We love cruising but going forward...

[Ombud]

But in my next cruise in 30 days, no one can enter terminal until their group is called so no need for an elite waiting room. Then it's broken into 15 minute increments / Green and Blue Lanes so they should be able to handle that without anyone waiting inside. Then we immediately board. 

 

If this is the future way the ES lounge is not needed

 

Edited July 16, 2021 by Ombud

[1965]

2 hours ago, CarelessAndConfused said:

 

Well, very few people qualify for the veterans OBC but the others are certainly very valuable and available to all.  BTW, is it veterans or military, the latter being more prevalent but still a small minority of the population.

My DH gets military veteran obc, up to $250, depending on cruise length.

[Steelers36]

13 minutes ago, Ombud said:

But in my next cruise in 30 days, no one can enter terminal until their group is called so no need for an elite waiting room. Then it's broken into 15 minute increments / Green and Blue Lanes so they should be able to handle that without anyone waiting inside. Then we board. Again minimal waiting 

 

If this is the future way the PE lounge is not needed

 

Yes, based on the time for earliest group, they should be walking on board right after check-in is completed. 

 

I imagine once Covid-19 dies off as a concern (we can all hope to see that day sooner than later), things will go back to being able to show up early and they will do check-ins early as before and have a large group ready to head onto the ship when it's ready for general boarding.  After that, people just walk on as processed through check-in.  Priority boarding was always something of most value to those who arrived early for check-in.

[billco]

6 hours ago, oldracer said:

We love cruising and have used Princess for our last 10 cruises. With the recent changes, I'm not sure if loyalty (ours to Princess) means anything anymore as the benefits of loyalty are being removed. United Airlines did the same thing a few years ago and I have not flown them since. Is recognition of your loyalty important to you?

Recognition of loyalty is not as important to me as providing a good product and good memories. Add up all the loyalty benefits and they still represent a fraction of the cost of cruise. When I look back on my cruise memories I think of the places I went and the things I did. Least of all the perks.

[caribill]

6 hours ago, EDDY0827 said:

You note that you have a "green lane". I have an 11:30 - 11:45 boarding time for the "blue lane".

I am Ruby level, no priority, yet. I'm guessing that the "green lane" is the priority lane?

Green indicates that all possible info so far has been input. Blue indicates it has not. Nothing to do with priority except for DMW which can be done before final payment for some and not others.

[caribill]

8 hours ago, Ombud said:

> I was going to pay $54 fop Internet for 1 week cruise in 2020, now its $35

 

 

Glad that the one week works out for you.

 

For our 33 day cruise, the old benefit would have given us a combined 1000 free minutes and we would have been on one device at a time. Now it will cost $165 for a single device.

[EDDY0827]

9 hours ago, caribill said:

Green indicates that all possible info so far has been input. Blue indicates it has not. Nothing to do with priority except for DMW which can be done before final payment for some and not others.

At the top of the app's home page, my app is telling me:

"Arrival Status

Proceed to

Blue Lane                                      QR code

Have your Medallion and passport visible upon arrival"

 

Then under "Ocean Ready Profile" I have 4 green check marks and "arrival status  Green Lane."

 

So what is it, blue or green?

[Tedferg]

1 hour ago, EDDY0827 said:

So what is it, blue or green?

As Elton John said, 'You see I've forgotten if they're Green or they're Blue ' 🙂 

[nini]

We were really excited when we reached Platinum and received the WiFi benefit and early boarding.

However, after trying two other cruise lines, we will most likely remain with Princess as we also

"love the vibe". It feels like home.

[Blondilu]

10 minutes ago, nini said:

We were really excited when we reached Platinum and received the WiFi benefit and early boarding.

However, after trying two other cruise lines, we will most likely remain with Princess as we also

"love the vibe". It feels like home.

Last cruise was to the British Isles.  We stayed in London for a few days before the cruise.  It was sooo hard to choose a decent, inexpensive hotel that is also centrally located.  The one we finally picked was adequate, but just barely. 

 

Stepping on board the ship and going up to our cabin was a real "Ahhhhhhhhhhh" moment.  It very much felt like coming home.  

 

 

[nini]

1 minute ago, Blondilu said:

Last cruise was to the British Isles.  We stayed in London for a few days before the cruise.  It was sooo hard to choose a decent, inexpensive hotel that is also centrally located.  The one we finally picked was adequate, but just barely. 

