RKSue

4 hours ago, dog said:

Got my second bid offer for Oct 29/22 Enchanted. Still too high. Like my cabin too much to bid on any. All categories appear to be available.

So did they change the min bid price? Or give you the exact same deal?

1 hour ago, cruzin4us said:

I can guarantee I spend no where near $10,000 in the casino!    I saw some who do however.   I usually bet between 80 cents and $1.60 on slots (if I'm winning on a rare occasion I might bet up to $2.50).   For me, I probably spend more time in the casino than the average person.   I like to play in the evenings and on sea days.   Slot machines will get you more perks than playing tables, keno or video poker.    My BFF plays keno and bets way more than I do and she never gets as good of offers as me.   My DH plays the tables and he doesn't get good offers either.    That's our experience anyway.   

Also, post covid the offers are coming seem to be much better than pre covid.   Probably has to do with PCL trying to fill up their ships (my guess anyway).     

Do you call them or get an email?  I was on the Enchanted on its maiden cruise last November. I spent a lot of time at the casino. I only play slots. I had bids ranging from .25 to 7.50. Maybe there is something I need to change in my profile?  Just wondering. 

On 9/17/2022 at 4:51 PM, Therese S. said:

We got our upgrade bid offer today for our 15 day cruise on the Ruby.  We already got a great deal when we booked our obstructed oceanview cabin.

 

Heres the Upgrade bid offers:

Oceanview $105 pp

Balcony $470 pp

Premium balcony $545 

We’re debating placing a bid on the regular balcony.  Still a great deal when added to what we paid for our oceanview 
 

Since the cost of Princess insurance is based upon the cabin price, if a bid is accepted, does the price of your Princess insurance go up?  What about the tax portion of the cost?

 

Is the sq feet of living space (not including the balcony) the same as an obstructed ocean view cabin?

 

 

 

 

 

Yes the price of insurance goes up. At least that is what I’ve been reading on Princess web site. If your room type has a higher tax then that will go up as well. Some obstructed ocean view cabins are really obstructed. That depends on your location. A balcony is a bit bigger. If I remember correctly the base balcony still gets a mini couch. That is on the Ruby which has bigger rooms than the larger class ships. The Enchanted Princess has the narrowest doors I’ve ever seen. 

On 9/17/2022 at 1:00 AM, caribill said:

 

 

Have you (or anyone else who has received a bidding E-mail) compared the minimum bid price to what it would have cost to have booked that higher category in the 

On 9/17/2022 at 1:00 AM, caribill said:

 

 

Have you (or anyone else who has received a bidding E-mail) compared the minimum bid price to what it would have cost to have booked that higher category in the first place?

So I did on 2 of the suites. 

 

vista suite cost $4199 pp at time of booking. They offered us the range of $580-1220 pp bid. At even the highest bid it would be cheaper by $500

 

the Penthouse suite is the one I want. Original price was $4499. The bidding range was $880-2155. At the highest bid it would cost me $105 more than had I booked it in the beginning. There are no more suites available on my cruise November 28th. However I’m pretty sure 1 person got the upgrade. They offered the max which was most likely a good deal for them. And the offer went from pending to accepted. Each person gets different bidding scale. If there is a cancellation up to date of cruising they can accept an offer and move you. I’m guessing if it’s within three days you will get a phone call from a 611 area code.  Soooo if you really want one cross your fingers and answer that phone call. 
 

19 hours ago, voljeep said:

"WE" would definitely miss the balcony, sorry ...

 

the difference in a window suite and a vista suite is $300 pp - $60pp pd for the balcony

 

based on "minimum bids"

So the big difference is club class dining. Private dining area and private breakfast area. When I don’t get club class I miss it. You don’t get this with mini suite only club class min or higher. 

2 hours ago, caligirlfashionista said:

The upgrade fairy is still granting upgrades 😃😃😃 I was upgraded  from a standard balcony to a deluxe, same floor midship ❤️❤️❤️ 
 

 

Free 

You go girl. I’m glad to hear the good news. I’m wishing we could get the upgrade fairy for Mom. She is going to be 94 just before sailing. I’m thinking since I already placed a bid they might have the fairy pass us by. 😇😎

2 hours ago, PacnGoNow said:

So, you don’t see the minimum amounts to bid for the categories?

