Luvmyrotti

Good news from my BFF -- another check arrived from the insurance company! They have now received a FULL refund for the cruise fare -- cash, not a credit!

 

So, now we can look for another cruise for 2018!

 

Thanks, ALL! :D

Great news!

Lovely photos. I'm looking forward to the rest of your trip report.

BTW, forgot to say that the suite is a complimentary upgrade!!:D:D. First we have ever had in 60 cruises.

 

Thank you Princess.

Congrats on the great upgrade!

I've never sailed below a mini, so I would take it. Is it substantially more than your OV? Only you can decide your tolerance, but I would take it!

Was it clear to your TA that you were holding one of the cabins for your friends? Were they listed on the cabin? Could your TA have reasonably misconstrued that you were holding the cabins to choose between instead of that you intended to book both (one for you, one for your friends)?

Reputable travel agents carry Errors and Omissions insurance to cover situations where they mess up. While there is no loss of money due to their error in this case, there is a loss of circumstances (e.g. the loss of the cruise opportunity for your friends). I think that they should explore this with the TA to see if there is something compensable here, if in fact there was a clear understanding that both cabins were to be booked at final payment date.

Here's a couple of more things to add to my review.

 

The weather was pretty good heading south. Going north was a different story. The winds were up to 45 knots and the water rough. The pools were closed because they were sloshing so bad. The ship did rock but it wasn't that bad.

 

We were in Baja 601. Though I would have liked a lower deck I don't like the fact that the lower decks have no privacy on their balconies. Baja and Aloha decks have private balconies.

 

One of my brothers and his wife were in C752. He had always wanted to try an aft cabin. He said it was pretty good except that it wasn't possible to leave the balcony door open due to the noise of the wake. His, like all other aft balconies, was a private one.

Your brother's perspective on the wake sound is intersting. We sail in the caribe deck vista suites because we love the sound of the wake. We often sleep with the door's open to hear it (shhhh, don't tell those who will slay me about leaving the doors open) and during the day, I love nothing more than sitting on the balcony, reading and listening to the wake. Different strokes and all I guess.

Thanks for sharing your perspective. I'm disappointed in the idea of planks, as we're northerners and don't love BBQ and while I love seafood, hubby does not, so steamers doesn't work for us.

Sounds like she was really spiffed up though!

I didn't measure, but the last time I sailed in a mini, the tub seemed like a standard sized bathtub.

I have the australia PDF saved at work. It's posted here on one of the 2018\2019 threads.

Thanks, I have seen that. I'm really looking for the west coast and Panama canal schedules.

I got it from my TA but can't figure out how to link her attachment.

Call a TA and see if they can send it to you.

If you do a reply to this tread, you should be able to add an attachment with the manage attachments function (you'll need to save what she sent you to your computer, then you browse to it to attach). If you could share, that would be great!!

I know Coral, who often shares the advance listing of the itinerary release, indicated she didn't have it this time, but wondering if anyone else managed to get it?? I just hate waiting! :p

We left the crown about three weeks ago and the Crooners entertainer was Liam Stewart. I think he had just joined the ship, so I would think he'll be on for awhile. We did not enjoy him all that much, which was a disappointment, because Crooners is typically our spot to hang out each evening. He was a good pianist, but he played songs in odd arrangements, so it took songs that everyone knew and in some cases, made them almost unrecognizable. While I like entertainers that change up the songs a little bit to make them their own, his versions were just not very good.

We ended up spending most evenings in the Wheelhouse with a duo named 2 that grove. We liked them very much.

I just booked a cruise on the regal for January 2018 the c/s rep offered the AIBP to me. This cruise is a medallion cruise.

 

 

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That's great to hear. I think they just needed to work out the kinks.

I typically get OBC that shows up on our personalizer, which is from our TA. She usually advises of this. We then often get some sort of an onboard gift from our TA, like a bottle of wine or a specialty restaurant meal. On our last cruise, she gifted us each a massage, which was wonderful! I would not ask her about the gifts (but do thank her), but do ask if she is offering any OBC at booking.

I do have all of the Patters & after I fully recover from being sick will try the procedure to download them to a photo website to post easily viewable Patters & not only a thumbnail size attachment allowed with the CC system.

 

My wife considered going to the Sanctuary closer to Hawaii however it never got above the low-70s so she didn't go. With showery cool conditions for parts of the crossing, it probably wasn't a desirable activity. Sometimes they promote Sanctuary specials in the Patter but either they didn't do it because no one was going or I missed the advertisement.

Hi Astro Flyer - You were planning to post the patters at some point. Did you ever get around to it? Also, did you take any pictures of the menus? I'd love to see what the Hawaii menus on the star are looking like. We are booked on this itinerary in February of next year and I'm starting some planning and dreaming! :)

Unless you're a fan of strong tasting vegetables ( Zucchini, squash, artichokes) and shellfish (Mussels, clams), I don't see a lot here to be desired. Call my pallet unsophisticated if you'd like, but my wife and I won't be eating here. I'm with those who wondered why they cannot offer fantastic pasta with nice but simple sauces. Everything is infused with items that many people don't care for.

Totally with you!

Carnival.

Ummm, you clearly didn't read my post well. Not looking for Olive Garden.

Why all the weird, "fussy" food?? Why not just some really good, well done (not olive garden or carraba's) traditional Italian dishes? I love a really well done, basil pesto on home-made fettuccini or a nice cheese tortellini in a veal and mushroom sauce. I guess I just don't get a mint-specked tortelloni with roasted lamb and a sauce I can't pronounce.

I'm sure I'll get flamed for not being adventurous, but I really just don't get the need for food that seems to be trying too hard. Just give me a really well-executed dish with a few simple but delicious ingredients and I'm happy.

It's really simple elite passenger should be allowed to eat with club class passengers.

Why should a first time cruiser get better benefits for dining?

long cruiser

Ummm, because they have paid more for their cabin and a special tier of service/perks. :confused:

Thanks for all the replies. Because the insurance was purchased timely, the pre-ex waiver applies, so my ill friend should not have a problem with the insurance company reimbursing her for her fare. I just didn't want my friend who may still sail to have to deal with Princess trying to charge a single supplement (on top of the full double fare that has already been received).

My DH and I are doing a B2B in less than 2 weeks. My two friends are booked to join us on the second half. One of my friends is battling cancer and is not feeling very well on her new treatment. She may not be able to make the trip. Both my friends have insurance, which us private and not through Princess. My friend who is not sick may still sail.

What is the best way to deal with this?

The way I look at it, Princess currently has their fare in full. I've heard that if we try to cancel ahead of time, Princess may try to collect the single supplement from my friend who is still sailing.

Should we wait until boarding, then my friend who is sailing simply tells the Purser that her cabin-mate will not be joining the ship and sails single, with all fare paid to Princess by my friends at that point. Then our friend who is not sailing files an insurance claim to be reimbursed through the non-Princess insurance company for the fare she insured.

What advise from those who have had similar experiences do you gave to offer?

You really need to compare levels of coverage in third party plans vs Princess. The medical coverage and emergency evacuation and repatriation provisions are much richer in the third party plans we get for generally the same price or less than Princess.

We leave on the Crown for a B2B in the Caribbean in just over six weeks. Our passports expire in June 2017. I know we can travel with a birth certificate and state-issued photo ID as back up, but I may just bite the bullet and send our passports off for renewal. Has anyone renewed their passport recently and can share the wait-time for it to be returned?

Sounds great! Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for sharing. We're scheduled to be in the Star fo the Hawaii itinerary in February next year, so like to hear your trip was good.