WAvoyager

We’ve had one cruise cancelled due to non-payment, one cruise cancelled for some unknown reason (system glitch per Princess), and one cruise with the offer benefits messed up. in all of those cases, Princess agents or managers were able to correct the issues. In some cases, it was a PITA to get things fixed. But in none of the cases was it ever a conspiracy theory worthy issue. my lessons learned: 1) ALWAYS keep a copy of the promo you’re booking. The promo code at least, and ideally a copy of the actual promo email or mail, with all of the info (not just the front cover 2) Princess’ systems suck. It impacts us cruisers, and it impacts Princess employees. No one is out to get you - sometimes they just don’t have the info available to help you 3) keep track of your cruise after you pay your deposit, a couple of months before your cruise, and immediately following your final payment date. If anything goes wrong, that’s when you can act, and get things fixed. we’ve been cruising on “free” casino cruises for the last 5 years, and besides system/process problems, always had great experiences.

There are definitely more differences. Tile is designed for use with either - there’s an app you have to install on your mobile device. Air tags were designed for use with Apple products - support is already built into existing apps, but you can’t use them on Android. things have changed over time (like batteries not being replaceable on Tile’s products) so I’m not sure that this is still accurate, but I use both, depending on what my primary needs are. Tile is great for finding things around the house - two way signaling, multiple formats for their devices, and other features make them really handy for keys and wallets around the house. Air Tags have a very robust location function, and are great for tracking things outside of the house - so for luggage, backpacks, and 5 year olds (your own of course!).

Didn’t see anyone mention it - if you use a Tile tag, they have a button on the tag. Pressing the button makes your phone ping. Attach a Tile to your keys - so if you can’t find your keys, use your phone. If you can’t find your phone, use your keys. If you can’t find either…. 😶

One thing that hasn’t been mentioned is that there is some value to not having to think about things when you’re on vacation. Pencil in your calculations and if the plus package value is anywhere near breakeven, I’d definitely recommend adding it. my wife and I don’t usually drink much. But on our last cruise my wife admitted that not having to think about how much the drinks were, she was really enjoying ordering drinks during the cruise! Just like staying at a resort which includes activities - it doesn’t matter if you use them or not - having the freedom to do something if it sounds like fun, with no other things to weigh, definitely can make the vacation much more fun.

On our June sailing there were no Stanley’s, only Stanley backpacks, and a windbreaker which folded into a Stanley pack. We were told it was a restocking unavailability issue. My daughter wanted one, so we went down to the gift shop only to discover the shops were closed (at 8:30 pm?). We stared into the main gift shop to see if we could see any Stanley’s, but only saw the aforementioned backpacks and jackets. We promised our daughter that we’d get one on the next cruise if we couldn’t find one the next day. upon returning to our cabin later that night, we received a nice note from the customer service desk, who we had talked to about some minor issue. And along with the note was a Stanley backpack! My wife talked to the desk agent the next day, and she said she was sorry about the problem we had had, and our daughter was so cute while we waited in line, she just wanted to give her something to remember the trip. Unusually serendipitous, but very much appreciated the gesture. My daughter filled her new backpack up with her treasures and wore the backpack when we disembarked.

When we sailed in June, we never really noticed the vibration until we went back to the Kids Club, or when we were at Sabatini’s. Dinner at Sabatini’s had me a bit worried about the structural integrity of the ship. Especially as we had dessert. 😀 IMG_3915.MOV

It’s more accurate to say “the best way is still in a shell…” Shells are reusable, and most of the time the shell did not belong to the snail that’s being served. 😁 I grew up eating Escargot Bourguignon, and something always seems missing in Princess’s dish. It’s still yummy, but something’s missing.

I’m wondering if it’s still a tea bar though. Princess has been removing all of the Aisa region specific element of the Majestic.

