Steelers36

I'll have mine with no almond slivers and no sprinkles. Don't like mixing nuts and ice cream. PS - @Lucky TGO. I knew yesterday that you would be posting the photo as soon as I read someone mentioning the dessert!! Hope you are doing well, T.

I have posted several times that I believe - for the most part - that Princess has been keeping one DR out of DMW. IDK why as they never explain what they are doing. It could be to help the ships manage walk-ups better. It could be to help the DR Mgmt set guests up with same table/waiters who want that (because DMW cannot do it). I am not certain if the third DR comes available for booking once you are on board, or if it is kept for what I suggested. I am not sure if the same for all ships, but the one the keep out could typically be the same one they setup the Reserve Dining in, while the remainder of the room is for regular dining. I have seen this behavior myself back in 2022, but I have no inside info as to the rhyme or reason for it. ETA: Forgot to mention, but you are not alone and many members have posted here about seeing the same thing in DMW.

It was really tongue in cheek because I really doubt they would be inclined to do that. Maybe we could figure out a way to deem it political or Covid-related. Then the posts would be quashed in a minute.

In that case, you are on the "new" Premier at $80 rate and will have all the new baubles to enjoy.

How many DR's can you see in the App? Most ships have 3 DR's and it has been apparent for some time, that their may only be two of the three loaded into DMW pre-cruise. If so, there is a whole DR available on board for bookings - unless they are using it strictly for walk-ups. Otherwise, see DR Host or Mgr on Day 1 early and make request and they can probably get you set up.

X guests must be drinking like fish to get their money's worth.

Maybe they thought you were American/Canadian.

IMO, this topic should be banned like discussing TA's by name. Have to belong to the secret handshake club and get the info on board - just like finding a new TA.

Neither does PCL in their T's&C's.

Sure, but he probably did something behind the scenes as well. Lots of folks try closing app and login again - even uninstall and reinstall - and don't get anywhere. Note all that the App doesn't hold your cruise data. Your phone only has some cookies and I suppose the auto-sign-in data from last session if you didn't log out.

If you don't get an answer, do you have a good TA you can ask as they get all the notices, or they are posted on One Source (agents website).

When calling in to the main Princess number, the phone tree options provide help for Ocean Now, DMW and so forth.

When did you book and what did you pay for adding on Premier? If it was on/after Dec 14 and you paid $80/pp/day, you are good to go. If not, you are missing out on the new additions and need to decide if it worth upgrading to the new. Most folks have posted not worth it to them.

Again, I suspect the BB was including Plus in their base fare. IDK about 12 months ago, but you cannot even find Standard Fare on their website based on me checking your WC example yesterday. As much as I am not interested in booking with them, I really have difficulty believing any agency is selling cruises for a higher list price than Princess - doing apples-to-apples voyage matching.

Happy to be a cc Deadbeat.

YGIAGAM. I think we will get additional clarity shortly after Aug 12 when a lot more ship come online with the changes and we get some live reports.

All I can say is, if you have a reservation, they should not be giving away all the tables before 6pm as you won't be the only ones. I would also think that for a sharing table, you will have no issues. Understand, however, that you won't be sharing with the same group of guests each night, nor be with same wait staff. You may be able to get the latter if you ask DR Host or Mgmt on first day.

I don't book the packages. We book Standard and have other benefits and also don't drink much from bars and bring my own wine. Based on your post, I would recommend you get the Plus for the required two adults minimum and not get it for the kids. It is optional for 3rd and 4th passengers if you are sailing in a single cabin.

Permanently? There was some thought that the system needed updating and so was taken down. Ordering via TV was mentioned in the PCL webinar on these changes. IDK anything else however.

Yes, I do recall that, but forget the context and if it was just an example. I don't imagine they would be discussing exact commissions in a webinar because I don't believe all agencies make the same rates from Princess as I am sure volume has a lot to do with it.

That is true and I was thinking of my reply to Ellie who is in NJ when I responded, but the poster has done a reply to the OP, so I did make a confusion there in my post. Thanks.

IDK if that is exactly true and have not seen any of our TA members chime in to confirm or refute. What could be happening here is similar to when many guests state their discount is X% and they have looked at the total cruise fare. So they find they are saving different percentages, depending on the voyage, but it is really the same percentage all the time. The actual discount is calculated by the agency's discount percent against only the commissionable cruise fare. There is a fixed dollar amount per day of non-commissionable fare (NCF). So, it is easy to see that the commissionable portion is much greater on balcony and mini's than an inside, for example. Similarly, the Plus and Premier fare packages are just adding on more commissionable dollars, with no portion as NCF. PCL subtracts the NCF from total cruise fare to payout whatever it is to the agency. But if one looks at the commission over the total cruise fare, the percent is going to seem higher because, as the fare increases with Plus and Premier, more of the total fare is subject to commission. All this said, it could be that agencies do earn more points or whatever they get towards more income by selling more Plus and Premier. I have no idea, but I can see where there could be some additional incentive to sell with packages included.

Yes, that is annoying IMO - that Standard is completely hidden (as far as I can tell spending a couple of minutes shopping the WC from FL that you mentioned). Looks like a customer needs to call in to an agent to book Standard Fare. The agency with the 3-day sale in summer presents all fare options in their booking page. Same with the two agencies I would work with. PS - I saw this post after replying to the one above in #326.

I hear that a lot of agencies present the Plus option upfront and you have to ask or hunt for Standard. It's all part of selling the packages.

Unfair comparison. And it should have set off alarm in your head that something must be wrong. Your Princess quote is Standard. BB is defaulting to Plus (I understand a lot of agencies are doing this "trick" in order to lead customers into the packages, which they may or may not want). No doubt they will book a Standard (perhaps reluctantly - IDK). They are also gearing their presentation to cabin selection, so that doesn't align with the bottom PCL quote which is the lead-in GTY. I'd say that a closer examination is they are selling same as PCL, but adding on a perk or two, plus that BB Shop Card which is in lieu of the cruise discount. The $23,400 seems a bit off, but using that number, I would get 3% off the cruise fare using FCD's. Then, working with the net difference, I would say my TA discount would be ~$4,782 combined. I noticed that BB was offering $4,110 cash-back via BB Shop Card (hopefully without an expiry date). Not quite there and I'd rather having my savings today and not spread out over time with free purchases. But it does beat PCL no question and it suits some folks, so that's all good.