Cobraman

I suspect there is on-going (and sometimes not so friendly) dialogue between the software developer, the hardware manufacturer, the on-board technicians and their customer (Princess) regarding deliverable metrics vs customer expectations. I'm also quite sure what was sold and what is actually delivered is a bit different, with conversations centered around, "Oh, you want that? That's going to cost a bit more to deliver (and take much longer)" Also, the parent company's decision to develop the ***** technology had but one real goal = ROIC as their end game. Leveraging technology to personalize customer experience so they spend more money while on board is what it is all about.

the above cruise on Hal does look wonderful, but the cost for Balcony is over $26,000 per cabin, which is 3X the cost of the princess, and the Hal is only less then 2X the length. Price would have to come way down for us to consider.

That's about what we paid for a full suite on the March 30 sailing.

We are also booked for the March 30th itinerary, a bucket list, post-retirement gift to ourselves. We chose an aft suite and booked during the sip-n-sail promotion so hopefully the weather is warm. Been to Hawaii numerous times but our first visit to the south poacific islands.

Effective to any degree or not, anti-bacterial wipes have no effect on a virus.

 

The flu (influenza) is caused by a virus.

 

Noro is caused by a virus.

 

Colds are caused by viruses.

Clorox healthcare wipes (bleach @ 1/10 ratio) are readily available and are quiete effective against the flu, noro and cold virus.

We have carried a similar type umbrella on board our last few cruises and find they work really well. They have a strong clamping mechanism and a safety strap that keeps it from blowing away (unless it takes the chair/lounge with it). They fold and store in carry bags, I use Velcro straps to bind them together so they are easy to carry and easy to send through the security checks. Their oblong shape makes them a great option for shading a deck longe chair.

Boycott the auto daily gratuity charge ( must OPT out ) until Princess gives a

transparent definitive answer to EXACTLY who all is included and at what %/$

amount.

 

and I have never, ever done that, but am NOT a fan of tipping based on an amount,

such as 15% on a single beer, v 15% on a bucket of beer...if no tip was auto, I would tip a $1 on a single beer, and prolly the same amount on the bucket, for the xxtra 30 seconds it takes them to do that

I really prefer the auto gratuity over the previous process. As far as knowing who gets the money and how much - that is a Princess problem, one I refuse to worry about once I pay that auto gratuity.

We were on board last year for a 19 day R/T Panama Canal visit out of San Pedro. We were in A726, one of the new corner suites. It was perfect from a canal observation standpoint, we had both an aft view and a port side view from the wrap around balcony. The vibration issues are being monitored, with complaints (and lack thereof) logged and reviewed. We found the cabin experienced a bit more vibration than other aft suites on other ships, but not enough that we would avoid the cabin in the future. We were told the vibration issues are more prevelant on cabins forward of the aft ones. We met the passengers staying in the starboard/aft suite on the opposite corner, they complained so much they were provided another cabin to sleep in since their complaints centered around vibrations when we were traveling at full speed, keeping them awake. As I said, we had no such issues, just a bit of vibration we found quite tolerable.

i dislike the auto gratuity system because of this exact issue -- the eternal question of "is the waitstaff in this specific situation" covered. When specialty dining first came out (for us it was on NCL Sky back when they still only had traditional dining, with just one venue for specialty) it was $5 pp cover -- and that $5 was the tip, not a food charge. Simple, no hassle and you knew the staff was covered from the get go.

 

Now it's so blended and mashed up; with vague descriptions of who is and isn't included in the auto-gratuity. I'm not a big fan of the tipping system anyway, so this just adds to the negativity.

 

 

Don't understand why it can't be consistent. Bar staff aren't included in the auto-tip, so a percentage is added to each bar receipt. If the waitstaff at specialty restaurants are also not included in the auto tip, why wouldn't the cruise line add a percentage to that receipt as well?? Problem solved, we all know who, where and when we are tipping.

