bjkTX

4 hours ago, MissP22 said:

It's beginning to sound like he told me that line, just to appease me.

When I see him I'm going to ask where my invitation is. 

Their ads all say for "suite passengers"...but like most things on Princess YMMV.

4 hours ago, justafem said:

But none of them have ever sold.  That tells me all I need to know about the value of a used medallion. 

I was hoping they'd sell like hot cakes - I already gathered all my Princess Luggage Tags to list....

On 2/6/2022 at 11:37 AM, MsSoCalCruiser said:

Thank you.  That’s awesome because all of my medallions are black.  I really would like one of each color but they started the medallions after I was already Elite.  I have the bracelet so it’s nice to wear as an accessory. I want to start ordering the artwork medallions too.  

Hard as it is for me to believe - but they are for sale on ebay 🙂  You can buy an "Elite" medallion for only $69!!!  I would hope other levels are cheaper 🙂

 just looked and for a premium aft facing balcony it is $1290 or about $800 less than with the Plus package.  But as I keep clicking through to confirmation there is NO mention of the package at all...

21 hours ago, Neilyboy64 said:

Thank you.

Keep in mind the buffet and dining room will be jammed - people go there and just sit until their time comes to disembark so getting a table gets a bit tricky.  Be prepared to grab your plate and find a place to sit somewhere else 🙂

Like most have said, I couldn't conceive of the idea of not having a balcony on an Alaska cruise.  There is so much to see, and while you can go on some decks and look out, sitting on your balcony with a beverage of your choice watching another whale swim by, or another eagle fly by, or more waterfalls, or more seals floating by on hunks of ice.  I also second the aft facing premium balcony cabins although it seems Princess is trying to price them out of our range any more - because you can be out there pretty much 24/7 regardless of the weather.  Breakfast first thing in the morning, a glass of wine after your tour, then a Baileys when the sun sets.  We all like different things - you'll enjoy Alaska whatever you choose!!!

My favorite was a full transit Panama Canal cruise on Princess in 2008.  You never forget your first (Golden Princess to Canada/Alaska) a few years earlier, and a few other in between, but for many reasons that PC cruise was the most memorable.  We joined the Roll Call more than a year out and it was one of the best ever - lots of participation, lots of advice and help.  We made so many friends from that Roll Call and even met with some pre-cruise and we still communicate with many of the RC members today - and have cruised with several again over the years.  The folks on the Roll Call were mostly experienced cruisers and many had done the PC and the ports before.  I'm pretty sure that every excursion we took was put together by someone from the Roll Call, even the hotels and restaurants pre and post cruise were set up by Roll Call friends.  So a cruise, that for us, would have presented quite a few obstacles turned out to be nothing but fun.  I was in the military 30 years and we moved a LOT - and when we think back on it there was one neighborhood and group of friends that was just perfect.  That PC cruise was like that neighborhood 🙂

On 2/17/2023 at 2:17 AM, caribill said:

Because of this, Princess will put a $25 OBC non-refundable "voyage disruption credit" on the account of everyone who has an alcohol beverage package.

Should be noted that they give you the credit - but they charge you for the drinks you have until you get out to international waters.  We saw our statement on the second day and had two charges from a bar for $17+ and the $25 credit - I had no idea at the time what it was since we had the Plus package.  I would say we made out on the deal $17 vs $25 - but the booze they served was horrendous 🙂

I am wondering - if this is the best sale ever - what will the next one be ???  Since the best sale ever and the one before it raised the price of our Feb 2024 cruise by $2,000 I'm anxious to see what's next....

13 hours ago, julie3fan said:

 

Haha!  You are *really* planning ahead! 🤭😁🤣

LOL - I hadn't noticed the typo until you posted this 🙂  I wonder how much the tips will be in 20924!! 🙂

I sent mine in for a Feb 20924 cruise early this past week and forgot about it until today - I looked and it was posted already!

Congrats!!!  We have been upgraded to a suite once - it makes it hard to go back to a normal cabin 🙂  But enjoy your cabin and your cruise!!!

None on the Emerald in Oct or the Ruby in Dec.  Ruined both cruises! :-)

2 hours ago, Cinerama said:

Just wondering how embarkation works now as we haven't been on a Princess cruise for a few years. Also, can he and his family get in line with us?

We have cruised with friends multiple times who did not have any status with Princess and we were Platinum or Elite.  We would split up at the entrance and we would go to the "platinum/elite" line and they went to the regular line.  Every EVERY time - they got processed ahead of us.  It became a standing joke that they would wait for us in their cabin 🙂  The next cruise we just checked in with them 🙂

3 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

I always research the tipping culture before I go to a country where I am unsure. The funny thing is, 95% of the time I learn that tipping is appropriate. The number of foreign cultures that don’t tip is a very, very, very (did I say very?) small subset. 

We took a British Isles cruise a couple of months ago and I spent quite some time reading different opinions and facts about tipping.  The majority of advice I was given was tipping isn't necessary or expected.  Fortunately I brought tipping money because on the 11 day cruise pretty much everyone had a hand out or was obviously expecting a tip.  Didn't bother me - I just wanted to do what was expected.

15 hours ago, rnff2 said:

Do you know for certain that these giftcards can be used to pay for the cruise itself?  I plan to check with my TA prior to purchasing but wondering if you have experience using these.  

