Dee_Jay

14 minutes ago, Lyndonn said:

We’re elite and in the past we would call Room Service to swap out the items in the mini bar?  Is there now a charge to do this?

TIA 

No

I'm hoping the walk-up dining room doesn't have a reduced menu, as is apparently the case on the Sun Princess.  I don't like having to make reservations months in advance, and then being unable to change to times that fit better with our schedule.

3 hours ago, memoak said:

Even when there was a charge for everyone there were long waits to get a seat

And even getting a seat didn't mean you would get served.  After waiting 15 or 20 minutes, we got up and left.

We were on Discovery in January 2023, and still had the white medallions.  I think they go one full year from the inaugural cruise.

You cannot buy OBC online with gift cards.  Some have reported being able to buy with a phone call, but with all the horror stories about the support staff, I'm going to wait and use my gift cards on the ship.

Last summer, round-trip Seattle to Alaska on the Crown Princess, we made the most-travelled luncheon with only 137 days.  This was when Crown was still having engine issues, so a lot of regular cruisers were avoiding her.

7 minutes ago, dreaminofcruisin said:

At one time, someone indicated that you couldn't use the AARP gift cards for the EZ Air part of the cruise balance. Is that true? Anyone having any experience to confirm or deny?

Thanks!

I used gift cards to pay my entire fare, including EZAir, for an April 2024 cruise.

15 minutes ago, karatemom2 said:

 
I tried but for some reason it’s not letting me? The OBC shows up on my cruise personalizer but not as an option for payment when I go to pay for the excursion. It’s worked in the past on other cruises but not this time. Don’t know if it’s a glitch in the system, if Princess has changed its policy on using the OBC in advance, or just an issue we are experiencing. But it just won’t work - I had to pay with a credit card. 

Strange!  I just tried it on two upcoming cruises, and the checkbox to use OBC was automatically checked.

2 minutes ago, karatemom2 said:

In the instance of the Norway excursion I was watching there is clearly still plenty of availability so the price increase wasn’t related to capacity. I was sort of hoping to hold out and book onboard because we have a ton of OBC. But with the prices going up, it seems like waiting just ends up costing more. 

I'm curious; why don't you book now using your OBC?

For the non-US excursions, is it possible that the exchange rate has gone up, and Princess is raising prices to keep up?

I once booked an independent excursion in New Zealand, paid in NZ Dollars on my credit card.  The excursion was cancelled by the vendor and they refunded my credit card in NZ dollars.  Unfortunately, the exchange rate had gone down, and I got back less US dollars than I had initially spent.

13 hours ago, rome2009 said:

I have booked multiple cruises on Princess. I was able to access my 2 cruises I booked a few months ago to book dining times. However, on our next cruise which we just booked, I cannot for the life of me find where to go to even see the other cruises, let alone book a dining time for our 3rd cruise. I can only see the upcoming cruise we are going on. Any advice?

I assume you're talking about the new app.  What worked for me is to log out, then log back in with the booking number of the cruise you want to access. It's a little more work than the old app, but it gets you where you need to be.

I just put in an upgrade request.  After entering my bid, it asked for a credit card number.  I was able to use a different card from the one used on Princess.com.

Do not enter a booking number.  Click Cancel, and it should display a login screen for username and password.  If you enter these, and it takes you back to the booking number screen, just hit Cancel and enter username and password again.

19 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Since we do not use Google Play (on our laptops) there is no way to install the Princess app on anything other than Apple or Android devices.

 

I should add that even the Princess folks (who answer their phones) were unable to make reservations using our included specialty dining.  As I posted last week, those Princess "experts" elevated the issue (which in Princess speak means nothing will ever get fixed).  Such is life/

 

Hank

You don't need to install anything on your laptop.  Go to your booking on the Princess website.  On the Summary tab, scroll down to the buttons for installing the app.  Right underneath, click on 'Try our web version'.  The screen that opens will have a Link Booking button.  Ignore that and click Cancel.  Enter your username and password.  Sometimes it will take you to the first screen again; just click Cancel and reenter your username and password. Eventually, it will take you to a screen that looks like the app.  You can select Dine My Way and attempt to book your dinner.

I just tried again, and this time I got the error.  Must be an on-again-off-again problem.

I was just able to check balance on gift cards with no problem.

Since wingnut32 listed his price in pounds, I'm assuming he's from Britain.  I seem to recall complaints that bookings in Britain are not allowed to refare. You should contact Princess or your TA and double check this before booking.  Other than that, the price you list is about the same as we paid last year for a similar cruise.

1 hour ago, ebeluga said:

I agree it's a bad idea as well. I usually self-book to hold a cabin so my CVP can process it as her schedule permits, because of this, now it becomes urgent for her!!!

I also used to put a cruise on hold, then have my CVP make the booking. 

I was told by my CVP that if you put a deposit online, you can't then have your CVP take over the booking

11 minutes ago, Azulann said:

They have nice size tubes of shampoo , conditioner, body wash and body lotion , two set of each on selves next to sink. They re the same since Viking Ocean started. room steward will repleanish as needed. I  like them  and even take a couple home with me. 

they also have a small bar of soap too. 

Perfect!  I prefer body wash and my husband prefers bar soap.  Looks like we'll both be happy!

1 minute ago, millybess said:

On our last cruise it was 2 separate bottles, but many people don't like their product.  I always bring my own.

Thanks.  I'm not picky about type of shampoo and conditioner, as long as it's separate. That will be one less thing I need to pack.

I know the website pictures separate shampoo and conditioner, but I just want to double check.  Are they still providing separate bottles? Or have they switched to the cheaper, so-called "conditioning shampoo", which doesn't do either job very well?  We're in a DV room, if it makes a difference.  I'm trying to decide if I need to bring my own.

On 8/4/2023 at 9:54 AM, Rick&Jeannie said:

You *really* want to try and avoid the "blue lane" if at all possible...

 

In this situation, I'd think it's the green lane you want to avoid. 

I wasn't on that cruise, but just throwing out a name here:  was it Naathan Phan?  Korean guy with a Scottish accent?

On a 7-day, RT Seattle, Alaska cruise on the Crown Princess when it was still having engine problems, we were pleasantly shocked to be invited to the Most Travelled Luncheon with only 139 cruise days.  I'm sure it will be years before we're invited to another.

We were on Caribbean Princess for a 14-day Canada-New England cruise last year over Halloween.  We did not see any decorations until the morning of the 31st, and they were gone the next day.  Most of the ship was decorated, and many crew members and passengers wore costumes.  Daytime activities on the ship were normal, but evening activities were Halloween themed (Halloween trivia, movies, party and costume contest)