BDevilCruiser

When there was no other choice, I’ve made due with putting the machine on the floor.  With a six foot hose, it wasn’t a problem.  Helps that I’m a side sleeper typically facing the machine.

but I’d check with my steward to see if other, level, arrangements can be done.  Even to removing the end table with the lamp with something else that would fit your machine.

39 minutes ago, suzyed said:

LOL!  I let the professionals do it...I make a mess of my toes when I try to do it myself!

Remember this conversation next time you see an old guy (like me) wearing sandals…with socks! 🙄

Just called to cancel, took about twenty minutes, as the CS rep had to call his supervisor, and then (I think) two different departments to confirm that there would be no cancellation fee.  (I will be watching my credit card statement online to make sure!)

A question:  On the cancellation notice, there's a line item called "NCF*" with the * referencing "Included in Cruise Fare".  Looks like that stands for "Non-Commissioned Fare".  Anybody know why they would add this?  Could it be the lower (zero) fare was a third-party mistake, or they treat casino offers as travel agent bookings?

Back to CS, I could barely hear the agent because of the background noise in the call center.  Worse than almost any other I've dealt with (in addition to accent issues.)

And, I never got the original email offer, I looked online after Dog gave us the heads-up (and Dog, please continue to do that if you spot a great offer, nothing wrong with what you did.  The fault is entirely with Princess.)  So, could somebody send me Jen Wright's email address?  And, I know I saw it recently, but could somebody also send me the name/email of the head of customer services?  Besides mentioning the background noise issue, I'd also like to complain about not being able to search for "1 guest" on my PC (I created a separate thread about two weeks ago, still no resolution.)

17 minutes ago, EDVM96 said:

😵 Welcome to New York. All is said.

Next time park for free at the Ikea in NJ. But wait. Taxi/Uber from there also costs 100 USD minimun to Brooklyn Cruise Pier. 😄

I wouldn't trust my car being left at IKEA for a week.

16 minutes ago, EDVM96 said:

What does Brooklyn Cruise Terminal charge for car parking per day?

$45 US per night.  (Man, that's gone up, it was $13/day when I cruised from there in 2007!)

https://cruise.nyc/BCT-directions-parking

You can take a look at the terminal, and measure the walk here on Google Maps (I get about 750 feet (225M) from the middle of the lot to the entrance):

https://maps.app.goo.gl/MvUE52GwwPS3bamW8

13 minutes ago, Host CJSKIDS said:

That is true.  It showed comp offer for me.  It was the Emerald sailing that showed prestige casino offer. 

I didn’t see “casino offer” when I booked (I found out due to the posting here, not through a direct offer email.  I did do a search by lowest price and found the two “zero” cruises.)

the Booking Confirmation says this under payment details:

Booking is paid in full.
Complimentary stateroom cruise offers are non-transferable. Invited guest must sail or full cruise fare will be applied to other guests sailing in the cabin. Casino offers are not
combinable. Taxes, Fees & Port Expenses are the responsibility of the guest and not included in this offer.
A non-refundable deposit of $200 per guest is required at the time of booking (applies to first two guests in stateroom only). Deposit will be returned to guest as onboard credit on
folio.
In the event of cancellation, the non-refundable $200 per guest deposit will be held as a cancel fee and is in addition to the cancellation schedule outlined on the booking…

I have never had a casino offer, so I don’t know if “Complimentary stateroom cruise offers” is standard wording.

Update Monday morning (EST in the US)

I tried to do an online chat, the AI or actual person (not sure which) told me I needed to call the Princess phone number.  After making it through quite a few menu options, I was quickly connected to an actual person.  After taking my info, and putting me on hold to check with somebody else, she told me that it was a glitch, and I needed to log out and refresh the web page, and if that didn't work, check back in 24 hours to give the technical team time to work on the glitch.

So, no actual resolution of the issue, and I'm not sure she understood the actual problem.  I'll check in again tomorrow.

(Summarizing what we've found previously, the problem is on my PC and iPad using desktop  browsers (my main one is Chrome, and Safari on the iPad, but I've tried Edge and DuckDuckGo as well.)  Using the mobile version of Safari on my iPhone, I do see the "option" pull-down.  On the PC, the options were always at the bottom of the initial search page, or towards the top of the results page (see previous messages for screen captures.)  This appears to be a US-Only issue, as our friends from Canada and Australia have been able to see the "number of guests" option pull-down.)

5 hours ago, latebuyer said:

I’m canadian too but I just can’t believe the canadian website is different. I hate to ask but are you sure you are computer literate?

Well, started by programming an HP 2000 mainframe in high school in 1977.  Although, much different experience than programming web pages in the 21st Century.  Or, more specifically, using them

i can’t tell but does the web page for those in Canada (and the New Zealand person who responded earlier) show prices in your native currency?  If so (and I’m assuming that’s the case) then there must be a country code built in the code. (It’s certainly the way I’d program it.). Doesn’t explain why this option wouldn’t be shown in the US, though.

one thing I haven’t done yet is contact Princess to ask why this is happening.  I’ll do that later when their customer service is open.

