dreams_of_travel

Going forward, I would be more likely to book a cruise that is giving me double MOBC.  That way I wouldn't feel like I am missing out on my SOBC. LOL!  I didn't get the email, so I appreciate the linked post above.  Playing around with the link, I see that one of my current bookings is one of those offering the double MOBC.  I suppose they want me to call to get that applied.  If so, I am not bothering b/c I already have both SOBC and MOBC applied, so there is little point to go through the hassle.  They would likely take away the SOBC.

In related news, I was looking at various offerings via that link, and found a 14 day, as a solo, for $1800/something, and there seems to be a glitch in regards to the MOBC.  In the little OBC box, it shows $100 OBC, $500 MOBC, AND another $250 MOBC.   So basically I could book this cruise, w/o Princess Plus, and get $850 OBC.   So. Very. Tempted.  LOL!

Interesting read @Ken the cruiser but I am still foggy about how paying for a cruise with a gift card suddenly can become "lost money", and not refundable.    I need to know what the part in #2 means  cannot be returned for a cash refund, except to the extent required by law.   What law, and where does it explain what happens with your money from the gift card?  Why are gift cards this type of thing that won't be refunded, or somehow not saved as a future cruise credit for use?  

All this makes me not want to cruise Celebrity again, let alone pay for a cruise with a gift card.  What regular person would think to read all this fine print, and then find out their gift card used to pay some of a refundable cruise fare is totally lost.  This is so many levels of not cool, I almost can't comprehend it.  YMMV

I suppose I should fully read the verbiage on the Princess gift cards to make sure there isn't some sort of insanity over there too.  (except I have used Princess gift cards before, and had them refunded when having to cancel a cruise.  And the big one for me, knowing I can use a gift card to put down a deposit for a new cruise.)

I want to thank @HaveDogWillTravel for starting this thread.  I never would have submitted my SOBC requests for next year's cruises so early without this thread.   It would seem that acting early before the new rule was applied paid off for getting both SOBC and MOBC on my cruises.  I did take pics of each cruise's OBC list just in case their IT messes things up. 

2 hours ago, MissP22 said:

We had that type of OBC last cruise and once on the ship there was no limitation on how I could use it. 

Thank you for that info.  I was hoping that would be the case.  I'll give it a try next month.

@LeeW I am aware of what OBC, and the various types, and if they are refundable etc.  I had not had an OBC promoted as for a shore excursion that's why I asked about it.  Your post has a lot of info that will be helpful for this forum's readers.  Always good to share info. 

I've got a cruise coming up that has OBC designated for a shore excursion.  How strict are they about using it ONLY for an excursion?  I don't have anything booked yet, but the Alaska cruise is end of next month, so I know I am probably looking at slim pickings.  Any data points would be appreciated. 

(I did try to do a search, but apparently my terms "OBC+shore+excursion didn't turn up anything.)  

2 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

OK, I just called the 888 number again and reconfirmed that the Celebrity Gift Cards do become nonrefundable once they are posted to a booking.

 

But there is some good news. If your booking has a refundable deposit and prior to the Final Payment Date you find you can't go on the cruise, you can change the booking's itinerary to a different cruise a little farther out and the GC funds will remain with the booking. 

 

However, for us that's not enough good news to motivate us to buy any more discounted Celebrity Gift Cards to help pay for the cruise. But at least we now have options just in case stuff happens and we find we can't go on the cruise prior to the Final Payment Date.

 

That's a little bit better than what you are originally (incorrectly) told, but not by much.   I do not understand how a refundable cruise, meaning you could cancel and get it refunded, doesn't have a proper mechanism in place to make it truly refundable with GCs.  I don't blame you for choosing to not continue buying the Celebrity gift cards.   It would make me wary of the whole process.   

1 minute ago, Ken the cruiser said:

What's funny is after the rep told us about the "no refund if WE cancel the cruise" penalty, he asked if we wanted to proceed. Well, since we can't get a refund from AARP for the $2000 of GCs we purchased, we really had no choice but to proceed. However, the chances of us buying any more is pretty remote. 😉

True, you really didn't have a choice, sadly.  I wonder what the truth is with the gift cards. Seems a bit crazy to offer an option to use them, and then not offer a refund option.  I hope we get some clarity about this at some point.  Meanwhile, July is coming, and I will be buying more Princess GC (which in the past can be refunded to the original GC)  to pay off my 2024 Princess cruises. LOL!  

