joejoe 59

On 9/3/2022 at 2:41 PM, Aus Traveller said:

In an earlier thread I detailed the frustration of dealing with P&O's VeriFLY system. I shouldn't have bothered. Some practical information about the Encounter.

 

Embarkation - Our boarding was to be at 12.30 but we decided to go a bit earlier. When the doors to the terminal opened at 11am there was quite a queue outside. People were allowed inside in groups of maybe 15-20 at a time. Before we entered the terminal the 'door person' asked to see our E Ticket (yes - P&O still have them). Someone told me that they had to dig out the paper version as the version on their phone wasn't accepted.

 

Upstairs to check-in. No-one asked to see the paper copies of our vaccination certificates. Even though we had taken the mandatory RAT test the previous day and photographed them as instructed, no-one asked if we had taken the test or asked for proof. Other passengers reported the same. Although we had up-loaded photographs of both of us onto VeriFLY, we had photos taken again at check-in. I had the impression that the VeriFLY was a total waste of time and effort.

 

Onto the ship. Outside our room (14303) there were two envelopes. One held our cruise card (yes - the old style cruise card) and the other one held a letter with our dining bookings. More about that later. We went to the Waterfront Restaurant for lunch (open 12 noon to 2pm). I asked if I should check that our dinner reservation was on their system and was told that it would be OK. It wasn't. Our luggage had arrived only half an hour after we had, so now I had to unpack.

 

Unfortunately I didn't open the second envelope waiting for us outside our cabin until we were leaving the room to go to dinner. I had booked us into the Waterfront restaurant for early dining (starting 5pm to 5.45pm) for the whole cruise. The letter from P&O helpfully told us we were booked at 7.15pm, at the Waterfront on day one, then Angelo's, then Dragon Lady (we aren't fond of Asian food), and so on for the seven nights. I decided to just front up at the Waterfront and smile nicely as I said that we had a booking. We had superb waitstaff. Dinner in the MDR is run virtually as the old style traditional dining. We had the same table every evening we were in the MDR and obviously the same waitstaff. However, they don't do 'share' tables. People are seated only with their own travelling party. There are a lot of tables for two, many of them close to another small table, but the staff often don't seat people so close together. Because my husband doesn't get out of bed early enough to go to the dining room for brekkie, often I had a lonely breakfast. On the second last morning I took a book.

Thank you for your great review, I loved reading all about the Encounter. I'm not going to bother with VeriFLY at all now. I have my eticket with barcode & haven't seen any info telling me to use VeriFLY.

20 hours ago, yes!yes!yes! said:

Last night's dinner.

First time we had this menu over 22 nights

Yum! I'd be more then happy with those lamb cutlets, we didn't have them on our 7 nighter.

We aren't cruising then but I wish I was🤢 I've had serious cruise withdrawal since we got home off the Coral a couple of weeks ago.

Next cruise a 3 nighter in October on Encounter, just to see if we can cope on P&O after Princess.  It also makes us Elite finally 😀

4 hours ago, NSWP said:

Thanks, printed all that out and luggage tags. Been up since 4am trying to sort it. I will take the lot plus passport etc. I will still be in the blue lane though won't I, not the Green Lane or Elite lane?

The above sounds easy.👍

They asked us if we were Platinum or elite, so that should help you get onboard faster.

20 hours ago, NSWP said:

Well after careful deliberation and seen a price drop, I just now booked and paid for the 9 day Coral cruise on 13 Sept. Cancelled my Westerdam one scheduled for Nov and got my refund in 4 days.

 

Got my insurance with 1 cover after a load of assessment questions.   

 

Got my cabin number, balcony - mid Forward Cat B2.

 

Now I have to sort out a glitch with medallion did it on web but ticked all boxes except personal info, still in blue lane.

Good on you,  I'm sure you will love the Coral. Nothing like a cruise to lift your spirits. 

13 minutes ago, gbenjo said:

Yes, there will be an option when you do your check in  docs  for currency conversion.
A.  Royal   does the conversion

B. Your bank does the conversion.

I always tell guests that the easiest way to remember this is

 A = awful.  