6 minutes ago, PG_traveller said:

It's there for me, also in Canada.

 

 

That’s it!  I’m moving to Canada!  😁

18 minutes ago, adoris said:

Was that today?  That’s the pull-down option that’s missing from my search.  (I just checked on my iPad, it’s still missing on my screen.)

may I ask which Victoria you are from?  It could be that there’s a glitch or something when doing the search from the US, but not other countries.

34 minutes ago, startedwithamouse said:

Do you have a screen shot?

 

Post 21.

51 minutes ago, Mississippian said:

This is not a filter. It is a pre-booking question after a cruise has been selected. The filter is under "options," which appears after the initial search.

Thank you for understanding at what point in the search I was.

I do not see an "options" choice after the initial search (one which lists the results.)  I am using Chrome on a PC or on my iPad using Safari in desktop mode.  (I've also tested other browsers on my PC.)

(I did see that number of guests is an filter on my iPhone using safari.  But I'm not comfortable using my phone for such searches on the small screen along with my fat fingers, when my PC is right here with it's large screen.)

Here's what I see, as I mentioned earlier, the "Number of Guests" option used to be to the left of the "stateroom" pull-down filter.  Could you tell me where you are seeing "options"?

(I cut the screen capture after the first cruise in the search results (only filter is destination=Alaska), however there's nothing other than the other 22 cruises shown.)

2 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

I used Chrome today, and the option for 1 was definitely present.

 

 

Go back a couple of pages (using the <) back to "search results", that's the page I'm talking about.  You are on what I would call a booking page, where you are starting a booking.  Not the "search cruises" page.

Let's see If I can do a screen capture correctly...(looks correct on my preview post screen)

The Red arrow points to the space where "Number of Guests" pull-down filter was until the past day or so.

To do a solo cost search without that filter, one would have to go into each cruise individually to select number of guests.  Not very efficient, not enticing to a solo cruiser to have to do that.

27 minutes ago, msmoger said:

 

I'm not sure what you mean.  I have never seen any option to select the number of passengers until after you have selected a specific cruise.  You seem to be insinuating that in the past there has been an option to select the number of passengers at the same point where you are setting the other filters (e.g. destination, length, month, embarkation port, ship). Am I misunderstanding you?

I am saying exactly that.  In the white space below the top line of the search page, below where "Destination" "Date & Length" etc, are (in black on my web screen - again on my computer, not phone), there were four pull-down filters, listing "number of guests" "Stateroom" "Sort" and "Regions".  Now there are only the last three.  It defaulted to "two guests", so you may have never changed it.  But it was there.

1 minute ago, LACruiser88 said:

I would lean towards a glitch, I can't see that search option being removed.  🙂

First, thanks for your quick responses, and checking on your phone (frankly, I wouldn't have thought about that!)

Other cruise lines, specifically Royal and Celebrity (same owner) removed the "solo search" option a year or so ago.  Meaning that to compare cruise costs, a user would have to go into each individual cruise to select one cruiser.  That's tedious.  And, about the same time, the costs for solos started being more that 200% on a fairly regular basis.

On the glitch side, there was a period about a month or so ago when the "number of guests" option didn't change from two, even if you clicked on the pull-down menu.  So, hoping this is a glitch.

I typically search using my computer rather than phone (I can view things easier!)

Using Google Chrome, the option is not there on the web site. Likewise Edge and DuckDuckGo.

However, using Safari on my phone, the "number of guests" option is still there.  (As you showed.)

So, website glitch, or "feature" that they'll remove overall once they change the code for a mobile device?

Thought I'd check on some possible future cruises.  I'm a solo cruiser.  Went to look, and the pull-down option for "number of guests" has been removed.  The format of the pull-down menu (remaining are "stateroom" "sort" and "region") has changed to space the three options out, where there were four before.

Is Princess telling us solo cruisers that they don't want us, and (like Royal and Celebrity) pushing us to NCL as the only mainsteam line that seems to welcome solo cruisers?

4 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge, further down the bay, that ships would also have to pass under, is only 186 feet high, or the same as the Key bridge, so raising the Key bridge would do nothing.

Maryland already has approval to start design on a new Bay Bridge crossing.  One article from 2022 indicated that they would raise the clearance 50 feet.  So I would expect design of the new Key Bridge to consider what height is optimal.  I doubt that they’ll be able to use all of the approach spans so a steeper approach is possible (they are ~50 years old and a reasonable decision would be to replace them as well; one to accommodate a new design and two to accommodate 50 years of design/safety improvements.). This bridge is going to cost ~$3-5 billion (or more) it would be foolish to build it “as it was” and not make improvements.

’ 

the new Key Bridge no doubt will be completed first, so a higher bridge won’t be of help immediately, but will be eventually.

1 hour ago, chengkp75 said:

Weeks Marine has a 500 ton salvage crane barge (Weeks 533) based in NJ, though it is currently in Boston.

I believe Maryland DOT has a bridge removal company dismantling the old Nice Bridge, which carried US 301 over the Potomac at the MD/VA border.  While it’s mostly a standard span bridge, it does/did have a steel truss section (nowhere near as large/long) so they may have equipment there that could be repurposed for this emergency relatively quickly.  
 

