Platinum Membership Princess cruises

[westwindwins]

Hi Everyone,

Hope you are all keeping well in these uncertain times.

I would just like to ask the question regarding platinum membership. We are thinking of doing the 14 day Med cruise in October with some friends who have not cruised before. We have priority embarkation and disembarkation. Would they be allowed to board with us? Or do they need to join the normal queue? Thank you for any help you can supply.

Also my husband has asked me to ask you guys if the casinos will be open or do you need to book your seats for theatre and such like.

Thank you once again.

L and G

[westwindwins]

Sorry forgot to ask if a 7 year old needs to have their covid jabs before they are allowed to cruise from UK.

[CruiserBruce]

30 minutes ago, westwindwins said:

Sorry forgot to ask if a 7 year old needs to have their covid jabs before they are allowed to cruise from UK.

Not sure how a 7 year old could get their jabs, as no vaccine has been approved for ANY child under 16.

 

As to Princess policies and procedures,  best to ask on the Princess board.

[Reina del Mar]

If everyone with Priority Boarding took friends with them in the Priority Line, there wouldn’t be much priority for those who have gained Platinum/ Elite status !

 

Not sure any vaccine has been approved for use in children.

 

 

[mammajamma2013]

2 hours ago, westwindwins said:

Hi Everyone,

Hope you are all keeping well in these uncertain times.

I would just like to ask the question regarding platinum membership. We are thinking of doing the 14 day Med cruise in October with some friends who have not cruised before. We have priority embarkation and disembarkation. Would they be allowed to board with us? Or do they need to join the normal queue? Thank you for any help you can supply.

Also my husband has asked me to ask you guys if the casinos will be open or do you need to book your seats for theatre and such like.

Thank you once again.

L and G

Hoping ths link will work to get you to the Princess boards: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/119-princess-cruises/

 

I believe but could be wrong that your entire group can board together. The Princess website should give you more information on that: https://book.princess.com/captaincircle/membershipBenefits.page

 

Check into the Refer a Friend benefit, it allows a small credit on your fares for each new person sailing on Princess. https://book.princess.com/captaincircle/referralRewards.page  Be sure your refer them before they book. Timing can make a difference between getting the referral credit and not. I would book a day after referring. They also allow on- board credit for military members/veterans, and stock holders.

 

I don't frequent the casinos, but I believe they don't open until at sea. No reservations were required for theater the last time I sailed with them.

 

[westwindwins]

3 hours ago, mammajamma2013 said:

Hoping ths link will work to get you to the Princess boards: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/119-princess-cruises/

 

I believe but could be wrong that your entire group can board together. The Princess website should give you more information on that: https://book.princess.com/captaincircle/membershipBenefits.page

 

Check into the Refer a Friend benefit, it allows a small credit on your fares for each new person sailing on Princess. https://book.princess.com/captaincircle/referralRewards.page  Be sure your refer them before they book. Timing can make a difference between getting the referral credit and not. I would book a day after referring. They also allow on- board credit for military members/veterans, and stock holders.

 

I don't frequent the casinos, but I believe they don't open until at sea. No reservations were required for theater the last time I sailed with them.

 

Hi, Thanks for your help with the questions. Reply much appreciated and hekoful.

Regards

L and G

[Host Kat]

@westwindwins

 

Howdy L and G! 

 

Welcome back to the Cruise Critic message boards!    I see it has been awhile since you have posted on any of the boards.

 

Thank you for your new thread on the Ask a Cruise Question forum. 👍  It is the forum for general questions regarding cruising. However, your thread was off-topic there since your topic concerns a specific cruise line. To help you out I have moved your thread to the Princess Cruises forum where it belongs.

 

I sincerely hope this will be satisfactory and glad to have you back aboard the Cruise Critic message board! 

 

Happy sails,

 

Host Kat 

[skynight]

9 hours ago, westwindwins said:

Hi Everyone,

Hope you are all keeping well in these uncertain times.

I would just like to ask the question regarding platinum membership. We are thinking of doing the 14 day Med cruise in October with some friends who have not cruised before.

Make sure you register them in the refer a friend program, $25/pp OBC for them and you.

We have priority embarkation and disembarkation. Would they be allowed to board with us? Or do they need to join the normal queue? Thank you for any help you can supply.

Maybe. Ask at the pier. No big deal if they have to wait, boarding goes fairly quickly.

Also my husband has asked me to ask you guys if the casinos will be open

do you need to book your seats for theatre and such like.

Thank you once again.

In normal times casinos were always open when the ship is at sea. In the past all shows were walk in, but in October 2021 there may be some differences from the past. An example would be reservations in the theater and maybe some other venues. I have not seen any definitive announcements regarding 2021 covid protocol procedures. Keep watching.

L and G

See bold above.

[ED49404]

I've done it several times in the past.  We usually will have another couple who are not platinum members with us, we explain to them they are our guest and we would appreciate it if we could have a boarding photo taken with us all. Never had a problem.  