Yes. And no. So when I go to the link it shows the upgrades they will allow me to bid on. None of the upgrades had the slide at the lowest price. Most were midpoint however you could slide it back as far as Princess would allow. For me to go to a Vista suite the starting point was around $680 pp.more. However the slide was at $1100 pp more. I just would have had to move it back to the lowest fair pp Princess would have accepted. On an interesting note I saw another Penthouse rear suite which originally had a lower price slide locked at a much higher price saying something about price accepted. The next day that category was back with a slide you could move lower. I’m guessing that Princess took that offer because it met their criteria for price increase. While it might seem high to some it was still below market value. 

8 minutes ago, vjmatty said:

 

I will call later today when I get out of work.... I have been getting the other emails though and my husband has also, just not the Bidding email which makes me think there is some kind of eligibility selection process.  Also no one on our sold-out sailing has received it either, although our roll call is very small and there is no dedicated FB page.

It could simply be because it’s sold out but I personally doubt it. Usually Princess has extra cabins. They sell blocks to large travel companies as well and they don’t always get sold either. I’ll cross my fingers for you. I liked the old ways. You either got the upgrade fairy or an email offering you an upgraded cabin for a special price. Mostly less than $100 pp. 😞

5 hours ago, latebloomer56 said:

We are bringing test kits and masks. My husband gets a cold 9 out of 10 times we fly, don't want him quarantined for a head cold. We will mask on the plane maybe that will help. The kits are so if the unthinkable happens we will call medicall.

Be safe with what works for you.

So the basic medical mask may not help him stay away from a cold. I might suggest a N95 mask for the flight. Make sure the air vents aren’t pointing directly at him. The filtered air as they call it just pushes the unfiltered air directly to you. Colds on board a cruise are not fun and like any kind of illness is easily passed into others. 

On 9/11/2022 at 7:10 AM, vjmatty said:

I wasn’t getting anywhere with the cruise planner site, so I tried through onesource since I’m listed as TA for our booking….this is what I got. So some of us on our 10/1 Regal sailing are definitely and deliberately “blacklisted” or precluded for some reason. And we’re not on a b2b. 🤷🏻‍♀️

So since you are a TA they have in theory already gave you a free or next to free gift. They want customers to get the upgrades. This is the concept. Not mine. The others traveling with you should be eligible. If however you never got either your comptd room or TA pricing I suggest you contact Princess directly to get this fixed. 

23 hours ago, cyndyga said:

Got a email to upgrade my cabin yesterday for my Oct 15 Enchantment cruise. I am sailing solo so won't bid because I would have to pay double...I have a mid-ship Baha BB class and like the location...I was thinking of bidding for a room with a couch but am not willing to sacrifice location to a bad one of under buffet pool ect...although tempted by the Premium Deluxe as its only $70.00 pp entry bid...I'm on a comped casino cruise so I havn't paid much to start but will probable play and lose alot so have to consider that cost before bidding if I decide to 🙂

Premium deluxe balconies are either on the 10th or 11th deck. They are excellent. Ive had them before. I say try for it. I don’t think you will be disappointed. 

27 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

I typed in the URL and got nowhere.

It should be a link Princess sent you. Ive not been successful with the url. Might be because Princess is doing it by invitation only.  I heard that you can access it from your cruise personalizer but I have not personally tried it yet. 

6 hours ago, PacnGoNow said:

 

So I had the same issue of not being able to bid. The page kept going back to the start. Princess suggested that I use Google instead of IE.  

I have it working now. Cant use my iPhone. Had to check Google as it automatically blocks Princess and the bidding site. Make sure you use a laptop or maybe an iPad or other brand. Go to security settings and check to see if it has blocked Princess or the actual bid site. 
 

I used safari. So you would go to Safari. Then Preferences. On the Web site tabs go over  to WEBSITES. Under General (this is the drop down once you click on the websites tab)  make sure CONTENT Blockers is OFF. Then go to the Pop Ip Windows and make sure the  website upgrade.plusgrade.com says Allow. 
 

you should then be able to bid. 
hope this helps. 

