Elite Memeber Question and Wine Tasting

[septrack]

I saw that wine tasting was free for Elite members. Does anyone know if that applies to the Maitra D' wine tasting which normally costs $25pp. We tried that on the Dawn last March and they actually had several nice quality wines.

 

I'm just dreaming now as we will have 13 trips on Princess under our belt after this NOV B2B on the CP!

 

TIA- Mark

[T&J]

I saw that wine tasting was free for Elite members. Does anyone know if that applies to the Maitra D' wine tasting which normally costs $25pp. We tried that on the Dawn last March and they actually had several nice quality wines.

 

I'm just dreaming now as we will have 13 trips on Princess under our belt after this NOV B2B on the CP!

 

TIA- Mark

 

Nope you have to pay the $25 for that one even if you are an Elite!

 

Tony

[LARGIN]

Tony is correct on the Maitre D' wine tasting, however what if they have more than one regular wine tasting. Is the second one free also??

[Princess Patches]

No, the Maitre D' wine tasting is not free but they do have one free wine tasting session that they invite the Elite Members to during the course of the cruise. Not to worry, there are lots of other perks you get with Elite status. I made it to that lofty level a couple of years ago and it is great. Princess has the best Captain's Club perks. You get free drycleaning and laundry, as much as you want!! You get free mini bar set up in your cabin (first round only). Free canapes supposedly on formal nights only but on one cruise we got the free canapes every night. You get invited to a really wonderful party with the Captain and some of the officers which is usually in Skywalkers, where all drinks are free. They served lobster at the last one I went to. The Captain and one of his officers came around and spoke to everyone individually. Lots of other perks too. I have also gotten bumped up to a premium suite on one occasion since I made the elite level (from a standard balcony cabin). Three more cruises and you are there!!

[Love Boat Dream]

You don't always get invited to that party/luncheon though. It is for the most traveled passengers, but not all Elite are invited. They only have room for a certain amount of people. We got invited when we were still platinum, but on the next trip we were elite but there were so many elites, only the 40 most traveled people got to go!

 

I am so spoiled by the laundry and dry cleaning for elite. Also, you get priority tendering!

[Lynda90]

I am so spoiled by the laundry and dry cleaning for elite. Also, you get priority tendering!

Oh me, too! Love that free laundry and dry cleaning. Especially on the longer cruises. It's one of the reasons I stay with Princess. Love those Elite perks.:D

[T&J]

Oh me, too! Love that free laundry and dry cleaning. Especially on the longer cruises. It's one of the reasons I stay with Princess. Love those Elite perks.:D

 

 

I agree ...gotta love that FREE laundry Lynda!

 

Tony

[spongerob]

So, what y'all are saying is, after I get to Elite, I don't need to take the little woman with me anymore. Someone else will do my washing? Sweet!

 

:D

 

(I'm a dead man when the better half reads this!)

 

:)

[septrack]

Might have to take a couple 1 or 2 day trips out of SEA or Vancouver to reach that 16 sooner. Gotta admit coming home with a suitcase of clean clothes sounds like a nice change from a pile of laundry 3 ft high!

 

Mark

[West Coast]

... however what if they have more than one regular wine tasting. Is the second one free also??

 

When you arrive in your cabin there will be a personalized letter waiting for you from the Circle Hostess inviting you to the wine tasting. If one is so inclined to attend then you need to RSVP to the Hostess. Upon arrival at the dining venue, you will be asked to present your letter.

 

Don't forget - you also get $5 off all bottles of wine purchased during the wine tasting. They'll hold them and bring them out each night at dinner, when you want, too :D

 

And to confirm for those who asked... sadly, the Maitre d' tasting is not complimentary. But it is very much worth the $25 per person, IMHO.

[septrack]

Might have to take a couple 1 or 2 day trips out of SEA or Vancouver to reach that 16 sooner. Gotta admit coming home with a suitcase of clean clothes sounds like a nice change from a pile of laundry 3 ft high!

 

Mark

 

Just checked out a couple cruises to quickly boost us to Elite. A 1 day SEA-VAN trip followed by a 2 day Van -SFO trip. The whole thing for 2 pax would be less than $500 for an inside including tips. I'll bet the ship sails only partially full and the chances of a major upgrade are pretty good. We live in WA state so the only airfare would be from SFO back and FF miles work for that. Seems too good to be true. A nice short vacation and two cruises towards Elite.

 

Now for my question! Does anyone think Princess would withhold the cruise credit since the trips are so short. I know when we do a B2B on the CP (7 day) we get two credits. I can't imagine they would withhold them here. What says the rest of you!

 

TIA

 

Mark

[abbydancer2003]

I don't think that Princess would withold credits, but it doesn't matter. If you are U.S. citizen, you can't do the two cruises if they're on the same ship. The US government sees them as one round trip between two different U.S. ports, which is not allowed per the Passenger Services Act.

 

We're doing a 2-day Vancouver -SF cruise, and we wanted to do the Seattle - Vancouver the day before. Two different Princess future cruise people (on our last two cruises) told us we couldn't do it.

 

Our travel agent said the same thing, and that the cruise line always figures it out, even if you book through two different agencies. They deny boarding on the second cruise.

 

I looked at the schedule this fall, and about all you could do is go Seattle to Vancouver and then spend a night in Vancouver, then take a different ship to LA. It does get more expensive, and for us on this trip, returning to San Francisco was a big part of it.

 

To bad, we would have made platinum at the end of it if we could have done the b2bs. Drat, now we'll have to do another coastal in May. (We're planning Alaska in Sept 07 and would like to be platinum for that).

 

Abby

[septrack]

I had no idea that Govt regs would get in the way. Thanks for the info Abby!