NavyVeteran

9 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

@NavyVeteran...lucky you.  I was "advised" by the nurse that I "should" not imbibe.  And I had the Plus bundle.  Different cruise, maybe different nurse, same Medical Center?  hmmmmm.

6 minutes ago, memoak said:

We had no problem getting drinks while quarantined. The issue never even came up and room service delivered wine and cocktails

The only reason the issue came up was that I asked the physician whether or not it was medically advisable - not whether or not it was allowed. I know it is not a good idea not to drink while taking some medications. I did take some precautions however - I did not drive a vehicle or operate heavy machinery while drinking and taking the medication.

3 hours ago, ZildjianCat said:

2.  We live in the United States and have ATT cellular service.  To not get hit with unexpected charges, it looks like we need to just turn off mobile data on our phones while traveling and only make calls while on the ship with the phone that's currently connected to the ship's wifi, doing so via wifi calling enabled on our phones?  Just trying to make sure we don't miss something and goof and return home to find large, unexpected charges via our wireless carrier and that if we only make calls on the device that's connected to the ship's wifi via wifi calling enabled on the device, then we should be good to go with no unexpected charges on our cellular plan?

2 hours ago, reedprincess said:

2) put phone in airplane mode. Then turn on WiFi. That should do it.

It is important to put all phones in airplane mode. Turning off mobile data may not be sufficient. Then turn on WiFi and connect to the ship's WiFi while leaving the phones in airplane mode. This should be done for all phones. All of your phones can be connected to the ship's WiFi at the same time at no charge. The one-device plan is misnamed - it is not WiFi; it is Internet. Only the phone logged in to the plan can access Internet off of the ship. All of the phones can access the shipboard WiFi. For example, you can check the location of others in your party using the app from any phone while not connected to the Internet.

I use an iPhone and AT&T at home, and I haven't had any problems with WiFi calling shipboard. I recommend all of you test before leaving home. Make sure WiFi calling is enabled on your phones - it is useful to leave it enabled all of the time at home since it will use WiFi if available and you have a weak cellular signal. Then put your phone in airplane mode and reconnect to WiFi at home. Call someone and have someone call you to make sure it works. If you have any problems, it's a lot easier to call AT&T to resolve them while you're still home.

To connect to Internet, all you need is the name, cabin number, and date of birth of the person who purchased the plan. When someone logs on, it will automatically log someone else off, so you do need to coordinate your use. If you're not using it much, it shouldn't be a big problem.

They may or may not adjust the rate. People have reported mixed results. Sometimes you can re-fare without cancelling but not always.

If you have a refundable deposit, you can definitely cancel and rebook. However, you need to look at all of the costs of doing so. You may or may not be able to get your same cabin back. If you booked EZAir, you may have to rebook it at current prices. You may have to rebook excursions are current prices, and they may or may not be available. Before cancelling and rebooking, look at EZAir and your excursions to check prices and availability before doing so.

I was isolated for COVID for three days last October in a window suite. I didn't have any symptoms, but DW got fairly sick. The only time I left the room was to go to sick bay to visit DW who spent one night there. I was only allowed out to go to sick bay and with a crew escort. However the escort and I took passenger elevators with other passengers, so they weren't isolating me very thoroughly (I was wearing a mask of course).

I didn't have any problem with no balcony, and I appreciated all of the room in the window suite. Room Service delivered food and beverages inside the room - we did not have a table outside the room. The ship's physician said it was OK to drink alcoholic beverages while taking PAXLOVID. It was a lot better getting COVID on the ship with food and beverages delivered than it would have been to be stuck at home - especially with DW needing medical care. I think I preferred having the extra room to being able to go outside.

Note: We had the opportunity to order from the full MDR menu for meals since we were in a suite. However, we would have had that same opportunity even if we were not in a suite. Anyone in isolation can order from the full MDR menu. Also, anyone in isolation receives free laundry (which we already had from suite and Elite).

As it turned out, the three days enjoying ship food and beverages cost us almost nothing. Princess Vacation Protection (PVP) paid us one fourth of our cruise cost (3 days isolation on a 12-day cruise) and all of our shipboard medical expenses. The only expense we had for those three days on the ship was the cost of PVP.

5 hours ago, latebloomer56 said:

And they know if your watching the video, they track this on your medallion. We went to muster on way to cabin first medallion cruise then my husband turned on the video as instructed when we entered. I left the cabin for something and later got a message I needed to watch the video. I checked and customer service said maybe I left the cabin while but played earlier 😊. They know where everybody is at all times.

