joe d

We have disembarked in FLL quite a few times. The only time we had any problem getting a taxi was the time we were at terminal 21. It was pouring rain, there was a very long line and no taxis in sight. I managed to a ride on a shared van that was looking for passengers.

Any information on an airboat ride excursion? Have you done it? Would you do it again and was it worth it? Doing a B2B and looking for something to do. Any ideas?

We did the airboat excursion with Princess on a B2B. I did not find it nearly as enjoyable as one we had done on our own when visiting Florida by car. The Princess excursion was in a crowded boat with a covered top and the scenery was not all that great. The one we did on our own had much better scenery and an open boat with tiered seating.

The problem is that it is getting old. I have seen it 4 times this year and passed on it another time. It seems to be the only show that they show on every cruise I go on. Time for a change.

So then you have to factor in the cost of insurance as a loss too? Then also pay for insurance again on the new, rebooked cruise?

I was told that I would lose the cost of the insurance but the refund portion of the settlement was larger than I was told so I am not sure. I am still waiting for the cruise credits from Princess. The Insurance company said it would take several weeks. Note, the new insurance was a lot less than the old insurance because the cost of the new cruise was a lot less.

Princess has finally adjusted Canadian pricing to reflect recent appreciation of C$ vs US$. The exchange is set at 1.2, port fees has also been reduced according.

 

I was able to re-fare on one booked cruise but another cruise would have meant loss of pre-paid gratuities which is more than the savings. Let us know how you fare.

I was able to re- fare on one cruise. On another (on which I had made final payment) they would not do anything so we cancelled the cruise and rebooked immediately for a significant saving. Now all I have to do is wait for the Insurance claim (I had cancel for any reason). I have a third cruise which is fully refundable but the price has gone up a lot. I will probably leave it as it is.

How would this affect EZ Air? Would the rebooking cancel the existing holds I have on flights? If so, I'm not sure I will take the risk just to save some $$ (not a significant amount in our case as the cruise in question is a short one)....

In my case the EZ Air was also cancelled (I knew it would be). I only had one flight on EZ Air and rebooked it for just a few dollars more. I don't have the final figures yet but I estimate that overall I will save around $1000. The process is a little complicated because part of my "refund" will be in the form of Onboard Credits which I have to get from the insurance. It only took a couple of minutes to complete the insurance information on line.

I had 3 cruises booked at the 1.30 exchange rate. My TA was able to rebook one with no problems. Princess was not willing to do anything on the other two but one of them has gone down a lot in price in addition to the exchange rate change so we are in the process of cancelling and rebooking. The third one has gone up a lot in price so there is not much I can do about it.

Our dollar does not "continue to sink". Our dollar has been very strong lately. It currently is at $1.22. I would not buy OBC at $1.30. In fact I won't buy anything at $1.30. As a matter of fact if Princess does not change their rate soon they could start losing business.

The dinner buffet on the Royal is very good but the thing I like the most is the view. We eat early and are usually able to get a window table in the buffet. We will often dress up for formal night and go to the buffet.

Just to clarify things I am quite familiar with booking Princess Cruises, I have booked 15 of them and usually book at least a year ahead. The reason I did not book this one earlier is that my wife was supposed to have a knee replacement in September and the deposit was non refundable. Once it became clear her operation has been delayed we decided to book this cruise.

 

Back to the story of this booking. This morning I logged onto to Princess and found a cabin at the in the category I wanted. I immediately e-mailed my TA who immediately called Princess. By the time he got through the cabin was gone. Now I can understand missing the booking but what I can't understand why it was not assigned to someone on the waitlist (I am on the waitlist). Not only was I not assigned the cabin but I am in the same place on the waitlist as I was before.

Well I checked back with Princess and there were 3 cabins available. I didn't bother calling anyone. I booked it myself.

Just to clarify things I am quite familiar with booking Princess Cruises, I have booked 15 of them and usually book at least a year ahead. The reason I did not book this one earlier is that my wife was supposed to have a knee replacement in September and the deposit was non refundable. Once it became clear her operation has been delayed we decided to book this cruise.

