Wildcatllamas

I just got off the Discovery and don't be surprised if the service is bad. It was very frustrating to have several dead zones or marginal coverage. Our cabin would constantly cut in and out.

I'm doing a Princess cruise next week. But I'm not feeling all warm and fuzzy about this cruise. I think I will miss Virgin a lot.

A friend and I will be on the cruise going out this Saturday. Looking at your photos it gives me an idea of what to expect. I feel sorry for MsSoCalCruiser with their food allergy. I too have a food allergy which is very rare though. I'm allergic to black pepper. Virgin was wonderful about helping me work around that without missing out on any foods. All of their food is cooked to order. I will be interested to see how Princess handles this. Carnival was horrible about it. Celebrity and NCL were pretty good and previous cruises with Princess were hit or miss. I usually take Benadryl before a meal just to be safe.

I can log into my account on both my home and work computers as well as my phone. But it won't save my vaccination card to the system. Last night I had to call Princess for a client and while I had the rep on the phone I asked about the issue. Of course their response was the total opposite of those on these boards. Supposedly it will cause quite the problem at the port check in if my vaccination card isn't loaded to the Medallion app. It will delay my check in and possibly prevent me from getting onboard even with the hard copy of my vaccination card. Guess I will find out on Saturday. Odds are definitely in favor with those on these boards that all will be fine.

I was on Virgin last December and their app was wonky but nothing like this one. And they are the new kid on the block. Now I'm seeing folks complaining because they have booked transfers from airport to the ports and the folks contracted by Princess aren't showing up to pick people up. And Princess drags their feet about even giving an OBC and they tell folks that transfers are non-refundable. This will be an interesting cruise in 5 days.

Still nope. I have tried different computers, different browsers and my cell phone. It is actually getting to be a game for me. (Yeah I know I work in a casino so the odds are against me). Just one more time and it will work. Darn. One more time. Darn. I guess my humor is just getting warped.

I have had issues for the last two days with both the website and app. It is crazy. And considering many folks have time to browse for vacations on the weekends that has to be the world's worst time to pull stuff down to tinker with it.

I know. It has just been frustrating. So if anyone else was having the problem I was just providing a non-Princess reason for it 😉

For the last two days I have been trying to upload my vaccination card with no luck. I have deleted the app and reinstalled. I have tried taking a picture - nope. Using a photo in my drive file - nope. It just won't save. It keeps telling me to try again later. I have tried using wifi and cell. I even tried to use their web version of the app. So as to be polite I won't blame Princess, it must be Mercury Retrograde.

Here in Colorado we also have state set "house edge". In many instances the payback will differ based on machine denomination. Those that offer multiple denomination play will have payback based on the selected denomination. So many folks don't realize that on most penny machines with multi-line pay it will have a max bet that is the same or close to a dollar machine. Difference is the dollar machine will usually have a higher payback then the penny. Key word is usually.

Having worked in the gaming industry for 23 years I am always amazed at what people consider "free". On one cruise (different cruise line) a person was all excited because they had gotten their "free" drink card for use in the casino. It took 1500 slot points. On that line it was $6 a point, coin in. If you like to gamble then enjoy the perks. If you are just doing it to get something "free" weigh your options. There is nothing "free" in the casino industry.

I so hear you on this. Yesterday I was checking my business credit card and here were charges from Princess. Two for $29, one for $58 and then a $29 credit. So I called and of course spent a huge amount of time explaining and reexplaining what I was seeing. While talking I'm looking at the app and my reservation in the Crown Grille is still showing but now it isn't showing as paid. So now I'm trying to address that issue. It just kept getting more convoluted. Finally she agreed that they needed to refund me for another $29 but didn't have a clue about why it wasn't showing paid for two people. So now I'm transferred to Ocean Navigator - which was even worse. I got absolutely no where there. There still isn't a credit back to my card but I will give them a couple of more days. I will be taking a copy of the charges on my card with me to show that the dinner reservations were paid for and then some.

I was barely a month old when the coronation of Queen Elizabeth occurred. But as I grew older I was fascinated with not only her role as Queen but her life prior to assuming that role. She has always been someone that I admired and hoped to one day see in person, even if from a distance. My heartfelt condolences to her family and her country. May she rest in peace.

I have a client on the Regal right now. I called Princess 3 different times and got 3 different answers. I texted him the info shown on the Princess website so he was going to try and find a place to get the test done. I told him if all else fails to get to the port early so they can test him there. What is very bizarre is he is doing a private land based tour in Greece following this cruise. Through that company they said there was no testing needed for anyone who was arriving from anywhere in the EU. I clarified with them he was leaving Rome on a cruise ship to Athens and when they got back with me they said he would be fine and wouldn't need a test according to their sources in Greece. So let's call that different answer #4.

