BballinQT24

Automatic call backs would be a great option. I’m always worried places will call back when I’m unavailable, but it beats waiting on hold for hours! 

Long waits during a time of increased volume like this isn’t poor customer service. Bad customer service would be an employee and them being rude or not helping.

What options are there for decreasing wait times? Decreasing call volume, hiring and training more personnel (which wouldn’t help the current situation since that takes time), or hanging up on their other calls before finished. None of those are feasible  options so do you have another suggestion?

1 minute ago, Ereggae said:

Talk is cheap.  You are not the one cruising in a couple weeks with several thousand dollars on the line.

That’s an odd response without actually having a clue about someone’s situation and really isn’t relevant at all to saying a different opinion isn’t a lecture. For the record, until I cancelled a couple nights ago my family was scheduled to sail on March 22. I will be losing a large amount of money by not going.

But to bring this back on topic, I did have a couple hour wait time, but once answered the lady who helped me cancel had good customer service while being efficient.

If Princess is aware of people being infected and not taking precautions this would be on them, but otherwise what are they supposed to do?  Not all cases have been severe, so with the virus sometimes presenting asymptomatic or mild means there are likely people walking around all over with it. It’s not limited to Princess or the cruise industry even though the spotlight seems to be focused on them.

1 hour ago, Ereggae said:

I don’t need a lecture.  Was just making a statement.

People responding to your statement with different experiences or opinions does not equal a lecture. If you’d prefer no one respond perhaps a message board isn’t the ideal place for a statement.

59 minutes ago, Elizabeth K. said:

You can take all the precautions you want. Its the other passengers who may be less conscientious that you have to worry about. Like the man in front of us at the theatre where we had to wait to tender off, who was flossing his teeth. Yes I am serious. Or the  passengers who can't remember not to pick their noses. Or those that still cough in their hands. And there was the young woman with a really nasty cough sitting at my gate at the airport post cruise. My apologies for being blunt but that's the reality. I just go off the Royal on Saturday and am really glad to be home.  We made the decision to go at the last minute having waffled all week. We'd have lost all of our fare even though we had insurance. And we thought we'd be OK. And we are. But it was hard to not feel a bit anxious all week.

I felt this way on my last cruise before all this started. Kind of puts you on edge.

Unfortunately many people just think of themselves and don’t care about infecting others. They don’t want to miss out so instead of doing the responsible thing and staying to themselves if possible, they go out and spread it around. An illness one person considers not a big deal for themselves could turn into a hospital stay for someone else. Until people practice better hygienic practices and stay to themselves things can spread around no matter what the crew does.

This isn’t limited to cruises but it sure feels amplified when you’re in an elevator or sitting in the theatre with someone hacking up or wiping their face, putting hands in their mouth, etc near you.

I’m sorry you had to cancel. We did too and it’s so disappointing. We were mostly concerned about getting quarantined and not being able to get home. I think you made the right call because both for the quarantine possibility but even more so because the mortality rate of this virus greatly increases with age, so with your mother being 70 it’s just not worth the risk.

I don’t know the official answer but my guess would be that if you’re not paying for them you aren’t getting credit. 

Was a reason given for the hotels not accepting people from the Regal? Maybe hotels close to the port are booked up between normal business plus people from today’s cancelled voyage?

Obviously there is going to be longer wait times right now. Hiring and training people takes time so it’s not like they could suddenly add people to deal with this.

I was on hold for super long the other night but when someone answered they were friendly and efficient even after what I assume was a long day dealing with upset customers.

Something to keep in mind is that COVID19 tests in the US have thus far be very limited as to who is able to actually get them, so the numbers of infected are misleading and likely much higher than they appear. I kind of feel like the cruise industry is being made a scapegoat and the companies are having to take a lot of blame. The same crew is dealing with guests during the asymptomatic period, but hows that different than a land based restaurant employee who may have been unknowingly exposed serving people? If people aren’t being tested to know they have COVID19 it can be unknowingly spread anywhere. All places where there’s large groups of people should be held to the same standards as the cruises. Are they tracking everyone on all the flights infected people have been on? How about every hotel, taxi etc? 
 

This has all been handled very poorly but I don’t feel like all of that blame should be on Princess. From the bits I listened to of the phone interview someone upthread posted, it sounded like Princess has been in limbo about what’s going on with the Grand because they’re waiting on word from the authorities. My heart goes out to the crew and passengers on the Grand and I hope they can move onto the next phase of this soon.
 

11 minutes ago, healthworker said:

Also trying to figure out if taxes are refunded and rest as fcc? Anyone receive anything back yet to verify?

 

The port fees and taxes should be refunded. The actual fare percentage refunded vs. given as a future cruise credit will depend on what cancellation.penalty window you’re in. The dates should be listed on your invoice from booking.

When I cancelled last night I was in the 75% cancellation penalty window. The 75% was applied as a future cruise credit and they are refunding me 25% plus the entire port fees/taxes.

It’s a great savings strategy that goes to show a business can do good by themselves while also doing good by their customers. 
 

They have the right to enforce the cancellation policy in the contract we agreed to at booking, but them offering a future cruise credit so I’ll at least get something for my money instead of losing it all, makes me way more likely to return to them. Before this I was unsure. I’m very appreciative. 

