Daniel A

The Haven Concierge is the Haven Manager. Maybe a quiet word to the Concierge might have improved the situation, but it's all water under the bridge now. I don't mean to sound like "cudder, wudder, shudder" to you, but it may help someone else to know this. That butler needs to find a different line of work.

From the looks of the Penthouse Suite on O (which is what we have booked for September) it is very similar in layout to a Deluxe Balcony cabin on the larger Princess ships. The balconies for both the Princess and O are very narrow with the exception that Princess also has Premium Deluxe Balconies with enormous aft facing balconies. I'm sure the difference is included amenities and nicer fixtures on O. We like Princess because they aren't party boats, and they don't have amusement parks on the top of the ship. This attracts a more subdued crowd and not too many rambunctious children (or drunks.) On all my sailings, I've never yet seen any drunks as described above, but we also generally don't hang out at the watering holes preferring to have our cocktails on our balcony. DW & I prefer to have the drink packages (which by the way, are not 'unlimited'.) Our reasoning is that since we are on a nice vacation, we don't want to be counting how much money we have spent on drinks. It's like having an insurance policy so up front, we know exactly how much we will be spending on drinks. Our experience with Haven Bars (as opposed to the lido bars) is that it is more of a reserved quiet atmosphere offering a more relaxing experience. I'm sure there are exceptions to this experience, but I can only relate to my own. This is the nice thing about the cruise industry - there are many different niches catering to differing preferences for a vacation.

If you can wait until September 🙄, we will be taking our first (and maybe only) Oceania cruise. DW likes the atmosphere of smaller ships and I'm also wondering how it will compare to the Haven. I'll try to post a comparison here after the cruise. I'm really sorry @Battlement had such a bad experience. I do think @Battlement understood what I meant when I said the "type of guests" during Spring Break.

@Battlement don't let a sub par butler queer you on the Haven. Give it another chance. I just returned today from a week long trip to a resort DW and I just love. We go there just about every year. This year we made the mistake of going during spring break. No college aged kids but it was a very different (and unpleasant for us) experience. It was more the crowds and the type of guests that made it a different experience. We will keep returning there in the future but not during spring break time. My point is that if this was our first experience there, we would never plan to return there. Try the Haven on a different ship next time.

Placing blame or hypothesising this soon after an event like this one is what is referred to as a rush to judgement. It will take many months before any definitive explanation is made. We don't need to know before then.

American Cruise Line ship American Constitution was due in Baltimore today. Cruisemapper is showing Constitution is docked in D.C. today. These are smaller ships.

I've paid the tax while our Princess ships were in and leaving Ft. Lauderdale. ( Port Everglades-they don't differentiate by piers ) @Battlement don't forget the almond croissants at breakfast. You won't be disappointed...

The number of people who also get the key card in addition to the Medallion is so insignificant that if Princess weren't offering it, they might lose whole bookings. Now, that would be a bigger loss than issuing a key card for use on the ship. You don't 'turn in' the medallion, you still may need it for embarkation and disembarkation at ports of call. Maybe @cruzsnooze can confirm if the keycard also replaces the medallion for embarkation and disembarkation or if it is only used onboard.

Sometimes the TSA sends me through the Full Body Scanner, but some places don't have them. Princess says that the magnet in the medallion is normally not an issue for implanted devices if you keep the medallion at least 9 inches from the implanted device but advises checking with your health care provider. That's why I use either the wrist band or a belt clip. Medallion FAQ page: Princess MedallionClass® - Frequently Asked Questions - Princess Cruises

When retuning to the ship, (or for that matter, going through TSA at the airport) I get the attention of an agent and I tap my upper chest and I get waived around the metal detector and briefly patted down. It actually makes getting through security faster and less trying. I often beat DW who is still standing in the metal detector line. 😄

This video from Princess does a good introduction to the Medallion. At the end of the video, there are more Medallion videos for you to explore, they will get you from the bachelor's degree in Medallionology to a master's in it. Enjoy it! It does simplify carrying around a hotel type key card. One note, if you have a pacemaker or other implanted device, get a wrist band instead of using the complimentary lanyard. The Medallion does have a magnet in it.