I wish they would have sailings further out. Every time we get the offer the only options are for 2-4 months out, and we’ve already booked our trips in that timeframe. Hopefully one day we’ll get to get the special treatment! 😁

Not necessarily anything wrong. I believe they are just queuing everything up - so anything for sailings more than two weeks away isn’t looked at, so they can work on other things. It won’t hurt to resend the request, but they’ve added my credits to my 2 recent cruises without reminders. Could also be that they get tired of entering credits early, then having the credits and/or reservations wiped out by their funky reservation system, and then having to enter them all over again.

We’ve received recent offers with Princess Plus included. Only on two out of the five recent offers though, so maybe they’re cutting back. At least they have the kinks worked out. First time we got an offer with it included, we had to jump through hoops to convince the casino rep that we should not have to pay for Plus for the third person in the room…. Since she was only 5 years old, and unlikely to consume 15 alcoholic drinks a day, we wouldnt allow her to drink coffe or sodas, and she did not have her own device to connect to wi-fi. The second cruise with the offer they automatically applied a “specialty and soft drink” package instead of the full drink package. And the latest one, they dropped the Plus requirement for the third passenger. Progress appears to be slow but steady with Princess.

My concern is that the one cruise your 8 year old has been on was on the Bliss, which is loaded with fun “special” activities (stuff he can’t do without leaving the house). The Regal does not have anywhere near the level of experiences for kids that age, so I would prepare for a bit of a letdown. Offsetting that is that the itinerary is much more port intensive, so he probably won’t be as impacted as if he had to spend more days at sea. Our daughter has only cruised on Princess, and I’d like to book a trip on a more “loaded” ship, but I’m also fearing it a bit. She had a great time on the cruises, but she doesn’t have any expectations of amenities which aren’t there. No matter how much fun Universal Studios is, if the kids are expecting to see Mickey, there’s bound to be a bit of a letdown. (We have the opposite problem now … damn Minions!) Just be prepared for the “where’s the arcade?” Or “where’s the go kart track?” questions, and you’ll be fine.

Organic wines in the U.S. cannot contain sulfites. My guess is that the poster’s wide had an allergy or other medical issue related to sulfite consumption. but European wine don’t have that same restriction. So either they only drink US wine, or it’s not as big of an issue as is believed in.

I believe so. We have seen many kids there on port days who were there for a long period of time (our DD was too young to play solo so we were in there a lot!). Personally, I don’t think I could do it. On our last cruise, we got her fed, took her to the club, and went for a nice dinner, and halfway through, got a call that our DD was hungry and wanted to be picked up. Can’t imagine how that would work if we were off ship. come to think of it - they’re no longer providing snack time, or meal options like they used to - wonder how that works for extended drop offs? this is from Princess’s FAQ: Is there babysitting available on board? Yes. Camp Discovery and Beach House Teen Lounge is open during the day and evening for your convenience, on sea days and port days. From 10PM – 1AM, we offer group babysitting in the centers for kids ages 3-11 for $5 per child per hour. Do you have childcare while the ship is in port? We do, and it’s complimentary! Just drop the kids off, and we’ll take care of them. The Beach House is also open for teens while in port. Early/late excursion? No problem; we’ll open early or stay late to accommodate you.

We’ve always sat at private tables for afternoon tea. (Party of four) Didn’t get a chance to go for tea in April, so not sure if anything has changed recently.

Ah - looks like I misread a post. I’m hoping the Crown makes ISP on the next sailing. Really hoping we can take my daughter in o the kids rope course. But I’m guessing we won’t be the first sailing to actually get there. 🙁

