Mud_Shark

I'm not ready to throw in the towel with princess quite yet, but this issue is a big irritant, and makes calling Princess to re-fare or any other request, a negative experience. I will give it time and hope that the experience level grows as these people get their feet under them. I like controlling my own booking, but not with long waits and weak communication and expertise.

Well, I am in Canada, so things may not be the same, but we have multiple cruises booked, most without the plus or premier, but one with it. For the cruise with the premier package, when you click on the pre-pay for gratuities it says: Crew appreciations paid for as part of the promotion. There is no option to pay them. So I might have cause for concern with your booking, but I worry about such things.

When you first registered on Princess.com, were you then in the US? If you start as being in Canada with Princess, it will show prices in Canadian no matter where you are in the world. I believe if you start in the US, it will always show you prices in USD.

It's the distance off shore they go. One recent 3 day, the ship spun in circles one day sufficiently off shore ( I think 12 miles in Canada) to allow casino to open. But on a shorter cruise than that, not sure if they will do the same.

I'm in. Gonna play the game and roll the dice. I have one week to win and advance before this round is over - for good it would seem.

Lol, Yesterday I received a rejection letter for 2 requests for Shareholders benefit because I already had the military benefit. Yet, I also had sent in a 3rd request for a 3rd future cruise under a separate email, and what do you know... this morning I received the email showing that shareholders has been posted to my account for that 3rd cruise. So 2 "no's" and one "yes". Go figure. Consistently inconsistent.

I could add my wife to the investment account - she should be on there anyway as we age. But will wait and see if anyone else gets both benefits by splitting the ownership. The move by Princess seems to be geared to cost savings, and as such, if it just forces people to adjust "ownership", the work-around would kill their cost cutting measure. So I am doubtful that when the dust settles 2 people sharing a room can qualify for 1 benefit each, but we shall see. Thanks for the advice though. I have time to wait and see what the final answer shakes out to be.

Got a rejection email today from Princess. Sent off several requests for shareholders OBC on Friday as soon as I read that effective June 29th it would no longer be combinable. I was hoping up until then they would still do it - but NOPE! Good day XXXXXXX! We have received your request for the Carnival Shareholder Benefit to be applied to your upcoming cruise on (Date erased) on the Enchanted Princess and on (Date erased) on Regal Princess. Please be advised we are unable to apply the benefit as it is not combinable with the Military Benefits you are currently booked under. For further assistance please contact reservations at 1-800-Princess.

Actually, Just booked the Sun Princess for summer of 2025. Switched from Regal to Sun, as this top deck thingy looks kinda interesting. We are in our 60's, faithful to Princess (thus far), and may or may not play around on this apparatus, but are not against it. This is a far cry from where Royal Caribbean is at with youth type activities. It's just a little nod in that direction.

Sent in 3 more requests for Shareholders benefit this morning. Two are for Summer of 2025. Would have waited a year or so, but if they are going to grant them until the end of the month and allow both benefits to stick, had to jump early.

Yes, good info TY! We are going with our grand kids (and their parents) next March. Oldest will be five, and she loves preschool so this sounds right up her alley. Unfortunately the twins will be 3 months shy of their 3rd birthday, so there will be some jealousy to deal with.

Those are all good relatively unobstructed balconies, but 415 will be the shallowest balcony. The other three are all a little bigger than standard. The only obstruction is below you with the deck 7 "bulge" outdoor sitting area. Really no obstruction at all. I would choose 433.

Has not been a problem until this week - but if this is a new way forward, I will at least use a PVP (or a TA) but I like to do things myself rather than through someone else.

Last couple of times calling Princess, I felt like customer service may have become outsourced to a different country. Last two receptionists had Pilipino accents and were very uncertain of basic procedures like re-faring (didn't really understand what "re-fare" meant.) I was asked my birthdate for security purposes 3 or more times and got left on hold and dropped once. I don't know if I just hit a couple of new employees, or if there is now an off-shore call center but it was the weakest customer service and knowledge base I had yet experienced. Eventually still got done what I was asking for, but just took a lot longer than usual and an extra call back after getting dropped.

Will do - Thx for the tip.

certainly has appeal to us. Spend a few days in Orlando then take the BL to Port Everglades or Miami for a cruise - can take the train on departure day. Makes it less logistically cumbersome.

Oh - this is good info to know. Thx.

Sometimes EZ air is cheaper, but I have found more often that they are a little higher than travel websites.

We are (were?) planning to take this excursion next year (Mar '24) with our children and grandchildren, but maybe need to rethink. The twins will only be 2 and a half at that point. Some of what is described above sounds too difficult for them. Can anyone who has done this excursion with young children comment? Thx.

Hmm - That 7 Night Premium hotel/resort stay sounds suspiciously like a time share hard sell. Would be interested to know the resort options/locations for that part of the deal. If that is legit and pleasant, then this might be a decent deal. Don

Sometimes it is the wording that gets the reps confused. rather than asking for the OBC from one account to cover an excursion for another account, I have found far less resistance when I ask to simply purchase two tickets from the one account. Sounds the same, but it has proved to work for me.

My guess is that at some point, a new coffee package will be rolled out, but when will that be and at what price point? I will wait this out and see....

Interesting article, thanks, but also a pre-covid article when cruise lines weren't in the financial crisis they are now. Wonder how many booked in the short while this anomaly was available?

Lol, looked around a bit more - Enchanted cruises in Apr and May 2024 also have this pricing irregularity and are even better deals. But alas, spring break 2024 cruises do not appear to be affected.

I suspect there is some legalize that allows for corrections of obvious fare errors. We shall see. I put a deposit down as well, but do not think this will end up being the great deal that it appears.