arxcards

We have had that too, but they have gotten heaps better over the past year. We often found that if we ignored it for a day, it was reconciled off our account without us doing any chasing. We found it was best not to be too diligent and to trust the system till the last night.

Thanks. It helps that I use the same broker and have had a bit of recent practice fumbling through to download and edit reports. Very true, I don't think they have the means to do proper beta testing on their apps. The Princess medallion app was so buggy for so many, as it was trying to do too many things at the same time, then bloated even further when covid protocols came along. Stockperks worked OK for me, but it isn't very intuitive. Some might think writing work procedures is part of my day job. 😉

After being changed last year, both need to be the same fare type whether standard, plus or premier. For a non-drinking partner, the balance does shift to PAYG. Mocktails & espresso coffee will add up a bit, especially if you don't want to cart your own softies and water aboard. If Barb or I were tea totallers, we wouldn't get plus. Before plus came along, it was rare for us to buy a drink package. It is only because it is a cheaper price and extra benefits that any other drink packages around. We don't get a massive gain out of plus either, but I love not having to justify and reconcile each purchase.

Then the advice, as suggested, is PAYG.

I didn't mention soft drinks. 3 hard drinks (old fashioned) = approx $45 when purchased one by one. Comparatively to most ships, when added to the other items, is good value.

Invisible Ink?

I can see the comparison from a HAL, Princess, Cunard, Celebrity or even a Royal cruiser. As for P&O cruisers making the comparison with Carnival, it is Pal v Chum and I have gotten bored with Pal.

I feel the most consuming part is getting the report, especially if you are munging the account info on a PC with software, then having to email it to your phone to add it to the app.

Your gonna need a bigger fridge!

I agree with Mic. For us internet, 3 drinks, a coffee and a water covers our daily Plus fare. We don't give a rats about gym & the add on desserts, but the occasional Alfredos/Salty Dog sitting or juice bar gives us a bit more value. Main shelf cocktails/Spirits run at $13.50 to $16, so if you are not using the package for anything else, 4 drinks gets you close, and anything else is a bonus. If 2 to 3 drinks is your tipping point, PAYG.

Eventually. Months down, maybe months to go. Usually when there is a tinkering, there are winners and losers - more benefits at top tier, and less for those below. There has been no real suggestion about a new tier, but the goalposts could always be moved. The main changes mooted appear to be how points are gained in addition to a simple days at sea ratio. Currently there are no extra points for solos or suites, and there has been solid rumours about bonus points being gained via onboard spending, much as HAL Mariner program does. There is also mention of their milestone program being enhanced. The other possibility is for Carnival to do a reciprocal recognition across their brands like Royal does for theirs. If it is so complicated to administer that it takes Carnival several months to convert a thought bubble into an announcement, I am starting to think this is a real possibility.

Lost to all. The Carnival one is a quirky OBC deal.

Easy solution that you have chosen which is great advice. Do both.

As much as they keeping asking for a higher tier, any Carnival VIFP at 1000 days is still Diamond. In the grand scheme of things, adding P&O numbers would barely be a blip on their loyalty program. They also have a milestone program to keep the serious cruisers interested.

If the price and itinerary were equal, I would likely go with Westerdam. As for Crown vs Royal, personally I would like to get one on Royal before she departs at the end of this season, but then we do have two cruises booked on Crown. I don't think the two ships are so much good & bad, just different.

Princess has added a few vegan options. I haven't taken much note though, and certainly can't make a current comparison with what Westerdam is offering. Seats at shows - if I really want to see it, I get there early to get a good seat. Mostly, we don't bother with shows. Seats at dinner. Princess are switching to 3 version dining in September. You can prebook traditional dining (early late for all of cruise). You can pre-book casual dining via the app, then vary your plans and adjust your bookings for each day once aboard. You can also do walk-up dining. They have separate dining rooms for each. Apart from a day when the booking system crashed, we have never had to wait for a seat on Princess. We have only ever had buzzers on P&O and Carnival. Up till now, we have rarely done a walk-up dinner on Princess, so it will be interesting to see how it works.

@CDaze71, without outing anyone, it is a prolific cruiser that is connected to a school. I also figure that half the school staff in Greater Brisbane will cruise at the drop of a hat, and that might not have narrowed things down much.

We could go with either, and our choice would be based on the convenience of the itinerary, then price. - Westerdam is smaller and quieter, and more comfortable in the public areas. - Most Westerdam cruises will turnaround in Sydney at White Bay - perhaps less convenient than OPT, but you do cruise under the bridge. - Crown will be busier than Westerdam, especially during the holidays. Activities attract crowds, but that includes HAL's cooking demos. - Depending on cabin type, I find Princess cabins almost as comfortable as HAL. For a mini, I prefer Princess' current spec. - Food varies from cruise to cruise across both lines, and I find Princess food to be generally a match for HAL. In my opinion, Westerdam has a better buffet, Princess is better with International Cafe, deck pizza & burgers. I prefer Princess MDR, slightly. - Crown & Pinnacle Grill are a near match on quality, but Pinnacle Grill has a bit more choice. - Crown Princess is $AU. Royal is bigger. We have cruised on Majestic, and prefer the grand class in preference. Not a good & bad thing, just different. The promenade is much better on Crown, although there is a bit of up and around to get around the bow.

You had me wondering about a secret handshake level, but they do top out at Diamond. Diamond Plus is a Royal Caribbean thing.

The free eggs benny at seaday brunch is delightful. 🤣

Midway through the last quarter, it looked as if the Giants had a sniff.

I reckon that is correct about how the loyalty programs will be handled, so that leaves no carrot for P&O cruisers to remain loyal to Carnival. They can just book Princess instead, and use the CC loyalty status they have already built instead of going back to square one with VIFP. It isn't so much about the perks as it is about being seen as a new cruiser. lol. I am aware you love Carnival. Also our friend in common is very much a Carnival girl these days too. At the other end of the scale, I have other Brisbane friends telling me that Carnival serve up dog food and have canned a small group cruise for late 2025 because it will be a Carnival Encounter. I think John has learned from past comments that loose lips may sink ships. When Spirit was taken away to cruise Alaska during the latter days of covid, John made the big announcement about how exciting it was to have an extra ship in Alaska. Wonderful, but that was 48hrs before Brisbane passengers were notified that their Spirit cruises had been cancelled. Nice to know there is more news to drip feed about Carnivoz, so I wait with bated breath and expect a media release which JH will recirculate. So far, the big soapbox news for Carnival has been the Hub app (P&O has an app) and they will be able to accrue VIFP points (instead of CC points).

Correct. P&O days haven't counted to Princess most cruised lunches for ages. Those of us who would still hold elite status after a change would get the best of both worlds. However, there would be even more of the predominately P&O cruiser group that would lose their black medallions, mini-bar and laundry if those changes were made. Still a win if they are happy to continue cruising with elevated status on Carnival, but a loss if they would rather be on Princess. Most of my P&O friends hate Carnival with a passion.

Just about balance. If they see Sydney as a 2 ship market during winter, it would be dumb to be catering it with two Carnival branded ships. Not all Princess ships are pinned to Alaska.

In the BC days, it was a bit more than Royal's annual aspirational thought bubble, with more substance than the Oasis class and year round ship bubbles. Since restart, it has all changed. Priorities have been shuffled and it is nowhere near the top of Royal's list. The Aussie office still wheels it out from time to time, but the money needs to come from head office. In short, nothing to update.