pthjudy

I know this should be posted in a different forum but I always expect a great response from the Princess boards. We are taking the Ruby out of Seattle to Alaska on June 1. We have 2 nights at the Westin in Seattle pre cruise. I’d like to make a car service reservation for 3 from the airport to the hotel. Have any of you used a reasonably priced service that will pick us up curbside? We don’t need a limo but something big enough for us and our luggage. Thanks. 

28 minutes ago, chamima said:

 

 

 

Just in case you missed this part of Princess' announcement.

We have 5 cruises booked and received the email for only one of them.

Still, I think it was very aboveboard of Princess to send this out 2 weeks in advance of the deadline to prepay at the old rate!

It was clearly stated, but I must have missed it. Thank you. 

2 hours ago, pthjudy said:

I’m assuming that if your booking comes with free gratuities as my June 1 Alaska on the Ruby does, this rise in price does not impact me. At least I hope so. 

It made sense that free equals free but one never knows.....Remember the coffee cards that had no expiration date until they didn’t.  And yes it is June 1.

On 4/26/2019 at 12:50 AM, Princess Cruises Fann said:

Princess Cruises will increase its daily gratuities charge on all voyages departing on or after May 21, 2019. 
 

The daily gratuity amount will increase by $1, and will be as follows: 

Interior/Oceanview/Balcony -- $14.50 USD per guest, per day  

Mini suites (including Club Class) -- $15.50 USD per guest, per day 

Full Suites -- $16.50 USD per guest, per day 
 

PC_GratuityincreaseletterDraftV2.pdf 200.52 kB · 241 downloads

I’m assuming that if your booking comes with free gratuities as my June 1 Alaska on the Ruby does, this rise in price does not impact me. At least I hope so. 

We will be on the Journey on 10/27/19, having been 10 years since we last sailed Azamara. I want to maximize the enjoyment of all the ship has to offer by knowing what shouldn’t be missed in all categories such as venues, events and foods. This is a very port intensive cruise so any suggestions would be very helpful. Thanks in advance. 

We are thinking about booking Marina in October which happens to be the last cruise before refurbishment. I am a bit wary of what services might be impacted. Has anyone been on an Oceania Cruise right before she got her makeover? Did you notice any differences? Thanks. 

My favorite is served at lunch but not on every cruise. It’s a chocolate pecan pie served with vanilla ice cream. I am usually very calorie conscious and rarely have dessert with lunch but this pie is too good to be ignored. 

37 minutes ago, LarryL said:

I think booking and being open to cabin changes can be advantageous. On our upcoming, 17 day, TA cruise we started with an inside guarantee and decided to upgrade if the opportunity came up. We had intended to stick it out to see if we could survive an inside but changed our minds.  We waited patiently and have, since, upgraded to an aft balcony for $400 each. We couldn't be happier. Normally we book early to get the cabin we want. This time we changed our minds and it fell into place just right.  Good luck.

On the two TA we took, we were able to upgrade to balcony. They were both Oceania and those cruises can be costly. Patience is the key word along with persistence. Enjoy your cruise. 

28 minutes ago, Bill B said:

How does one actively pursue upsells or upgrades? 

There is only one way to actively pursue an upsell, and as a previous poster said, if there are none there is no way to get one.  First step is monitoring cabin availability and price drops for new bookings. Little availability and stable price equals no upsells. I check prices and cabins on my booked cruises at least daily. Second step is to monitor your roll call. If an upsell comes in, often someone will post the offer and you can check with your TA about why you weren’t notified. Additionally, calls to Princess about possible upsell opportunities could help but not a particularly viable route. If you are using a TA, all offers come through that office. On our Hawaii cruise in February, an upsell from inside to balcony was offered for $400 pp. (When I booked the cruise the difference was $1200 pp). My TA did not send the offer. I saw it on my roll call. I called Princess and was told there was no availability left. I spoke with a supervisor who put us on a waiting list. She gave us a free Crown Grill dinner for not being able to accommodate us. Two days before we left for LA, we got a call about a balcony that opened up. We gladly paid the $400 pp. Persistence is key as well as wanting to play the “game”. I enjoy the challenge but am perfectly content to sail in the cabin I originally booked. Please excuse the length of this post. As a writer, it’s difficult for me to be brief sometimes. 😂

33 minutes ago, elliair said:

I never  book a cruise to "actively pursue upsells or upgrades."  So I think you made a mistake booking thinking you would get an upgrade or upsell.  In all the years we have been cruising, I only got 1 "upsell" call.  It wasn't even a good upsell, more like a ripoff.  Why not book what you want, the cabin you want and be satisfied with that?

I am perfectly satisfied with what I booked. The differential between interior and balcony  will be greatly reduced with an upsell and I have taken advantage of that on 4 of my last 5 Princess Cruises. My question was how I can take advantage of an upsell offer for any of the segments when I will not be advised of the offer due to how I booked this as one 14 day cruise. I agree that you should never book a cabin with the idea of needing to upgrade. You can, however, leave yourself open to any advantageous upsell or upgrade. 

We are booked on 3 seven day cruises on the Regal in January. We booked the first 2 as a 14 day to maximize the OBC. I usually book the lowest category and actively pursue upsells or upgrades. Well this morning I see the 14 day is sold out. There are many open cabins on each of the 2 segments. I WOULD consider taking an upsell and moving after the first 7 day segment. However, I will never be offered that option since my 14 day is “sold out”. Ordinarily I would check the roll calls to see upsell posts, but the roll calls are not that active. My TA will not receive upsell offers because my 14 day has no more cabins. Princess will refer me to my TA. Did I make a mistake in how I booked those 2 cruises? Any suggestions?

