richstowe

19 minutes ago, Boku said:

On our recent Sky Princess cruise my wife and I wanted to use the casino but couldn't due to the stench of cigarette smoke. Maybe Princess could issue a partial refund of our cruise fare due to not being able to use all the advertised amenities.

 

 

Us too. It was a Sky casino compted cruise. The over 400 members were mostly heavy smokers. The casino was unusable. I suspect they were heavy 🥃🍸🍺 too.

On 5/25/2024 at 2:30 PM, Blackduck59 said:

I would suggest that people remember that the United States Dollar is NOT a universal currency. It is not gratefully accepted everywhere.

It is the closest thing to a universal currency and in tourist situations is accepted as such. As a Canadian I carry credit cards (always 2) and US currency. On Med cruises I also carry Euros.

This is not applicable advice when spending significant time in a specific country or in the countryside but certainly works for cruisers. 

On 5/25/2024 at 2:30 PM, Blackduck59 said:

On our voyage next year we will be dealing with at least 5 different currencies including Canadian and US. 

At least 5?  Wow.

3 minutes ago, Panhandle Couple said:

Well, $22 * 4000 passengers (BA/BA+) = $88,000.  Eliminating a Broadway show probably saves a lot more than that.

Except they don't get rid of a show. They eliminate paying royalties on a brand name show. Even a no-name show pays music royalties, staff, and production costs. I have no idea if the difference between the two is 88 thousand a week. But that's getting into the weeds. My point is that Norwegian has always been "laser focused on cost management" and this is just more on more cuts.

16 minutes ago, Panhandle Couple said:

Per passenger = 16,500/737 = $22.39 per cruise

Your point? If it's that 300 million translates to only $22 per cruise I'd say there are lots of ways the experience can be lessened for that amount. For instance, how much does eliminating Broadway shows save them? I'm betting much less then that.

Mark Kempa, CFO of Norwegian Cruise ,“Let me be loud and clear. We are laser focused on cost management,” with a goal of $300 million of savings over the next three years.

I'm sure they will. Sounds like a promise of more cost cutting and treating their customers like a piñata.  

I wish the casino's were non-smoking but have never found them to be stinky on boarding. They've had many hours to air out. You must be very sensitive. 

13 hours ago, Knickearth said:

Are you saying that my stock applied to my April trip will show up automatically for my October trip?

Your proof of stock ownership and personal info are already in the app. Applying for the October booking should be easy, just putting in the new booking number and date for this cruise.

I applied yesterday at 5 PM. It took 5 minutes as they already had my info.

At 4 AM Stockperks emailed to say that the OBC had been credited to my onboard account and it was. Fantastic.

On 5/3/2024 at 2:20 PM, voljeep said:

Mini "suites" - nothing "suites" about it - OK - tub/shower combo, and a bottle/half bottle? or wine - and the couch

 

Princess blew it, again ...

I'm sorry you were disappointed that a mini-suite isn't actually a suite and never has been on Princess or any other cruiseline ever. Perhaps you should find the brand where mini-suite's are anything but slightly larger balcony cabins with an extra amenity here or there. 

All I need to know, I hope. Thanks

1 hour ago, d9704011 said:

Sure.  But if two people want to be able to access internet at the same time, that's not an option.  Why not simply suggest taking an internet break for a week or two and eliminate the access issue entirely?

So your advice is no internet rather then sharing? Thanks.

1 hour ago, d9704011 said:

Don't you find that many of the 'solutions' to problems/issues offered on these threads often ignore or dismiss what the person actually wants to do?

Sure do. Thanks

On 3/8/2024 at 5:14 PM, Princess Chatterer said:

You can take turns.   Or simply log on with DW's device and the Princess system will automatically boot your device.

Exactly. DW and I switched back and forth on the Sky. Worked great and the speed was impressive.

We did not bid for an upgrade on our recent Sky cruise previously booking a deluxe balcony guarantee because it was cheaper then choosing a regular balcony. I figured we couldn't lose. We waited and waited receiving our cabin only 60 hours before sailing but the wait was worth it as we got a great premium deluxe balcony. This was a savings of more then $400 for us from original booking time. 

Very glad we didn't bid.

