JimmyVWine

Based on what? Princess can choose to prohibit or choose to limit. Their choice. But whatever it chooses to do and publish in its Passage Contract, it is still a rule. There was a post recently about smokers on the balcony and Princess seemed incapable of or unwilling to enforce its rule. But that failure to enforce does not give everyone else the right to say that Princess’ no smoking policy is just a “guideline”. We, as passengers, have neither the right nor the ability to declare a rule that is published in the Passage Contract to be a guideline. We are not that entitled.

"Set in stone" is an old euphemism born from a time when laws were actually etched on tablets. Today we print them on paper. And here is what Princess has printed in its "Passage Contract". Emphasis on the word "Contract". So this is very much the modern day equivalent of setting something in stone: Guests are also prohibited from bringing water, sodas and other non-alcoholic beverages on board that are packaged in bottles. A small quantity of non-alcoholic beverages (i.e., sparkling water, sodas, juice, milk) packaged in cans or cartons may be brought on board on embarkation day, only if carried on in Guests’ hand luggage (not in checked luggage). A small quantity is considered a maximum of 12 sealed, unopened cans/cartons of 12 ounces each or less per person. I see nothing here that suggests that this is a rule that calls out to be broken, or is a "guideline" akin to the dress code. The purpose of the liquids rule is two-fold. The limitation reduces the amount of liquids that are brought on the ship which lessens the burden on the security team to monitor potentially dangerous substances. (Do you think that the TSA rule against taking liquids through the security line is a "guideline"?) And secondly, it is a revenue issue. Princess wants you to buy stuff. Their business model depends on it. Dress code guidelines share neither of these concerns.

Obvious from the color of the lifeboats. (Unless Sun Princess will be sailing for Disney).

I can see my Cabana. (Well, mine is port side, but I can see the overall concept.) The Cabanas are very easy to discern from the rest of the balcony cabins.

From what I have read, they do not "refund" anything. They just bill you up front for one less day of the package. It's not as if this situation is catching them by surprise. So for a 7 day cruise with a per-day charge for a package, you just get charged for 6 days. That's what I read on the internet, so it must be true!

I would advise you to employ my strategy. Get a drink at every single bar and lounge on the ship, and then draw your own conclusion!

To clarify, is the suggestion that one can go to the casino cage and ask for cash, or is the suggestion that one go to the casino, "buy" chips, don't play any games, and then cash the chips in?

Texas has chosen to treat ships in the channel as if they are bars on land. So cruise lines have to pivot and adjust. There is no requirement that each cruise line implement the same workaround. No one workaround is more “right” than any other. And none are perfect. One thing you can count on is that you won’t be overcharged. Between limited selections in bars, account credits or tax assessments, you will get what is legally permissible.

We bring on board a couple of large collapsable water bottles, fill them with tap water and stick them in the fridge. And we take them to the buffet and fill them up with water from the dispenser up there. The water supplied by the ship is perfectly suitable for drinking and taking medicine. As for casual dining venues, not only are reservations not required, they aren’t even accepted. At least not that I have ever seen.

I really don’t think that there is a fleet-wide answer to this. If there were, there would be something printed in the promotional materials. In May I was on Regal and on day one I went to the Guest Services Desk to take care of an issue and the person next to me being helped by another agent asked quite clearly if his Plus package covered gelato or only the Special Desserts and he was told clearly and unambiguously: “No. Your package covers the special desserts but not plain gelato.” He pushed back and said that it made no sense that gelato with gloop on it was free but gelato without gloop costs money. The agent agreed with him but said that this was the rule. Maybe it has changed since May. But on that day, on that ship, the answer was very clear and emphatic.

Where are you sailing out of? Obviously this matters. Princess does not have any unique rules. But states do.

I go to the bank and ask for a bunch of singles and say that they are for Candy.....and Bambi, and Bunny, and Electra, and....🤣

Yes. On Regal, there were ATMs on Deck 4 where the passengers went to get the tender port launches. Edit to add: We did not use them so I don't know what sort of fees they charge. You might do better using an ATM at a major bank when you are in a port city.

