runner2013

Azbirdmom, DH has 'casually' tried to ask about the personalizer and the booking numbers etc. He suggested to his buddy to reread over everything a few times to make sure he doesn't miss anything. No idea if he has done that, maybe someone else sailing with him has and says things are ok? I just don't know. But my biggest fear is the final payment as suggested above which would be beginning of Jan will come and go and he'll receive an email the next day from Princess saying everything has been cancelled.

See, that's the thing, His buddy isn't the most reliable of people when it comes to things like this. He sometimes tends to (I feel) put too much trust in the person telling him what's happening and not doing enough investigation of his own. If it were me I would have spent a lot of time going over everything before I was comfortable booking, and even then, I would be checking all the time to make sure nothing slipped through the cracks. But I know not everyone is like me and I can sometimes worry too much about my cruises. I just don't want anyone to miss out on such a wonderful trip because of an oversight.

Its the April 2nd, 23 day repositioning cruise starting in Rome/Civitavecchia and ending in fort Lauderdale. On the Island Princess.

Hi all, I'm posting to see what you all think about a situation my DH's friend is in. We both think something doesn't sound right. It's just too 'wierd' from everything we've ever known about paying for a cruise before you go. Here's a quick recap of what's happening: DH's friend and his long time girlfriend, plus 2 other couples are booked on a 23 night cruise starting in Italy, and ending in Ft. Lauderdale beginning of April 2024. They bought a drink package and the flights through Princess as well. (Here's what's so concerning to us). 1, His buddy booked a gauranteed cabin. He told the TA he wants to be on deck 9 and the TA said " no problem you're all set" 2. His buddy is having payments taken out every week? or every month? I'm assuming by the Travel Agency as opposed to Princess directly since he didn' t book with Princess. With the amount he quoted my DH that is being taken out, if it's every month there's no way it will be enough to pay for everything. before final payment date. 3, DH was talking to his buddy yesterday and he tells him the TA said he doesn't need to have the trip paid in full until 2 DAYS before the cruise leaves. I have never heard of that. It's always been 90 to 120 days out depending on length of trip. I told my husband things sounds sort of 'wrong' about a lot of this. Supposedly this is a reputable travel agency but I'm concerned the travel agent is very inexperienced and/or confused. I say this because, as we all know, you do not get to pick what deck, or where you are with a guaranteed cabin. I have also never heard of an instance where final payment was 2 days out. For this trip I believe its 120 days out if not more. I thought maybe his buddy was confusing the gratuities with the actual cruise payment since he could have paid those onboard each day. But he bought the all in drink pkg, wifi, tips etc. so that option won't come into play at all. His buddy also told him the TA said he won't get his room assignment until the day he gets onboard. Now this may or may not be true. I know a lot of folks on here who've said they don't get their room until a day or two before, but never have they waited until the day of the cruise to get it. After all, how would the porters know what to put the luggage? So I guess I just want to hear what you think about all of this. DH and I are definitely concerned for his buddy, and he's been trying to get more info out of him but his friend seems to be fine with everything he's being told. The scary part of all this for me is, DH and I were married on a cruise 17 months ago and his buddy came, so he knows what he did for our trip regarding payments etc. but it's as though he's completely blowing off what the 'rules' for final payment and cabin choice were. Should we stick our noses in and get involved or should we just step back and see what unfolds?. There are 2 other couples going and we keep telling ourselves they are all adults who have cruised before. It's not our place to say anything. Thanks for your thoughts

Ditto, Same goes for movie theaters. DH thought I was exaggerating when we first met until he witnessed it firsthand several times🤣.

Honestly, It's something I've been working towards since I first started cruising. I set a goal for myself and want to achieve it. The 'status' of diamond doesn't really matter to me. It's the effort I put into getting there that matters to me. Plus, the 4 drinks each day I'll receive will make a difference, won't need a drink package again since we don't drink much.

Yes, I have more points and he is getting my status.

What do you mean, remove him? we haven't booked yet so when I do book it would be just me.? thnx

Hi all, I need some assistance regarding reaching diamond level on my next cruise. Here's the situation. My hubby and I are 6 points away from reaching diamond level. Originally, we were going to do a short 3-day trip in a suite to get the points needed. He now has a chance to go skiing out west, which has been on his bucket list forever, and wants to skip the cruise. I still plan on going alone. Since I'll be solo I know I'll get the double points I need to reach diamond. My question is this: because we're married, will my DH ALSO get those 6 points and become diamond when the cruise is over? Or will he stay at his current point level but get the diamond status because i'll have it? Greatly appreciate any input.

My DH was having the same issue. He just deleted his # and put it back in and his points are showing now. Thanks for the info.

Fair enough, I don't disagree with a lot of what you say as well. But, (there's always a but isn't there:) my feelings are just that I've enjoyed the 'older' style type cruising and have no need for roller coasters, amusements or all the bells and whistles when I cruise. (not to say there's anything wrong with all those, it's just not my thing) I realize 'the world' is changing and the cruising industry will adapt, (they are a business after all) but as you see the building of more and more mega ships taking place, one of the things that also happens is the 'older' ships are sometimes sold off to pay for debts incurred to do this. So on some level, I feel the cruise lines are sending out a subliminal message to us "slightly" older folks that our money isn't needed or maybe appreciated anymore because they are not interested in providing what we want in a cruise vacation and have moved on to a different generation who are willing to spend more money than we are. Again, just my feelings.