1 hour ago, dreaminofcruisin said:

 

I agree with you that I really like the new way being able to easily reserve and change my dining time.

However, I do have sympathy for those who want a traditional dining experience and it seems like with a little effort, Princess could also accomodate them....

 

I agree. I’m a long time Princess customer. Many many miles. I like having a set time and set staff. Mom is turning 94 and still sails with me. For her and others Princess is doing a disservice to long time customers. 

On ‎11‎/‎26‎/‎2018 at 7:15 PM, SoberJulie said:

Here’s how I begin:

-Haul the suitcases up from the storage room, open them up on the spare bed. 

-Empty my closet and drawers of every piece of summer clothing and shoes I own, throw it on the spare bed. 

-Buy all kinds of new clothes and shoes. Throw them on the spare bed. 

-Borrow some clothes from adult daughters. Add to the pile. 

 

Start subtracting. 

Because my airline only allows 50lbs of checked luggage each, a 10lb carry on and a personal item (I have a purse you could fit a toddler in)

~sigh~

I’m not sure I’m able to learn how to pack light! 😂🤷🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️

 

Not sure if your on the cruise or not. I understand overpacking. I found what works best for me is packing cubes. I am a fan of the Eagle Creek Brand simply because they hold up to a lot of abuse. They guarantee them for life. 

I use one of the small rectangular packs for socks and underpants. A second for bras.

next is a water proof one for my bathing suite. I usually take 2. and also 1 cover up

The next one is a medium cube that I roll all of my tops in. I have daytime tops and evening tops.

The last one is for my shorts and capris. I pack my pants 2 pair (1 dress and 1 lounge)

3 pair of shoes and a cheap throwaway flip flop for the pool.

I always try my cloths on and make a set before packing and pick a color scheme. That helps reduce what you pack. I also will pack items that I may leave behind so I have room for items I will want to bring home. Pack your favorite items only.

7 hours ago, Realmomma said:

Booked a cruise in July  for Southern Caribbean. Sailing time is 8.30pm. What time can we start checking in. Don't really want to stay longer in hotel but may need to for bags etc. Thanks 

While some cruise lines will leave you board around 11:30 it really will depend on the cruise line. Some give you times to check in to reduce the amount of people in line at any given time.  If the ship has cruisers that are doing B2B and your in the US youll have to wait until all guests have departed the ship. Sounds strange I know but there is a holding area for B2B cruisers. The coast guard requires the ship have all passengers leave the ship. If your not in the US then I dont know what the requirements might be. Best to either call the cruise line directly or your TA. Of course the time should be listed on your ticket. Also if your staying in a mini suite or suite the boarding time is earlier than standard boarding time.

On 12/27/2018 at 9:53 PM, hllwdcruiser said:

 

You are right! At first I was just looking for cabin availability but when I looked at the fares for the minis they are going for about the same price we paid for our premium deluxe cabin. So the fact is if we did pay the additional $139 pp we would end up shelling out $280 more than someone booking a mini today at the current fares. It is very clear the number crunchers know what they are doing at Princess. Pretty slick.

Interesting note - here in South Florida the Premium Deluxe balconies are going for a few hundred more than the minis right now. If your spreadsheet is showing California fares they may differ from here.

Stay put but check to see if the price of your balcony has come down. Then have Princess adjust your balcony price to the new price. I’ve stayed in a balcony room with the larger balcony. I’ve stayed in a mini suite. I liked the larger balcony space. And since you’ve got friends with you you’ll have room for all of you to hang out on should you choose to do so. 

20 hours ago, Bdarlin said:

Anxiety !  That is 👍 great.  We are so looking forward to it.  My 50 th bday January 25th and my moms January 26th.  Girls celebrating without husbands woo hoo! She is my best friend!!!

That’s great. My first Princess was for my 50 th birthday. We went a month later than my actual birthday. My Mom almost always cruises with me. I’m now 61 and her 90. We just booked 2 cruises for this year. I love traveling with my Mom. 

There should be a larger wine list. This I’m guessing is just the bar list. Vines will have many more as will the dining rooms. You can buy your wine anywhere and then have it moved to your new location. 