Good morning. I assume you were talking to me. I guess compare is a broad term. I don't get a chance to take really long cruises due to my work schedule, so I have been to several of the ports offered numerous times both on a cruise and land based. So for me I compare the ship board experience. Having just cruised on Virgin back in December I am very familiar with the food, cabin, and the onboard experiences. But it has been over 3 years since I have been on a Princess cruise. Back at that time the food didn't even come close to the quality of the food on Virgin. The cabin on Princess was a little more comfortable then Virgin but I have to say that hammock on Virgin was really nice. Plus Virgin has been listening to those who have sailed with them and have been making changes as they go along to bring the ships inline with the customer feed back. Pricewise it's a toss up. When I look at all the things that Virgin includes in the fare then they can be competitive. Remember when you are pricing on their website that you need to be aware of is the price per cabin or per sailor. So folks will see the per cabin price and think that is the per person price. Now my biggest hold back with Virgin is the airfare to get from Colorado to Miami. I can sail out of Galveston or the West Coast on Princess with an airfare that isn't higher then my cruise - that is unless I want to fly first class - and that only happens when I fly to Hawaii. So if Virgin begins to sail out of ports on the West Coast I will be all over that. I particularly love to sail out of San Diego. I can definitely understand your feelings about Virgin. I hear that a lot. I was very skeptical prior to sailing with them. But once onboard I was sold. Scottca075 - I read a lot of your posts. Especially your ones for the West Coast and you are a wealth of information. Thank you for sharing what you do and happy sailing.

Now, try being a TA and deal with long hold times to only end up with one of these folks that have no clue. I know that most of them are absolutely frazzled but it is all I can do to remain polite and courteous at times.

We did but Crown Plaza is sold out and DoubleTree is almost $700 a night. My friend booked the hotel because she is high member with Best Western and it was $50 cheaper then the DoubleTree (where I normally stay at). We are now staying at the Sheraton (aka Marriott) Gateway right there at the airport. Once again she booked it so guess we will see.

Just a heads up to anyone who may have booked this hotel they are now closed. Based on recommendations from other friends a friend and I had them booked for our cruise in October and she called to confirm our reservations on Thursday. imagine the shock to find out that they are closed permanently. So we have now booked a hotel close to LAX and will Uber to the port the next morning.

CineGraphic I so enjoyed my B2B cruises on Virgin. I haven't been on Princess since April of 2019 but will be on the Discovery in October. It will really give me a chance to compare. But overall if I could get decent airfare from Colorado to Miami I would be the most loyal Virgin fan you would find. There was just a feel about everything there that made it so amazing. And then the food - well normally I don't gain any weight on a cruise because I walk a lot onboard and off. Yeah, that didn't work on Virgin.

I am sailing on the 8th in cabin R328. So if you haven't sailed yet I will try to touch base with you to let you know who might have that area. In the past I will usually let the room steward know that I like lots of ice so please bring extra. If on the first night or next morning they have helped with that I will leave a tip for them in an envelope. It really seems to help with them checking to see if I have any extra needs and if they go above and beyond I leave them small tips through out the duration. I figure who knows - they may get time off the ship and that extra cash will come in handy. Barb

I have ordered the canapes and the cheese plates for clients of mine. Everyone has love the cheese plates. Canapes - not so much. So the last few times I have just ordered the cheese plate for folks. Back in April of 2019 when I sailed on Princess I decided to try the canapes myself. And I have to agree - not worth the money spent. I often grab a meat, cheese and snack plate from the buffet just in case I end up starving to death due to lack of food 😉 I do enjoy the suite life on NCL. They definitely spoiled me over there. I've been in one suite on Princess and it was very nice but the service wasn't as great as on NCL.

Thank you Rick&Jeannie and JF-retired RRT that helps me so much!

I have tried to search for this but couldn't find any info. So does anyone know if there are any plug ins besides the ones at the desk. I'm trying to avoid bringing an extension cord if there are any behind the bed. I have a multi adapter for different plugs and that is so much easier to pack. Thanks for any help!!

This is a shame. The last time I sailed Princess was in April of 2019. The internet was sufficient that I was able to do payroll while at sea coming back from Puerto Vallarta. I did payroll on my cruise on Virgin while at sea and on my upcoming cruise in October I will once again have to do payroll. Granted it isn't a TA but still it sounds like it stinks no matter where you are. What is a major shame is that Princess doesn't seem to be able to rectify this or just doesn't care. On Virgin the basic internet is free and that worked just fine. If I'm going to pay for internet I expect it to be above sub-par.

On my last cruise on Princess in 2019 I ordered a non-frozen, shaken daiquiri. There was a lot of puzzled looks and head scratching. As a former bartender I walked the bartender through how to make one. And it was very good. He was excited to learn how to make an old standard drink. So be prepared to know which Singapore Sling recipe you like and how it is made. On my last cruise, which was Virgin, on their resort on Bimini I ordered a Cuba Libra. I'm watching the bartender use Morgan Spiced Rum, simple syrup, some other mix and barely topped it off with Coke. When he placed it in front of me I told him that after all that work now I wanted a simple Cuba Libra. He argued and I asked for a bar manager. When she came over and he told her I wanted a Cuba Libra she said okay and fixed it the right way the first time. He then asked her what it was that she had just mixed.