef. Agree it was the best food we had on that cruise.

We were on Infinity in October with another couple who are long time friends. We decided to book it and were very pleased.  The food was amazing and service excellent.  I think we enjoyed watching the animation more with friends than we would have as a couple. I read the negative reviews also, but we had no regrets about going to it.

11 minutes ago, Happiest when cruising said:

I am curious about these isolation cabins. I have now read three posts where people were not moved from their inside or window cabins, so why do they need them?  I read the website and it does say may be moved…

I should have read it closer, though. We are heading out soon for 22 days in an inside…but I think should we get sick, I’ll ask to change to a balcony cabin, since they are obviously holding some back. 

I am not sure how Princess is handling passengers with Covid-like illness onboard. Last April on Celebrity, they had s specific large section of cabins on the lowest passenger deck set aside. There were a combination of Inside, Balcony and a couple Suites in that area. If someone tested positive for Covid, they were moved to the same type of cabin in that section and confined to the cabin.  If you had a Suite and all the Suites in the isolation area were full, you were moved to a Balcony. You were not moved to a higher type cabin, only the same or lower. I know because we were in a Suite (our one time to experience a Suite due to being able to use a lot of FCC credits) and my wife tested positive and was moved to a Balcony.  But that was their rules and I am not sure what the rules are for Princess.  If I were in an inside and had to move to an isolation area, I would certainly request a balcony, as it never hurts to ask. If you are hearing of people are not being moved out of their cabins, then this isolation area would seem to be unnecessary. 

18 minutes ago, Happiest when cruising said:

Why don’t you ask them to switch you both back and have those cabins on the port side for the isolation cabins? 

I did ask, no dice. I believe their rationale is to group all the isolation cabins together in the front of the ship. They don't like having them spread out across several decks.

17 minutes ago, Happiest when cruising said:

Try Twitter… it works. You will get their attention fast- likely within  a day. Ask me how I know.😉

I just posted on the Princess page on Facebook but I will post on Twitter also if I don't get a response - thanks for the recommendation.

Getting no love from the Love Boat this week. So I just got off a 1 hour and 52 minute call with my TA to question why my cabin number was changed on our 5/27 Alaska cruise from Vancouver.  No notice from Princess of being moved, but when I was looking at more excursions today I noticed the cabin changed. What?????  We specifically requested "no upgrades" because we were thrilled with the 2 cabins we booked over a year ago.  They were next to each other on Deck 8, starboard side, about 6 cabins from the front of the ship and have balconies 3x the size of a normal balcony.  I figure they are designated BF because some people don't like being that close to the bow and on Deck 8. I am on the phone with TA and Princess and the Princess Rep says they changed the cabin on 3/14 because it has been designated as an isolation cabin in accordance with CDC requirements, yada yada. I say I am not happy getting moved to the Port side on a Northbound cruise and why we booked those 2 cabins. I get put on hold while my TA tries to escalate the issue with Princess. After long wait, my TA comes back and says I have been moved to B4 cabin with large balcony which is an upgrade but there are zero balcony cabins of any type available on Starboard side.  And since my Brother and SIL are traveling with us, Princess is moving them also and declaring their cabin an isolation cabin. I say don't do that, you are punishing them because I questioned my cabin change. No, too late, already done. They will now in the cabin next to you on the port side. Too bad if I don't like it I guess.

I guess it could be worse, the cabin is a nice balcony, but its definitely a downgrade in our minds being switched to port side and a smaller balcony than we had booked over a year ago. Definitely upset with Princess deciding to change this after final payment and without notice. 

On 3/19/2023 at 9:14 PM, fleeflicker said:

We booked EZ air flights and cancelled them well within the timeframe to get a full refund. The date of cancellation was 2/8/23. Today is 3/19, and I have yet to receive a refund.

We cancelled our EZAir due to airline changing flight schedules on 3/5 and it was well in advance of refund deadline. We are still waiting for our refund.  After we canceled we waited patiently for 2 weeks and then called our TA to say we have not seen it. They call Princess, say it's resolved and refund will come in 10 to 15 days. After 2 more weeks of no refund we call TA and they call Princess again.  Princess has some excuse that the reservation was all messed up in their system and it took a lot more work to fix it but now we will see refund in 10 to 14 days.  We will see. Definitely not "EZ".