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Now for the bad news. If you decide to cancel the booking for any reason, YOU WILL NOT BE REFUNDED any of the GC funds posted to your booking, regardless of whether it's before or after the Final Payment Due Date. However, the representative did mention that would not be the case if Celebrity canceled the cruise, just if you did. By the way I asked if this was noted anywhere in a set of Gift Card Terms and Conditions, and he said no. But he also said this "No Refund" rule has been in effect for quite some time and long before this recent unlimited GC rule change.

 

Anyway, that's what we learned at Show and Tell today! 🤔

 

If someone knows something different, please feel free to share.

 

That seems quite sketchy.  How can they legally NOT refund any of the GC funds?  If there is no method of returning the funds to the GCs, fine, and another type of funds should be available for you to use in the future.  They cannot just take the GC money, and keep it.  That just sounds like some made up stuff right there, and illegal.  I am truly concerned, and shocked all at the same time.   I currently have no Celebrity cruise/s booked, but if I did, and had considered buying discounted GCs, I would be quite hesitant.   I really hope them keeping the GC money without a chance of refund is not correct.

As previously posted in this thread, I submitted SOBC requests for three 2024 cruises.  Military OBC is automatic as most in this thread know.  Two SOBC posted almost immediately, but one, that is part of a back to back, and a travel agent booked cruise did not post.  I was going to resubmit the request for the missing SOBC but had procrastinated, as one does, LOL!  Before resubmitting I decided I should check the missing SOBC cruise.  Voila!  It has posted. Yay! 

To recap, all three of my 2024 cruises now have both MOBC and SOBC posted.  Now I (and everyone is this thread) wait to see how things shake out on/after 29 June.  *fingers crossed* that both stick.  

4 hours ago, nini said:

 

Lucky for me (and most of us), we own this handy dandy small item called a cell phone which we use as our night light. And................... it lights directly in front of us EVERY time and even shows the way. 

This is much preferred by most versus the other bright lights which disturb our sleeping cabin mates.

I guess those ships without night lights will be sued up the yin yang as you have stated.

Your comment made me laugh. Handy dandy indeed. LOL!  I use my cellphone in my own home as well as when I'm on a cruise ship.  Much better to use it when not wanting to disturb your cabin mate than lights that seem to switch on at will.  My last Princess cruise, on the Crown, the toe kick lights kept going off randomly the first night.  I think it was the comforter that somehow would trigger the light.  We stuffed a towel in the toe kick space after that.

2 hours ago, hobbyfarmer2 said:

I have motion operated switches in my basement.  The switches have a rocker with 3 settings, "ON", "OFF" and "AUTO".  Wonder why Princess did not spring for this type of switch?

That would have been a smart choice.  Give the passenger a choice on when the light comes on.  Often I find that the cruise ship/cabin designers have no clue how frequent cruisers use the space/s they design.  Not Princess, but another line has beautiful cabins that are not functional for more than one passenger even though it is a two person cabin.

45 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Yes, Princess is after the younger crowd.  But the younger crowd will not be the ones that sail off season or on longer cruises or to far away places.  They are killing their golden goose.

Absolutely!  The younger crowd may not be willing to sail as often, and/or spend for extras, especially with a family.  To be fair, I don't often spend on extras when I cruise but that doesn't mean I don't ever splurge.   I guess that may not be enough for my demographic. 

Data Point/Update:  As I posted earlier, I sent in my shareholder OBC request for my three 2024 cruises this morning.  Two out of the three have posted.  No idea why the middle cruise did not get the SOBC.  The only thing I can think of is that that one is a Travel Agent booked cruise.   I'll resend the missing one in the morning, just in case the three separate emails sent in quick succession somehow confused someone.  My MOBC is currently intact across the same three cruises.  Now i guess I wait until the 29th of June, and see what happens.

