Musky Ike

58 minutes ago, beg3yrs said:

This is probably the case, issuing a new one. But, if you lose it on the ship, why doesn't Guest Services just look up where it is????

Exactly, not only that, but your shipmate (if you have one) can go to any of the kiosks with theirs and locate it. Pretty dumb criminal to use something in the commission of a crime that can be tracked directly to you in real time. Plus you can't escape unless you want to jump overboard.

5 hours ago, antsp said:

They have done, since forever, is that a concern 

In the olden days it was a card in a holder by the door. Easy to remove by the passenger. They were kind of nice to take home for the scrapbook.

On the other hand. I am betting not many will go to guest services to get a missing charge added to their account.  

4 hours ago, Cruise Puss said:

Could you explain what a ''brat' is? (Sorry, I'm English and a brat here is another, slightly nasty term, for a child!) 😏

We use that term also, just with a different pronunciation.

1 hour ago, DCThunder said:

Did you have that cheese with a Wisconsin Old Fashioned, and a few brats?

No brat onboard could stand up next to those around a Northwoods campfire and everyone knows brats pair better with beer. Old fashions are for the upper crust badgers.

Tough topic coming from Wisconsin where talking cheese is like talking politics, at some point we agree to disagree. I will say that I have found both good and not as good options onboard in the Horizon Court. I will agree that the cheese plate on the MDR dessert menu is ho-hum, but still lighter and better than the super sweet dessert options IMHO. Of course for us here, cheese is part of every meal and in-between snacks.

2 hours ago, BamaVol said:

Or take a seat and wait for a server to ask for your order. 

Yup, been there ,done that. My earlier comment was more of an observation than any complaint. So new cruisers are aware. However, I do mention to Princess that it shows the demand is there earlier and maybe they should reconsider the hours of alternate coffee venues. Also they could separate the food and drink lines at the IC. Sometimes they intertwine and folks stand in the wrong one or both. First world issues for sure.

1 hour ago, CruisingWalter said:

 

But the real early risers should not have a long line at IC either. 🙂  When getting coffee say between 8am and 2pm especially, I avoid IC and find the alternatives like Princess Live or Coffee and Cones. 🙂 

The coffee line at the IC at 7:00 or even earlier can be very long.

17 minutes ago, CruisingWalter said:

 

Yes, but I will say on the Sky Princess recently I received better coffee from the Princess Live! bar than International Cafe. The lines were shorter too because I don't think many folks realized that was open in the mornings. 

However, not open  24 hrs. like the IC. Not an option for the real early risers.

Make sure both onboard accounts are combined under your name and credit card. You can check at passenger services once onboard if you are not sure. You should see both accounts itemized as well as the joint balance/deficit when you check your account.

9 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

There must be some other way to handle DF for those who need/request them (such as the flag for needing a cabin for disabled guest). 

I talked with our TA about that as I feared them not going to the folks that need them. I was told that Mobility access reservations would be handled separately and cabins assigned at booking. Since there are so few DF I presume we will be put in a "better" category but some of those DF's on deck 16 look huge, even though when you click on it, it states 0 sq. ft. 😄 I think it is a work in progress.

10 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

I would say that PCL considers DG & DH lower (the Cove Balconies).  This is based on location.  They are considered Deluxe (Sun Class doesn't have any regular Balconies).

 

Quite possibly, but in the past it was always it was always reverse alphabetically so it would be DA as the "preferred"  down to DF. We reserved a deluxe and were assigned DF. Cove should have been a separate category IMHO as well Premium deluxe on the other end. I would not like it if we get an "upgrade" to a cove.

On the Sun, the lowest category for deluxe balcony is DF. They are all both third person and wheelchair accessible. But everybody who books a guarantee deluxe balcony is initially assigned to that category regardless of their needs. For our cruise there was no other option than a guarantee. I would not be surprised if this is the new normal.  Guarantee only, you choose the category and Princess chooses the cabin or "above". 

It comes from their moonshine still. 😉

On 6/26/2023 at 11:40 AM, louden said:

  I was hesitant abut now getting excited with what we saw.

