wallyj

@JamieLogical, if you will be partaking in Trivia, I am looking to join a team. Will be on the lookout. Let me know if you want to see shower in my standard/regular Balcony.

59 minutes ago, ssawjo said:

I was wondering if I booked a future cruise onboard, are there any advantages to doing so?  For example, reduced deposit, OBC, etc.

 

Thank you.

Please see if you can find the ‘other’ recent thread regarding this same topic.

Future cruise deposits on Princess are good for 1 year from purchase date, but should be able to extend expiration if you call before expiring. You can also request  refund before the year is up. FCD’s are fully refundable, so really a no lose situation. You need to purchase for each passenger and will apply to a future booking per passenger.

Since the new 3rd party company Princess has contracted with to handle Future cruises on board about January 2023, they have had a ‘list’ of sailings usually within the next 90-100 days, that are on additional discount(25-50%). These must be booked on board as the special pricing is not available once you leave the ship. 
 

There may be a few sailings beyond the 90-100 days. 

2 hours ago, aislin_raina said:

Does anywhere on the ship have the Crooner's bar menu, with amaretto Manhattans?

There is a current live from Majestic, post your question on that thread, as they are good at replying to questions.

19 minutes ago, pkster said:

I just took the leap and booked a Cabana mini-suite.  The total was $570 for two ($400 deposit that converts to OBC plus $70 port fees).  I see the following in the travel summary:

 

 

Does this mean we got the Premier package as well?!?!?

Yes!

34 minutes ago, hobo1937 said:

Thanks. The event list from Embarkation day showed lunch in Botticelli and today's list showed lunch and breakfast in Botticelli and also in Da Vinci for Reserve Collection. Never remember them using 2 dining rooms for breakfast and lunch. 

 

I believe Princess has started using 2 dining rooms because ‘Reserve Collection’ is usually at deck6 midship restaurant. It seems some ships have moved breakfast and lunch to the aft deck6 dining room for everyone else. I asked about this last year and was told the aft deck6 dining room is larger.

1 hour ago, t&atravel said:

@wallyj  Sorry but this is incorrect.  Passengers 1&2 both have to buy the package if one wants it, regardless of age. The underage passenger would get the zero alcohol package but the price would be same to include crew appreciation and wifi.  That’s why it was suggested to have both adults in one room.  

@t&atravel, thank you for the correction, my mind got a little mixed up and was think about Royal Caribbean which would allow minor to purchase Refreshment package. Princess bundles currently seem to be better priced than competitors that offer a ‘bundle’.

Guest services will be able to program your Medallions to unlock/open the other cabin, so easy peasy. Do not understand previous comment as the way you have currently booked sharing parent with son would be the way to have the ‘adults’ buy plus and not have passenger2 as they are under 21, the drinking age for Princess.

Your current booking would also be a way for both cabins to get shareholders if the account was in both names of the parents, if you happen to be shareholders of CCL stock.

Do you have the latest version/update of the APP? Try deleting then re installing the latest version. Also if you have older phone, it could be an issue, but the APP works fine on my Android phone and iPad that is a few years old, not the latest version.

17 minutes ago, Astro Flyer said:

Is lunch the same $39?
 

On the ships where Princess has opened the Specialty Restaurant for lunch, the price has remained the same as dinner price and menu. 
 

Majestic holds Sushi/Ocean Terrace at The Catch because the Ocean Terrace location is a Bar only on Majestic.

12 minutes ago, ~*Lou*~ said:

I have a Future Cruise Deposit for each member of the family but they expire on 1st July 2024. We plan to book an Alaska cruise for summer 2026 but I think those bookings don't open until later in July 2024. Anyone know of a clever way we can use these FCD or have I just missed that window of opportunity?

 

Many thanks in advance!

Call to see if you can get the expiration date extended. I was told Princess is still allowing this to be done, especially as FCD’s now expire in 1 year.

Also, if you know anyone currently on a Princess sailing, they can purchase FCD’s for each of your family members. They will have to pay for them, so usually only done by people who know each other well enough, knowing they will be paid back.

2 hours ago, Auntiejo said:

I saw this on a video review recently and it was held in Vines on the Sapphire on a sea day. 

When the Sapphire first started having Ocean Terrace sushi, they did do it in Vines. Because Vines is so limited in seating, they changed to use the overflow/side area of Alfredo’s and will use Vines and regular seating in Alfredo’s as needed.

On my March 2024 sailing, it appeared they were allowing patrons to order sushi or  Pizza on sea days when Ocean Terrace was being offered no matter where you were seated in Alfredo’s.

15 minutes ago, CPK said:

Do you know the dinning room for Reserve Collection on Enchanted? I want to make reservations so I am able to have the same table every night. Thank  you! I cannot find this information anywhere.

You do not make reservations for Reserve Collection. It is supposed to be no wait, but at peak times, maybe a slight wait, this is the ‘perk’ of reserve collection. Usually deck 6, midship dining room,  port side.

