cruise_critical

On my last Ovation cruise in April, they also had no deposit bookings when made on board afaik. Either that or it was like $50 per person / something really low.

Yeah, Princess Premier is hard to beat, especially if you like a drink. I also like how it includes the 4 devices per person for internet as it also covers my kids' devices. One thing I forgot about earlier is that the unlimited dining package that I got for my upcoming Quantum cruise does include 40% off wine bottles under $100. So wife & I might make good use of that instead. Heck, even if we chuck in a few cocktails at the bar each day, it may still end up being much cheaper than the deluxe drink package.

I also got the premier for a cruise in Dec and from watching a few recent Princess cruise youtube videos, I saw that there are at least 2 different Champagnes onboard. Cattier and another brand which I can't recallt...Just saw it recently with it being served at Ocean Terrace IIRC. But yeah, if it's not that good, I'll try some good premier-priced Sauv Blanc etc.

Such high RCCL drink package prices are making the Princess Plus/Premier package prices just look amazing in comparison... Along with their kids for free sale earlier this year, the cruise ended up being so much cheaper than an equivalent RCCL with a better drink package (drinks up to $30) as part of the premier package. https://www.princess.com/cruise-deals-promotions/au/plus-premier-cruise-packages/

BTW, on 9/14 when the deluxe drink package was a low $107/day, it was a 35% off sale, not the more common buy 1 get 1 50% off sale. Another one I missed was the Unlimited Dining Package. Was $395/person on May 6th this year (40% off sale). I once again contemplated and didn't get it. Today, it's $541/person and it hasn't gone below $497 for past 5+ months. (best since was a 25% off sale) Here's to hoping that the Black Friday sale will top both! 🤞

I've been monitoring the deluxe drink package price this year and the cheapest price was AUD $107/day/person on Sep 14th sale thus far for my upcoming 7 night Quantum cruise. I regret not grabbing it at the time tbh. Now, I'm hoping that it will match that or be lower during next month's Black Friday / Cyber Monday sale. (usually has been the cheapest time of the year for the packages in my past RCCL cruises)

Oh wow. Okay, then I will keep my current 2 bookings which charged my card, then will speak to the guest services once I board to replace them with the perk instead. If that cannot be done, so be it but it's pretty bad that Princess treats them as a perk and not something which we actually paid for in advance by buying the package that they are advertising.

Yeah seems the system is broken, but Princess just aren't fixing it. I assume this issue hasn't even been told to the development team. So they probably don't even know about it. The same issue applies when you try it from the web portal btw. https://oceanready-personalinfo-ui.prod.ocean.com/

I was able to get $96pp/day for April 2023 Ovation NZ cruise earlier this year. That price was only available last year during the black friday sale in November 2022. For my 7 night Quantum cruise in Jan 2024, lowest thus far has been $107pp/day. (I've checked it all throughout this year on a weekly basis) I'm hoping it'll go to sub-$100 during the upcoming black friday / cyber monday sale though not putting my hopes up. I'm really spewing that I didn't grab the Unlimited Dining Package for $366pp earlier this year for the same cruise as it's never been that low since and I only was able to secure it at $497pp so far!

I also have the same issue for my upcoming Princess cruise in Dec with the Premier package. I called the MedallionClass call center and she also had the same issue, then she tried again and said "it's done now". But yeah, I can see that both bookings were charged to my cc. So she did exactly what we have been doing.. I guess I'll just keep the reservations if they are hard to come by as mentioned above, then try to sort it out onboard at Guest Services... Btw, if you have positive cabin credit (OBC?) at the end of the cruise, can you get that back as cash or bank transfer? Or is that lost? or able to transferred to a future cruise? (even if I may not book another Princess for a year?)

Some hotel-style TVs will not respond to external buttons / remotes or change inputs unless you pull out the ethernet-looking network cable from the TV. So try that if for whatever reason it's not working as expected. In past RCCL cruises I've been on, I just take a Amazon fire stick and stick in in the HDMI port, then just connect the firestick's wifi to the wifi hotspot that I created on my laptop or phone. Worked perfect everytime. Just needed a universal remote control to switch the inputs as the TVs on the Quantum class ships that I've been on didn't have a controller/buttons on the unit itself to change to HDMI input. My first Princess cruise (on Royal Princess) is a few months away so I'll also report back on my experience of doing similar on this thread during or after it.

As per Australlian definition of fully vaccinated, Princess cruise does not need a Booster. Only the primary course of the vaccine is sufficient. (including mixed. e.g. first pfizer, second novavax) A See 2nd point in Princess FAQ for sailings involving Australia: https://www.princess.com/plan/cruise-with-confidence/cruise-health/frequently-asked-questions/au-cruises/covid-19-acknowledgment/

I've been a RCCL cruiser till now but I booked my first ever Princess cruise (13 nights on Royal Princess) for end of this year for my family of 4 with the Premier package and it was MUCH cheaper than the RCCL cruise with similar inclusions / stateroom during equivalent sale promotion cruise. Hence it was a no brainer tbh. Princess = $743 AUD/night (mini suite reserve class + 2A premier package) on Royal RCCL = $1150 AUD/night (junior suite + the key + 2A deluxe drink package) on Ovation (both are during kids sail free promotion with black friday sale prices for RCCL packages) Now, with the recent package change announcement, we now seem to benefit even more with the inclusion of newly included meals on venues that were previously not (Vines, Ocean Terrace etc.) and also potential for it to be less busy at Alfredo's and potentially (hopefully) faster room service / oceannow delivery service due to less people doing them. But yeah, I fully get why many people are upset by the change, and really, Princess should have grandfathered the benefits to previously booked customers, and only change/omit them for new bookings post-change-date.

