K D cruiser

I have been trying to redeem points for over two weeks.  I get the same error message which says to try again.  I'm going to try calling them.  I've never had a problem redeeming points online. 

I have a Princess charge of over $4,000 which I want to use before it expires next week.  Are they doing this on purpose because it's about to expire?   

It may be time to switch to a different card.

We've taken our two grand kids on cruises before, but they always shared a room with us.  They are now 15 and 19.  Are they old enough to share their own room on Princess?

Thanks for any info.

Does anyone know if you can purchase a ticket for the Cartagena Ho Ho bus at the dock or do you have to buy it through Princess? 

On 7/26/2019 at 5:29 PM, sherryf said:

You have it backwards.  The left side is best when going up. (Left while facing the front of the train.) Since the train doesn't turn around, the same side is still best going down, but as others have said, they make you switch sides at the turnaround point on the round trip.

That's why I asked the experts on cruise critic.  Thanks for the clarification.

We're riding the White Pass Railway in Skagway, roundtrip.  Does anyone know if the seats are assigned?  I seem to remember reading that the right side was the most scenic on the way up and the left side on the way down.   Are you on the same side both ways?  I don't think the train turns around. Any info would be appreciated.  

For anyone who has cruised to Alaska this summer on the Ruby Princess, was the laundry room closed at any time?  I would love to pack fewer clothes and wash a load during the cruise.  Thanks for any info.

Wow, this has been an ordeal.  After speaking with two different Customer Service Reps who said the refund for my canceled shore excursions would go back on my VISA card in 10 to 15 days, I waited over three weeks for the refund to appear.  I called Princess again on Monday and spoke with a young man who said it would not go back on my credit card, but would show up as OBC on my shipboard account.  Yeah, right.  So, after telling him several times that I did not want OBC, I wanted a refund to my credit card as I had been told, he finally put me on hold and then came back and said it would be a credit on my VISA card and it showed up today.  I was afraid if I boarded the ship, checked my account, the OBC would not be there and good luck explaining this to the passenger services desk. I'll be very hesitant to pre-book any excursions on future cruises.  It's not worth the hassle.

OK, I just spoke with a different CSR at Princess and she said the amount I charged for the tours should be refunded to the credit card that was used to pay for the tours.  She said this usually takes 10 to 15 days because it has to go through the finance department.  I'll just watch for it on my statement and let everyone know what happens.  Thanks for all your replies.

skynight, thanks for the link to the terms on booking excursions.

I booked two excursions.  One was the train in Skagway for $135.95 pp and the other was a tour in Victoria for $59.95 pp.  We each had OBC of $100 for the booking.  Princess applied this OBC to the train which left $71.90 due.  I charged both tours at the same time to my Princess VISA card in the amount of $191.80 which covered the amount due for the train and also the tours in Victoria.  I expected a credit of $119.90 on my credit card which was the amount of the two tours I canceled.  The cruise isn't until September.  I'll call back and try to get a better response.  It doesn't seem fair for Princess to keep my money for several months.   This really irritates me.   Final payment is due July 1 and I haven't paid it yet.

We're going on the Ruby to Alaska and I canceled a shore excursion in Victoria.  It's not showing up on my Princess Visa as a credit.  When I called Princess, I was told it would show up as OBC on the folio when I boarded the ship.  Why isn't it refunded on my credit card?  They're really quick to charge when you book an excursion, but I have to wait months to get it credited as OBC?  Has anyone had a problem getting the credit as OBC?  Thanks for any info.

I looked at that picture.  I always check Renmar's site.  That picture indicates that the view would be the same as the Princess website and not the obstructed deck plan shown in the Princess cruise atlas, which shows a lifeboat right in front of the window in E631.  I just wanted to hear from someone who has stayed in the stateroom. 

Thanks Eaglecw for letting me know.

2 hours ago, milogurd said:

From Renmar's Obstructed View Cabins Website:

 

 https://sites.google.com/site/cabinviewbyrenmar/crown-princess/cabins-601--633

 

Ruby Cabin E631

 

I'm thinking of booking E631 on the Ruby.  I'd like to know from somebody who has actually stayed in this stateroom.  The deck plans on the Princess website differ from the deck plans shown in the cruise atlas.  The atlas shows that E631 is fully obstructed while the web site shows that it just like the Crown and the Emerald with little to no obstruction.

I'd like to know for sure before I book it.  I always thought that the Crown, Emerald and Ruby were identical. 

Thanks for any information.

I'm thinking about booking a cruise in Alaska in September.  How cold might it get?  Any snow?  The last two cruises we took were in July and it was so warm, it didn't even feel like Alaska so I'd appreciate any information.

Does anybody know where the Ruby will dock for the day on our CA coastal stop in San Francisco.  I think we'll be the only ship in port.  Thanks for any information.