2 hours ago, Traveller1212 said:

Thanks for your answers everyone - Alfredo’s & Vines on Sapphire - the dining PDF that T&ATravel shared is great 

On the Sapphire, they also have Ocean Terrace as a casual dining option for the Sushi set menu, no customization on sea days, which will be held at a section of Alfredo’s. Only during lunch hours of 12-1:30. They will have a display/sample of what the ‘set’ looks like in a case in front of Alfredo’s during the time it is offered.
 

What I mean by no customization, on Discovery Princess, they allow me to have all shrimp(ebi) nigiri which is the protein in a rice ball, instead of the salmon and tuna. Also I could substitute California Roll instead of the Spicy Tuna Maki/Roll that is part of the ‘set’ menu.

20 minutes ago, Traveller1212 said:

Sorry, I didn’t word this properly… I should have asked,  On Sapphire to Alaska is the cost for Crab Shack an option for the 2 casual dining meals included in the Plus package? Thanks

 

on the Princess website for Sapphire, Crab Shack is grouped with Alfredo’s & Trident Grill not under Specialty Dining 🤷🏻‍♀️

The cost of Crab Shack is NOT a casual dining option for Plus package. I believe the price was raised to $39, if you have Premier, it would be counted as one of your Specialty dining credits. I was on Sapphire for the March 18-April 5 2024 sailing and the couple of times Crab Shack was offered it was priced at $39 and not considered a casual dining venue for the Plus package.

18 minutes ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

Have never paid any attention to the color of my medallion.  On our last cruise DW gad a Grey medallion and mine was white.  Found out I had three loyalty numbers!  

Oh well.

So did you get your Princess account consolidated to only one number and know what number to use in the future? If you have the same Princess history as your DW, it matters in terms of access to reduced Princess Insurance and WiFi costs, in additional to priority boarding and access to the PES lounge. Having your individual account being correct insures it will be accurate in tracking to reach the next loyalty levels which has some worthwhile benefits such as free laundry and a one time mini bar setup per cruise segment.

Many times when you call a travel agent for a quote, they may generate a quote/hold so the fare quoted is locked in and without knowing, this may cause a ‘new’ Captain circle number to be allocated. If you never go further, this ‘new’ account will remain but with 0 cruises associated with it and the loyalty department now handled by Future cruise on board can easily ‘clean up’ your account or consolidate if for whatever reasons you have multiple loyalty numbers with cruises to be consolidated into one account.

Also, availability varies as many have reported the ship is ‘out’ of a wine on the list and there can be others available not on the list. Wines available under ‘Plus’ are generic and only give varietal such as Cab, Chardonnay, etc. You will need Premier or pay higher than Plus option if you want to know particulars like which supplier/winery.

Supplies can run out so even asking from current sailings can give inaccurate information. You can ask for screenshots from current ship/sailings to give you a general ideal if that will satisfy you.

If you are looking at what is available by the bottle, this also varies by venue, with some specialty restaurants having different selection as well if the ship has a ‘Vines’.

4 hours ago, kywildcatfanone said:

I've seen white on a lot of cruises. Was told it was either for the inaugural season or a group booking.

White with Blue Seawitch is now used for all 1st time to Princess. White with your appropriate Captain circle level color for Seawitch was previously used for Inaugural year sailing of new ships, but I think this policy has changed as I believe with this inaugural year of the Sun, the medallions were the normal as any other ship. I think I remember some passengers were hoping for a special ‘Sun Princess’ design. 
 

The APP is known to show/display the incorrect loyalty level, but if you order a medallion, in most cases, your correct color/medallion will be sent. This is true for me. The Princess APP shows me a new to Princess, but when I have ordered my Medallion, what is shipped is my correct level.

As Princess policy, if you are traveling on a friends and family rate, no matter what your actual loyalty level is,  previously you were issued a ‘blue’ cruise card, now you are issued the equivalent ‘blue’ new to Princess medallion which is white color background with Blue Seawitch.

Many times the passenger or travel agent did not communicate to Princess of past loyalty numbers, so the cruise card and now Medallion was issued with the incorrect level. I have seen either a ‘sticker’ placed on the existing medallion to reflect the appropriate color/level or the passenger is directed to Guest relations where they will either make new medallion or apply appropriate sticker.

I believe the ships do not carry any of the custom designs.

43 minutes ago, doghog said:

Do you know what they are doing (special lunch in one of the MDRs for example) for B2Bers on TAD? We've done a lot of B2B cruises but have never had that many B2Bers joining us. 

Princess normally has a MDR open for lunch on Embarkation day, so in all my B2B’s, have never had a ‘special’ lunch setup by the Cruiseline.
 

On Royal Caribbean if there is at least a certain number of B2B and Celebrity, they will have B2B lunch in a MDR, which is not open to those passengers embarking as a MDR lunch option is not usually offered, except for those that have signed up/paid for ‘The Key’ on Royal  Caribbean.

7 minutes ago, Scotmay said:

Can we bring wine on board, other than the two allowed, pay the $15?dollars corkage and drink anywhere on board including dining room!

