azbirdmom

The OP didn't seem stressed and we all have different opinions. IMHO if you pay for a service you ought to get it. The phone call probably took 2 minutes.

+1. We were very happy with the HOHO experience. Did you make reservations for the tastings or just wing it? We made a reservation for Wither Hills as we had been there on a Princess excursion on a prior cruise and just loved their Sauvignon Blanc. It really is a great way to go,

You're welcome! By the way I just looked at the app and when I click to check the Medallion order I get the same pop up message to pick them up at the port even though we have them already. I do think something is wrong in the app or there's something amiss with the Medallion shipping process or all of the above!

That's sad to hear. We will be onboard in two weeks, same itinerary as your's! Have a fantastic cruise.

We are on a cruise on the same date. Our app showed "in progress" along with some gibberish. I called Princess using the prompts until I got to Ocean Ready, then a few more prompts after that. The rep I spoke to said she could see that it was packaged that day with no tracking or other information. Two days later the Medallions arrived, no email or other notice. First time that's happened. I'd suggest that you call them and ask what's happening. If you paid shipping or have the most recent Plus or Premier packages you shouldn't have to wait in line at the port.

We were scheduled to go to Israel and Egypt on Celebrity last October. It would have been our first Celebrity cruise but they were the most attractive option to get to a couple of the remaining options on our bucket list so we were going to cheat on Princess. Last May things were flaring up in the region while one ship was in an Israeli port and another was enroute. The one in port scrambled to get their passengers back on board and cancelled their other port stop in Israel. The other one was rerouted. Within days things were back to normal but our final payment date was fast approaching. We discussed pros and cons of making the final payment but ultimately the thought of paying a premium price for a cruise that could turn into another Mediterranean cruise sealed it. We cancelled, losing the deposit. (Well we lost $100 per person and they set up the rest as FCC to be used in a year but realistically it won't be used.) I continued to follow the roll call for a while and sure enough the week before embarkation October 7th happened. I watched as folks were deciding what to do. Some cancelled, some lost $$, some went but weren't happy about the substituted ports, others went with the flow. While horrified at the events that happened in Israel last October (and after) we were glad we made the decision we did to cancel. If you're a go with the flow type of person then stick with it. If the destinations are important to you then I'd suggest that you not put any $$ at risk on this cruise unless and until things settle down significantly.

Wow, they provided a lot more information to you than what we got in December! We did use the priority service through the concierge to get on the first shuttle out of the port so we could catch the Wine HOHO that we had pre-booked. Lines can be very long for the shuttles. Enjoy your day there.

Pretty easy to do. I uploaded my statement last fall, waited a few days for it to process, redeemed my perk. That was the most difficult part of it. Two days ago I booked another cruise. That night I went into Stockperks, entered the booking number and a couple of other fields and submitted. No new brokerage statement was required. And within 24 hours the OBC was displayed on our booking. So much easier than the old fax / email process.

I had to search your post as I was fairly certain you had been there. Such awful news today. Prayers to those in Sydney. 😞

One other thing to watch for is not getting the Elite discount on services. After getting a massage I noticed that the receipt had the full price and I pointed that out. The massage therapist basically said oops, I'll process an adjustment. Instead of reducing the charge she increased it, basically a $40 swing from what I expected. I noticed that the next day and went back to the spa to get it fixed. You really do need to stay on top of this stuff.

It was a hoot. I agree it would be wonderful if they brought it back. There's so much talent on the ships.

Sounds like the Tasman sea is living up to its reputation!

Would you mind sharing a screen shot of the email, minus any identifying info about your parents (names, cruise booking #)? I'd like to send it on to my CVP who is still working on this. Having that would be helpful.

We will be on the Enchanted on April 27th in a full suite. Per my earlier post our friends who are also in a full suite were told by Princess that the Go lounge was a pilot and they are no longer offering it. Would you mind asking the suite concierge if that is accurate? Our CVP is still looking into this for us, he had never even heard of the Go lounge!

From a logical standpoint I completely agree with you. It's just that Princess is treating this differently from other add-ons and there is nothing I can find in the Passage Contract nor the standalone cancellation policy that would indicate this would be treated differently than fare. Which is why we need to hear from someone who has actually cancelled one of these packages.

Do you have recent experience with this? Spa and excursions don't show up as part of the cruise fare like Plus and Premier do. And the insurance premium isn't applied towards amounts paid for spa and excursions either. I'd really like to hear if someone has cancelled it while "in the penalty" period and gotten 100% of it back within the past couple of months. Hoping that is the case!

+1. It is definitely counted as part of the fare and as such the published cancellation penalties apply to it if you cancel the whole cruise. Will be interesting to hear if Princess still allows you to cancel Plus or Premier inside of final payment date without penalty.

Have you visited the happy hour in the Suite Concierge Lounge? In the past they have been amenable to securing our preference of wines or hard liquors for us as long as they have them on the ship.

Did you already go? And if so did you get any indication that it was being discontinued? Friends who are traveling with us on the April 27th Enchanted cruise were told that the lounge was a pilot and is no more. We are waiting to hear word from our CVP and yes, we are all in full suites. Just curious if you've heard or if you wouldn't mind asking the Suite Concierge about it.

Haven't heard back from our CVP yet which is curious. However, our friends did ask about it through their TA and apparently were able to talk to someone in the Princess office in Fort Lauderdale. They were told that the Go lounge was a pilot test and is no more. Sounds bizarre as there have been recent reports of people being invited to it?

I had trouble uploading an iPhone photo to Cruise Critic. I'm wondering if CC has trouble with HEIC format? In may case I ended up taking a screenshot and posting that.

If you are already in the S3 suite just keep watching. If one of the other cabins with the larger deck opens up you can just call to get them to move you to it. We've stayed in both the larger and narrower aft suites and both will be wonderful. Yes you will get all of the suite perks listed. It doesn't matter how you got in one, you're in a suite so you'll get the first night specialty dining comped, as well as suite breakfast, nightly happy hours in the Suite Concierge lounge etc. Don't worry about getting a reservation for the first night, visit the suite concierge after you board and they will take care of it for you. Most of the suite perks are listed here: https://www.princess.com/en-us/ships-and-experience/ships/staterooms/suites Regarding shore excursions the phone reps will be of little help so it's something you'll need to research on your own. Joining the roll call for your cruise may be helpful. There's separate sections of Cruise Critic for the ports where you can ask questions. Generally it tends to be more cost effective to DIY but there are some where it might make sense to go with Princess. It really depends on the port and of course your preferences.

Yes, we took advantage of one and it was a great deal. Our's included one or two cruises up to a stated number of days in an upgraded cabin with protection for port fees, Princess insurance, and EZAir. Most importantly the cruise fare we paid was turned into refundable OBC and the amount unused at the end of the replacement cruise was refunded to us in the form of a check. If you are flexible and interested in the offer don't delay. They send out a lot of offers and first to respond will get it.

I was guessing around 5 based on the time they arrived and when they typically start boarding after arrival time. Glad you went over early and stemmed the off ship shopping spree although I would probably be right there with your wife. 🙂 Hope you had a nice dinner onboard, a great sailaway from Sydney Harbor, and that you'll have a fantastic cruise.

Maybe you should head over to the ship early to suppress the urge for any more last minute shopping?