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mtnesterz

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Everything posted by mtnesterz

  1. There can be monies in both refundable and non-refundable credit. You loose any non-refundable credit. The upside, in my experience, that gets used up first. Refundable credit up to $US 25 may be redeemed in cash at Passenger Services if you close the account the last night. More than that gets refunded to the credit card you gave for onboard use. Perhaps there are other options, but hope that answers.
  2. Maybe I'm not understanding this right. First, if I read the above inserted policy correctly, for the charged meals, it is not a gratuity, but a service charge, which can't be refused. An (auto)gratuity can be tacitly accepted, adjusted or refused, unless bought as part of a package. Servers in the specialty restaurants, in our experience, also work in the buffet and are covered by the auto-gratuity, or if you prefer, Crew Appreciation. Since paying Crew Appreciation is the default, package or not, those who choose the Standard plan, pay 17% more for the same meal. Since neither of us drink, we don't buy a plan. I think we'll pass on specialty dining in the future.
  3. Coffee becomes bitter when it is weaker, not stronger. Not changing the filter could cause the maker to overflow. I hope you reported that crew member. I suspect this practice is not within their training. Fun fact though. If you do get a bitter cup of coffee, sprinkle just a few grains of salt. The chloride ions in the solution block the bitterness sensing taste buds on your tongue.
  4. No, but Princess will sell you Michael Godard's art work. (Which often features stuffed olives.)
  5. While it was announced the App would come out Dec. 1st, the other thread on this subject posted the announcement the release would be delayed. That thread is up to 5 pages now and could easily have been missed. To me, this portends another wonky app.
  6. We were in Kona in August this year, a substitute port we learned we would make, as on the way over, the fire broke out in Lahaina. We are so very thankful the Emerald's 3K passengers were not ashore when the fire broke out given the speed of the fire! Anyway, since you haven't been there, Kona is the dry side of the island. The town of Kona, well, there's not much to see. Snorkeling for the active crowd. If you're like us, more the history and culture type, we took the coffee roasting, City of Refuge with tide pools area and historic Catholic church tour. It was OK. But if you just stay at the dock, just a little shopping and bars. There used to be a shuttle that took passengers to the Walmart but we didn't see those running. Must have Musubi from the ABC store. Yummy!
  7. A passenger I spoke to mentioned the same thing. He bought a package and spent much time ashore on a port intensive itinerary. He didn't live it up on shore as he might have, since he figured his drinks etc. were already paid for onboard. Agree it's something to consider.
  8. I suppose it's because we have booked so many cruises through our CVP, we probably get better service. And from reading here, other CC members claim to cruise more than we do. When we have had questions or problems, I have not had the need to use the Chat feature, wait on hold, deal with accents or misinformation from someone inexperience or poorly trained. Our CVP is our go-to for answers or as liason to other Princess services. YMMV
  9. Understood. If you have a CVP, that would be best for your airport-port transfer refund, but I have no experience with refunds, except the three cancelled cruises during Covid. They will return your money. I understand any anxiety you naturally feel at this moment and hope all works out well and you enjoy your cruise.
  10. I had a very similar situation for upcoming out of Ft. Lauderdale, the airline cancelled the flight. We were notified as you were of the problem by email. First, your transfers are still paid for and not lost. You just need to book another flight. I wasn't certain if you self-booked your flight, or used EZ Air as I did. Go to the Princess website and log in to your booking. You will receive another pop-up notice about your conflict. As I recall the website either took me to my booking, or maybe I went to the flights section of my booking. Well, either way, you need to get to the EZAir page. It will prompt you to rebook. I was anxious, but it was actually very easy to fix. Now, if you booked on your own, not EZAir. That is out of my experience. I wish you good luck,
  11. We were on the Emerald in August this year. The sauna and steam room access has been changed and now you must buy into the spa to use them. It used to be that on Grand and Crown class ships they were included in fare. Royal class ships have always had them located within paid access.
  12. It was mentioned earlier that the Medallion App, 1.x, will end functioning in February, although a date was not stated. FWIW, I agree with @Rick&Jeannie, take the plunge in December and get up to speed with 2.0, good or bad. We do our preboarding on the web based version and find Apps access to onboard services not to our needs. Point is. If you do preboarding on the web version, then use the App onboard, and the staff has your information with their software, it means your information is centrally stored, not on your device.
