holomuku

That's crazy.  I worked in cargo sales for a major international air carrier and standard response time expected on voice mail was same day if it was left before 4pm.  I frequently worked very late and/or very early days, including week-ends, for customers that were located in another time zone and/or country.  I hope HAL is monitoring this thread and someone starts to kick-a**!!

Everyone has to do what is right for them.  With so many losing their jobs since event, and with unemployment benefits being very delayed-- I say dispute the credit card if you need money.  Princess keeps "pushing out" their refund times and it could be as long as 90 days- a long time for someone not getting a paycheck.

babydrum- This is what appears to have happened.  I got two letters from Capital One today stating that they have done the refund-- not Princess.  So we'll see what happens.  At this point we have no where to spend it anyway!  Just hoping to get Princess "off the dime."  Time will tell!  Thank you for your input.

Just noticed that my credit on the statement does not show Princess Cruises-- it shows "Purchase Adjustment" and then a credit for  the amounts paid.  Two different transaction, deposit and final payment both show "Purchase Adjustment" although when charged it showed Princess.  Not sure why this would be, perhaps they are outsourcing some of these refunds to get them done quicker.  Might that make a difference?

So- when the 30 day period had passed I called my credit card company and asked about disputing.  I didn't think I could as it  had been paid for months ago.  They advised I could dispute and so I did.  Advised my travel agent, he said that they had changed their refund range to 60-90 days (as shown on their website but not emailed to agents or customers) and that by disputing it might even hold it up more.  

I filed the dispute on April 13th.  My funds (including EZ Air) showed up on my credit card April 16th, although dated April 13th.  Our credit card is a Capital One Mastercard.  Everyone has to do what they think is right for their own situation.

Glad I can put this to rest. Wish we could go somewhere and celebrate!

When we lived in Fresno, CA, schools started somewhat early August as well.  Awful because the weather was SO hot. Here in the Pacific Northwest, they usually start around Labor Day.  So much better!  However, they let out later as well.  And now many areas have "year round" school and many folks are choosing to home school.  Can't count on anything these days-- or so it seems!

In my opinion- another advantage of a September cruise to Alaska is fewer children.  We went in September (on Celebrity however I think it would be the same on any other line) and were told that we had less than 50 children onboard-- and the cruise  previous to ours (late August) had over 300 children on board.  I'm not anti-child but over 300?  Crew said it made them have to work harder and longer to clean rooms, etc.  Just an FYI, as they say.  We had great weather as well.  As many have said, weather is iffy.   Most US schools start around Labor Day -- so many families make their family vacation in late August.

Here's a link to the current list of cancelled cruises-

https://www.princess.com/news/notices_and_advisories/notices/itinerary-modifications-cancellations.html

Many are cancelled months out and others not-- not sure what the deal with the Sapphire Princess is but they've cancelled June cruises already.  Doesn't appear they are moving it elsewhere, but who knows.

I have friends that are booked out of Japan in May and even though it's not on this list, they have been advised their cruise is cancelled.  I'm trying to find out if it was on the Diamond Princess or not-- maybe that's why it's cancelled.  

Never mind- just reread the email from my friend and they are booked on Celebrity.  It left from Japan and did a couple of stops in Japan, one in Russia and then on to Vancouver.  Still wonder why they cancelled it with no China stops?

So sorry this happened to you.  Just goes to show the importance of cruise insurance.  If you're cruise insurance covers cancelling for medical reasons perhaps you could state the stress of the situation is making you ill- I know it would make me sick from stress!

This time period (March and April) is Spring Break for many in school.  I can see where some would take advantage of the $1 more for 3rd and 4th-- I would expect that some of these ships will have quite a few kids on them.  Glad we are booked in May!  (and no, we don't hate kids- we dislike the parents that don't take responsibility for them.  Please-- no flaming, I'm just saying that is something someone might expect in this time frame with this promotion).

Great- thanks for the screen shot-- now I see the "direction" box.  Sorry to be so needy!  It's about $100 less pp than going direct through the airline.  Appreciate your help!

Great, thanks for the speedy reply.  I don't see a way to do it in the Cruise Personalizer-- should I call them?  Or ask my TA?

Thank you!  And Happy New Year!

Does anyone know if you can get EZ Air one way?  We're going out of Southern California and would prefer Southwest because they don't charge for bags- returning from Vancouver the flights are kind of spendy though.  Just wondering if anyone has had success with one way EZ Air (Utilizing Portland, OR Airport).  

We are booking a 6 night repositioning on the Ruby, booking a mini-suite for two of us.  In looking at the available cabins, some have a triangle which I believe indicates "3rd person"-- does this mean a couch that pulls out?  Other cabins show a round dot and indicate "3rd and 4th person"-- are these the ones that have the 3rd and 4th beds that are in the sides and/or ceiling?  Since we wouldn't need these, I would guess (and that's why I'm asking!) for two of us the triangle rooms would be better.  Right now E731 is available, which apparently has a larger balcony but also has the dot indicating 3rd and 4th berths which I'm guessing are the ones in the ceiling/sides that take up room.  Any input is much appreciated!  Relatively short trip but we spend a fair amount of time in the room so want to get this right.  Thank you in advance for any input.

