hightownCO

To Sharon or anyone who has been on a Princess VIP cruise,

Did the person sharing your cabin (assumption) get the free drinks while gambling in the casino perk?

 

They were able to go to the VIP Welcome Party right?

 

Thanks.

My Princess VIP cruises have been as a solo. I just looked at the mailer and it didn't say.

I would guess they would certainly be allowed at the cocktail party and probably get the drink card too. Carnival gives everything to the companion (except cash) and since its the same casino services running the casino I would think it would be the same.

Is it crazy I am excited about sailing the Royal knowing it has the best smoking area of the entire fleet?

 

Deck 17 aft with no drop in pool. Open sunny and beverage service! No dark corner for me for 10 glorious days.

 

Well I hope it hasn't changed since my last Royal cruise.

No. Last cruise I was on I was excited that Grand had a very nice aft seating area (covered, comfy furniture, service). My next cruise, while I'm excited about the ports and first transatlantic, not at all looking forward the the Spartan and sparse smoking areas.

I am going on a Princess VIP cruise next week. I have a cruise already booked in Dec. Is it correct that any casino cash I receive on this cruise can be used on the Dec. cruise?

 

Thanks.

I believe so. You would have to contact the players club at the email on your offer, let them know your booking number, ship, etc and they will contact the shipboard staff. You'll probably have to send them a copy of the offer.

I played a lot on my last cruise so my offer was for a free cabin and cash. They applied the value of the cabin + cash to the cruise I already had booked. A great deal!

Please post after your cruise and let us know how it was, what raffles or gifts they had, who was the VIP host, etc. Have a great trip!!!

Thanks GweninTX and emmak8! I'm taking my "comeback" offer and a copy of the whole email string where they advised how much cash they would apply to the already booked cruise. It's a very good chunk of change. Course they just get it all back. LOL

Cruise in less than a month now and quite excited about my first transatlantic!

When you say you 'charged your account', are you saying you used your sign and sail like on a slot machine or were you actually using your credit card at the cage or at the ATM machine? Just want to try to avoid same troubles.

Glad the fraudulent charges were taken off.

Looks like I was just "lucky". I have only been on 2 Princess cruises in the last 2 years and don't lose any more than $200/night at table games (Let It Ride or 3 Card Poker). If there is any interest, I will report back on this Princess VIP Cruise.

Which sailing did you choose?

I've done a lot of cruising on Carnival over the last few years but cruised Princess before that. Plus went back to Princess last year and two booked for this year. There are things I like about both lines. Here's what I really like about Princess:

• Buffet food is much better has longer hours. You don't have to get your own beverage. Someone will come to your table to ask what you would like. Tables will have silverware there for you.
  
• Coffee card. Unlimited fresh brewed from International Caf? plus 15 punches for specialty coffees. If you don't use all the punches, they can be used on your next sailing.
  
• I like they way movies are rotated through different venues, ie one night on MUTS, next night on your cabin TV.
  
• Buy one, get 2nd for $1 drink specials at certain times and bars. Usually twice a day.
  
• Truly crew are great on both lines but on Princess they seem more willing to chat and joke.
  
• Silent disembarkation beats heck out of Carnival and usually no line to get off the ship.
  

I like Carnival OV and Bal cabins better as there's a sofa in the room but if you are in a mini suite, you'll have one. Minis are nice.

Princess does have lots of entertainment options but some of it is not to my taste. I'd rather have rock and roll or pop band at the casino bar or Ocean Plaza than chamber music in the atrium but that's just me.

You'll have a wonderful cruise.

Am sure this has been asked before and I did try to search but couldn't find.

Just booked a back to back (7nighters). I currently have 64 days, so at end of first leg will be at 71 and turn platinium during the second leg. Only the 2nd leg will be plat. right?

Other questions...

I booked these on line myself. Do I need to call and have them link the reservations?

Right now I am in different rooms. If anyone has done the square interior rooms on deck 6 (Dream,Magic,Breeze), is it worth changing rooms just to have one of those on one leg? I can't get for both. Haven't done an interior before so are they worth having to switch rooms at turnover?