 

 

I'm in a quandary on this topic, because I have reserved and paid for several tables at CG for our group. So if the staff arent included in the auto tip pool, I need to cover the tip for 16 people. I was planning on padding the auto tip for the group, but now I'm questioning whether my anticipated "pad" is sufficient.

My point exactly. You should not be placed in a position where you are concerned; the auto-gratuity should cover ALL instances where a passenger may feel a tip is appropriate. if they need to increase the auto-tip, so be it, but once it is paid, there should never be a reason to provide additional, supplemental monies for a service provided.

Its interesting to read the many discussions that center around the practice of tipping on board Princess ships. Back in the day on the last night (we) passengers sat around lamenting how much cash to place in the many envelopes, which prompted Princess to implement the cashless cruising process by which all crew members were (theoretically) fairly compensated by levying a daily gratuity across the passenger population.

But as we can all see, this still leaves some doubt about the many instances where gaps appear to exist. Since Princess implemented the auto-gratuity program, we have chosen to play by their rules and not worry about who gets a tip and who does not. We now focus on the primary reason for being on board - enjoying ourselves completely. We pay the auto-gratuity, and still tip our room service waiter when (and if) we utilize that service. Other than that, we refuse to leave any additional compensation.

I realize some feel the crew deserves tips for their exemplary service, but I feel I am paying for (with my auto-gratuity) nothing less than exemplary service. Some feel tipping helps the crew supplement the low wages they earn, however they knew the wage when they signed their contract so again, that is not mine to worry over.

We only tip the Maitre'd if he/she delivers special personal service. Years ago we used to routinely tip Maitre' d's...but this ended when cruise lines implemented Auto Tipping schemes. The cruise line's have created this auto tip monster....we play by their rules...(their ship...their rules) so we see no need to routinely extend extra tips unless we get extra service :).

 

Hank

Agreed. Princess encourages the auto gratuity so guests don't have to worry about tipping the many service providers. So we play by that rule; I tip the porters who handle bags I don't want to lug to/from the ship. Other than that, I refuse to tip any on-board service providers, other than room service runners. People say they tip for service above/beyond, but I've yet to see an example of that. After all, I expect excellent service - that what I paid for.

Is this what happens when you "have control of your own booking" instead of having a travel agent as the middle man to take care of issues?

The cruise was booked through our agent, but the pre-cruise purchase of OBC was via the Princess website, cruise personalizer. Luckily I paid through PayPal who will refund my money if Princess fails to respond or cannot show the money was added to our account - which they can't.

I really don't care how the tips are broken down or distributed. It's up to Princess and their compensation plans. As long as I contribute what is expected, I have done my part. If I feel an employee deserves something extra, I am free to do so as I have participated in the auto-tipping.

Exactly! So many get wrapped up in crew compensation, working conditions, etc. When we are on vacation, the last thing we want to think about is the crew and whether or not they are happy.

I reached out to Princess 4 weeks ago by phone regarding an on-board credit purchase I made for my wife. PayPal documented transfer of payment to Princess, however Princess denies receiving payment, even though PayPal documents show the transaction number is the Princess reservation number only Princess could have supplied.

The customer service person asked me to submit my documents and claim via the customer relations website, which I did - twice with no response. I filed a claim with PayPal who reached out via the Princess/PayPal agent. That was two weeks ago.

Princess needs to get their customer service side of the house in order, I am seeing an increasing number of customers who are speaking out about the long delays in responses to issues.

We have sailed in a full suite six times on five different ships between 2012 and last November and on those cruises Sabatini's never opened before 7:30.

 

 

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Here is a snap of the letter we received two weeks ago on the Island Princess. I agree in the past I've seen 0730 but I assumed this is a change.

Sabatinis breakfast is served from 0700 to 0900 on port days and 0700 to 1000 on sea days.