I’m curious if your ex had an issue with the cruise before all of this COVID19 stuff began? If he has been reasonable up to this point, you may consider how you would feel if the tables were turned and you had concerns about a trip he was planning with your daughter and he still took her against your wishes. I personally would have a very hard time keeping an amicable coparenting relationship if my child’s other parent disregarded me and took them into a situation where I was worried they may get sick or quarantined.

Whether or not to cancel a trip you’ve been excited about is a tough decision and I wish you the best whatever you decide. 

5 hours ago, akeasley said:

 

It's a parents decision on how they want to travel with their children. 

Yes, it is a parents decision on how to travel with their children. And making the decision to risk a child’s life because it’s more convenient is selfish and irresponsible. 
 

It is absurd to me that with so many transportation and child seat options to choose from these days somebody would still choose to forego their child’s safety because it’s easier for them. 

On 11/19/2019 at 3:59 PM, bamelin said:

Personally I'm taking shuttles everywhere so not bringing the car seat.  You can lap seat your child if in a bus or big shuttle in Florida.  If using a cab or car then you will legally need the car seat.

 

On the cruise itself we plan on sticking by the ports.

 

 

I would not recommend lap seating a child even in a shuttle bus. Even if the law doesn’t require a car seat, a child should be in one if they are of the age and size limits. It is short sighted and irresponsible to risk a child’s life because it’s more convenient.

I completely get your stress about the car seat travel, it adds so much extra hassle! We will be bringing two car seats on our upcoming cruise and will find transportation to use them with in Florida. As for the ports, we are sticking to things where we won’t need to drive.

In St Thomas we booked an excursion that has a boat leaving from where the ship docks and goes to a beach and back with no driving involved. Other places we just plan to stay near the port or places we can take a boat to because I don’t want to deal with the hassle of car seats and what to do with them at the ports. It’s not ideal and limits what we will be able to do, but that is just what comes along with this phase of life having young children. 

19 hours ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

We'll be on Regal in less than 2 weeks. I'll take pics of menus and possibly food. 🙂

I would really appreciate menus so we can plan which night to do our specialty dining. Have a great cruise!

On our past Princess cruises we've always done anytime dining as we prefer the flexibility, but decided to try traditional on our upcoming Regal cruise since we'll have our young kids with us and wait times can vary with the anytime. We requested early seating and the cruise personalizer lists it as confirmed. I have a few questions about how traditional dining works though.

I've read on here that requesting a table size is just that, and doesn't always have the number of people you request. Is there a way to know what table we will be at before dinner the first night so we can confirm it really is a table for 4? Not to sound anti-social, but I think the meals will go more smoothly for the kids if it's just us at the table. If we see it isn't the correct size could we talk to somebody about switching to a different one or even anytime dining at that point?

We also received a free specialty dinner promo when we booked the cruise. I was thinking we would tell our waiters the night before so they know not to expect us, is that the norm? What if the free dinner is assigned the first night, do we just not show up to the traditional dining or should we let somebody know? 

I know I'm probably overthinking this, so thanks for any replies!

Thanks for the info on the resort pass website I hadn't heard of that so I will check it out!

I don't expect a hotel to hold a room from the night before for us, I just wasn't sure if some might allow early check in if there's been rooms already cleaned and available after the previous guests have left. That's good to know that storing bags isn't out of the norm for many hotels.

We are planning on staying in Fort Lauderdale the Sunday after our cruise ends then flying out of FLL early Monday morning. The issue is that disembarkation is in the morning and  all the hotels I'm coming across list 4 pm as the earliest check in time. Does anybody know of any hotels near the port or Fort Lauderdale Beach that will do early check in?

Being able to check in early and use the facilities would be ideal, but we'd even be happy if the hotel had a secure place to store our luggage and two car seats so we could at least head out on the water taxi or find somewhere nearby to keep our kids entertained for the day. Any other suggestions on what we could do with the luggage/car seats until a room is ready would be appreciated as well.  

I completely understand that lugging around a car seat and finding transportation to accommodate it can be a hassle. I am dreading dealing with it on my upcoming cruise and having to adjust our plans in ports accordingly. However, you should really take a minute to think about the WHY behind using a car seat. Laws may be different from place to place, but the purpose of a car seat is to protect your child in case of an accident. Even if it's not required by law you should still use one.  

An airport shuttle is still a vehicle driving on roads with other vehicles. If you use a car seat at home when you drive, why wouldn't you take those same precautions with somebody else driving? If it was an older child I could maybe see using a booster or some sort of alternative but I wouldn't even entertain that idea for an 18 month old. It's safest for kids to be in a rear facing car seat until at least 2 or until they outgrow the weight/height limit to rear face in their seat. 

It's ridiculous and irresponsible to risk the life of a child because a car seat is an inconvenience to deal with. 

Loved “sailing” along with you! Thanks for taking the time to post about your trip.

Just came across this review and wanted to thank you for taking the time to write it. Your pictures were great!

Thanks so much for taking the time to post your review. The pictures really add to it. Also, thanks for posting the part about the "dolphin mouth" at the front of the ship. I never knew you could actually walk up in there. I will definitely have to check that out next time!

In regards to the pre-cruise hotel pictures-I love seeing those and hearing about the full experience/trip! They can help with the planning when leaving out of the same port, especially because there are so many options for hotels and places to eat near the cruise ports, it's hard to narrow down, so these reviews help.