ninka26

10 hours ago, no1racefan1 said:

Our Orca Quest cruise with Major Marine Tours was epic!! We saw everything we could have hoped for. It was cold and drizzly and I was very glad to have my layers, gloves, hat and hand warmers. We're really satisfied with just doing the 4-hour cruise. 

Thank you so much for sharing everything here. DH and I will be headed to Alaska in July. 5 days on land and then cruising out of Whittier on the 20th. Your photos and experiences help make the wait easier!

1 hour ago, jagoffee said:

A Kiosh where you can print a copy of you bill in real time.  

Would that be located near guest services? Thank you for the tip!!!

57 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 

Just get a printout from the machine...

Machine?? Sorry ... 1st time cruiser and 1st time on Princess.

On 3/31/2024 at 8:38 PM, Thrak said:

 

One should keep track of their account while onboard. It's extremely easy to do with the app. I check every day and it takes almost no time at all. Getting an erroneous charge fixed while onboard is simple. Doing it once one has disembarked could be problematic.

If one can't view the folio after disembarking, just to be cautious, I will probably screen shot the folio in app before I leave. Hopefully I won't have any issues but at least this way I'll have documentation.

16 minutes ago, rocklinmom said:

They ran this "Sale" last month for our Alaska cruise (after jacking up the prices first, then lowering them for the sale) and I booked ours. Now they are doing this second Alaska Shore Excursion Sale again and the prices are even less for the ones I booked. I tried to cancel and rebook for the lower prices to save some money but their shore excursion payment system conveniently wasn't working. It appears to be fixed now but I don't know if I want to mess with them again honestly, it was stressful. I have been sailing with Princess for years and this is a new thing. While I appreciate a "sale" it really isn't if they raise the prices first, then lower them during the sale, and then raise them again. Yes I know, the beauty of marketing LOL. 

Would you be able to purchase at the lower rate and then cancel the original?

Princess' website currently is offering a limited time up to 20% off sale for excursions. Not all excursions reach that 20% off mark though so be aware.

I had already booked one excursion for $109 and the "sale price" was $104 which is more like 5% off.  

Don't get me wrong, there are some bargains there but the % off is going to vary and not every excursion is discounted.

41 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

If your source for this "supposed" price increase is *only* the app....well, take that with a huge grain of salt!

Hence the question mark LOL. Just found it odd and wanted to see if anyone else experienced the weird pricing.

Was just checking the new Princess app and it looks like the specialty dining prices have increased if you do not have Princess Premier/Plus. Crown Grill is showing as $63 per person and Sabatini's is $55 per person.

6 hours ago, sandancer said:

We have upgraded to Princess Premier which includes 2 speciality restaurants. Is it correct that I will have to pay upfront and then claim a refund onboard? 

I also have Princess Premier and was able to make my reservations without being charged. I used the web based cruise personalizer vs the app and it was easy peasy.

On 1/28/2024 at 10:54 AM, westcoastBC said:

You don't have to wait until you get on board to speak to the concierge you can text via Whats App at 1 661-289-8906. Not sure who the new manager is as the last one left Jan 20th.

I arranged all my dining and requests two weeks prior to sailing.

Is this specific to the ship you are on OR is it for all ships?

PLEASE disregard this query...just saw a prior response that it is specific to Discovery Princess. 

On 1/19/2024 at 6:59 PM, Crown Cruiser said:

My PVP told me to make the reservation I wanted (so that it didn’t book up completely).  She said we would probably be billed (we were) and when we board we should get the credit back ( I will talk to the suite concierge  first thing).  Hopefully this works!  BTW: I have a copy of my credit card bill to show on the ship in case there are any questions..

 

I would also bring a screen shot from the website saying this is a complimentary perk. 

On 1/3/2024 at 9:48 AM, joetop2467 said:

Can we use one of our free casual meals there?

I am actually trying to figure this out myself. If you look at the website under the Casual Dining category, the description does include "pop-ups". The terms and conditions for Plus and Premier doesn't specify though. I've sent in an inquiry to my Princess TA, I'll be sure to share her response.

On 3/28/2023 at 5:21 PM, no1racefan1 said:

After the feedback received I think we've decided to cut Denali out of the itinerary. I'm kind of sad about it but really felt like I'm trying to push it in there just to cross it off a list instead of actually enjoying the time there. Revised itinerary:

Planning a DIY land tour myself for July 2024. Have also decided to omit Denali for a lot of reasons. Decided to fly into Anchorage and use that as a base. Will be taking the train to Whittier a day or two prior to cruise southbound on the Royal Princess.

On 9/25/2023 at 11:05 PM, allesonwonderland said:

For my June 2024 cruise it was $299 at first, but is now $339. Doh!

Yup, my July 20th cruise is $339

Thank you to everyone for your helpful responses. I think my source of confusion was not understanding the definition of terms that Princess uses (Folio to Folio Transfer and Referred to Corporate Finance especially!) Thank you again to everyone for being so helpful! It is much appreciated! I've never cruised before and the members on this board have been wonderfully helpful.

34 minutes ago, t&atravel said:

This is no longer done.  The final folio is emailed after the cruise is completed.  It also shows on the app until you disembark.  It is recommended that you take a screen shot (or get a hard copy) on the final day before you leave the ship as there have been reports of errors and erroneous charges on the last day.

Good to know!