I've sent 3 emails to Princess's customer relations regarding a $500 payment I made via their website, but the transaction timed out. They do not show the payment on the account, however PayPal provided documentation showing the money was sent to Princess and Princess sent back confirmation using the reservation number as their identifier.

I emailed customer relations the day of the issue (September 13) and again on September 21 with no response. I included the documents from PayPal showing the transfer of funds.

I also called, but the rep told me they could not see the transaction from their terminal and suggested I continue using email to customer relations.

I followed up this week, still no response from Princess.

Very discouraging.

I am using the mail address of: customerrelations@princesscruises.com

Anyone have a different address or point of contact?

Is there an outward designation (sticker) on your card to signify AIBP or is the information only visible to the server/bartender when they swipe the card?

My wife and I used to tip our dining room servers, room steward and specialty venue servers for years. But over time we came to realize we were already paying all of those people including bartenders/drink servers. Now we look at it from a different perspective; we pay the going rate without question and reserve tipping for room service and room service only. Beyond that, we see the cruise vacation like an all-inclusive resort. We pay whatever the cost and reserve tipping for extraordinary service which is what tipping is supposed to be. And employee wage issues never enter our thoughts. They knew the wage when they signed on, the last thing I'm going to do is lose sleep over their employment choices. I'm the customer, they are not family..

Our last half-dozen cruises were out of San Pedro, where they are always set up and stickers ready. If you ask, they will hand you the stickers so you can decide later what bottles are for consumption outside of your room.

Actually, both the hamburger and the tri-tip were added to the always available side over three years ago when the medallions were briefly removed and then added back again after passenger outcry.

 

That large blank space after the burger looks like the space where the Curtis Stone always available items used to be. If I remember other posts, the pork belly and the chicken pot pie were two of those items along with a mahi-mahi dish. I always thought that it would be better to have one rotating Curtis Stone dish on the right side rather than making them the always available items. Hopefully the medallions will return shortly.

They must be trying numerous variations of Curtis Stone offerings in the MDR. We were on the Ruby in Late February and there were items every night, including a very popular Mac-n-cheese style dish.

We use a 6 bottle carrier on wheels with an extending handle. It comes in handy at the end of the cruise, once emptied its roomy enough to hold our clothes from the last night and any items we didn't pack into our main bags which were put out before we went to dinner.

If you have additional bottles (Feb 29 MR cruise we took 9 bottles) there can be a delay while they check each bottle to make sure it is sealed, not a spirit and collect their corkage fee and apply stickers to the bottles. The last couple of times they have handed me the stickers so we could decide which ones went to the dining room vs consumed in the cabin. When you get several passengers at the table like me (with extra bottles) the line can back up a bit.

Maybe Stone himself is planning on cooking all those chef's tables himself. ;) It has been some time since they announced this would be a thing. I wonder when it will actually happen. (As to the price, of course it will be more. Look at the upcharge for SHARE as opposed to the "generic" Princess venues without TV chef branding.)

LOL - Good luck with that; a really good source told me Stone has been on board the Ruby once, and only for photo ops and some hand shaking. He had a couple of chefs on board for a short time working along side Princess chefs to assure their kitchens (and equipment) could duplicate the recipes. They are now on their own for the most part. The food quality is excellent, the choices are not for everyone, but Princess is working overtime trying to drive customers to the venue. For what is has cost them, I wish them good luck.

We really like the Coral too. I have read some negative posts regarding the new aft cabins on the Island experiencing high noise and vibration levels (post dry-dock), but others speak quite highly of the ship. I guess we will find out for ourselves, we are on board in November for the 19 day R/T Panama Canal itinerary in one of the new cabins L721.

I think they can tell when you are dialing from a Suite, so we always called the Dine Line from the desk phone once we were able to get in the suite.

Our last half-dozen cruises they have called our suite to remind us of the complimentary dining perk, along with leaving a note in the room with instructions on making the reservation. In talking with friends, it appears this is pretty standard now.