Musky Ike

2 hours ago, kywildcatfanone said:

Every cruise I look at right now, it says cabin selection is unavailable?  Is that just happening to me?  Are they doing some kind of maintenance?

Nope, me too. It has been going on for awhile They want you to pay extra to select your own and then don't allow you to do that. No longer a fan of booking a guarantee cabin. Not even convinced that they show all the available cabins when they do show some. Princess wants the power to decide for you it would seem. I no longer book online directly, but it was nice to be able to explore available cabin choices before I booked with our TA. 

2 hours ago, edspec said:

On the Sky now, both DH and I hate the lights. He’s taken to wearing the eye mask he received on the flight over. 

Talk to your steward. They will take care if it.

1 hour ago, Lady Arwen said:

If they stop allowing OBC in the casino we’ll just forgo purchasing the Plus or Premier package.

Could still upgrade when you get onboard and use OBC. At least for now.

4 hours ago, Pinballs83 said:

I just booked for nov 2 2024. The website offered me a double sized cabana balcony for the same price as regular balconies. It was pretty affordable. 

 

Right afterwards I got a players club casino offer. I haven't looked at it closely to see if I could have used it. 

Me too, see you and EdinaHotdish onboard then hopefully. BTW there is a roll call started already.

1 hour ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

When people are spending their own money,  not Princess' money that they'd otherwise have to spend somewhere else onboard (or forfeit) in the case on non-refundable OBC.

True, I'm sure other areas of revenue have many times higher markups than the casino house edge. But some of us are just stupid enough (personal experience) to waste all of our OBC and more in the casino and end up with nothing but guilt and a bill to show for it. Like freeplay is used to suck people in. Plus, just because you use OBC in the casino doesn't mean you won't still spend real money on the other stuff. 

47 minutes ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

Actually I don't think they'd mind you spending your OBC to buy something with a higher margin for Princess vs. gambling in the casino.

I don't know, it doesn't cost them much to operate those one armed bandits. I think the return is pretty good in the casino or it wouldn't be there.

1 hour ago, wallyj said:

A passenger has reported earlier this year, 2023, talking to Princess management , the Casino does have plans to finally update the accounting software so charges in the Casino will NOT net against OBC. This has always been the ‘official’ written policy, but it has not been enforced. Just a heads up that this loop hole is looking to be closed, but who knows when?
 

I know NCL has not allowed Casino charges to reduce OBC.

 

We have seen many posts that state Princess ‘reads’ these boards, so they are aware of what passengers are saying and doing.

We have been hearing that for a long time. When/if it happens, we will just wait until onboard to upgrade to Princess Plus. That will take care of our OBC and then some. Unless they stop that option also. I would gamble less if not using OBC. Not sure that is what they want either. 

14 hours ago, Thrak said:

or you can leave it with your room steward or a favorite bartender.

That is our option.

10 hours ago, Ombud said:

Why not use an ATM there?? So much more convenient.  Figure out what you need + 10%.

True. Just be sure not to select the option for them to do the conversion for you. If you opt out of that your home bank card will convert it at a better rate. Yes you may have an ATM fee but we often do around home also.

2 minutes ago, sandyoftheseas said:

Musky Ike-  I do see $100  as booking promotions under my payments tab.

That is how mine reads. Not sure why they don't list it as casino core. It is just like any other OBC. enjoy! They used to make you go to the cage to get it applied to you casino account once you set one up, but now it is just added to your onboard account. You can charge either chips or slot play to your onboard account.

1 hour ago, sandyoftheseas said:

I am going on a cruise on July 1st. I was looking at the on board services and noticed Casino Credit that states $100 OBC casino core.  When I go to my payments tab that shows me and my husbands OBC there is nothing showing casino credit. Is this in addition to the OBC that is showing under the payments tab?  Is it free play chips or OBC?

Do you see a $100 credit listed as "booking promotions"? If so, that is it and it is OBC. 

I did notice on the picture of the deluxe balcony cabin there appears to be a coffee maker in the room?

As a long time Princess cruiser and in the "older" demographics, I like the older ships but there are a lot of areas on those ships that we do no have any interest in using. We will give the sphere class a try and see. I hope to be pleasantly surprised. Other than park 19, it looks there are a lot of other new and interesting things to try.

1 hour ago, Roberto256 said:

 

If you are buying them to use for your own cruise, they are not really 'gift' cards.

Where does it end?!?!?

 

It is a gift to myself.

6 hours ago, bmc alabama said:

Well, we were on the May 20-June 1 cruise and it did not rain a single day for us. I think that we were extremely fortunate, but we loved it!

We were also on that cruise. The locals were thanking us for bringing the unusually nice weather 😄. The next cruise the cancelled Guernsey stop due to wind. You just never know. Layers are a good idea. Some mornings start out cool but much warmer by mid-day.

8 hours ago, negn said:

If you make charge to your room in casino, they will subtract it from your OBC

yes

On 5/15/2023 at 11:20 AM, Rick&Jeannie said:

I can do most anything that I normally do...which isn't really that much.  However...I have noticed a trend over the past few cruises where I cannot get to my email (Comcast/Xfinity) either through my normal email client or their web portal. Nothing to do with Starlink...they appear to be blocking some ports and have been doingso for some time. I can only check my email in ports. Very aggravating!

Same issue with the email site through our cable company. Fortunately most of the important stuff is on gmail. 

3 hours ago, billiebob said:

We are on this same cruise next week and can’t wait!  

Same here. The anticipation is building. Thank you Steelers0854! Keep it ship shape for us next week.

Thanks for the informative posts. We board on the 20th for the 12 day. Even more Excited to see it all in-person now.

So I can wait in line for an hour to bend over backwards and kiss something that countless others have already kissed or who knows what else to it that day, for a gift I have now? I'll think about that. 🤔

USPS tracking says due to arrive on Tuesday the 9th for our cruise on the 20th from CA. So 11 days ahead which is pretty normal.

On 5/4/2023 at 3:51 AM, VibeGuy said:

She was a decent tipper. 

7 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

IMHO it is time to put this thread to bed, it has been beaten to a pulp!  🥺

I am thankful that we are is back to big discussions about little things. It almost seems like a return to "normal". 

57 minutes ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

I've never used (or even tried to book) the Sanctuary, but I don't see the manual system being an option if they're simultaneously taking reservations in two locations. 

Me either, unless it is phoned in from the VIP lounge as it is being reserved.

13 minutes ago, Mike45LC said:

I hate to say this but Princess needs to increase the price of Sanctuary until supply equals demand.  

Go ahead and give them ideas to increase onboard spending. I'm almost certain that has been already suggested by the bean counters. Or they could do a pre cruise bidding process. Highest bids get the spots. Maybe a day early bidding window for elites? 😉