31 minutes ago, hobbyfarmer2 said:

Here is the way we read it, hopefully in simple terms.  The initial account shows all your refundable and non refundable OBC, credits such as prepaid excursions, and any day one applicable charges.  As each day goes on carges appear for items such as gratuities, excursions, wifi, alcohol, spec dining....etc.  These charges drain your non-fefundable OBC first, followed by your refundable OBC next.  The bill never makes sense on day one but it does by the last night when we print it up using the printer at the customer desk.  It is also slid under your door by the steward on last night.

Thank you! This is very helpful.

4 hours ago, ggprincess2004 said:

Referred to corporate finance means they owe you money and are going to send you a check in a little while, like 4 to 8 weeks. The envelope will resemble junk mail, and the return address will have a reference to Princess on the second line.

 

I'm a retired CPA and have to keep reminding myself that the debits and credits they are posting are from their perspective, not the customer perspective. I agree that they could run a single column with additions and subtractions to make it easier to understand quickly. 

Thank you! 

13 hours ago, ldtr said:

No tutorial, They are basically written like an accounting statement.  When you are paying by one credit card you will see in the second persons listing an entry where they will transfer what they owe to the first persons account and that will be enough to generate a zero balance.  On the first persons you will see an entry showing that transfer (it will say folio to folio transfer and the name of the other person) that will reflect what they owed if there was a balance at the end of the cruise.  While on board the bill will show what the balance is either negative or positive.  Once the cruise ends there will be an entry showing either a charge to a credit card that balances out what is owed, or an entry showing an amount to be refunded balanced out by a line that might might say referred to finance (cannot say for sure).  In all cases once of the ship it will say zero.

 

I suspect if you were running a total negative balance at the end of a cruise the charge saying referred to corporate finance should be to exactly match how much credit was left at the end of the cruise and will be refunded (if the entire credit is refundable) Thus ending in zero. At the end of a cruise all accounts are zero.

 

 

Thank you for the explanation which (as you described it) helps me make some sense of what was sent.  

10 hours ago, AZjohn said:

Clear as mud (lol)🤣

 

Im just joking around because it is me and my brain that just can’t seem to get the “accounting” method of math.

 

Im an engineer and have been able to work with numbers easily all my life and got all A’s in all math classes throughout my education. But one semester in college I took an accounting class and failed the course🤣.

 

Every Princess cruise we have taken I show my wife the folio and have to ask her what the hell is this statement saying. She has zero problems figuring it out😊

I previously managed a $2.5 million budget for a not for profit and the "accounting" math just is too confusing for some reason. Couldn't they just add and subtract like normal math? LOL.

On 8/21/2023 at 6:31 PM, primopj said:

Well after a lot of detective work, we found out the Princess dropped the meal plan from our original booking.  When we made our payments, the meal plan was not included.  We ended up adding it in today, so we will have it and the trip summary now includes the meals with specific information about which meals at which restaurant each day.

 

 

I'm glad you were able to get it figured out! Enjoy!

Just rec'd the Stateroom Account Statement for a cruise that we opted to take the 100% refund that was offered. (The Ruby Princess SF dock crash cruise)

I am very confused with how to read it. (This would have been my very first cruise)

In particular a "Referred to Corporate Finance Line" which shows a charge. What in the world is that?

Jul Referred to Corporate Finance x,xxx.xx

Then there is a "Folio to Folio Transfer"  

Jul Folio to Folio Transfer: DH  -xxx.xx  under the Account Holder (me)  then Jul Folio to Folio Transfer: Me   xxx.xx under Authorized User (my DH)

At the end of the statement it shows the charges equal exactly the credits, with "0" total charges due. So I'm guessing they're saying I don't owe anything but I would still like to understand what they are listing as charges and credits. It's just a little confusing to me.  

Is there a tutorial on how to read these statements?

On 8/20/2023 at 1:08 PM, primopj said:

ninka26,

 

thank you.  emailed our TA.  

You're welcome. Hope it all gets sorted out. 

I purchased a meal plan for my 2024 CruiseTour and it shows on my travel summary under the Itinerary section (just after the flights section.)

"Tour JB5 Meal Plan Includes: Day 2: Breakfast in Fairbanks. Dinner at Fanny Q's Saloon in Denali. Day 3: Breakfast at Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge King Salmon Restaurant. Dinner at Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge King Salmon Restaurant. Day 4: Breakfast at Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge. Dinner at Mt. McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge20,320 Alaskan Grill. Day 5: Breakfast at Mt. McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge North Fork Restaurant. Server gratuity (15%) and tax is included for all meals. Meal vouchers will be included in your welcome envelope upon arrival at each location on your land tour."

If you aren't seeing it listed on the travel summary I would check with Princess OR your TA.

On 8/14/2023 at 6:18 PM, irishgirl said:

I got the email today, I have the Plus-50 and this was at the bottom of the email.  I cruise in 21 days.

 

You currently have a package that doesn’t include these new benefits. But you can easily upgrade your package in the Cruise Personalizer® to take advantage of these additional perks.

 

I’m not going to upgrade, 2 pizzas aren’t worth the $144 or so it would cost to upgrade.

Where in the email does that appear? I didn't see what package I have in my email. I booked after 8/2 for a 2024 cruisetour with Princess Premier. Could that be why I'm not seeing anything??