New to Princess questions

[Markanddonna]

We are pretty seasoned travelers and want to  book a 28 night Princess TP from Sydney to SF.  Since we are new to Princess and also with all the up in the air policies with COVID, I feel like a beginner again.  So, I have a few questions:

 

Is Princess like all the other cruise lines with their price reduction policy- will they gladly give you the new, lower price before final payment?  My Eastern Med cruise on NCL was reduced several times, and I was surprised how the agents were always happy for me and very pleasant. I imagine Princess is the same.

 

Since this cruise isn't until 2022, the airfare can't be accessed. I have read the EZ air is considered a great deal.  We will need a OW flight to Sydney.  Can you add extra days to your trip?  With RCL and Celebrity you can do this easily, but NCL only lets you have two days pre and post cruise.  We want at least a week in Australia before the cruise.

I have to say that I'm happy to be researching cruises again. Our last cruise was two weeks B2B in the Caribbean in February and it feels like a few years ago.  

 

Thanks,

Donna

 

[johnmik1]

Yes they will refare up till final payment and you can add multiple additional days using EZair.I don't believe there is a limit on the # of days.

[Mike45LC]

If you re-fare, you might lose perks and promotions.  Be sure to verify any such losses before you re-fare.

[RLK33853]

I re-fare my cruises continually before final payment.  Sometimes for price, other times you may be able to improve location without a price increase.  Other things/perks like Specialty Dining may be included.  But as Mike45 says, make sure what you are going to get exceeds what you are giving up.

 

If you are thinking of the Sydney to San Francisco on the Sapphire April 2nd, 2022, we have a Roll Call going which will help with tours and suggestions.

 

Good luck

[-Lew-]

2 hours ago, johnmik1 said:

I don't believe there is a limit on the # of days

 

Right now there is a limit of about 43 days pre and post cruise...

[skynight]

Yes, you can re-fare for a better fare or promo. When you re-fare you almost always lose any benefits from the previous booking. Some T.A.'s do charge for the re-fare. Ours does not.

You can select your flights and airports on EZ Air. You are permitted to book flights pre or post cruise just as Lew mentioned. With EZ Air it is best to search and book flights yourself in the cruise personlizer and not allow the T.A. to do this. Doing this yourself you can search over several days or weeks. In most cases you can select your seats. You can monitor your fares in the cruise personlizer and providing you choose the flexible fare option change up to 45 days before sailing without any charge . In most cases the flexible fares are less than non flexible ones. Payment for flexible fares are due with final cruise payment. EZ Air is covered by the Princess insurance. Historically EZ Air has offered very competitive fares on international flights. Their international first/business class fares have also been attractive. You can also mix first/business with coach. Example, first/business to Australia, coach from L.A. home.

[Blondilu]

I have re-fared a couple of times.  Once I had to cancel my current cabin and re-book another cabin to take advantage of the deal.  The new price only applied to certain circumstances, or something.  I never did fully understand.  But, the end result was a higher category cabin, better perks and all at a lower price than my original booking.

[Markanddonna]

Thank you all for your detailed advice.  I feel pretty confident going ahead with our booking.  Also great to see a roll call has started.  We travel as a couple and enjoy socializing and touring with folks we have found on the roll calls. 

[Markanddonna]

Here's another question: We usually find travel insurance privately, but do you think in our case getting the insurance through Princess is a good idea?  BTW, we are both around 70.  I know age makes a difference with travel insurance if secured privately.

 

[-Lew-]

41 minutes ago, Markanddonna said:

Here's another question: We usually find travel insurance privately, but do you think in our case getting the insurance through Princess is a good idea?  BTW, we are both around 70.  I know age makes a difference with travel insurance if secured privately.

 

My personal policy is to never purchase insurance from the entity whose performance is to be insured.  This includes partners of that entity.

