jmss1950

Excellent deal so we could not resist booking for November. We loved MSC last time. Just wish it was the Yacht Club again but can't complain. A few days of relaxation before the holidays. :)

FYI, apparently things can be changed as we have now succeeded in upgrading! Why didn't they just do this in the first place? If you are in the same situation, keep trying and good luck. Also before everyone suggests that I probably hassled them, I did not, but my TA who was unhappy with the outcome yesterday did call Princess again this morning and spoke with someone different.

Posted Yesterday, 06:35 PM

I have a friend who did just what you are trying to do on a cruise he just got back from last week. He had inside & noticed the price for the balcony was just about the same as he paid. He was able to upgrade but it took a couple of phone calls. He had booked directly through Princess. Don't know if that makes a difference. I have asked for upgrades in the past when fares went down & got resistance, but they eventually did it at least twice even though it was for new bookings only.

Originally posted by pris993 Princess will give you the lower fare in the same cabin, but my not allow you to upgrade to a new cabin as op wants.

Not true, I was able to do so today.

To those of you who do not seem to understand why I am posting this or consider that I think I am "entitled", it can and has been be done! Please look at these other posts. Also my TA is equally frustrated because he has done this before and not had a problem. If no upgrade after payment is policy as they state, why will they allow it on some bookings but not all?

While I do understand the issue and new bookings I am merely confused as I have within the past 10 years and after full payment had been made, had some extra funds which allowed me to upgrade to a higher category, paid more money and received that category at the new pricing.

As the heading shows, I was asking if there had been a policy change. Also I put in loyalty status and information on previous cruises to indicate that this is by no means our first cruising experience.

I am not unhappy with my balcony, but I can now afford the extra money to upgrade to a higher category. I am willing to pay some extra but It seems to me that Princess is rewarding those who book last minute so what is the incentive to book early? Also please note I was not in any way unpleasant to Princess when I called them, but both myself and my TA were surprised when Princess would not honor the rate for an upgrade with additional payment.

Yes I do live in the US [Texas] and I do have insurance, but my whole thrust is I have done this before and it has not been a problem. Why is it suddenly not possible? Nor do I feel that Princess is being reasonable to someone who has sailed with them 8 times before by not allowing them to spend extra money and upgrade. Wouldn't it be a show of support for members loyalty to give them the first options of upgrading for a fee?

In general I have enjoyed cruising with Princess, but yes, there are other excellent cruise lines out there that I have sailed with previously, e.g. Celebrity, Disney, RCCL and MSC and I will be looking harder at them for future cruises.

40+ cruises on 7 cruise lines and this is a first for me. Platinum on Princess and we booked a balcony cabin many months ago for 10 night Southern Caribbean on Royal Princess in December. Paid $870 pp. Booked through agency we have used many times. I keep track of price reductions and noticed this morning that the price of mini suites had dropped to $1,099 so I called the agency to upgrade to a mini suite at that rate. TA called me back to say that Princess would not allow the $1,099 rate as this was for new bookings only. Now I understand that I cannot get money back if the category price is lowered in my category, but I wanted to pay them an extra $220 pp to upgrade to a mini suite. I have done this before several times with several companies and at least twice before with Princess. They still have a great deal of inventory available for this cruise and surely if we are offering to pay to upgrade this is to both our advantages. However, our TA was told that the lowest rate I could get was $1,399 pp. I called Princess myself to confirm that I was not eligible for the $1,099 rate and the agent confirmed that was true. I am confused as I have been able to do this in the past. Has there been a policy change? If anyone can now purchase a mini suite cabin for $300 per person less than me, why should I bother booking early in the future? In fact, with so many other good cruise lines out there these days not under the Carnival umbrella, why not just stop sailing with Princess? We will take this Princess cruise as arrangements have been made, but it may well be our last with Princess.

I very unhappy and confused Princess customer!:(

I've been thinking of choosing the package for $98 which seems to suggest up to 100 photos - not that we will use that many - but it does seem to include any photos, even those taken at embarkation. Also I am not too concerned about the CD option.

Anyone tried that package?

Thanks for all the great help and info.

Happy cruising.

Thank you for the info.

I am setting up my prepaid items for our August cruise and hoped that someone could give me some more information comparing two of the photo packages on the MSC website. We always end up buying many photos [what can I say I like to scrapbook!!] and I am considering the $59 package with 10 photos of 25x35 cm or the $98 package which seems to suggest up to 100 photos of all types, but no mention of sizes. Has anyone purchased either of these packages or have any more information.

Thank you for any help.

Happy cruising

Jen

Thank you for the information. I don't mind a little shade so as not to cook too much. Am I correct in thinking that because the bathroom is larger, there is not a couch, only a single seat?

Thanks again for the info.

Happy cruising.

If anyone could give us some information on balcony 9219 please it would be much appreciated. We are sailing August 27th, 2016 and are new to MSC.

Thanks. Happy cruising.

Just heard from MSC that we have been given Gold status after doing status match from our previous cruises and other cruise lines and our TA let us know that we have now been moved to deck 9, stateroom 9219. Hopefully this is good! Our TA has also given us some OBC as well so we are happy cruisers.

Looking forward to experiencing MSC.

Happy cruising.:)

Thank you all for your help and information. Much appreciated.

Happy cruising.

We have just booked MSC Divina sailing August 27th, 2016, balcony B1 Bella experience. Despite frequent cruising with several other lines we have not tried MSC before or sailed out of Miami and I hope CC cruise members can offer some information and advice. I have already found the answers to some of my questions, but I keep thinking of more that I need to know so any help will be much appreciated.

1. How or when do I get luggage tags? [i'm used to printing them after doing online check in but cannot seem to find them here].

2. Have requested early dining and want to make sure that we will be able to see all the shows with no problem and also prefer a smaller table, 2,4 or 6. When do we find out about dining times and can we request a smaller table?

3. We are on deck 8, balcony stateroom 8127. Our TA said this was not an obstructed view. Is this correct?

4. I finally joined the Voyager Club online [having spent 45 minutes on the phone trying unsuccessfully to talk to someone and ask questions before giving up!] . We are Platinum with both Carnival and Princess and I used Carnival info to apply online. Any idea how their match status works?

5. I have read some reviews about debarkation being confusing. We prefer not to do self assist. Are you assigned colors, times or waiting locations for debarkation?

6. Do MSC offer future cruise credits or booking while on board?

That's all I can think of at the moment, and thank you for any information and help.

Happy cruising.

Jen

Any idea on whether Princess will move its sailings to and from Galveston when it stops using Bayport in 2016? We live in East Texas and driving to either Bayport or Galveston the morning of the cruise is very convenient. :confused:

Please add on the Simpsons living in Georgia.