azbirdmom

When I watched that I thought what must their parents / grandparents / employers etc. think? Maybe it isn't as big of a deal for the younger generation but I just think TMI!

Glad they didn't clear the area. I was wondering how intrusive and disruptive it was to have a reality show filmed during your cruise. And is that Nicole? Hard to be sure from the side since the show seems to be bringing on new contestants at random (although the addition of the new guy last night wasn't that random).

Very interesting. It's a different cast than the show we saw here in the USA. Only the captain is the same, the host and cast are a different crew. I didn't realize that they filmed two different shows for the US and Australia.

The latter is true. However, you no longer need a boarding pass. If you haven't been able to complete the process on the app you can do so at the terminal. Sorry this wasn't explained to you but I hope you have a nice cruise on HAL.

I watched but it was clear from both the show and the Princess commercials that they are aiming to get younger cruisers onboard. Which they need to do to stay relevant when the rest of us old(er) folks stop cruising. I didn't see it mentioned but Ezra has been a bartender on Princess for a couple of years. Her proud mom posts on at least one FB and possibly here - hard to tell since no one uses their real names on CC. I will continue to watch even though it's cheesy. So was the original Love Boat but I always watched that one too. Looking forward to seeing if the dates ashore are more interesting. The coming attractions made it look kind of like an Amazing Race format. And also to see if they move beyond the Sanctuary and Retreat Pool - or if any gray hair makes it into the camera shots which if it happened was too quick for me to tell!

Yep! They are classified as M6 and there are two like this - M107 and M108. These have the massive balconies that span out over the bridge. L107 and L108 are also M6 and are slightly larger inside with a smaller but still decent size balcony that is larger than most of the balconies on the ship (except for M107/M108 and of course the aft full suites). The layout is identical on all of the Royal class ships.

This is the video I took of M107 on the Majestic last year. IMG_4250.MOV

Have stayed in M107 twice - once on the Majestic and once on the Regal. The cabin layout is two rooms, kind of a shrunken down full suite with a mini suite bathroom. The sliding glass door is on the side and there is a window in the bedroom facing forward. The balcony is huge and we love this location. The only issue is that if you're sensitive at all to the motion of the ocean you'll feel every wave up there. And there may be times when you're underway that you won't want to be on the balcony if there's a good headwind. But otherwise it's a great cabin.

LOL, I got that too. At least they are letting people know in advance about that. I've read posts from people on the Discovery who only found out about it onboard.

I've gone back to the email confirmation that I received after submitting the bid and I do see this text. But I do not see this language on the upgrade page nor in the terms and conditions that are here: https://www.princess.com/plan/princess-cruise-room-upgrade/ and here: https://www.princess.com/plan/princess-cruise-room-upgrade/terms-and-conditions/ . It wouldn't be the first time that there is conflicting information from Princess. I know there were other items that were cleaned up in the upgrade T&C language such as the reference to not getting "perks" associated with the new language. But unless Princess figured out a way to lock down cabin numbers after they assigned (which the frequent posts about people being moved when their booking is marked "do not upgrade" shows doesn't work), then there should be nothing preventing one from changing to another available cabin in or below their assigned category.

I couldn't find any language about that, maybe I missed it. I did find the language pasted below which I interpret to mean that you can't choose a location at the point of assignment of the upgraded cabin. But I don't see anything about changes to location after the upgrade is processed. Can I choose the location or specific features of the upgraded stateroom? No, stateroom location and amenities will depend on availability. We can’t guarantee a specific stateroom location within the upgraded category.

Yes, if there are other cabins available in your assigned category or below that are more appealing, you can ask to move to it. That has always been the case.

The extended balcony cabins are quite nice. We were in A409 on the Discovery in July and the bump-out makes all the difference in being able to move around on the balcony. Nice upgrade!

+1. You won't want to miss any of the incredible sights. I love Alaska but sailing around Antarctica is like Glacier Bay times 1000. I didn't have a down coat but I did do layers with a fleece jacket on top. At times it would just seem like the wind would go right through it so I had to duck in and out.

I am just happy that you are safe. It is awful to see the devastation there and I know you will be living with the aftermath for some time. I hope that your power returns soon. Stay safe and hang in there!

Oddly other cruise lines seem to be making it into Lahaina. But we walked around Lahaina Harbor yesterday and they are still working on the ferry dock so it's understandable why they don't want a lot of traffic. Good to see more ships coming into Lahaina - for the sake of both the passengers and the Front Street merchants.

You beat me to the answer. I’m in Maui and there is supposed to be a ship in Lahaina later this week.

Flexible air can be changed by customers up to 45 days prior. Which is when Princess traditionally paid for the tickets. As I learned with two experiences post-pause, they haven't been paying the airlines until closer to 30 days out. And of course for some they've simply fallen into the cracks and not been paid at all. I had listened in on a call with TAs a while back (I'm not a TA by the way) and Princess acknowledged EZAir issues. They said they were beefing up staff in that area. And they also said that they had the same number of staff responsible for air as there were prior to the pandemic but it's not enough due to all of the airline changes. Whether that is true or not is anyone's guess. But it's unacceptable that these sorts of issues keep happening.

Glad you were on top of it and that Princess made it right. And I hope Princess will fix the EZAir problems so this stops happening to folks like you.

They used to pay the airlines around the 45 day mark. Since the “pause “ it’s been closer to 30 days. You can ask for early ticketing provided that the flight info on the Princess website exactly matches the airline website. That rarely happens these days. I used to always use EZAir. But until things settle down I am booking direct.

I was assured by the casino reservations area that bidding on an upgrade should not affect the protection on the reservation. In fact I was advised that they have no ability to put in a bid for a guest so we need to do that ourselves. Still if any of my bids are accepted I plan to call casino reservations to confirm that all is still well on their end.

I posted the info below on another thread on the same topic. It's the text from and email sent by Princess to TAs last Thursday. And it's my understanding that they are strictly adhering to this: Future Cruise Credit expiration dates extended We have extended the expiration date of a number of FCCs that were due to expire at the end of 2022 as follows: · Cash-backed, non-refundable FCCs: FCCs issued during Cruise with Confidence will have their expiration date extended to Sep 30, 2023 · Cash-backed, refundable FCCs: Cash-backed refundable FCCs are extended to Dec 31, 2024. Note that we are happy to accommodate requests from any guests who want a refund on their cash-backed refundable FCC. · Bonus non-refundable FCCs issued during the pause in operations are not being extended and will expire Dec 31, 2022

+1 on the Raptor Center and Fortress of the Bear. Both are sanctuaries and very interesting.

You're welcome. These are only on the Royal Class ships and are L107/L108 and M107/M108. The Lido deck version has a somewhat larger cabin but the balcony is smaller than the Marina cabins (but still a very nice size). The Marina deck ones have the balcony that stretches out over the bridge so it's massive.

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