 

With Princess insurance you'll be insured during the timeframe of your cruise.  If you purchase eZAir or pre or post tours, hotels, etc. through Princess, those will be covered also.  Airfare, hotels, etc. booked on your own will not be covered by Princess insurance.  

 

I had a very enlightening phone conversation with Steve Dasseos of TripInsuranceStore.com a few weeks ago.  He has conducted a number of question and answer sessions on the Cruise Critic Cruise/Travel Insurance Board that have been quite informative.  I suggest calling or emailing Steve for the most accurate answers to any travel insurance questions.

Edited October 30, 2020 by -Lew-

[skynight]

Comment is that the Princess insurance does cover the EZ Air. It will also cover if you are on a Princess pre-cruise tour or in Princess pre-cruise hotels. If you stay or tour pre-cruise on your own the Princess insurance will not cover that. You should check to see if your private insurance covers your situations.

We did a similar itinerary a number of years ago, and have been to the South Pacific a few times. The Emerald Princess is a great ship for this crossing. Lots of open deck space, lots of pools, good amount of shaded areas, nice size balconies if you book a balcony cabin, lots of evening entertainment. There will be lots of sea days, 17. In Bora Bora check out Patrick's Lagoon tour. We did it, great. In Pago Pago Tisa's is a place to visit. You can also take a mini bus trip around the island. We signed up for a National Park tour on the dock last time we were there. Limited space so get to the dock early if interested. The National Park naturalist narrates the trip. No tipping. They are not permitted to accept tips.

The crossing of the equator event is nice. Don't miss it. If you wish to be one of the participants speak with the cruise director early in the voyage. Bring along lots of sun screen. The sun is very strong.

If it were us I would book the plus fare. It would be around $40/pp/day higher than the no frills fare. Around $15/pp of that is the hotel gratuity which you pay anyway. So the net is about $25/pp/day extra for non-alcoholic, alcoholic beverages and wi-fi. It's easy to reach $25 with a few drinks and a few specialty coffees.

Other tips. If you own Carnival Corp stock in any account you can receive $250/cabin OBC for this itinerary. Look up Carnival Corp. Shareholder Benefit. If you are ex-military you can receive another $250/per qualified person OBC. If both qualify then both receive the OBC. Look up Princess Cruise Military Benefit on line. OBC on Princess is stackable.

 

[LeeW]

A few more comments.  Princess insurance tends to be cheaper if you are an older cruiser.  However the benefits are less than private, and an air ambulance from the South Pacific could easily exceed Princess limits.

 

Stock is kind of weird right now.  Was at $45/share for years (up and down) but yesterday was below $20.  So you could get 100 shares for around $2000.  The OBC benefit has not been removed so on a long trip you could get $250 for each trip.  The dividend has been stopped now - was 50 cents a share per quarter before Covid.  Might take a while for that to resume but between dividend and OBC we have gotten quite a bit of cash over the years.

[Mary Ellen1]

Markanddonna, regarding the Princess EZAir, I just wanted to say that if you go to the Princess website and do a mock booking for a closer-in cruise, you can look at the airfare options and get a feel for how their system works, how many days pre- and post-cruise, etc...  Good luck with your planning!

[Kamloops50]

EzAir can be booked for flights 30 days before the cruise and 30 days after. Flexible airfare can be cancelled or changed up to 45 days before the cruise. Princess will refare your cruise up to final payment . in some cases they will refare or give you OBC if the fare drops after final payment.

[-Lew-]

11 hours ago, Kamloops50 said:

EzAir can be booked for flights 30 days before the cruise and 30 days after.

 

That's not accurate!  As I mentioned above, eZAir allows flights about 43 days before embarkation and after disembarkation.

 

In the example below, eZAir allows a flight to Fort Lauderdale on January 17, 2021 for a cruise embarking on February 28...that's 42 days in advance.

 

      

[Kamloops50]

2 hours ago, -Lew- said:

 

That's not accurate!  As I mentioned above, eZAir allows flights about 43 days before embarkation and after disembarkation.

