BabySarge

Have always been a dreadful "what if" and "just in case" over packer in the past but really started paying attention on the last cruise or two at the items we brought that either were never worn or simply sat in the drawer and were never used and have removed them from the packing list. Unfortunately, due to DH's increasing physical limitations the lifting, loading, and moving of the luggage now falls primarily with me so the lighter I can keep it the better. The one thing I always do though is carry our medications in our hand luggage along with an extra pair or two of clean knickers...you know, just in case 😁

Get an e-reader (Kindle, Nook, etc) sign up for your local library card and check out a book or two before you go. Another alternative is to sign up for a free service such as BookBub which will send you an e-mail each day with free and/or very inexpensive books in the genre(s) off your choice. Price for books ranges from .99 to 2.99 US generally. https://www.bookbub.com

No, you are correct they did not explain anything about disembarkation or reimbursement, etc. I do think though that if my husband or myself had still been ill/positive as the time of disembarkation drew near, we would have received information regarding those issues; but I cannot swear to it. However, they did explain about testing, isolation, when to call medical, etc. and in telephone conversation with both the ships doctor and guest services explanation was given regarding options for meals and that there would be no charge for meals from any venue. The doctor inquired about our vaccination and booster status, what medications my husband was on, if we needed any medication from them which we declined as we brought our own OTC medications which the doctor said were the same as what she would have prescribed if needed. I have some medical training so felt quite comfortable with the treatment plan at the onset and as the days progressed but would not have hesitated one second to ring the alarm bell if my husband's condition had taken a turn for the worse. He is the single most important person in my life, and I am like a dog with a bone where his health is concerned. In all honesty I didn't even think about reimbursement for missed cruise days until just the other day, it just never occurred to me. But we had the Princess insurance, so I have sent an inquiry regarding the viability of filing a claim. If we can, great. If we can't, no worries.

Yes, we did. When we boarded in NYC on 9/20 it was part of the embarkation paperwork waiting in the cabin on the bed along with the schedule for when the Captain's Circle Party would be held, the location and hours for the Platinum/Elite Lounge, etc. I stuck it up on the wall with a magnet and saved it on the off chance I might need it. Maybe the difference was we started in NYC and they started in Canada? I don't know - like I said the only consistent thing with Princess is inconsistency. We also received a letter from the medical department the night before disembarkation (10/9) detailing that husband had tested positive during the cruise, been isolated, had subsequently tested negative and was cleared for travel along with documentation of the type of tests that had been administered to both of us. These letters were provided without our having to request them, they just showed up on the bed when we returned from dinner.

To the OP: First, I hope you and your spouse have recovered from your bout with COVID and are doing well at this point and secondly, my husband and I were also on that same voyage only doing it as a b2b that started on 9/20 in NYC and after leaving Quebec on 10/1 he woke up with a dreadful sore throat, cough and fever on the morning of 10/2 at which time I also called 911 as instructed on the paperwork left in the cabin on embarkation. He tested positive and I tested negative (I continued to test negative until 2 days after we returned home) and I can say from that point until we disembarked in NYC on 10/10 our experience with the medical, guest services, room service, and cabin stewards was like night and day from yours. I say this not to be a smartarse, negate your experience in any way, or rub your nose in things but to point out once again that unfortunately oftentimes the only consistent thing with Princess is their inconsistency. Again, I do hope you both have recovered now, and I am sorry your experiences were so different from ours. Wishing you all the best.

I thank you all for your input; yes, even those of you telling me to stop complaining, get over myself, accept the changes, move on, cruise a different line, or just endure and suffer like you had to. I'm not asking or hoping that Princess change the entire dining system back to totally traditional dining. I get that times change and it is an option that many cruising today do not like and do not want. I'm simply asking or hoping that Princess could figure out a way to work with those of us that do want that experience. I would just like to find an equitable solution for both sides of the "argument" on the cruise line we like. The thing is I truly believe there is a way those who wish to have a dining experience other than traditional can have that with Princess and those of us that wish to have a traditional dining experience can have that with Princess too. Naively or not I do believe there is a solution and that Princess monitors these boards and reads what is posted here.

