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On 5/21/2024 at 8:18 PM, EDVM96 said:

There has never been free king or snow crab on any Princess ship. At least not in the past 15 years. What free crab are you talking about?

 

This is not true. The following picture was taken in 2021 on the Majestic Princess during a round trip to Alaska from Seattle. It was one of the first few sailings after the shutdown. King crab legs were offered on the second formal night in the main dining room.

54 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

I would say it's very likely! Their current "sale" ends this Friday, so I'm expecting some sort of increase...

Also, I have a slight concern that the daily upcharge for the Plus package may exceed $60 per person once the promotion starts. Currently, there is a 61% discount bringing it down to $60 per person, but they can easily reduce the discount rate, resulting in a cost higher than $60 per person when the OBC promotion begins. It might just be a mathematical game. I guess we need to wait and see.

5 minutes ago, memoak said:

All of the glacier venues have limits on the amount of ships allowed at one time it is not just a decision made by the captain 

Today, there are four ships visiting Tracy Arm: Celebrity Edge, Majestic Princess, ms Westerdam, and ms Nieuw Amsterdam. Yesterday, only two ships visited: Norwegian Bliss and Ovation Of The Seas. If they can accommodate four ships today without any issue, why couldn't they add one more yesterday, which would have been only three ships in total?

The highlight of an Alaska cruise is undoubtedly the opportunity to see glaciers. With the cancellation of Glacier Bay and College Fjord, I am surprised they did not attempt to substitute another glacier. Tracy Arm or Endicott Arm would have been excellent alternatives given their proximity to Juneau. If time constraints were an issue, they could have even canceled Juneau and redirected to Tracy Arm or Endicott Arm instead. I believe most passengers would have been willing to make this trade off. As mentioned earlier, glacier viewing is the essence of an Alaska cruise. For many, this might be their sole chance to visit Alaska. Even with the FCC, they might not afford another Alaska cruise considering the expenses involved such as airfare and accommodation.

8 minutes ago, jannieb said:

We are on the 5/25 sailing. If a move over offer is given, how are passengers notified that it's an option and how quickly must one respond? 

In this situation, I highly doubt if any move over offer will be given. If one is indeed offered, I am sure it will be taken up in a few minutes. Returning to normal procedures, passengers will receive an email notification from Princess stating that the ship is overbooked and offering to move them to other ships or alternative dates. It is important to act quickly, as once they have enough people willing to move over, they will stop offering the option.

19 minutes ago, Princessscrewedme said:

You got a move offer?

Not me and I am not on this cruise, but saw it on roll call.

Princess is extending a special free cruise offer to those booked on the May 11 Sapphire Princess Voyage. Sail on an alternate Alaska voyage up to 7 days & receive 100% of your cruise fare back as refundable onboard credit. Suggested sailings: Sapphire Princess May 25th, June 8th, June 22nd, July 6th, July 20th, Aug 3rd, Aug 31st 2024 1. Onboard credit is refundable, unspent amounts will be sent home post cruise. 2. EZ air is fully protected. You will be reimbursed up to $500 per person . for private travel expenses. 3. Guests keep all current pricing, amenities, packages, and credits. 4. Guests have 2 years to rebook. Offer is only available by emailing PrincessOffers@PrincessCruises.com. Offer is first come first serve. Space is limited.

If there is another move over offer for the next few sailings for Sapphire Princess, people should seriously consider those offers and take them if possible. At this point, it is better to be on another ship as the full impact of the propulsion issue for this ship is still unknown. I imagine people on the current sailing are regretting not taking the move over offer last week.

24 minutes ago, Kaikit said:

Just got a call from Princess Guest Services regarding Star Cruise and if I had any questions regarding what had happened. 

 

I advised them that we will be keeping the cruise and look forward to sailing should it leave on time. 

 

Advised by Guest Services that because it is a guaranteed inside cabin, that there is a possibility of being upgraded... we shall see when the time comes... either way I am happy with this.