No, they do not know whether or not you are watching the video. They do not know where you are. They know where your medallion is. Your medallion has to be in the cabin while the video is playing. You don't have to be there.

6 minutes ago, BDevilCruiser said:

bottom line, plenty of port staff there to direct you, just make sure the sign says Princess.

It may not be enough to make sure the sign says Princess. Princess may have two ships leaving on the same day. Make sure they are taking bags for your ship.

1 hour ago, Cruise Raider said:

@So_Tweetie, we generally use them if we fly in and out of our destination on the same day as the cruise.  It is usually better pricing if you fly internationally.  I am paying more for my trip up to Seattle than listed on the Alaska airline site but I really like the guarantee they will get us on the ship or at the next port and get us back home if disembarkation is delayed.  
The flexible fare is really nice, though.  Still deciding if I’m just going to go through Alaksa or Southwest.  

The guarantee to get you on the ship at the next port may not apply on an Alaska cruise. I assume your Seattle Alaska cruise is a round trip with a stop in Victoria on the last day. Because of the PVSA, you can't embark at an Alaska port and disembark in Seattle. The only way they could legally put you on the ship at the next port would be for you to disembark at Victoria, and that would be dependent on Canada allowing it.

1 hour ago, nini said:

We have never paid any baggage fees with EZ Air. We have flown on AA, Virgin Atlantic, and British Airways.

Are you talking about international flights only? I believe these airlines normally do not charge for the first bag on international flights, but they do charge on domestic flights.

17 minutes ago, AZaTaz said:

Has anyone else had a day and port disappear from your Journey tab?

skips from day 17 to day 19 of Journey. Port and day still there in personalizer 

Is this a South Pacific cruise crossing the International Date Line?😉

23 minutes ago, latebloomer56 said:

Thank you yes we couldn't get our cabin of choice an aft mini. TA called with a deal on a cruise two weeks later in Oct. a Vista Suite for a couple hundred more so took it. It's not over our actual anniversary but still Hawaii 😁. Plus a suite which isn't something we generally look at to be honest on Princess. Getting excited this reserve dining sounds unique.

Reserve dining is usually better service, and you don't need reservations. Even if you don't have the same waiter every day, you will have the same headwaiter and one of the same small group of waiters. The real difference though is the suite breakfast. Once you have that, it may be difficult for you to go back. A suite on a two-week cruise for a couple of hundred more is a great deal.

8 minutes ago, latebloomer56 said:

So we got lucky and have a suite in Oct. does this mean I don't need to go in the site to choose a venue and time for the MDR?

Thanks

Yes.

A passenger in a full suite has access to Reserve Collection dining whenever the MDR is open - breakfast every day, lunch on embarkation and sea days, and dinner every day. You don't make reservations - you just show up and are quickly seated.

You also have access to the suite breakfast in Sabatini's or another specialty restaurant every morning. No reservations are needed. This breakfast is prepared to order in the small specialty restaurant kitchen, and it was one of the best suite perks.

You will have complimentary specialty restaurant dining on embarkation evening. You will need to make a reservation, but you can wait and make it onboard. They reserve enough space for suite passengers for that evening.

Note: These answers are assume you are in a full suite. A mini-suite is NOT a suite.

Purchased OBC as well as OBC from a travel agent will probably not be available pre-cruise. If you want to purchase something pre-cruise, just use your credit card for the purchase instead of trying to purchase OBC.

I noticed that @cdn_tbirdis from Canada. For those of us from the United States going on a US Dollar cruise, there is really no reason to pre-purchase OBC instead of settling with a credit card at the end of the cruise. For Canadians, I understand there may be a different exchange rate, but that is not something I'm familiar with. For US cruisers on an Australian Dollar cruise, you may want to pre-purchase OBC (depending on the exchange rate) to avoid the charge for using a credit card to settle your onboard folio.

12 hours ago, grak said:

……can you get off and explore area and reboard before sailing? Specifically in San Francisco…we’re usually on board by noon and would like to get off for a couple of hours. Is that something that can be done?

It depends on the port, on the itinerary, and on the local immigration rules.

On an Alaska cruise leaving from Vancouver, you clear US immigration when you board the ship. Therefore you can't leave and go back into Canada.

On an Alaska cruise leaving from Seattle, things would be different, since you are not leaving the United States yet - your next ports are also in the United States.

