Mary Ann 2

On 10/7/2021 at 6:37 PM, cruiseesusee said:

If you are at Vines are 5:30 pre-dinner they serve Asian tapas from the Harmony restaurant kitchen. It is something different each evening like spring rolls or dumplings and was quite good.

We got served something from Harmony one day while at Vines in August, but I didn't realize it was due to the time that we were there.  Good to know!  Thanks!

On 10/7/2021 at 9:40 AM, tls1007 said:

Just fyi, 

I am currently on the Majestic sailing. Once aboard the ship I was able to order a flower arrangement through the concierge (for suite passengers) but passenger services will handle the request as well, 

That's great to hear!  Thanks!  Did you have orchids in your suite?

We asked for extension cords for CPAPs in August, and they brought 2 orange, outside-use, long cords.  We had to roll them up everyday to avoid tripping over them!  But they worked.

I was also sad to find that the category was completely gone.  Someone had been told recently that they were working on finding a solution and it would be forthcoming.  I guess they gave up?  Also a tradition for us.

Along the same lines, there is usually the opportunity to pre-purchase a photo package.  That category is still showing, but you couldn't get it to take your money.  So I emailed Princess though a link that pushed it up the line a bit and got a call back saying they would not be selling photos online.  Wonder why that is still showing as an option?

32 minutes ago, CineGraphic said:

We currently have six sailings booked. Only one of them recognizes my credit card and has me in the "green lane". Even though I used the same info for all six bookings, it only works with one of them.

 

That's so weird.  After our Alaska cruise on the Majestic, I started working on our Mexico Riviera cruise on the Majestic.  Our credit card info, our pictures & our info was already there.  I only had to confirm the passport numbers they already had, and we were in the green lane after I ordered the Medallions.  I would think that if one of your sailings has your credit card info that they all would have it based on what happened for us!

1 hour ago, CineGraphic said:

How many times must one try to input their credit card info into your app before it's accepted?

I've probably entered my credit card (a Princess Visa no less) over 60 times with no luck.

My wife is shown as an authorized user, but it still says I need to enter my card, even though it shows as being the default card.

I've deleted the card, and deleted the app several times as well. Nothing works.

 

Emails and phone calls bring zero results despite promises.

Even an email sent 3 weeks ago to Collin Steinke, head of guest relations has gone unanswered.

My days of being a vocal supporter, and cheerleader for Princess are over.

 

How much time must we waste on an app that used to work just fine?

All I want is to be able to walk onto the ship with no delay, just as advertised.

Getting ready for a cruise is supposed to be an exciting time, not a pain in the ass.

It's time to get your act together. ("act" is the nicest word I can use here)

More ships start sailing soon, which means more guests, and more problems, so If you don't already have teams working on fixing the numerous bugs 24/7, you are simply not doing enough. This is no way to treat loyal customers, or even new customers for that matter.

When I see new cruisers say, "never again" right here on Cruise Critic, before they've even sailed, you know it's bad.

You should try an experiment, especially since it shows your wife as an authorized user.  Maybe it's there and just isn't showing or registering.  Get on DMW and try to book a Specialized Restaurant.  When you go to pay, the card should show up if it's on file.  (Don't need to charge, just to see if it shows up.). Just an idea..  

In August, I kept trying to enter the card for my husband and didn't realize that since I entered the card first in my account, I was the authorized holder of the card.  He was added to my account in what seemed to be automatic, but maybe I chose some setting and didn't realize it.

A little different perspective here... Having used DMW in August, we thought it was wonderful.  We could decide in the afternoon whether we wanted to go to the Dining Room or do Specialty Dining and use the MedallionClass App to make reservations for whatever time we wanted.  In previous years, we would have had to wait on hold for the Dining Line and probably be told that time was not available, but we could dine at 5PM.  So when it works, which it did flawlessly for us, we loved it!

I do agree that they should have left a backup on Princess.com for these growing pains.

