jones721

3 hours ago, dog said:

Use old app if possible.

delete credit card for shoreside .

you will have 6/7 steps completed.

👍 Thanks. Will try this.

Going into old app and adding a new credit card, it states MedallionPay Shoreside progam is adminitered by Radiqal Gaming, LLC!! On new app, it states, Carnival Corporation. Weird!

But I am guessing it is the app not working (old app and new one) as payment request is not getting as far as bank.

Thanks for the thought but Princess Southampton is closed on Sundays and live chat not available. We're on phone to different banks to see if we can get repeat requests being blocked but the problem seems to be because it's on the app as payment not being declined by them and not getting as far as them. So it looks like it is an app fault.

UK issue:

After reading that internet prices are due to rise tomorrow (22nd), I have repeatedly tried to pre-purchase a package for my July Regal cruise. I have tried 4 different cards now and each one has been declined. For shoreside purchases, it is showing up as a weird company name and not Princess Cruises (including the word Gamble?) and we are gussing that this is why it is being declined. If I were able to do it on the computer, I would get an online verfication process, but can't seem to do this through the app. Has anyone else had this same issue or been able to pre-purchase internet packages though princess.com rather than through the app?

Thanks!

Don't know how accurate this is, but at the bottom of the page in this link, it lists which flights are affected.

https://www.travelgossip.co.uk/latestnews/agents-and-customers-livid-after-po-cruises-partners-with-one-cabin-airline-with-no-entertainment/

Flight list

P&O Cruises said Maleth will make up around 25-30% of sourcing for Arvia bookings, using two aircraft on turnarounds, one from Gatwick and one from Manchester for Antigua and Barbados. For Britannia, one Maleth aircraft will be used, from Manchester to Barbados, on a Friday only.

The cruise line has released details of the flights that will operate on Maleth airlines. They are:

Britannia:

I have looked up details of my policy with Barclays (Aviva) and their Covid terms and conditions. It looks like we are only covered if we test positivebut hte negative partner not covered. Getting home doesn't seem to be an issue if only one test positive but getting on board does.

Interestingly, they state that: 'If your holiday provider cancels your package holiday, they legally have to give you a full refund.' So, does anyone else interpret that as meaning if P&O choose to not let me board if a partner is positive, then they legally have to refund? This is specifically under the Covid section.

On 9/9/2022 at 3:32 PM, Astrajet said:

We are on Britannia now so I will find out if the laundrette is open & let you know. 

 

Yes, we have an 8.30pm sitting - the earlier sitting is at 6.30pm & are both in the Oriental Restaurant. 

Shouldn't the option for this show up on MyP&O /  personaliser if I booked on launch and paid select fare just like it shows bed arrangements, cabin, flights, etc? Or is it something that the travel agent should have contacted me about? Thanks!

Same here. Transatlantic to Barbados.

On 8/24/2022 at 3:53 PM, Reef Dreamer said:

 

We were on this as well. We are four, two adults, two children. We have not sailed P&O before - been with princess and RCL.

 

we all thought the MDR food was - as a running average as some nights are better than others - the best of our cruises. The service we had (fixed dining) was also excellent. I would say it was one of the highlights of the experience.

 

Don’t get me wrong, other aspects on the ship drove me mad re food, like virtually nothing in the atrium without charge. The buffet i found to be more limited than the others. 

 

I would recommend the breakfast in the restaurant rather than buffet - this was good.

 

we also tried the beach house and Sindu - both were well above expectations. Oh, we also did the epicurean  afternoon tea - bit of a luxury, but impressive all the same.

Is fixed dining back on Britannia? We sail end of October, select fare, and we haven't had option for fixed.

Thanks!
Tracey

Yes, you can if you want - they aren’t that much more expensive. I test twice a week for work so am used to self testing. You can pick up free lateral flow tests from the pharmacist and take a box on holiday if you want. I have a box ready to take with me if I need to check at all during the cruise  in case I develop any symptoms.

