mgcharleston

21 hours ago, Ramblin Wreck Cruiser said:

Here’s a quick update. I called Princess this morning and spoke to an agent who attempted to book my reservations for me. After a few minutes on hold, she came back and said that the system was trying to charge us again, but if we call back tomorrow, it should be fixed and we should be able to book without charge. We shall see! I will report back tomorrow.

 

Again, this should not be that difficult. I can’t decide whether I think the IT department is just inept or if this is intentional by Princess. Perhaps they think a certain percentage of people won’t notice the charge or won’t jump through the hoops to get it fixed. Either way, it’s disappointing. 

Yes- it is maddening! I have been trying for several months to get specialty dinners booked and have encountered the exact same thing. We have the premier package and I have tried to book via the app, web chat and calling in. Needless to say I will never get those hours back of my life I wasted! Ours was further compounded because we are a party of 3 (an 11 year old child) so I would make one booking and it would snatch 3 of the 4 reservations and then would charge us for the remainder. Even with calling in, the staff just could not figure out to apply the package to the 2 adults and we would pay for the child- who costs less anyway! As one person mentioned above, I finally managed to book 2 reservations for 2 people (just to secure the dates and times) and we will add the child on once we get on board. It should not be this hard. I agree the IT department definitely has challenges but I have also had the thought that Princess is doing this intentionally, as so many people don't realize they have been charged, don't want to spend the time waiting in line once you get on board or they fail to use the OBC and dump it back into the cruise lines pocket again. Sorry for the vent but I do 100% understand your frustrations!

Has anyone brought flowers onboard themselves for any sailings departing from Southampton? I would love to bring my own onboard on embarkation day- purchased locally of course! The ship is the Caribbean Princess. TIA!!

3 minutes ago, pompeii said:

The $200 obc is also on your travel summary.  

Ugh. Thank you all! Mine does not show the OBC in any of those places. Guess I will ring them back. 

For anyone who booked the original offer and has since rebooked it accepting the the terms of their deal, can you see your $200 OBC on your new itinerary? I rebooked just now and told the girl on the phone about the promised $200 OBC/person and she acknowledged that but when I look at my itinerary (under the Payments page, OBC at the bottom of the page) its says $0. I'm thinking I am going to have to call them back. FWIW, I wrote the illustrious Jen Wright yesterday afternoon and never heard a word back, hence forcing me to call in. Just curious if the OBC is showing in other peoples accounts.

8 hours ago, ace2542 said:

Did they help you. Where they calling people forward based upon the flight they where trying to catch? Like at the airport when your in the check in line and they call out a flight and ask if anyone is waiting.

No they did not. In all honesty, I think TSA agent was having a very bad day and she was giving everyone a hard time as they came through. I have global entry and fly many times per year internationally for work and this is the only time, anywhere, I have ever experienced a situation quite like this related to border control! Russian border control agents were easier than she was  🙂I hope it was a one off and related to a bad day but it made me never want to fly through Dublin again because it was such a negative experience. I am glad to hear that most others have a great experience transiting through!

We did this last year as well. My only caution is to make sure you have enough in layover. I know I'm stating the obvious but we were flying on Aer Lingus from Southampton to Dulles, with a layover in Dublin. The Aer Lingus flight only allowed 90 minutes in between. I had read about how efficient the preclearance process there was... until it wasn't! The SOU flight took off late (due to the notorious English weather) and the customs line was backed up, etc. etc. We squeaked through but I would never do it again without more time for a layover.

On 4/12/2024 at 7:09 PM, Dani24 said:

 

Based on my prior experience with the embarkation dinner for suite passengers, I'd book the two specialty reservations you want on non-embarkation days now, and then book your embarkation dinner on the first night. The speciality restaurants don't seem to be that busy on that first night and it's probably a lot easier to get a table than on another night.

Thank you for that info! this is my first time cruising princess in a suite and I had actually wondered that exact thing! 

10 hours ago, RDJ said:

Update! Sure enough after trying twice a day, just now I was able to finally make the dining rez for crown (without paying the cruise balance). My 3rd call to Princess last weekend said to give it some time as they were going to fix on their side and it did work! It finally saw the credit and got both nights booked!

Glad you got yours fixed! I am going through this exact thing right now. We are cruising to the UK in July, cruise is PIF, have the premiere package and booked in a suite. I have two specialty dining reservations made- one on embarkation night (which should be complimentary because of the suite) and one on another night. It wants to charge me for the 2nd specialty dinner. All I can figure is the computer thinks the first night is included in my package and not complimentary. I have called them, chatted with them, they have filed an IT ticket just like for you, all to no avail. Its just frustrating watching the time slots slip away but I guess I will have to deal with it on board! Enjoy your cruise!!

We ported in Greenock last year and did this as a private tour. I booked a day trip through Martin Cairns at E2G travel and we visited the Falkirk wheel, the Kelpies and our driver found us some local heelan coos to pet (they were the highlight). while the Falkirk wheel is an engineering marvel, we found the tour on sight to be very underwhelming. In fact, it was our least favorite thing in 3 weeks of traveling. The staff at the wheel just didn't do a good job. Perhaps a different crew on a different day would yield different results! I can highly recommend the travel agency though. It says they do airport transfers but they will arrange a private all day tour with a local driver. We found them to be a good value and, overall, a good tour experience!

Many thanks to everyone who chimed in and the letter was super helpful. I have heard that WS were a good thing but there isn't much info out there on them... maybe that's for a strategic reason 😁 priority tendering is important because I am trying to time tour pickups and tendering always make that a crapshoot as we all know...

