Loveh2ofl

9 minutes ago, NownZen said:

We are on the Island now. the Provence DR is on deck 6 while Bordeaux is on 5. I think more people go to deck 6 so it may be more crowded. The DMW lowers the capacity because of the staggered times and it is a pain because of the  escort process. What you can do is to ask your waiter to be assigned to the same table and time each night. Then you can bypass the line, tell them you have a reserved table xx and go to it.

The flip side of this is that we decided we wanted to eat later and getting this stopped from the app (at least at a shared table is impossible).  Finally we decided to just eat at the buffet. The food is very good and you can eat at your time and on your schedule.

Midway thru the cruise we said we wanted the same table # each night (Provence); we already had the same time each night reserved, and when we'd arrive I'd say 'xxx' and only once was it already taken (perhaps by someone still there from earlier).

2 minutes ago, Cuedon said:

Doesn't matter, according to multiple people in different departments; the backend for the reservation system is distinct from the display that's passenger-facing. Which is probably for the best, since, depending on the day, I have one to six of them showing, but whoever the service desk phones about it insists there's only one showing. 

Well maybe we were just lucky - but what we did worked.  Hope it works again on the world cruise cause we booked for 1/2023

44 minutes ago, Cuedon said:

Unlikely, since I received a call at the end of my first leg about booking for the subsequent legs, and I said that any consistent time before 7PM was fine... And they called back confirming me for 5:20. Which is very much unconfirmed. 

And did you ever look on your tv dining reservations (don't need a smartphone) to check if it was correct? First thing the head waiter would do upon getting to the dining room would be to scan one of our medallions and the reservation would come right up.  Just curious.

1 hour ago, cr8tiv1 said:

• YES - I never wore a mask. - 0%

 

I was looking at the numbers (math teachers never give up).  I am wondering if this is an outlier or these passengers would not admit on a poll that they were positive  because they never wore a mask.  

I made a comment since I couldn't answer the poll twice (2nd time for my spouse) - the answer for him was YES - I never wore a mask.  So there would be at least one 😉 

1 hour ago, Cuedon said:

I've been escalated to three different tiers of management to get a fixed time (not even a fixed table) before 7PM, as was promised by five different staff. 

 

I still can't get in without the staff doing seating at the door telling me it's my fault every day. 

I booked every day using the tv, individually, in advance.  Same time, same dining room, table for 2 in Provence, and would check every day to make sure it was still there that day.   Mine were for 6pm so that we could make the show;  we would arrive about 5:45 or 5:50 each day and were seated immediately.  (not counting the first day from LA which was entirely messed up but still got a table for 2 as reserved).  Perhaps it's the peak time of 7pm that is the issue...

17 hours ago, Loveh2ofl said:

3 for me between may 2021 and may 2022 - no covid either and no masking.

10 day, 10 day and 15 day.  However my spouse tested positive on returning home last week on 15 day.  Fairly mild covid case.  Both fully vaccinated but not boosted at all.

23 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

3 cruises between Feb 2022 and May 2022, 3 different cruise lines. No Covid before, during, or after for me or those I travelled with. We wore N95s all the time except when eating/drinking.

3 for me between may 2021 and may 2022 - no covid either and no masking.

Can it be taken twice by same person to cover cabin-mate?

On 5/16/2022 at 10:44 AM, Cuedon said:

I'm on anytime and finding the dining on the Island is messed up right now; a lot of people (myself included) are seeing long waits in line and getting told there is no availability for a private table, despite booking for the entire voyage pre-voyage. Or private tables aren't open yet, or you have a reservation but no table, or you don't have a reservation, or the system is bugging out... The reason, mostly from the same guy, kept changing.

 

I had better luck at Bordeaux, where they found seating for me in a few minutes (and apologized that they couldn't seat me at the same table as the other day, which I didn't expect anyways), as opposed to Provence, where I was told to come back in two hours. 

We just got of the 5/11-5/26 sailing.  Both MDRs were anytime dining.  I had reserved private tables prior to the cruise except for a couple of nights when not available.  I changed my seating time from 6:20 to 6 via the tv 'app' after the first two nights.  We ate in Provence every night since that was the only MDR where we found reservable tables for 2.  For 2nd half of cruise we requested a specific table every night and were able to get it expect for one night where we were seated at a different table for 2.  On dates where I couldn't reserve a table for 2 and had 'dine with others', I kept checking back and was able to reserve table for two on those dates.