Too many ships, with too much personnel movement and too few days on the ships for me to draw conclusions. That said, on my most recent cruise (May, 2023) on Regal, we had some of the best meals we have ever had on Princess. I ran into the Head Chef in the elevator at the end of the cruise and we were the only two people on the elevator, so I took the opportunity to tell him that we thought the food was some of the best we have had and that we were enjoying it immensely. I also told him that I thought that the "new and improved" Love Boat Dream may be "new", but it was in no way "improved." He laughed and said that my opinion was shared by many and that he had elevated those comments to HQ.

I do not have to assume that, now that they are built into the packages, are non-negotiable, and the money is not handed over to the employees who earned the money for services rendered. Princess is not a Mon and Pop operation that can take in money called a "gratuity" and then not turn it over to the employees, and instead keep it in a separate account that gets treated as something other than income.

I would assume that overhead (of which employee salaries are a part) gets paid from the aggregation of all revenue sources, (or which auto gratuities are a part.) Now that gratuities are baked into the packages in a way that cannot be retracted, and given the popularity of the packages, the revenue stream from auto gratuities is much easier to predict and account for, and there is no reason why that source of revenue would not be included within the aggregate of all revenue from which overhead is paid.

Sorry, but I’m not following the above. These two statements appear to be diametrically opposed. If they make the gratuity mandatory and add it to the fare, then per force, they have to raise the fare $150 (or whatever the equivalent would be for the length of the cruise.).

Just did this. Purchased a cruise under the “Third Guest Sails Free” promotion. So naturally, having paid nothing, the third person did not have a package. I used the “Chat” feature on the website to ask if they could add this for me or if I had to call the 800 number. Their initial response was to ask if I had booked through a TA (with the implication being that had I done so then the TA would have to do this for me. I did not). Knowing that I had booked direct, their next response was “I just took care of this for you. You are all set.” I refreshed my Cruise Personalizer, checked my Travel Summary and BAM! There it was. Passenger 3 had all of the features of the package listed and my outstanding balance had increased by $720 ($80 per day x 9 day cruise). Took about 5 minutes to get this done via Chat.

Disagree. There is a straight line between “Will Princess take more of my money in the form of gratuities?” and “Is it fair and just for them to do that?”

Not sure if they have retrofitted all of the ships, but I guarantee that there will never be another ship built from here on out that does NOT have them.

I’m virtually certain that in 2030 the gratuity amounts on Princess will be higher than they are now. So yes. At some point the rates will increase The wages paid on cruise ships is what it is precisely because the cruise lines do NOT follow US-based norms. By registering outside of the U.S. they can get away with paying far less per hour than would ever be tolerated in the U.S. As a result, tips are needed to allow the workers to live. I’ll never understand why some people think that raising the price of every cruise by $150 and then declaring “No Tipping” is superior to selling the cruise at a price of $150 less and then imposing a mandatory gratuity of $150 on the voyage. When I was in third grade I learned that $1,000 = $850 + $150. What is undeniable is that Princess is NEVER going to hold prices at current levels and then declare “No Tipping”. Pay more with tips included or pay less and have tips tacked on. Pick one. Makes no difference to the consumer and it makes no difference to the employee (as long as they get the same amount of money under the former). But it does seem to make a difference to the cruise line, probably from a marketing standpoint where a lower base fare fills the ships easier. So let them have their fun. In the end, we pay the same price.

And the response that statement would engender would be: "I'm sorry to hear that. Enjoy the rest of your cruise." Same response one would get if one told a bartender that they will not order any more drinks unless they are given a plastic straw. Decisions made in the C-Suite are not going to get overridden by a disgruntled passenger, especially when the shops are run by third-party franchises and not by Princess.

If you take a Northbound Alaska Cruise and your first port is Ketchikan, go to the Tongass Trading Company and buy a sweatshirt or rain jacket and get a nice huge bag that you can use for the rest of the cruise and the rest of your life. Mine is in the trunk of my car.

I suspect that it falls into the "environmental compliance" category, like eliminating plastic straws. The ship probably wants to eliminate as much single use, "could fly overboard at a moment's notice" plastics.

This is not a binary choice. It is not: Macy's provides me with a bag, or I lug all my purchases home without anything to carry them in. The simple third option is that you bring your own bags with you to the store. Been doing this for years. And yes, we bring bags with us on cruises. Mostly to accommodate us in port stops when we do purchasing there. But they also come in handy when we shop on board. A couple of light, mesh bags and one larger, but still easily packed canvas bag is all that is required for 90% of our purchases.