I am scheduled to sail in a window suite on the Caribbean Princess this summer on a very port intensive itinerary. Can anyone confirm for me that suite passengers get priority tendering during the cruise and priority disembarkation on the last morning? It's going to make a difference on some of the excursions I book timing wise.

If anyone has stayed in one of these window suites, I would be happy to hear your thoughts on it as well  🙂

TIA!!!

21 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

 

If time permits, may I suggest the West Cork area, visiting Bantry and Glengarrif for Garnish Island and Gougane Barra.

 

 

 

 

 

Wow! What an unexpected surprise. Thanks VMax!

I will definitely check into that area- it was not even on my radar before...  🙂

That's certainly an interesting perspective that I had not heard about. It definitely makes sense though. We ended up booking a tour with a private guide as I was just too leery of the car rental place. I will certainly ask him about this as well. Thanks again for all your help!

20 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

I have never rented from them, but they are a legitimate business.

Also do note that car rental in very, very expensive in Ireland, specially for 1 day rentals.  Insurance costs are horrendous and rentals are high risk as we drive on the 'wrong side' of the road for a lot of renters.

Another option would be to take the train to Cork city and rent from Hertz, which is located very close to the train station.

Thank you so much for this insight and for verifying they are legit! I did note they were quite costly for a one day 8 hour rental. The Hertz in Cork City is half the price. I guess it comes down to the convenience factor vs. taking the train and a cheaper cost. Either way, we are only wanting to visit Killarney for the day and finding that a simple transport up there and back is not as easy as it should be. We have visited Cork before and done the Blarney stone, Kinsale, etc. so Killarney seemed like a different option!

Has anyone rented a car from Great Island Car Rentals in Cobh before? There is very little info on line about them and the few reviews that ae there are very mixed! The cars are pricey and non-refundable, so I don't want to book unless I'm sure they are a legit company. Unfortunately, there doesn't appear to be many car rental options here,so if anyone has stopped in Cobh before and had luck with a car rental (good or bad), I would be interested in hearing about your experience!

TIA!

8 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

OP:  The process has been described in earlier posts in correct detail, but be aware that if there isn't a rush to get off the ship, it is possible to go to collect a ticket with an aquatic creature's name on it (at the Photo Gallery on Deck 6) and be told that the ticket system isn't being used at that time and to just proceed to Deck 4 whenever you are ready to disembark.  We had two tender ports on the Regal earlier this month (Guernsey and Holyhead) and neither time did we require a ticket to get off and we were trying to get off at what I would have thought were the "prime" hours (8:00-9:00).  

That is great to know! Those are two of the ports I am concerned about. I appreciate the insight that tickets can be collected at the Photo Gallery (random spot!) and that's where I can go to check on them. Every line and, it appears most ships within the line, have different procedures so thank you for the heads up!

Many thanks for all the replies! I had wondered if it was this set up but I am glad to confirm it. Now I know the early bird gets the worm and I can mentally prepare for the chaos 😝

Hi cruisers! 

I am a first time cruiser on Princess sailing next month on the Regal. I am hoping someone can enlighten me on what Princess tendering process looks like. We are doing all our own excursions, so we will not be in the priority groups for the ships excursions. I would like to figure out the process though so we can get off sooner than later  🙂

For example, on NCL you sign up for a tender group ahead of time and you are just assigned to that tender group for that day. But if you don't know to sign up  on the first day of the cruise and you wait, you can be stuck in a high numbered group, thus waiting a couple of hours to disembark. Other cruises I have done, you simply to go to a designated location and get in the queue ahead of time. Although I have seen some lines start forming  WAY too early...

I would appreciate any insight on how to make it off the boat in a timely fashion!

I am cracking up right now 😂 I do appreciate everyone's insight. I had forgotten about O'Sheehan's for lunch so I am thinking that will be better than the buffet. I remember they had these yummy hot wings a few years ago!!! That should make the entire family happy!

I love all these suggestions! 

Rocketman- thank you for the reminder about the muster station check in. That's my husbands favorite part of the entire trip...

It sounds like the entertainment reservations need to take priority. I assume if I can connect to the app while in the terminal, I will be able to make the reservations. please correct me if I'm wrong and I need to go to the box office instead!

I haven't sailed NCL since 2018 and I am excited for our Christmas cruise on the Escape! Please remind me what things need to happen as soon as I get onboard. I remember I need to check in at the kids club, make spa reservations... do I need to make reservations for the shows now? Our specialty dining is already set so I can at least check that off! Any tips are appreciated!!

Great to know. I appreciate the input! It's always a gamble made more interesting because it's a spring break week, thus more popular. I'm thinking sooner than later to be safe  🙂

My husband and I are planning on a cruise on the Escape for March 11, 2023. It is a spring break week so naturally prices are higher to begin with. My question is should we book now or should we wait until after the PIF date passes and try to catch a price drop? 

Interesting.. Thank you to all who replied! We will definitely be on this cruise as we have already secured airline tickets for this specific week. Since the final payment window is basically right now and NCL is running their CruiseNext double up promo thru the end of June, I think i will go ahead and book. My biggest fear is the boat being overly full as Bostonphil experienced. Thank you again for all the insight!!!

My husband and I have a cruise picked out on the Bliss leaving 9/15 from Seattle. It is hard to tell availability as NCL is showing most cabins as guaranteed. We don't particularly care what cabin class we are in although a balcony is definitely preferred!

Since this is the shoulder season, should we book now or take a chance the boat will be pretty empty and rates will drop and book later? We could also book an inside GTY cabin and hope for some fairy dust to give us an upgrade to a balcony..

Any thoughts??

Thank you in advance!!