Tracey

PS If you test positive during the lateral flow then I am sure that you would book a free PCR test at a testing centre, so I am not sure why Cunard would say that?? But PCRs are more reliable so some choose to do this rather than a lateral flow.

35 minutes ago, sandancer said:

Yes, that’s correct I did think we had to physically return the test to a test centre but I now know better. The test result has to be emailed and then posted back to

the lab within 2 days of returning to the UK. We are not using the same company as Jones721 but I think it will be the same procedure. 

If you have ordered a PCR, then that goes back to the lab. If it is lateral flow (as is now the case) you administer that at home and then upload proof to the company’s website. They should, in due course, provide you with a certificate should anyone need to check. Do you have to send yours in by post as well?

Tracey

22 hours ago, sandancer said:

We are taking the Atlantic Coast cruise on Dec 13th so I will be following along with interest. One question I have for you is actually a pre-cruise query and is regarding the second day covid test on return. I’ve read the email sent by Cunard and I’m finding it all a little disconcerting.  Can you tell me how you went about obtaining the test?  Although we live in the NE we will be staying over near Southampton when we disembark so presumably that means booking a test with a company in that area as the test has to be returned to them. I’m so grateful for any advice. 

Hi,

We are also on the same sailing as you, 13th December. 

We sailed Regal Princess at the end of October and also had to do the 2 day lateral flow test. Although it all seems rather complicated first time around, I am confident that it will be much easier this time so any questions, please ask.

We booked the 2 day lateral flow test from Testingforall at £19 each. I notice that they are now £17 (as they seem to be competitive and have lowered their prices). The reference number for your order needs to go on your passenger locator form (again, complicated but should be easier second time around). Testingforall posted out my test the day I got back into Southampton and it arrived the next morning. It needs to be done by day 2 (I think they count the first day you arrive back as day 0) and then a photo of the result needs to be uploaded to Testingforall website. Within a few hours they then email you a certificate of your result.

One word of warning, please read the instructions for photographing and uploading the photo of the negative test carefully. It has to be photographed at the 15 minute point and then uploaded before the 30 minute point (as results are not valid after that time). I didn’t upload mine until 32 minutes but they allowed it as I had proof of the time I had taken the photos.  I didn’t read the instructions properly!!

Hope to see you on board.

Tracey 

2 minutes ago, john watson said:

 

This is strange, I embarked Regal Princess 30 October for a four night cruise to Rotterdam.  It included Halloween so the bars were a bit crowded at times with some passengers who were dressed up as zombies, killers, blood stained apparel etc. some had axes and machetes which were just toys. There was a hypnotist and I was collared into the act much to the amusement of my daughter and her fiance. I am back to school Tuesday to invigilate.  We go in via swimming pool entrance and frequent a large sports hall and stay masked up throughout.

 

Regards John

Interesting, I leave Regal with a sore throat (did not appear until that afternoon) and you embark the same ship. I am only just starting to get over it now - it had moved to a general cold and aches by Friday.

We loved the regal cruise - my daughter had her wedding on there. It was amazing and I can’t praise the staff and ship highly enough.

I teach primary so have the same class all day and the children much more interested in telling me when CO2 monitor levels rise than I would imagine secondary school children do!

23 minutes ago, john watson said:

 

One hopes she takes a self-test at home.  I got back recently from a cruise my official negative result came through but I have also self-tested daily for four days with negative results each time Only because I feel ill have a sore throat and cough.

 

Regards John

What cruise did you just get back from? We disembarked Regal Princess on 30th October and I have had an extremely sore throat since then (only just going now). Self tested every day and all negative so non-Covid related but I have kept my distance from others, just in case. I also teach in a school so we test twice weekly anyway.

Just received our CO2 monitors - I keep top windows open all day to ventilate and most of my CO2 readings have been under the recommended 800. If it goes above, the children quickly tell me and we open doors and windows to refresh the air. It shows that ventilating the room works. 

We just got off Regal Princess last weekend. The same happened to us before we sailed.

