Tigrou

On Sky Princess over Easter there was an included NY steak available every night as one of the Princess Favourites. From previous experience I try to avoid it as the quality is inconsistent but it was okay the one night I did have it. Last September on Sky the Princess Favourites sometimes included the NY steak and sometimes chicken, offering an alternative to what was on the main menu which made more sense. This time I found that often there was steak or another beef dish already on the main menu, so offering steak as an alternative wasn't much of an alternative!

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has provided photos and information on this thread. I've sailed in a sheltered balcony cabin and didn't like it even though I thought I would (turns out I want to see the water from inside but can't because I'm too short!) so have since sailed in a standard balcony. I was planning to book one for my next trip but then wondered about the obstructed views, found this thread and now I'm booked into 8013. The photos were invaluable to me, being able to see the exact views in each cabin. Some I definitely wouldn't consider as there's far too much of an obstruction, others I think I would find interesting. I'm still undecided about those with tenders rather than a lifeboat - it looks like a bus is parked on the balcony but it does have windows which allow more light through and potentially offer more of a view. When I saw that 8013 was available that was my decision made, I'll give it a try. I know it's no guarantee but I have asked for my booking to be noted 'no upgrade' as I don't want to be moved to a cabin Cunard consider an upgrade but which has a more obstructed view. Thank you again.🙂

I’ve got that issue right now, exacerbated by being opposite a crew area. As soon as I saw it I thought drat, that doesn’t show on the deck plans! (From previous experience I’d never knowingly choose a cabin close to a crew door.) Unfortunately I don’t think a sign would help. Let’s face it, you only have to let it slam once to know what a noise it makes. People just don’t care, it’s a typical lack if consideration for others.

The same places people get USD for holidays to the States, or Euros for holidays in Europe, etc etc. For example: a bureau de change; a travel agent; your bank; a travel money kiosk in a supermarket; a Post Office; an ATM in some branches of Marks & Spencer; online, delivered to your home. If your local area doesn't have any of these, and the minimum order online is too high, there are plenty of walk-in options in Southampton. From what American friends have told me, I believe it is far easier for us to buy USD in the UK than it often is for them to buy Sterling in the States. I always tip in whatever the onboard currency is on any cruise ship, regardless of the port of departure. I always ensure I have local currency to tip on land so I do the same at sea, I just consider it polite.

Ref the 'crew appreciation', it is separate to the quoted fare. You can either pre-pay it before your cruise (although generally I don't find the Princess exchange rate to be good enough to do that, unlike HAL) or it will be added to your onboard account each day. If you've got OBC that will be used for the crew appreciation charge, it will be deducted from the balance each day. What I do is work it out and just add it to the quoted fare, and consider the total as the real fare. Or if I've got OBC, I just discount the amount for crew appreciation before thinking how much is available to spend. There is often talk on these boards about people going to guest services and removing it, which is possible if you're on a Standard fare. (I confess that I did consider doing this myself earlier this year in retaliation against Princess deciding to charge for a few things which were included at the time I booked. However, once onboard I found the service to be so good that there was no way I was going to potentially take money from the crew because of a corporate decision.) You do not pay 18% on "all onboard purchases". It's 18% on drinks, and someone earlier said spa services. I don't think there's anything else but I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong. Whether the packages are of value is a topic on which discussion can become almost as heated as tipping! The best way is to do the maths but if you don't drink the extra cost coffees and only have the occasional glass of wine, my guess is that a package wouldn't be economical for you. It certainly never is for me. I've only cruised with Princess twice out of the UK but both times there was a kettle in the cabin.

I have now emailed Princess customer relations in the hope of getting it 'in writing'. I very much appreciate the confirmation from @antsp and @Geoffa30, it is reassuring. But ideally I want it confirmed in writing by Princess because ultimately, if I did have to cancel, it's Princess who would process it. And if it had been either of the agents I spoke to tonight, they would have charged me the 15%.

Thank you.

Which is what I understood. But I've just spent 45 minutes on a call with 2 Princess agents, clearly overseas. (It sounds as if they're working in a football stadium where there's a very loud match on! Wherever they are, why don't they use headsets so we don't hear the background noise?) First one kept insisting that I was correct, the cancellation would only be £75, but she also insisted that the confirmation was correct and the cancellation would be 15%! Aargh!! We just kept going around and around in circles. I asked to be put through to someone in the UK but instead got a 'supervisor' who initially confirmed the same conflicting information. Again I asked to speak to someone in the UK but after waiting 10 minutes it was the same overseas supervisor who came back and insisted that if I cancel it will cost 15%. However, I have no faith that she is right because I'm not convinced she understood what I was talking about when I mentioned Future Cruise Deposit. Hopefully it won't matter for this particular cruise as PIF is only a couple of months away. But I just want to get the correct information for future reference.

But that isn't what it shows on the confirmation, hence my concern. It clearly states, "Cancellation Schedule - 24 Oct 23 - 15% of Total Charges".

Today I have booked using a FCD for the first time. FCD value for a UK booking is £75 and that's what shows as the deposit on the confirmation. However, under the Cancellation Schedule it shows "15% of Total Charges" from today, ie the amount the deposit would have been if I hadn't used the FCD. I wasn't expecting this, I expected any cancellation charge prior to PIF date to only be the deposit I've paid, ie the £75 FCD. Same as when I booked on a £50 deposit offer, the cancellation charge shows as only £50 up to PIF date. One of my reasons for buying FCDs recently was because I thought it would only tie me into £75 until PIF date rather than the full, non-refundable deposit. However, this doesn't appear to be the case. Could anyone who books using FCD in the UK please tell me if this is correct or not?

They did a £50 deposit week 18-24 Sep 23. Perhaps we'll get something once the current 'Free stateroom upgrade' offer ends on 31 Oct 23 although unfortunately I don't know if we ever get refundable deposits in the UK.

It was through a TA.

I'm in the UK and I re-fared a Princess cruise earlier this year. It cost £100 admin fee but still saved me a considerable amount overall.

I didn't even know there was one! 🤣

That shelf is of no use to me either, for the same reason. 😀 But what about under the bed?