It's clearly having some kind of problem now, but most new programs or apps so.  Give them time to sort it out and for you to try it out, and I think you will see the advantages.

2 hours ago, bjkTX said:

There is another thread going talking about this - especially when trying to click on Saved Cruises.  After reading it I went and looked at mine and got the Whoops page.  Sounds like an issue they will resolve soon....

 

I agree - this is when I have gotten the message.  I usually just try again or shut the page down and then try again and it's fine.  So it's not just you!

3 hours ago, snoodqueen said:

Thank you to everyone posting live from the Grand!  You've answered a lot of questions and it's much appreciated.  I am boarding on the 14th and would like to know if you are allowed to get your own tea/coffee in the buffet?  I always have a thermal mug to put my tea in and really don't want to pack/bring it if I can't make my own tea.

They don't want people getting their own drinks especially in a reusable mug in the buffet for COVID reasons.  But they are more than happy to bring you whatever you want to the table and you can pour it into your mug there.

Maybe try looking online rather than the airline app.  I can find more information online than on the app.  My AA reservation says ticketed after 45 days when I log in with my frequent flyer # (which I added when booking on EZ Air)

.

Have you tried to add an arrival group?  You need to pick one on the Medallion app in the Travel Checklist?  Or is it not letting you pick an arrival group?

6 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Does Princess give everyone a cool face mask with their logo on it like Celebrity does or do you have to bring your own?

Princess has masks with their logo on them for sale in the onboard boutique.  You have the opportunity to  buy a pair when you order your medallion and those are the same quality, but cheaper and those patterns are not available onboard.  No one is giving cloth masks away.  I got a really nice black one with rhinestone  logo onboard for formal night.

You should bring a pack of masks with you as advised in the FAQs.  I dropped mine once in the buffet and they gave me a replacement, but in general, you should have your own supply.

I didn't see any sign of an English Afternoon Tea onboard the Majestic last month.  I am pretty sure that they will not do both Chef's Table and Winemaker's Dinner in a 3 day cruise; might not even do one, but someone here might know if they have done it in the past on such a short cruise.  

We loved our cruise in August, but you have to go into it knowing that it will be different than Pre-COVID.

LOL!  Yes, you definitely need magnetic hooks as the walls on the Majestic are metal. 😜 We actually have some and used them to hold hats and masks last month.

4 hours ago, cruiser1956 said:

I really appreciate everyone on Cruise Critic, and I learn something new every time I read these boards.  I have been on several Princess Cruises and never knew about the magic email address for upgrades.

 

Thanks to you kind folks I sent an upgrade request to the magic email address.  I received a response within 30 minutes.  I was offered an upgrade for my upcoming cruise on the 26th from my larger balcony cabin to a Penthouse suite.  There was a cost of $799 per person but it was worth the price to us.  I never would have known! 

 

Thank you  all for being such a wealth of knowledge for the rest of us!

 

Happy Cruising!

 

What is this magic email address?  I read through all these posts I think and didn't see any email address. I also never knew anything about this.  Do you have to be booked through Princess and not use a TA?

23 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Next, when a guest elects to have UPGRADE flag on, there are two types.  ANY UPGRADE or META UPGRADE.  The latter means you only accept possible UPGRADE to next major category.  Since you are already in the top level of Club Class Mini, this requires an upgrade to a Suite - not another Mini.  Now, you mentioned you don't want a Window Suite.  Well, they don't have Balconies and your Mini has a Balcony.  They won't upgrade you from a Balcony cabin to a non-Balcony cabin.  Therefore, a META UPGRADE for you  - if it were to be offered - is to a Suite with a Balcony.

I just had a conversation with my TA several weeks ago about this very possibility (Club Class Mini to Suite).  She told me that she could only mark it "no upgrade" or "upgrade."  I was sure that I had read about something that meant only to the next major category, but she didn't seem to know anything about it.  Now I can ask her about a "Meta Upgrade" if you are sure those are still being offered?  I told her to mark it no upgrade then as we have one of the prized corner Club Class Minis.  Last I looked, they still had 6 suites available!