We had booked ‘obstructed deluxe balcony’ on deck 8 midship - so larger angles balcony and effectively no obstruction. My daughter was getting married on the ship and we had several cabins booked in a row. I noticed they had moved us when I checked something else on my planner and I had not received any notification either. What upset me was the fact they had split us up and moved us all to different locations all over the ship - so no longer in a row, midship.

I rang Princess solidly for about a week - no one could move me back to a midship (one side of deck used for isolation but identical cabins on opposite side of deck available) as it was effectively a change of grade and needed a supervisor to change grades. I just wanted my equivalent old cabin back! I held for up to 2 hours at a time - both Southampton and USA - but always same story, needed to be transferred to guest relations and the phone was never picked up. I wrote 3 letters of complaint - nothing. And, in the meantime, I watched all the available balcony cabins become unavailable as they moved others around and took more bookings.

I eventually got through to someone in Southampton who said he would sort it for me. He was very sympathetic and said he was determined to put us together in midship balconies. Disappeared for about 20 mins and then came back with good news and bad news. Bad news, no he couldn’t move us to the midship cabins next to each other as they were upgrades and he wasn’t allowed. Good news, he had found two adjacent midship cabins to move two of the group to. I looked up the cabin. Ordinary balcony, not deluxe, no sofa bed for my elderly infirm mother but a Pullman. I asked how my 83 year old blind mother was going to climb a ladder to get into her bunk as that was a downgrade to a non sofa cabin and representative was most upset that I wasn’t pleased he had got two cabins together!!!!! He didn’t seem to think that was a problem!

I insisted on being transferred to his supervisor (whom he told me was unavailable as he was on the phone). I insisted on waiting. Almost 3 hours on phone. He eventually answered and put us in the only remaining balconies together - at last! This took 17 phone calls and 3 looooooong  letters of complaint!

As an aside, everything on board was AMAZING and so was the wedding. The ship staff exceeded our expectations and more than made up for the poor customer service shoreside (complete lack of staff to deal with phone calls and problems).

Tracey

Yes, I had to do verification from my bank too and also saw the red system error logo. Had left my mobile in work so it had to go to my email but came through within seconds. Paid on credit card so have to wait for statement to see if it went through correctly (no online account for it).

Made my payment yesterday. Same problem - wheel whirred around and around. Phoned P&O, automated message said the wait was in excess of 45 minutes and kept cutting me off. Eventually, I closed the payment page and opened a new tab to try again. Surprise, surprise, I could not pay balance as it said balance had already been paid!

So the whirring wheel does not necessarily mean payment has not gone through...

On 4/27/2021 at 12:48 PM, luvavacation said:

My family loved the elegance of the atmosphere and main atrium on our Divina and Seaside cruises.  We now have a daughter planning her wedding, and the happy couple would like to be married on the MSC cruise out of Orlando.  They are looking at end of November, 2021.  We are confident that cruises will be sailing by then, but we not going to firm up the plan for another month, just to see how things progress for cruising.

 

I have expressed concern over the lack of confidence in MSC's main operations sticking with what ship and dates are on the books right now for November.  I am not sure if we can trust MSC to not change everything before the wedding date.  It would be terrible if all the guests had booked the cabins, and suddenly the ship and date or port of departure changes on us.

 

Yet, we all really loved what MSC offered, and it sure would be a beautiful ship to be married on, and our extended family and friends would like the more European touches.

 

If this was your child, would you start planning that MSC wedding?  Or, would you choose a cruise line that you have experienced, also liked, and have a bit more confidence in their planning services and lack of future "surprises"? 

 

Princess is usually listed as the top cruise line for weddings, and we have also done 2 Royal cruises and 14 Disney.  Carnival is also a possibility, out of Port Canaveral, but it is at the bottom of the list.  We have not appreciated our Carnival cruises as much as our Disney cruises (but the cabin rate for Disney might price it out of the budget for some of our guests).  

 

Thoughts?

