runner2013

Hi all, Sorry it took me so long to get back to you. I'm happy to report DH's buddy made it onto the ship and is having a great time. He did some sightseeing in Italy the day before embarkation and is enjoying his time on board. He still plans to talk to the Next Cruise people regarding his 'future cruise' situation he was told he signed up for by Princess Promotions, (whether or not they can help him, he doesn't know) but otherwise he says he is satisfied. If I heard more i'll report back. P.

HI all, Well, It's go time for dh's buddy. They all leave this afternoon for Italy. They received their cabin assignments, are all checked in on the app, and I believe made all their dinner reservations as well. Not sure if the buddy ended up getting travel insurance or not, didn't want to ask and seem like I was beating a dead horse. They arrive on Sunday, (flying from United States) and don't board until Tuesday the 2nd. Supposedly they have tours booked for the Vatican and one other place. They also have transportation arranged from the hotel to the pier on embarkation day which makes me feel better. My final piece of advice was to bring copies of everything, just to have. You never know what you might need. The buddy did also say Princess Promotions paid for the entire cruise upfront and will be taking payments from his credit card until sometime next year. So, I guess that situation was straightened out as well. Anyway, that's all I've got. If the buddy happens to contact DH while sailing i'll be sure to let you all know. To anyone else who may be hopping on this sailing, safe travels and have a great time😁

I want to say there are a few policies you can buy close to the sailing date, but the options included in them are not the best. If/when I hear anything else I'll be sure to come back here and let you all know. Thanks for your input and advice. As always much appreciated.

Hi all, Just thought i'd pop back in with a quick update. Hubby's buddy asked us for help booking travel insurance for the trip. We thought they already had it through Princess, but his buddy said they felt it was too expensive and wanted to look elsewhere. His significant other has a very sick sister and they're looking for a policy that will cover them in case the worst happens, and they need to leave the ship and fly home. I took him to the sites I usually use but they too, did seem expensive. I advised him to call the company directly and speak with an agent. I felt that would be the best way for them to possibly get the best rate for the option they need. They also have their flights through Princess after all. Originally, he said they did, then he said they didn't, now they do. No idea what to make of this but again we're staying out of it. We also don't know if the buddy has gotten his cabin assignment yet, or if the travel agents/company he's been using this entire time is still taking money out each month to pay for the mysterious future cruise he agreed to when he originally booked. Again, we don't feel there's anything we could do at this point anyway, so we'll let sleeping dogs lie. They are all supposed to leave this Saturday. They join the ship April 1st in Italy. We're hopeful but nervous. Once I hear anything I'll report back.

I didn't even know there was a club being built in Nassau. Now Cozumel as well 🙄. Good for folks and/or families who will use it and enjoy it. But me personally, not that interested in going to Nassau or Cozumel on a large portion of my cruises. I walked around Perfect Day at Coco Cay once, it was wonderful but that was enough. If I wanted a beach vacation, I'd have booked a nice hotel somewhere in the Caribbean.

The Medallion technology is pretty nice. We were skeptical at first but once on board it seemed to work out pretty well. One fun note, when standing by the elevators, watch the big info screens on the walls. They read who is nearby and sometimes will put a welcome message on the screen with your name. We were onboard for our 1st year wedding anniversary and all week every time we approached a screen it changed to a congratulatory message with our pic and glasses of champagne. It was a nice little touch that we appreciated. Definitely something you'd never get from Royal.

We've also sailed with Princess several times. I agree, the display screen outside the room is a very nice idea. It worked out well for us every time.

OOhhh, When does this happen? Every morning or only certain days.: Is it listed in the Compass?

Thanks everyone for the help. This is our first time on an Oasis class ship and we wanted to make sure we know what to expect.

Hi all, We will be sailing on Allure in October. While reading online versions of the Cruise Compass from Jan 2024, it says reservations required under several of the shows. Can anyone who's been on Allure recently confirm reservations are actually needed or is it still just walk up/first come open seating? Thanks

Hi all, First time DH and I are booked on Allure and wondering if we can see the Aqua show from our balcony. We're in Cabin 11729 on Deck 11. We've never been on an Oasis class ship and have no idea what to expect. Tia

Yes, his long-time gf is going but don't know how involved she is with things. DH and I are staying out of things as much as possible at this point. DH tried offering suggestions at the beginning and the buddy wasn't interested. We're hoping for the best.

Only once, when DH and I got married 2 years ago this May.

HI all, Quick update. DH spoke to his buddy the other night and he actually said he feels he bit off more than he can chew. Says he should have stuck with a much shorter, easier to handle trip. DH asked him about the app and checking in, and dinner reservations etc. Guess the buddy has the app downloaded but hasn't done his check in yet. Buddy also told his sister who's going she was in charge of making all the dinner reservations for them. She wants no part of it. Hubby stressed buddy may want to get on the dinner situation sooner rather than later. I hear anything else I'll keep you all informed. When all is said and done, I'm still hoping for a good outcome. 🤞

Hi all, Is there still a happy hour type thing in the Crown lounge every night with free drinks during that time? We just reached diamond and know we receive 4 drink coupons each day, but weren't sure if the hh still existed or was replaced by the coupons . Thanks

Ok, So hubby just told me his buddy did get just his flights to Italy through Princess Ez air. That's not what his buddy told me the other night on the phone but maybe I misunderstood him. ?? All this confusion is making my head spin. I can't imagine how his buddy is feeling Thanks everyone for your help. I'll be sure to keep you updated.

