Bon Voyage Experience (BVE) Review - Grand Princess - July 29, 2013 - SF

[aaerobear]

A couple of points...

 

1. If you arrived at 11:00 am, you were late. The Future Cruise Consultant comes down from the ship at 10:50, checks off the names and takes the group to the ship right at 11:00, so if you are arriving at 11, chances are you will just be starting the check-in process and miss the group boarding. They can't really hold up the group for late comers anymore as it causes ill will with those who are on time.

 

2. If you are doing the BVE and have traveling guests with you, be sure they are there at the same time as you and have ALL of their documents ready. If the traveling passengers have a passport use the darn thing. Why on earth would you leave it home and use a different means of identification because you think using your passport is an inconvenience.

Remember, if something happens to you in Canada, you can NOT fly home, you would have to arrange different transportation.

[Thrak]

https://book.princess.com/BookingSystem/jsp/home/ship_visit/BonVoyageExperience.jsp

 

Thanks. I find it a bit bizarre I can't find this info on the Princess site. In fact, I can't seem to find any info on the BVE on the Princess site. I'm sure I've seen it before but can't find it now.

[Suzy'Q]

Thanks. I find it a bit bizarre I can't find this info on the Princess site. In fact, I can't seem to find any info on the BVE on the Princess site. I'm sure I've seen it before but can't find it now.

 

I couldn't find it on the Princess site either. I googled "Princess BVE" and this site came up. What did we do before google??

[caribill]

I sailed on Grand Princess back in June, disembarking in San Francisco. My card was not taken from me. But note that "losing" the card isn't necessarily the best thing to do - the final scan of the card removes you from the security database (they won't find you in the database if you use the card to get back on the ship). If you've "lost" the card it may be an extensive process to get through security to get off the ship.

 

You "lose" it during the cruise and get a replacement at the purser's desk. Use the replacement the rest of the cruise and when you exit the ship at the final destination.

[Smokeyham]

If you are doing the BVE and have traveling guests with you, be sure they are there at the same time as you and have ALL of their documents ready. If the traveling passengers have a passport use the darn thing. Why on earth would you leave it home and use a different means of identification because you think using your passport is an inconvenience.

Remember, if something happens to you in Canada, you can NOT fly home, you would have to arrange different transportation.

 

If you are actually going on the cruise, then you will need to bring and show your passport.

 

If you are only going doing the BVE, then you can just show your driver's license even if you used your passport to register online. This is what we did.

 

If you are just doing the BVE, then you might not want to bring your passport for fear of losing it, etc.

[Frugalist]

Do you need a passport to complete the Cruise Personalizer if you're only doing the BVE?

 

Our daughter and son-in-law have never been on a cruise. In fact, they rarely travel. They don't have a passport.

 

We are thinking of doing the BVE on the Royal in November, and would love to ask them to join us. I sure hope the passport thing doesn't prevent them from coming along.

 

Anybody know? Thanks.

[Smokeyham]

Do you need a passport to complete the Cruise Personalizer if you're only doing the BVE?

 

Our daughter and son-in-law have never been on a cruise. In fact, they rarely travel. They don't have a passport.

 

We are thinking of doing the BVE on the Royal in November, and would love to ask them to join us. I sure hope the passport thing doesn't prevent them from coming along.

 

Anybody know? Thanks.

 

No, you do not need to have a passport to do a Bon Voyage Experience. Once you have your booking number from Princess, then use the Cruise Personalizer page on Princess' website to complete the registration process. There is a pull down menu to use to enter your "Travel Document." Just use "Birth Certificate" and leave the "number" space below that blank.

 

When you arrive at the pier, show them your driver's license and you will be good to go. Also, bring with you (1) your printed boarding pass, and (2) your credit card.

 

 

 

[perfect match]

In case you would like to print one to take on board with you, attached is a blank Future Cruise Credit Form. As I mentioned earlier, there wasn't a rack of them available at the Future Cruise Consultant's office on the Grand. I was able to get the form at the Purser's desk, but that involved a trip down one deck (not a huge deal).

 

 

The form also gives you information about the program.

 

Smokeyham, thanks for the link to the FCC form. Sorry it has taken me a while to get to it. We have a cruise coming up in 44 days (but who's counting?!) on Disney and I'm way more focused on that right now. Our BVE is in Dec. I have downloaded the BVE form and will get to it once we get back from our cruise. I'm sure it will save us some time having it already completed so we can spend our BVE time enjoying the Royal with our friends who will be sailing on her.

