consmarci

Also, priority tenders, so you can walk on to the next tender showing your club orange card without getting on the line or needing a number for the next tender and waiting. Handy on sailings with many tender stops. 

Are come back and play offers limited to certain sailings? I've never had it happen before, but today was told certain sailings don't qualify when location and number of days fit the offer description.  I was told to look for sailings without an A in voyage number. I don't even know where to find voyage number. 

I have not had good experience using aarp discount if we booked a Casino deal. Also stock CCL discount won't be accepted with a Casino deal. I'm not complaining (a free cabin from Casino is nice), but just so others know that it will most likely be not accepted if you apply and not to be surprised. If it is accepted, you just got lucky! 

Having just gotten off Rotterdam, the Customer Service line was long with people with printouts of their gift cards to be applied. Those who didn't know about it were intrigued as we all had plenty of time to chat while in line. I will say, it took awhile. There were 4 different copies of every transaction going to different departments and they all needed to be signed and stapled and on and on. Took about half hour for 6 gift cards to be put on our OBC. It was seen immediately on the navigator app, so you can really follow whether they did it correctly. 

I am going to inquire ahead of time if I can have them put on the account with an agent over the phone before we sail, because it would be so much easier. I will say, 10 percent off can really add up and then if you use a credit card that earns points/miles, it is even more savings, so if you can get those discounts, it really can make a nice difference. You can also pay ahead for spa, internet, specialty dining ahead using the gift certificates. 

Hi. We've been to Aruba many times, but not until 11pm. We snorkel, usually at Arashi, and shop around a bit. Rented a car and explored last time. Any suggestions of something unique to do? 

43 minutes ago, leck57 said:

 

Yes. Go to the App and your voyage should appear. Scroll down to ocean Now and select Dine My Way. It will open a page "Personalize Your Dining Experience" - select "view or Book individual daily reservations" and at the top of the next page has a tab for each day of your cruise. Open these to see what you have booked for that day.

There may be somewhere that lists all of your bookings without having to check each day but I haven't found it. Hope this helps.

Wow! Why couldn't I figure that out? Thank you so much! All there and now I'm done!

Can anyone tell me where I can go to "confirm" that I actually got the reservations that I made for each day?

20 minutes ago, Moriah said:

1 hour ago, joannelj said:

First time on HAL, and as I was booking I found the room types confusing.  I'm okay with interior - I'm not worried about a view.  But the prices on the large and OV rooms was not a lot more than the interior, and I thought some extra space would be nice.

And that's when I got confused.

A basic interior is listed as Approximately 141-284 sq. ft.  The large interior is listed the same, 114-284.  The OV is Approximately 169-267 sq. ft.

So...  is there really that wide a range in the basic interior?  How much bigger is the large interior?  The OV is both larger and smaller than the interior, depending on which side of the range you look at.  So, in reality is it bigger than the Large interior?

 

I'm sorry if this has been asked before, I tried to search but was using my mobile, and really didn't find anything.

 

I've sailed RCCL, NCL, and CCL, and I'm looking forward to the upgrade to HAL!

 

Thanks,

JoAnne

We were just in a sideways interior and it seemed the same size as a regular interior, just the space was used differently and "felt" larger. Across the hall there were special needs interiors and they were huge, as rolling in a wheelchair was necessary. Each ship has different situations. Sometimes you can google a specific cabin number and get lucky with a youtube video and there is a website halfacts and there are often pictures of the different cabins on different ships that are posted by previous voyagers. Space (we are overpackers, well I am at least 🙂 ) is never an issue for us. There are also really nice hooks on the walls and we bring our own magnetic hooks for added hanging items. (hats, backpacks, bathing suit drying, etc.) 

 

We just did CO on our Nieuw Statendam cruise in Europe where there were many tendered ports. That was really the only benefit we thought was truly of value to purchase CO. Not having to grab a tender ticket and wait was really nice. The one unique entree is not a big deal at all. Most don't order it, maybe a dozen a night the maitre d said. CO actually was crowded and we had to wait for tables, even late, so you can be seated quicker in main diningroom. Many just chose to go there when she said there was a wait. I don't see a benefit in a cabin upgrade within the same category, but that's just me. We're hardly in the cabin. We did not notice noise in either the main diningroom or CO. We also were never offered a choice of table as it was too crowded for an option like that. The service was impeccable in both places. 

They do limit. Called to upgrade and they said no more available. On Rotterdam. In our experience it was never crowded.

Just called. Not good on previous bookings or casino bookings. I called back, same story. I was told yu have to preregister and get approved, but new bookings only.  Get preapproved in the area with military and teacher preapproved OBC. If anyone has success, can you please let us know? The article made no mention of previous bookings or casino not included.

It is 299 for 14 days per person. 

Just changed dates last week. It was paid in full,  so they took new payment and will refund original payment in a week or so, we hope. Silly process when funds could have been transferred,  but no fees to change, so we didn't push back. 

