Victoria_BC_Mom

Does anyone know why the Majestic Princess wasn't able to land at Auckland today (March 5th down there) but the Grand Princess docked there this morning?  Their itinerary has them stopping there today, but the port authority site does not have them listed.  They were also not able to tender at Bay of Islands yesterday.  My sister is on the Majestic, and they thought it was weather (a LITTLE rough yesterday) but today is very calm.

The Westjet credit card offers an annual companion fare when you use their airline.  We flew to England last year.  The cost of my PREMIUM economy ticket was $2113 plus $1129 tax.  My husband's companion fare (also premium economy) was $399 plus $806 tax - a HUGE saving.  There are probably other credit cards with similar offers.  If you travel annually they are worth having.

I know that when rivers run too high to go under bridges, or too low for ships to sail the river cruise can turn into a bus tour.  What European river cruises are the least subject to those problems?

On 8/14/2023 at 6:36 PM, compozer said:

When you made your specialty dinner reservations, did you have to pay with a credit card?   We are suppose to get two dinners included but we were not able to use the credits.                                    Same thing happened with excursions - they charged our credit card rather than use OBC.  We were told they will refund our money when we get on the ship and talk to customer service.   Makes me think they want to have use our money for months.  Thanks

On the page that I selected he DATE for the dinner was the statement that said I had a credit which would be applied when I booked, and it was.  After booking, the charge was displayed, followed by a reversal.  Not sure why yours didn’t work like that . You should contact Princess or your TA.

Two specialty dining events are included in our booking.  We were wondering if a booking at the Chef's Table Lumiere could be one of them?

Oh, we DID when we found it.  It just made me mad that he was sending us upstairs instead of telling us it was on the other side of the ship. 

One of the main dining rooms has always been open for lunch when we embark, although for some reason the staff prefer to send you upstairs to the buffet.  We were on the dining floor and asked a staff what dining room was open and he said that we had to go to the buffet.  We walked to the starboard side of the same floor and found the open dining room.  

Friends who were on Princess last year were put in a special isolation wing of the ship.  Are they still doing that or do you stay in your own cabin now?  They also were reimbursed for their days in isolation.  Is that still the case?  

LOVE the ABC's.  By far the most interesting of the Caribbean cruises.  I'm sooo jealous, but still too wary to get back into cruising.  Enjoy.

10 hours ago, lovecruzin said:

Is the 72 hour molecular test still an option in addition to the 1 day Antigen?

Yes, here is the link to the updated rules - https://www.canada.ca/en/transport-canada/news/2022/03/preventing-or-limiting-the-spread-of-covid-19-on-cruise-ships.html

On 3/14/2022 at 6:15 PM, Clovis8 said:

Seems like the US has physical cards. We just have a download in Alberta. I assume a screen shot from this will be fine for boarding a RC ship? 

Remember, you should have your FEDERAL immunization card, not your provincial one.  Easy to download to your phone.

If  a child is UNVAXINATED,  they must complete the PCR test.  If fully Vaxxed they can do the antigen.  Children 12 and over MUST  be vaxxed.  Vaxxing of the younger ones is optional.

16 hours ago, gmbhardy said:

Correct me if I’m wrong, but the testing protocols on the MSC website states that for Canadians on Caribbean sailings, unvaccinated children, 2-11, must submit a PCR test, while guests 12 and up can provide a PCR or an Antigen test. I have attached the wording from the website.

Yes, I went on the Princess website last night and searched for the cruise that we currently have booked for August 2022.  Found it at a MUCH cheaper price, so I sent a screen print to my TA who confirmed today that we are re-booked with a savings of $1250 for the two of us.  And BONUS, she found us a room on "C" deck with the bigger balconies.  Very pleased!  Not sure if it was a black Friday special, or what.  Part of it may also be because the CAD is much stronger now than it was when we booked (but obviously not $1250 stronger).

On 11/21/2021 at 11:14 AM, CookieShip said:

I got this after I inquired about what they mean reduced rate:

"Reduced rates are promotions that are found under your VIFP number. These promotions offer exclusive savings that is not available to the general public. Therefore the Shareholder Benefit is not combinable with the promotion you are booked with."

 

If they apply that uniformly, I guess that is ok. Obviously some VIFP offers are better than others, but this at least lets me compare offers BEFOREHAND... If my vifp over only saves $10, get the shareholder obc. If $50, it's a bit of wash...

Sorry to ask, but what is a VIFP number?  Does everyone have one?

I take a screen print of my stock from my on-line broker account and email it to my TA.  She faxes it in to Princess and sends me a confirmation when it has been applied.  

The current Princess offer (in Canada) is for free internet plus OBC.  We already get free internet from our Elite status.  Does anyone know if they offer an alternative perk for cases like ours?

Our itinerary has us doing an over night stop in St Petersburg in June. Given the cold shoulders and diplomat expulsions that are happening in UK, US and Russia over the poisonings, is there going to be a problem with US/UK cruise ships docking in Russia?

Just to close this thread, my TA confirmed that the Celebrity invoice shows a "C1- GTY" (exact quote). Here is her explanation as to why it doesn't show on the Celebrity website: "They probably aren't selling the C1 as a guarantee to the general public; they usually only sell the lower category. We got the C1 for you because we had space left in our Expedia Exclusive Staterooms (EES) group, allowing us to book it, even with no cabins available.

Glad you are comfortable now :)"

Thanks everyone for your quick and knowledgeable responses. I will ask my TA for my booking confirmation and that should confirm my category.

It's easy enough to verify by getting the booking PDF from Celebrity.

Sorry, but we are new to Celebrity (Elite on Princess). Do I find the booking PDF on their website somewhere?

The exact words on my invoice are "Concierge Class stateroom, category C1 (guarantee)".

Does it make a difference that this is a group booking? This was what the TA said in our offer letter - "I have good news for you: we happened to have one remaining Concierge Class stateroom (category C1) left in our Expedia Exclusive Staterooms (EES) group on this sailing. With our special EES rates, the fare is lower than a balcony."

Never seen C1 guarantee, it is concierge guarantee "CAT XC", see your passenger copy of the booking

The exact words on my invoice are "Concierge Class stateroom, category C1 (guarantee)".

My TA says she booked us a C1 guaranteed stateroom on Reflection, but when I log in to the Celebrity website all it says is "Concierge class stateroom guarantee", which to me means it could be at any level. How can I tell if the TA actually booked us in a guaranteed C1?

Does anyone know why Princess doesn't offer a tour of the Stuttoff Concentration camps as one of their excursions? I read that some other cruise lines do, but am wondering if there was a reason, like lineups too long or something.