 

In the example below, eZAir allows a flight to Fort Lauderdale on January 17, 2021 for a cruise embarking on February 28...that's 42 days in advance.

 

      

It depends on where your flying from. Many international flights only can be 30 days early. 

[-Lew-]

1 hour ago, Kamloops50 said:

It depends on where your flying from. Many international flights only can be 30 days early. 

 

I've checked a number of flights to and from China, Singapore, and Europe and they're all in the 42-43 day range.  Can you provide just one example to substantiate your statement?

[chelsea922]

You can re-fare your EZ-Air easily.  I just did this for a European cruise because British Airways was having a sale. 

[dallasailor orig]

QUESTION FOR ALL:    DH & I took over 31 cruises, not one on Princess.  My daughter is a seasoned traveler both land and sea.

We are thinking of a cruise in the fall of 2022.  We prefer a higher end standard.  After a 21 day land sea Alaska on Holland America, we believed Princess was a step above.  Looking at the available ships out of Ft Lauderdale, the all the ships ratings are 3.8  out of 5.  What gives?  Even some Carnival sailings are much higher. Opinions please!

[skynight]

4 minutes ago, dallasailor orig said:

QUESTION FOR ALL:    DH & I took over 31 cruises, not one on Princess.  My daughter is a seasoned traveler both land and sea.

We are thinking of a cruise in the fall of 2022.  We prefer a higher end standard.  After a 21 day land sea Alaska on Holland America, we believed Princess was a step above.  Looking at the available ships out of Ft Lauderdale, the all the ships ratings are 3.8  out of 5.  What gives?  Even some Carnival sailings are much higher. Opinions please!

It depends on what you look for and what is important to you on a cruise. HAL cruises tend to be less active, with less live music and dancing than cruises on Princess. Princess places lots of emphasis on their Cruise Director activities, usually around 6 on the staff. They also have various live music bands and musicians playing various genre all evening in the lounges around the ship. Princess does not have the climbing walls, bumper cars, surfing pools like RCI. Older grand class ships have more lounges and quiet places than the newer Royal Class ships. Princess' newest Royal Class ship, The Enchanted Princess, first voyages have been delayed by the Pandemic. I feel Princess has made design changes to the Enchanted and the Discovery (still under construction) which will add further enjoyment and activity diversity to any voyage. We prefer the older grand class ones. Princess' DR selections have always suited my taste. I found HAL to be no better or worst. One does not need specialty dining to get good food. There are also a number of no charge alternate dining options, such as Alfredo's, 24/7 International Cafe, 24 hour room service, pub lunch, buffet open 5am until 11pm never closing, the poolside grill and pizza. Princess also has some upcharge restaurants, some around $12/pp some $29/pp, I believe one is higher, maybe $39/pp. There are also special dining experiences from the Chef's Table, Wine Maker's Dinner, Balcony breakfast or dinner. Specialty Dining can vary by ship. I don't know what ships will sail from F.L. in the fall on 2022. I haven't seen those schedules yet. But believe there will be some grand class and some royal class ships. Most dining choices are on every ship, but there are some that are ship specific. I can't tell you how or who provides number ratings to ships, but to us it is the staff and the activities that make a cruise enjoyable. Princess does this very well. Of course you can expect some things to go wrong and some things not to your liking. All comments are based on pre pandemic experience, our 50+ cruises on Princess and other lines plus over 550 days at sea with itineraries in various parts of the world.

[dallasailor orig]

Thanks "skynight" for the valuable insight.  We {the 3 of us}  took one cruise on Celebrity Millenium. Never took Celebrity again.