 

Another thing... I just got an email saying 20% off Mediterranean Shore excursions ending May 12... but you can't book any excursions on this boat as of yet.... Another screw up by the marketing department....

I believe there is a reasonable chance of being upgraded to at least an oceanview stateroom. As the fleet's newest ship, there should be high demand. You can see with Sun Princess that most cabins are sold out until this coming fall. While I don't have inside information, I believe many people who got this deal will stay. With only 657 inside cabins, once people booking at regular fare choose their rooms, there may not be enough inside cabins left for us. Of course, this all depends on things going as planned. If the ship is delayed again, then discussing this now would be meaningless.

50 minutes ago, CalTexCruiser said:

 

I suspect if not for the Star Princess error they may have honored the Greenland bookings.  But once it became a feeding frenzy where they were handing out mini-suites for free and potentially losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue they went back and revoked everyone.

I believe it is actually the opposite. If it were not for the Greenland bookings, they might have cancelled the Star Princes bookings. The Greenland cruise is scheduled for August, so some passengers may have already bought non-refundable air tickets and hotels. Therefore, they have no choice but to honor at least inside cabins for those bookings to avoid reimbursing cancellation fees. The situation is different for the Star Princess as it is still very far off, but to be fair, they are treating it the same way.

11 minutes ago, mgcharleston said:

For anyone who booked the original offer and has since rebooked it accepting the the terms of their deal, can you see your $200 OBC on your new itinerary? I rebooked just now and told the girl on the phone about the promised $200 OBC/person and she acknowledged that but when I look at my itinerary (under the Payments page, OBC at the bottom of the page) its says $0. I'm thinking I am going to have to call them back. FWIW, I wrote the illustrious Jen Wright yesterday afternoon and never heard a word back, hence forcing me to call in. Just curious if the OBC is showing in other peoples accounts.

I believe our offer has automatically been converted to an inside cabin? And if we take no action, it implies acceptance of their terms? But if I don't require an upgrade, do I still need to rebook? I am a bit confused now largely due to the poorly written Friday evening email.

1 hour ago, HikaruTsuki said:

Sometimes, 'too good to be true' can be true. What's life if we don't take chances and hope for these moments? Seriously, we can't talk down to those to who took the leap. For some people this was a blessing and it worked out in a positive way, to give them a life experience they wouldn't otherwise have. It may have been an error for Princess cruises, but for others it was the greatest gift. Life is short--take chances and live it for every second it's worth! 

I know a widow who cannot share a room with other people, so every time she is on a cruise, she has to pay for a single supplement, which usually ends up being double the amount. She doesn't gamble, so there is no way she is going to get a comped cruise. And she is just a regular working-class person; by no means is she rich, so she has never left North America in her lifetime. This was a blessing for her; now she can have a free room on the Star Princess and use the extra money to purchase an international air ticket and hotel in Barcelona. She is very happy that she finally has a chance to visit Europe. This October sailing fits her schedule very well too. It is in the middle of the off-season, so it's not difficult for her to get a week off from work. Air tickets are dirt cheap during that time frame as well. A round trip direct flight from LAX to Barcelona can be as low as $600. Without this "computer glitch," she may never have had this opportunity to have this life experience.

37 minutes ago, MsSoCalCruiser said:

I have received and booked an offer exactly like the one we booked for Greenland. I did not think it was an error. How would anyone know that it was a mistake.

Yes, the Boston to Greenland cruise had been listed for $99 on my Princess account for quite some time. $0 is not far off from $99, so I assumed it was a legitimate price.

Regarding the Barcelona cruise, it was not unreasonable for them to offer it as a comped cruise for their loyal customers. After all, the Sun Princess' inauguration was a PR disaster, and the delayed Star Princess added insult to injury by canceling its first few cruises. Given this history, it is understandable that Princess might want to try something different this time. Perhaps they are aiming for a soft opening for the first one or two sailings, so in case things are not ready, customers will not be as upset, especially since they are comped and may be more accepting of any deficiencies. Additionally, they may be trying to attract customers who might continue the journey on the next TA sailing as these itineraries typically do not sell well. Compensating for the first leg could significantly boost sales for the second leg of the TA.

