SharkieRools

Anyone have feedback on the Park Plaza Waterloo?

Back in May it was in the Pastry Shop section of the Horizon Court

This was the Crab Shack - don't think I've seen it since the restart

Are these charges or authorization holds?

2 hours ago, LeeW said:

Have never seen a rope ladder on a cruise ship.  Pilot boat just matches up to door on ship and pilot steps across when timing is right.  Still a scary move, though.

https://youtu.be/zDSoSi0mCbQ

https://www.cruisemummy.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Pilot-boat-and-cruise-ship-1.jpg.webp

Hmmm, not our experience at all, having been on the previous cruise (15 days to Hawaii.)  In fact, I'm looking at patters from the cruise and see they list where and when the juice bar is open (Horizon Bistro Pastry Shop, 7AM - 2PM sea days and 7AM - Noon on port days.)  Never seemed to be too much of a line there, maybe we didnt see it at peak times (we didnt partake in any - other than the acai bowls which were kept there as well.)  Didn't have any problems with the wait staff up there, we ate breakfast on the Horizon Terrace each morning and there was always a waiter ready and willing to take our drink order, even if we had already ordered via the app!  However the one problem we did have was about half the time our coffee orders via the app weren't delivered there, so the waiter would take our order and go to the coffee bar himself to pick it up (I suspect this is what the OP witnessed when he saw staff members in line for coffee.)  

As for the premium desserts - we didnt partake in any either 🙂  But we did get Gelato one day and the line had 4-5 people in front of us and did move somewhat slow.  They used to have more flavors available, but the left  side case was now full of other premium desserts (cakes and such) in the place of gelato.

The package descriptions are the same too

53 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

FYI - the exact same deal ($500 GC for $450) is available on Target.com.  I've already bought and applied a couple from there as well as AARP.  Both sources deliver "legit" gift cards by PCL.

Where do you see the discounted cards on target.com?  I just looked and they seem to be regular price

The Cruise Personalizer was around back in 2007, although I'm sure many TAs filled out the info for their clients.  If you're interested, you can see what the Princess page looked like back in January 2007:

https://web.archive.org/web/20070102112144/http://www.princess.com/

(Via archive.org)

Unfortunately because of the way they created the links on the page, many of them weren't archived. 

Anytime Princess changes something you have the hordes of people complaining that "things were better the old way," "its cost cutting," "they're ruining my vacation," "I'm never sailing Princess again," etc etc etc.  Perhaps Princess should have just stayed with the original Island, Pacific and Sun Princess, never updating them or building new ships afterwards. 🤣

1 hour ago, Cuedon said:

 

It must be a casino department thing. I only pay 100$deposit (returned as OBC) and taxes/fees, so they must be especially concerned about me running off without paying or something. I sort of figured that paying for insurance at time of booking would be normal since the return of cruise fare (in some form) is one of the one of the first things they mention, and you really wouldn't expect it to kick in until the insurance part is paid for. Which would make the most sense to be at time of booking.

Booked through the casino department before, never had to pay for insurance until final payment.  Of course that also means not covered until final payment, but then again what coverage do I need until then?

35 minutes ago, wolfie11 said:

Try this site https://www.cruiselawnews.com

Ahhhh yea - the ambulance chaser of cruise lines!

This has got to be one of the most laughable hall of fame threads in the history of Cruise Critic.  You'll be receiving (in theory) a full refund of what was paid for the cruise and for some reason still feel entitled to the $900 On Board Credit you were to receive.  So in essence, you want a free $900 although you are paying zilch! 🤣

Who cares if your TA's commission is protected, what does this have to do with you?  They still had to do the work to get you booked, and now have to do extra work now that the cruise is cancelled.  Only makes sense Princess would still pay them.

I look forward to seeing this thread mentioned on the various Fail type blogs out there.

Sure - please let the IMO know your thoughts, I'm sure they are interested

1 hour ago, pris993 said:

The lack of a muster on Costa Concordia was not the problem, it was the captain and crew  who mis managed the emergency  - some passengers were told to go to cabins??, some who survived said they used their own common sense and survived, that is what happens in an emergency, especially one that is not managed well.  

Trying to see where I said the problem on the Concordia was caused by the lack of muster, but failing to do so.  What I did say was the requirement change from 24 hours to before sailing was "in light of the Costa Concordia disaster where ~700 newly boarded passengers had not yet attended a muster drill."   The lack of muster for these passengers is called out in the accident report, and the IMO themselves state the change in muster process is "in the wake of the Costa Concordia incident."

http://www.imo.org/en/MediaCentre/PressBriefings/Pages/54-msc-91-passenger.aspx#.Xqsv7ahKjRY

Yea - will be interesting what the IMO thinks about an e-muster.  They already recently tightened the SOLAS muster drill requirement from within 24 hours of embarkation to before (or immediately upon) departure in light of the Costa Concordia disaster where ~700 newly boarded passengers had not yet attended a muster drill. So not having passengers assemble would require modifications to SOLAS requirements.

Should note that the Mustering and the Safety Briefing are 2 different activities in the eyes of SOLAS, although they can take place concurrently.  For Muster passengers must assemble and "passengers shall be instructed in the use of the lifejackets and the action to take in an emergency."  The Safety Briefing "shall include the instructions required by regulations 8.2 and 8.4, and shall be made by means of an announcement, in one or more languages likely to be understood by the passengers" and also "Information cards or posters or video programmes displayed on ships' video displays may be used to supplement the briefing, but may not be used to replace the announcement."

(8.2 basically states "clear instructions to be followed in the event of an emergency shall be provided for every person on board, 8.4 says that illustrations and instructions of your muster station, actions to take in an emergency and how to wear lifejackets be provided in passenger cabins, muster stations and other passenger spaces.)

1 hour ago, Loreni said:

Maybe potential exposure of our medical information is just another risk we need to weigh while we wait for the vaccine so cruising can get back to normal.

Seems to me that like coronavirus the risk isn't limited to just Princess or cruising in general.  Any entity that has your medical information could potentially be hacked, including your medical group, hospitals, insurance companies, etc etc etc.

At least for Florida based ships: https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/22615-princess-plans-for-florida-fleet-anchorages-and-princess-cays-visits.html?fbclid=IwAR1H-kWo6pwLkC-PJ7H7s_P9LsWKcDYhHvmo0_OlXfsgAIZam3scwtTytSk

Perhaps share the excursion(s) in question so those who might have taken them before can share their experiences.

28 minutes ago, stoneharborlady said:

Someone correct me if I am wrong, I believe there is a charge for gelato.

Correct, but on the Regal gelato isn't at the International Cafe, rather it's across the Piazza at the aptly named Gelato

Or the Costa Smeralda (a scare as well)

1 hour ago, pink845 said:

And also, is there not an International Cafe on the Emerald.

The Emerald has an International Cafe - perhaps you're thinking of Alfredo's (which Emerald doesn't have)

18 hours ago, Peckishpixie said:

Carnival Corp lost a lawsuit and if they are going to dock in the US they have to follow US employment laws.

15 hours ago, Peckishpixie said:

Sure. Here is a link to what exactly the maritime labor act entails. https://www.mlc-2006.eu/pagina/19/mlc-2006-downloads.html

In 2008 Carnival agreed to comply as part of a settlement 

This appears to be documents related to the Maritime Labour Convention from the International Labour Conference.  Still not seeing anything related to a lawsuit Carnival Corporation lost where they have to follow US employment laws, nor can I find anything in regards to it doing a quick search on the internet.

24 minutes ago, Peckishpixie said:

Carnival Corp lost a lawsuit and if they are going to dock in the US they have to follow US employment laws.

Source?