travelhound

9 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

This is my fear. We have, in the past, pretty much loved cruising with Princess. I fear that the new protocols, unbridled smoking in the casino (GAH!), and our first experience on a Royal class ship (Royal Princess) may combine to essentially "poison" cruising for us for the future. I (we) have become used to a certain level of service, quality of cruising, etc. and I'm afraid that standard will not be even close to being met. I am afraid that the things that caused us to be so very enamored of the cruise experience will simply not be there.

 

I'm hoping that I'm just being nervous due to a very small percentage of unhappy people who are posting. It's well know that unhappy people will speak up far more often than those who are happy. We will have to decide for ourselves when we sail on May 2nd. We are planning to cruise with an open mind and will, hopefully, not be unduly influenced by negative posts.

We have been cruising for over 30 years and have definitely seen a slow but steady downward change to big box mass market.  That said, we still love cruising and try to make the best of these difficult changes 🙂

9 hours ago, memoak said:

However where would the 7 day cruises sail from ?  Seattle does not have the capacity that Vancouver does

That law would not prevent cruise lines from sailing from Canada.  It simply would give them the option to not have to comply with the ridiculous Canadian protocols if they sailed from Seattle.  They would probably do both and then their customers would have more choices, depending on what they were comfortable with.

5 hours ago, Oceansaway17 said:

how did you get a screenshot of something on the phone app?

do you mean you had a computer and took a photo of something.?

 

I hope the emed routine does includes an email that I can send to a printer

Every phone is different, just Google screen shot for your type of phone.

6 hours ago, Mike & Zen said:

Which cruise ship are you booked in for Alaska/BC?  If its out of Seattle, you have the answers already.  Using the easy ArriveCAN app takes a few minutes of your time to get an account, upload passport and proof of vaccination, and fill in the other data when your cruise date is near.  That's it!  Kind of like when Hawaii had their app to fill in, maybe not, I heard of issues.   I see your from Minnesota.  Hockey!  If you are having any issues with ArriveCAN, we are all here to help each other...and try to bring down your PIA factor and soften you up, maybe a bit, eh?😊

How about a more practical protocol like show proof of vaccination or a negative test, but not both. That was the fist step most major venues took, although now most have dropped all protocols.

We were already in a hotel in FL when we took the tests so it wasn't easy to print. However, we took screenshots on our phone and had the app. We had cell reception and that worked.

On 4/18/2022 at 10:47 PM, Myrtle Ave. Mayhem said:

Hello everyone. Have you ever come home from a cruise & not missed it AT ALL? 

 

I've been sailing with Princess 30 years & have seen the changes from being a distinctly upscale British & Italian experience under P & O to the watered down version under Carnival. Princess always held a warm spot in my heart, having sailed aboard the original Pacific Princess & former Sitmar Fairwind as Dawn Princess. The truth is today's Princess is a mass market line & within thier price point offer a good value for the money. 

 

In disclosure I'll admit I'm on the persnickity side & definitely old school in my cruising preferences. My last six cruises were on Viking Ocean. I haven't sailed Princess since 2018. This summary is based on my experience of the April 10 Discovery Princess cruise. My views & preferences are mine, filtered through my perceptions & expectations. Others may have been aboard the same cruise & may disagree with me on some things or completely. Knowing that it would be unfair to compare Princess to Viking because they are different products at different price points, I boarded Discovery with an open mind & optimistic attitude.

 

Personally the ship feels way to big & high density. It felt like vacationing in an urban mall. There seemed to be lots of people everywhere all the time. So many of the small details that make Crown class ships enjoyable are missing from Discovery Princess. Why & how Princess would build ships without fully encircling wrap around promenade decks & observation lounges with floor-to-ceiling windows looking out to the sea is a mystery. The upper deck above the bridge with the bridge wings for forward & side views on the Crown class is absent. It's a shame there is no open forward deck on Discovery. The Vista Lounge is one example of a few lost opportunities from a design & passenger experience factor. With the stage facing aft, there is no wake view. Imagine how stunning that lounge would be with wraparound & aft floor-to-ceiling windows a la the original Pacific Princess! Most of the lounges & bars seemed too small for the number of passengers. The Princess Theater, MDR's, & Market Place/Horizon Court were just kinda there decor wise, a little plain. I know Princess doesn't do the over the top decor like Carnival or Royal Caribbean, but they could have punched it up just a little & taken the visual to the next level. While I loved the blues used in Princess Live, Vista Lounge, & Crown Grill Bar, rest of the ship done up in brown, taupe, & silver looked bland & not a color scheme I associate with cruise ships. The passageway, stairwell, & cabin decor looked like something from the discount bin at Bed, Bath, & Beyond. I tried to spend time in Take Five, but the seating was brutal. 