On 3/6/2024 at 6:40 AM, BaldiePete said:

Thanks everyone. I’m just trying to get it straight in my head so I don’t make unnecessarily expensive decisions. 

A true Scotsman. 😁

On 3/13/2024 at 2:03 PM, masonchar said:

I just finished my 5th phone call to Princess.  Have spoken to 4 different people.  Each person telling me in 1 or 2 hours a supervisor will call.  This has been going on since 9am.

Any news?

1 hour ago, masonchar said:

I will do an update when I hear back.  They said 48 hours ... so we will see

You sound like you are doing what you should. You should have specific cabins in mind when they get back to you specifically a better OZ cabin.

4 minutes ago, memoak said:

It makes a difference when someone keeps hitting 17 ‘s against a 5 and takes my 10 when I am doubling on an 11

So you believe the cards you get are negatively affected by prior cards? If you believe in odds, eventually the positive will balance out the negative. Bad play should make no difference. Short term it can just as easily help.🃏

We were on the Sky last week. Great cruise except for the smoking in the casino. It was a special cruise perk for heavy gamblers, supposedly 450 of them. Who would have guessed that heavy gamblers are also heavy smokers (and drinkers and eaters)? First time in many cruises that I didn't gamble at all.

On 3/9/2024 at 1:34 PM, memoak said:

All the so called casual players with “hunches” keeps us off the blackjack tables

Why? Dumb play has no effect on your cards. Bad players can be ausing

On 3/9/2024 at 5:02 PM, ocfafc said:

Can I still use onboard credits to cover casino chips?

 

Just got off the Sky. We had extra OBC and deposited $100 into the slot account and cashed out after 2 spins. Very easy.

17 minutes ago, OlsSalt said:

My favorite mismatch was the eastern european couple who  were obviously acting out some sort of marital difficulties on stage.

Oh boy . I'd pay to see that. DW would pay to not see that.

Minimum of 8 Cdn which after tax and tip converted to US is you guessed it, $8 . This was the cheapest I found

Well another cruise changed. Our March 2 , Roatan March 5 , has had our Mahogany Bay changed to Coxen hole . We like West Bay but were looking forward to MB.

On 1/20/2024 at 8:16 AM, worldtraveller said:

We were moved to CH in December.  Took over 20 minutes just to get out of the port due to all of the traffic and narrow road.

Yeah, I remember taking a private tour in a mini-van and the big buses were horribly stuck in traffic . We got to West Bay an hour before the cruise-ship tours.

On 1/20/2024 at 9:33 AM, Tonsoffun44 said:

CH to MB is 5 miles EACH WAY - problem is narrow one lane roads make it take awhile. Not sure they'll let CH passengers into MB even if it is a ship excursion. 

I was wondering about this.

Did you ask for faster service? I've found that if you tell the wait staff your desires up front , they will do their best to accommodate you . I've rarely been disappointed.

9 hours ago, dweeb said:

Carnival Corp is doing fine paying down their debt.  Here's an article that shows they are ahead of forecasts on paying it down.  It is still a large amount, but it is manageable.

 

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/carnival-corporation--plc-reports-record-fourth-quarter-and-full-year-revenues-with-continued-strong-bookings-and-earnings-momentum-302020638.html

Given this is CCL's spin on their financial position , not an analyst's, I'm not convinced that the company future is assured. Are occupancy rates above 100% reasonable long-term or even mid-term ?

10 hours ago, AE_Collector said:

Sitting here feeling a little ticked but mainly just sad. I think our days of “big cruises” is quickly coming to a “big end”.

Internet was $5, then $7.50 and now $12.50. We are in the tempted to go without it category but with 80 and 90 year old parents still living on their own and young grandkids who are nice to be able to video chat with and a small business at home that “almost” runs itself, we feel we need internet. Have been sharing one single device plan between two of us to date but see no other options going forward

So this is the straw that broke the camels back ? I'm not sure why. At 6.25 a day, as you share a single plan, it isn't much of a burden especially as Starlink is supposed to be much better then before. Everything has gone way up but at least this is a better product. I can't say the same for my AC flights, gratuities, pre-cruise hotels and on and on.

All cruise costs have  exploded but the 60% jump here is huge so I get your annoyance.