 

Stepping on board the ship and going up to our cabin was a real "Ahhhhhhhhhhh" moment.  It very much felt like coming home.  

 

 

You are SO RIGHT! We are doing a British Isles itinerary in May, 2022 and after a ton of research, I booked the same hotel where we were going to stay this year (cancelled). It is not a cheap place but also not one of the expensive ones. It is more traditional style with lots of history.

[voljeep]

2 hours ago, Tedferg said:

As Elton John said, 'You see I've forgotten if they're Green or they're Blue ' 🙂 

throw in a little of the 'yellow'brick road and watch the blue turn to green 🍻

[piper28]

I wouldn't say the loyalty changes are going to be a huge factor for me, although if they took away my free laundry that'd really kinda annoy me :).  That said, a far bigger issue for me is just that Princess is moving further and further away from the product that I came to enjoy.  That's a *much* bigger problem in my book.  Right now we're booked for 30 days next summer (and honestly, I'm not overly convinced that cruise will happen), but after that, I'm not sure what we'll be booking.  Getting rid of the Pacific Princess and the 14 day christmas/new years cruise that she used to do before world cruises is a major blow to my loyalty to princess.  I'm skipping christmas this year because I still think it's going to be a mess that I'm not willing to deal with, but my christmas 2022 cruise will almost certainly be on another cruise line.

[nini]

8 minutes ago, piper28 said:

I wouldn't say the loyalty changes are going to be a huge factor for me, although if they took away my free laundry that'd really kinda annoy me :).  That said, a far bigger issue for me is just that Princess is moving further and further away from the product that I came to enjoy.  That's a *much* bigger problem in my book.  Right now we're booked for 30 days next summer (and honestly, I'm not overly convinced that cruise will happen), but after that, I'm not sure what we'll be booking.  Getting rid of the Pacific Princess and the 14 day christmas/new years cruise that she used to do before world cruises is a major blow to my loyalty to princess.  I'm skipping christmas this year because I still think it's going to be a mess that I'm not willing to deal with, but my christmas 2022 cruise will almost certainly be on another cruise line.

Curious, what line are you considering? We have only been on Celebrity and HAL and we are not thrilled with them. It would take an unbelievable fare to even consider going on them again.

[maggie777]

2 hours ago, nini said:

Curious, what line are you considering? We have only been on Celebrity and HAL and we are not thrilled with them. It would take an unbelievable fare to even consider going on them again.

We have cruised once on Azamara and have a 2022 booking on Oceania.Would like to cruise with Azamara again but waiting to see how the new ownership affects the brand.

[Steelers36]

2 minutes ago, maggie777 said:

We have cruised once on Azamara and have a 2022 booking on Oceania.Would like to cruise with Azamara again but waiting to see how the new ownership affects the brand.

If I was to cruise with Oceania, I would be expecting a much more elevated experience since I would be paying a heck of a lot more than I do now.

[clueless2]

3 hours ago, nini said:

Curious, what line are you considering? We have only been on Celebrity and HAL and we are not thrilled with them. It would take an unbelievable fare to even consider going on them again.

Just wondering what you disliked about HAL and Celebrity.  We'll cruise any of the three based on itinerary, timing and price.  While there are differences they don't matter much to us and find them more alike that different.

[nini]

1 hour ago, clueless2 said:

Just wondering what you disliked about HAL and Celebrity.  We'll cruise any of the three based on itinerary, timing and price.  While there are differences they don't matter much to us and find them more alike that different.

Celebrity- Our Aunt was with us on the Celebrity Reflection in October 2018. She had only been on RC before. The three of us felt a bit claustrophobic (compared to the lovely Princess open atriums), the service and food was mediocre (buffet and dining rooms), flies were obvious guests in the buffet with attendants looking bored and not caring about the flies or anything else, snooty bartenders who took pleasure in informing me that there were only 2 wines that were included in my beverage package. We were astounded when someone in the buffet area actually asked to clear away our dishes or ask if we would like to order a drink. We had also been on Celebrity in 2000 (our first cruise). P.S. Our cabin steward was great.