You should be able to leave the ship when embarking in San Francisco. Your next port is probably in the United States. Even if it is not, you are probably not clearing immigration for another country in San Francisco.

5 hours ago, MsSoCalCruiser said:

What happens if your bid is accepted but you are not happy with the cabin location. I would like to bid on a balcony, but I am afraid to be put into a forward cabin. Would they allow a cabin change?

29 minutes ago, chrysalis said:

apparently not....you get what they give you. Having said that, we always go for forward cabins and its never been an issue.

You may be able to do a cabin change IF there is an available cabin in the same category. However, by the time the bid is accepted, there is a good chance their will be no available midship cabins in the same category. You are better off not bidding unless you would be satisfied with any cabin in the new category.

5 hours ago, Cruisemeister2002 said:

We sail from Southampton on the Sky Princess later in the year, sailing time is 4 p.m. and we are overnight in a hotel so I am going to book a taxi for 11 a.m. in the hope we arrive by 11.30 for embarkation as we are Elite status which gives us a luncheon onboard.

2 hours ago, memoak said:

Your elite status does not get you a lunch in the MDR. Unless you are in Reserve class then there will be one MDR open and one line once the MDR fills people must wait for tables to finish 

2 hours ago, startedwithamouse said:

Anyone gets lunch in the MDR, not just elite. 

Elite status may help @Cruisemeister2002 get lunch onboard, because it will provide priority embarkation. The priority embarkation may help get onboard in time to get to the MDR for lunch before it closes.

ddd

2 hours ago, t&atravel said:

If you booked your excursions with a combination of OBC and Credit card when you cancel the OBC will be restored first.  If the refund due exceeds the OBC you will get credit to your credit card for whatever the difference is.  It doesn’t matter which excursion the OBC was applied to as they take all of the monies paid as a whole.  Note: your OBC on the web site will never show a reduction when you apply it to an excursion.  You need to know what you’ve used.  When you book they send an email with a breakdown….save that email or screen print the breakdown when you book.  It’s worked this way for quite a while now.

There is a fairly easy way to see how much OBC has been applied to excursions. Start the booking for another excursion. Go all the way to the Pay Now selection. It will show applied and available OBC. Then remove the excursion from your cart without actually paying for it.

I had booked this transfer for a cruise this September. I haven't taken the transfer, so all I can give you is what Princess told me.

The following information is extracted from my Princess Travel Summary:

"Please note: Passengers making their own air arrangements out of Seattle must depart no earlier than 4:00 P.M."  Note that this was for a cruise scheduled to arrive in Vancouver at 7:30am.

3 hours ago, smilesntravels said:

Thanks again for all of the responses, on this Memorial Day.  I did mention that I can't make up my mind.  So, what are your thoughts on if we go for the next sailing, which leaves on Aug. 7th?  We'll lose Invergorden (Lockness,) which both of us are really excited to see, and Dublin (which I've been to.)  But, we'll gain Northern Ireland (yes, Giants Causeway!) and the Orkney Islands (which we could either see or use an extra sea day.)  Also, it looks like temperatures are possibly two degrees cooler in mid-August.

1 hour ago, azbirdmom said:

With that itinerary there isn't any way you could do Loch Ness.  I do think you have an overnight in Glasgow but it's still quite a long distance and even if you rented a car I'm sure it would be very expensive as well as exhausting.  It's somewhat closer to Edinburgh but you're not in port long enough to do this.

The August 7th cruise does not have an overnight in Greenock (Glassgow). It is scheduled to leave Greenock at 2:00 am, which isn't really overnight. The only reason it is scheduled to leave at 2:00 am is to allow excursions to the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo in Glassgow. They don't do Tattoo excursions from south Queensferry, because South Queensferry is a tender port (Water Shuttle Required), and they don't want to be tendering most of the passengers back to the ship after midnight.

The Tattoo would be the highlight of any British Isles cruise in August. However, Tattoo excursions usually sell out and you might not be able to book the Tattoo (either Princess or on your own) if booking the cruise this late. Edinburgh will be very crowed because of the festivals during both your South Queensferry and your Greenock port days.

57 minutes ago, moodyb1 said:

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I have been trying for days to print the excursions for my upcoming cruise with no success. I tried what you suggested and it worked with no success. 

I have another problem that I will post later today. Perhaps you will have a solution for that too!

 

Arlene

If you are just trying to print the excursions you have booked, print your Travel Summary. It includes your booked excursions as well as most of the other details of your booking.