I paid for the cruise we took in Oct and Dec with the AARP cards - and I have purchased enough to pay for our Feb 2024 cruise.  10% is 10% and the last time I used a new credit card and bought the gift cards to meet the minimum spend requirement to get 70,000 airline miles I wanted.  Win win 🙂

In October we had the 12:30 boarding time with the Green Lane and Elite medallions.  We spent the night in a hotel in Southampton and headed to the ship at about 11.  We got there and they waived us right through everything and onto the ship - we were in our cabin by 11:30.  No one ever asked or checked what our boarding time was.

I should add that when we were waived through the last place before walking onto the ship there were a lot of people sitting in a waiting area - where I thought we would be headed to.  But they told us to keep going and get on the ship.  I have no idea why they were all there - maybe being Elite allowed us on early, or maybe they were all waiting for friends...  All I know is that is was quick and efficient - and the exact same thing happened in Galveston when we took a Christmas cruise.

3 hours ago, malba2366 said:

The alcohol in the drinks is measured out, so it is unlikely that you will get a heavy pour if that is what you are looking for.  But in my experience the drinks are not "watered down".

We took 11 day cruises in Oct and Dec and never once saw the alcohol being measured - they were straight pours out of the bottle and the few times they used a jigger they almost always poured extra.  So our experience has been different.  We aren't big drinkers (any more) but if anything we thought the drinks were stronger than normal - not watered down.

6 minutes ago, jlstwinmommy said:

We did Quebec to NYC cruise in 2019. It was great. We got there a day early and rented a car to explore outside the city and then turned in the car and boarded the ship and had 2 days to explore old Quebec before the ship left port. Our favorite cruise thus far. 🙂

We did the same thing - except we didn't rent a car.  We had a B&B the first night and took a couple of tours - and like everyone else said the first night on the ship I think we had a time to be back on board but I'm not sure - we were back fairly early - and then could come back on the ship right up to whatever the final boarding time was the day we left Quebec.  We loved it and have some of our favorite memories of those 2 days in Quebec!

49 minutes ago, qoap24 said:

Once you make a speciality dining reservation in the stupid app, should it show that you have a reservation?

 

We are staying in a suite and last week tried making the reservation for the first night, when I went to book it showed we had a credit. I booked the time we wanted and when I went back into check if it was there, and it wasn't. So I tried again and then noticed the credit was not there and that my credit card was charged. I called in and was told that I had to wait until I got on the ship to get the refund. Well yesterday I saw the charge was refunded. So I went in and booked a reservation again, it showed the credit, but does not show up in the app as we have a reservation. Is this normal?

It could depend on where you are looking.  If you are looking on your online booking documents where it has a place for spa and other reservations that have been made - our specialty dining never did show there - regardless of how it was paid for.  But it has always shown up on the App when I check reservations for those days.

7 minutes ago, jennmaybe said:

Any opinions on these adaptors?  Any difference other than style and location of plugs? 
 

 

I bought a larger version of the One Beat plug - with 3 plug ins on the front along with 4 USB connections.  I bought it because it had the highest ratings - but alas we didn't need it.  Looks great in the box though!!!

15 hours ago, jennmaybe said:

We are doing our first Mediterranean cruise this year.  What kind of adapter do we need for that? 

We went on a British Isles cruise in October.  Before the cruise - for months - my wife was asking about plugs and adapters.  I borrowed a gizmo from a friend who travels to Europe often, and I bought a really neat new gizmo that was supposed to cover all our needs!  When we got home I put both in our "future cruise" bag totally unused...didn't need any of it in the hotels we stayed in in London or on the ship.

51 minutes ago, R&Ccruisin said:

 

 

I am sorry to continue to bother you on his subject but I am on this quest and have another idea.   Do you mind answering if you are  retired or active duty?     I saw something in one of the posts here or on line that certain people were eligible.   What certain people, I wonder?  

 

 

From the Princess website: 

• Active personnel currently serving in the following service divisions:
  i - United States Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, National Guard or Reserves with a copy of a military verification certificate confirming active duty status available for free online at Servicemembers Civil Relief Act website.
  ii - Canadian National Defense -- CF1FC Silver Card with the word Veteran in the lower left corner for retired or the initials CAF for active military.
   
• Retired Personnel defined as A) enlisted personnel or officers with a minimum of 20 years of service, B) medically retired, or C) 100% disabled. Proper identification for United States is DD214, WD AGO (War Department Adjunct General Form) or NAVPERS (Naval Personnel Discharge Form). For Canadians, NDI 75 - Record of Service Identification Card or CF 75 or certificate of discharge; is used.
   
• Veterans with an Honorable Discharge serving a minimum of 2 years or 6 months in an active war zone in any of the United States service divisions listed above or in the Canadian National Defense. Proper identification in the form of a DD 214, plus a current photo ID is required. For Canadians, Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) Health Identification Card is used.

Isn't the tap water on the ships still filtered 6 times more than what is in bottled water??  Asking for a friend...

We took an 11 day British Isles cruise in Oct and saw a few people in a tux, a few in suites, but most wore dress shirts and slacks.

We took an 11 day Caribbean cruise over Christmas and it was pretty much the same.  I think because it was a Christmas cruise more people than I would expect on a Caribbean cruise were more formal - Christmas picture time.  But it was still 90% or more in shirts and slacks.