4 hours ago, Joanne G. said:

Like Mary Ann 2 above, I was under the assumption that the PVP is typically paid for with the final payment. If I missed some fine print, that's on me.    But if it's true that the benefit of getting a future cruise credit only applies if the PVP is paid for prior to final payment, I can at least share the information.  

 

That's good to know!  I can see now that especially if you have pre-existing conditions, you should chose private insurance or pay for Princess insurance right away.  Of course anyone can have a condition come up before a cruise, so same maybe should be said for all cruises.

You sign up for dinner on the app where it says "Dine My Way."  You can then choose to dine the same time and dining room for the whole week or just specific days.  If you have trouble, I recommend that you do a Google search for Medallion Mondays video covering Dine My Way.  It is the way that I figured out how to add specialty restaurants like the Crown Grill.

We have the Princess Platinum plan.  Princess increased some of the limits this year which is good.  I am still up in the air about whether it is better to go with private insurance (we also have used insuremytrip), but since we are over 65, it is usually cheaper and I like that I don't have to pay for it until final payment.  With all the past cancellations, just that has saved money.

We stayed on the Lido deck with a front facing balcony last month.  It could be very windy, but it was incredible on Glacier Bay day!  We also saw more whales onboard because we could see both sides of the ship and ahead of the ship.  We did not feel like it was a long walk anywhere as the hall from the elevator is broken up with several bends and seems shorter that way.  Plus it was super convenient to get to the middle of the ship just down the elevator and out past the stores or easy to get to the buffet.  We have one of these side room mini suites on Lido for our fall cruise and can't wait!

I asked about the tumbler on our August Alaska cruise as I like to carry water in something to help it stay cool.  They said they didn't have any!

Getting testing at CVS also depends on the number of cases occurring at the time where the CVS is located.  We had no problem getting one last month, but a friend who was pretty sure the kids had COVID was told at multiple locations and organizations that if they were only having mild symptoms, testing was not being done to save the tests for those with more symptoms.  So they definitely wouldn't do it for traveling!  We decided not to take the chance it was available for our fall cruise and ordered the eMed tests.

54 minutes ago, DiRonT said:

Thanks for this info.  I did find a CovidClinic that does the RapidTest (Antigen) close by PSP Airport but they are pop-up locations and don't know for sure how long they will be there, so I am looking for alternatives.  Thinking I might buy the at home test kits but not real savvy about doing the "zoom call with monitor" part.  I guess we will try and figure it out.  Thanks again for the info you provided.

Watch one of the videos showing someone doing the test.  It looks pretty easy.  We chose this option.

40 minutes ago, Retired 07 said:

Does Princess ever post anything here prior to the cruise?  We are leaving in 3 weeks and I’d like to have an idea of some of the things to do on board.  

Yes, it was available sometime between 2 weeks ahead to one week. I can't remember exact days, but they added events over the span of multiple days.  There were several events on the app that never materialized onboard though.

Princess will give you the airline's confirmation code so you can go online at the airline's website and enter your frequent flyer info or info for TSA Precheck (if you didn't when booking) or upgrade seats (only after tickets are purchased at 45 days beforehand) with miles.  Most airlines now have an app that you can download so you are prepared before you leave home, and then you can simply check in online on the cruise and download your boarding pass on your phone.  So you would need wifi, but not the ability to print if you use digital boarding passes.

I ordered directly from eMed.com on Sunday and got our tests Tuesday.  The extended expiration is authorized by FDA so no problem with that unless you were hoping to use the tests next year.  We plan to use 2 pre-cruise and 2 more tests several days after we return from our fall cruise, so we don't need to stay away from friends and family for many days like we chose to do for their protection after our August Alaska cruise.