Well, this stinks!  We'll be on the Ruby in a couple of weeks and I hope we can request a chair.  My husband loves to sit and read a book there.  As with most Princess decisions, I'm sure this has to do with money.  If you're staying in your room, you're not out spending money on the ship.  With over 30 Princess cruises, we have noticed a change over the years and not for the better.  I'm pretty this will be our last Princess cruise.  Too bad.

I promised to let you know how it turned out.  To answer my original question, is EZ Air covered by Princess insurance?  The answer for me is maybe.  After filing the claim with Aon, we each received a check, which covered the cruise fare, but only a portion of our air.  I called Aon and the lady I spoke with had handled our claim.  She said she would check with Princess and call me back.  After a week of waiting to hear from her, I called again and she said she was sending another check to each of us, but the amount still didn't cover the air.  She said to call Princess and I might be able to request an additional refund.  So, after waiting on line with a CSR at Princess, I was disconnected.  I called back and waited another 45 minutes before receiving an answer.  Princess was going to refund over $1,000, which would be a credit to my Visa card.  I have no idea why.  The amounts don't add up, but it is more than I requested, so I'm happy.  I still don't know why Aon didn't handle the refund.  Princess said I had restricted air, but I had purchased flexible air.  I think the confusion was because after final payment, I requested early ticketing rather than waiting for 45 days out.  I always do that because we fly out of a small airport on small jets and I'm afraid to wait for seat assignments.  I did notice that the e-mails from Princess on our flight schedules went from flexible to restricted after final payment.  Now, it makes sense, since after the flights are ticketed, you can't make any changes, which I never do because there is nothing to change to.

Sorry this is so long.  Since we've never had to cancel a cruise before, I wasn't aware of the flight changes.  Anyway, maybe others have had this happen with Princess refunding money.  I just didn't expect it.

It looks like I'll have to call my TA and Princess.  I just called Aon and spoke with someone who said the taxes and port fees should have been refunded.  That amount was $750.  On the date I cancelled the cruise, Princess refunded the pre-paid shore excursions, plus $650, with no explanation.  I need to find out what that was for.  I've added and subtracted everything and nothing comes out right.  I'll check back and let you know what happens.

After paying for insurance for over 30 cruises, we had to cancel our December cruise.  I filed the insurance forms with Aon Affinity Travel Insurance. I received an e-mail stating that we would be receiving a refund.  The amount they quoted only covered the cost of the cruise.  We purchased our air from Princess and I thought that would be covered also. Has anyone had any experience with this?  I'd like to know before I contact the Insurance company.  Thanks for any information.

We've been on the Star, Grand and Golden many times and our favorite stateroom is E619 on all these ships.  It's between two lifeboats and the only "obstruction" is a few cables.  It's the same view in E620 if you prefer port side. Check out the deck plans, they're usually very accurate.

Who was the Captain?

We'll be on the Sapphire in two weeks with Jo and Rob. We have two old coffee cards. Are we still able to use them?

I'm just wondering if the hand washing stations outside the Horizon Court were added to the Sapphire during the drydock. On our last cruise on the Caribbean Princess, we didn't see anyone using them.

Sorry, I just found the answer:(

So here's our story: We bought the Princess Royal cruise as a crossing that would allow us to disembark in LeHavre. We had independent plans to travel to Paris, stay in Paris for a month, and then move on to Amsterdam with an eventual return to the States on HAL's Rotterdam.

 

The Captain announced at 9:30 the night before arrival in LeHavre that LeHavre would be missed due to severe weather and that passengers scheduled to disembark would receive a letter offering options. We received our letter that offered us a free shuttle to Heathrow Airport, 30 minutes of internet time, and codes that would allow us to use the ship's phones to make international calls. In the chaos that ensued, we struggled to buy air tickets for the 30th to fly Heathrow to Paris. The internet didn't work, probably because of too many users. The phones didn't work. The concierge was not on duty. So I joined the chaos at Passenger Services and was told that since I had not booked return air on Princess Air, I was on my own. Finally a staff person hooked me up to a house phone in the lobby where I was able to call British Air to buy 2 tickets to fly to Paris CDG. Because we have luggage, a low-cost option was not possible. The cost was $1,053. We did make it to Paris, but totally exhausted and stressed out. Hardly the "Return New" that the Princess motto promises.

 

I started this thread to ask what happened to the others. On the shuttle to Heathrow we heard a few bizarre tales of the Princess Air arrangements, of folks offered flights to Paris with stopovers in Zurich, Milan, and Moscow. One disabled couple was to arrive in Milan very late and told to sit in the airport overnight for a connecting flight early on the morning of May 1.

 

I plan to file an insurance claim. Not sure what the result will be. Right now I am not happy with Princess, but maybe my attitude will change if I get some insurance money.

I'm just curious. Who was your Captain?