Cruise Raider

Whereas they used to freely show us, they now keep those lists a big well guarded secret. I think that know that people like me book a whole slew of them at one time. Not sure why that would bother them unless they have a quota of how much they wish to get out of each passenger. I can’t really blame them but the only way we can cruise often is to get the those smokin deals. Anyway, we will be going on our last two half off deals starting this Saturday.

Many are still there from when they were Princess employees. But, you are right, some are just interested in selling those packages that their current employer now offers. They just don’t make sense for us as the only time we really stay in hotels in when we go to a casino where the room is comped.

The last time was in October 2023 .. so, about 6 months ago.

There was a time last year when they had 50% off on certain cruises only if they were booked while onboard. The deal was so good, I booked about 11 of the In total. Even the plus package fare was half off. now, it’s hard to get them to show us those listing and there is nothing like we saw last year. The cruise fare is all that is discounted now and most of them are nowhere near half. There are some sailings that have some additional OBC if they can add you to a group. I saw where you may be able to view some sailings on the TV in your stateroom that are on special but I can’t really speak to that if it’s a special deal or not. Since they are pretty much filling ships to capacity, I’m not sure we are going to see the deals that we found in the last couple of years.

It’s actually a really good question. I’ve seen where others have done just that. But the room distribution may be so close to your sailing, you may not have enough time. You can always put in bids on multiple room choices when you place your initial bid.

That’s different from what I’ve seen. Whenever we’ve missed a port of call, it’s always been given as refundable OBC on our folio. It won’t be much .. maybe $20 max. If they truly are sending this out my check, it comes in a plain white envelope from Bottomline Technologies that looks like junk mail. You can always submit a comment/request via post cruise inquiries on the Princess website. I’ve had great luck with that in the past when an invalid charge showed up on my folio after we left the ship. I also had a rather sizable refund coming to me through Bottomline Technologies and called them and they were quite responsive to my inquiry.

Good to know .. thanks for the info! Personally, I don’t mind the location of the Catch but have heard others complain about the noise factor. We eat dinner rather early so, maybe that is why it did not have any negative impact on us. The louder music from the piazza probably hadn’t started until we were finished eating. No matter where they locate the Catch, we will follow. It is just that good! The only meal I’ve ever eaten which is as good as the Catch was the Ultimate Balcony Dinner on this latest cruise. The 360 experience was phenomenal but not as much about the food as about the presentation and phenomenal service. One waiter per couple .. wow!

Here are my experiences .. Back when there were specials at the time of booking that included a specialty dinner for two, the specialty restaurants would be completely filled. At first, we went to guest services and asked what could be done and they said there was no compensation. That turned around quickly and they placed the cost of the meal for compensation as refundable OBC on our folio. Since that time, I have not seen the free specialty dinner as a booking offer ever again. Then, I see you can now order some of the specialty meal items through your app or in the MDR and adjustments have been made that you can use your specialty meal credits for these items (steak or lobster). The atmosphere isn’t the same, but it’s taken some of the guessing out of whether or not you can use your specialty dining credits while onboard. Lastly, ever since they have been pushing the packages, I seem to have noticed that they don’t make all reservations available online ahead of time and we’ve had no problem getting a reservation in a specialty restaurant once onboard. This makes the most sense as, it appears they hold enough reservations open for those with the premier packages to fulfill their obligations promised and sell few others for those wanting to just pay for their meal. They’ve even raised the prices for those with the standard fare to keep the demand lower than the supply. This is all just my assumption but it does make sense based on my experience. We were just on a very busy sailing and seemed everybody wanted to splurge on the specialty restaurants. We had no problems getting reservations having the premier package whereas others with the standard package said they couldn’t get a reservation at any time.

Just be aware that leaving the balcony door open between two balconies in rough waters can create some horrible banging throughout the day and night, even though it is latched open. If that does happen, you may want to consider your surrounding neighbors. I’m not saying not to keep them open, just something to consider. Of note, you can also have the front desk give your medallions access to open each other’s stateroom doors. Happy cruising

The crew is reluctant to talk about their compensation, as I was when I was working, as well. It is nobody’s business. But, we have been told they receive a salary and they believe it is fair compensation. The fleet wide pool for that salary started up shortly after CoVid to account for some ships being at full capacity vs those that were only at 1/4 capacity. Sounds like they were happy with the fact that they weren’t penalized monetarily because of the Covid restrictions or reluctance of cruisers to book. Anything above and beyond what they are given in cash tips is theirs to keep. It sounds to me that the 18% service charge, when collected by Princess, goes towards those salaries. So, if you wish for your server to directly see your appreciation, you may need to tip them in person. I’m not insinuating people need to do that, as I really think 18% is sufficient. Some people will still tip on top of a favorite server, some won’t ..both are ok! We usually pick one or two team members that we’ve gotten to know or has done an outstanding job that receive a little something extra. Sometimes, it is in the form of something they need at the store or picking up their tab for their lunch while in port.

I can’t speak specifically to that but the 360 experience does not incur an 18% fee on top of the $149. From what others have mentioned, the UBD comes out to $110 per couple.

We got to the theater a bit early and they just closed the doors .. full to capacity! I agree, Wozniak was really the brains behind the icons that made Apple so user friendly! Seems like he was kind of pushed out or at least to the side.

@Hulagirl.. it was our absolute pleasure to meet you, as well! I still can’t get over how many wonderful people we met and all the fabulous events onboard. Renee and Captain Tony were just the nicest couple. My heart melted in the theater when he mentioned that he met the “love of his life” onboard a Princess ship and that she oftentimes stays right there onboard while he is performing his duties as master of the vessel. They were both so very friendly, not only to the passengers but also to the crew. We only made it to the PES lounge one time over the whole 13 days. We always had something else scheduled. Heck, we never even made it to the MDR for dinner once. We were lucky enough to be invited up to our friend’s Sky Suite for the big event for perfect viewing! But, it appeared to be so civilized out on the top decks. It didn’t appear to be all that crowded and the viewing was actually perfect from wherever people happened to be standing. So, no need for pushing and shoving, no vying for space to stand. I always say, if the crew of a Princess cruise actual world’s governments, there probably wouldn’t be any wars and things would actually get accomplished. They know how to work together and compromise better than most governments do! @Lady Arwen.. I am sure I will have a great time on my upcoming cruises on the Crown. I so appreciate all of the efforts, hard work and talents of all the crew members on all the ships! Plus, a few of our good friends work onboard and love being able to spend time with them. Since we have no plane rides, that makes it so very convenient and we can take a few cases of spicy ramen noodles for the crew.

We did ours on the night leaving Manzanillo and had a photographer. Although, it was so windy in port so, we all look like we were fighting the winds until we got out of the port. I think some of the nice champagne glasses but the dust even before the start. Still, it was one of the best meals I have ever had!

I think with 2 dinners each being included in the premier packages, they are filling the specialty restaurants to capacity, which was maybe the long term plan all along.