Thanks!

Did you get a significant upgrade on any of your half dozen Princess cruises?

On my past cruises, just good assignments in category with guaranty bookings. On my upcoming Crown TA I actually got an upgrade from obstructed OV to Plaza deck OV, however turned that one down. So I guess lightning has struck once but hoping for a second time.

Thanks for the response, shepp and cherylandtk!

Have you ever passed on an upsell offer and then later received a free upgrade?

Just curious if that's happened on occasion. I received an upsell offer to a balcony from obstructed OV earlier this week but it was no special deal for me. Could have initially booked a balcony at that price and chose not to. But still hoping for a surprise upgrade. Does it happen?

Thanks for the reports on the updates! Too bad they couldn't manage to fix the seaside theater screen but oh well. Really looking forward to Guys and the Pig and Anchor. Will add some much needed options.

Can anyone tell me the smoking areas on the Crown? Sailing in March...thanks!

Tradewinds Bar, above pool. Port side, forward.

Churchills which is a little room/ within the casino. Cigars are allowed here and note it's really miserably smoky during nonsmoking nights in the casino.

Casino. Certain machines allow smoking. Formal nights are nonsmoking.

Promenade. Aft, one side - I think it's starboard but not sure.

What I want to know is on Crown, is there any smoking area above the aft pool area?

Also unsure if there's a smoking area within Skywalkers.

So, who is back from the Dream today?

Did they resurface the big screen/seaside theater? We were on in January and the screen had some really annoying defects in it.

How does everything look in general.

Although there were plenty of options, none of the dates worked for me. I'm really disappointed.

 

I sailed on my 1st Princess cruise in August so I don't really know how their casino offers work. I'm hoping they send another round of invitations out when this offer expires.

 

 

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I'm guessing their offers don't come out very often just by my own experience. The last one I received was November 2015 and at that time I booked a cruise offered (Hawaii) in October 2016. The other VIP cruise I went on was in 2012. I didn't sail Princess at all between 2012 and 2015 but did sail Carnival and they share the casino services dept.

Sorry you couldn't find a cruise to book. Some were too soon for me as I have a big cruise booked for April and another in June. Would love to see Alaska but would want to take my daughter and she's not free then. And can't just jump across the pond for a cruise even if it's free, especially since my April cruise is a transatlantic. So this Mexican Riveria was the only choice for me.

Saw your post and had to go check my mail. I got one too! I went on a VIP cruise last year, Grand to Hawaii. It was a great cruise.

I don't really remember any special amenities in the cabin on boarding. The drinks on us card was there with a lanyard. The gift on the last night was a boxed gaming set with cards, dice. Kind of useless. There were gifts sent to the cabin on several days - champagne, canapes. Based on play, I also was offered the Crown Grill one night.

Platinum so boarded with that group but there was a sign for casino guests to sit at and I'm guessing they boarded after I did.

The VIP host, Giancarlo was great and so was the regular host. They made things fun with lots of drawings. I won a snowball raffel for $1350 and also won the slot tournament (only$200 but still appreciated). Had a few good pays on slots.

All in all a great cruise. Am thinking about the Emerald, Mexico in October. Would love to do Alaska but would want my daughter to go and she'll be working or back in school.

Any other questions let me know.

I met a lady on my October Grand cruise who said someone she knows with Princess told her they would be going back to Galveston. Course take that with a grain of salt.

Galveston also has a Disney ship going out weekly and new terminal will open up more capacity. I'd love to see Princess come in with longer cruises to reach beyond the usual western ports. When Carnival offers a "Journey" cruise (10-12 nights) they book up very fast.

Agreed This one is a worthwhile option.

We used this company last year for the tour and then were dropped of at our hotel in London, where we were staying a couple of post-cruise nights. I know they also offer a tour and delivery to LHR instead.

Ours was an excellent tour to Stonehenge, Salisbury Cathedral, and Windsor Palace.