 

My biggest disappointment was the pool situation. On every cruise I'm a pool guy. Not possible on Discovery Princess. The Wake View & Retreat pools were too small & shallow. Thier adjacent deck space completely uninviting & lacking in atmosphere. Why do cruise lines think adults only want a shallow pool? Just please give us a full sized, full depth pool. The two main pools were stunning to look at with their teal mosaic & appropriately large & deep. The problem was the constant MUTS & pop/latin/reggeton/rock music played at obnoxious decibels. Really Princess, you need to go the QuietVox route used aboard Viking. I tried going to the Elite/Platinum Happy Hour in the Vista Lounge on embarkation day but the music was auto tune pop playing way to loud. For all the years Princess has been in the business shame on them for not matching appropriate music to the setting. The room was empty. On a positive note, the live performances of the production team, individual singers & musicians was exceptional. I didn't like the two comedians with body function bathroom humor. Can't we keep the comedy classy? 

 

The best service on the ship was in the MDR's. I enjoyed the menus, variety, & plated presentation. The servers were uniformly attentive & gracious. The dining room managers really only sat passengers at the table. Gone are the days when they placed your napkin on your lap. I know that may seem outdated for some, but coming from a hospitality background I notice those little details. Our cabin steward made it clear that the room was serviced once daily, unless requested otherwise. Again it may not matter to some, but a detail in the product presentation I felt lacking. Bar & drink service were the other weak link of service. I don't use my phone on vacation except for taking pictures. For all my years of cruising I never had an issue ordering drinks. It seemed clear that they really expect people to order drinks through the app. Usually I'd have to flag down a server to take my order. Often a server would pass my table, see I didn't have a drink & just pass by, not proactively taking my order. Usually once my order was taken, then it would be delivered by a different server. Then that would be it, no checking back later for refills, ect. This new system seems impersonal. 

 

The whole experience in general felt like staying at a corporate chain hotel, not a cruise line I used to love & cherish. Princess Cruises as a product sermed annoyingly anonymous & impersonal on this cruise.

Thanks for your review.  We plan to be this ship for an Alaskan cruise.  Unfortunately I think many of your observations just reflect what is happening with all the major cruise lines.

5 minutes ago, memoak said:

You must make a heck of a neighbor. I wonder why you even want to take a cruise 

I am not sure that I do want to keep my reservation for an Alaskan cruise if the PIA factor is too high.  But there is some hope:

https://www.alaskapublic.org/2022/02/18/bill-from-alaskas-congressional-delegation-would-allow-cruises-to-bypass-canada-ports-again/#:~:text=In 2020%2C Canada stopped allowing,a statement announcing the bill.

1 minute ago, Mike & Zen said:

Yeah, I've read your posts bashing Canada many times.    I thought it was a rule on Cruise Critic no bashing allowed....anyway, as my many American friends have said,  "Bless your heart" and have a great day!

Maybe I watch too much South Park 🤔 

19 minutes ago, bmc alabama said:

I get that you HAVE to do it, just seems a bit dumb to require it for those not getting off in Victoria.  I mean, you have to be fully vaccinated to board the ship, so what's the point?

 

Seems to me this is Canada not wanting to have to be bothered with having it's CBP agents having to do it, so they are offloading responsibility to the cruise lines...