Mine came through.  Nothing yet for DW.

2 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

I got my 5 points today as well as the points for the days I spent in quarantine on the last cruise on the Equinox.  

 I received mine. Can you expound in the points you received for your days in quarantine?  My DW was in quarantine on our last cruise for 4 days and I don't recall any extra points for her.

We sailed 10 days on the Crown Princess last November and saw no issues. I know there were a lot of complaints about engine vibrations on the prior cruises last year but we did not experience any significant issue.  We are planning to be on the Majestic next May and it will be interesting to compare a much newer ship to our experience on the Crown. I would certainly be willing to try other older Princess ships if the opportunity came up. 

One year I found small tin boxes similar to the old lunch boxes we used as kids that were painted to look like travel suitcases with stickers on them of various cities. Inside the "suitcases" were fake boarding passes and a Christmas ornament relating to the destinations.

1 hour ago, Bellaggio Cruisers said:

The butler said I probably forgot to order it.

Yes, that was definitely the wrong response to you in that situation. Our butler did a great job of anticipating our needs as well as responding to requests that were not easy to anticipate. We hope to do a suite on Celebrity again some time. For this week's cruise we are back to a CC Veranda.

5 hours ago, Bellaggio Cruisers said:

Sooo…we have returned from our fabulous cruise on Equinox . The accommodations were excellent. We were in a Royal Suite and treated as though we were really royalty. 
Dinners were delightful. We ate wherever we wanted, whenever we wanted. 
Not too happy with our butler.
But, we have booked another Celebrity cruise  on Equinox for June.Hoping everyone is still so anxious to please us. Any advice about the Celebrity Suite?

sheila

Sorry to hear that you didn't have a good experience with your butler. We were on Equinox in April and had an amazing host (butler). We had never been in a Suite before and were not sure what to expect. Well we could not have been happier with Rene. He took such great care of us and was so attentive. Maybe he just had a connection with us, but we could not have asked for anyone better.  

On a cruise in May my DW was not feeling great on the 7th day, so we did a self test which was positive for her and mine was negative. Gave her a second one and also positive, so we notified medical. They came up and did rapid PCR tests on both of us and got the same result. So they said they would move her to quarantine deck and said I could stay or go with her. DW insisted she go alone. She was moved by 2 crew in full hazmat suites through the crew corridors. The first crew member clearing the way and  the second crew member carrying a fogging machine behind her. She said it was surreal between the hazmat suits and other crew members jumping behind doors while they passed. She was lucky enough to get a veranda cabin in quarantine. All meals were dropped off at her door, always using disposable plates and cutlery. Since we had Wifi, we were able to FaceTime together, but I think that if we did not have Wifi as part of our package, they would have provided it for free. They also offered to allow her to make calls back to the US, but she did not feel she needed to do that. At the end of the cruise she was taken out through a special gangway where I met her.  We were driven to our car in the parking garage in an SUV by a driver in scrubs.

I was given a rapid PCR test each day (5) for the rest of the cruise. Had to stay in cabin until results came back each morning. Some mornings it took quite a while for them to get the results back to me, but I would order breakfast and sit out on the balcony while waiting for them. It did mean no more excursions because I was never assured the results would be back in time. They asked me to only eat in my cabin, but otherwise I could go wherever I wanted on the ship or off except for the Spa. I would have preferred to eat in restaurants, especially since we were in a Suite and it was the only time we have ever had one. The food was still great and served hot on china with the same silverware and glasses they use in the restaurants. I did use a mask from that point on for the rest of the cruise except when I was outside and away from others. 

DW still tested positive on the morning we disembarked and several days at home. Despite driving 10 hours together, I never did test positive on the ship or at home. They did reimburse us for cancelled excursions and my wife got a refund for the days she was in quarantine. 