My thoughts. (Some of you may agree with me, some may not. To each their own right?) Those of us who have been 'around' for a while remember what cruising was like way before covid came along. Since then, it seems ships are marketing towards families and 'newbies' by offering more and more attractions, more food venues that mimic eating 'on land', and the mentality that cruising is just like a land vacation. Of course, they've achieved this by raising prices on absolutely everything to pay for these additions and enhancements. First time cruisers, who don't 'know any better' as well as families who are already so conditioned to pay exorbitant prices for a vacation will continue to demand all the bells and whistles for a 'land vacation experience' and pay for those experiences no matter what the cost. Even if those of us who remember, and actually enjoyed and appreciated dressing nicely for dinner, relaxing with our fellow cruisers with a drink before a Broadway type show, or even just enjoying some nice music for the evening chatting with new friends, completely stopped cruising all together, the cruise lines won't even blink. They'll just keep pushing those who are willing to pay more for less to spend. I honestly don't ever see or expect prices to level out or go back down to something more manageable. It's a shame. I feel a lot of us out there who really appreciated what a cruise was, or even could be in this day and age, will end up finding alternative ways to go on vacation and take our long standing 'tradition' of cruising with us. Give it another year or two and a good portion of the 'mass market' cruise lines will all just be floating versions of Epcot Center or Universal Studios in Florida, and the ones who've managed to 'hang on' to the 'old' cruising experience will be the 'luxury' lines that not a lot of us can afford. I know DH and I can't, and it's too bad. I introduced him to cruising when we met 7 years ago, we were recently married on a cruise and have always dreamed of cruising the world when I retire in 4 years. More and more it seems that dream is slipping away. But hey, as long as little Johnny can ride a roller coaster while floating around the St. Lucia it's all good right?

Ahh, Thank you for clarifying. Much appreciated.

Hi all, I have a question regarding the benefits for drinks I'm seeing for Emerald level members on the Crown & Anchor page. The first benefit listen under the Drinks and Dining heading says : 50% off glass wine/beer/soda (2 coupons per sailing) Note1 after it is saying 50% off purchase of glass of wine, beer, soda This offer can be redeemed twice per sailing. Ok seems pretty self explanatory. Now.... 3 discounts below that the next benefit says: Discount on any glass of wine/beer/ or soda. Note 3 after that says a onetime discount per sailing will be applied for a glass of wine. beer or soda. (we're emerald so it would be 10% for the glass) Not sure why there would need to be both of these benefits? Shouldn't it be one or the other, or am I missing something? Thanks

Hopefully the app is wrong. It is up to date. Guess we'll see when we're on board.

Hi all, Couldn't find another thread pertaining to this, apologies in advance if this has already been addressed. DH and I have a trip booked for October on Serenade. I just downloaded the app and was looking at the dining options. From what I found, (not taking into account the specialty restaurants) it looks as though the buffet is only serving breakfast and lunch and is now requiring reservations. Otherwise, you are seated according to availability. At least that's what it says on the app. The My Time Dining Room is from 6:45pm until 9:00pm. (we aren't interested in fixed dining at 5:30 so I'll not include it as an option for us) Park Cafe will have 'snacks' from 12:30 until 6:00pm. Then from 8:30pm until 11:30pm. The only other option would be room service which charges $7.95 if you get something other than a continental breakfast. To me is seems they are almost 'forcing" you to use the main dining room or pay extra for room service unless you only want a 'snack' for dinner. Is this something that's been happening fleetwide? We haven't been on Royal since last Oct and it wasn't like this at that time. If it is, this will definitely change who we sail with after October.

Hi all, Does anyone know if there's a place in the app showing the times we get into and leave the ports each day. I thought there was somewhere you could pull the itinerary and times for each port, but I can't see to find it. I checked the JourneyView tab but that doesn't have the times listed. Any ideas? Thanks

Thanks for the replies everyone. Guess we'll have to plan on a ride after all.

Hi all, My husband and I recently dropped my in-laws off in Port Everglades for a cruise. While we were there, we noticed how easy it seems to be to walk from the Hilton Marina hotel, (or the Renaissance Hotel) to the port. We have a cruise scheduled for Christmas and were tossing around the idea of just walking to the port instead of arranging transportation. We're in our 50's, good health and walking isn't an issue for us. Has anyone done this, if so, how was it? We are on Celebrity if that helps with the terminal location. Thanks

We have a reservation at SLM on Majestic for our upcoming Alaska cruise the end of May. I'm guessing we should hear something telling us we're cancelled. We'd be willing to give the new place a try if our reservation was lateralled over to same date and time, but if we're expected to fight among the masses to get another spot then we'll just skip it all together. 🤣

Do you just get 1 extra point per person, or 1 extra point, per person, for every night of the cruise?

Thanks for the info. I'll take a look. We're on a 7 day trip ending in Whittier

Hi all, We've only sailed on Princess twice, our third is Alaska this coming May. After we picked our arrival time in the app, the bar above the QR code on my app is gold while it's still blue on DH's phone. I don't think it's anything to worry about, there's not much we get at such a low status anyway, but DH is concerned it may make a difference once onboard. We have the latest app version, and we're using n android phones. Has anyone else run into something similar? Will the issue rectify itself or should we just bring it up when we check in at the port? Thanks

Personally, As long as I don't have to stand on deck with hundreds of other folks watching a crew member put his/her lifejacket on, I'm happy. Tv, phone, it's all good. I'll gladly stop by to have my medallion checked with a drink in my hand. 🥂

Thanks for the replies. Good to know the cabin size is the same on the Equinox.