DCThunder

14 minutes ago, memoak said:

It is the app not the medallion. We just go to a bar so much easier and faster

The gods help those who help themselves...

12 hours ago, Gretchendz said:

There are two sizes of the plastic luggage tag holders...Cunard uses the skinnier ones, but you could certainly manage with the wider ones.

 

Besides using the plastic covers makes you look like a veteran knowledgeable cruiser 🙂

Good to know that my Princess/HAL luggage tag holders will work for Cunard!

Where on the My Cunard portion of the website is the location of the luggage tags?  I was looking for it just now and it is eluding me.

Never mind, I found it.  

1 hour ago, Retired-N-Happy said:

Expect fog at sometime over the course of the cruise as well.  If it's bad enough, it could eliminate a port stop if the ship can't safely dock.

The ocean in the Gulf of Maine never really warms up even in the height of the summer, so warm air off the land going over cold water will rapidly create sea fog.  And it will definitely be cooler on the ocean than on the land.  As said upthread, you could have days in the 70s (F) and nights down into the mid-upper 40s.

4 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 😎

 

 

 

What activities are you looking for?  What night various game shows will take place?  Or what time the Mah Jong group will meet?

Fly Lufthansa or Air France and hear all airplane announcements in both German and English, or French and English.  I haven't flown on Emirates or Etihad so don't know if announcements are in Arabic and English.

5 minutes ago, phabric said:

Yes, if you have his Captain Circle number you can purchase a FCD for him on your credit card on file.  I have done this a few times.  I visit the Future Cruise desk to do this, to tell them I am taking FCD for others not on the ship.

 

Before you sail, sign him up for Refer A Friend and he will get his Captain Circle Number and you each will receive $25 OBC.

Good tip on Refer a Friend.  Thanks.

5 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

if you know of someone cruising, they will need your Captain Circle number and email address.  

I seem to recall that you get a Captain's Circle Number as soon as you register and create an account at Princess.com.  My brother is interested in trying a cruise in the fall of 2025.  If I have him create an account and get a CCN, I can buy some FCDs for him when I sail on Princess later this year, right?

The interesting thing is that many of the senior deck officers on Princess are Italian and when they make the noon position reports (on sea days), they speak English with a strong Italian accent.

Just now, Arizona Wildcat said:

New Zealand as said has dozens of companies doing shore excursions.  A Google search of your desired destination and cruise ship shore excursion will give you several choices.

Many companies will not pay the commission the cruise company charges and can only handle 10-30.

Book direct.

This times 100000

This one weird trick will...

There are a lot of Hobbitown excursions listed on Viator and/or TripAdvisor.  I also found a interesting small group tour of Auckland on ToursByLocals.  Get out of the ship tours rut and look around at what else is out there.

43 minutes ago, darnheather said:

Glacier bay is on the itinerary and the reason I went with Princess. Primarily I don't want to hear, "I'm bored." or "I miss Disney." I'm trying to show her photos and tell her as much as possible about the good things so that she won't immediately compare it to Disney. 

Alaska cruises are very port intensive so make sure you book some interesting excursions in Juneau, Ketchikan, and Skagway.  Does she have any interest in the outdoors or wildlife?  There's a whole lot of it to see in Alaska.

15 hours ago, milolii said:

Excellent post by @azbirdmom.  
 

Not United, but on American, there is a big change coming regarding  award miles for fares “ticked” after April 30, 2024.  American will only issue award miles for tickets purchased on their website, One World Partner websites and approved travel partners. 
 

So far United and Delta haven’t responded with like changes. 

I was just looking at the American Advantage website and the change is now effective July 11, 2024, rather than April 30.  I also just checked and an international RT business class fare for January 2025, booked directly with AA, is around $100 less on the AA website than on EZAir.  

Your granddaughter can take all the selfies she wants to share on whatever social media she patronizes, including the heart hands around the setting sun!

Also, don't discount that on an Alaska cruise you can also look at the scenery as the sail up the Inside Passage takes place.  Then the whole time in Glacier Bay (assuming it's on the itinerary) will be spectacular.

6 minutes ago, ualstar said:

Thanks everyone for all the helpful information.  I've noticed that through EZ Air, sometimes the "flexible" rates are better than what's available through United.com.

