dickinson

12 hours ago, Coffee30 said:

Great advice, thank you! 
And yes I did consider using a TA, but felt that there’re too many TAs online and I find it difficult to verify which are legit. 
 

I’m now thinking whether to 1) book through United Cruises and earn 7x miles/dollar or 2) book with Princess directly and open a new credit card to earn card opening bonus. 
 

I’ve looked into Vacations To Go as TA earlier but surprisingly found their prices being basically the same as booking with princess directly so didn’t see a point in going with them..

Discount TAs are not allowed to ADVERTISE their discounted rates.  You have to CALL them to get it.  

Just now, Steelers36 said:

Clear cache for that website?

I did.  Does anyone know if gift card balances can be checked on the app?  Or on the web on my phone?  I couldn't find anything.

Just tried again and still not working. 😞

Before I gave all my gift card numbers and pins to my TA, I went to the Princess website to check the balances just to make sure no problems.  I checked several and after clicking on check another gift card the site would no longer come up and I had a white screen because the screen was not downloading.  I cleared my cookies and same result.  Even this morning I get the same thing.  BTW- when it would not work right I went to princess.com and clicked to check balance and same thing was happening.  

My TA had no problem but because one gift card would have a balance I called the phone number to check balances.  They do not take the info if there is a problem with the website.  They said to go to Princess.com and click on contact us.  Before I do that, is anyone else having the same problem?

Loved them on our 2015 Hawaii cruise.  I wish them well but they will be missed.

7 hours ago, MsSoCalCruiser said:

I usually send it as soon as I book. If it’s too far in advance I try to send it before final payment, if I remember. I just like to do everything I can to try to make sure that I stay safe.

Thank you!

5 hours ago, MsSoCalCruiser said:

I always send the email, I add the info into my profile in the app and then I talk to them on the ship. You have time to do that if you want to. You do you. 

How far in advance of sailing do you send the email?

1 hour ago, MsSoCalCruiser said:

They want to be notified ahead so they can alert the ship. May I ask when your cruise is? 

But it seems some people say they get on the ship and the MDR does not know about it so what is the purpose?  My cruise is the beginning of August.

13 hours ago, MsSoCalCruiser said:

I have a rare dairy allergy called FPIES. Princess takes excellent care of me. If you do book a cruise send an email to this email address. In the subject line write Food Allergies. In the body of the email list passenger name, cabin number, sail dates, ship name, and explain the allergies or intolerances.

 

When you arrive at the MDR, let them know about the allergies. They will have someone talk to you and each night you will place an order for the following day so the meal can be specially prepared allergen free.

 

If you are in the buffet ask to speak to the head chef. The chef will walk the line with you and let you know what is free of the allergens. If you are worried about cross-contamination then ask the chef if something can be made.

 

Just like any land-based restaurant, always be prepared in case of an emergency. I feel safer dining on a Princess ship than I do at any land based restaurant. 

May I ask why send an email and then at the MDR let them know about the allergies?  What is the purpose of the email?  Could one just let the MDR know on the first night?  I am asking because I will travel with someone who can not eat dairy.  Thanks.

11 hours ago, Coral said:

I don't like Princess's medical coverage (max $20K). That doesn't cover much. Plus they have a 90 day look back window so if you have pre-existing conditions, read carefully about it.

 

I usually buy Allianz. I have had to file a claim - I broke my wrist on vacation and had to fly home. They were amazing to work with. They sent a medical escort (paramedic) to fly home with me. I can't say enough great things about them. One doesn't appreciate how good a company is until you have to use them. Once I called them, they had me approve flights in 24 hours and I was flying Business Class home in 48 hours.

 

If you want increased medical coverage - look at GeoBlue coverage (medical only). 

Princess's lookback period is 60 days.  Maybe it changed from 90 previously?

Interesting!  We are going on the Sky in August.  I didn't see anything on the app.  Are you past final payment?  We are not.

Just went to AARP and logged in under dh who has purchased 5 this month.  It says you can purchase 5/month.  Maybe some other company you can buy 20 but not Princess.

Do a search to find the other threads about gift cards.  In short, yes you can.  the limit is purchasing 5 per month so if cruise payment is expensive you have to buy over a few months.

4 minutes ago, sadiwest said:

My mind is literally blown.  New to AARP I just learned this here, tooday. 

Quick question...if for some reason trip is canceled (well in advance) do the funds go back to the cards (am

assuming but never used them)?

3 minutes ago, AlpacaBag said:

 

Our TA told me it goes back as Princess credit for a future cruise.

I have read many times on here that if you cancel your cruise the money goes back on your gift card so make sure you save the card # and pin.

10 hours ago, mogley1 said:

So, in the end, what exactly was the issue?  Did they ever explain the actual problem and the solution to you?  I'm going through the same exact scenario and have yet to see a solution.