Back to the story of this booking. This morning I logged onto to Princess and found a cabin at the in the category I wanted. I immediately e-mailed my TA who immediately called Princess. By the time he got through the cabin was gone. Now I can understand missing the booking but what I can't understand why it was not assigned to someone on the waitlist (I am on the waitlist). Not only was I not assigned the cabin but I am in the same place on the waitlist as I was before.

I have been looking for a cabin in a specific category for a cruise in late October. I have been tracking it for about a week and a half hoping there would be a sale. Over that period they have sold 3 cabins in that category. This morning I decided to go ahead and book it. There were 20 cabins available when I checked this morning but when my TA tried to book one he was told they were all waitlisted and Princess offered a much more expensive option. I refused. This is the second time in a row that Princess has done something similar to this.

Changes in rate never change immediately. It does take months often before a drop is reflected........While we've never done it, some Canadians book in either US or Cdn dollars reflecting current rates.

 

Ruth

It took them so long to drop it from 1.35 to 1.30 that I ended up booking on another cruise line. The other cruise line was offering a discount on the exchange while Princess was still charging a 1.35. I like Princess but when you take several cruises a year it can make a big difference.

Looking to book a cruise but Princess is still charging 1.30 on the exchange. The exchange rate earlier this morning was 1.248.

The official exchange rate on the Bank of Canada's web site as of Friday was 1.2672. Princess is still charging us 1.30. They should at least give us the current rate.

As others have said the timing of fall colors varies. Last year the colors were very late. We cruised from Quebec City to Fort Lauderdale on Oct 22 and the colors were probably at their peak.

I was looking forward to my cruise on the "new" Caribbean Princess, but after reading this I am very disappointed.

Fortunately, my cruise is still a long way off. Hopefully, this will give Princess time to work out some of the problems. If I don't see some improvement I have lots of time to switch cruises.

Another disappointing sale. I used to be able to book a cruise early and count on one or two price reductions but this has not been the case on the last 4 cruises that I booked. I am taking B2B cruises later this month and the only lower prices than I paid were after final payment and for new bookings only. There were some great savings then and they seem to be having trouble selling out.

Unless there is a much better sale I will try a last minute booking next time. I am looking for something this fall and am quite flexible on the destination and timing.

Just got a call from my TA informing me that Celebrity is offering cruises at PAR for Canadians! Obviously not all of them but for us there is a South American one with similar itinerary to our Princess and the price is VERY attractive for us since we have already booked Club Class and the "equivalent" on Celebrity includes everything, premium beverage plan(upgraded), gratuities, internet and OBC!

Also noticed NCL is offering the same BUT it is NCL:(!

We will investigate as we only put down $1 each for the cruise which included free gratuities and OBC.

Happy Cruising[/quote

 

and Princess allows us to book at 1.30.

I wish Princess would have a real sale. The 2 cruises that I am watching now have free gratuities but their price went up $100 from last week. I have not seen a real sale in a long time. Does Princess think that we all fools?

What Sale? I have a cruise that fits in the window but I am not sure if it qualifies as one of the "select" cruises. If it qualifies the saving for us would be only $200 in total but the price has gone up at least 5 times since I booked (a total of $439.90 pp) and it no longer includes free gratuities. I wish Princess would stop wasting my time on these phony sales.

I just got off the Regal. When we were in Cozumel the Mexican authorities had dogs checking for food being taken off the ship. They were catching lots of people. I did not have time to hang around and see what was happening to them.

When I need US dollars and Princess has them at a good price I buy OBC, download them to my ships card in the casino and then cash them out in the Casino. Please note the Princess exchange rate is not always a good deal.

During our South American cruise we found that most businesses near the port would accept US dollars but as we got further away most businesses did not accept the US dollar.

We have been cruising the Caribbean at this time of the year for several years. They cover all the playoff games on the big screen up top. Note, it can be pretty hard to get a seat as the playoffs move closer to the Superbowl.

Great news.

One of the main reasons I switched back to Princess was that I did not have to pre pay for excursions and could then use my OBC's to pay for them.