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Question about coffee cards in lieu of minibar on regal

tothemall&beyond

By tothemall&beyond,
in Princess Cruises

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tothemall&beyond

tothemall&beyond

Posted
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We know the Regal is now enforcing coffee card "regulations" more stringently than some of the other ships. Ex. no more punches for gelato, checking more often for info on back side of card.

 

So we have a question for any Elites (only) who have sailed on the Regal (only) within the past month or so (only) AND who have traded in their minibar for coffee cards...

When room service brought the coffee cards to your cabin, had they already filled in the ship name and voyage number on the back side of the cards, or were they still blank ?

Note that I am not asking about what the IC staff did with the cards, just what room service staff did.

Thanks so much.

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DavidTravels

DavidTravels

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Posted

Hi:

We were on the Oct 26th sailing of the Regent. We are Elite and exchanged our mini bar for the coffee cards. When we called to get them replaced we were told it couldn't be done until the following day. Then about 10 minutes later room service arrived with the two cards....yes the name of the ship and sail date was filled in. And....no gelato.

 

David Travels

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Steelers36

Steelers36

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OP - I think you should have had a follow-up piece to your question? Did the Elite passenger(s) request to receive the cards NOT filled in? It seems the person above did not make a particular request.

 

Also, if you did receive filled out cards, did you try and ask someone (probably mgmt) to take one back and change it for a blank one?

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fishywood

fishywood

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If you're not getting the free coffee or tea, I don't see why it would matter what's on the back of the card. After all, the punches are supposed to be good from cruise to cruise until used up.

 

What the OP wants is to save one of the two cards for a future cruise and use it then for both the 15 punches and unlimited brewed coffee/premium tea. (Or give to a friend/sell on E-bay).

 

Personally I have no qualms about Princess trying to confine a perk the passenger is entitled to on their cruise to just that cruise. There has to be a line drawn somewhere. "Regulations" should not be a euphemism but fair to all.

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tothemall&beyond

tothemall&beyond

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OP - I think you should have had a follow-up piece to your question? Did the Elite passenger(s) request to receive the cards NOT filled in? It seems the person above did not make a particular request.

 

Also, if you did receive filled out cards, did you try and ask someone (probably mgmt) to take one back and change it for a blank one?

 

I think you made an assumption that I was upset about something that happened to me. Not at all. I haven't sailed yet. Asking for my upcoming cruise in 4 weeks as I know Regal has started enforcing some new polices.

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tothemall&beyond

tothemall&beyond

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If you're not getting the free coffee or tea, I don't see why it would matter what's on the back of the card. After all, the punches are supposed to be good from cruise to cruise until used up.

 

But we WOULD be using it for free coffee... There is a specific reason I'm asking, and it has to do with mini bar vs coffee cards decisions for several upcoming cruises. And, without going into details, it would matter.

Edited by tothemall&beyond
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tothemall&beyond

tothemall&beyond

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What the OP wants is to save one of the two cards for a future cruise and use it then for both the 15 punches and unlimited brewed coffee/premium tea. (Or give to a friend/sell on E-bay).

 

Personally I have no qualms about Princess trying to confine a perk the passenger is entitled to on their cruise to just that cruise. There has to be a line drawn somewhere. "Regulations" should not be a euphemism but fair to all.

 

Again, assumptions made that are not true. I NEVER sell my card or give it to anyone. We still have 33 punches left on three old brown cards (one never used at all). We have a long cruise later this year and would like to have minibar for that one. But would also need coffee cards, so just curious if we opted for coffee cards on this short upcoming cruise, whether they would be marked or not.

 

Everyone always assumes something nefarious or trying to "cheat". Not at all. As you point out, I'm entitled to one or the other on each cruise, and the answer to this question helps us decide which option we will elect for each cruise, and whehter we will save our punches (on old cards) for the longer cruise. That is all it's about.

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tothemall&beyond

tothemall&beyond

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Hi:

We were on the Oct 26th sailing of the Regent. We are Elite and exchanged our mini bar for the coffee cards. When we called to get them replaced we were told it couldn't be done until the following day. Then about 10 minutes later room service arrived with the two cards....yes the name of the ship and sail date was filled in. And....no gelato.