Both the driver and guide were personable, knowledgeable, and helpful. When we got to our hotel, they both jumped off the bus and carried our luggage into the hotel lobby ... an unexpected service, given with a smile.

 

If interested in booking this, also check for it on the London Toolkit website, because, at least when we booked ours, the fare was discounted.

Just booked his transfer tour with them this morning. Glad to see your post. Looking forward to it very much!

We received a very nice Casino cash offer and booked our next cruise. Limited time to book one of the cruises listed. Helps me check off cruises on my bucket list. Last one was inside cabin and casino cash to Alaska for 10 days. Was great. In two weeks? Off to Panama for 10 days and a "pile" of casino cash.

 

I always call the casino phone number on the offer to make sure that the cruise I selected will accept the offer.

 

ALWAYS take the original paper offer given for proof. No problem. ;)

Thanks to all who replied. Yes will take a copy of the email string. It's a sizable amount so want to be sure it's there. I may email casino services just to confirm that I'm on the list that the ship casino uses.

Thanks for posting your video. I do hope they fix that movie screen! It was horrible and made it hard to watch a movie.

I received a nice "come back" offer after my Princess cruise in October. I already had a cruise booked (for April) and after writing to the casino office, they applied the offer in the form of cash on my April cruise. I'm to go to the casino cage to get my cash.

For those who have been told there would be cash waiting at the casino, has anyone experienced a problem getting the cash?

I've seen problems talked about in the Carnival forums where the ship casino did not get the information from the management office. As the management office is the same for all the Carnival Corp brands, just wondered. I don't want to be embarrassed standing at the cage with my hand out being told, no $$ for you.

Poor Grand! She has had her share of troubles. I was on her on the last Hawaii sailing. It was a great cruise and the crew is the best. Everyone will be well taken care of. Thank goodness her dry dock was next or folks would be worrying about facing a cancellation.

Take care everyone on board and enjoy yourselves!

I was on the Grand Princess Hawaii sailing (10/29-11/23) and received one of their "come back" offers. I had received a card from Princess offering this cruise 'comp'd' as a VIP cruise with drink card, special drawings, cocktail party, etc. Basically same as Carnival's Premier cruises. Hadn't sailed on Princess for three years but had been on Carnival several times. The Carnival Corp lines share casino services so guess this was a cross over promo.

Anyway it was a great cruise and the VIP host - Giancarlo was terrific. Gambled a lot and ended up with lots of points. The come back offer was for free cruise and cash. It also stated if you already have a cruise booked, contact them and they will try to extend their best offer.

I did that and they are basically offering the cash value of the come back (cabin + cash offer) as casino cash on the future cruise I have booked. So I'll pay off my future cruise as normal, which was the three for free promo and when the casino opens will go get lots of cash!

I think Princess is trying to grow their casino business and they've just started the 'come back' program. Some of their casino hosts may not be as into it as others. If you had higher points (7000+ on a 7 day) and didn't get any sort of offer, you might want to email or call casino services and find out of there's anything they can offer you.

 

When you return to your cabin head straight to the bathroom to wash your hands. Treat your cabin as your safe place away from germs and everywhere else on board like a hot zone. We even bring the wipes and do the cabin / tv remote / door handles etc when we first board and then periodically throughout the cruise.

 

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I do exactly what you say. Out of all my cruises, worst I've gotten is an occasional cold. I've observed so many not washing their hands in the restroom it unbelievable.

Also make it a point to keep your hands away from your face!

I found their large, to-go cup holds more than my travel mug. You might want to get that and take it back to your cabin. Then you can pour it into your own mug or not.

Appreciate all the advice. Gave it some thought and decided to ask to be put back into my original cabin. Am within 48 hours and my cabin shows as available. The obstruction in only if looking down, view is clear straight out. I don't want to deal with noise if seas get rough. So, thanks for te warning.

BTW, my booking was made with accepting meta upgrade only. Going from obstructed OV to OV is considered a meta upgrade. The reservation person told me about this possibility when I first booked.