Yes, but have heard corkage fee has increased? IIRC correctly to $20, Princess website should have updated amount.

5 hours ago, Canuker said:

I recall, many years ago, going to a variety show at a (land based) theatre in which most seats were empty. Before curtain-up, the manger invited everyone to come to the front stalls to watch the show. All did; we moved from the balcony to the third row. We were surprised and very happy about that, and enjoyed the show the more for it. And, clearly, I remembered their good gesture after all this time*.

I'm wondering if a cruise line like Princess might operate on the same principal, i.e. if there are larger, higher-priced cabins available just before the embarkation date, they move people into them from smaller, lower-priced cabins.

From their perspective, the operating cost increase is virtually zero but in terms of goodwill towards their brand, the delight of those passengers and the post-cruise word-of-mouth publicity they may get, it seems a very good idea, not to mention the opportunity to perhaps perform needed maintenance work on a whole block of now empty cabins all at the same time (they are otherwise rarely empty).

As one who owned a business before retiring, exceeding the expectations of the customer - even in a just a small, but meaningful, way - is a great way to build customer loyalty and repeat business. They remember that*.

At the ‘restart’ in 2022, on some Princess ships that were very lowly booked, my experience was, Princess did complimentary upgrades. After a few months, I spoke to the Captain Circle host(function now moved to future cruises dept) and was told the Hotel Manager changed this ‘policy’ as they did not want Passengers to start feeling they could book lower categories and be complimentary upgraded. 
 

Now most ships are mostly fully if not over 100% double occupancy, meaning having many 3rd and 4th berths filled in addition to all doubles, so complimentary upgrades are more the exception, but do occasionally happen. With the implementation of the upgrade bidding system, complimentary upgrades seem to be rarer.

@cusematt4, have you discovered if the ‘transfer’ you have booked also includes the transfer from the hotel to the ship in Whittier which is quite a ways from Anchorage. How were you planning on getting from your Hotel to the ship?

9 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Sure, but aren't those the same ones on Princess.com under Last Minute Cruise Deals?

No, the on board booking promotion is an EXTRA discount from the fare shown on Princess.com. So if one of the promo fares is also on a drop and go rate sailing and is discounted, the fare is further reduced 25-50%. 
 

I think people get confused when they see on the Princess website a promo advertising up to 50% off and think the on board booking promo is the same. If a sailing is on the on board list, whatever the Princess.com fare is, it will be further reduced by 25-50%. Before November 2023, all sailings on the list were 50% off, now it varies.
 

These on board promos take the Princess.com rate and reduce it further which is why I try and take advantage if one of the sailings fits my schedule.

Previously, there were some sailings with a small solo supplement showing on Princess.com that were on the 50% off on board promo list, so a solo traveler would not pay the usual 200% fare but only 50%.

9 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

If voyages are listed for sale on Princess.com, there is no need to book them on board.

 

PCL was offering some deep discounts on near-term voyages after the re-start, but since ships are sailing full again, I have not seen any of these kind of deals mentioned.

At the end of the 50% off promos last October 2023, there was a few months of very few on board promos. Just off Sapphire in April 2024 and Ruby earlier this month and future cruise has a list again with extra discount from Princess.com fare of 25-50% off. Most are sailings 90-100 days out, a few were further out.

@ccheng6401, future cruises currently has a list of sailings that are 25-50% the listed fares on Princess.com, so if one of these sailings would work for your schedule, then the savings are worth booking on board, as they can not be booked once you leave the ship. Most of these sailings leave within the next 90-100 days, but there are a few with further out dates.

Future cruise deposits are now valid for only 1 year, meaning you have 1 year to book a cruise in the future and that cruise can be as far out as the schedule is released. You can request the FCD to be refunded early if you change your mind, or if not used within the year, it is automatically refunded to the original form of payment.

You would not be able to book a back 2 back sailing on the same ship that first does LA to YVR and then does YVR to SEA, this is a violation of the PSVA, not the Jones Act. The system might allow you to initially book these sailings, but eventually you will be contacted to cancel one of the sailings as you would not be able to sail both.

25 minutes ago, Cinerama said:

Anyone ever pick up one of these on your cruise? Just wondering if it is a regular bingo ticket or something else. 

It is usually one ticket for the last 4th game for a ‘Blackout/Coverall’ game meaning you need all numbers. In order to get the ‘jackpot’ you need to have the coverall in the allotted numbers of balls called, usually about 50, which is very unlikely. If no winner within 50 balls, the game continues till a winner but then the jackpot is greatly reduced. 

Plus should price at $60/day per person. If you added after initially booking standard, and have Princess insurance, then the price increase takes into account your total fare has increased, but still the amount seems off. Usually increased insurance is about another 9%. Plus package is considered part of cruise fare. Price your cruise using standard fare, add $60/day for plus then taxes and your total should be this, unless you also have Princess insurance which will be a percentage of the total cruisefare including the plus package.