cruzin4us

11 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

I hope you got this "error" resolved.  Also...when booking a hotel with. Princess, it is usually quoted PER PERSON.  

 

What a nightmare.  I think you need to get some OBC for "fixing" this obvious Princess problem.  

 

And how does hiring a 3rd Party Contractor (who knows nothing about the Medallion Class App) help?

Actually the Rep was very helpful with the App problem it's when we went down the hotel/transfer tunnel is when things went sideways.

No OBC was offered nor did I ask for any.   

I just "expect" when I call the Princess Phone number, that I get actual Princess employees not 3rd party contractors.   In defense of the Supervisor, I could tell he was upset as this isn't how "Princess".    does things and Princess has higher standards than what I was given.   

The price quoted for the hotel was $149 which was a good price (if I try to book it on my own it's $259/night).   It's the non-refundable/no transfers that I have issue with.

I called Princess to get help with the Medallion App on my DH iPhone.    I got him registered and signed up and all was good UNTIL the Princess Rep asked if we had booked our travel arrangements yet.    I told him "yes" we've booked both the hotel and flights.   He said he could probably beat whatever price I had gotten.   

Since I had nothing better to do we went thru different hotel options and he finally found me a hotel in San Fran for $149.....he said it would include transfers (airport to hotel, hotel to pier and pier to airport).    I looked up the hotel and it had good enough reviews so I decided to book it.   

I asked 2 questions:   

1.  Is it refundable?   Answer:  Yes

2.  Does it include all three transfers   Answer:  Yes

I gave him my cc info, and while we were still talking I got my email confirmation:     Guess what?   It's a non refundable booking and there is a $17/pp charge for airport transfers.   Argh.......I told him that was not what he quoted me.   He admitted he F'd up and said he needed to get his supervisor at which time he proceeded to hang up on me (deja vu of calling AT&T).    Of course he didn't call me back.   I've made 5 phone calls trying to get it resolved.

I've called the hotel, and they said to call Expedia.   I called Expedia and they gave me a number to call and of course it was an invalid number.   I tried calling Princess and they were perplexed saying they only have 2 hotels to choose from in SF and the one I'm booked at isn't one of them.    I was told the Medallion App Reps are 3rd party contractors and not part of Princess......really?   So in other words, they Medallion Rep was working independently and getting a commission from Expedia.   No wonder he was such a used car salesman and kept pushing me.   Why would Princess even allow this?   I feel like I just fell off the turnip truck.     

After 4.5 hours on the phone, I've FINALLY gotten a hold of the Medallion App Dept Supervisor and here's the scoop:    Princess Cruises couldn't keep up with all the phone calls regarding the Medallion App, so they hired a 3rd party contractor(s) to help with phone calls.   Since that time, they have branched out into selling hotel/flight/transfer packages.    One of the "things" they are never supposed to do is sell a hotel that is non-refundable.    I could feel the supervisor rubbing his head at what happened.   He pretty much said "our people aren't trained well enough".

So, learn from my mistakes.......

I did prepay the gratuities once about 1 year before sailing.   By the time the cruise came around the price had gone up like $1.50/day.

4 minutes ago, chicgotgame said:

I emailed Casino Inquiry with a screenshot from my account of my (Prestige) offer with free play of “$1050” which seemed like an odd amount. Their response was this offer was not currently available and to call them for an explanation which I did not follow up with. The dates on the offer are current to be booked by April 2022. 

I got an offer for $1050 as well along with a free mini suite, free drinks, gratuities and WiFi.   Mine came in a brochure via snail mail.   I just booked a 10 Alaska cruise.   I got the brochure last week.

I also believe it's a supply issue.   We experienced in on the Majestic in Oct 2021.  They ran out of all kinds of things.   My folks were on HAL in January and they said they experienced the same thing.    

Waahhh, I'm sorry to hear that seeing as we have a 10 day Alaska cruise in June and a 15 day Hawaiian cruise in November.    

Does anyone know if she is going to be dry docked anytime soon?   I thought she had her last dry dock in Oct 2021?

2 hours ago, alexdw said:

Free large sauna and steam in mens locker room

That will make my DH happy, but what about me 😆

How about the Ruby Princess?   Free or not free sauna?

I ordered my coffee latte while lying in bed.   It came in less than 5 minutes every time and it was always piping hot.   Oh so much better than a pitcher of lukewarm watery coffee.   

23 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

That is a good system you have worked out.  I ordered the free at home tests and plan to do them soon for the same reasons.  Good to know you were reimbursed for the antigen tests, was that the proctored test?

yes, it was for the proctored test.   I ordered 6 sets back in Sept and another 6 in January.   I sent in both receipts not expecting any reimbursement but thought it was worth a try.   Got reimbursed for both which was over $320.   I was please to see 2 checks in the mail.

I just had a covid test done yesterday thru Rite Aid (San Diego).   I checked the box "I have been exposed to someone with covid".....heck, I went to the grocery store 🙂.   I wanted to have a PCR test done 3 weeks prior to our cruise just in case I had gotten covid and didn't know it.  I didn't want to be surprised come cruise time because PCR tests can pick up covid for up to 3 months.   If my test came back positive, I was going to call my doctor so I could get a note stating I had recovered from covid before our cruise in early April.    

