Wishing on a star

I had thought that maybe Princess was trying to go as far as to count and limit the number of people in each stewards cabin area. (Staffing issues can be the big scapegoat sometimes). But, it should definitely be by number of cabins, not number of people. And effectively 'forcing' more people into the Deluxe Balconies would be just the opposite of that. You might have hit on something when you mention back to back cruises. I think I have heard on cruises that are popular as back-to-back there are cabins that are held back for these bookings. But, nope, that doesn't make sense either. Number one, bookings that are past Final Payment are doing this. And also, this seems to only be an issue or glitch with the Deluxe Balcony cabins. Not other categories. I don't know what Princess is thinking, or what the glitch is, or the crazy algorithm in the system, but I feel sorry for those who do not do their research, like here on CC, or have a really good TA who is aware of this and ready to work around it. We sail in Deluxe balconies, and if we weren't planning to sail on a budget next time, I would go thru whatever it took to get the cabin I wanted, knowing it was sitting there available.

Tedferg, VERY confusing! It appears that Deluxe Balcony cabins are showing for two guests. But no rhyme or reason on why some are showing, like on certain decks, and some are not. On Caribbean cruises that I have looked at, it will not show anything but GTY unless you put in three or more. That is it. If I were wanting to book on of the desired AFT wake view cabins, and this 'system' is keeping me from doing that, when I can SEE that half of them are available... Not happy... I don't know what the Princess system or 'algorithms' . might be doing, but it is confounding for sure!!! Some have wondered if it were because of staffing and regulation issues. But that doesn't hold water. If you do get ready to book, and it only shows GTY, but you can see that the cabin is actually available, I would call and do whatever 'hokey pokey' it would take to get the cabin I needed.

Tedferg, you say that the big box online site show Deluxe balconies. Are they actually showing balconies that can be booked, when booking for two guests? Would you give us the sailing that is showing these balconies.. That is another thing that is so confusing. I have seen a few sailings that do show these deluxe balconies available for two guest. But, I think many if not most, do not. And, I can't see any rhyme or reason why the difference. The biggest issue I have here with Princess is the lack of truth and transparency. We shouldn't have to be here on a chatboard trying to figure out and work around their policies or system. Princess does not have my respect lately.

I always thought that milkshakes are not covered in the package??? But, yes all coffee, specialty coffees, bottled waters, juice... all covered. And, spirits covered by your PLUS or PREMIUM package are covered. We love to get iced mochas! I have heard of paying for the gelato, and then adding the spirits to make an affragato(sp?).

Deb. I am 'thinking' that a third person can be removed, before final payment, with no problem? I believe that no changes can be made to the two first passengers? I would not make any assumptions with things like this on Princess. I would suggest that people call, in person, and verify.... Take whatever steps are necessary right there in the one phone call with the TA or Princess. Either by having them book GTY and then making a cabin assignment. (check availability by pulling up a mock booking for three) Or by having them book a so-called third passenger, then a cancellation on the third.

It should be FCFS... Anybody who thinks anything should be reserved for, applied to/or not applied to, themselves.. That is, indeed, the very definition of the word entitlement.

Yes, there is a lot of confusion. That is one thing that is great about coming here on CC, you can get information that many won't know. I don't know why this situation is happening. I don't know if Princess is working on changing it. I don't know why, even some TA's, including some of the 'less than stellar' Princess Planners, do not even know how or why this is, or that they can work around it. I have heard, book the GTY, then make phone calls to get the assignment. In this one persons case, they are already past Final Payment, so changing their booking from one category to the Deluxe balcony might pose some problems. They could try to tell this person that they would have to totally precancel and re-book, and charge cancellation fees. But, actually, there should be no problem with upgrading on the same sailing. In a perfect world.

What a nice thought! I would try that... If there is a separate number then I don't think I have ever heard of it. Does anybody know if they would be there before they board and first get to their cabin? If you don't want your wife to see it on the booking. I think it might show up there if she were to look closely. Maybe you could print off all the info before calling, and tell her you have done that so she has it all ready to go.