While I didn't use it - just got off on 5/26 - my patters say open 24 hours.

On 5/20/2022 at 11:42 AM, simber22 said:

Anyone out there recently been on the Island Princess or is currently on the ship?  Would like to know what the hours are for the gym, what time do they open in the morning ?  

17 minutes ago, crimlarks said:

We wished the Promenade deck went all around too - and having the exercise room where it is, with no windows, is less than optimal, I think.  I skipped using it on this cruise, so we got our exercise by doing stairs rather than the elevator almost all the time, and walking on the Promenade deck.  But if we don't cancel the 2024 World Cruise I'll probably want to use the exercise room some to help burn off all the calories consumed and to keep my muscles in at least halfway decent shape.  The newest Princess ship we've sailed on was the Regal Princess in 2019, on a transatlantic/Baltic cruise.  We liked that ship, especially Vines, the International Cafe and Alfredo's.

Agree - would need to use the treadmill or something.  that said - I was able to get my 3 mi in using promenade, and walking from our aft stateroom to Horizon buffet and the dining rooms and the theater a few times per day plus the stairs  Would need to have an eating routine more like we do at home - altho' we didn't gain anything on this cruise...Yes - we did like Vines on Crown Princess and Caribbean Princess  and liked having a good view of the aft - on IP it's only the tiny section of deck 8.  

4 hours ago, crimlarks said:

We're signed up for the 2024 World Cruise on the Island Princess.  I'm not sure if I'd want to be on the Island Princess for 111 days.  We'll see.  At least we have plenty of time to decide if we want to cancel.  Might opt for multiple shorter segments to different locations and on different ships instead.  The Island Princess is definitely showing its age - not sure how good it will be in 2 years.  But that's just our take.  The crew was fantastic, and the food was better than we've had on other Princess cruises.  Sometimes the Princess food is just meh - but that was rarely the case here.  Sure, there were some items that we wouldn't order again, but overall we were happy with the food and the crew in the dining room and buffet.

We signed up for the JAN 2023 world cruise after/while just doing the LA to FLL segment.  Doing the 97 day since don't want to mostly repeat the ports we just did the last two weeks.   The crew was great, a ship not used for 2 years is going to have some issues - and I sure wish the promenade deck went all around - but in a lot of ways the smaller ship and older ship is less sterile looking and had more interesting furnishings than the brand new Enchanted when we sailed on her last Dec.

7 hours ago, Scottyren said:

Yes, the back two stairwells are both blocked off for COVID quarantine rooms on the Emerald deck.

Thanks - sorry to hear that.  I was looking forward to the only good aft view.  Enjoy the rest of  your cruise!  Plus that's the stairwell closest to my stateroom - so all my plans for getting to Promenade deck I guess will have to change - or is it just getting off on deck 8/Emerald that is blocked off on those stairwells..

1 minute ago, Steelers36 said:

The package you seem to want does not include bottled water.  You can buy a supply of 12 bottles for about $7 - pre-cruise only.

Agree - i buy several cases of bottled water depending on cruise length - only available in advance.

29 minutes ago, travellingnana said:

I’m on board the Ruby but was just told it is not. Has something changed ??

If you mean the onboard credit, my husband gets on any/every cruise - so no I wouldn't expect it to be refunded as 'cash' - but used towards onboard expenses.  And if the cruise is canceled - so is the credit.  You would get again on next cruise - it's not additive.  If you're referring to some other kind of credit or discount, don't know.

15 minutes ago, Scottyren said:

I just found the quarantine deck accidentally on the Island.  It is deck 8, Emerald Deck, starboard aft section. All blocked off with some signage to stay out. 

Thanks! - does that mean portside door to aft outside deck is blocked too?  Or not to your knowledge?

4 minutes ago, Happiest when cruising said:

Wouldn’t Princess need to report the positive cases to the port? I would think any port would be hesitant to have a ship dock with so many cases. 
I do think Princess should release the correct numbers. Social media posts might not be accurate.😏

If that many people arrived in the UK with covid I would think it would have made the news - I've searched UK papers and have seen nothing.  And the related fb groups are all private so don't want to sign up for those....Without a link to actual info, at this point would have to consider it hearsay...