1. JimmyVWine: I do know about connecting with others on roll calls, however, on this cruise we wanted a table for two so did not seek out anyone on the roll call and try to organize a shared table. However, we have another much longer cruise booked for the beginning of 2023 that we have connected with others on our roll call and have attempted to book a shared table with them utilizing the Dine My Way app. We have all experienced difficulty in making that happen (error messages, no such booking number, would save two of the reservations but not the third, etc). Complicated by the fact that whilst I am on this cruise, I cannot access anything in the Medallion App to include the Dine My Way portion for that upcoming cruise unless I am off the ship. 2. sonomaphil and others: I have absolutely no issue whatsoever with those that as you say " like Dine My Way and despise traditional dining" and believe you should be able to have that choice. Just as I also believe that myself and those that do like traditional dining should also have the choice to be able to choose that. It is called Dine My Way and the way I/we and others would like to do it is at the same time, same table, same waiters, and same dining room each night of the cruise. 3. Everyone: I just want the same choice for my preferred style of dining that you have.

Dear Princess Management The worst part of our current Caribbean Princess cruise hasn't been the $200 Uber we had to take from Newark airport because the Princess representative and shuttle bus never showed (thanks for reimbursing us). It hasn't been the ports missed due to Hurricane Fiona or the extra days at sea we had to spend because of that same reason (thanks for the FCC, but we might never use it). No, it has been the absolute cluster that the Dine My Way app has turned the dining experience into (which is why we might never use the FCC). There is absolutely no accommodation made for those of us that would like a more traditional dining experience and it has turned into an absolute crap shoot as to whether or not you can get the same waiters or area of the dining room two nights in a row. It can be done; I know it can. We had it for 30 days on the Emerald Princess in February this year. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE give those of us that still want it an option to have traditional style dining. Contrary to what you have either been told or believe not everyone wants a different table, different waiter, different time, different dining room for dinner. There are many of us that still want the same time same table, same dining room, same waiter(s) every night and even want to do that with the same strangers we meet on the first night for the entire cruise. I would start a survey on here if I knew how just to gauge the interest for having traditional dining as an option as part of the Dine My Way app - DH and I can't be the only ones who still want that option.

Covid is not over anywhere, nor will it ever be. Unfortunately, the cases that happen on cruise ships seem to be the ones that people/the media focus on.

You are not alone; I'm also getting an error message on the "payment" portion of all my bookings.

Yes - that is exactly what we do.

Loving your droll, dry, wit and writing style and while not a bean counter but retired military I must confess to having back up plans for my back up plans and openly admit to being a 2+ packer not only in the checked luggage but also in the carry-on luggage. Great photography - some very nicely framed shots.

Yes

Curious as to the price of $100 per person for the Princess transfer from Newark Airport to Brooklyn Terminal as we have cruise booked with those transfers from Newark Airport to either Brooklyn or Manhattan (99.9% it will be Brooklyn) on 9/20 and again on 10/10 thru Princess and it is $39 per person. I know prices go up and with the fuel costs, etc but that is an awfully big jump from $39 to $100 - did a travel agent tell them that or is that from the Princess site thru their booking??

Not sure if "ignore people" is the same as blocking a poster but if you go to the arrow to the right of your logon name and look for "Ignored Users" in the drop down menu that comes and then click on it you can add someone to a list where their posts or comments I think are ignored.

Unless you are boarding in Southampton and the ground screeners find your leatherman tool packed in your checked luggage when it goes thru their x-ray machine before it gets on the ship; then you are given the choice of paying very expensive British postage to mail it home (oh and by the way there is no post office available at the port to do that and the ship is leaving shortly) or you can put it in their locked disposal bin to supposedly be destroyed at a later date (uh huh!).