Just got an email from Princess with this blurb about the Dine My Way. So it's no trick, but an officially supported method it seems. Oh, it's also on the page: https://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/food-and-dining/dine-my-way/

No, they do not look at the time stamps of each photo (would drag the entire boarding process like crazy) but do try to at least take it at the right time for better conscience ofc. Then just take a photo of the (negative) RAT test like below and that's it. They ask for the RAT test photo, and when you show them on your phone, they just take a glance at it for 1 second and let you through. e.g. (random photo I found on the net)

Here's a pic I found of the standard balcony room with 2 pullman beds above. (might be a smaller ship, but even the Royal class is pretty much identical as can be seen in the video below) Video of them showing 1 of 2 pullman pulled down.

Couple of months ago, they barely looked at the at-home-self-test RAT photos for more than 2 seconds. They see 1 line, and go okay in a blink. Could have easily used a photo off the internet, or just take 4 photos of the same negative test and end result would have been the same. As mentioned above, hopefully the eastern seaboard rules change within the next few months.

My one was a 10 night cruise circling the south island + Wellington with the sounds first. If you are circling the opposite direction, then maybe that will make a difference to th side that you see land while cruising alongside them. (though tbh, it's not a big thing as we did just enjoy the view from the top deck mostly) Unfortunately, we weren't able to dock at Dunedin and Wellington due to high winds / rough seas so can't tell you how the view was while docked there..

It was also a lot cheaper for me on my recent booking by getting the Plus or Premier option instead of getting the Alcohol Drink package + Wifi for 4 devices ala carte. So was a no brainer. As for WiFi pricing, it has been recently jacked up to $15 per day for a single-device plan, and $40 per day for a four-device plan. https://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/ocean-medallion/medallionnet/

I was on Ovation last month departing Sydney. As a family of 4, I just took 4 individual photo of the RAT test showing a negative result the day before the cruise. There is no need to prove time stamps or even prove that that test was indeed done by you etc. They don't have time to check any of that. They just take a 1 second glance at each of the photo and go "yup, you may go through" and that's it. It's a conscience honoring system, nothing more.

Yes up to a cerain point (below) as per their standard policy. I have until mid-June to cancel without losing the deposit as mine is in mid-December. https://www.princess.com/plan/standard-cancellation-refund-policy/

I was on the Ovation last month to NZ. I chose the Port side which faces the Opera House while docked on OPT. At Milford, it does a 360 so it's fine to be on either, though when I woke up in the morning, we faced the signature view from our balcony which was great. During cruising past the sounds, Port side is better IMHO as you see the sounds/land all throughout while circling around the south island from your balcony. Starboard side just looks out into the ocean mostly. Was great to come back to Sydney and wake up to a beautiful Opera House view in the morning also. But yeah, you won't regret it either way, and we went up to the top deck often as well to not miss out the view from other side. Milford Sounds from our balcony in the morning Waking up to the Opera House at Sydney OPT

I recently booked a Royal Princess cruise for end of Dec. I made a "free" hold booking in a Guaranteed Reserved Class Mini Suite for 2A 2C. Then the next day, Princess called me trying to lock that in with a deposit by offering me extra on board credit. Then he asked what cabin location I preferred and told him near evelevators in the middle, and prefer large room / large balcony etc. Then I made the deposit. Later, I noticed that I was assigned M1 Accessible which is nearly 2x the size of a normal M1. I guess it's secured for now until there are enough bookings that genuinely needs them. Moral of the story, maybe call to make a booking over the phone insted of online, to try and get them to book you in a cabin that you want.

I was on Ovation (same ship as Quantum of the Seas pretty much) with my boys 13 and 16 just last month. (both are over 6 feet tall) They loved the table tennis competition (had huge turnout rate of at least 40 teens between 13-17), teen dodgeball and teen fireball (both also with massive turnout). Great fun with many teenagers getting to know each other more, and a lot of exercise. It was all done in the SeaPlex area which is great coz it's fully indoors unlike most other cruise ships. So it was on up till very late at night regardless of the weather outside. My boys also liked the Teen Lounge (the living room) where they just hund out, lying on the couch playing on their phones, and even the odd chess with other kids there. Not sure if they had other programs there tbh. Did the usual activities also like lots of swimming, rock climbing, bumper cars, ifly sky diving, watching couple of main shows etc. Quantum of the Seas has pop up escape rooms and laser tag which sounds fun also. (not on Ovation) So yeah, I think Quantum is definitely a good choice for active teens.

oh wow. That is good to know that you get reciprocol Elite status on Celebrity starting at Diamond on RCCL. Just read this blog and it's definitely a nice perk! https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2023/03/23/celebrity-royal-caribbean-cruise-loyalty-reciprocity