I’m logged in but nothing comes up when checking flight quotes or cabin availability. 

7 hours ago, Mud_Shark said:

Judy,

 

Don't recall the precise amount, but it was something around $400 Canadian per person - which would equate to about $300US per person for the upsell.  It wasn't worth it to us, but for some, it might be.

 

Don

Definitely not worth it. Now the difference is $400 pp, so I wouldn’t even look at it until it was at least half of that. Sometimes the obstructed balcony is offered at a very good price. 

4 hours ago, Mud_Shark said:

We are doing the 14 day on the Royal next week (similarly marketed as 2 - 7 days or 1 - 14 day.  We are in an inside guarantee.  About 6 weeks prior to sail date they sent an upsell offer to a balcony, but we were not interested.  

 

Don

Do you remember what the upsell offer to balcony was?

We booked the Regal in January to the Caribbean as a 14 day to maximize our OBC. Strangely, at least to me, interiors are basically gone, but when I check the 2 individual cruises, there are many available cabins. Why would Princess deny me certain cabins when they are evidently available? (I booked a guarantee.) Also, I am hoping for an upsell opportunity. When should I be looking for this offering for January?

Sometimes with all the new communication technology added on a ship, someone discovers a glitch that allows some type of freebee. A few months ago when we were on Anthem of the Seas someone on the Royal Caribbean board posted that with iPhones you could text another passenger with an iPhone for free. They also said no videos or photos could be sent. Of course the first thing I did after boarding was try it out. Not only did it work flawlessly but as the cruise progressed, I tried texting friends not on the ship and that worked too. Then I tried sending photos and videos and that worked too. My point is that if there is a glitch, someone will find it. Then someone will post it. People on Cruise Critic are smart, creative, and love to share. (My kind of people.)

Much of the OBC is refundable. We will have $1250 OBC for our cruises in January. After tips and tours we will still get a nice refund. 

That was my thinking but wanted to clarify. We received more OBC booking it this way. Thank you. 

This is the first time we booked a 14 day cruise that can also be booked as 2 sevens. It says on our booking there are 3 formal nights. What is confusing me is how that is configured. Does anyone know how there can be 2 formal nights on each 7 night and 3 on the 14 night? Doesn’t compute. 

1 hour ago, diane.in.ny said:

So glad I tripped over this thread.

 

We just booked HI and picked the Star out of LA. Looks like we made the right choice.  

 

Thanks!

We too took the Star out of LA last February. We would choose it again over the other two, although I like the Emerald too. The Grand along with the Island are my least favorites of the Princess ships. 

1 hour ago, Astro Flyer said:

It's been my experience that the OBC amounts from both passengers on the same credit card are combined into one payment so it wouldn't matter who has the credit for onboard purchases.

 

I apply for SOBC in my wife's name for our jointly owned CCL shares however it's issued to me because my name is first on our reservation.  I call Booking Support who quickly transfers it to my wife so we'll have the same amount of OBC to balance with my MOBC.  The reason I do that is to have equal amounts of OBC to pay for pre-booked tours through my Cruise Personalizer.  Otherwise I'd have to call Princess to book a tour to use my credit for my wife's tour.

 

Both ways work but I prefer to have equal amounts to make online tour reservations.

That’s my thinking exactly and why I make that call each cruise. It’s never a problem to have the OBC moved from one name to another. It could be a problem in booking tours prior to boarding. 

Perhaps this title is not totally descriptive but I have a question  that comes up each time I book a cruise.  We always have lots of onboard credit, because we have CCL stock, military, FCD, and others from a Princess promotion and a TA. The military goes under my husband’s name because he is the veteran. However,  Princess always applies the stock OBC to him as well. That leaves him  with the bulk of the OBC,  at least on paper. I usually call Princess and have them switch the stock to my name. Is that really necessary?  Won’t they usually take from one when the other is exhausted? Certainly not a major problem but just wondering.  Thanks. 

We usually book interior and I keep track of the differential between what I paid and cheapest balcony price. Periodically I note the difference because it can change. If an upsell is offered, I will accept it if it is at least half of what it would have cost me initially. Most times the upsell is even better. On a cruise I paid $1000 pp, paying $2000 pp for a balcony doesn’t make sense TO ME. On our last Hawaii cruise we were on a waiting list for an upsell and did receive it two days before we left. It was a quarter of what we would have paid for a balcony over the interior when we booked, so we happily grabbed it. It’s a game that I enjoy playing but you must be well prepared to get the best results. 

I agree that having plan B (and perhaps plan C) is never a mistake. Whenever we fly in from Florida to New Jersey in the winter, I always book a hotel room that can be cancelled for the day we fly home,  just in case. And I have notes all over the place to remember to cancel. What’s strange though is I still look for the best price even though I probably won’t use it. Old habits die slowly!

1 hour ago, thinfool said:

Hope this helps a little....you can use a free fax service like faxzero.com, no printer rquired, and there is no 90 day rule anymore.

 

Cannot comment on operational hours for their fax machine, which is not a machine at all, but is a computer that receives any/all faxes.

Out of curiosity, how did you learn that "not only closed on weekends, they shut off their fax as well"?

First let me say I totally forgot about fax zero which I did use the last time I submitted the CCL documentation. I am kicking myself as I type because it works like a charm and I love to use new to me technology. Second question about how I found out was from calling Princess. I mentioned the weird fax tone and was told not only was the office closed on weekends, but the fax machines not operating. Now to be perfectly honest, we all have been told incorrect information from the reps answering the phone so I can’t vouch for this 100%.