[Pink-belle]

17 hours ago, westwindwins said:

Hi Everyone,

Hope you are all keeping well in these uncertain times.

I would just like to ask the question regarding platinum membership. We are thinking of doing the 14 day Med cruise in October with some friends who have not cruised before. We have priority embarkation and disembarkation. Would they be allowed to board with us? Or do they need to join the normal queue? Thank you for any help you can supply.

Also my husband has asked me to ask you guys if the casinos will be open or do you need to book your seats for theatre and such like.

Thank you once again.

L and G

Platinum membership only allows you and those in the same stateroom priority boarding.  From the Princess information

 

When you arrive at the port, don’t wait in line. You, along with your family or guests that are travelling with you in the same stateroom will be invited to use the Prirority Check-In desk to help expedite your embarkation.

 

Not sure where you are travelling from but they are very strict on this from Southampton. 

platinum entitles you to use the disembarkation lounge, that was a great perk some years ago ,now they are too busy.  Visit guest services early on and get both groups allocated your choice of disembarkation group.

 

I don’t think anyone knows how things will work onboard until the ships are back out sailing.

 

sadly There is No Refer a friend programme here in the UK. 

[caribill]

18 hours ago, westwindwins said:

Hi Everyone,

Hope you are all keeping well in these uncertain times.

I would just like to ask the question regarding platinum membership. We are thinking of doing the 14 day Med cruise in October with some friends who have not cruised before. We have priority embarkation and disembarkation. Would they be allowed to board with us? Or do they need to join the normal queue? Thank you for any help you can supply. Official policy is they can check in with you on the priority line, but not board with you. But as others have said, sometimes they can board with you. When are you arriving to check-in? If you check-in after the initial rush, there will be little, if any, wait to board after checking in.

 

Also my husband has asked me to ask you guys if the casinos will be open or do you need to book your seats for theatre and such like. Casinos will be open when at sea beyond country borders. Princess does not have passengers reserve seats in the theatre, but Covid-19 protocols might change this.

Thank you once again.

L and G

 

see above in red

 

18 hours ago, westwindwins said:

Sorry forgot to ask if a 7 year old needs to have their covid jabs before they are allowed to cruise from UK.

 

The special "seacations" that Princess is having this summer from the UK require that all passengers be vaccinated, so children under the age of 16 would not be allowed on those voyages.

 

However your voyage is a "regular" voyage and I do not think any policy has been stated for those voyages. If I had to make a guess, it would be that all those eligible to receive a vaccine would need to be vaccinated but that if children cannot be vaccinated by that time, they would not have to be and could cruise.

 

[westwindwins]

10 hours ago, Host Kat said:

@westwindwins

 

Howdy L and G! 

 

Welcome back to the Cruise Critic message boards!    I see it has been awhile since you have posted on any of the boards.

 

Thank you for your new thread on the Ask a Cruise Question forum. 👍  It is the forum for general questions regarding cruising. However, your thread was off-topic there since your topic concerns a specific cruise line. To help you out I have moved your thread to the Princess Cruises forum where it belongs.

 

I sincerely hope this will be satisfactory and glad to have you back aboard the Cruise Critic message board! 

 

Happy sails,

 

Host Kat 

Hi Kat, Thanks for moving my post to the right place. Much appreciated. Yes has been a while. Too long really. Have been recovering from spinal surgery since December. But am slowly getting back on my feet.

Regards L and G

[westwindwins]

25 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

see above in red

 

 

The special "seacations" that Princess is having this summer from the UK require that all passengers be vaccinated, so children under the age of 16 would not be allowed on those voyages.

 

However your voyage is a "regular" voyage and I do not think any policy has been stated for those voyages. If I had to make a guess, it would be that all those eligible to receive a vaccine would need to be vaccinated but that if children cannot be vaccinated by that time, they would not have to be and could cruise.

 

Thanks for your responses to my questions. All gratefully received and thank you. Our guests have a 7 year old which is why I was asking the question regarding vaccines. As you say Princess will make it clearer nearer the date. Will be nice to get onboard again as we had on cancelled last year in June. Thank you once again. L and G

[sherryf]

My experience is that you cannot have non-platinum guests board with you.  On our first platinum cruise, we had my 3 teen/young adult children with us.  This was only their second cruise on Princess, so only gold level.  They were allowed to check in with us, since they were on my booking, but they were not allowed to go to priority boarding with us.  I had the choice to send my kids to the regular boarding line while my husband and I went to priority, or to join the kids in the regular line.  We chose to join the kids so we could all board together.  

[Ombud]

My minor grandchildren were always permitted to wait & board with me (Elite) even though we have 2 staterooms. (Seattle) However when I cruised with the entire family, that privilege was only extended to my 86 yr old mom in my room. All kids were asked to wait with other family members. (Southampton) I added embarkation cities but I don't know if that's relevant

[waltd]

If it's important for you to board together then you can always wait with them till it's time for them to board.   As mentioned above if you arrive later the wait time shouldn't be an issue.  

