jsn55

I booked at one of the MDRs for dinner last night (using the app a few weeks ago) and we were told on arrival that our res was for the 'other' DR at the far end of the ship. This was after the hostess fumbled around with my husband's Medallion for a while; there was obviously a problem so she took the easy way out. My husband uses a cane, so traipsing all the way back to the other DR was too much ... we ended up having Christmas Eve dinner at the buffet, all dressed up. So if it's an important res, double-check what the Medallion has booked for you so you're not disappointed. One of my Shore Excursions is screwed up as well, but I got tired of dealing with it between the app and a rep at the ShoreX desk and gave up. The Medallion app onboard is a lot of fun, but you can't count on it every time. We'll probably never book Princess again.

I can't imagine your Cruise Director having a problem with this ... might make you sign a release that you're totally responsible for yourself. I wouldn't try to deal with Avalon's back office, just discuss it with your CD.

Interesting question ... but when I book travel, I do a ton of research, then never 'look back'. My TA always comes up with a fare lower than the published one, but she arranges such a nice package of goodies that we always feel lucky to have her.

I did the same, love to support the artists directly, until I had no place to put anything new. But, really, how can you miss the opportunity of bidding on a THOMAS KINCAID original? They even offer a seminar on his 'art'. Oh my goodness.

I'd be pleased to do that, but I can't seem to get the infamous Medallion app to work on my phone. On my way down in a few minutes to see if I can find some help. So far, Royal Princess is fine, the forced technology is just as much of a nightmare as it was for the mandatory checkin ... when we boarded nobody knew where our Medallions were. We got jerked around for nearly an hour before I suggested that someone just open up our cabin NOW and deliver the blasted Medallions whenever they find them. At that moment, the cute officer who had gone off to straighten this all out appeared with them both and ...... they UNLOCK our door! You still have to have a hand to push the door lever down, so I don't see the point of all this at all. Sometimes you need to hold your Medallion out for the crew and sometimes it works fine without removing it from your pocket or lanyard. Haven't been able to try any of the other tricks yet. Natalie Costa is not our Cruise Director, it's another woman who doesn't talk with a microphone, she SCREAMS. It's beyond annoying. If I can get this stupid system to work on my phone, I will post the 'newsletter' for you ... but hopefully someone else will do that long before I figure it out.

Yeah, when it comes to avoiding Pier Runs, sobriety is often the key.

A great many factors go into what a cruiseline can charge for a specific cruise on a specific ship. The average cabin size, the quality of the food, the expertise/demeanor of the crew, especially the cabin and dining stewards, tender vs pier ports, quality of the entertainment/enrichment and, most importantly, the level of personal service ... but that's just the minor stuff. Ships have 'reputations', pax love to review them, there's a plethora of opinions and information available. Economies of scale are a factor, reflected in the size of the ship and the number of pax she carries. The dynamics of the market, as has been explained above by people far wiser than I, the algorithms, dynamic pricing ... but basically a cruiseline charges what they calculate the market will bear. A great many pax book their cruises a year or more in advance. Technology allows cruiseline management to monitor sales constantly. Cruiselines adjust their pricing along the way, hoping for that perfect moment where all cabins will sell out before the day of departure.

Well, we'd expect nothing else from an experienced traveller like yourself. I can't imagine a scenario where I'd be bringing real jewelry on a trip, even to have lunch with the Queen.

I had asked about the weather at sea between SF and Hawaii earlier. I was hoping to hear from people who had already done this cruise. Easy to get the weather info and forecasts for a land mass, but 'what's it like out on the ocean?' I guess it's either cool and breezy or hot and still or blowing a gale or raining or 15' seas ... Probably impossible to predict. But I'm still interested in hearing from people who have done this cruise.

This Medallion thing ... It's so small that it could easily get lost in a pocket; I plan on bringing a little something (about the size of a room key, what a good idea) to put it in so it doesn't disappear. I'm certainly not wearing the thing on a lanyard.

Thanks for this info. While I love getting a 'deal' on air, cheap is not my major criteria. Flight duration, lie-flat seat availability , departure and arrival times are far more important to us.

I think the relevant question is why Grand Princess chose the promenade deck for a smoking area. People like to ... well, they like to promenade ... on that deck to get their exercise.

We've been to Iceland and were underwhelmed; not ever been to Greenland. Iceland seemed like miles of flat 'tundra' ... but we're not outdoorsy people and that might be a major draw. All the beautiful glacier stuff we saw x12 in Norway. We just did Quebec to Boston in late September, schedule all screwed up by a hurricane, and horrid weather. We missed two ports and Halifax was completely fogged in. As we walked down the gangplank it started to POUR. But it was our first decent trip since the virus hysteria, so we didn't even care. I'd like to do that itinerary all over again, the ports sound wonderful ... and I'd like to see Halifax! I'd pick the smallest ship I could find to experience some of the little ports.

Of all the places to put a smoking area ... the Promenade? That's just stupid. I'm an occasional smoker, and I'd be very uncomfortable having a cigarette where I'm actively annoying people.

I avoid the above by booking with an airline that doesn't have change/cancel fees. I'd love to see the statistics about 'cheapest 60 days out' for booking flights. I often book two one-ways to use points/miles for a better deal. I've had very good luck finding upgrades on United international flights as soon as the schedules publish.

Like Ashland, I start looking at air as soon as the airline posts the flights, generally around 11 months out. I just check my preferred flights every few days (thank you Ashland for the intel that you have good luck booking at night) until I think the fare is OK. Hotels are done right away, and I follow rates every few months to rebook if necessary. But generally a year out, the rate's the best you'll get. I do remember the Brighton (England) Hilton where I really wanted to stay ... I booked at $395/night, and followed that rate down over the months to $104. Rates depend on what sales & catering is doing I guess.

Doesn't this kind of checkin take a lot more time? I too have a husband who cannot stand around very long waiting, so I have really given this horrible Medallion thing a great deal of attention to get into the Green Line. What really bothers me is all the pax who think it's their fault and just try and try to get the thing to work. And it's been going on for YEARS. I just don't want to give my hard-earned money to a cruise line who doesn't care about pax. So I hope the cruise itself next week is fabulous.

"To say a "good TA" offers comped specialty restaurants isn't remotely true." Well, that's what my TA gets for us, among lots of other things. So I think it's very true.

I think this current topic emerged after Gene Sloan, the cruise guy on The Points Guy, stated it a couple of days ago.

Gee, if I knew what all these capital letters meant, perhaps I'd learn something. 😆

Too right! I don't know what we'd do without our Rick Steves backpack ... weightless, very well made, super convenient to use as a backpack, hooked on to a rollaboard or handheld. It's probably been on a hundred trips.

Use a computer on the website. The app is too buggy to mess with, and lots of things have to wait until you're on the ship anyway. And sometimes Princess tells you that, but often you just have to bang away forever trying to figure out WTH is going on. If nothing works, just come back the next day ... and the next and the next ... until you get 'er done. Princess' tech is maddening. They should be ashamed of themselves.

We flew on the day of embarkation exactly ONE TIME and will never do it again. Arriving anywhere exhausted is no fun at all. Worrying the entire flight about getting to the ship on time is downright torture.

If you have a good TA, you have specialty restaurants comped. Specialty restaurants on a cruiseship are not the same as 'alternative dining venues'.