Same here. We made a booking for next year and am now more convinced it was a good idea. There is still a lot to be know and possible changes but I am anxious to hear the first hand reports and to be onboard and explore for myself after she comes over to this side of the pond.

7 minutes ago, kywildcatfanone said:

This is what I'm seeing, so you have to contact your TA now to see what cabins are available?  Are there other sites that show actual availability?

Your TA may or may not have cabin availability that is not on the website. However some pricing offers are also now "Princess chooses" only. Booking directly online is not as easy as it used to be if you want to select your cabin. I only use the website now find a voyage we like and to check the Princess price before calling my TA so I know what a deal I am getting. I booked a cruise for Nov 2024 last week and had no choice but a guarantee cabin in order to get the best deal. The one before that, the Princess website showed available cabins that did not show on the polar site for the TA. Who knows what the next time will bring.

2 hours ago, kywildcatfanone said:

Every cruise I look at right now, it says cabin selection is unavailable?  Is that just happening to me?  Are they doing some kind of maintenance?

Nope, me too. It has been going on for awhile They want you to pay extra to select your own and then don't allow you to do that. No longer a fan of booking a guarantee cabin. Not even convinced that they show all the available cabins when they do show some. Princess wants the power to decide for you it would seem. I no longer book online directly, but it was nice to be able to explore available cabin choices before I booked with our TA. 

2 hours ago, edspec said:

On the Sky now, both DH and I hate the lights. He’s taken to wearing the eye mask he received on the flight over. 

Talk to your steward. They will take care if it.

1 hour ago, Lady Arwen said:

If they stop allowing OBC in the casino we’ll just forgo purchasing the Plus or Premier package.

Could still upgrade when you get onboard and use OBC. At least for now.

4 hours ago, Pinballs83 said:

I just booked for nov 2 2024. The website offered me a double sized cabana balcony for the same price as regular balconies. It was pretty affordable. 

 

Right afterwards I got a players club casino offer. I haven't looked at it closely to see if I could have used it. 

Me too, see you and EdinaHotdish onboard then hopefully. BTW there is a roll call started already.

1 hour ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

When people are spending their own money,  not Princess' money that they'd otherwise have to spend somewhere else onboard (or forfeit) in the case on non-refundable OBC.

True, I'm sure other areas of revenue have many times higher markups than the casino house edge. But some of us are just stupid enough (personal experience) to waste all of our OBC and more in the casino and end up with nothing but guilt and a bill to show for it. Like freeplay is used to suck people in. Plus, just because you use OBC in the casino doesn't mean you won't still spend real money on the other stuff. 

47 minutes ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

Actually I don't think they'd mind you spending your OBC to buy something with a higher margin for Princess vs. gambling in the casino.

I don't know, it doesn't cost them much to operate those one armed bandits. I think the return is pretty good in the casino or it wouldn't be there.

1 hour ago, wallyj said:

A passenger has reported earlier this year, 2023, talking to Princess management , the Casino does have plans to finally update the accounting software so charges in the Casino will NOT net against OBC. This has always been the ‘official’ written policy, but it has not been enforced. Just a heads up that this loop hole is looking to be closed, but who knows when?
 

I know NCL has not allowed Casino charges to reduce OBC.

 

We have seen many posts that state Princess ‘reads’ these boards, so they are aware of what passengers are saying and doing.

We have been hearing that for a long time. When/if it happens, we will just wait until onboard to upgrade to Princess Plus. That will take care of our OBC and then some. Unless they stop that option also. I would gamble less if not using OBC. Not sure that is what they want either. 

14 hours ago, Thrak said:

or you can leave it with your room steward or a favorite bartender.

That is our option.

10 hours ago, Ombud said:

Why not use an ATM there?? So much more convenient.  Figure out what you need + 10%.

True. Just be sure not to select the option for them to do the conversion for you. If you opt out of that your home bank card will convert it at a better rate. Yes you may have an ATM fee but we often do around home also.