Yup, Canada is a major PIA.  Hopefully they will get the memo soon 🙂

4 hours ago, memoak said:

It will not be until after the Alaskan season for sure. Canada insists on 100% vaccinated cruises and insists on proof of tests. No cruise line is going to give up all that revenue

I would be happy to skip Canada 🙂

5 hours ago, memoak said:

If you want to go to a live theater show here you need to show proof of vaccination and wear a mask

In Minneapolis the major theaters dropped all Covid protocols.  It won't be much longer until the cruise lines are forced to make some changes.

5 hours ago, amby6063 said:

I’m worried about the April 20th cutoff but hopeful that because we made the appt prior to the 20th we might still squeak in? Otherwise we might have to see if we can find antigen tests I guess. Or else buy those proctored ones? I’m going to think positive and hopefully we can get it done on the Tuesday, and if not we have a couple days to get it all sorted out. Can’t wait for true post covid vacations. I’ve had many sleepless nights worrying about testing before our flight and then again before the cruise. 😓

Almost everyone are dropping the Covid protocols now.  I think the cruise lines will be forced to drop these ridiculous protocols soon 🙂

Time for the cruise lines to relax the remaining protocols.   Something like most major venues:  Show proof of vaccination or a negative test, but not both.  Testing everyone is ridiculous and not sustainable.

19 minutes ago, IJustWantToGo36 said:

Without getting into a debate on the merits,

 now that  TSA and airlines are not enforcing mask mandate ,  would you cancel your cruise?
 

Let's keep that as the question ,  without conjecture of what appeals court will do?

A better question would be:  Will I cancel my cruise if the cruise lines don't relax the covid protocols?

It appears that most of the major airlines are dropping the mask mandate now.  Hopefully this will lead to more relaxed protocols on the cruise lines 🙂

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-04-18/united-alaska-air-drop-face-mask-mandates-after-court-ruling

4 hours ago, memoak said:

Cruise lines have to be extra careful. One huge outbreak and all hell would happen. Cruising is much different than air travel or train travel. Vaccinations are going to be required for a long time and testing probably for most of this year 

I think they could move to a slightly more relaxed protocol, similar to many major venues, which would require proof of vaccination or a negative test, but not both.

6 minutes ago, memoak said:

First of all this will be appealed  and most likely be turned down. Also many airports are keeping the ban anyway (PDX is one). And the federal ban has absolutely nothing to do with testing and cruise ships

Yup, but it is a step in the right direction.  Hopefully this will all be over with soon. 

On 4/14/2022 at 3:18 PM, nunuc2000 said:

We've put a hold on a cruise for the end of May, Grand from Vancouver to Anchorage and back again (B2B), and we're hoping to just clarify a few things before we make that final decision. I spoke with a rep at Princess, and while she was trying to be helpful, she was really unsure about some of the questions I have. I'm hoping that the collective knowledge of actual cruisers with actual real-world current cruising experience will provide the info I need 🙂  We *think* Princess Platinum Vacation Protection plan will insure us for the things we're a little unclear on, but not really sure. 

 

We will be flying to Vancouver from Calgary (Canada) on the morning of the cruise. I understand that we must provide proof of vaccinated status (no problem), along with proof of negative PCR test taken within 3 days of embarkation, or monitored antigen test taken within 2 days - no problem for us to obtain that. Okay, here's where I start looking for answers:

 

1. If we have a positive test result prior to leaving our home city the day before the cruise, does the Platinum plan refund us to original form of payment, or refund in future cruise credits, or other? 
2. Let's say I test positive a few days into the cruise - I presume I'll be moved to a "quarantine" cabin.  How long must I remain in that cabin? I assume 5 days minimum? 
3. If my husband is negative, does he remain in our original cabin? Will any of his activities or movements be restricted? Will he be tested more than just that original time after my positive result? 
4. If item number 2 comes to pass, does the Platinum plan refund me the prorated number of days I am quarantined in future cruise credits? original form of payment? Other? Is my husband also reimbursed for the same amount of days "missed" as his cruise experience is negatively impacted by my quarantine? 
5. If I test positive on the second last day of the cruise, I assume the same quarantine protocol is triggered, but what happens on debarkation day? Does Princess arrange and pay for me to continue quarantine at a hotel? (I obviously would not be able to fly home yet) 
6. If item number 5 comes to pass, would my husband then stay with me until I have cleared quarantine so we can fly home together? 
7. Do we need to complete the ArriveCan form for reentry into Canada before we fly home (regardless of covid)?