In a Hail Mary attempt, I've sent in my share statement for my 3 cruises in 2024.  I'll report back if the SOBC is applied (I already have my MOBC attached), and if the SOBC sticks after the 29th of June.  I think this is the farthest out I have requested SOBC.  

In reply to some of the above comments, I have not gotten official notification about MOBC or SOBC changes either.  If I were not a reader of Cruise Critic I'd have been none the wiser to this supposed upcoming change.  Their upcoming changes like this or to Loyalty benefits that are "quietly" implemented is not a good PR move for Princess.  YMMV

3 hours ago, nini said:

We disembarked the Sky last Saturday. This light was quite annoying to us as we live in a tiny town on the coast with basically no street lights. Yikes! DH used the card on the desk which notifies one about the plug adapter and used that to cover the sensor. Apparently our mediocre at best cabin steward did not like that so he removed it. Well, so we "reinstalled" it when we were in the cabin for the night and removed it when we left the cabin.

If needed during the night, we just use our cell phone to light the way.

Oh............ then there is that stupid light under the nightstand!!!!! Good grief!!! Well, a pillow from the loveseat next to it on the floor works well.

Same re: living in a small town with limited street lights.  And using phone for lighting if needed at night.  I like things dark to sleep. 

I cruised on the Crown last November, and I stuffed a towel in the side table toe kick area to stop that light.  The closet light is a new to me thing, so I will be figuring that out in July, also on the Crown.  I am bringing painters tape to assist with achieving no randomly turning on lights. 

1 hour ago, Mud_Shark said:

Got a rejection email today from Princess.  Sent off several requests for shareholders OBC on Friday as soon as I read that effective June 29th it would no longer be combinable.  I was hoping up until then they would still do it - but NOPE!

 

Good day XXXXXXX!

 

We have received your request for the Carnival Shareholder Benefit to be applied to your upcoming cruise on (Date erased) on the Enchanted Princess and on (Date erased) on Regal Princess.

 

Please be advised we are unable to apply the benefit as it is not combinable with the Military Benefits you are currently booked under.

For further assistance please contact reservations at 1-800-Princess.

Good to know, but ugh! to this change.  I was fully counting on being able to have both OBC for my cruises next year, especially since I did not book Princess Plus. 😡   My travel friend doesn't drink, so when booking thought cruise only was best.  

7 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

FYI if you're over 50, you can also purchase Princess Gift Cards from AARP at a 10% discount to help pay for your Princess cruises. So there is also that huge benefit when booking a Princess cruise to consider before moving on.

Thanks.  I'm already a partaker. 😉  10% is better than nothing.

I am curious to see if it is one OBC/per type/per cabin especially since I cruise with unrelated/different households friends as opposed to couples.  I would fine to just keep military, and allow my friend to keep her shareholder if we both can have our OBC.  In the past we have "shared" the shareholder, split it, so we both would have some OBC instead of one having it all.  Of course, we didn't have to do that but when they decided there could only be one shareholder OBC per cabin we decided to do that.    Come on Princess, send out a proper notification so us planning types can decide if we are staying, going and/or dumping stock.  LOL!

The only reason I have been booking more with Princess is for the military and shareholder OBC.   I am disappointed they have decided to go this route.  I am hoping to get my shareholder OBC attached to my 2024 cruises soon, and hope that that sticks when the new notice date rolls up.  

58 minutes ago, junebug61 said:

How difficult is the hike to Nugget Falls from the visitor center for someone that has to use a walker? Does anyone know if the Blue Bus can accommodate a person needing a walker?

The trails out to Nugget Falls are all smooth, and mostly paved.  It is a fairly level hike with a few graded inclines/declines, but not steep at all.  I would suggest contacting the Park services to inquire, doing a general search to see if anyone else had reviewed that in the past. 

I do recall that the Blue Bus requested those needing assistance sit in the front of the bus seats, though I don't know (did not see) where they would place the walker.  Does the walker fold up?

41 minutes ago, Ellipooh said:

I’ll get on board with this offer, I still have a few grand owed on my 2024 cruise. Ten percent is 10 percent!

