shellbeachjim

1 hour ago, Kay S said:

I'm wondering if I'm the only person who took advantage of Princess' Quest offer...

We're in San Luis Obispo County. The nearest Quest location is 90 miles away in Bakersfield so the choice of using Quest isn't very helpful to us. We used a CVS for our Majestic cruise last month and received the results in one day. However, I'm not totally comfortable with the 2 day rule for testing. The last thing I want is to be stressing out over getting the results in time for boarding.

3 hours ago, dogdoc2002 said:

That's a bummer. We're on B2B this December on the Regal and I was hoping to get some flowers for my wife as a surprise. For those of you who have carried them onboard, is the cabin steward able to provide a vase?

Yes, we asked our cabin steward for a vase and he brought one right away. 

2 hours ago, CineGraphic said:

You were able to post here, so it must be up, but in the words of David Clayton Thomas, "What Goes Up, Must Come Down".

BS&T reference for the win!

Spinnin' wheel got to go 'round

We carried flowers on last month in Seattle. Of course it helped that our hotel was a block from Pike Place Market. I'm not sure what we'll do for our next cruise. It was a tradition that I would order flowers for my DW and include a suitable mushy note. I'll miss the tradition.

5 hours ago, BuckGood said:

Hi all, has anyone had an issue with getting a cabin right near the stairs/elevators and if so what was the issue, noise like talking or the ring from the elevators!

Thank you!

We’ve never had noise issues when we’ve had cabins near the elevators. Generally speaking, people don’t gather much near them. The bells on the elevators are quite subtle, so you won’t be bothered by them either. 

33 minutes ago, jeeper2 said:

The Hampton Inn was constructed on the site of an annex to the original Casa Sirena.  It consisted of additional hotel rooms and a separate, small, banquet facility.  They were demolished, and the Hampton Inn built in its place.  You must enjoy that Hampton Inn if you keep returning!  😊

It’s convenient when we have to stay in the Ventura area. We’ve tried many of the hotels nearby. Word to the wise, avoid the Crown Plaza in Ventura unless you really (and I mean REALLY) enjoy the sound of trains. 

38 minutes ago, wowzz said:

The paper where the printing slowly disappears after 6 months or so ?

It's a security feature... 😸

I have stopped using the actual PDF form when requesting OBC. I send an email, list my cruises in the email, along with the booking number, dates, and cruise description. I then attach the appropriate pages from my brokerage statement (with the necessary redactions). I've listed multiple cruises in a single email and have had them all properly processed. 

24 minutes ago, hansi said:

How long before a cruise, do Princess apply the OBC to the account?

Currently all of my booked cruises have had the shareholder’s OBC applied.  The furthest one out is October 2023. 

30 minutes ago, cltnccruisers said:

We've used CVS twice and turnaround was only 3 or 4 hours.  You're not being forced to use Quest.

Yes, I'm well aware of that.

I'm not sure where CVS sends the test to, but it certainly isn't done locally, so 3-4 hours isn't possible here. Also, the sole CVS offering the tests near me only offers the PCR test, not the antigen test. Before anyone asks, there are even fewer Walgreens in this area, and the nearest testing location is even further away than the CVS.

2 hours ago, Bruin Steve said:

They weren't when I checked--which was right after I got the email from Princess...

There were lots of sites in their system, but most not doing tests with short turnarounds for travel.  

They may have added more since, but I've chosen to ignore that route...

Either I'll do the Binax thing...or...I'll just go into Kaiser Permanente--my health care provider.  I called them a few days ago and asked about it--and they said they can do it on a short turnaround for travel.  I'll call a couple more times betwen now and the cruise and make sure that's the case...

When I checked earlier, there were no Quest COVID-19 testing locations in Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Benito, or Santa Cruz counties. We're in SLO County and the nearest locations are in Bakersfield, a miserable drive which I refuse to take. The nearest location if we drive north is Mountain View in Santa Clara County. I wish Princess had used a bit more due diligence when they selected Quest, because the coverage holes in California are immense. We got our results back from CVS in one day for our cruise last week, but I don't think I can always expect this type of turnaround.

1 hour ago, LACruiser88 said:

Good to know, Thank you! We'll be loading up on our FCD's on our Dec 29th cruise.  We miss not having any left!