The mixed drink prices are now less than many of the restaurants I’ve been to lately. You also need to pay attention to the brand name of the liquor. Such as Patron vs Jose quervo. 

As for wines go the prices are in line considering they have to move them onto a ship and then store them correctly while on board. That being said you get to bring one bottle of wine on board per adult 21 YO or older. 4 people in a room is 4 bottles of wine. You can also bring extra wine on board and pay a $15 corkage fee per extra bottle. Depending on your wine tastes you could end up only paying $18 for a bottle of wine. LOL. 

The only question I ask of you Hank is the total price savings. I realize I can book with another site and get some OBC but pay a bit more or the same price for a cabin but by the time I add and subtract OBC from price I haven’t found a huge savings. I do know that there are discount sites that buy out the extra inventory for a low price and sell it for less. I usually book direct as I like calling the cruise line and asking about information on my cruise. If you don’t book direct and prices go down you are at the mercy of the TA. I just go a great deal direct from Princess. 

15 minutes ago, riffatsea said:

LOVED our Panama Canal cruise on the Coral!!

We had a suite on Dolphin Deck 9 near the aft elevators.

We booked a year out and the midship suites had already been taken.

We were 2 cabins from the aft elevators and had no problems with engine noise but some noise from the staff pantry nearby.

IF we booked again we'd try to get the suite  one door away(closer to the elevator)

Since we had a suite we also had Club Class dining. Our head waiter, Petros was one of the most engaging people I have ever met!

A few of the special items were outstanding like the baby lamb chops and the surf and turf with shrimp and filet.

We also enjoyed the wonderful made on board ice cream with different flavors each night.

We had a lovely breakfast on our balcony too.

We are platinum on Carnival and the suite perks on Princess just blew us away!!

 

We did find a few things that we think Carnival does better!

Trivia on Carnival is more fact based and on Princess there were lots of riddles and "trick " questions.

Once they didn't even give out prizes to the winners!

We also missed the dedicated Comedy Club that Carnival has since we like comedians better than singers.

Lastly although the service in the buffet was great and we enjoyed the shrimp,sushi and smoked fish, Carnival offers more varied stations daily like

Indian food, Mongolian wok,made to order deli sandwiches etc.

 

Don't get me wrong we were sooo happy with our cruise that we've already booked again on Princess for 2020!!

Feel free to ask questions if you like......

I

hope that you try the Royal or the Regal. You’ll find that the buffets on these ships will meet your expectations on a larger variety of ethnic foods. The buffet area is huge. Also they have what they call Princess live. It’s fun and will help take up the lack of nightly comedians. The space has quite a few seats but they fill up fast. This is where they have a Lot of the fun on board games one of which is trivia. I really enjoy Princess live plus the passenger shows are live on the ship. They record them and then also add them to the tv menu. Both ships are Medallion class ships which is a favorite feature of mine. Texting to friends and families is free while on board. Adding to your calendar an event you don’t want to miss or forget is a great feature. Princess patter on your phone is also another great featur. I find the staff on Princess to do outstanding work. Just booked 2 cruises for 2019. 

One would think slim. Now that being said they have volcanoes that are very active. There is also a weather chance. I was there for 4 days. Did my own drive and it was great. Didn't bother with the tour companies although I hear they are first rate. Good luck. Hard decision to make.

Just a FYI in regards to Data Hogs. For those that are not real tech savvy. Make sure you are closing down the open windows in your browser 1 by 1. Just Turing off your browser does not shut them down. I've seen passengers with 25 windows open and they didn't know it. You don't see them easily in an I pad or I phone.

If you see on the address bar a bunch of boxes those each will be using band width.

This is what the newer iPhone too many windows open looks like.

The current coffee card allows continued "free" brewed coffee (on the voyage card was purchased) even after all punches have been used.

I agree, but what we were referring to is the CC person that had their card taken away. I also was referring to when I use up my card from a previous trip, therefore the free brewed coffee would not apply to this.

01-November: Nothing on the google play store

You dont download and app for this. Once you are on board you will go to safari or whatever client you are using put in the web address they give you and you are there. I saved mine to my home screen while on the Royal. They did not however have any texting options at that time which was May/June this year.