Southern_Roots

43 minutes ago, Thumper007 said:

They almost have it right

As a Texan, I approve 

7 hours ago, dave_k58 said:

I live in Texas and Whataburger is not my first choice for a burger

 

Same especially after they got bought out

7 hours ago, antsp said:

Maybe the Sun Princess will have one. Sad times ahead. Its no better than Rccl Johnny rockets. 

Ever since they got bought out by a private equity firm based in Chicago, Whataburger has become a shell of its former self just not good anymore.

20 hours ago, voljeep said:

Agreed - but maybe not the 4 pm ... but at least 3 hours or so before going to bed.  Yikes - right to bed after a mdr meal? no thanks

On vacation some people like to bend the rules of “home” 

We eat at 8:30 and it’s fantastic. Never a wait and the service is great due to lower volume of guests being served. Once we eat it’s lights out for us so we do all the evening activities before dinner. 

3 hours ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

It may very well be too late, but do you have any recourse through your CC company to decline/reverse those charges?  You may have to open a case with them and show all of your documentation...

This is the correct course of action at this point. You’ve made multiple attempts in good faith to get this resolved directly with Princess, let the bank deal with them now.

Will be sailing Ruby on her March 26th sailing. Going to take the normal personal hygiene procedures and mask up on the elevators. Buffets is a no go for me and DH, always has been we prefer sit down service. I think this will be another lovely cruise if the right precautions are taken.

This is an amazing excursion, only accessible by boat. Usually there is a snorkeling tour attached to this excursion on the way to the sandbar and that snorkeling is better than any you’ll do in Costa Maya in my opinion.

Celebrity Beyond- but only if we can get a sunset veranda 🙃

Yup got upgraded for my March 26th cruise 🥳

Thanks, I hate it.

Aruba

Mine won’t even load 

We cruised on the Summit 2022 during Christmas. There was a midnight mass on Christmas Eve, also a Catholic Mass at 8 Am Christmas morning.

1 hour ago, Pizzasteve said:

Agree.  There is even a popular Reddit thread dedicated to quotes from this web site’s boards with pictures of all the complaints, making fun of ‘all the entitled Karens complaining about absolutely small problems.

 

A class action suit seems like a big hammer for someone’s credit card reward coupon requiring a process that doesn’t fit someone’s exact desire about how to apply it (eg over the phone).  
 

I will try to help educate a bit about the ‘perhaps why’ it may not be ‘simple’, as most people haven’t had to design systems that manage what is effectively electronic money.  

Most of these reward cards are run by banks, so the money has to get from the bank to the ship, then from the ship to Princess corporate.  Like a credit card charge, there are lots of criminals looking to scam systems to steal money.  Unlike a credit card, coupons have much less anti fraud features built into them and this is why early reward coupons were often stolen, because they would have a simple number, easily copied or misapplied with one typo.  It is not easy to check the name  matching, etc.  

 

So a phone operator applying your coupon has lots of risks.  You might mistake on the number, they might mistake in the number, they might apply to the wrong account.  Untangling this after the payment posts is a nightmare.  Preventing misuse and fraud is a nightmare.

 

So most likely they want a physical person to apply the credit to verify your identity and make certain the proper payment is applied and to prevent a man in the middle type scam where a phone operator could tell the code to a friend and they get your credit first and the money is missing.  
 

It’s more complex than this, but trying to keep it simple. Maybe some phone staff can apply coupons, but if they can’t this is likely why.

Yes there is and I must admit I’ve had a few good laughs from there

The customer service via phone is like a bad comedy joke. 

14 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

There is absolutely no formula for when you can pick arrival times.  I've had it as early as 59 days.  That's when I start checking....everyday.  

 

That is absolutely ridiculous:

 

1.  Princess knows what the ship is.

2.  Princess knows where she will be ported.

3.  Princess knows how many passengers they need to process.

4.  Princess has done it before (at that port) on most of their voyages.

5.  Princess NEVER announces when arrival times can be picked.

6.  Princess rarely checks arrival times.

 

And you wonder why her "loyal" passengers are frustrated with Princess.

Our first princess cruise is on March 26 here’s to hoping they don’t disappoint 

15 hours ago, gamblinmon said:

I’m in green lane in the app. When can I select my arrival time ?

TIA

I was able to pick my arrival time 59 days out. This is on the Ruby out of Galveston for our March 26th cruise.

Happy sailing!

10 hours ago, Bimmer09 said:

 

The airport had a long line for Security (shocker!) but luckily we had TSA Pre w which helps smooth the process. Exactly an hour after leaving our hotel at 11 a.m we were sitting in the United Club.

 

It was high above the concourse level between gates 47 and 48

 

Our flight left on time

 

It was uneventful except for the screaming baby in the row in front of us  and a bawling baby in the row behind

Adios San Diego

 

and hello Chicago

 

That was December 28th. We landed at 8.15  right on time. After baggage claim and the 18 mile drive home in a taxi we arrived at 10p.m to be greeted by cats. All was well.

I think it was New Year's Day that we both began coughing all day long and had very low energy.

We had unpacked our Covid test kits and both tested positive. A week later we finally both tested negative-what a relief. However the coughing and lethargy still remain-hopefully for not much longer .

 

We took masks with us on the cruise and wore them in elevators and tenders. Carol even wore hers to the MDR. We are  both vaccinated twice and with 2 boosters, yet after dodging Covid for almost 3 years we eventually ran out of luck. 

 

So thanks to all who read and commented  kindly when I struggled each day, somewhat in what Carol calls a "brain fog" to post something remotely worth reading. I hope to be in better shape in June when we fly to Rotterdam!

 

Cheers!

Norris
 

We were on the Christmas Celebrity Summit cruise and came home with Covid as well. Glad to hear you guys are doing better! 
I have to say I throughly enjoyed your review, I love your wit and writing style! Looking forward to our first Princess cruiser out of Galveston this March! 

24 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

The problem is 30 Billion in debt which was created by shuttering the cruise lines for 18 months. 

Lol thank you for pointing out the complete obvious. It takes a good management team to navigate through tough times and the board and executive team continues to make poor decisions to line their pockets with fat salaries. Instead of delighting themselves with fat pay checks and bonuses, they need to delight their customers……... you know the ones that will keep them in business.

2 hours ago, Cruzinforpeace*** said:

It will end up destroying them.  There’s indeed a lot of greed up at the top these days.  All the cruise lines are in a state of panic right now.  It’s like trying to bail water out of a boat with a giant hole in it in the middle of the ocean.  This time next year will show the carnage.  Sadly.

The problem is overpaid executives and consultant firms the company hires. The shareholders and cruisers are left holding the bag while these fat cats cash out. This company needs to delight its customers not take away beloved features. Maybe Carl Icahn can buy in….

Y’all’s drama is why I love this place. I say that with love I promise 

13 hours ago, C4HCG said:

I would hope you get made to wait, you’re queue jumping. Boarding would be far smoother if people chose to turn up at their allocated times which are designed for all to get on board as stress free as possible. Not sure what relevance your Elite status has.

This needs to be said more in this forum.

Will be on the Summit for her Christmas sailing. We will be in aqua (first time) and blu was the main reason we booked this stateroom, fingers crossed for a good experience.