[Smokeyham]

Smokeyham, thanks for the link to the FCC form. Sorry it has taken me a while to get to it. We have a cruise coming up in 44 days (but who's counting?!) on Disney and I'm way more focused on that right now. Our BVE is in Dec. I have downloaded the BVE form and will get to it once we get back from our cruise. I'm sure it will save us some time having it already completed so we can spend our BVE time enjoying the Royal with our friends who will be sailing on her.

 

You're most welcome. I was a bit worried when I did not find a supply of forms by the Future Cruise Consultants Office, but was relieved that the Purser's Office had them.

[Smokeyham]

We went on board for another Bon Voyage Experience on the Grand Princess in San Francisco. Our group was bigger this time (12 people), but it went very smoothly.

 

Here are a couple of things we learned this time around.

· Have your group meet inside the terminal at 10:40 AM. They let us right in, and we completed the health questionnaire and registration formalities in a few minutes and were ready to board by 11:00 AM. They took us on board shortly afterwards. They did not wait for everyone who had signed up for BVE to arrive before they let us on. We know because some in our group were late.

 

· Registration staff was fine with driver’s licenses or passports for identification, regardless of which you had used to register online.

 

· At registration they didn’t give us copies of the foldable ship’s maps. I saw them and asked for some for our group. They were a bit reluctant, and in fact told one member of our group that they were short and to get a map on board. It’s worth trying to have one for each person in your group, if there is any possibility you may split up. Definitely worth asking for.

 

· I asked the Future Cruise Consultant if the ship’s tour included a look at accommodations. He said “no” and explained that the tour is a quick overview of the public rooms and is really for those who have not been on a Princess ship before. He suggested we poke our heads into cabins which were being made up to get an idea of what they look like, and even suggested some cabin numbers, which are suites, to look at.

 

· Once on board our first stops were the accommodations’ decks to have a look at the cabins. You need to do this before the staff has finished cleaning them because they will be locked up after that.

 

· It is good to go to lunch as soon as the restaurant opens, for quickest service. In our case that was the Da Vinci dining room at 12:00 PM. Perhaps not surprisingly, the menu was the same as it was a couple of weeks prior when we did our last BVE. Both were at the start of the same itinerary, a 10-day cruise to Alaska.

 

· Our group split up after lunch, with some doing more exploring of the ship while others found seats at the stern of the ship to watch the America’s Cup and enjoy an after-lunch drink.

 

· One of our group picked up our photographs from the photography area, and there was no problem finding them this time.

 

 

Final Thoughts;

If you have a group of friends coming I would suggest you tell them, in advance of the BVE, that there is a Plan A and Plan B for meeting up. Either they meet you inside the terminal at 10:40 AM, or if they miss that, then meet for lunch at 12:00 PM at the restaurant. We mucked around with cell phones and poor reception inside the ship trying to coordinate some late comers for our group.

 

BVE is a fun way to spend a day. If you have friends, or if you, have not been on a cruise then it gives them an idea of what the ships are like.

Edited August 19, 2013 by Smokeyham

[Thrak]

Ok, I'm officially confused. We booked a BVE on the Grand for September 27. The boarding pass says:

 

===================================

Ship: Grand Princess Sailing Date: Sep 27, 2013

Voyage: A326 Sailing Time: 04:00PM

Stateroom: Departure Pier: SFO CRUISE TERMINAL PIER 35

Departure: San Francisco, California Remarks CHECK IN 1:00PM-3:00PM

Arrival: San Francisco, California

Travel Agency: VISITOR PROGRAM "BON VOYAGE"

====================================

 

If I'm not allowed to check in until 1:00 at the soonest, am supposed to disembark 1 hour before sailing time, and the ship sails at 4:00 that only gives me 2 hours (from 1:00 to 3:00) at the most for the BVE.

 

That really doesn't sound right to me...

[trbarton]

Ok, I'm officially confused. We booked a BVE on the Grand for September 27. The boarding pass says:

 

===================================

Ship: Grand Princess Sailing Date: Sep 27, 2013

Voyage: A326 Sailing Time: 04:00PM

Stateroom: Departure Pier: SFO CRUISE TERMINAL PIER 35

Departure: San Francisco, California Remarks CHECK IN 1:00PM-3:00PM

Arrival: San Francisco, California

Travel Agency: VISITOR PROGRAM "BON VOYAGE"

====================================

 

If I'm not allowed to check in until 1:00 at the soonest, am supposed to disembark 1 hour before sailing time, and the ship sails at 4:00 that only gives me 2 hours (from 1:00 to 3:00) at the most for the BVE.

