azbirdmom

I'm thinking that where you would normally see a $0 fare after searching for cruises you will now see the port fee amount displayed and probably the $200 nonrefundable deposit that turns into OBC as well. I'm sure the marketing verbiage will have to change, like "free cruise fare for balcony" or something like that. Which is pretty much the same as it is currently, you just won't need to go to the fine print to learn the rest of the story.

Whoops! Bit of a typo on Platinum eligibility:

I just hope that this doesn't increase the upper level ranks so much that they take away some of the current Elite perks. Other than that I've got no problem with this.

Yes, this was announced last month and discussed here: I can't recall where but I did see a mock-up where the actual port fees were displayed on the booking confirmation, not just baked in like some other lines like Oceania do it.

We used to enjoy trivia but have experienced what you did and don't go much any more. It's really not much fun when people are so driven to win that they go to these lengths. We were on a South America cruise 10+ years ago and joined with two other couples we had met on CC to play. We were always coming in second to a specific team and then all of a sudden we started winning. Turns out there was a woman who was on B2B2B2B on the winning team and she disembarked early. They had the exact same questions in the exact same order on each leg so she knew all of the answers. She hadn't written down the answers so after her departure the team didn't do well at all. Talk about a lazy CD staff!

When you hear back from Princess I'm fairly certain they will offer you OBC. That's what they have done for others who have reached out after experiencing similar problems recently. As for your refund that is insanely long to wait for a response. I really do wish that Princess would add more staff to their customer service positions so that it wouldn't take reaching out to senior management to get satisfaction. I know they are strapped financially but there are just some things you shouldn't skimp on if you want to keep your customer base.

Truer words were never spoken!

Full text of email: Dear Valued Princess Guest: We wanted to inform you of a change regarding our main dining reservations. Due to an unanticipated delay in finalizing our app update, the ability to book reservations has been delayed. The new date for reservations is now set for July 1. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding and patience. As previously announced, starting with voyages departing September 14, 2024, Princess will designate separate dining rooms aboard every ship in the fleet to three table service options: · Traditional dining offering an early and a late seating every evening · Reservable dining times · Open seating to support walk-ins anytime Once updates are complete, you will be able to use the app ahead of your voyage to opt for traditional seating in a dedicated dining room with the same waiter, same table and same time each night, or flexible dining, allowing you to enjoy dinner at any available time and table size of your choosing in either the Reservable or Open Seating dining rooms. Thank you for your continued support.

We used Aqua Cars last summer and they were great. They even waited 4 hours for our delayed flight to arrive at no additional charge (which was lower than what we found when researching other car service companies). There's always National Express Bus if you really want a budget option but nothing beats seeing a man with a sign with your name on it after you get off a long flight. ETA: Right after I wrote this I Googled Aqua Cars and pretty near the top were really scathing recent reviews from Trip Advisor. Not sure if these were a few disgruntled people but I'd thoroughly check them out first. They were fantastic last year but something may have changed.

Unfortunately the folks who respond to the chat requests can do damage to casino reservations as you've just learned. If they can't straighten it out then try to call the casino number to see what they can do. Good luck and yes, assuming it gets straightened out you should be able to upgrade to Premier after you board.

It's been my experience that emails to this group are answered much faster than ones sent to the generic Customer Relations email address.

Yes, you'll find some sympathetic ears but mostly people want to bash anyone who says anything less than positive. I hope you did send an email to the Princess execs. I did see on another thread that someone else received a nice amount of FCC before they disembarked for the problems they had on the same sailing. Hope Princess will at least do that for you at this point.

Not a problem for us!

I chose the same plan as you but selected the $5K cap. We bought it last year after seeing the price tag for insurance for our Oceania cruise ($1800!!!). The $715 annual cost of the plan ensures that if something happens to us while cruising we will be covered. We have some trip insurance through our credit card and a small amount of medical coverage through our health insurance but all of that would be exhausted quickly if we suffered an emergency onboard. That's where the real financial risk lies, covering the cost of trip cancellation if something happens prior to the trip is small in comparison.

If you booked before December 1, 2023 you'll get 360 complementary as a suite perk on the Enchanted and Discovery. If you booked after that you have to pay for the pleasure just like everyone else.