Good luck! If, for sure, the only thing right now is Guarantee, then you could get the standard size balcony, and it is small. If your sailing is a long ways out, then you can keep checking. Both while logged in, and not logged in. Maybe some of these will open up.

Good luck, Sunset, in calling Princess, or having your TA call Princess and getting re-booked. I think it would have worked if you had tried booking on the phone, or thru a TA, and had them book the GTY and then assign you the specific cabin. I think I have read that this is how some have handled this. That just isn't how it works to only make ALL cabins in one whole cabin category available only to larger parties. It just isn't. Couples or parties of two book minisuites, or even suites, all the time. Cruise lines are in the business of selling cabins! Also, I don't believe the ships capacity would support having all third and fourth berths occupied. Right now the two of us can book a Mini, but not a Deluxe.... That is just, well, not right. Makes no sense. Inside cabins can sleep up to 4, but I have not heard of them holding. those cabins back. The two of us have booked Deluxe balconies before, no problem! If what I have noticed is correct, this issue started fairly recently. I don't know what the problem is with booking these Deluxe Balconies... But, by. now they have to know that this issue is happening. If it is some strange 'policy', it would be very misguided.

Yes, you have the freedom to do whatever you decide. Nothing is locked in at this point. You have reason to feel like you should stay with a Guarantee. I would def. book with the Mini, and look for mid-ship Minis that have the larger extended balcony, but not the higher decks which would be up there right under the SeaWalk. It might not help, but if you do get a Mini you like, You might want to make sure that it is specially marked NO Upgrade. Unless you have a mid-ship MA... Since this is the highest mini category. With the new bidding system, chances of being moved into a higher suite are very low. I would not wait to bid, as the upgrade price you see now seems good. And, there are mini suites in bad locations, which you could be assigned if you were to bid and get the upgrade at Final Payment or later.

A lot of 'if's' here! This whole bidding system is new, so all anyone her can go by is what we see on the web-site and what others have posted here so far. I am guessing that by saying larger veranda, you mean a Deluxe Balcony? These are slightly bigger balcony cabins with the little double seat sofa. And, of course, a Minisuite is even larger and nicer. I think some are getting notices that their bid has been accepted fairly quickly. The Princess information states that you can find out as late as the last minute. Okay, do you have a location that you like? When you bid on an upgrade, they put you in that higher category, but it can be in any location on the ship. (far forward, under or over a louder venue, etc...) How much would you appreciate the space? What is that worth to you? NOTE: by policy, you accept the possible upgrade, and you don't get to decide to decline. If you were to be able to get out of the upgrade, and not pay, you could lose the cabin you are in if it becomes unavailable. Also, if you get an upgrade and your new cabin assigned, and there is another cabin available with that exact category, like mini suite category MA, then you can do a switch to any other MA cabin. We don't know what your fare was, or how much it would cost you to simply pay the difference to move up. I am assuming that the bids here would cost a bit less than that. That would be the bottom line for you. No, I don't think the bidding goes down. It is pre-set. You could place the min. bid and hope for the best. Can you pull up your sailing, like you were booking another cabin, and see how many show up, how booked up the ship is? That might be an indicator on whether Princess will be upgrading at the min. bids.

The thing is, if this is actually about adding the Beverage Package, now the Plus package gets the drinks, the gratuities, and the WIFI at a cheaper rate. It should be $50.00 per day.

Sunsetme... I think one workaround is to Call Princess or your TA, and have them pull up the GTY and then go ahead and change that to an assigned cabin. I think I have heard of doing that. Yes, somehow, most of the time, the system is only 'showing' the Deluxe Balcony cabins for 3 or more guest. Don't know why or how!

Here is a video of A428. This is one of the Minis with the extended balconies. This one happens to come with the Club Class perks, but you will be able to see exactly how the larger balcony on the other non-Club mid-ship minis like that would be.

If I am correct, on September 17th... I see that there are good Minis available. I would choose C410 on deck 10 Caribe. As the angle faces forward. This is on Port side. Or. A409 on Aloha deck 12. on the Starboard side, if that is preferable on the ships route. R410 on Riviera is the same cabin as on Caribe, but is getting up there under the SeaWalk.