B = better ( best) 

Thanks for that.  I love that way of remembering 😀

2 hours ago, arxcards said:

There is no panic, just added expense, and Royal converts it at a poor conversion rate. Depending on your card, you are usually better off having them charge it in $US and letting your bank convert. Certainly the case for our card. You have a choice between being charged in $AU or $US.

Does rcl ask how you want it converted or do you have to tell them?

We have a 28 degrees card.

3 hours ago, NSWP said:

The Princess Medallion, but is that really spethial? Get back to ye olde cruise cards.🤣For they are spethial.

We loved the ease of ordering & planning everything on the Medallion.  It was great to be able  to crew chat reception to ask a question,  no lining up to get it answered. 

Do we really need chocolates after all the food options. If you want something chocolate based like cake or a really rich gf chocolate mousse just order it on the app, they will bring it to wherever you choose.

Our tote bag was hanging in the wardrobe. 

I can't wait to cruise on Princess again.

18 hours ago, Tripmode33 said:

We definitely bought spirits through room service on Coral in June. Could think of nothing else to buy with non-refundable OBC. The spirits used to be listed in the cabin directory but seeing we no longer have that, we rang room service. Half size spirits. $20 Crown Royale and $25 Johnny Walker. We packed them to take home as had drinks package. Not sure what other range they offered but all half size bottles.

That's good to know. It's definitely a good option if you don't have a drink package.  The prices don't seem to have changed either. 

23 hours ago, arxcards said:

How long ago did you do get spirits delivered on Princess? We have done it on HAL, but I can't recall Princess offering it.

 

Just the two bottles per cabin on Royal 

Guests who purchase alcohol bottles onboard, in a port-of-call or bring more than the two permitted bottles on boarding day, will have their items safely stored by the ship. These bottles will be returned on the last day onboard for enjoyment once home.

Thanks for that Geoff.

The last time we bought spirits through room service or prior to sailing was November 2019. Just before covid shutdown of course. 

How much wine can you take on to RCL ships, is it just 2 per cabin or can you take more & pay corkage?

Can you buy bottles of spirits through room service like you could on Princess?

23 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

You make a bid, if they accept your offer, you pay and get the upgrade, if they don't accept your offer, you don't pay

Thanks for that. So really you have nothing to lose😀

2 hours ago, arxcards said:

We have never been upgraded. Sure, for a couple of cruises we booked the number 1 cabin, and another couple we elected not to be upgraded because we wanted that location, but we are still zero for lots. I don't know why I ever believed in Kylie-Bell.

 

The game is changing soon for Princess anyway. I figure some have spotted this already, as they are heading down the path of airline business class upgrades. It is not available here just yet, so the Princess page might not display 

Princess Upgrade – Cruise Room Upgrades - Princess Cruises

 

Launching on Sept. 6, Princess Upgrade is a bid-based system that allows guests the opportunity to secure a coveted upgrade - to oceanview, balcony, deluxe balcony, mini-suite and even a full suite, according to a press release.

 

Upgrades will be available initially on five North America-based ships (Caribbean Princess, Discovery Princess, Enchanted Princess, Regal Princess and Ruby Princess), with plans to roll out fleetwide by the end of October.

 

“Upgrading is a popular request from our guests and we’re pleased to deliver a process that lets them improve their stateroom category by making an offer that fits their budget and lifestyle,” said Princess President John Padgett.

 

The Princess Upgrade process is simple—once the sailing is within the Final Payment period and full payment has been received, guests will receive an invitation to take part in the program and submit a bid – they can bid on any stateroom category that is above the one they are currently booked in. Guests can change or cancel their bid any time before it is accepted.

So it's like gambling. Would you pay regardless, or only if they except your offer? I'm not a gambler so don't know how these things work🤔

57 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

I suspect the cruiselines will keep their VeriFLY or Medallion app. It speeds up check-in therefore saves staff time.