HAL- We were on the Oosterdam and it was only about 4 years old. It felt like it was 15 years old and I began called it a bucket of bolts. Carpets were filthy and needed replacing. As I recall, the food was fine. There just was not a lot to do, especially in the evening.

 

When we embark on Princess, we feel like we have come home. The atmosphere is lovely, food is good, and much to do.

[clueless2]

45 minutes ago, nini said:

Celebrity- Our Aunt was with us on the Celebrity Reflection in October 2018. She had only been on RC before. The three of us felt a bit claustrophobic (compared to the lovely Princess open atriums), the service and food was mediocre (buffet and dining rooms), flies were obvious guests in the buffet with attendants looking bored and not caring about the flies or anything else, snooty bartenders who took pleasure in informing me that there were only 2 wines that were included in my beverage package. We were astounded when someone in the buffet area actually asked to clear away our dishes or ask if we would like to order a drink. We had also been on Celebrity in 2000 (our first cruise). P.S. Our cabin steward was great.

HAL- We were on the Oosterdam and it was only about 4 years old. It felt like it was 15 years old and I began called it a bucket of bolts. Carpets were filthy and needed replacing. As I recall, the food was fine. There just was not a lot to do, especially in the evening.

 

When we embark on Princess, we feel like we have come home. The atmosphere is lovely, food is good, and much to do.

No doubt there are more activities on Princess.

[Tedferg]

5 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

If I was to cruise with Oceania, I would be expecting a much more elevated experience since I would be paying a heck of a lot more than I do now.

I agree - people often say that 'all things considered, Oceania is not that more expensive' when I have price compared Oceania was significantly more expensive.

[caribill]

13 hours ago, piper28 said:

That said, a far bigger issue for me is just that Princess is moving further and further away from the product that I came to enjoy.......  Getting rid of the Pacific Princess and the 14 day christmas/new years cruise that she used to do before world cruises is a major blow to my loyalty to princess.

 

I agree that Princess is moving further away from what it used to be and changing many things to make the onboard experience to be the same as its competitors. Changes encompass everything from requiring pre-payment for pre-reserved shore excursions to removing a 2nd chair from most cabins to extending final payment dates. When the net effect is to minimize the differences between cruising with Princess or HAL or Celebrity, why be loyal to Princess?

 

Princess used to have a great variety of itineraries, but with the disposal of all the R-ships most of those unique itineraries have also disappeared. And when the 3000+ passenger ships go to some of the smaller ports that used to be on the 700 passenger ship itineraries, the local tourist infrastructure is not sufficient to provide an enjoyable visit for all those on board.

 

With larger and larger ships becoming the norm for Princess (and HAL and Celebrity and RCI), the result is concentration on fabulous itineraries such as St.Thomas, St.Maarten and a private island.

[Steelers36]

14 hours ago, piper28 said:

Getting rid of the Pacific Princess and the 14 day christmas/new years cruise that she used to do before world cruises is a major blow to my loyalty to princess.  I'm skipping christmas this year because I still think it's going to be a mess that I'm not willing to deal with, but my christmas 2022 cruise will almost certainly be on another cruise line.

The new WC ship is the ISLAND and it has done the Christmas/NY voyage you mention prior to the WC.

It's doing it in Dec 2021 and Dec 2022.

[Ombud]

On 7/15/2021 at 5:46 PM, Steelers36 said:

On 7/15/2021 at 5:08 PM, EDDY0827 said:

You note that you have a "green lane". I have an 11:30 - 11:45 boarding time for the "blue lane".

I am Ruby level, no priority, yet. I'm guessing that the "green lane" is the priority lane?

Expand  

 

On 7/15/2021 at 5:21 PM, Ombud said:

Yes

Sorry - disagree.  The GREEN Lane means you can have expedited check-in process because you have entered info and answered questions and done all those Personal Info and Checklist items successfully

And now its Yellow.  No change other than its a week closer to embarkation 

[Steelers36]

5 hours ago, Ombud said:

And now its Yellow.  No change other than its a week closer to embarkation 

That is supposed to mean a health status issue.

 

[donaldsc]

When a brand respects and values my loyalty, I will respond appropriately.  By this, I mean any brand and not just cruise ships.  Since almost none of them do and especially cruise line, I have zero loyalty to them.  What goes around comes around.  

 

DON