Cruise Raider

As someone who cruises frequently out of San Francisco, I can tell you that nobody has ever checked our arrival time. You can choose one if you wish, though .. it’s easy enough so, why not? everyone, regardless of their room type is in the same line going through security. After your security check, you will be directed to the priority line for check in. They will provide you with your medallions there at check in. It really doesn’t take much longer if you don’t have your medallion mailed to you. If you are in a full suite (not a mini suite), you will be given the opportunity to board first, along with any elite passengers and club class mini suite passengers. Lately, embarkation has been a breeze! Actual embarkation onto the ship, after security and check in, has started around 11:00 - 11:30 AM. The room ps may not be ready when you first board but we’ve been allowed to drop off any carry on luggage in our cabin. BTW, embarkation lunch is held in the MDR on deck 6 midship. You will have a club class entrance if in a full suite or club class mini suite. Otherwise, just go to the entrance on the opposite side of the ship. It beats having to eat up in the buffet. Enjoy …

I understand they have limitations on what they can achieve but, if you read earlier in this thread, I also commented about how some friends almost didn't make the ship as their EZ air flight was cancelled. They actually chartered a jet to take them to the ship departing out of LA earlier this year. The ship actually waited for them, too. Those same people would have been stuck missing their cruise if they hadn't booked through EZ air. If it's the same flights at pretty much the same price, I would think you'd have a better chance at joining your cruise at some point of the itinerary using EZ Air vs going it alone.

Such a good point.

We’ve had it on several different ships on our many cruises since the restart.

We were on the Ruby Princess last year and picked what we thought would be a decent cabin. OMG, were we ever wrong. We begged to be moved after two sleepless nights. I was willing to be downgraded into an inside cabin just to get some sleep. Well, they found a stateroom (the cruise was at high capacity) in our same category .. it was just missing a mini fridge but we didn’t care. it was obviously being refurbished for some reason as it also had brand new carpet. We didn’t care what happened in that room in the past but we suspect it was something. Like the OP, day and night in terms of noise level between the old and new cabin. We slept so great after that.

I don’t read this as you do. If your flight is canceled, they can’t hold the ship indefinitely but there are provisions (or at least have been made) to get you to the cruise ship, even if in another port. A friend told me about missing her embarkation up to Alaska due to a canceled flight. They flew her up to Alaska and put her up in a hotel in Juneau so she could catch the cruise in progress. Although, others have shared different experiences, I also have seen the other side of this.

I don’t see why you couldn’t. We’ve used them up at the guest services desk in the past.

Variety is a good thing. I have always loved Celebrity but Princess has been very impressive since the return to service. We’ve also cruised on Royal Caribbean and thought their ships and entertainment were top notch. Their food, not so much, except in their specialty restaurants. No matter what you choose, you are likely to have a great time. It is rather nice to explore other options.

Hmmm .. is that right? I suppose it depends on multiple factors but, for the most part, our outside TA’s OBC has almost always been refundable.

We have an Alaska cruise booked for August next year and I’m currently only showing $39 for the Crown Grill and $35 for Sabatini’s.

Are you sure the OBC from your TA is not refundable? Much of the OBC given to you by your TA is refundable.

wow .. you finally got it! Still waiting …

I would go to the Michelangelo or the DaVinci if you'd like a nice meal that is already included in the fare. I am not fond of the Botticelli, even though their menu is the same as those dining rooms mentioned above.

We've only had it twice as we had upgraded to the premier package on those two sailings. Each time, we won $25 obc and both times it was on the last day of the cruise. We were happy enough with that. It went onto our account as obc.

The PDF is linked early in this thread. I believe it's on page one.

I get everyone piling on the complaints on EZ Air but we’ve also seen where EZ Air has chartered a flight and the ship was held for arriving passengers. I know it can go either way but booking through EZ Air can also be of benefit at times whereas they have no further responsibilities if you don’t book through them.

We usually find that there are Princess representatives holding signs right by the luggage carousels after your flight.

A long sleeved shirt with ( or even without) a tie is perfectly acceptable. No jacket required.

If there are balconies available, yes, the chances are decent they will accept a bid ... the only question is, will they accept a low bid? Well, that all depends on how much others have bid. Your chances for getting all 6 bids accepted and in a row are slim to none, though. Once you've bid, you will have no choice but to move to the cabin that has been assigned to you. If it's important to all be in a block of rooms, you are better off not bidding for an upgrade. It will be like a booking a guaranteed cabin.

We've never been charged for the full amount on Princess if our drink exceeded the Plus limit ... even on the Discovery. We've also ordered doubles and were just charged for two drinks against our package. The way you were charged seems like someone made a mistake. It's not been like that in our experiences, even on the Discovery.

I never received the email but did call in, as did my neighbor and got the discounted rate by calling our CVP. We were told that the rates weren't loaded into the system for all those that were verified. Either way, the IT department seemed to drop the ball on this.

That makes sense. Thank you for trying! The message feature has been disabled for years. I spoke with my CVP and all is now solved. Thank you!

Only if you have time, can you check on the pricing for March 27, Hawaii 15 nights on the Royal for a mini suite for 3 passengers, category MA, standard fare without the packages? Can you just give me the pricing for the cruise only for the first two passengers excluding taxes and fees? It would be a great help for us but I understand if you don't have the time.

So, there are 2880 passengers on this cruise that disembarks tomorrow on the Regal. She doesn’t know the capacity of the next ones but she did say they’ve been very well taken care of the entire time.

I can always ask ...