It depends.  International flights are often better, but domestic flights not so much, at least in my experience.  But the routings on EZAir can sometimes be very wonky.  It pays to check both EZAir and the airlines own website before booking through either.

Yes, you will earn the PQPs even if booked through EZAir.  You'll get a record locator number at the time you make the EZAir reservation and that will show up in the Mileage Plus account as a booked flight and then as PQPs when you take the flight.

46 minutes ago, ccheng6401 said:

I didn't know TA can be linked to our account profiles. I just looked and can't find that info.

I didn't know it was automatic either as a booking I made on board went to a TA I'm not really using anymore but was when the cruise I was on was booked in early 2023.

It was alluded to upthread, but the Future Cruse Consultants on the ships, no longer work for Princess Cruise Lines.  They are employees of a third-party company that has a contract with Princess to sell cruises on-board.  

I had an interesting discussion with the sales manager late last year and we were talking about the difference between "buying" a cruise and having it "sold" to you.  He didn't want his salespeople to simply be "order takers" for people who knew what cruise they wanted to take, but wanted them to "sell" cruises to people by stressing the various benefits of packages and itineraries and that whole advance payment for hotels with a cruise thrown in program they were/are pushing.

Also, in my limited experience, anything booked on the ship is automatically transferred wo whatever TA is linked to your account, be that a Princess PVP or a big-box TA.

My experience with upgrading an EZAir reservation with miles was on American.  I had to wait until EZAir actually ticketed my flight (between 30-45 days before the flight) and then talked to someone at American to upgrade from PE to Business.  Cost was 25K miles and about $400 and the person I spoke to at American couldn't have been nicer or more helpful.

I've got no idea how Delta would work, but I'd imagine that the need to have a ticketed flight would still be the case.

1 hour ago, PacnGoNow said:

Not a nice way to end a cruise.

Good you found a hotel.  
 

I don’t stand in line for a hotel or flight standing idly. 
I actually, look up protections on the airline App, sometimes they have it already.  If it’s not acceptable or not protected, I stay in the line for help.  Also, look for any available flight to get home.  Although, if it’s weather related, it’s not helpful, as they won’t offline you.  But, I have purchased airline tickets, just to get home, if it’s a refundable type ticket.

 

I also check a site, like booking.com to see if any hotels are available.  If so, I grab one.

 

When you do get up to the CS airline agent, you can ask what they can do to help you.

 

Hopefully, you all have insurance for your cruise, interrupted travel.  Save all receipts, hotel, food, clothes, transportation costs, etc to submit.  Screenshot airline availability on your phone, cancelled and protection flights.

 

Best of luck to all!

 

 

It also helps to state in a loud and "in command" voice, "DON"T you KNOW who I AM?"  That always gets CS to provide you with the best service possible!  😀

1 hour ago, skynight said:

Don't worry about it. It is a short process to pick up your medallion at the pier. In Ft. Lauderdale it took under 5 minutes. I would expect it to be fairly quick at Vancouver also. 

It took about 5 minutes in both Southampton and Civitavecchia as well. 

41 minutes ago, PMGS247 said:

Post-cruise is just the opposite for me....assuming I'm going straight to the airport I always get transfer through Princess. Uber would probably save a few bucks but the bus is just waiting outside the terminal, it's very easy to just hop right on.

TL;DR, I prefer Uber or taxi to the airport over the ship transfers...

Problem with the Princess post-cruise airport transfer is that it takes a long time to get all the passengers loaded and those who get on the bus early often wait 30 minutes or more before the bus departs.  Then the unloading at the various FLL terminals can be quite chaotic as the drivers make sure that all the bags get unloaded properly for each passenger and airline. 

Using the "luggage direct" option of having your bags sent directly to your destination airport helps, and of course "I only travel with a carry-on" people will give smug looks at those wrestling suitcases to be checked.😄

14 minutes ago, CruzR887 said:

The are two large consignment apps that showcase independent tours Viator and Get Your Guide. I’ve used both over the years with only a minor problem or two. There are others. Search for “shore excursions”. 

It is also useful to look at what's available from the consolidators and then try to contact/book directly with the tour provider.  It cuts out the middleman of Viator, although you often lose the ability to book now and pay later that Viator provides.

Do the current production shows still use a live "ships band" to provide the music?  I'd heard that some of the shows were going to pre-recorded music to eliminate the cost of a live band.