 

That really doesn't sound right to me...

 

I've done 2 BVE in SF and you arrive at the terminal at around 10:30 am where you will check in and fill out a short health form. The FCC will come and take everyone on board at around 11 am. You have to be off the ship by 3 pm.

 

Interesting that you have a BVE on Sept. 27th as the princess site says that the last BVE on the Grand is Sept. 7th. Perhaps they added some.

 

 

Tom:)

Edited September 9, 2013 by trbarton

[Smokeyham]

As trbarton says, just be at the dock at 10:30 AM, and you will be able to board shortly afterwards. You may also get a separate email from Princess giving you a different boarding time than that stated in the original notification you posted. The reason this is all so cumbersome is that they are using the same process for the BVE as they are for the regular passengers, so the system sends out the same automatic notifications as it does for regular passengers.

 

I hope that one of these days they have a separate system for BVE so it is easier for people to register and less confusing. I can imagine that more than one person only saw the first notification, and was very disappointed when they turned up at 1:00 PM only to learn they could have boarded much earlier.

 

Ok, I'm officially confused. We booked a BVE on the Grand for September 27. The boarding pass says:

 

===================================

Ship: Grand Princess Sailing Date: Sep 27, 2013

Voyage: A326 Sailing Time: 04:00PM

Stateroom: Departure Pier: SFO CRUISE TERMINAL PIER 35

Departure: San Francisco, California Remarks CHECK IN 1:00PM-3:00PM

Arrival: San Francisco, California

Travel Agency: VISITOR PROGRAM "BON VOYAGE"

====================================

 

If I'm not allowed to check in until 1:00 at the soonest, am supposed to disembark 1 hour before sailing time, and the ship sails at 4:00 that only gives me 2 hours (from 1:00 to 3:00) at the most for the BVE.

 

That really doesn't sound right to me...

[Thrak]

Ok, I'm officially confused. We booked a BVE on the Grand for September 27. The boarding pass says:

 

===================================

Ship: Grand Princess Sailing Date: Sep 27, 2013

Voyage: A326 Sailing Time: 04:00PM

Stateroom: Departure Pier: SFO CRUISE TERMINAL PIER 35

Departure: San Francisco, California Remarks CHECK IN 1:00PM-3:00PM

Arrival: San Francisco, California

Travel Agency: VISITOR PROGRAM "BON VOYAGE"

====================================

 

If I'm not allowed to check in until 1:00 at the soonest, am supposed to disembark 1 hour before sailing time, and the ship sails at 4:00 that only gives me 2 hours (from 1:00 to 3:00) at the most for the BVE.

 

That really doesn't sound right to me...

 

I've done 2 BVE in SF and you arrive at the terminal at around 10:30 am where you will check in and fill out a short health form. The FCC will come and take everyone on board at around 11 am. You have to be off the ship by 3 pm.

 

Interesting that you have a BVE on Sept. 27th as the princess site says that the last BVE on the Grand is Sept. 7th. Perhaps they added some.

 

 

Tom:)

 

Yep. My wife contacted the TA and tried to get in on the BVE last weekend but he said it was too late to book. I called Princess and was told it was full.

 

I called back later and asked if there were any more this year in SF. I told them that the last one I could find listed was on September 7. They checked and said there was one on September 17 and one on September 27. Since the 27th is a Friday and we can just make it a 3-day weekend I booked that one. The TA had the same list that I found online. Very odd...

[Thrak]

As trbarton says, just be at the dock at 10:30 AM, and you will be able to board shortly afterwards. You may also get a separate email from Princess giving you a different boarding time than that stated in the original notification you posted. The reason this is all so cumbersome is that they are using the same process for the BVE as they are for the regular passengers, so the system sends out the same automatic notifications as it does for regular passengers.

 

I hope that one of these days they have a separate system for BVE so it is easier for people to register and less confusing. I can imagine that more than one person only saw the first notification, and was very disappointed when they turned up at 1:00 PM only to learn they could have boarded much earlier.

 

 

Thanks for the replies. I'm relieved to hear that this is "normal" and should be cleared up. I agree that a separate BVE booking system would be vastly better.

 

You can bet your buns we'll be there at 10:00 and waiting. :D

 

Once again CC comes through. Gotta love it.

[Smokeyham]

Thanks for the replies. I'm relieved to hear that this is "normal" and should be cleared up. I agree that a separate BVE booking system would be vastly better.

 

You can bet your buns we'll be there at 10:00 and waiting. :D

 

Once again CC comes through. Gotta love it.