Unfortunately you do need to ask to meet with the HGM / other officers before they offer you *something* as an acknowledgement of what you've gone through. Sadly there have been way too many reports of not even a simple "I'm sorry" being uttered by Princess officers after similar events have happened. Would strongly suggest that you send an email to the group below and let them know what you went through and about the lack of contact on the ship. The more they hear this the more likely they are to do better in similar situations in the future - at least we can hope! Primary Contact Collin Steinke Director, Customer Relations 24305 Town Center Drive Santa Clarita, CA 91355 csteinke@princesscruises.com Secondary Contact Lorna Warren Vice President Guest Services 24305 Town Center Drive Santa Clarita, CA 91355 lwarren@princesscruises.com Chief Executive John Padgett 24305 Town Center Drive Santa Clarita, CA 91355 jpadgett@princesscruises.com

There was another recent thread where this was debated extensively. It is what it is and it's one of those things you deal with if you choose to keep your auto tip on (or have it included through the purchase of a package).

Yes, I always did that too. But it stopped working for our last cruise and it's still not working for the one next month either. I was told that these requests were supposed to move to the Medallion app along with the other "dietary" requests but didn't. They really need to do something about it because it does look like you've successfully made a request for distilled but then nothing happens. I've gotten a fairly quick response using the email address and the same info does appear on the travel summary after that.

I said we didn't make use of much of the drinks part of the package. We did use it but probably overspent on the Premier for these cruises as a result of what we had to drink in the Suite Concierge Lounge. And the OP was asking about the Discovery Princess which is what I responded to and which has a Suite Concierge Lounge (as do all other Royal Class ships).

We've had the Premier package on our last two cruises in suites. We certainly didn't make use of much of the drinks part as we went to the nightly happy hour in the Suite Concierge lounge where for up to two hours you can get all the drinks you want complementary. Also the first night of specialty dining is included when you book a full suite. We did enjoy the unlimited casual dining.

So you would not be an ideal candidate for a guarantee then. I didn't see anything int he OP's post that location was a concern, it was simply not having a cabin that was.

They also hold back inventory for guarantees. You will get a cabin but it may not be until a couple days before. Nothing to worry about.

That's the way it used to be. However for our last three cruises it was preprogrammed as two digit birth month followed by two digit birth year. It's that way for everyone.

I've been in both M107 and aft PH suite rooms on several Royal class ships. They are both wonderful but some of the aft balconies (like those on Aloha and Caribe) are narrow. They still wrap around but those on the other decks are wider. If you're bidding know that you could wind up with one of these. If size is important to you when it comes to balconies M107 / M108 are definitely the largest on the ship. The cabin is a two room version of a shrunken full suite with a mini suite bathroom. If it's really windy you won't want to be out on that balcony though and you feel every wave up there - if motion is a problem, you might want to rethink that cabin. I think they are both great options but it comes down to amenities and also the cost difference. You get reserve class dining either way. But being in a suite also gets you entry into the Suite Concierge lounge with the concierge acting as your personal guest service agent, plus they have two hour happy hours every night which are very relaxing and a nice chance to chat with other guests. There's also the suite breakfast which is also a nice relaxing way to start the day. And the other perks like a mini bar set up, laundry, etc. The suite experience is wonderful but if you decide against that, M107 is a pretty nice cabin to be in.

Welcome to Princess! You actually can get out on the Promenade deck even though it's not wraparound like on the older Princess ships. There should be doors open mid-ship as well as aft on both sides of the elevator. Also up on deck 17 above the pool is good as well as rear on deck 16 / Lido and aft 17. And if you want to splurge you can reserve space in the Sanctuary for the day. If you want that would recommend that you go to reserve your space immediately upon boarding the ship. It's deck 18 all the way forward. Plenty of open spaces to enjoy the wonders of Glacier Bay and Alaska. ETA: Covered areas would be aft on the Lido deck and aft on the Promenade deck. Some areas of the Sanctuary are covered as well. Forgot to mention that there's cover on the sides of the Lido pool area but there's glass all of the way up which isn't the best for photos if that is of interest.