5 hours ago, vjmatty said:

For the November 2022 Greek Isles and transatlantic sailings it is Emerald Deck aft section. Such a pity to waste the only public aft deck on the ship. 

just looked at the last minute sailing availability for the lax 5/11 panama canal sailing on Island Princess  - balcony staterooms are available aft on Emerald Deck - close to the aft deck doors on both starboard and port sides - so would seem the quarantine area is elsewhere at least on that sailing.

4 hours ago, vjmatty said:

For the November 2022 Greek Isles and transatlantic sailings it is Emerald Deck aft section. Such a pity to waste the only public aft deck on the ship. 

Thanks - would like to know which deck it is on the current sailing as I'm on the next one....enjoy your trip in November!

On which deck and which area (eg port/starboard, forward mid aft) is the quarantine area?

I see from the Live on Island Princess posted patter that the show times are 7:30 and 9:30 - at least on the first night.  Thanks to that thread!

Congratulations to all of you departing from Port Everglades on Island Princess' first trip since Covid!  Hope all goes smoothly and that you have fantastic times!  We'll be on her second sailing out of LA Harbor - and I'm trying to plan dining times at MDR/specialty restaurants.

Please post what the show times are (understanding that the first night might be different) - early and late.  We were on the Enchanted in Dec and they were 8 and 9:30 but it seems that folks posting from several ships lately have had much earlier first shows.

On 3/28/2022 at 7:32 AM, WAvoyager said:

ATT indicates they support WiFi calling, so you should be able to use a compatible phone (need to check with your carrier on your specific model), connect to WiFi, and transmit your portion of the call via the WiFi connection.  The call data then is carried over the internet as a VOIP (voice over IP) call to ATT.  ATT then converts the data stream to a regular call over their network.  Works in “reverse” for receiving a call. Texts should also be supported on ATT I believe.

 

The critical part is telling your phone to only communicate via WiFi, and NOT to connect to the ship (or shore bound) cellular service, which can hit you with roaming and data fees.  As others have noted, you have to have WiFi access via one of Princesses plans, and the ship has to have decent WiFi connectivity to the internet (can be a problem on some sailings).

Here are some instructions - iPhone based, but pretty universal:

 

• Go to Settings>Phone and turn on wifi calling
• Go into Settings and turn on Airplane Mode
• Go into Settings>Wi-Fi and turn wifi back to ON
• Go to Settings>Bluetooth and turn bluetooth ON (optional - only needed if you’re using Bluetooth for anything like headphones, etc)

Here’s some info from ATT: https://www.att.com/features/wifi-calling/

My party was on Enchanted Princess in Dec 2021 - my brother and I have ATT service and our phones support wifi calling and we have both used it 'on land' and know our plans and phones support it.  My husband has Verizon with wifi calling supported on his phone.  He was able to make wifi calls;  my brother and I were unable.  Medallion Net was great - so it wasn't internet performance.  The internet desk was unable to assist my brother when he inquired there. 

I will try again on my next cruise but not counting on it.

59 minutes ago, MudderBear said:

So, if you come down with Covid, you are put in a room and basically have to starve for the remainder of your cruise?  Would you get any kind of refund?

I added emphasis since you asked about refund.

From the FAQs asking 'If I have Covid-19 Symptoms will I have to be isolated?"

Yes, anyone reporting or exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms will be reviewed by the shipboard medical staff and tested for SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19). COVID-19 cases will be assessed and treated either in their stateroom or in a designated area of the Medical Center in a single occupancy ward.

Positive cases that do not require admission to the ship’s medical center, or medical disembarkation, will most likely be moved to a different stateroom for the duration of isolation.

If you, your family members, travel companions or other close contacts are quarantined or medically isolated during your voyage as a result of a positive COVID-19 test during your cruise or are suspected of having COVID-19, you are entitled to a 100% Future Cruise Credit for missed cruise days, including time in quarantine, for you, your travel party and any confirmed close contacts.

If you have purchased a travel protection plan through us, you and your travel companion may make a claim for a refund under the trip interruption benefit instead of receiving the FCC.

58 minutes ago, Kmkub said:

We leave in two days! We are so excited.

 

Can anyone tell me if the medallion works in the laundry room?

Yes - we were on the 12/10 enchanted - medallion is how one gets the tokens and the laundry supplies