My daughter had her wedding booked for late May on Regal Princess out of Southampton. In January, she transferred it to late October (same ship, same itinerary) before May trips were cancelled. We are hoping that it will go ahead. If not, we will rethink but cruises starting again in UK this summer so are starting to feel optimistic. Princess were very good at transferring everything over (even though, at the time, the May one was still 'scheduled' to cruise).

Just close family on October. Some of the May guests decided not to rebook.

Tracey

22 hours ago, davecttr said:

Apparently a lot of states in the USA will vaccinate anybody, not just locals which makes it a lot easier to vaccinate crew. 

 

We should be OK in the UK this summer even if the crew are not vaccinated as we will be and the crew have been in quarantine for ages.

Agreed. Anyone physically in the state of Florida can go along and get a vaccination. They do not have to be a resident.

I have a house in Florida and lots of snowbirds came down from Canada to get their vaccinations. At present, a lot of bookings are coming in from South America (only from those countries permitted to enter the US) and they are staying for 3+ weeks solely to get their first and second doses of the vaccine. Nothing to do with close to expiring stock. I have been asked by my management company if I want to take any of these longer term bookings rather than regular holiday makers. I spoke to management company on phone last night - her own children (18+) have had the vaccine and she said that most people eligible (who wanted it) had already had it too.

So nothing to stop crew getting their doses there if cruise lines allowed to dock in US waters.

Tracey

So to clarify:

Those who have had cruises cancelled by P&O since March have until November to apply for a refund? The default is a FCC automatically issued by P&O but the guest can decide to have a refund instead as long as they request this by November 30th?

I haven't done anything yet about my two cancelled cruises (April and May), not filled in any forms nor used any FCC. I am assuming that I can leave this sitting there and opt for a refund if I decide I want the money instead? At the moment, there are no cruises I would want to travel on (stuck to school holidays) and prices are going up all the time.

If you are not sure whether you will use your enhanced 125% Future Cruise Credit offer which has been automatically applied to your account, you have until 30 November 2020 to request a refund. By completing the form below, you will miss out on the offer of 125% Future Cruise Credit and will instead receive a 100% refund. Please note we are only able to process refund requests via this online form due to the unprecedented demand on our Customer Contact Centre and wider business, and that refunds may take up to 60 days to be processed. In the meantime, please do not call us but rest assured we will be working through this process as quickly as we can.

On 3/31/2020 at 6:10 PM, pete14 said:

I used FCC today to book an alternative cruise to one that has been cancelled and received the advertised OBC without needing to ask.

Is that the advertised OBC for that booking or carried forward OBC from the cancelled one?

Thanks.

1 hour ago, Eglesbrech said:

Ours went to the junk mail but we did get something, it took a good few days to come so you may get something yet.

Just checked my spam folder and, yes, mine went in there too.

1 hour ago, AndyMichelle said:

The email we received said that the FCC will be automatically added to your account. I took this as it was done straight away, but I don't know how you could check. 

I would suggest doing a dummy booking for what you want and see what happens when you get to the payment page.. 

Nothing would be booked until you pay, so no risk. 

I would hope FCC would be there as a payment option? 

Good luck. 

Andy 

 

I've been waiting to hear about that too (emailed P&O a couple of weeks ago, but no reply yet).

Have just tried a dummy booking but website is asking for full payment - nothing showing up on my account yet.

Can I clarify something:

• if P&O have cancelled your cruise (as they have mine on April 3rd), then you still get the 125% FCC as detailed in the email from them?
• if you decide to cancel, then the FCC is 110%?

Basically, am I still going to get 125% FCC for my cancelled April cruise or has it now fallen to 110%?

Thanks!

Total change of subject - apologies.

We chatted last year because we were both booked on Azura and the trip was cancelled and we were offered Ventura. We had both just done / were doing the Canaries so didn't really want Ventura with the same itinerary.

Does this mean you also swapped over to the Ventura one? I know you were trying for Britannia but it was more expensive. And, I am guessing that you are also going to Disney from your post above?? We have a house there 🙂 .

Tracey