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SCX22

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Everything posted by SCX22

  1. It's nice that the sundaes look like the pictures on the Princess website in person; can't claim false advertising. Pretty much the only nice thing I can say about it. I can't imagine someone ordering two of those everyday or even twice on an entire cruise. So glad that other specialty dessert items are available in lieu of the sundaes.
  2. The MedallionClass App used to give the 50% Platinum/Elite discount on the spot. Every since the app's version upgrade last month, the app no longer does for all. Buy it full price and then you'll get OBC equivalent to the discount credited to your onboard folio, once on the ship. The fine print of the Captain's Circle benefits says its supposed be OBC, but it was great when the app gave it on the spot. I think the are finally enforcing the discount as OBC so passengers spend money. If it were me, I would forgo the multi device and suck it up that I had to disconnect and reconnect another device when switching use, or use that one device as a hotspot for the others. The multi device plan is too expensive for slow Internet.
  3. I think part of the problem with the Royal Princess in San Francisco is that while the ship sailed out full a lot of the passengers were local and last minute bookings after final payment passed. (Having said that, there was only 1100 passengers on the October 2022 California Coastal cruise I was on, and the capacity limits had been lifted.) In January 2023, the 15 day sailings to Hawaii for March went to as low as $649 per person plus port/taxes for interior. Princess is filling the ship, but not at top dollar. Also, I think Princess is short ships right now, so they would rather deploy ships to destinations where they can make the most revenue, like the Mediterranean, Australia/New Zealand, Alaska. If you look at next year's schedule the Sun Princess starts the Med in February. That's the earliest I've ever seen the Med offered on Princess. Also, it's unusual for a new ship to start in the Med; usually, it's a transatlantic to the Caribbean for the inaugural season.
  4. I think the OP makes a valid point in the critique. It's unacceptable for toilets to be non-operational for such a long period of time. Using the toilet is a basic human function and to be deprived of that can cause problems to for those that can no longer "hold it in" and it's not healthy to hold it in. Also, the ship isn't like a hotel on land, where if maintenance goes wrong, you can check-out and check-in somewhere else. You're stuck on the ship, and with sewage, there's no hiding the stench. For all intensive purposes, it might have been user error that caused problems, but it's unacceptable for the fix to take this long. If the sewage pipes take this long to clear, then that means probably time to overhaul the system in a dry dock. Props to all and any maintenance crew that has to deal with such a dirty and disgusting job. The OP's account of the experience reminds of the "Poop Cruise" on the Carnival Triumph.
  5. Mea culpa! I meant to say Ruby Princess, San Francisco to ALASKA. Thanks for the law claification! Not sure about the prices about the Crown Princess cruises next year. I just noticed the changes when I looked up SF itineraries for next year. But also, not so much of a deal if the ship has as many issues as the thread starter mentioned. Won't be cruising out of SF next year on the Crown Princess.
  6. Royal Princess, San Franciso to Hawaii this year is 15 days like Los Angeles sailings. On the Crown Princess, it's an extra day at sea from HI to Ensenada, so 5 days at sea on the way back, as opposed to 4. Ruby Princess, San Francisco to Hawaii this year and last is/has been 10 days. On the Crown Princess, it's an extra day at sea from Victoria to SF, so 2 days at sea on the way back, as opposed to 1. Time in Victoria also extended by a few hours on the Crown sailings. Victoria is usually a 06:00 to 12:00 stop on these sailings. Also, Prince Rupert replaced Victoria on SF to Alaska this year on the Ruby. On Crown next year, it's still being listed as Victoria to satisfy Jones Act.
  7. The Crown Princess has propulsion issues in Alaska for the 2022 season and had to undergo unscheduled dry dock. It will be based out of San Francisco in Fall '23 and Spring/Summer '24. Some itineraries have one an extra day added. Instead of the normal 15 days for Hawaii, the Crown Princess' itinerary is 16 days; for Alaska, 11 instead of 10.
  8. TUI Cruises names their fleet Mein Schiff 1 to 6. But, the decks on their fleet have names like Princess, but in German. The Germans don't seem to mind. If I recall, the defunct Renaissance Cruises also named their ships in numerical order with the prefix "R". Princess' last iteration of the Pacific Princess was the R Three. The 2nd iteration of the Royal Princess was the R Eight. The 3rd iteration of the Ocean Princess (or formerly, Tahitian Princess) was the R Four.