If PP paids off the cruise for DH's friend. Would they then expect payment to be finished by the time the cruise comes or would they allow him to finish paying off after the cruise ends?

Good question.

I've never heard of any travel agency that pays for your cruise in full ahead of time and then bills you for the money. Maybe I'm wrong, but as far as I know, none of them do that. (if anyone has heard of this please correct me.) My Hubby tried to ask his friend questions way back when this all started and the friend didn't really want any advice or input, so we've both stayed out of it until now. We've said our peace and will just stay out of whatever happens. If we're asked, we'll offer an opinion but otherwise, it's not our business.

Oh no, you are totally correct.🙄

That is exactly what happened. He was cold called by them.

I think he can still get insurance through one of those websites that lets you compare different plans. Maybe not the medical waiver portion but at least something to cover luggage loss or trip delay, etc. Supposedly the hotels are all booked/confirmed and paid for. No idea if he actually did the confirmation himself or is going on what his contact at princess promotions is telling him. I've never heard of a charge for a future cruise either, that's why my red flags went up and I'm here asking for opinions. All you folks who've cruised longer than me have a much better knowledge of how things work. As far as him having all receipts, emails, verification, etc. I have no idea what he has or doesn't have. I did stress to him make sure he brings paper copies of all his documents when he goes. What he'll do, I couldn't even guess.

The travel agent found him. He was cold called by someone from Princess Promotions.

I know right!!! He has the booking #, and does see the cruise in the personalizer. According to Princess personalizer he's paid in full, but according to buddy's own math, he hasn't paid the full price yet. The Buddy is getting his own flights to Rome, he's isn't using ez air like he first thought he was. Far as I know, he hasn't confirmed with the hotels yet. Or maybe he has but just didn't tell me. Not sure.

Hello everyone, I have another update!! Quick recap for those who've come late to the party. My DH's friend booked a cruise through Princess Promotions and was being told all sorts of wierd things ranging from he only needed 65% of cruise paid off before sailing, to free hotel stays nights before the ship leaves in Italy. (its a 21 day trip from Italy ending in Florida ) Ok, here we go.. I talked to his buddy on speaker phone last night and got the scoop. Supposedly princess promotions originally called him and asked if he wanted to book a cruise. He said yes but wanted to talk with his sister and brother in law to see if they were interested as well. The representative he spoke with when he called back to book was located in London. He was originally told only 65% payment needed before the cruise sails. He was given his invoice # and all other details they had at that time. Fast forward to several months later. The buddy was called in the middle of the night and told he needed to make final payment or trip is cancelled. He hung up on the guy saying he was told that's not true. The Buddy then called his person at Princess Promotions next day, told him what happened, and the rep said he did the right thing by hanging up on the person. So, Fast forward to now: The itinerary has been changed due to what's happening in the Red Sea. He was told they will get 300. OBC for the change, (that sounds ok to me but who knows) He will also get (and here's where my alarm bells go off) 7 free nights in any hotel anywhere in the world. So, the buddy hearing this, chose 2 nights in Rome before the cruise leaves, and 2 nights in Florida after it ends. But...... he has to pay roughly 124. for the 2 nights in Italy, and 100 for the 2 nights in Florida. I finally stopped him at that point and asked him if he actually logged into princess.com and saw his trip and invoice #. He said he did, it is there, and it shows as fully paid off. (he has a gauranteed balcony so no actual cabin assignment yet) Now according to his calculations, he has not finished paying off the trip and doesn't understand how this could be. So his sister called Princess directly and they too show it as paid off in full. hmmm no idea how that works. He's never gotten any type of cancellation email or call from Princess so he's sticking with his story that he's all paid off. Now.... last week his credit card is charged another $500.00, for what he doesn't know so he calls the rep at Princess Promotions. He is told (and again my red flag went up) "oh when you booked your cruise you also booked 2 future cruises as well. That charge is for your future cruise" He kept telling the rep he didn't book any other cruises and the rep said you didn't read the fine print about this promotion, you needed to book 2 more cruises to get the promotional cruise. They didn't give him any type of invoice number, where, when, what ship, etc. for this future cruise, just that the money taken out was for that future cruise. So, his sister calls Princess directly again and they were no help at all. They don't know what his sister is talking about and didn't have any other invoice #'s and don't show them booked on anything else but the one trip leaving April 3rd. I stopped him again and asked him what I think is the next important question: DOES HE HAVE TRAVEL INSURANCE? He said no, and I told him in no uncertain terms they needed to get real travel cruise insurance immediately!! He referred to the cruise line's insurance and my DH and I both said absolutely not!!! He needs to get and independent travel insurance company to cover this because we both feel something isn't right and it just doesn't make sense. His buddy doesn't know what to think now, he's getting nervous because no one at Princess directly can give him any answers and what he's being told from his rep at Princess promotions he doesn't thinks makes sense. I told him I've been cruising for a while and some of what he's being told doesn't sound correct to me at all, but I said I'd post something on here to get the opinions of all you 'heavy hitters' out there who've been cruising a lot longer than me and know a whole lot more about things. So, after reading my foolishly long post, does everything seems just a little fishy or am I making a big deal over nothing. This is the first time his buddy has actually talked to us about the trip, and we felt badly being so negative, but we don't want him to fly all the way over to Rome and be told he can't go because he was scammed. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Again, sorry for the long post..