There’s lots of info out there, and it changes a lot. Here’s a quick summary: Sailings on the Crown are FUBAR. They’ve modified the itineraries due to issues with the propulsion systems. Princess does not think the ship could make the original itinerary (Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, Inside Passage, Ketchikan, Victoria) so they’ve changed the sailing for very reduced port times and alternate port. Even with the modified itinerary, they failed to arrive in Juneau on time on most sailings, and haven’t been able to stop at the modified port (Icy Strait Point) on all but one of the sailings. Additionally, they’ve had noise and vibration issues which are ongoing (mainly in aft of ship), impacting cabins, public areas, and dining rooms. They also had issues with plumbing (toilets not flushing, or overflowing) which were pretty limited to certain decks in the aft sections, and which seem to be resolved, and issues with availability of hot or cold water which I believe are ongoing, and currently primarily in forward sections of the ship. Crew seems to be really good, and ships are sailing with fewer people as people switch to other ships. Mixed reviews (generally good) on food. Princess has indicated the plumbing issues are passenger error related (flushing things which shouldn’t be flushed), but the problems seemed more widespread than that explanation supports. Princess also says the propulsion issues are being worked on and some improvements made - while they did make ISP on the 11th, they missed it again this week I believe. And they were late into Juneau again this week. hope that’s all accurate. Read through the recent sailing reports (June 11, June 18) for direct info from people onboard. Bottom line - if you are counting on a specific itinerary or excursions, switch to a different ship. If Glacier Bay is the primary consideration, and you’re flexible on the other items, you may be okay. Many people have switched ships, it depends on timing, and availability on the alternates.

Sounds like a very bad driver. Both your app, and his app, would’ve been indicating you weren’t at your destination, but he chose to ignore that. Glad you persevered and worked it out.

Did the Lyft app show the correct destination when you booked it? And did the driver attempt to drop you off at the location in the app, or somewhere else? just trying to understand what happened - one reason I’ve liked using Lyft/Uber is that the app takes out most of the guesswork, and blind faith in the driver - with taxi’s, I’m always second guessing the route the drivers taking, but never with the ride shares. But maybe there’s something new to watch out for.

There are many, many more people who use Lyft/Uber without issues than those who do. I’ve always used Taxis when traveling - many trips per year for work. Uber and Lyft have greatly simplifies travel for me for years now. To the OP - sorry about all of the challenges on this trip, but glad you’ve maintained a sunny disposition about it. A good attitude may not be able to salvage a bad trip, but a bad attitude can make any every trip worse.

This is the exact reason we’re sailing on a cruise with Glacier Bay this year. Who knows what it will look like in a few more years. As for the Crown vs some other cruise line - personally I would switch to a different cruise line, all else being equal. But with a trip already booked, and having the opportunity to be on a ship that’s only at 70% capacity, I’m happy to be on the Crown. It won’t be the trip we had planned, but it should be relaxing, so that’s just as good. We can do another Alaska cruise next year or so to see the other sites. If Glacier Bay is the key reason for your trip, and you’ve already made plans, I’d say stick with them. If not, another ship might serve you better.

Man, that sucks! Sorry for your ordeals. Princess has really screwed up with the Crown sailings. Hope things onboard are okay.

Yes - in cruise personalizer, go to Onboard Services, and scroll to the bottom of the page. It should show up under “Communications” as Plus beverage package. I don’t see mine in the Travel Summary, but always see it in Onboard Services. Also, if you go some of the Onboard Activities categories (Beverage Packages, Onboard Credits), all of your credits and paid packages will show up at the bottom of those pages as well.

I’m hoping to get one from each ship. I know it’s silly to pay $5 for a tiny ship’s logo on the medallion, but it’s a nice alternative to the usual “Mexico” (or other location) magnet for the fridge.

Princess has an excursion which includes a stop at the Rio Bendito Fiesta. Half of the excursion (mining museum) doesn’t sound like any fun for my family (and is poorly reviewed on Princess’s site). But the visit to the Rio Bendito Fiesta sounds great. I’ve been trying to find any information on this portion of the excursion, to see if I could arrange to just visit that, but there’s little to no info that I can find. It seems to be the same location as the “Rio Bendito Tequila” distillery, but that’s just based on pics I’ve seen. wondering if anyone is familiar with this location? It’s interesting for us because they indicate it’s a visit to a more local county fair type activity - with games, food, and tequila tastings. I’m hoping there’s enough to make it fun for our 5yo, in addition to mom and dad. 🙂