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Elite questions


amajaa
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First time Elite soon so a few questions please. Apologies in advance if they sound silly

 

The free mini bar - do you get to pick what you want in it and if so when do you pick before you board or after you board.

 

Free laundry - what do people send for example do you send underwear, not sure I would be keen on sending mine. T - shirts and jeans or jeggings in stretchy material, has anyone sent this sort of thing as I would be worried about shrinking if they are put in too hot a tumble dryer.  Has anyone ever had problems with this. Can you get suits laundered or has it just got to be things that can be washed?  We will be on a fly cruise so can’t take as much luggage as normal, hence the Landry questions. T I A

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33 minutes ago, amajaa said:

First time Elite soon so a few questions please. Apologies in advance if they sound silly

 

The free mini bar - do you get to pick what you want in it and if so when do you pick before you board or after you board. The minibar is usually already in our cabin (not always, but by the time you get back from sail away for sure). If you want different items, call Room Service with your requests. You can exchange like for like (i.e. Sprite for Coke?, Brandy for Vodka), or everything for water, 1 bottle of red or white wine or 2 coffee "packages".

Not sure about brands of soda, I don't drink it.

 

Free laundry - what do people send for example do you send underwear, not sure I would be keen on sending mine. T - shirts and jeans or leggings in stretchy material, has anyone sent this sort of thing as I would be worried about shrinking if they are put in too hot a tumble dryer.  Has anyone ever had problems with this. Can you get suits laundered or has it just got to be things that can be washed?  We will be on a fly cruise so can’t take as much luggage as normal, hence the Landry questions. T I A

We send anything that's washable/dryable. I wouldn't send those leggings (hand wash). The temps used are HOT. We bring clothes that are (as a rule) older, so don't care if they get damaged or disappear. So far, no problems, but some report issues.

Yes, on the suit. You can request the Princess version of dry cleaning or just pressing.

 

Be sure to write on your laundry ticket "Elite", just so there aren't any misunderstandings. 

 

BTW: I had one steward who saw the list I was making for our minibar exchange and he did it while we were out of the cabin. Great steward!!

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2 minutes ago, steelers36 said:

I thought I read where someone sorted out their laundry and made one lot  cold or warm wash - or perhaps it was no drying.  Anyway, I thought it might be possible to request not HOT.  Anyone know?

"Cold" isn't an option on the laundry tag. Plus the washing machines are gigantic, it would take a lot of people requesting a cold wash to get them to do it.

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Actually, perhaps it’s just me but it’s the huge washing machine that will stop me sending my underwear. Not sure if I want it washed with everyone else’s underwear. Do you say underwear in the states?  I put that rather than knickers as didn’t know if you used that word across the pond lol

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The bar contains alcoholic and non alcoholic items. Alcohol can be exchanged for anything and non alcoholic only for non alcoholic. Everything can be exchanged for 1 bottle of wine or 2 coffee packages.

 

I am still debating if I want to use the free laundry on my next cruise. It may be too harsh for underwear.

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14 minutes ago, amajaa said:

Actually, perhaps it’s just me but it’s the huge washing machine that will stop me sending my underwear. Not sure if I want it washed with everyone else’s underwear. Do you say underwear in the states?  I put that rather than knickers as didn’t know if you used that word across the pond lol

Our friends have sent some things on recent cruises as they just became Elite and no complaints.  We may consult them on our upcoming Nov cruise (my wife's first Elite cruise and I qualify during it).  I have no doubt some things will still be done using the self-serve laundry.  At $3/load, it doesn't break the bank.  If I take a jacket, it will be nice to have a free press, but I don't qualify for free this cruise.  For a 10-nighter, we should be fine unless something unexpected happens.

 

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Even if you leave a note or tell your steward to exchange items, they have to do it through Room Service so you’re giving them extra work. Every item is inventoried by Room Service so they are the only ones who can exchange items. 

 

You can exchange the whole mini-bar set-up for two coffee packaged (formerly coffee cards) or a bottle of wine. You can exchange any or all item(s) for a non-alcoholic beverage. You can exchange an alcoholic beverage for another one but you can’t exchange a non-alcoholic for an alcoholic. 

 

I send everything to the laundry. Have had a few problems but they were cheap t-shirts to start with. 

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The standard mini bar will contain:

2 x 50ml Vodka, Sky*

2 x 50ml Scotch, Dewars*

2 x 50ml Gin, Beefeater's*

2 x 50ml Brandy Courvoisier*

2 bottles beer, probably Dos Equis*

6 cans of soda, Coke products

2 bottles Perrier water

2 bottles plain water.

There is a menu with available items. You can exchange any alcoholic bottle for another alcoholic bottle on a one for one basis. Alcoholic bottles can also be exchanged for non-alcoholic cans/bottles on a one for one basis. Non-alcoholic beverages can only be exchanged for other non alcoholic. The entire mini bar can be exchanged for one bottle of wine or 2 coffee packages.

Call room service for the exchanges. The cabin steward really does not handle this.

*usually these are the brands.

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I wish I knew before my July Coral Princess cruise that I could exchange the entire mini-bar items for a bottle of wine.  This was my first time as an Elite guest.  How do more experienced Elite guests find that one could do this?