 

David Travels

 

THANK YOU! That's exactly what I needed to know.

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cherylandtk

cherylandtk

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For planning purposes, it may be useful to know that on some ships (specifically the Emerald last month) the brewed coffee at the IC is free until 6am. Pot set out and pour all you want, no card needed. At 6 you need to show your card to get a brewed cup.

 

Unless I'm overlooking something, the only difference between an unmarked card and a marked one is the timeframe and ability to get the brewed coffee without using up a punch (or pay). So if you are early birds, that might be worth knowing.

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  • 1 month later...
floridalover5623

floridalover5623

Posted
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When did you last get any, and on what ship(s)? For the past year, the Regal and Royal have been marking them with Sharpies when (and wherever) issued.

They've been marking the cards on the Royal for quite a time now.

I can't remember the last time I received unmarked cards. :confused:

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pablo222

pablo222

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They've been marking the cards on the Royal for quite a time now.

I can't remember the last time I received unmarked cards. :confused:

 

My experience as well.

However, another poster said they never received a marked card.

 

So, I guess the original poster can select which ever answer they like the best.

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geoherb "Live from...." Rare

geoherb

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The cards I received earlier this month on the Royal were marked with the ship's name and voyage number. I used them for free tea bags to take with me to breakfast and dinner. I can pack a box of good decaf tea bags for our upcoming cruise on the Regal.

 

They started enforcing the new policy of not using a punch for gelato on our cruise. It started with controversy--a woman ahead of us being able to get a supervisor to give her some for a punch, and then we got ours. Later on during the cruise, we were able to get it as well. We'll have enough onboard credit to be able to afford gelato once or twice on the cruise.

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floridalover5623

floridalover5623

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My experience as well.

However, another poster said they never received a marked card.

 

So, I guess the original poster can select which ever answer they like the best.

Once the ***** kicks in (maybe next year?) the question will be a moot point since there will be no more cards to mark.

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pablo222

pablo222

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Posted
Once the ***** kicks in (maybe next year?) the question will be a moot point since there will be no more cards to mark.

 

If princess ties specialty coffee to ocean medallions, how will that work?

 

Will only passengers in certain blocks of cabins be able to have coffee?

Will the rest have to leave the ship, and buy coffee in port?

Will they receive some sort of onboard credit?

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floridalover5623

floridalover5623

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If princess ties specialty coffee to ocean medallions, how will that work?

 

Will only passengers in certain blocks of cabins be able to have coffee?

Will the rest have to leave the ship, and buy coffee in port?

Will they receive some sort of onboard credit?

WHEN the ***** is full operation,

as explained to me by one of the baristas, you order coffee (using the medallion) your account will show up on their screen with the punches laid out on the screen & they simply check off a punch just as they now use their hole punch on the card. You're coffee account will be kept on record from cruise to cruise even if your on another ship.

 

I'm assuming it will be a cumulative account since we rarely use all of our punches on one cruise before receiving more cards.

It doesn't sound like they'll be any more cards to be sold on eBay so they might be only found at a premium. I'm holding my old cards to see how it'll go.

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Hlitner Excellent Advice! Rare

Hlitner

Posted
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We know the Regal is now enforcing coffee card "regulations" more stringently than some of the other ships. Ex. no more punches for gelato, checking more often for info on back side of card.

 

So we have a question for any Elites (only) who have sailed on the Regal (only) within the past month or so (only) AND who have traded in their minibar for coffee cards...

When room service brought the coffee cards to your cabin, had they already filled in the ship name and voyage number on the back side of the cards, or were they still blank ?

Note that I am not asking about what the IC staff did with the cards, just what room service staff did.

Thanks so much.

 

We were on the Regal in late Oct into November. On the embarkation day we called Room Service and asked to have our mini-bar exchanged for 2 coffee cards. The Room Service folks said they were so busy that they would not be able to deliver our cards until the following day (late morning). I calmly told the lady "that is just not acceptable" and she quickly agreed to have them delivered later in the afternoon (embarkation day). The cards were delivered in an envelope and the Voyage Number and ship name were filled-in in ink! I still have one of those cards which we will use on a future cruise..although I guess it will not be good for unlimited coffee/tea.

 

Hank

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