Bazandgiz

35 minutes ago, hammo said:

Grand Princess Emergency Notification - another delayed boarding time , this time for us 4:30 - 5pm . Day 1 gone .

Masks now compulsory inside . Is it just Princess cruising ? - We recentltly sailed Quantum of the Seas and Celebrity and nothing like this .

Masks have been compulsory for quite some time, certainly since early December. There was a lot of covid when we were on Grand over Christmas, and from what I’ve heard from relatives on board the current voyage, it’s even worse now. Masks are a pain, but they’re worth it if it stops you getting sick and being confined to your cabin for 7 days. 

52 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

The 50% percent discount applies no matter when the eligible guest purchases MedallionNet.

 

I have posted previously that the new prices are the same pre-cruise and on-board so it no longer matters when you purchase a plan.  If purchasing on-board, the cost is charged to your stateroom account and not to a credit card.  If the guest has OBC on account, it is used to offset any balance owing, including MedallionNet.

 

Yes, it USED to be more expensive when purchasing after boarding.  With the new price increases in effect, the cost of MedallionNet for guests is the same on-board as pre-cruise.

 

What date is this in effect from? Our cruise started on 19th December 2022, has it changed since then?

In my experience it is more expensive to buy onboard than in advance. On our Christmas cruise it cost $289 for a 4-device internet package, but would have been about $220 in advance. We waited until on board because we wanted to use onboard credit. 

I'm a "technology all the way" kind of person, but Journey View is just unusable, absolutely hideous design. I loved the old web version, went through the night before and starred all the events I wanted to go to and away we went. We went old school this time and took a highlighted version of the Patter around with us - I haven't done that in donkey's years.

23 minutes ago, mjmalino said:

If you are looking at getting a coffee package, something to keep in mind. Back when you had a punch card, you got 15 specialty coffees, and unlimited brewed coffees as long as  you had a remaining punch. Since it went digital, the amount of specialty coffees that you get (and thus the price of the package) varies and is dependent on the length of the cruise.  I cannot tell you the numbers, but I do know that it is no longer a set amount.

We had coffee packages on the Grand over Christmas, there was no mention of different prices or amounts of drinks, it was the same 15 specialty coffees we have always had in the past. We still got free specialty tea after we had used up our packages as well.

We ate in the Crown Grill for the first time on our Christmas cruise on the Grand. We're quite small eaters, so these kind of meals are generally wasted on us, but we had a free voucher so we thought we might as well give it a go.

I had the filet mignon, and it was nice but not amazing - to be honest the one I had in the main dining room on NYE was nicer. My travel companion had the lamb chops and also said they were good, but not amazing. We ran out of room for dessert, so they packaged up a couple for us in a takeway container which was nice. I took a bite out of each but didn't love them. This is the trouble with food, it's all so subjective. All I really need to keep me happy on my Princess cruises is their oatmeal cookies, I love those things.

4 hours ago, chezzyr said:

Have asked. Some did independent tours when they got off the ship and just arranged at terminal building. They think there might have been options for the castle and house you mentioned. There is a board on the right featuring various operators when you enter the building/shed. You could also just try researching online and making contact with some operators before your cruise? If I get any other info will let you know.

Thanks very much for that info, that's very helpful 🙂 

I'll be on the Grand for Christmas too. I've done a couple of previous NZ Christmas cruises and have loved the festivities. I enjoy the gingerbread house making competition on Christmas day (despite being completely hopeless at it). There have been Christmas carols on Christmas eve, the theatre show on Christmas eve is usualy Christmas themed (cruise director reading children's letters to Santa etc). The food hasn't been particularly "festive" for Christmas day, but personally that doesn't bother me.

2 hours ago, buchhalm said:

Hi. 

When I last looked, there were a handful of local companies, offering pretty much the same (of course) as the ships. Prices, more or less, matched the ships excursions. Many tours were not available on cruise ship days, which would mean that the cruise lines grab most availability. 

As for the train: it is fully chartered to the cruise lines as far as we were able to work out. Furthermore the train only goes half way compared to pre-Covid days. That, and it would cost you a minimum of $300p.p. That is the very cheapest option we could find.

Oh yes, I don't want to do the Taieri Gorge again. I really liked it, but that was when it was a full trip and cost about $90 booked direct. A half sized trip at 3 times the price doesn't excite me much.

2 hours ago, chezzyr said:

I am recently back from the Carnival Luminosa trip to NZ. I had booked an independent boat/wildlife trip before arriving. I did notice in the terminal building (Port Chalmers) there were numerous posters/info for other operators. I wish I had taken a picture so I know for next time. But have no doubt there will be non-ship options for you. I can ask on my cruise group if anyone noticed trips to the Larnach Castle or Olveston House?

If you could ask in your group, that would be amazing, thank you!

10 hours ago, Tripmode33 said:

 

In Port Chalmers yesterday, ship passengers were gathering near the start of the main street (outside Georgie Girl shop) for the local bus to Dunedin.  I was told it cost $2.50.  When I watched, not everyone fitted in, with some waiting for next bus.  The driver did ask for local residents to board before ship passengers.