 

Only once in all of my cruises did a ship's laundry shrink a pair of pants.  Everything that I send out is returned nicely folded (if that is what I requested), fresh and clean.  The laundry on Coral Princess did an excellent job.

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3 hours ago, Pam in CA said:

Even if you leave a note or tell your steward to exchange items, they have to do it through Room Service so you’re giving them extra work. Every item is inventoried by Room Service so they are the only ones who can exchange items. 

Pam: to clarify...I didn't leave a note for the steward, I was making a list. It was time to go for muster drill, so I left it slightly under the phone and left the cabin.

When we came back, the exchange had been done.

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1 minute ago, JF - retired RRT said:

Pam: to clarify...I didn't leave a note for the steward, I was making a list. It was time to go for muster drill, so I left it slightly under the phone and left the cabin.

When we came back, the exchange had been done.

Got it. Regardless, the steward would have notified Room Service. 🙂 

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1 hour ago, rkacruiser said:

I wish I knew before my July Coral Princess cruise that I could exchange the entire mini-bar items for a bottle of wine.  This was my first time as an Elite guest.  How do more experienced Elite guests find that one could do this?

By reading the Elite information on the Princess website OR following Cruise Critic.

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16 minutes ago, 1965 said:

We will not be elite on our upcoming cruise but on the cruise following it. I will want to exchange our mini bar set up for the coffee "cards." Am I correct that I call room service for the exchange? Thanks.

Yes since Room Service does inventory and accounts for every bottle and can. 

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1 hour ago, JF - retired RRT said:

By reading the Elite information on the Princess website OR following Cruise Critic.

 

I appreciate your response.  Thank you.  It was a surprise to me when I checked-in at Whittier that I was an Elite Princess guest.  Had I known in advance, I would have done some researching.

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5 hours ago, amajaa said:

Actually, perhaps it’s just me but it’s the huge washing machine that will stop me sending my underwear. Not sure if I want it washed with everyone else’s underwear. Do you say underwear in the states?  I put that rather than knickers as didn’t know if you used that word across the pond lol

Yes, we use the term underwear rather than knickers in the U.S.A.  Those of us who served in the Navy use the term "skivvies" sometimes.  My wife will not send her undies to the ships laundry but has no problem sending mine.  She claims hers are too delicate but mine are tough enough to handle the hot washing temperature.  

We always use the ship's laundry and so far have never had anything lost or damaged.

Allow for 3 days to get your laundry back.

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6 hours ago, JF - retired RRT said:

Pam: to clarify...I didn't leave a note for the steward, I was making a list. It was time to go for muster drill, so I left it slightly under the phone and left the cabin.

When we came back, the exchange had been done.

This reminds me of the old joke Ron Goodman used to tell about his cabin steward.  Stewart was so efficient that when Ron got up one night to use the bathroom, he came back out to find his bed made.

 

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16 minutes ago, steelers36 said:

This reminds me of the old joke Ron Goodman used to tell about his cabin steward.  Stewart was so efficient that when Ron got up one night to use the bathroom, he came back out to find his bed made.

 

I think all Cruise Directors tell that one.🙂 I think there is a list of jokes that they use.

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12 hours ago, skynight said:

The standard mini bar will contain:

2 x 50ml Vodka, Sky*

2 x 50ml Scotch, Dewars*

2 x 50ml Gin, Beefeater's*

2 x 50ml Brandy Courvoisier*

2 bottles beer, probably Dos Equis*

6 cans of soda, Coke products

2 bottles Perrier water

2 bottles plain water.

There is a menu with available items. You can exchange any alcoholic bottle for another alcoholic bottle on a one for one basis.

 

If you are changing alcohol for alcohol, be aware that your only choices are listed above.

 

In other words, you could trade your scotch for vodka (which is listed), but not for tequila which is not listed.

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8 hours ago, nukesubsailor said:

Yes, we use the term underwear rather than knickers in the U.S.A.  Those of us who served in the Navy use the term "skivvies" sometimes.  My wife will not send her undies to the ships laundry but has no problem sending mine.  She claims hers are too delicate but mine are tough enough to handle the hot washing temperature.  

We always use the ship's laundry and so far have never had anything lost or damaged.

Allow for 3 days to get your laundry back.

 

 

Haha yes I was thinking the same send hubbies but not mine. He is ex military as well, 22 years. It’s funny the language differences for example above someone mentioned pants, well pants to us are underwear. What you call pants we call trousers. 

 

Thanks everyone for the bar info. I expect although being a Scot himself he will exchange the scotch for vodka or gin. 

 

 

 

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We've sent in laundry for years now & finally gave up due to all the shrunken/damaged items. Occasionally we'll send in things to be "cleaned" but no longer washed. Even at that it will only be older items we can afford to take a chance with. We've had tiny holes in slips, shirts, shrunken underwear, shrunken socks but never anything missing. 

I would never give them one of my better blouses or slacks to clean.

Although many people swear by their laundry (hot or cold), I've see what can happen.

If you like living dangerously then give it a try.

Princess will reimburse you for damage should anything happen. 

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