  9. Sorry to hear about your cruise. As much as I like the feel of the Princess' smaller ships, I try not to sail on them because they are getting up there in age. If you drove a car that was approaching 20 years old, nothing about would feel new about it despite having maintained the engine. I wish Princess would rethink the bigger is better strategy. I wonder how long a reasonable time to give the cruise lines a break on service issues? At this point, 1.5 years has passed since the restart. Will cruising with the major operators return to pre-pandemic standards or will they continue to slip? There's a lot of raving going on about Celebrity right now, including the recent accolade by Forbes, wonder what they're doing right behind the scenes?
  10. This year, California weather has been abnormally stormy--lots of storms brewing the Eastern Pacific. This will reflect in your cruise. Was on the Royal Princess to Hawaii in January and the first 2 days were rough (you literally couldn't walk in a straight line) and cold. Very few people around to pool except to get pizza/burgers/froyo. The weather gets more tropical as you approach Hawaii and becomes cools down as you approach Ensenada on the way back. I'd say first two days at sea and the last 2 days at sea to Ensenada, all the way back to San Francisco was cold. Pack clothes you can layer. Rain usually backs off in April in Hawaii, but there are still chances. Have a good cruise! Hawaii is lovely.
  11. Cabin shuffles on Princess' side start after final payment and can occur all the way up to sailing, which is a time after final payment. There could also be last minute booking. By the same token, guests will probably never know if a category is truly sold out since yield management is tight lipped.
  12. Princess makes last minute complementary, and now, paid upgrades. The oceanviews you see may show as sold out now, but if someone in an oceanview gets upgrade to a balcony, then it will become available again or not (if someone from an interior or obstructed ocean view gets upgraded to the "vacated" cabin.) Category sell outs are really a moving target ever since the bid for an upgrade process started. Only Princess yield management really knows what's going on and nothing is really final until the sail date. EDIT: If an entire cruise is showing as sold out, far in advance of a sailing, it may very well be sold out, like the solar eclipse cruises.
  13. I don't think Princess (or JP) foresaw the backlash for the MedallionClass App or all the problems that app would cause. I think Princess really wanted to make the Patter obsolete and have all guests use only the app on their phones and the portals on the ship. The problem, as we all know, is that Journey View on the app stinks; it makes an annoying noise every time you click on an event for more details (you can't shut it off!), is hard to navigate, and is overall clumsy to use. It would have been much better had the developers just listed the schedule top to bottom in columns without the "bubbles" and without the side to side navigation. The developers made it too high tech to its detriment. I think the Event Listings is just a way to bridge the time between the paper version of the schedule of events and digitalizing the schedule of events in totality. It's a time that I hope won't happen until Journey View on the app is fixed. I think they're trying to get those who are loyal to Princess to forget about the Patter and justify it by saying it saves paper. Just look at the Event Listings...the info on it is getting pretty sparse as compared to the Patter.
  14. That's the point. Princess wants to confuse everyone so that they get more money. If you purchase the BEVERAGE PLUS package, then you have to pay for crew appreciation, wi-fi, etc., separately, which is more money for them.
  15. That's how Princess is justifying the price of the PRINCESS PLUS package. When compared, to the PLUS BEVERAGE package, PRINCESS PLUS isn't so bad.
  16. Try pulling up your booking using the airline specific booking reference EZ provided you on the Air Canada website to see if you can select seats. If not, then that means Air Canada doesn't allow for select selection until the reservation is paid for by EZAir and ticketed, which will be sometime after 45 days prior to your departure date.
  17. I'm in my 30s and have been cruising with Princes since I was a kid. In my teens and 20s, I always found it hard to meet people I jived with because I was always outnumbered by guests who were double/triple my age. There's usually young adults on Princess cruises, but that doesn't mean that all the personalities will get along. My biggest gripe about Princess ships is that they don't have many venues where young people who age out of the kid's program can just hang out, except the pool, library, and buffet. Most of the venues are dining and bars. Depending on the drinking age of your cruise, the bars are just awkward for the 18 to almost 21 year old to hang out because they can't drink. The Vista Lounge is usually reserved for events throughout the day. There are activities like the Scavenger Hunt which can be fun, but most participants are old. I was on a Caribbean cruise on the Regal this past January and there was a Lido Deck pool party that started at 10:30 p.m., but only 5 (younger) people, the CD, and ACDs attended it. Princess ships are pretty quiet after 11:00 p.m. Hate to say it, but the most of the activities Princess offers (Knitters and Natters, enrichment talks, , galley demos, etc.) are what you find in a nursing home or are way out of reach for young folks (Art Auction, Medispa consults). Whether or not your kids will like it will depend on their personalities and how they make the best of the cruise. I like Princess and have found always found a way to enjoy and make the best of my cruises with Princess throughout the years. Maybe pick a port intensive itinerary, so there's less time to spend on the ship.
