caribill

Pre-Covid, decorations started going up soon after Thanksgiving. This was done by an outside company on turn-around-days. Not sure how it is being done since the restart.

If you look at your final statement, usually sent by E-mail within 48 hours of the cruise ending, you can tell if there is any refundable OBC that will be mailed to you. If there is a check coming, there will be an entry on the statement saying "Referred to Corporate Finance" along with the amount.

But the final onboard account statement, which usually arrives by E-mail within 48 hours, did not arrive until August 25, almost two months later.

I think things are added to plus and premier packages just so Princess can brag how much money you save by having one of the packages. For example, take the $12 premium desserts. For two people on a 7-day cruise, that is a "value" of $336 saved by having Plus. Not sure how much value they place on having unlimited premium desserts with the Premier package. Since the free casual dining was added to Plus and Premier at no increase in package pricing, I would not think Princess would compensate for not having a place to use that benefit. Consider the Australians who have gratuities included in their fare and then, if they get a package, pay for the gratuities a second time. They get no money back for that.

Just the pizza. About 8 to 10 varieties, made to order.

Not true for Princess. True on some other cruise lines.

Personal opinion. Some will agree. Some will disagree. Fact based. Only question is whether that bothers people. Older ships will always look inferior to new ships that dazzle. Ah, the wonderful benefits of DMW. New employees can happen on any ship with any cruise company.

Right. Most people have not noticed that Room Service pizza price has been raised from $3 to $8.50, an increase of 176%. That is in addition to a charge for standard fare passengers to order it in the first place.

True if you book a standard fare. If you book a Princess Plus fare, you can eat there twice and pay if you eat there more than two times. If you book a Princess fare, there will be no charge no matter how many times you eat there.

Delivery is always free. However, ordering is what costs you $14.99 the first time you do soi.

I thought Princess had said the premium dessert choice included the premium cake. But I do not remember where I read that.

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OK, that was July 13. On July 21 I received the following with the subject: Booking #xxxxxx: Super important boarding info! Last-Minute must-dos We look forward to welcoming you on board. To make check-in a breeze, please complete the OceanReady ® travel checklist in the MedallionClass ® app: · Select your terminal arrival time. · Confirm the passage contract no later than 24 hours before boarding. Taking these steps will help get you on board so you can start your vacation sooner!

Currently on the Princess web site: Order Food, Drinks + More On Demand Hungry during Movies Under the Stars®? Realize you forgot sunscreen by the pool? Want to skip standing in line? Order whatever you need — burger, beer, extra towels, aloe, etc. — and we’ll deliver it to you. Additional charge applies. --- Note it says "Order whatever you need." It does not say: "Although we have it, what you need might not be available this way."

Another thought. A number of posts on this thread have said that Princess has instituted the activate the delivery charge and the room service charge to help make up for all the money lost during the pandemic shutdown. I do not think that is the reason because there is not that much money to be made with these charges. o Princess expects that 75% of passengers will have either Plus or Premier plans where these fees will not apply, so there is no additional revenue possible for these fees from 75% of passengers. o So only about 25% of passengers would have these charges, but only if they use room service (many do not) or use the app for food/beverage delivery (many do not). o And with a small percentage of passengers possibly deciding not to use room service or order food/beverage via the app due to these new fees, demand for room service will not be affected that much. Would some additional income come in. Sure, but not a significant amount. So, if there is not significant new income and not a big drop in room service work, what is the real object? o Is it to drive more people to buying Plus/Premier by pretending the packages have significantly more value? If so, the new package income would greatly exceed additional income from the passengers who otherwise would not have bought the package? o Is it to justify an increase in the near future to package prices? After all, an additional $5/day/person for 75% of passengers would greatly increase revenue over what standard fare passengers might pay in extra fees. o Or is it something else?

That's the beauty of getting the Premier package. You can spend all day eating the special desserts since they are unlimited with that package. For variety, you can go to Alfredo's over and over again.

Then just call Princess and do it over the phone. Price is the same if you just wait until boarding the ship. Easy to purchase when you try to access the Internet.

Is there an option to change the quantity? If so, change it to 0.

I get that E-mail for a cruise that starts 30 miles from my home with the airport being 30 miles in the other direction.

But you may still get an urgent E-mail from Princess a couple of days before your cruise saying you need to select a boarding time. Just ignore that e-mail if you get it.

In other words, "We goofed, so you will pay to fix our screwup."

On a Princess cruise in June, a Customer Service employee new to the ship said he is in a passenger cabin because a crew cabin was not available. He did not know how much longer he would be in that cabin, but said he was enjoying it.

Don't know as I did not get pricing for a full suite. But I do not remember any obvious mentions of limiting the sale to certain categories.

Many of the on board future sales people are new to the job and do not know know to process everything correctly. I suspect that is what happened to you. Actually, the first time we tried to book a cruise the sales person quoted us the full then current price. We came back again the next day to work with the experienced head of the department. He told us the first guy had neglected to take the 50% discount.

You will get all the new "benefits." Don't worry about it. Anyone who paid $60 has all these new items included. It may take a while (if ever) for Princess to update the information you see on your booking.