 

Thanks for any info you can provide - I'm sure Princess is doing their best to provide a positive and healthy cruise experience, but in the event that covid rears it's ugly head while we're cruising with them, I'd like to know what to expect in advance.  We've managed to avoid it thus far, and are hopeful that if we do develop it, our symptoms will be quite mild.  I've seen a few posts in which cruisers have suggested that they would not report their symptoms in an effort to evade any isolation protocols (and effectively increase the risk of spreading it to others in the process), but that's just not how we roll. It will be disappointing if we get sick, but we'll do the right thing to ensure we can minimize the risk to other guests and the crew as well. 

 

P.S. really enjoying the "Strategy" post by Ken the Cruiser 🙂 

 

 

 

We just took a caribbean cruise and had many of the same questions.  Our questions went unanswered, but fortunately things went as planned.  That said, hopefully these ridiculous protocols will be removed, as things continue to improve.

Federal judge blocks mask mandate for public transportation, maybe this will lead to removing the testing requirement for all vaccinated passengers on cruise ships.  It's about time 🙂

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/federal-judge-blocks-mask-mandate-for-public-transportation

9 hours ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

spring break doesn't fall on the same week for everyone in the US. KSF worked for our spring break 2023, because it's during the first week of April. I got Oasis for 7 nights for $2,100. Right now the same cabin is $2,900. OP is looking to book the same week, so it would have worked for him. However, Wonder was still prohibitively expensive that week.

Did you get KSF for the first week of April 2023? That is our break next year AND Easter week. The fine print specifically says it's not valid during "Holy Week".

We were on this cruise too. I asked the shore ex desk how many people on board. He said 4102 so I think there can be a lot more people on board. I didn't think it seemed that crowded but I may have just be in the chill areas. Walk ins for kids club. They never reached capacities when we were there. We left St. Maarten late because someone was being taken off in an ambulance.😪 All of their luggage too. Sad way to end cruise. They didn't announce anything but you could see it if you looked over the railings. 

We loved the ship but not sure if I'd like it with 1500-2000 more people.

You didn't miss anything with kids sail free because they don't, not at that time. We are also sailing at that time next year and my booking said it was eligible for KSF so I called. They said if you read the fine print it says Easter week is exempt and that's the week. We did the Oasis this year for a good price and that was an ok option for next year but didn't want to do the exact same thing. You could do better than 7k I would think but maybe not a balcony on the newest ship. We're going out of Tampa next year for a completely different experience.

With no hostility but complete agreement to pp, we won't be doing MSC ever again either. You can't compare the Yacht Club to experience of the general guests. That is likely a very different cruise. We are doing threw cruises in then next year and they are on three different cruise lines so we are not very brand loyal.

You can keep repricing up until final payment. We saved almost 1k over our original price. However, you have to he happy with your first price because it may be as good as it gets.

23 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Count on Canada to make it complicated and be obstructionist to travel.

 

Note that Option #1 above is a 2-day and not 48 hr window, so has some flexibility.

Note that Option #2 changes from a "day" window to "hours" window.  

And then Option #3 is back to "days" again.

Yup, Canada is a major PIA 🙃

This is very annoying and you'll likely get one or two more reminders. We were on the Oasis a week ago with 1 vaxxed 11 yr old. After you show the card they get a little round sticker that says vax. They won't pull you aside or put you in another line after that. They walk in like an adult.

2 hours ago, pat1975 said:

I saw that they have to wear masks which isn't a problem for our kids.  They wore them so long in school that they don't care anymore.  When we went in sept. 21 we had to make reservations.  Thanks for the update.

In general I think you'll have a better experience over last September. However, they are adding more capacity every week so maybe you'll miss the smaller crowds. We had 4100, which seemed just about right. Not sure how up to 2000 more would have felt.

Our dd wore a mask through the end of the school year 2021 and this year it was optional. She's gotten used to not wearing one so puts up resistance now. She seemed ok with it as the price to pay for the kids club.