21 minutes ago, TheMichael said:

 

The positive is, if you book and it turns out to be an error, in the end the worst that can happen is they let you know, then you contact them and get your deposit back.

 

To me that's an incredibly reasonable gamble.

I tried to remain optimistic, but my confidence in this company has dwindled significantly. A few months ago, my friend, who had been comped an unobstructed balcony, was bumped to an obstructed balcony on the Emerald deck. He only found out upon reaching the pier and was suddenly notified of the change. The decision was apparently made by the corporate office, and he was left with no option but to sail or lose his deposit. Additionally, I've heard stories of people who believed they were comped the premier package from the casino, only to have the package rescinded later, with the company claiming it was a glitch.

4 minutes ago, Lyndonn said:

I saw the Casino offer for the Emerald upon signing into my Princess Cruises account and that’s when I booked the cruise online at their website.  As I mentioned earlier, we have received free casino cruise offers in the past…so, I thought it was a valid offer.  All the boxes were checked for us …so, we booked the cruise.  I had no knowledge of the CC conversations until after I had booked.
 

 

True, I frequently receive comped or heavily discounted cruises also. For instance, today, upon signing into my Princess account, I noticed the $99 16-day Iceland/Greenland and $49 Alaska with Glacier Bay cruises. Are these deals too good to be true? I'm starting to doubt because I can't determine if they're legitimate or just a system glitch. There's no indication that they're casino deals either. While I'm tempted by the Iceland/Greenland cruise, I'm hesitant to book it now. I don't want to receive an email days later claiming it was an error, making it a hassle to cancel. When I booked the Barcelona cruise last Wednesday, I even called Princess, and they confirmed my booking was valid. We all know what happened afterward.

There is really no reason to cancel the Barcelona cruise now. It is still far off and a lot can happen. The deposit of $200 is just a small amount, and with that, I am at least guaranteed an inside room. With tax, it's $285, which is only $40 per day, still a very good deal for solo travel on the newest ship. I can use the OBC to pay for gratuities, and I may still have enough balance to book an excursion. I can always bid for a better cabin closer to sailing if the pricing is good. If I cancel, Princess is the one who would be very happy because they can sell my room for more than $2,000 to other passengers. Of course, they want me to cancel, but I am not going to do that. They need to pay for the mistake they made.

18 minutes ago, treesah said:

I saw that and I assumed it was a computer glitch.  Is it ethical to book a "0" fare knowing well that it's a mistake?  Very few things in life are free and certainly cruising is not.

I really couldn't determine if it was a computer glitch when I booked. I have casino status, and occasionally, I receive comped or heavily discounted rooms. On the same page, I also saw a lot of $49 per person cruises, such as Island Princess sailing out of NYC in June for 15 days. Now, I really don't know which one is real or if there's an error.

20 minutes ago, TRLD said:

Just be aware of how noisy the stabilizers are on Grand Class ships during rough seas down on deck 5 

I typically opt for obstructed ocean view or inside cabins on deck 8, which are just one deck above the promenade deck. I find incredible value in these cabins due to their easy access to the promenade, main dining room, piazza, etc.

15 minutes ago, RSF Cruiser said:

Right now San Francisco is listed for only one day on the

ship itinerary. There are excursions listed for San Francisco, San Diego, and Ensenada. That’s why I’m concerned Catalina will be cancelled since it’s the only port with no excursions. I checked the port schedules and the Discovery is listed on the Catalina site per the cruise itinerary, and the sfport.com schedule lists the Discovery for SF for two days. As for excursions, dates are not given for the SF excursions other than the cruise itinerary which says we’ll be in port one day. Guess I’ll have to wait and see if we get any official clarification. Thanks for your help!

If you are seeking insider information, you can send a private message to "sfpd3000" (https://boards.cruisecritic.com/profile/5895-sfpd3000/). This member is an SFPD officer who is regularly assigned to the SF piers, so he may have insider knowledge. He is an active member in the roll call forum and often leaves welcome messages on threads for upcoming cruises docking in SF.

