insidecabin

With £1k travel costs for 3 that is probably not Alaska(more) and not Southampton(less) That leaves 14n med and Caribbean in July(5 months away). Wondering which port was the "bucket list" on those itineraries. . As for moving forward there are options in the UK as the package regulations. You could try to invoke package regulation as a major change but unlikely for 1 port to sea day on a 14n cruise unless that port was a major selling point for the ruise.. You can sell the cruise for reasonable admin fees if you can find someone to buy it.

IN the UK Free at sea does not have any taxes/fees added it is a fixed price 14n is £299pp sometimes they offer at 50%..

Princess have moved the goal posts recently because not enough people were buying Plus or Premier by adding charges for things previously included. some casual dining now charged £15 to use oceannow room service delivery charges no grandfathering for those that booked before the changes We would not take the package at £50/£65 but do when it is on offer at 50% off. it is possible to cruise base fare only and still have good time and not give Princess a penny more.. They will want ~£13pppd service that is optional so you can take it off. Drinks enough non alcohol available without a package and a bit of PAYG if a light drinker. ( we can stick to tea in cabin & buffet & dinner with the odd extra drink) you can take some beverages on with your depending on port this won't get checked. Plenty of included food so all the paid options are optional. (we like to do Speciality so budget for it) plenty of people do it on the cheap, don't drink and stick to the included offers you won't feel out of place and not fitting in. What surprises me is you seem to feel some of this is a surprise and a money grab. Basic research uncovers the costs are base fare, optional service charge(£13) and the two optional packages(£50,£65) that include the £13 service. Pretty similar price structure on all lines even NCL that does not include service in its free at sea package. NCL for a 14n would be (£299+£15.5*14)£516 against Princess £700 they do include a different mix of features.

We are UK and pay £2 for a 30 day SIM that supports 15gb of data also unlimited calls at home and back to UK when roaming. (We use as our main sim at home) We find that while in port some variable time arriving and leaving port and some time at sea we get signal. (When ashore we try to use WiFi to preserve data) Those times are often sufficient to cover our needs with the odd use of included internet minutes to cover out of service period, often asleep, late evening and sea days. You also have to be careful as some part of the Med are close to potentially non included counties, Adriatic, Turkey and Morocco/north Africa are the ones we have to avoid. The sim cannot charge so accidental connection to maritime or not included provider does not cost. If we want to avoid switching to a non included provider we lock phone to the best included one, also handy when arriving/leaving to extend time before the phone wants to switch to maritime. Been known to hang out on high outside deck to extend range/time.

One of the changes to the FAS charges aligned the pppd cost to be similar to the cost charged in the US. More recently they added £50 to each range of dates I think it now makes it more expensive than the US.

NCL have been doing this a lot they were doing 50% on last year's Alaska cruises. We had a 10% that times out end of Jan and still have the Bliss latitude 10%. It keeps the headline prices in the public domain higher than the actual cost to all cruisers. We found they are combinable with any personal Vouchers from compensation.

I understand the Medallion are pretty simple RFID identifiers with an unique ID nothing special. Same as a cruise card but with a battery to work over a distance for the tracking sensors around the ship. Some seem to think they are smart. They are not smart or programmed they are just a unique I'd. Cheap to manufacture and disposable not that green with 1-2 million batteries every year. If they had rechargeable reusable a passenger could have one for multiple cruises. Princess won't be paying Apple tax no way they are near Airtag value.

Sometimes when there is an option of a 7+7 or 14 the 7+7 can be cheaper. Also allows thing like going Premier/plus/standard on one leg and something different on the other.

A new(ish) strategy to try to get people to up their bids. On other lines they try it with "you have been outbid" Only for people to leave it on the table and get upgraded a bit later.

You can swap out the stuff you don't want for stuff you do. With a package the setup is more a convenience than a benefit.

We try to do a round Britain every year, when price is right, weather is so variable it is really hard to tell you get good weeks and bad weeks straight after. Last year we had 3 tender ports missed on a July cruise(made Edinburgh), yet our round Ireland in May was much calmer. For 21 May 2025 Regal Princess Dublin (Dun Laoghaire), Ireland is a tender port, and sometimes Kirwall if there is more than one ship in.

For the upto date information on dock times always a good idea to monitor the Southampton port info at https://www.southamptonvts.co.uk/Live_Information/Shipping_Movements_and_Cruise_Ship_Schedule/Cruise_Ship_Schedule/ This often gets updated before the ships tell their passenger of any adjustments. Particularly useful for those traveling independent because sometimes the terminals change

Most ships get tender support from a local tour sightseeing boat that holds more then the ships tenders, when that is in use tendering can move quite quickly. There is still the tour/priority to get through if you don't qualify. Our last trip(2022) for priority they just looked at the medallion to join the line

Salisbury is a City. Popular tourist stop known for its cathedral. https://www.visitwiltshire.co.uk/salisbury

UK with MSC the premium drinks at booking time is the cheapest it will ever be. Typically around £30pppd on most Euribia 7n sailings. With bottle water and premium coffee included even with 2 moderate alcohol drinkers it is cheaper with the package

There are differences between the ships. New ships(Prima,Viva) the 2 beds are more generous with a decent second room We have done the 2 beds breakaway class. For a solo adult they can work well, we leave the bed set up and use the room just as a bed bath saves some work for the cabin steward. If a bit hard toppers can sort that out. Storage is limited but sharing the main bedroom closets sorts that.

The one real sale item tends to be the 50% free at sea. (UK bookings) I am watching all the UK departures and most did not change price when the 50% free at sea offer was on last week. Prices are currently over double where they need to be so there was room for some reduction.

Major change package travel regulations apply. Don't forget a complaint to ABTA breach of code of conduct. Cruise line is supposed to give the option of cancellation when they make a major change. NCL had issues last spring with over reliance on tender ports on the Star round Ireland and Dawn UK cruoses. As well as the Prima mess.

Sometimes provisions run out on the longer ones. Shrinking wine and beer option have happened to us a few times. Sometimes food items start getting rationed or run out.

Anything bought specificlly for the cruise could have been included in the claim. Eg. an extra suitcase for a long cruise that won't be needed on others. They may reject, but don't ask don't get.

This site has no real Marella presence, a few select words on that other place where a lot more people hang out might get some attention. Throw ABTA and package regulations into the conversation with management. 16.—(1) The provisions of this regulation are implied as a term in every package travel contract. (2) The organiser must offer the traveller an appropriate price reduction for any period during which there is a lack of conformity, unless the organiser proves that the lack of conformity is attributable to the traveller. the issue will be the non conformance is just the accommodation component of the trip other aspects like ports, food and entertainment are still intact, What would a proportion of the cabin upgrade cost and a proportion of the base cost come to?

Anyone that waited more than 14days should put a complaint into ABTA. Breach of code of conduct 3E.ii. Have a good read of the code of conduct and add any other failures to the complaint. https://www.abta.com/about-us/code-of-conduct

Crazy that Strongbow is premium($11) price. it is one of the cheapest cider available along side Magners (if you don't count the really cheap stuff that comes in 2ltr bottles)

Agree redeployment means having to fill new itinerary at short notice. Waiting for the new TAs to get priced. With 1/2 price free at sea and 10% voucher could be worth a punt. Look at celebrity out of Athens( they dropped Israel) Feb/March entry(with tax) £50pppd and they dropped £50 off the 11n options because they can't fill them.

Some ships now tender into Newhaven. Princess seems to continue to use SouthQ. Newhaven is near(20min walk) the Royal Yacht in Leith. Also there are regular local bus(11) and tram connections into central Edinburgh.