 

 

Were there any local tour operators at Port Chalmers available for on-the-day bookings? I've been to Dunedin a couple of times before and done the Taieri Gorge railway and the city tour (and walked up Baldwin St, just to say I'd done it). I wouldn't mind a trip to Larnach Castle or Olveston House, but Princess' prices are stupidly high and more than I'm prepared to pay.

10 hours ago, mrmarklin said:

I will add this:  I don’t know how Princess will eventually monetize this event, but if you think paying $150 for the experience is too expensive, you don’t get out much. 

Or maybe some people don't place the same value on things as you do. As a fussy eater, I would highly suspect most of the food would be wasted on me, and I'm not a big wine drinker either. While I'd be interested in the experience in terms of atmosphere, it certainly wouldn't be worth $150 to me. 

10 hours ago, 1965 said:

I understand that it does cost more if you buy onboard. I always buy pre cruise so I have no personal experience. Our obc is used up for the daily gratuities, excursions, a few drinks, msc. onboard expenses. 

We're not big on-board spenders at all - gratuities are included in fares in Australia, we don't use ship excursions, not drinkers or gamblers, get coffee cards in exchange for mini bar. I'll probably have to suck up the higher priced internet, but it does ruffle my feathers a little.

Is MedallionNet more expensive to buy on board than it is to buy in advance?

We definitely want internet on our upcoming cruise, but we want to use onboard credit for it, which it won't let us do for pre-booking.

It seems unreasonable to wear a higher cost by being forced to do it this way. Has anyone ever had any success "negotiating" with the internet manager to obtain the pre-boarding price?

6 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

I agree with you, @JerseyShore because if you want to understand exactly what a show is or what style of music an entertainer is presenting, you have to either go into Journey View or use the old Ocean Concierge app with the much better layout/design for the calendar. 

 

@Steelers36 are you still able to download the old Ocean app? I recently did my first Medallion cruise, and the journey view in the Medallion app is terrible, I couldn't use it at all. I liked the old version where I could browse the events listing and star my favourites.

6 hours ago, XBGuy said:

 

Four upgrades for a single cruise?????????????

 

I think this is hilarious.   Good for you.  Have a great cruise.

 

Of course, now we have to start a Cruise Critic Competition.  (Please do not abreviate that.  We don't want uninitiated readers to be confused thinking that you meant Civilian Conservation Corps.)  Has anybody ever received more than four upgrades for a single cruise?  The winner gets bragging rights.  Currently, Bazandgiz is leading and has still has six more months to compete.

I know, it's like winning the lotto over and over! Do you think we can make it to a penthouse suite before the upgrades finish? Not being greedy or anything... :P 

We have received 4 separate upgrades on our Sky transatlantic in September, we started in an interior IB and are now in a mini suite MC, we are feeling very blessed!

The first couple of upgrades were before the corona craziness hit. We are one elite and one platinum, and have never had an upgrade before. We booked direct with Princess (as we always do) - the upgrades really do seem to be completely random.

The funniest event I have ever seen was a Musical Murder Mystery on a Christmas cruise in 2015, the entertainment staff were outstanding on that cruise, I’ve never laughed so much in my life. I’ve never seen the murder mystery on a schedule again, but I always keep an eye out for it. 

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We have had our first ever upgrade too! We have received two upgrades on our September Transatlantic, first from inside to deluxe balcony obstructed, and then to deluxe balcony. We are feeling very lucky!

The Voice was run on our recent Golden Princess trip to Fiji, the final was in the theatre on the last night.

Just checking the prices from Australia for you (incidentally we just use princess.com from Australia too, there is no .au site that I'm aware of)

Nov 10 - C727 - AUD1,512 per person twin share

Nov 16 - C727 - AUD2,584 per person twin share

Nov 29 - C723 - AUD3,107 per person twin share

Total AUD7,203 per person, which is around US10,500 depending on the rate. 

I will follow your updates with interest! We did this exact itinerary (also on the Sapphire) last year and had the time of our lives. The weather stopped us getting into Poland, but we diverted to Warnemunde in Germany instead, and that was also a wonderful place.

We did the 2 day Alla Tours excursion too and highly recommend them. If they offered tours without the Hermitage museum we would definitely use them again (not that their Hermitage tour was bad, I'm just not a museum and art sort of person!)

Have a wonderful trip 🙂 

I would much prefer the tour to be cheaper and come without the "stuff" as well. I'm much more interested in being immersed in an experience than collecting momentos of it to remember it later (if it's a great experience, I will remember it later anyway). I would love to do the tour, but I will never justify paying the price for it, given I have neither the space in my baggage or the space at home to store the loot. But, like everything in cruise life, to each their own!

Thanks for your review, it was a great read!

We did a Baltics cruise last year and loved it, we're hoping to get back there in 2021.

Were you able to build your own itinerary completely with City Break in SPB? We did a tour with Alla Tours last year, and they were great. However if we go again, we'd like to do a tour without the Hermitage (we're not big museum people, I got bored pretty quickly in there). I haven't managed to find a tour company that offers anything without Hermitage (so clearly I'm in the minority when it comes to what I consider to be the sights to see!)