  13. We completed a circle Japan cruise on the Diamond Princess three weeks ago, nice variety. Time well spent for you to read the Ports of Call Asia section of Cruise Critic. First the Japan immigration. There is a 150 page tutorial on how to get through it. Or, most of it is pretty self explanatory. Look for my question posted in that section. You'll need the answer. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2969475-visit-japan-web-for-cruisers-question/#comment-66312185 If you take certain medications, for example, if prescribed amphetimines for sleep-wake disorders, or on a Cpap machine and certain other things, you'll need to file a Yunyu Kakunin-Sho for it/them. This comment will probably generate comments here from the chronically pedantic, but I'm only saying, here is the link, look for yourself. Click the blue links and it will take you to the form in English and where to send it. https://www.mhlw.go.jp/english/policy/health-medical/pharmaceuticals/01.html Exchange money before you leave home. T-Mobile phone for free international calls is your communication, period. Ships wifi was spotty. Rented pocket WiFi from the airport was wonky and expensive.
  14. For a month long trip, you will need to make plans for bills and expenses as you would incur if you were at home. Look back through your checkbook for the previous year and see if any expenses come up that month you'll be gone. Perhaps you auto-pay or have someone to pay, for example, the gardener. It could be whatever unique to your situation, but enough said to say that someone needs to watch your place and things at home continue on as they would if you were there. In the World Cruise section of CC there is a thread about this.
  15. You missed my point completely. Host CJSKIDS says, "No way I'm changing anything since I board 12/9." If staying with the old App, what difference would any change 2.0 make on that sailing? The only thing that matters is that the App doesn't crash. I'm just trying to be helpful. And none of us knows what 2.0 really entails. Is it just a change of names? It was mentioned that all the Medallion names cause confusion for new customers. If more changes, how much more? Is it just a new skin over extant problems? I don't mean to sound negative here, but in this specific case, meaning a cruise on 12/9, I agree with the poster who wrote, "The devil you know."
  16. I might suggest to stop receiving updates. A couple weeks ago on the Diamond, the Medallion App updated mid cruise and wouldn't work after that.
  17. I've gotta say, I don't like the changes they made to Cruisedeckplans. Not as searchable. But I found the C106 and C109. I know they're not the forward facing ones. I though it might be worth the check. https://www.cruisedeckplans.com/ships/ov.php?ship=Sapphire-Princess&cabins=C106-C109
  18. It doesn't mean as much to you as it once did. What changed? You, I, we all, change. Where do you want to go...now? Like you, had Greenland booked, but Covid cancellation. Have not rebooked.
  19. Nothing. Our CVP called to wish us a Happy Thanksgiving and said the Medallion App would be replaced by the Princess Cruises App on Dec, 1st. No additional info. In another thread, a poster said it was a new software company, but I have no knowledge of that. Is this just a few bugs worked out, a complete change or as someone said, a Big Nothing Burger. All that is sure is we won't get threads asking if the wearable Medallion is the same thing as the app.
  20. I don't know the urgency of doing your pre-cruise work, but if you have some time before your cruise, I'd delete the Medallion App and wait until December 1st for the newer Princess Cruises App. Information is scarce and it is unclear how much downward compatability there will be for the new app, whether this is just a glitch fix or a whole new enchilada, but since your cruise will be under the newer version, I'd start over in December. That is just my opinion, but Ken the cruiser offers sound suggestions for the moment.
  21. This topic got started over a, "Let's Go Travel," video. Another thing Allison mentioned was that the Medallion App was becoming the Princess Cruises App on December 1st. Yesterday, I got a Happy Thanksgiving call from my CVP and he informed me this is true. I have no idea what changes, if any, were made, but I sure hope some of the issues got resolved. Certainly we've seen questions here that some new to Princess don't know the difference between the Medallion App and token. I hope it is more than just a name change.
  22. I've got some time so I looked it up. According to Cruisewatch, the Coral you'll be on has just over 46 cubic feet of enclosed space per passenger, the most of any Princess ship. The Sapphire has 43 and the Caribbean has 36 which is the least amount of space per passenger in the Princess Fleet, currently. However, for those considering the new Sun Princess, Cruisemapper is giving it a 34, which compares with passenger space on MSC and Carnival ships.
  23. I'd give a lot of creedence to this poster. I did not want to run long in my earlier post. Our on-ship booked excursions had tour guides who did not speak English well enough to be understood by most. One woman who sat near us was able to understand the accent and relate what was said to others around us. On our Roll Call, several got together for private shore excursions and now, back home, we wish we had done these. So to the OP, if you have not done so already, do join your Roll Call.
  24. Since at least three of their styles have seafood on them, you'll need to look at the menu and figure out which one it is. In this article, you can find their menu with toppings, and several photos of the styles. https://cruiselifestyle.co.uk/2022/05/14/alfredos-pizzeria/ BTW, I enjoy making pizza too!
  25. We returned from Japan on the Diamond Princess a couple weeks ago. I see you originally posted on the Princess board so assuming this is the case for you. There are shuttles to take you to town at the ports. The lines are long and for the ports that come to mind, town is much too far to walk. In US dollars, the shuttle was $30pp. I don't remember the name of the company. We did excursions so no experience riding those shuttles.
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