It had one music venue accessible from 3 decks. Even Holland America did better with several lounges, as well as the upper deck with piped in music.  Most of our cruises were on NCCL, and RCCL.  Since this would be a Caribbean cruise, Princess would suit us just fine. I was pleasantly surprised that they did not have a $9.95 pp Room Service charge plus 20% gratuity ($23.88 before food and drink) for what was always free, plus a tip for the attendant.  If as you say you've sailed 50 times on Princess, the staterooms and public areas must be held to a good standard.  Thanks again for all of the info!

[caribill]

7 hours ago, skynight said:

It depends on what you look for and what is important to you on a cruise. HAL cruises tend to be less active, with less live music and dancing than cruises on Princess.

 

Depends on the HAL ship. The newest ones such as the Niew Statendam have more live music than on Princess ships.  Not much ballroom dancing though.

[Lucky TGO]

On 10/30/2020 at 10:02 AM, -Lew- said:

 

My personal policy is to never purchase insurance from the entity whose performance is to be insured.  This includes partners of that entity.

 

With Princess insurance you'll be insured during the timeframe of your cruise.  If you purchase eZAir or pre or post tours, hotels, etc. through Princess, those will be covered also.  Airfare, hotels, etc. booked on your own will not be covered by Princess insurance.  

 

I had a very enlightening phone conversation with Steve Dasseos of TripInsuranceStore.com a few weeks ago.  He has conducted a number of question and answer sessions on the Cruise Critic Cruise/Travel Insurance Board that have been quite informative.  I suggest calling or emailing Steve for the most accurate answers to any travel insurance questions.

Thanks for sharing Lew.

 

[skynight]

12 hours ago, dallasailor orig said:

Thanks "skynight" for the valuable insight.  We {the 3 of us}  took one cruise on Celebrity Millenium. Never took Celebrity again.

It had one music venue accessible from 3 decks. Even Holland America did better with several lounges, as well as the upper deck with piped in music.  Most of our cruises were on NCCL, and RCCL.  Since this would be a Caribbean cruise, Princess would suit us just fine. I was pleasantly surprised that they did not have a $9.95 pp Room Service charge plus 20% gratuity ($23.88 before food and drink) for what was always free, plus a tip for the attendant.  If as you say you've sailed 50 times on Princess, the staterooms and public areas must be held to a good standard.  Thanks again for all of the info!

The Princess automatic hotel gratuity is $16.50/pp for full suites, $15.50/pp for mini suites and $14.50/pp for all other cabin categories. Over the years many promotions include this gratuity. The hotel gratuity covers cabin stewards, all waiters and others in all DR's, buffet, specialty dining, plus others that you will probably never see. Some passengers provide additional cash tips at the end of the cruise to crew members such as cabin stewards, waiters if they have had the same ones all cruise, and maybe some others. This is your choice.

All beverages, alcoholic and non-alcoholic have an 18% gratuity added to the menu price. It's automatic and can not be removed. All beverage packages have the 18% gratuity included in the price. There is no additional per drink charge added to your account. When a beverage package is part of a promotion the gratuity is still included. Nothing further is added per drink. 

Currently, Nov 3rd to Nov 23rd, the best value fares include the Premier Beverage Package, unlimited WiFi, gratuities and $50/pp OBC. You can find terms and conditions for these packages on the Princess web site. These promos change so you have to keep watch. The best value fares are approximately $40/pp per day higher than no frills fares. Approximately $15 of the the $40 is the gratuity which is paid separately with the no frills fares. The net cost is then $25/pp/day. This cost can easily be covered with just a few alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. The WiFi which is around $10/pp/day is a through in. 

Hope this is helpful.

[skynight]

To add. OBC on Princess is stackable, not one or the other. OBC can be used on board and also for the pre-purchase of shore excursions. It can not be used for any other pre-purchase. There is additional OBC available/cabin to Carnival Corp shareholders and to ex-military. The military benefit is per person up to 2/cabin. If two qualify then both receive the benefit. Look up Princess Cruises Military Benefit and Carnival Corp. Shareholder Benefit on line. You might already be familiar with the shareholder benefit as you have sailed on HAL.