Yes, I love the REGAL! But, the standard balconies are very small/shallow. I would look at all mini suites available, and then select a cabin. There are a few with larger, angled, balconies. Look mid-ship along the bump-out. Also, on that higher deck, notice that the mid-ship cabins there are right under the sea-walk, and could pose an issue with privacy, and/or the big overhang. A Guarantee minisuite could get you assigned to one of those. Look at Caribe, deck 10 C409 thru C429 These mini's on Baha deck are Club Class, and have a higher fare for those perks. Look at Aloha A410 thru A415 Same for Riviera, Deck 14. But that is getting up closer to the SeaWalk. This might not be much, but know that there are lights there on the bottom underside of the SeaWalk, that you will notice. As an option, in case you might be interested, You could also look at Deluxe Balcony cabins. There are some of these that are mid-ship as well. And there are Premium Deluxe balconies that are Aft Facing, and on some decks these have a very large balcony. All balconies on Aft Facing cabins are not created equal.

Found this from the boards. Regarding this cabin on the Crown. "I have not sailed in C106, but have a friend who works aboard the Crown. I was thinking of booking it myself, but they told me it is noisy there because of the door that leads directly to a crew area."

I also found this, from C106 on Ruby. Which does not look larger, or any special layout?

I found this, here on these boards. It seems to be a review on the same cabin on the Crown. But, waves, from deck 10???? "I selected this cabin because it appeared bigger than other cabins in the category. We stayed in this cabin for a 10 day to Mexico. The cabin isn't really any bigger than other inside cabins. It's just laid out differently. I like the lay out, but it is right next to a crew stairway so one night it was a bit noise when someone with a heavy foot was running up and down the stairs. Also the seas were pretty rough so we could hear the waves hitting the hull of the ship. All in all it's ok but don't book it thinking you're getting a bunch of extra room."

Hahaha!!! ENJOY!

Here is another recent video, from the Ruby. I think there might be differences between ships with this venue. I notice the Crown Grill Bar piano music here. So maybe different vibe. I can't imagine a real dress-code here. And the presentation and look of the calamari is very different between the two. These two guys had a not-so-great experience on a previous cruise, but had very good food on this visit on the Ruby.

Recently saw a good review, along with other dining venues... Pictures of the food included. Look for the Gastro Pub in the video. He also says that those shortribs were one of his most favorite dished onboard.

Ombud, I think that this extra excursion onboard credit is for cruises beginning Jan 2023. That is interesting Lizabu! So, you have booked an excursion and it let's you select to use this credit for payment, even before sailing. If this is true, it might be right that Princess has put this in place in their system that it is separate, from excursion credit only.

There are three take-aways for me.... One, the idea that disembarking because of COVID would have to be considered a medi-vac. I suppose that most people do not know that. I too might have hoped that I could disembark, in my own country.... Why would a cruise ship be considered a temporary prison. What if one wanted to leave the voyage early because of a major family situation at home? ending a voyage early should be at a travelers discretion. We are not talking about cruise refunds, etc... A cruise ship should never be a prison. Unless you are in a foreign country that has specific laws and requirements about cruise disembarkation, a person should have the option to disembark.. Two, many others have reported feeling abandoned, as they are isolated without basic information, basic needs, food, clean towels, medical care, etc.. and are just totally ignored by an ill prepared and inadequate staff. We all know about staffing issues. They are everywhere. But, when it comes to getting basic needs and care, "sorry, it's a cruise ship, we can't/won't/don't care" is a very unacceptable excuse. Three. Whether you have travel insurance, or the Princess insurance, or are hoping for coverage from your existing health insurance and coverages... You need documentation. Period. When I leave a doctor's office, I usually have the opportunity to leave wth the info in hand. Or I know that it is always available. Every passenger should have immediate documentation and information about any diagnosis like COVID, that affects their health, their travels, their success with insurance coverage. Shouldn't even have to ask. The so called Covid CRUISE WITH CONFIDENCE slogans should not mean, if you need medical care, you will pay a min. of $1,000.00 up front, and good luck getting any reimbursement.