It doesn't hurt to ask. It is very unlikely that you will receive a refund, but you may receive OBC or an upgrade. Just make sure you know exactly what is changing on your reservation before you accept any change.

If you cancel and rebook, you will have to pay the cancellation penalty. Make sure you check carefully to verify how much that is. You will also lose any flight bookings and excursion bookings, and they may have gone up in price. You also may not be able to rebook the same cabin.

Since you booked directly through Princess via chat, you will have to make the change directly with Princess through telephone or chat. Some of their telephone and chat agents know what they're doing, but many of them don't. If you get someone who can't - or won't - help you, hang up and call back.

9 hours ago, robbinsca said:

One thing on Princess is that the theatre doesn’t seem to have as much available seating as other lines we have been on, and some of it is reserved for Elites/Suites. Plan on arriving at least 15-20 minutes before the show to get a seat.

Princess does NOT reserve any seating for Elites or suites. They reserve seating for production shows for passengers with the Premier fare package only.

4 hours ago, rakesh said:

My MIL is somewhat disabled; she can walk maybe a block - but otherwise needs a wheelchair.

Questions:

e) when they arrive at Whittier - do they go on a separate lane- they are booked in a mini-suite and the travel agent has requested a wheelchair  for embarkation and disembarkation.

g) should they  bring MIL's wheelchair along with her?

The airline will provide a wheelchair for use at the airport. If you don't bring a wheelchair, then you will not have one in the hotel.

Princess will provide a wheelchair for embarkation and for disembarkation. Your travel agent's request will make no difference. You will need to ask for the wheelchair when you get to the port. If you are on a Princess transfer to the ship, you should be able to request a wheelchair to meet the bus. Tell the Princess agent who is loading the transfer that you need a wheelchair.

Princess does not provide a wheelchair for use during the cruise. If you want to use a wheelchair on the ship or on shore during the cruise, you will need to furnish your own wheelchair. If you don't want to bring one, you can rent one from a couple of different companies. I am renting a wheelchair from Special Needs at Sea for one week on a roundtrip Vancouver cruise. You need to rent in advance, and it is subject to availability. I believe they charge extra for a one-way cruise. It can be a long distance to the other end of the ship if she has to walk.

If MIL can walk up the steps on a bus, then she will not be restricted to wheelchair accessible excursions even if she takes a wheelchair. Many of the non-accessible excursions will still be able to take a collapsible wheelchair under the bus as long as the passenger can enter and leave the bus by themselves or with assistance of travel companions.

If she brings or rents a wheelchair, you need to check the dimensions of the wheelchair. It must be no wider than 22" to fit through a standard stateroom door or than 31" to fit through an accessible stateroom door. You cannot leave the chair in the hall - you must store it in the stateroom. You could use a larger wheelchair in a non-accessible stateroom as long as it is collapsible and MIL has someone to carry it through the door for her, since you said she can walk short distances.

10 minutes ago, farawaygal said:

When booking a cruise I see up sells or upgrades that refer to Laundry but can't find a fare "up sell" that adds laundry.  Can some of you Princess cruisers please direct me to the correct way to add laundry to my mini suite.  Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

The only way to add free laundry is to up sell or bid for a full suite. Full suite passengers (as well as Elite passengers) receive free laundry.

12 hours ago, Torfamm said:

If the meeting point is on the ship, those on excursions are led to the tenders as a group. I have never seen whether priority is given for those meeting on shore

3 hours ago, latebuyer said:

If i have an excursion in afternoon, am i to assume they wouldn’t meet on the ship but on shore if tendering?

2 hours ago, memoak said:

Your tour ticket in your cabin will tell you when and where to meet   No reason to even think about it ahead of time

If your tour ticket says to meet on the ship, then you will have priority tendering to get to shore. If your tour ticket says to meet on shore, then you will not have priority tendering. Tours leaving soon after ship arrival never meet on shore. Tours leaving several hours later will often meet on shore, but by that time, there should be no waiting for tenders to get to shore.

3 hours ago, BamaVol said:

The crew accepts them. And smiles. 

2 hours ago, d9704011 said:

They'd likely accept a $2 Canadian coin and smile too.

The crew will accept anything you give them and smile, because they will not be impolite to a passenger. What they really feel may be much different.

A Canadian $2 coin would be much worse than a US $2 bill. Unless they are going ashore in Canada, it is probably worthless. Most places that change money change bills only - they do not accept coins.