4 minutes ago, Kay&Dee said:

Has anyone received their Power Up Points yet ?   Thank you 🙂

Not yet

I have a list I work from in a spreadsheet.  The first tab has my pre-cruise check list.  Other tabs for packing list, day trips, ...

I intentionally don't over plan what I am going to do from day to day,  beyond excursions (or port day onboard).  I will usually use a highlighter and go through the next day's activities that I am considering when I get the daily newsletter onboard.

Cruise Packing List - Master.xlsx

3 minutes ago, tawlaw1526 said:

I am interested too, if anyone has a great fan they can recommend for traveling, let us know.   

We brought this fan on our Nov Princess cruise and it helped DW.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0995CG5ZH/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_463J3DQDQRHA5M7BKV8M

On 10/14/2021 at 10:46 PM, PescadoAmarillo said:

Hi everyone,

 

We’re ensconced in a room at the Crown Plaza LA Harbor Hotel the night before boarding the Emerald Princess tomorrow. I  just published the first blog post of this 16 day vacation, and hope you’ll cruise vicariously  with us. 

 

http://pescadoamarillo.blogspot.com/2021/10/its-time-for-another-cruise.html

Thank you very much for your Blog postings throughout your cruise.  Enjoyed the daily updates and the photos. We leave next Saturday on the Emerald Princess and can't wait.

3 hours ago, abqmommyof4 said:

My toblerone  arrived this morning,  so  glad  not to be flying...

 

They are on-sale at Costco and I picked up 18 bars today.  I wonder how many will be left by the time I get on the ship.  (hopefully all).

1 hour ago, AncientWanderer said:

I don't know if other states do this, but here in California we have the ability to download a QR code from the state vaccination registry.  They won't send you the QR code unless your identity is matched up via phone number or email address.

It's just another way to bring the loose threads together, FWIW.

I don't see a way to get an electronic copy where we live.  I have just requested a replacement card with the correct initial so we will see if that results in a copy with her middle initial matching her passport.

We are sailing within the next 2 weeks and my DW's passport has her middle name.  Her driver's license has her maiden name for her middle name.  She has had issues in the past when traveling internationally so we always take both ID's.  Her Vaccine Card has just a middle initial but it matches her driver's license and not her Passport.  Worried that it might cause issues but hoping that taking both ID's will resolve any questions at boarding. I will be happy to report back once we get to embarkation.

3 minutes ago, sunsetme said:

Is it an actual certificate or just reflected somewhere in your celebrity account??

For us, each one has been an email with e certificate number and the amount shown.  The first pair we used I was able to apply on the Celebrity website to our next cruise.  When that cruise was canceled, our TA worked with Celebrity to re-apply a portion of the original FCC's to the next cruise.  Our TA did say that unless we are applying the FCC's ourselves, the certificate numbers are not critical.  She said that as long as the credits show in the "system" against our original booking numbers, Celebrity could apply the credits.  I feel better seeing the numbers in writing however.

Celebrity canceled our April 2021 cruise on 1/12/21.  We got one of our FCC certificates on 10/5 and are still waiting for the certificate for DW. Full disclosure it was a bit complicated because we used a FCC from a prior cruise for final payment on the April '21 cruise and then we "re-used" some of the original cruise FCC to pay for a May 2021 cruise which was also canceled by Celebrity.  So quite an unusual situation they had to work through. We are both still waiting for the FCC from the May cruise. My TA has talked to Celebrity several times and we are assured that they have worked out all the numbers and not to worry.  We love Celebrity and I bought stock in RCL because of prior cruises.  But it does seem a long time to wait, and wait and wait.

We are booked on a 12 Day cruise in April 2022 so it needs to all be worked out before final payment date.  The good news is we were able to upgrade to a Suite using the FCC bonuses we got and that will be a special treat for us.

2 hours ago, billco said:

Princess does not reverse those charges until after the cruise is completed. Then it may take several weeks. 

It may depend on the type of charge, but I booked a SR for later in the cruise and then decided to cancel that and book for the 8th.  The new charge for $58 showed immediately on my CC and the credit for the original night was credited a couple days later.  Certainly less than a week to get the credit.