(Seems you have resources that can check on this possibility.) 

I haven't been able to change any of the "pull-down" options, such as number of guests and stateroom type for a couple of days.  I haven't tried to actually book a cruise, but am able to get to the passenger info page correctly (for me, 1 guest and balcony.)

Glad (sort of!) that I'm not alone here about this.

1 hour ago, SCX22 said:

Princess does provide transfers so long as the dates coincide with disembarkation and embarkation days of your cruise.  There used to be options to be dropped off/picked up at the Captain Cook Hotel and the Egan Center.  Not sure if these still exist.  For sure, drop off/pick up will be available at Anchorage Airport.

 

Another option would be to use Alaska Cruise Transportation (ACT) Big Bus.  Very reliable and cheaper than Princess transfers.  They also provide transfers in both directions on days where there are cruise ship arrivals/departures.

I’m sailing from Vancouver to Whittier on Princess in May.  I had the choice of a transfer to either the airport or downtown Anchorage.  Cost is $59.

I'm pulling up suggested travel times now, at 7:30PM on a Friday, supposedly after rush hour, not that rush hour ever ends in NYC.  You would be arriving in the morning, leaving the ship in the AM rush hour, or slightly after.  Certainly a Saturday or Sunday would be better.

The cruise terminal is in the Red Hook area of Brooklyn:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/UzDsjCPxJhx6ZKGFA

(since you posted in the Princess group, I'm assuming you're sailing with them.  They almost always use Brooklyn instead of mid-town Manhattan.)

Newark Liberty Airport (EWR) is 18-22 miles away:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/XwEkU3pqGyrL3tuV6

43 minutes on the best route (through Staten Island, which is 22 miles.  It's 55 minutes on the shortest route.)

LaGuardia Airport (LGA) is 13 miles away:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/L8tvme5BdwspE7Pm6

35 minutes.

JFK Airport is 18-24 miles, depending on the freeway chosen to travel:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/H6go24sSQ9DeNJfP8

Current best travel time is 40 minutes for the 24 mile route (55 minutes for the 18 mile one)

 Public transportation is in the 1.5+  hour range, partly because the terminal is not very close to any subway station.

When I last sailed out of Red Hook, it was a Saturday dis-embarkment, and I was fairly lucky with traffic once I got to the Interstate (heading south through Staten Island, which would be the likely route to Newark.) 

I would check Uber/Lyft, and definitely transfers offered by Princess, for pricing (you can do a "dummy" trip check on Uber or Lyft.  NYC Taxis are also available, but not sure how to check costs.  Those would be more likely to be stable, rather than demand-pricing on Uber/Lyft.  And private car services, such as the one linked in the post above, are viable as well.

I also wouldn't reserve a flight until the afternoon, because there's no assurance that traffic will behave.

(Note, I was born about two miles from Red Hook, although I no longer live in the area.)

It's not just Celebrity or Royal these days.  I just did a check on the Sun Princess for the Caribbean for Fall/Winter 2024/25, and I'm finding solo prices from about 260% to over 300%.

8 hours ago, antsp said:

This is not what was asked, as its on some ships already. From memory they are on the Regal 

I was on the Regal in April 2023.  I did not find any water bottle filling stations.  I filled my bottle in the buffet, using a buffet glass to get ice and water.  (I thought i had explored the entire ship, but might have missed one, perhaps in the gym?)

34 minutes ago, SaltyDoggg said:

...

Question for you... do you consider Princess a competitor to Celebrity or more of a value brand?  I've always thought Princess was supposed to be on the same level as Celebrity, but after some of the comments and of course my experience on board, I wonder if they are really more of a value brand?  That would explain allot!

When I first sailed with Celebrity in 2019 (after cancelling an Alaskan cruise due to mono - they'd probably be fine with mono now as long as it wasn't coupled with COVID 😉 ) I thought the Summit was comparable to what I remembered of Princess from 2007.  Similar in style, amenities and food.  I think the availability of food at all hours is better on Princess, and as I mentioned before, I enjoyed the food on Regal more than my other recent cruises (NCL, RCCL, and X.  I thought RCCL was the worst of the four.  Although to be clear, I didn't starve!)

The Edge class ships are a level above, but I now think that was due to 1-it was newer and 2-it was only about 1/3 full.  I will want to sail on the newer Princess ships (Sun and soon the Star) to see what amenities have been added.

Unfortunately, as a (now retired) solo cruiser, I'm typicallly sailing in steerage, and the Edge (and just about all new ships) have created exclusive areas for higher paying customers that block out areas, and in particular the front of the ship.  I liked sitting in the lounge on Summit (Sky Lounge, I think) and watching where we were going.  (The Eden on Edge, in the rear of the ship, was fantastic for sitting, watching our wake.)  The Regal didn't have that area, as they put cabins in the forward of the Lido deck and the only inside area forward with a view is the Sanctuary.  I know the class structure has always been around, but it's now a lot more restrictive.