2 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

It's such a shame (I understand both sides) that Monterey was dropped.  That would have been an acceptable reason for me to get on a Royal Class ship.  Not meant to be.  But then there is the Grand....out of LA....maybe, maybe, maybe.

With Monterey being dropped, I would prefer to see it replaced with Santa Barbara or an extra day in San Francisco. I believe most people would prefer these options over replacing it with Catalina Island. The itinerary seems less appealing now. It just feels like a getaway cruise from Long Beach that Carnival regularly offers every week. However, of course, any cruise is better than no cruise.

I actually think that in addition to lowering the port fees, they should also reduce the fare a little bit. Generally, this 5-port itinerary is priced slightly higher than other similar 4-port itineraries. Now that the 5-port itinerary has become a 4-port itinerary, the fare should be adjusted accordingly. The issue is that Princess may not want to do that.

To be honest, I prefer the design of Grand-class ships over Royal-class ships. The wrap-around promenade deck makes a huge difference for me. On a Grand-class ship, I can stay in an inside cabin right above or below the promenade deck. This means that whenever I want to see the ocean, I can simply go up or down one deck, and I can comfortably spend the whole day sitting on the promenade. Unfortunately, Royal-class ships lack such a deck. The Lido deck is not a suitable replacement; it is too far up, and the fence obstructs the view of the ocean. If I were on a Royal-class ship, I would have no choice but to spend more money on a balcony cabin.

You might have a better chance of securing significant discounts through the casino rather than the future cruise department. Though I do not have insider insights, based on my experience and observations, you typically only need to spend about $500 in the casino to qualify for discounts on future cruises. It is not necessary to actually lose $500; you just need to gamble that much money. After a month or two, you may start receiving emails from the casino department offering you 25% off the public fare for a standard balcony cabin for yourself and a guest, often accompanied by $100 to $200 OBC. This deal can apply to most of the cruises Princess offers. For some last-minute deals on cruises that are not selling well, you might even find an inside cabin for as low as $149 per person for a 7-day itinerary.

7 hours ago, dog said:

I stopped purchasing the plus packages after two tries. 
I am standard fare:

As elite I pay 1/2 price for wifi.

I order 12 pack of small bottle water to have in my cabin.

I am allowed to bring on 12 cans of soda per person.

i pre pay the daily pp gratuities.

No need to eat at Speciality restaurants.

i tried OceanNow delivery $14.99 to have drinks, room service delivery once, but will not anymore. We get up and go get our own.

So you can cut out quite a bit.

i like Celebrity but refuse to pay more for a refundable deposit.

 

I am in a similar boat.

As a platinum member, I only pay half price for wifi. Typically, I opt for the 4-device plan because it is cheaper than purchasing two single-device plans separately.

I usually have some OBC from the cruise line itself, my TA, or the casino department. I use them to cover the daily gratuities.

No need to dine at specialty restaurants. There is already plenty of food available elsewhere on the ship.

Due to my health restrictions, I stick to drinking water or iced tea and avoid soda and alcohol. These are readily available in the buffet area.

Same reason as above, I skip desserts also.

I don't need the Medallion shipped to me. I can pick it up at the port.

Overall, I don't see much value in the plus package for me.

Princess has launched a new promotion today where some cruises offer $100 OBC per stateroom. However, I noticed that at the same time the price per person has actually increased by $100. This means you will be paying $200 more per stateroom, but you are only receiving $100 OBC. In essence, you are losing $100 even when factoring in the additional OBC, not to mention the fact that you are required to spend more to avail of that OBC.

If I were you, I would only have two choices: either not go at all, or at the very least choose an obstructed balcony room. This is my vacation, and I should enjoy it to the fullest. I should not compromise on myself. I would never pay for an interior cabin at any time. If I had to pay, I would rather pay a bit extra for a balcony room, unless the interior cabin was given to me for free as a casino offer.