I liked using the Medallion app on Princess, usually because it was bringing a drink or snack😁

On 8/21/2022 at 12:57 PM, Matkai said:

Has anyone who here actually been on a cruise and been forced to wear face masks for a majority of the time? 

I notice all comments are from people who say that are going on a cruise with mandatory face masks, or say that they would only go on a cruise with face masks, but no-one is actually commenting from their actual first hand experience.

We can all speculate or guess what we think it would be like, but have no real idea until you we have actually experienced it - I have read many posts on other forums from people who have and I am yet to find a positive comment, many complaining of headaches, being constantly uncomfortable, feelin unsocial / isolated, skin behind ears being rubbed raw, and overall lack of enjoyment the entire time-  with many saying they would not cruise again until the mask mandates are lifted.
 

We only got off the Coral on Friday.  We always wore our masks walking in the public areas once seated at a bar took it off. We needed it to walk into the dining rooms or buffet but once seated didn't need it, they did enforce  this. Out on the open deck they weren't needed. We didn't end up with any headaches. 

24 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

If you don't want to, you don't have to use the VeriFLY app. When I phoned P&O for help up-loading the vaccination certificate,  the operator said we could do a 'manual check-in' at the terminal and suggested that we should turn up earlier. Maybe I'm stubborn, but I wanted to get the VeriFLY to work.

Thank you 🙂

I really just didn't want another app as it's only a 3 day cruise. I'm hoping by the time we do a longer cruise on P&O the whole covid certificate thing will be over...wishful thinking I know🤞

On 8/19/2022 at 12:46 PM, cruiser3775 said:

It's not the distance or cost I am worried about. I was going to take a taxi to the airport, but now worried that I might miss the 1 pm plane if taxis are in high demand, so maybe the cruise ship transportation might be safer?

When we got off the ship on Friday, we self disembarked & were in the carpark by 7.35am, there were plenty of taxis lined up. We parked at the Port so didn't need them. 

My next question was going to be about Verify.  It sounds a bit tricky. I was hoping I could just show my certificate at the port or do I have to fill in the details on the app. We cruise in October on Encounter. 

22 hours ago, yes!yes!yes! said:

I boarded the same day as everyone  else. On the Friday.  I may have posted on the Saturday commenting on the day before.

I'm usually  sober when I post

I know I'm only pulling your leg🤣

8 minutes ago, yes!yes!yes! said:

I didn't say the cruise was full of drunk people.  I said that on embarkation  day there was a lot of drunk people  by 5pm.

Embarkation was Friday not Saturday. One too many drinks for you I think 🍹

On 8/13/2022 at 4:30 PM, Jean C said:

Look out for the couple aboard who are doing 2 years back-to-back cruising - they were 3rd most travelled at the end of July - Jessica and Marty Ansen (surely they must be getting a bit bored with the constant Groundhog Day?)

I met them they are very friendly 🙂

On 8/13/2022 at 2:26 PM, NSWP said:

Not good, slack on masks and drunks.  What are Princess staff doing re mask enforcement? Sounds like not much, little wonder Covid is still on the ship,! 

 

Drunks on board, where is the enforcement re  Responsible Service of Alcohol?

Ok so I am on this cruise also & I feel that most people are wearing masks & if they aren't they are told to cover up. The staff have boxes of masks  & offer them to you. Regarding drunks I don't know where the op was, but I haven't seen it. I had 2 wines Saturday so definitely had all my senses about me.

Think we must be on 2 different Coral Princess ships🤔

6 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

P&O says 60 days, but our boarding time wasn't available quite that early.

Ok thank you 

5 hours ago, Aus Traveller said:

As Julie said, Coral Princess boarding started at 11am. We are booked on a P&O cruise on 27th August and the earliest boarding we could get is 12.30 but I can't be sure that this is the earliest.

From how many days out on P&O can you book your time please?

18 hours ago, Aussieflyer said:

The 12 August cruise is showing only a couple of minis and suites are all sold. A handful of balconies only.

Maybe they'll upgrade us to a Mini suite 🤣