  18. I ways state the full deck name when I'm ordering. I say Baja 123, not B123. Emerald, Dolphin, Caribe, and Baja, all have the long e sound when saying the letter abbreviation (E, D, C, B). It creates less confusion with the waiter/bartender, especially if you're ordering with a band playing in the background.
  19. It's always in the Patter and Journey View. The CD will even mention it in The Wake Show.
  20. Depending on what you ask, you will get a different way of answering. If you ask ask a Princess guest on what deck deck their stateroom is, they will give you the name of the deck instead of the deck number. Most people will say, "I'm on Baja," or "I'm on Aloha." I think this is because the stateroom number are alpha numeric, with the letter corresponding to the name of the deck. If you ask on what deck to a public space on a Princess ship, most people will answer with a deck number instead of the deck name. For example on Royal Class ships, if asked where the Vista Lounge is, the answer will be Deck 7, not the Promenade Deck. Tenders will be on Deck 4, not the Gala Deck. Even the signs directing people to the gangway state the deck number and not name. As has been stated before, the Sun Princess will deviate from the deck naming practice according the current deck plans.
  21. When it comes to COVID, what are the odds that only one person in close quarters has it? Remember the Diamond Princess and Ruby Princess in 2020? The some of the crew probably already tested positive on the Discovery Princess. There are already protocols in place for the ship's crew in regards to testing and quarantining. I remember during a full crew muster drill in December 2022, the captain, in his announcement over the loudspeaker, stated that crew in quarantine were not to participate. I took that as meaning some of the crew tested positive for COVID. One passenger reporting post-cruise won't make a difference to Princess. It would just be bad publicity for them if word were to get out. Hope you make a full recovery soon!
  22. The MedallionClass App is buggy, but there are a few steps that can help ease the frustration. Make sure your device is on the latest operating system, iOS or Android. When the developers are designing/updating the app they are doing so with the assumption that the user's device is using the latest manufacturer operating system. If you have an old device this could be a problem as operating system upgrades can sometimes cause glitches on other apps on the device. Make sure to back up your device, just in case. Make sure to download the latest version of the MedallionClass App. Check the version history of your app through device's operating system's app store. Have fast Internet. The app sends the data you input using security encryption. This increases the size of the data being sent. This is so that hackers can't intercept your personal data on its way to the app server. It would be horrible if a hacker stole your passport/credit card number. It's best to have fiber Internet with at least 200 MBS speeds or higher. If you have to use cellular, 5G works best. The app just quits on when connected to an LTE Network. Close other background apps on your device so all of your connection is dedicated to the MedallionClass App when using it. It's a toss up whether the app is helpful at for check-in purposes. A lot of hype is put towards getting a Green Lane badge, but at the end of the day, the check-in agent at the port can upload your personal information at the port. Sometimes the Yellow/Blue Lane line moves faster anyways. Princess wants guests to do it on the app so the check-in agents have less work. I say they are getting paid to work, so let them work. In the 2000s, the agents were able to check-in 3000 plus passengers on to the ships the old fashioned way in the same amount of time. Don't fret about it if you can't get the Green Lane badge. They're going to let you on the ship so long as you can provide the proper documentation at the port. Where I see the app is useful is for snagging coveted dining reservations before sailing.
  23. They are called disembarkation tours and are offered by Princess. If you go this route, make sure to have your TA cancel your transfers and have funds refunded to you or have the funds transferred to the cost of the disembarkation tour. The price of the tour is inclusive of the transfer. Make sure you to select the correct drop off airport, in your case EWR, not JFK. This tour will take you around Manhattan and drop you off at your selected airport at the end. Your luggage will be stored in the luggage hold of the motor coach.
  24. EZAir uses their Universal Air Travel Plan (UATP) account to pay the airlines. No way for you to use EZAir and pay the airlines directly with your airline credit card to get the free luggage allowance. In other words, EZAir fronts the money and you're just reimbursing them.
  25. 🤣🤣🤣 It's all new pours from the bars surrounding the Piazza. But it's the cheap stuff, not the good stuff. I'm pretty sure coupes that make up the tower are glued together and cannot be taken apart. It would be quite the mess to clean up if the tower came tumbling down like Humpty Dumpty.
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