Read my post #31.  This explains what I did when I set up both mine and dh account.  Even though I changed dh email address to his own it still would not let me buy gift cards.  Customer service said I wasn't enrolled in AARP rewards.  Other than that, the Ombudsmen email said they had to untangle both of our accounts.  Basically I really do not know what the issues were.  Seems to me that when I updated dh email to his own and then I set up my account using my own email with his cell number that our accounts had different info.  The other strange thing was that dh bought gift cards in March just before I set up my "account".  April 1 comes and he tries to buy more cards but he can't!  Why?  Who knows.

Just as an FYI to people, it appears when they are fixing things that instead of an email explaining that they think it is fixed they first send an email that says your password has changed.  There is no explanation other than if you didn't request it to call customer service.  When we did that, customer service gave us a temporary password and then we went in with that and changed the password to something we wanted.  They should send an email explaining things and saying they have put a temporary password on the account and for you to go in and change it.  They don't and they don't necessarily send another email saying things are all set. (I finally did get that email).

I just want to update everyone in case anyone is interested.  After my post #29 it took about another week (and my emailing again saying I was concerned by the lack of response) before I heard from them (never did get a call after I left the message).  Yesterday I received an email saying my password was changed.  There was a customer service number if you did not request this to be done.  So we called. We spoke with a very nice woman who helped both my dh (he also got the same email) and me.  We were on the phone a long time.  His account seemed fine although mine wasn't quite right and I could not order gift cards.  She said to give it a half hour (yeah right).  Anyways, later that night I got another email saying my password had changed and also an email from the Ombudsman.  This email did not make complete sense and also had a couple of sentences that were grammatically not correct.  It did say I should be all set.  I emailed back saying no I was not all set.  Around noon today they responded back and said the issue has been fixed and sure enough it was!!!  I immediately went and purchased the rest of the gift cards I needed (dh did his last night).  All in all it was a VERY stressful experience but we needed to go through it because of all the $$$ we saved on this cruise and hopefully will save on our cruise next June.  

Try it out!  You won't know til you do.  We do the standard package because we don't drink alcohol or coffee so the numbers make more sense.  Our extra costs on board are very small.  

@dreaminofcruisin  No, she does not live close to me.  I think the main issue we had was when we set up dh account we used my cell (he turns his on about 5x/year) and my email (I am on the computer much more than him).  He then purchased 5 gift cards. When I went to set up my account I called and asked if we could use the same email and cell.  No.  So we first changed his account to reflect his email and then set up my account using his cell (you need a one time code to set up).  It appears that I can log in but if I try to purchase any gift card it tells me there is a tech error and try again.  I did notice on his account it lists me and my email as an associate (or whatever they call it) member.  This means I have my own AARP card.  I am just very upset with their customer service... or lack thereof.  Ultimately, if I don't hear back from them the first few days of next week  I will first try to delete both accounts and try again.  If it doesn't work I will probably try to login as my sister and she would give me the code.  Of course none of this will help for our next cruise in 2025.

Just an update in case anyone is interested.  On Good Friday I did hear back saying they are still trying to untangle my account with my dh.  It has now been a week and have not heard back.  I tried calling the number they had on their email (they said I could call if necessary) but every time I call I get recording saying they are all busy and to leave a message.  I left a message yesterday morning but no one has called back.  Also, now that it is April when dh signs into his account (where we purchased the max in March) it now acts  like it is a new account and wants us to ok something so he can not even order more on his account!  This has been a very bad experience.  We need to do final payment the end of the month and this could cost us.  Next week I might try to delete both accounts and start again.  

Does anyone know if I set up a login in my sister's name (who will not be cruising) if we could use gift cards from her?  The one's I have just have a card number and pin.

Sorry that happened.  I approached someone from my roll call in the embarkation lounge.  Their picture was their avatar so I knew it was them.  They were very nice.  All kinds of people in this world.  Don't let that one incident spoil things.  Join another roll call for another cruise and forget about this last one.

1 hour ago, F355c5 said:

One final question,when all cabins are returned by the travel agents to princess,do they reopen the availability of these cabins on their web site?

Yes.

8 hours ago, capriccio said:

We have had the same experience.  In those cases, I tell my TA what cabin category and location we want (usually down to the exact cabin) and she will come back with her discounted fare plus an OBC from her because her agency had group space.  If we aren't offered OBC we know she didn't have group space on that cruise,

Maybe we have the same TA 😉. I got mine from someone who used to post often on this site.

Sorry for your loss.  I would check further because your cruise is two months later.  It MIGHT be that it is covered only within a certain time frame which would not cover two months before the cruise.  

@cynbar Read what AtlantaCruiser72 said.  I agree with her that Princess does not give blocks of rooms to TA's.  I have booked with my TA who said she had group space but I picked my cabin from Princess.com.  

I found my TA from someone who was on my cruise.  They own a franchise of a large company.  They are NOT just order takers and they DO discount.  They will help if needed and answer emails seven days a week.  Probably a unicorn but who knows.

In the OP's situation I would just book online because they don't have time to look around.  If they want to just save some money (because they have done all their own research) then they could book with one of the online agencies that discount.  Googling helps.