With all respect to @Astro Flyer, I did not get an answer to my question. I was asking for the specific details, not a generalized opinion of the content. Be that as it may, it is certainly the OP's prerogative to decide to not share with us what was being shared to the other passengers on Regal. Regarding a "zealous new crew member", it appears that a supervisor also concurred with the decision of that crew member, so I presume this can not be chalked up to inexperience. I am thinking I have the only response I will get, so we'll just leave it at that.

Often times, rules are made to be used as a tool only when needed. As an example, when alcohol is prohibited in public parks. Nobody bothers someone having a beer with your lunch at a picnic table, but when rowdy drunk groups bring a keg to a park, the rulebook gets pulled out and the drunk rowdies are told to leave. This preserves the peaceful enjoyment of the park for others. I didn't have time to read through 7 pages of responses, but I did not see where the OP wrote what the door decoration specifically displayed. Does anybody know what exactly was on the door decoration? Before anybody says I'm accusing anybody else of anything, I'm just wondering if the OP's decoration content was causing an issue for others. I don't know. 🤷‍♂️

As @Sthrngary would say, one needs to have realistic expectations. Asking for specialty dining options at the dinner table during their busiest time of day, is not going to maximize one's chances of obtaining those dishes. Meeting with the restaurant manager in advance is much more likely to have a positive outcome. Give the restaurant staff enough advance time to have what you would like when you arrive for dinner.

No, but I don't need to experience something in order to recognize if it is extreme. The late walk off you got is what the OP wanted and was refused. Were you left stranded on a sidewalk in 40 degree weather when you were disembarked? OP was.

6:30 AM requirement for disembarkation of ill pax sounds extreme to me - whether it is Galveston or Princess requiring it. In all my cruises, I've never seen a mandatory 6:30 disembarkation time for any pax.

I think that is the crux of the matter. Given your multiple symptoms and the need for significant intervention by the medical center, there really should have been some follow-up from the medical center in the morning to make sure you didn't deteriorate further. There is a legal concept in health care called Abandonment of Patient. This certainly sounds like an abandonment to me. You may want to quietly contact an attorney to see what relief may be available to you. I'm not a lawyer but I have provided care in medical situations and abandonment of patient is considered to be a serious breech. Whatever you do, when dealing with Princess on your own, do not mention anything about an attorney - as soon as that threat is made, it shuts down all further contact except through the legal department. Good luck getting some relief you should be entitled to something.

Thank you. I have no notations like what you showed me, so I guess I have no tender ports on my sailing. Thanks again.

This is a very old thread, and it appears that the information is out of date and no longer applicable. Is there a way in 2024 where one can view each port on my itinerary to determine if any are tender ports? Thank you in advance.

I would venture a guess that with such an early all aboard time, the Haven Restaurant might extend the hours for lunch that day. If not, there's always O'Sheehan's or the buffet. Usually, the local governments prohibit bringing food from the ship ashore but that's something you could clarify with the concierge.

Just for fun, I tried downloading the new app on my old Amazon Fire 7. When Princess upgraded the old app to a newer version, the little Fire tablet couldn't handle the new operating system requirements. I had to buy a new android tablet with the latest operating system version in order to finish booking my cruise. (This is when Princess decided to discontinue the web version of the Personalizer and required completing your booking through the app.) Well, surprise! surprise! The new Princess App works just fine on the Amazon Fire 7. Maybe Amazon automatically updated the Fire operating system, but whatever, I'm going to take it with me on my next cruise. I wonder if people who have phones with older operating systems will also be able to handle the new app.

I had a similar issue. When I went into the app to change the credit card to my new, valid number for the medallions purchase, Princess cancelled my previous order and required me to submit a new order. The artwork DW wanted was no longer available and they now added the shipping charge (which I didn't have before...)

I looked at the new app last night and now it says I'm Green Lane and there is a QR code boarding pass there as well. The only concern I have is that it only has a QR boarding pass with my name, DW's name doesn't appear there. Has anyone else experienced this? I'm assuming that as long as we have the medallions, that should suffice as our boarding passes, but we all know the phrase about the word 'assume'...🤷‍♂️

Click on the link at the end of @Sthrngary 's above post.

A good concierge can move Heaven and Earth for you. We had an excursion booked through NCL that was supposed to run for three hours and because of the weather, the tourguide skipped a stop and the tour ended 45 minutes early. I just happened to mention that we returned early and our concierge arranged for a 1/2 refund that we didn't even request.