I realize the topic here is Princess- but wanted to share that (IMHO) any cruise line can serve a poor meal.  We recently cruised Oceania which some think has terrific food.  I ordered a prime rib end cut and got a bloody undercooked mid-cut.  When I barely touched it the waiter asked what was wrong and I advised him.  He then took it back and they broiled it!  That only made things worse!  They did offer another entrée but at that point I was fine with salad and an appetizer.  As others have said, you make the best of it and move on.  

We got the letter over the week-end.  Sorry, but I think their timing is poor- this is a busy time of year for most people.  And no option to correct by email or even fax?

They missed one of our cruises from 2002- I agree with those that say the change in ownership (from HAL) seems to be part of the problem.  I appreciate them trying to get it right but it would be nice if they gave easier options to correct it.  I always keep the boarding card but it didn't have the precise date on it- did have voyage number, etc. so hopefully that's all they need.

Thanks to everyone for the input.  On all ships cabin location is important, (in my opinion) but particularly on a small ship it's even more important.  It's great to have people that have "been there, done that" for real input.  We were on the now-gone Celebrity Mercury several years ago and had a cabin that butted about to the basketball court.  What a nightmare!  Lesson learned!

2 hours ago, Colo Cruiser said:

You are lucky.  😁

In some ways --yes. In others - not so much.  Both of my husband's parents had "foot issues" so the podiatrist says he inherited bad feet.  Some people inherit money, my husband inherited bad feet!  (but a steady stomach for sailing so that part is good!).  

🗺️

20 minutes ago, Colo Cruiser said:

I know you say it is not an issue.........but me.

IMO I would be more worried about the movement there than noise.

Colo Cruiser-  We're fortunate that motion sickness isn't an issue for us.  We've done Azamara, Windstar (even smaller than Azamara) several times and no issues.  We have been on trip where other people were pretty miserable but somehow we both escaped that malady.  (now for some others...….)

Yes, I also tried to find reviews specific to Deck with not much luck.  Guess it's such a small ship that it's hard to find information.  Hopefully will get some experienced Pacific Princess cruisers to set our mind at ease!

Hi there,

We are looking at booking the Pacific Princess for a Panama Canal cruise Jan. 20.  We've got our eyes on the CAT BF balcony cabins on Deck 6- the ones farther forward.  I know motion can be issue for some but it's not a concern for us.  What does concern me is these cabins appear to be above the bar and stage on Deck 5.  Anyone who ever stayed in these-- advice on any noise issues would be appreciated.  Thank you in advance.

10 minutes ago, Colo Cruiser said:

Yes...the Caribbean Princess was the first to get the extra deck and no additional public space.

Good to know I'm not totally losing it-- always a question these days!  One has to wonder when they add that many new passengers how they manager to add more life boats?  I'm sure they've got it figured out!

2 hours ago, Colo Cruiser said:

 

Maybe referring to the addition of Riviera deck (500 passengers) for the first time on Grand Class ships?

I thought it was the Caribbean Princess-- however it's been a few years since we went so I could very well be incorrect.  I remember researching it before we left and reading about it so I seem to think they did add additional passengers.  You had to get to the show at least 30 minutes early to get a seat, etc.  However than can be true for ANY large ship on ANY line.  Either way, we'll be sticking to the smaller ships as we just find them more to our liking.  Great to have so many choices, isn't it?

1 minute ago, Waynetor said:

The cost of the package has more than kept up with inflation over the past few years.

Our last few trips have been on Azamara where drinks and tips are included.  With that said, you do pay for them, it's just built into the cruise fare.....in my opinion.  This probably is very reasonable for a package, I'm just a little out of date.

2 hours ago, JF - retired RRT said:

As others mentioned...that's the price and if you don't drink at least 6-7 alcoholic beverages/day, it's not cost effective.

Just do a "pay as you go" for what you want to drink and do book the Pacific Princess.

We're on that sailing, love the Pacific. It's a great experience, the way cruising used to be.

No crowds, walk anywhere in 5 minutes, friendly crew and (usually) passengers.

We are fans of the smaller ships as well- we've done the larger lines (Celebrity, Costa, Royal Caribbean, NCL) and larger Princess Ships (Caribbean Princess) and just can't enjoy ourselves compared to the small ones we've been on (Azamara, Windstar, Oceania).  I'll keep an eye out for a "Sip and Sail" type deal but will probably do as you suggest and pay as we go.  Any tips on cabins?  We'll be doing a balcony- any locations you can suggest?  Thank you for the information!

Not a new state, unfortunately!  We did one Princess Cruise a few years ago on the Caribbean Princess and was not impressed-  not awful by any means, however the additional cabins they added without additional passenger space made it seem really crowded.  At any rate...every cruise and itinerary is different.  We'e done 18 cruises on 7 different lines so hey-- you just never know, right?

We are now looking at doing the Pacific Princess from FLL to LAX this January.  I looked at the Beverage Package information on the Princess website and it states that the charge is $59.99 PP + 18% per day making it $70.79 per day.  Is that correct?  Seems a bit excessive.  We did buy the Beverage Package the last time we cruised Princes but I don't remember it being that expensive.   Am I reading it wrong?

Thank you in advance for anyone who can clarify it for me.  Great sails to you all!