But, (there is always a but ,Lol), "not going hungry" is not a very high bar to set for dining. 😀 Yeah, but after 26 years of military chow and MRE's (there's a reason they include a tiny bottle of Tabasco in every single one of them) I have to admit I don't have a very high setting to my dining bar 😉

Thanks Kevin - appreciate all the help and patience.

@Steelers0854 I'm so sorry to be a bother but I wonder if I could trouble you to answer another question for me please regarding your statement I have highlighted in red above. When you say leave the setting for Nord to select the protocol automatically is that the same things as using "Quick Connect" and letting Nord select which VPN or location it connects to? I have purchased the Nord VPN and downloaded it and during set up did not see anything for a selection titled "select protocol automatically", just the one about Quick Connect.

DH and I are both retired military and have both always received this terrific and very much appreciated benefit from Princess to include on our last cruise in Feb this year and it is showing for both of us on our upcoming cruises in Sep 2022, Oct 2022, Jan 2023, Feb 2023, Mar 2023, and Apr 2023.

OP responding here regarding the post with the request I "illuminate the efforts about banking" although I'm not quite sure what it is you want me to illuminate to be honest other than the fact that I/we want the additional security that a VPN may give us when using the internet to access our bank and credit card accounts not only when traveling but also at home. DH and I have had our PII (personal identifiable information) hacked/compromised twice by Veterans Affairs, once each by the US Army, twice by the Department of Defense for me, and twice by the Office of Personnel Management for me with the latest notification being received two weeks ago. We both have free credit and identity theft monitoring at all three-credit bureaus for life thanks to said hacking/compromise of our information, but I do everything I can to safeguard it and using a VPN is just another layer. Maybe I'll just delude myself into thinking it's safer or more secure if I use VPN and if that's the case, so be it but at least I will have tried to do something to put a stumbling block in the way of the f*%k*rs (pardon my language please). Illuminated yet??

Definitely getting the VPN before we leave home and "playing" with it to (a) make sure I know how to use it and (b) make sure there are no issues connecting to the bank, etc. We will be cruising off the east coast later this year and up around the Canadian provinces so will be trying it out from there to sort out any kinks before our much longer and more foreign port cruise next year. Everyone's input and assistance has been really appreciated. Used to be pretty good at all this tech stuff but since I retired and stopped using it (and gotten several years older 😞 in the process) I frequently find myself out of my depth nowadays.

Oh, I have been very confused about what the Medallion app actually does for sure 🤣and am one of the folks who have struggled with it and who personally don't care for it or for dragging my cell phone around with me on the ship, but that's me and each to his/her own. As long as having VPN on my laptop will not interfere with my ability to be connected to the ship internet using said VPN then I will be good to go.

Thanks to you both for responding. If I am understanding what you've said correctly the VPN would work with the ships internet on my laptop say to do my banking (pay bills) but where it does not work is with the Medallion App. If it is just the Medallion App it doesn't play nice with that's not a problem as I don't play nice with that either. I really want the VPN for use on my laptop for access to our credit card accounts, bank accounts, household accounts, etc. Have I gotten it right??

DH and I are seriously considering getting a VPN for use when we travel and as a great deal of our travel is generally via Princess ships I'm wondering after reading some past posts about VPN usage on Princess ships if anyone currently cruising or who has at least very recently cruised anywhere in the world on any Princess ship used a VPN with the Medallion Net Wi-Fi and what your experience was - good, bad, or ugly. Is there a VPN that worked better or was more compatible than another? Does it make a difference what brand VPN? Can you tell I'm new to this VPN stuff? If you answered yes, then please have mercy on me and keep the explanations simple (just about kindergarten level will work fine) and the acronyms to a minimum. I had to look up "smh" the other day to find out it meant "shaking my head". Thanks in advance for any assistance you're willing to give.