We waited for the future cruise consultant for about 20 minutes while the couple in front of us wasted her time (personally I think they were lonely and just wanted to talk to someone). I asked about getting FCD’s, she pointed me to the app, watched me purchase them, and saw me leave a minute or so later. 

We just returned home from the Majestic Princess. The Future Cruise Deposits are now handled on the Medallion app. It’s an option which only appears after you’ve boarded. For each guest on your booking you can select the number you want, and they will be processed immediately. No more paperwork to fill out, no more waiting for the Future Cruise Consultant to re-enter the details you’ve provided into their computer, no more waiting for the paper confirmation. 

5 hours ago, JF - retired RRT said:

Just make up answers: example: your pet's name...correct answer is Reggie, answer with Fred. Use the fake answers for any company requesting info that doesn't involve your $$ or security. Correct answers for your bank, etc. Fake answers for "Joe Blow".

This is where a good password manager is so useful. You can securely store this information on your devices. I can’t remember all of my answers, so at least I can retrieve it. I’m paranoid, so I refuse to store this information in the cloud. 

8 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

I think, like any business, they have their A's, B's and some D's.  This is evident from various CC posters here over the recent years. 

Absolutely true. We’re very happy with ours (he cruises on Princess himself). We have a friend whose PVP was a complete dud. YMMV

1 hour ago, Ombud said:

(US embarkations, UK may differ) I was unable to carry them on in August. Did anyone have success or see anyone carrying flowers on? I'm willing to try again in December if unable to get onboard

We walked on yesterday with a bunch of flowers. Of course it’s easy to buy flowers in Seattle when your hotel is a block away from Pike Place Market. 🌻

The “little girls” (Pacific, Tahitian/Ocean, Royal Princess) all had a nice track on the deck above the pool. Oval track, 13 laps to the mile, and clearly marked to go counter-clockwise. 😺

24 minutes ago, ChangeOrder said:

Make sure to check for the signs that tell you which direction to go (clockwise!) on the path. It's bothersome to run in to people going the opposite direction on the skinnier sections.

Clockwise? That's odd. All of the other ships I've been on have you going counter-clockwise. My walking shoes are laced up and ready to go - 11 days until we sail.

59 minutes ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

@noclthanks for additional data it certainly clarifies the original graphs. I worked my Stat students hard on labeling and naming their visual displays of data. I marked down any work where it wasn’t completely evident what the data measured. This is why. 

👍

The problem I had with the charts was the change of scale (millions vs. tens of thousands). Consistency is a good thing for readability. 

I saw the topic and thought there was a new amenity available - perhaps it’s showering in unicorn tears. 🦄

One more suggestion, check out seatguru.com to help with selecting the seat assignment on your flights. It can be a little tricky if an airline uses different configurations for a specific plane.

13 minutes ago, CruzerDeb said:

Just wondering if Princess generally adds any additional flights to their initial offerings? I booked my flights for Rome/Athens today and am disappointed that I couldn’t get first class - which I have never flown, but fully intended to this time. I know I should have booked last week at the first opportunity, but I was on vacation and couldn’t get to it. I think I have one leg in first class (Cincinnati to Chicago) and the rest are all in business class. Really wanted to do this for my 81-year-old mother. 😢 

Many of the overseas flights don't have a first class section - they have business class. I wouldn't be concerned about flying business class on a long flight, in fact we've flown 17.5 hours in business class on a San Francisco to Singapore flight a couple of years ago. Lonnng, but very comfortable. 

1 hour ago, wcflats said:

When the departure port says Los Angeles is that actually LA or San Pedro?   

Technically it's both - San Pedro is a neighborhood contained within the City of Los Angeles. The Port of LA is in San Pedro (which is in LA).

4 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

If booked through a TA it would be on their Princess booking confirmation but only those who are booked directly with Princess can see it in their Cruise Personalizer.

Duh, of course. I forgot about the different ways to book… 
 

1 hour ago, Thrak said:

Where are you seeing the changed final payment date?

It's still in the cruise personalizer in the "Payments" section.

We’ve stayed at the Hampton Inn at the Channel Islands Harbor a few times but had no idea it was formerly a Princess Resort. I’ll have to be more attentive next time we stay there. It’s a Hampton Inn, so it’s all about the waffles… 🧇