 

But reading over the T&C, I don’t see what happens to gift card funds that are applied to an existing booking, when that booking is subsequently cancelled prior to Final Payment. Does anyone know for sure?

In the past, with a canceled cruise, they send the funds back to the gift card/s.  It is annoying to have to go back to check they refunded to the correct card.  I had an issue when both my friend and I used gift cards to pay for a cruise.  Now I keep track of card numbers used to pay for what part of which cruise.  Princess did eventually get things sorted after I pressed for someone to dig deeper.

28 minutes ago, SKCruiser007 said:

My thoughts on why a TA may not accept gift cards purchased through AARP: While there is almost flawless redemption of gift cards at Princess, it is not always easy for travelers to set up the online account at AARP, then purchase the cards. Sometimes, everything works fine, many times it does not. The TA is quite powerless, and has to rely on AARP and the traveler to figure it out. Sometimes, it never gets fixed. So, the client is unhappy, and the TA can't do a thing about it. The commission is not affected by the use of gift cards, no matter where they are purchased, though.

I kind of disagree.  Anyone who wants to buy these AARP gift cards should be fully aware of the steps when buying/using.  This includes checking the balances before they send them off to their travel agent. And troubleshooting if there is an error.  

FWIW I had an issue with buying a Princess gift card from Princess' site a couple years ago.  I followed the info found on the website to correct that issue.  Problems can even happen when you go to the grocery store and buy gift cards.  If people don't understand how any of this works, then they shouldn't participate. 

/end of my probably unpopular comment

5 hours ago, Jersey42 said:

FYI - Here was part of his explanation when I asked about why he treated the cards from AARP differently from cards issued directly from the cruise line.

On the AARP gift cards, many cruise lines do not pay agency commission. So if an agency is accepting the cards, they lose the commission on the gift card portion. They accept the gift cards to keep the client and make some money. 

 

This still makes no sense to me.  How do they distinguish between an actual Princess gift card, and a Princess gift card bought from AARP? I am not arguing with you, but the logic (in my brain) is not following a clear line of "if this, then that" progression.

2 hours ago, Cbtours said:

That’s great to hear then. I had read the opposite in researching prior to our trip as far as I’m aware.

we definitely had plenty of time to hike to the falls then come back to the visitor centre with a good look around plus watch the short very interesting movie.

we had two hours there.

That's fair.  It does depend on the cruise line, port timings, and their excursions.  The one I took ages ago allowed for about 1.5hrs, which by the time we figured out about the falls, after the visitor center, and the closer viewing trails, it was too late.  Perhaps cruise lines have changed their approach, and now allows much longer. 

10 minutes ago, bookmomoftwins said:

How much time should you allow to go from the visitor center to the glacier, explore and go back?  Trying to figure out if we can squeeze in doing this on our own after a whale watching tour.

The falls are about 1.5 miles roundtrip from the visitor center.  A few hiking sites recommend at least 45mins for the hike depending on your pace.  I did it on a very fast, about an hour, (do not recommend) walk last year due to my own scheduling fubar. LOL!  To fully enjoy the center, and the hike reading the signage, and taking pics maybe you could do it in 2 hrs?  Not many people seem to leave the visitor center area, so the hiking trail to the falls is rarely busy, in my experience.  Of course that depends on the cruise ship schedule of tours and going before or after the big rush. 

11 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

I have to ask, were the first 8 numbers on the card you purchased directly from Princess 31046900?

 

Yes, exactly the same.  

20 hours ago, Cbtours said:

We booked through the ship and had a fantastic driver who was both knowledgeable and very funny! We were dropped right at the visitor centre whereas I believe the blue and white regular transport drop you quite a way from the centre.

That is not quite correct. I used the blue bus at the port May 2022, and they drop off/pick up from a parking lot/loop about two blocks/500-800ft from the visitor center. It's a flat walk from the lot to the base of the visitor center.  Also ship excursions don't always allow you to spend as much time at the park to be able to hike to the falls.  I've done both and will never take the ship offering again due to the time constraint.  YMMV