Well, just an update that it didn't work out. I spoke to someone who runs the giftcard area and she said that even though it says giftcards can be used for prepurchasing shore excursions, internet, they can't and won't be usable for spa. That the verbage on the site is a bit ambiguous and perhaps a comma is needed, but it clearly states that. Well, it clearly states they can be used for precruise spa, but arguing was not going to get me anywhere and although disappointing, not the end of the world. There are definitely real world problems larger than this.  I told her that a few people on cruisecritic said they successfully had an agent do it and she said to send her proof of that! Not worth my time to look up the old posts, but when I told her that as a CCL loyalist, we know that HAL accepts gift cards for anything and she wondered about that. I believe Carnival does as well. Anyway, no discounted spa unless we use a credit card, so beware if you are considering gift cards. Yes, you can save alot of money, but if the goal is to get a precruise discount in the spa with a giftcard, it won't happen. Very unfortunate as it is an easy fix for Princess to hire anyone who codes for computer systems. (not me) 

Just on a sidenote, having spoken to several employees in customer service and on chat, my experience was that these people are clueless for the most part and send you on a goosechase to an email or phone number that ultimately doesn't work. Many were hired during the pandemic and don't really know much and look up answers on a wikipage, so any difficult or nuanced problem won't have answers on the wiki and that's where the difficulty lies. Then, they call a supervisor who also has no clue how to assist if they want to. There are many employees that do a great job for basic questions, but very few specialists who can figure out the tough stuff. 

Happy cruising and thanks for input. Always appreciate good perspectives and helpful ideas, as that's what these boards are truly for in my opinion. 

I was told to call the gift card line again. I did and they are 3rd party and say to call Princess customer service. Princess customer service says to call the gift card line. I am not a quitter, but I can't do this anymore. I warn anyone reading this. DO NOT BUY A GIFT CARD to use for SPA services pre cruise.  I am not a "coder", but a simple button the checkout screen would solve this problem. Their personnel is untrained and just say anything they feel like saying. I'd really love anyone's advice, but I don't think this can be handled, unfortunately, as this has tainted my impression of Princess. This is our 30th cruise with the Carnival Corporation. Princess needs to figure out their customer service issues. 

2 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

I would try again via phone.  You just happened to get hold of a jerk.  You'll probably (hopefully) have better luck on the second go-round.

It only got worse today and the agent now put the gift card funds on my account as OBC and it can't be used to purchase anything before the cruise. I was on hold for 1 hour 20 minutes and then got disconnected. She then raised the price of my cruise 500.00 and I'm holding now trying to get this handled. It was paid in full and now the summary says if I don't pay, my cruise will be cancelled. I will never buy a gift card for Princess again. It isn't worth the savings to do it with AARP. My time is worth alot more than 50.00. I don't even know how to find someone to call who can help at this point. 

I just got off the phone with the rudest agent I've ever experienced. I was nice, calm, and just asked if they could take my e gift card payment over the phone for spa treatments since there is no button to click to check out that way. He put me on hold 3 times and each time came back with a different story. I read to him the paper that the ecard is on and it clearly states  "Giftcards can be used before sailing or once onboard, on everything from shore excursions and spa treatments to a cruise itself." I read it to him and he says I'm wrong. So, I ask if I can speak to a supervisor. He says he is as good as a supervisor and I requested that I have time and please let's try anyway. Then he puts me on hold and says he can't hear me...and hangs up. So, any ideas? I bought this 500.00 card to use now, not onboard. The prices are cheaper now and the spa sometimes sells out. I could use the name of a good agent or someone else, as we booked our cruise online with a special deal to click through. 

Hi. I tried to purchase a spa booking using a gift card, but the checkout offers credit card or paypal. Any idea why I can't use a gift card to prepurchase? Internet wifi package also? 

Cash can also be used at the tables to get chips, or just stand in line at the casino cage. 

Do you happen to remember who the Maitre De is at Club Orange?

Enjoying your review! We will be on this ship in August. Can you share what kind of games you found in the Crow's Nest? Puzzles too? (trying to figure out if we need to waste precious lbs to pack a few of our favorites) 

I appreciate the link. One price level is missing, however,  and I truly have searched for current pricing, as opposed to a few months ago, as prices have increased. 

I can't seem to find this information, but I know I can prepay for the premium, but what are the prices onboard for a 14 day plan for all 3 choices? We'll be on Nieuw Statendam this summer. Thank you. 

37 minutes ago, lissie said:

Insurance. Take photos - get a statement from HAL - claim on your travel insurance 

 

Why not shop on Amazon to replace - and use their locker system so you  can pick up the items when you return to Boston? The locker system is great for when you are travelling and need items - I used it last year in SF and found it reliable - there are number of location in  downtown Boston 

You are brilliant! It never occurred to me to use our insurance or an Amazon locker! Thank you!

Hope everyone boarded easily. I was wondering if anyone received items that weren't yours. Somehow my brand new suitcase was ripped and zipper broken on outer large pocket, between porters and cabin. I am missing 3 packages of stockings, black dressy purse and black sparkly top. The balance of the items in the pocket were wet and muddy and shoved inside but it wasnt zipped as the zipper was broken. I did report this, but what can I expect them to do? These items are not for the cruise, but for a wedding in Boston over memorial day weekend.  Any experience on what I can expect since this certainly wasn't my fault and definitely Hals. Guest services took the suitcase and muddy clothing to repair and clean, I guess? I was calm, filled out a form, but I truly do need these items for next Saturday night. Not happy to start vacation like this, but what can I do? The damage is done. Thoughts? 

Will be on Nieuw Statendam in Europe this summer and really don't want to pack board games if there is a variety on board. Can anyone look or share what they've seen on board? Thanks in advance.

Same here. I did find success doing it on my phone.