cruzsnooze

So I am so your wife and I now know a "new normal" and carefully weigh our risks when it comes to our health. My symptoms are so mild I could have missed them so I believe the vaccine and 3 follow up boosters were effective.

We were in a Fiesta Suite Deck 6

Paxlovid is not yet FDA approved and has side effects. Did anyone who took it have any reaction to it? I am home and my Dr. offered it but I declined although I'm high risk but not really that sick. Sometimes the cure is worse then the disease.

The blame lies with someone of advancing age (I am in that category) choosing to cruise who is aware of the risk. I tested negative two days before disembarking. I got off the Caribbean Princess Aug 31 and tested positive today so obviously contracted it on board. I haven't been out of the house so believe I contracted it on board. The captain announced a major outbreak and many still chose not to mask. I made the choice to cruise so take responsibility for the consequences. I am glad I made it home at least. I had both vaccines and THREE boosters, the third booster 3 weeks before sailing. I have very mild congestion symptoms. Even if everyone masks they are not full proof. The surgical blue masks are close to worthless after 20 minutes but people wear them repeatedly. Only an N95 mask worn properly by all would reduce the risk and even then we take them off to eat and drink. A second choice mask would be a KN95. Princess offered a service and you don't have to take advantage of it. What did they do differently then any other service industry like a movie or restaurant, hotels, buses etc etc...... I's unfortunate so many people have been disappointed and quarantined. I feel for that but don't blame the cruise company.

So why do you keep using it? I got my medallion before my cruise this month without using the APP and all it did was unlock my door or charge my folio IF I tapped it. It was used to disembark and reenter at ports. If people would stop using the faulty app maybe there would be incentive to fix it. You can get the medallion without the APP or a phone. It works like the old cruise card did.

There was no issue, just walk off and go to the bus if you had a transfer or Uber or whatever. The buses were there waiting and it was an easy disembarkation. You didn't have to wait for your color luggage tag time if you didn't want to since it was on deck 6 and just walk off after touching your medallion to the scanner which took 2-3 seconds. There was 2 lines to keep the flow of people moving.

I was on that sailing and disembarked on the 31st. All one had to do is go to deck 6 and walk off. It was quick and easy and people moved quickly through the line. I was on the bus to transfer to JFK by 9AM. Multiple buses went to LGA. Why was the OP unable to just walk off?

Yes you can, I've done it. If you tap the card in the circle it dings green and the crew say OH! They don't realise it works just fine.

Much larger? Unless you're in an owners suite there isn't a big time difference to cleaning the cabins. I'm in a window suite which doesn't have a balcony to clean. The pricy was correct, it's because they can get away with suggesting more. It used to be the same for everyone back in the day but they found a way to increase revenue which many just along with.

$12.50 PP PD. I don't get why they charge different rates except they can. Just because one can afford something doesn't make it right. I don't pay more at the supermarket, movies, Disneyland because I can afford more. I did not ask for anything except the internet credit since we had 8 days with no service. They automatically refunded the port fee for Nuuk and the 2 shore excursions they didn't deliver. There was no champagne waterfall to date. Most of the activities were things like beer pong, hula hoops, making paper airplanes and launching them thru a hoop in the Piazza. There was trivia too. The gift was always a rubber coaster for the winners.

Unfortunately this has been a less then stellar experience. Our tour in Halifax was cancelled then our tour in Sydney was cancelled and we didn't stop in Nuuk. The crew has been wonderful. The food is so-so. It's not a very inspiring menu. We're in Club Class and the service couldn't be better. There has been a wait time since CC gets full and they put some overflow tables in the regular area of the dining room with CC servers but it's noisy awkwardly placed randomly in aisles. Breakfast is in Sabitin's and the service there is also excellent and attentive. The bathroom water is either hot or cold and they have tried to fix it several times. It seems it's the a portion of plumbing effecting several cabins on the deck. Many people we met have gotten quarantined with a positive covid test. The captain announced about the covid outbreak and asked everyone to wear masks. I'm looking forward to disembarking Wednesday and getting home. My next cruise in Nov is on the Discovery and I hear good things about that ship. The two ports we did get off at were Nanortalik and Qaqortoq and were delightful. The people were friendly. Qaqortoq has a population of 3,000 and so we passengers doubled their population. The weather was cold but tolerable. It's easy to see the towns entirely on the walking tours which were lovely. The entertainment was passable. The best show so far was Bravo which was excellent. If you don't get to the theatre at least a half hour early on most nights you wouldn't find a seat. Since the entertainers couldn't fly home from Nuuk we had a varty show that was put together but the entertainers stuck on board as a varity show. Credit to them for trying to improvise. The Caribbean Princess is showing her age not so much cosmetically but in needed repairs. I'm told fleet wide...................... As an FYI there is no more upgraded bathroom amenities so bring what you need. Lotion (in a full suite) is in a plastic pump bottle like what's in the showers. No Q Tips or linen spray or nail files, no blue tote bags.

