cruzsnooze

Is there nobody on the Diamond Princess currently that could tell me what's in the mini bar? I wonder if they do anything different for the Japanese market.

8 hours ago, 555 said:

I suppose lots of people could say the same thing about a standard balcony cabin compared to an inside cabin. 

Not a comparison because the perk of a concierge isn't available to a balcony or  an inside cabin. People can tip or not, individual choices and luckily it's an option not mandatory. 

53 minutes ago, memoak said:

I agree with the concierge but I had thought you were referring to tipping in general on board

I could see why you thought that. I try to follow the custom of the country I am visiting. Multiple articles have been making the news this month about how tipping has gotten out of control. Once in Australia as a newbie I left a tip in a restaurant. The server confronted me and said she didn't need money to do her job. Of course I apologized and learned to do my homework before a trip abroad. That was decades ago but I learned a lesson. 

I will be sailing on the Diamond next month in Japan. I'm curious if the mini bar (as elite tier) is any different in Japan? If anyone is on the Diamond would you share with me what little liquor bottles are in the mini bar please. 

On 3/29/2024 at 5:57 AM, 20165 said:

Does anyone have recommendations or history tipping the concierge on a per request bases and how much per request?  We are sailing next month on Enchanted and will most likely use them quite a bit given we are having a hard time getting dinner reservation, the spa times we want,  and we are going to ask them if they can get us a cabana which i know is a tall order but if they are successful, how much would you tip for that kind of request?

I read online that the recommendation for a regular concierge at a hotel is $5-20 depending on complexity of the request so would that apply here?

And before we go down a rabbit hole, i know some people dont use or tip the concierge, we are going to and would like to try per request this time vs. the end of the cruise tip like we usually do.

thanks

 

I feel that I've already paid for the concierge service by paying a significant price for the suite. This is a suite benefit. No more tipping is how I feel. Tipping is out of hand and I resent everyone with their hand out. 

Most people just go through the motions of washing their hands. My observation is that most don't use soap and water and friction for a full 20 seconds which is required to wash effectively. 

I was on a 28 day cruise last December. I prefer salted butter so asked the waiter about this. Every night he brought a small plate of salted butter to our table. It's available if you want it.

I usually take a croissant or muffin which is not fresh fruit or meat and have never had an issue 

Be careful what you wish for..................A few months ago I bought a Princess $500 gift card and my visa was charged. The gift card was never loaded. AARP would not help. I had to put a dispute on my charge card. It took 60 days because Visa gave Princess that long to respond and they never did. There are a few posts about the problems with gift cards on AARP. It is an a third party vendor so AARP claims no responsivity. There are better places to buy gift cards.

Any time a company changes things and states for customer convenience it really means for the company's benefit. This sounds like it falls into that scenario. If Princess really wants to do something customer friendly they'd stop out sourcing customer service to clueless reps who read from a script.

You will pay $4.99 per order if you don't have the $14.99 ocean now package. The exception is afternoon high tea and the mini bar exchange. I was in a full suite in Dec and the charge was indeed $4.99. Full suites lost this perk of included room service to make extra perks for those willing to pay for it. 

34 minutes ago, masonchar said:

No, that cabin is gone.  And a supervisor checked to see if there was anything comparable left, and there is nothing.

was there a price difference between choosing your cabin or a gty? Usually in the lower category cabins there is not, you get to pick your cabin. 

The Grand does not a concierge at guest services

Full suites pay $5 room service if they use the phone

Only Americans think to tip in a non tipping country. Research the countries you are visiting and enjoy and adhere to their culture. I just got off a 28 night Mediterrean cruise and tips were not expected but a few people ignored the custom and tipped but most did not. 

On 2/23/2024 at 1:15 PM, Rick&Jeannie said:

Bummer!  I've read of a couple of people here on CC that have had similar issues...and it *seems* like all of them involved trying to use more than 5 cards at a time.  I think it may have been @Thrak who first pointed this out...(not sure)

It happened to me and I bought only one $500 gift card so it's not about quantity. AARP did NOT make good so I did a charge dispute to which AARP didn't respond so the case was closed in my favor. The charge company gave AARP 60 or 90 days to respond so I had to wait for that many days to get it resolved. 

There is NO value if you don't drink. There is no value if you only need wifi for one device. Most of the rest if puffery. You can see the shows with great seats without packages and you can get your medallions at the pier without having paid for shipping. The major value comes from the alcohol.

I found the Discovery to be way to big for my taste but others might like these mega sized ships.

21 minutes ago, Daniel A said:

The number of people who also get the key card in addition to the Medallion is so insignificant that if Princess weren't offering it, they might lose whole bookings.  Now, that would be a bigger loss than issuing a key card for use on the ship.  You don't 'turn in' the medallion, you still may need it for embarkation and disembarkation at ports of call.  Maybe @cruzsnooze can confirm if the keycard also replaces the medallion for embarkation and disembarkation or if it is only used onboard.

I had to turn in the medallion at guest services. They did not let me keep both. When I disembarked at ports I merely swiped the scan bar on the card at the machine. The crew looked at it as if it was an anomaly which it was to them. Last cruise a month ago i did use a medallion and kept it in an RFID sleeve which is made for credit cards. The sleeves are cheap and sold everywhere for under $2 a 5 pack. I checked to see if it was effective and my door did not unlock when the medallion was in the sleeve.

23 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

 There are no longer key cards.

There are key cards. It is required since there is a warning for people with pacemakers that the magnet in the medallion "could" interfere with the pacemaker. Princess needs to limit their liability on this issue. I went to guest services and got a regular key card. You still need to pick up the medallion at the pier, they do not have key cards. 

2 hours ago, cnice515 said:

. 

 

My understanding of the categories (thought the lower the letter the better the category...A is best in that category and then B, C, etc,), but going from OW to OY is not an upgrade but maybe I am wrong. 

 

I

OP stated OZ to OY

4 hours ago, karatemom2 said:

And if after everything they won’t give you your cabin back, push for any other perks you can get them to give you to compensate - on board credit, free Plus package etc. Or ask for a real upgrade to an unobstructed balcony. A move to the cabin next door is not an upgrade. Good luck!

Are you kidding? Ask to go from an obstructed ocean view to an unobstructed Balcony, I'd say no if I were Princess. I would consider asking for another cabin in the category I booked or one category higher.

I sail out of San Pedro (which is LA) multiple times a year. Just did a Mexico cruise out of the port last month. It is well organized and simple to follow the diections. I do not use an APP and never have the green line but have sometimes gone faster then them. After security which takes the longest you will be directed to a long counter with a dozen check in agents. You get your medallion and off you go. Easy as can be and fast.

I didn't do any of the "green Lane" stuff and picked my medallion up at the pier in January in San Pedro. The whole process took less then 10 minutes.

I cruised in January out of San Pedro. I don't use an APP and didn't have the medallions mailed for a fee. I called the Ocean ready line well in advance of the cruise and they did all the pre registration. I walked into the terminal at approx 11:15 and went straight to the check in desk to pick up my medallion and was on board in less then 10 minutes. Green VS Blue lane is all the same.

what I hear people are saying is if everyone brings only one other couple with them to share a benefit they didn't earn it doesn't mean much. If 150 people bring another 150 people that's a whole tender full. Sounds like a lot of people to me taking up a seat on the tender which essentially is cutting the line.