My test came back today (negative).    I was NOT charged for the test.    Also, my insurance company reimbursed me for the Abbot Antigen tests I purchased.   

4 hours ago, broberts said:

Worse than I hoped. I suspect it is going to kill another season of Canadian cruising. I don't see how a ship can perform 3500+ antigen tests in 31 hours at a reasonable cost.

 

Especially if we only are stopping in Vancouver for 4 hours.

I was on Majestic in October and I would order a specialty coffee (coffee latte) off the app.   It was delivered PIPING HOT, every morning and it took between 3-5 min to get to my room.....it was crazy fast and super hot.    No more pitchers of luke warm coffee.

I'm confused.....what is the point if you still have to bring your original documents.   Man this getting old makes new apps/procedures more complicated for my brain.

17 minutes ago, DaveOKC said:

We are going on the Koningsdam and are 5 Star, so we are allowed 2 free dinners in a specialty dining location.

 

Since we are travelling with another couple, if I book a dinner at Tamarind (or Pinnacle) for the 4 of us under our name, do we get two meals for free AND the other 2 meals for 50% off, or are the other two at full price?

 

 

I called HAL with this specific question and I was told if they aren't in the room with the 5 Star, then they have to pay full price.   

If you check on your boarding pass, they have assigned your boarding times already.     Ours shows 2:20 pm

Do make sure you take your receipt with you.   Pre-covid we booked and paid for a family retreat cabana and when we got to the ship they had given it to someone else.   HAL made good on the situation but we were bummed none the less.     Of course, that didn't stop me from booking another one for our April 3rd cruise.   I LOVE them!

9 hours ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

It shows up on the Navigator App as an event every day once onboard.    Before then, only the email as others have stated.    Your TA can look inside the HAL system and "see" the reservation.    Or your PCC. 
 

on Vista class ships there is a single, separate, elevator to get to the retreat.    Not sure about the Eurodam.   Our elevator has been out of service for months.   If you couldn't take the stairs you were out of luck and they would give you a refund.  

They still haven't fixed the dang elevator yet?   My parents were on Zuiderdam Jan 2-30 and the elevator was out then too.    I'm still hoping they get it fixed by April 6

This reminds me of my kids (ages 7 & 9 at the time) back in the late 1980's

Before our cruise I laid the ground rules and acting like a little lady and gentleman at the dinner table.  I explained you will be served food you may or may not like but you WILL try everything (without being asked) and if you don't like it you don't have to eat it.   I was not going to spend my cruise saying "eat it, try it, how do you know you won't like it unless you try it and on and on".   If they couldn't abide by this strict rule then we wouldn't cruise.   Of course they said they would....HA

Now on to formal night and the escargot..... We were seated in the main dining room my seven year old son decked out in his tux being served escargot (in the shell mind you).   His face went pale and he looked at his sister.   I quietly suggested they try the sauce with a piece of bread first.....son still watching daughter without saying a word.   My DH tasted it and kept dunking her bread in the garlic butter sauce.   I then saw her take an escargot and try it (then looking at my son I thought he was literally going to throw up).    My daughter then ate a 2nd one and a 3rd.    Now poor son knew he was being watched by the whole table.....he carefully takes the smallest bite and decides it's not so bad and he finishes them all.   Then he asks me politely if it would be ok if he ordered some more......and after those the ordered another plate.    

But back to your question:   there is plenty of the stuff on the menu that kids would eat.....who doesn't like bacon? and steak?   Check out the menu and run it by them first and see if there is anything they like.   As long as they don't get antsy easily they should find something to eat.    Pinnacle Grill is good. 

wow, that's really good to know.  We have one of the family cabanas on April 3-10 cruise and my mom can't do stairs and my upcoming knee replacement  knee isn't going to dig it either.   

I love them both!    I order the lobster in the PG and it is $20.   It's SOOOOO good.  I've been craving it for 2 years now!   I spent more money on lobster than I did drinks 🙂.    

On 2/25/2022 at 9:15 AM, jkrislc said:

HAL offers a lot of the same dishes in the buffet as in the MDR. In addition, they have a few prepared to order stations that make their buffet superior to Princess. While I like Princess and sailed them just a couple of months ago, I haven't been a huge fan of their buffets and the buffet on the Majestic Princess wasn't very good.

I have to agree about the Majestic Princess buffet.   It was SOOOO spread out and I thought the food was almost like a cafeteria buffet.   Some of the plates were set up visually pleasing, but the food lacked flavor.    Other than that, I loved the Majestic Princess!

traffic can be horrible......I wouldn't risk it even on a Sunday.

I would personally just take it to the airport, check it in and then take an Uber to Old Town, Seaport Village, Little Italy, Balboa Park or the Gaslamp area.   The cruise terminal is close to the airport and the airport is relatively close to all the places I mentioned (literally just a few minutes).  

I prefer the buffet on HAL vs Princess.  There is a lot more options on Princess, but their buffet is so big and spread out and I don't feel the food is as good.   HAL's is smaller but I like their food and their selection.