JimmyVWine

The elevators are tucked into a walled off area that make them removed from the cabins. People waiting for the elevators wait in that area, and the elevator sounds are very soft. Even the closest cabins to the elevators experience no intrusion.

As long as they go back to accepting Tele-Med observed testing I won't care. But the current "must be done in person and internet observed tests don't qualify" rule is really onerous. Especially for those who want to visit their beautiful country for several days before boarding. Being a stranger in a strange land makes it really, really hard to test in person. What I really don't get is why this rule applies to cruises that are not ROUNDTRIP in and out of Athens. Why does the Greek government care if someone boards the ship with Covid if they are going to disembark in Barcelona 7 days later? That is Spains problem, not theirs. As long as I am not setting foot back into Greece after the cruise, why do they need to take the most restrictive position of any country?

This press release now shows up in the "News Center" of the Princess website.

Of course, my next cruise departs out of Greece. 🥺 Just under 60 days for Greece to change its procedures. Here's hoping.

Just curious. If 3,000 other people (on one ship, and 30,000 on any given day on ten ships) are walking around showing their status, why do you think that this is a problem? What is the downside?

Greece.

I will. But that is the advice I gave myself on Tuesday to see if Wednesday would work. It didn't. And then I gave myself the same advice yesterday thinking that today would be better. It wasn't. But it is comforting to know that others are having the same or similar issues. No need for me to endure an hour-long call with a tech person if the problem is systemic and not just me.

My upcoming cruise requires the following: "Tests must be conducted in-person by medical personnel and guests will need a physical letter with the negative results"; and "The following formats are acceptable proof of a COVID-19 test: paper COVID-19 test results (original only; no photocopies accepted)." So my question is, will a print out of the test results that come via email suffice? I think I might be able to arrange for a PCR test the morning of my transatlantic flight, but the results won't be ready until the end of the second day and I will be overseas by then. So I won't be around for anyone to hand me an original piece of paper. I assume that the test result will come via email with a pdf attached. If I can figure out a way to print out this pdf before I head to the port, (staying at an AirBnB, not a hotel with a business center), will that be accepted? Not sure how the person receiving the paperwork would ever know the difference between an "original" that I print, and a photocopy since the version that I print out will look just like a piece of paper that comes out of a copy machine. If anyone has had to produce an original test result, I'd love to hear what your experience was. Thanks.

I too am having big glitch issues. As of last week, everything was fine for my October booking. And earlier this week I added a booking for another cruise and that uploaded fine. But now I cannot access the portion of the app for Travel Checklist and Personal Information and Documents. I have been checking periodically to see if Boarding Groups are available, and this is the area of the app where you do that. Now, every time I click on that link, I get an error message that says that "Something went wrong" and to try again later. Same thing happens when I try to use the web based Medallion system. When I try to enter the Health Status area, I get a blank white screen and I have to close the app and restart it. When I toggle over to the more recently booked cruise which is almost a year from now, none of these errors occur. Very strange.

Or in the case of the OP, in the PIZZA area. 🤣

You just made my point.

It’s a tough question with no right or easy answer. There appear to be people here who have independent TAs who walk on water. They get great service and perks. But if you randomly contact a TA and use their services, the odds are that you will get one who sinks in the water, or at best has neutral buoyancy. It’s not easy to find the great ones especially given the rules if this board. On the flip side, there are people here who have Princess CVPs who are awesome, knowledgeable and responsive. They are long-tenured and know what you want before you do. But odds are that if you ask Princess to pair you up with a CVP, you won’t get one of those. The turnover in the past two years has been staggering for obvious reasons. Hard to work on commission when no one is booking. Here’s where the controversy comes in and there will be many who disagree with the following and that’s OK. There is nothing empirically provable about the following statement, but here goes. If I am going to have to deal with a mediocre travel planner, I’d rather deal with one who works for Princess. But if I could get paired up with a TA who walks on water, that’s where I would go.

Yup. Lots of people explore Greece on land for several days before departing. Including us. I was fairly certain that the video tests were acceptable and planned to do that from our AirBnB. But what I read today threw that out the window. I have been hoping that testing requirements would be getting easier, not harder.

There is clearly an inconsistency with contradictory information. We will have to wait for further clarification. In looking at the requirements for Greece, it appears that Tele-Med video proctored tests are not permitted and the test must be administered live and a hard copy letter must be presented as proof of a negative test. Has it always been this way or is this new? How easy is it to get a live test in Athens? And don’t most tests give you your results by e-mail? How do you get a hard copy letter?

And what I posted was updated today and says that it applies to “Sailings From Europe” and in the chart provides the more restrictive rules for sailings out of Greece.

You should change the title of this thread. The new procedure only applies to the UK, not Europe. As of today, here is what it says about Europe. “At terminal check-in guests must provide proof of a negative viral COVID-19 test (PCR or antigen) taken before or at embarkation.”

I just booked an April with the "3rd and 4th Guests Sail Free" promo. If the price goes down, I will try to re-fare, but with the third person being free as well as a free location upgrade, I was able to get a great mid-ship Mini with the largest balcony for a very good price. I seriously doubt that I will do better in the next 9 months. If I had waited, all the extended balconies could have been gone, I am sure.

Global warming? All the lobsters have moved north out of New England and have been replaced by southern crawdads??

I am partial to Cane Garden Bay, though I confess that I have always visited Tortola, St John and Virgin Gorda on sailboat and land-based vacations and usually check the cruise ship calendar to AVOID to best beaches when cruise ships are in port. So I can’t tell you whether your experience on a ship with 3,500 people would resemble my memories.

I guess I am missing your point. The wine I mentioned comes from the Mediterranean (Provence) and is still on board and on the wines lists. It just isn't being poured by the glass as it has been for the past 10 years. And people are overplaying the "supply chain" issue. Yes, supplies are limited for certain items. But when it comes to wine, Carnival Corp is among the largest purchasers of wine in the world. Perhaps the largest. It works with a wine distribution behemoth. Even if there is a supply chain shortage you can rest assured that with its buying power and clout, Carnival will continue to get its wine. It's not as if your local wine shop will get 6 bottles and Carnival will get shut out. It is very much the other way around.

Don't doubt it for a minute. 😉 Thanks.

Just curious. When ordering drinks, do you inform the server that you have the Plus Package and should not be charged, or do you just tap in with the Medallion and expect that the system will get it right? ( don't mean that in an accusatory manner as if you did anything wrong. I just don't know how to phrase it any differently. I am wondering if the error rate decreases if one verbally announces that they should not be charged. We shouldn't have to do that, but I will if it helps.)

Just checked. I found one shop in Edmonton that has the 2011. No shops anywhere in CN that have the 2006. Price is $65 (Canadian).

For our sailings out of the U.S., we will be doing the same. Not sure that I have found a great solution for when we sail out of Southampton or around the Med. Need to build in sufficient time and budget to hit up nice wine shops in an unfamiliar places.

Ditto. I have Plus in October and banked $250 of OBC to account for the overage of the three of us. Still not worth the cost to pay for Premier. $250 for 3 people for 7 days comes out to roughly $12 per day per person, way less than the upgrade. That allows each of us to exceed the $12 limit 3 times a day at $4 per glass or 4 times a day at $3 per glass. Seems about right.