Maybe he'll put some beef dishes back on the menu.

I always book a full suite. I won't do that anymore. Why start out at the highest fare when I can book a cheaper cabin and then bid less then full price. It will save me quite a bit of money.

Gratuity can be adjusted at guest services. I always make mine between $10-$12 PP PD. They are scalping to charge the same for all cabins since the service is the same and you pay so much more as the category goes up. They don't ask any questions and are happy to accommodate this adjustment. The gratuity on beverages is not adjustable. If you find someone you want to tip extra just give them cash discreetly. People do a lot of bragging how they tip more then the suggested amounts, take it with a grain of salt. Do what you feel is appropriate.

What risk of self serve coffee would you worry about with a respiratory transmission. Everything seems to get blamed for covid. It's not a contact disease.

How do you know most of us have the package. No one I know buys that over priced package.

I'm also on the sailing 8/15 sailing so it's only a few days away. I don't believe there would be a cancellation this close to sailing. There are also several cabins still showing on the web site to book. It depends on how you access the sailing whether it says unavailable vs showing the cabins. It's a web glitch from Princess.

I shouldn't have used the word wealth, it insinuated entitlement which not what I was meaning to infer. I should have used the word Budget or bigger budget.

I couldn't agree with you more about treating everyone the same on the phone. The same is true at guest relations, excursions and most areas on the ship. My comments about different service were specific to suite amenities. Elite tier also get an elevated service when they want to board a water shuttle, a separate lounge at embarkation with refreshments. Getting elevated services for paying more IS NOT a statement about ones value or worth as a person, we're all in the world together.

Thanks for asking, Yes she did. She said right off I'm here to get your gift certificate applied and did it in a matter of minutes. I am satisfied at this moment but I'm still concerned about servicing with my next three bookings. One of those cruises is 16 countries in a month long cruise and there are a lot of little details. I am not going to use that APP and that's my choice which doesn't go with the flow. I sailed with RCL once and NCL once (NCL's not for me) post pandemic and they did not have these issues with long holds on the phone and inexperienced reps. Maybe that was pure luck.

I didn't say I was taking my business elsewhere, I said I was CLOSE to leaving. Princess made good and called me today in response to my emails and possibly my post. Yes Princess knows who's retired or can guess since they have your birthday information. They can assume when someone sails 2-6 times a year on longer more exotic cruises in full suites, pays for specialty restaurants, pays for spa treatments they are probably recession proof. ALL BUSINESS' track your spending, that's what all these darn rewards programs were invented to do. The bean counters know what you spend and market to your spending. You do bring up an interesting point when you say they treat everyone the same. Do they? When I have breakfast in the specialty restaurants I can order off the menu, and the service is elevated. I can order off the MDR menu for any meal and don't have the limited room service menu. Club Class is an elevated service for meals where you can set your pace and the waiters accommodate. My experience is those waiters are most trained and tuned in to individual passengers. When you enter they address you by name and your server comes quickly to tell you what specialty they have that is only served in club class, and what can I bring you to drink. When a suite guest goes to customer service they don't want them to stand in line, we have a separate expedited line, If needed the concierge can get reservations for excursions, specialty dinner, spa and many other services. So is the treatment the same, you tell me. Some areas of course are identical, we go to the same shows, use the same buffet. Years ago when there was only one dining room with traditional or anytime dining things were more equal. Years ago when there was no concierge things were more equal. Money has always bought more services and goods and that's why I play the Calif lottery every week! With all this in mind do you think everyone is really treated the same, I'm interested in reading your prospective.

Are you absolutely certain they are the same category. Go to the deck plans and see if they are identically numbered like B1 or B2 (not cabin door numbers. Sometimes a balcony may be bigger or classified as a delux balcony. If you post the ship and cabins we can look at the deck plans to see if this could be the issue. Did they take the no frills and you were quoted the price with the amenity drinks and grats?

Exactly what I though and why I wanted to get it done now

It showed up immediately on my "print travel summary " page