[Host Kat]

10 hours ago, westwindwins said:

Hi Kat, Thanks for moving my post to the right place. Much appreciated. Yes has been a while. Too long really. Have been recovering from spinal surgery since December. But am slowly getting back on my feet.

Regards L and G

 

You are most welcome!  

 

Glad to be of service,

 

Host Kat 

[john watson]

I think if you are boarding at Southampton and you are on a single booking and all present as a group you should be ok.  If you are separate bookings I think you will be in a more uncertain situation.  The thing is about boarding in the UK is a much lower proportion of passengers are from the higher tiers and you are more likely to successfully board early together.

 

Regards John

[Thrak]

While it's a common question it always surprises. me. There is no way in the world I would try to have other folks who are not Elite board with us. If we wanted to board with them we would simply wait with them in the "regular" queue. When one has earned a privilege it shouldn't be extended to those who have not earned that privilege. I would feel I was "taking away" from others who deserved the expedited boarding if I tried to bring others along with us. It's a simple thing. If you haven't earned the privilege then you shouldn't try to scam it. (That may sound harsh but it is essentially the case.) I say one should simply waive their expedited boarding privileges and board in the regular queue with the friends.

Edited May 2, 2021 by Thrak

[2 cruises a year]

On 4/30/2021 at 6:22 AM, westwindwins said:

Hi Everyone,

Hope you are all keeping well in these uncertain times.

I would just like to ask the question regarding platinum membership. We are thinking of doing the 14 day Med cruise in October with some friends who have not cruised before. We have priority embarkation and disembarkation. Would they be allowed to board with us? Or do they need to join the normal queue? Thank you for any help you can supply.

Also my husband has asked me to ask you guys if the casinos will be open or do you need to book your seats for theatre and such like.

Thank you once again.

L and G

Only if they are in the same stateroom with you. 

I'm sure that you would also like to get them into the Platinum disembarkation lounge so you can disembark together. And of course the Platinum Vacation Upgrade. 

Do you see where I am going with this? Being friends and travel companions does not get you Platinum benefits. Cabin mates get some benefits, but not many. 

Priority Check-In at Embarkation
When you arrive at the port, don’t wait in line. You, along with your family or guests that are traveling with you in the same stateroom will be invited to use the Priority Check-In desk to help expedite your embarkation

[john watson]

The thing to remember at Southampton is  the number of Platinum and Elite cruisers is very low.  Depending which terminal you are sailing from, the ladies that give out the plastic letters will inspect your documentation.   They may well usher your group direct to the preferential check in counter or they may give you a "G" instead of a "J" advancing you an enormous amount of time but putting you in with the majority of passengers.  Quite often the preferential counter which deals with Platinum, Elite and disabled passengers has nobody waiting there.  In this situation the ladies often direct a small number of random passengers to the desk as it helps with the overall swift boarding of everyone. The ladies will decide whether you all advance to priority or split the group up.

Regards John

Edited May 2, 2021 by john watson

[OzKiwiJJ]

One thing to consider is that embarkation as it used to be pre-pandemic may not be the same as embarkation post-pandemic. I suspect there will be strict enforcement of embarkation times for a start, and if your friends aren't in the same timeslot as you they will have to board separately.

[westwindwins]

15 hours ago, sherryf said:

My experience is that you cannot have non-platinum guests board with you.  On our first platinum cruise, we had my 3 teen/young adult children with us.  This was only their second cruise on Princess, so only gold level.  They were allowed to check in with us, since they were on my booking, but they were not allowed to go to priority boarding with us.  I had the choice to send my kids to the regular boarding line while my husband and I went to priority, or to join the kids in the regular line.  We chose to join the kids so we could all board together.  

That seems quite harsh to me. You wouldnt want to be seperated from you family would you.

[westwindwins]

38 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

One thing to consider is that embarkation as it used to be pre-pandemic may not be the same as embarkation post-pandemic. I suspect there will be strict enforcement of embarkation times for a start, and if your friends aren't in the same timeslot as you they will have to board separately.

Yes that could well be the case.We will just have to see nearer the time. We have not booked yet as first the other couple have to see if they can take their child out of school. Thanks for your reply.

L and G

[westwindwins]

45 minutes ago, john watson said:

The thing to remember at Southampton is  the number of Platinum and Elite cruisers is very low.  Depending which terminal you are sailing from, the ladies that give out the plastic letters will inspect your documentation.   They may well usher your group direct to the preferential check in counter or they may give you a "G" instead of a "J" advancing you an enormous amount of time but putting you in with the majority of passengers.  Quite often the preferential counter which deals with Platinum, Elite and disabled passengers has nobody waiting there.  In this situation the ladies often direct a small number of random passengers to the desk as it helps with the overall swift boarding of everyone. The ladies will decide whether you all advance to priority or split the group up.

Regards John

Hi John, Thanks for your reply. Yes we have seen this happen before. When we took Mum with us for her 80th birthday. We were Platinum but she was gold. They did let her come through with us as there was no way she would have known what to do or where to go.

Regards L and G