 

I'm so grateful for CC as well! Definitely the information I found here made the BVE a lot better for myself and the group I organized!

 

Our experience has been that if you arrive around 10:40 you should be fine. You probably won't get on board much before 11:00, since they wait to see if most of the people who have signed up have arrived.

[Vexorg]

Interesting info here. Me and a friend are on the Emerald Princess in December, but will be arriving a day early at Fort Lauderdale, and I'm thinking we might do the BVE on the Royal Princess that day as an opportunity to check out the new ship.

[Sailfish]

Are the people doing these BVE tours travel agents?

[laughing husky]

I had hoped that there would be a BVE experience on the Caribbean Princess this September so my brother could see the ship.....No such luck....:( I think it would be a grand idea to have them available on all ship...

[Thrak]

I'm so grateful for CC as well! Definitely the information I found here made the BVE a lot better for myself and the group I organized!

 

Our experience has been that if you arrive around 10:40 you should be fine. You probably won't get on board much before 11:00, since they wait to see if most of the people who have signed up have arrived.

 

How was the lunch? What did they serve? It says there is wine included. Is that correct?

[Smokeyham]

Are the people doing these BVE tours travel agents?

 

No, we were just regular people who had learned about the Bon Voyage Experience (BVE) program. You don't even need to know someone is sailing on the cruise to participate, but the BVE is not offered for all sailings. I found a list of dates on this non-Princess website (https://book.princess.com/BookingSystem/jsp/home/ship_visit/BonVoyageExperience.jsp). However, it sounds like Princess may have added some other dates, so you might call them to see if the departure date you are interested in is available.

 

How was the lunch? What did they serve? It says there is wine included. Is that correct?

 

The lunch was very nice. We had a served lunch at 12:00 PM in the Da Vinci dining room. This is the same lunch which is available to any passenger joining the ship for the cruise. On one BVE they gave us two glasses of wine, but on the other they did charge us if we wanted a second glass. Either way, the first glass of wine was included.

 

Of course, you can always have lunch at the buffet, but we found there was more than enough time (4 hours) to have both a nice served lunch, and to explore the ship.

 

Whichever lunch you chose I would suggest going there early (around 12:00) since the venues got busier as more passengers got on board, and I think the service was quicker earlier on.

Edited September 9, 2013 by Smokeyham

[Thrak]

The lunch was very nice. We had a served lunch at 12:00 PM in the Da Vinci dining room. This is the same lunch which is available to any passenger joining the ship for the cruise. On one BVE they gave us two glasses of wine, but on the other they did charge us if we wanted a second glass. Either way, the first glass of wine was included.

 

Of course, you can always have lunch at the buffet, but we found there was more than enough time (4 hours) to have both a nice served lunch, and to explore the ship.

 

Whichever lunch you chose I would suggest going there early (around 12:00) since the venues got busier as more passengers got on board, and I think the service was quicker earlier on.

 

Oh definitely lunch in the dining room. :D

[Sailfish]

Do most people who do these tours do so to purchase FCC's? Unless you are an agent, I guess I don't see the point of going on a tour of the ship. I understand that you can apply the amount you pay towards a future cruise, which I suppose is a good thing.

 

I will be on the Golden Princess this fall, and although I have never been on this particular ship, I have been on others that are very similar. I am looking forward to my cruise, but I wouldn't want to tour it beforehand. Just my take on things.

 

Take care.

 

Suzi

[Smokeyham]

Do most people who do these tours do so to purchase FCC's? Unless you are an agent, I guess I don't see the point of going on a tour of the ship. I understand that you can apply the amount you pay towards a future cruise, which I suppose is a good thing.

 

I will be on the Golden Princess this fall, and although I have never been on this particular ship, I have been on others that are very similar. I am looking forward to my cruise, but I wouldn't want to tour it beforehand. Just my take on things.

 

Take care.

 

Suzi

 

Difficult to know what percentage of the people going on the BVE purchase Future Cruise Credits while on board. I'm not sure how many of the people doing the BVE are actually aware of that opportunity, or would be sure that they will actually ever cruise, so the percentage may not be that high.

 

For us doing the BVE was a chance for a reunion of sorts, since a number of us had been on a sister ship for a cruise to Alaska. Also, since we won't have the chance to go on a cruise for quite awhile it was a chance to get a cruise ship "fix" and to have a fun day on board. :)

[O2Bcrusin]

In the past I've always kept mine. I'll be on the Grand for the first time, next April. If it appears the cards are collected, I'll conveniently lose mine.

Was on the Grand in June. Cards were not collected at the end of the cruise.