15 hours ago, LabMom57 said:

Hubby and I cruised around French Polynesia in April and both came back with COVID. Both of us are fully vaxxed.

 

Still heading on another cruise this month! We will just be more careful to mask up in crowded conditions in the future (think airport in Tahiti where social distancing was not observed).

You came back with covid, but how serious was it?

Despite the early misinformation, the vaccine doesn't prevent you from getting covid, it just prevents you from getting seriously ill from it.  That's why some folks have had covid and never knew it, or test positive when they are symptom free.  

I plan to get the Fall booster, along with a flu shot, just as soon as they are available.

10 hours ago, arxcards said:

World cruise on Princess usually = 4 sectors. The Ocean Now charge is listed per voyage. I wonder if that will translate to a per sector charge?

It will now since you brought it up! 😁

12 hours ago, memoak said:

But my old E tickets are not any good even for the Matterhorn. 

I guess you've noticed that the term "E Ticket Ride" is still used to describe a premium ride at just about any amusement park or a premium experience of some sort.

I always chuckle a bit when I hear or read that.

I'm old enough and experienced enough that most of this nickel and diming will not affect me, and in fact I get a little kick out of pushing back with my workarounds.  I cruise to be at sea, not to see how much I can eat and drink.  I can always seem to find something to eat in a venue that doesn't cost extra. The Horizon Court has enough variety to keep me from wasting away   I enjoy a wee dream or two in the P&E lounge in the evening. If I want a chi chi coffee, I carry my own International Delight Swiss Mocha and mix my own.  

A bad day at sea is still better than a good day at the office.

Tips became gratuities, which became crew appreciation.  Why not just call it what it is now - crew salary subsidy?

If something sounds a little harsh or too direct, just give it a euphemism.

I'll be on the Regal later this year. I'll ask for an electric kettle and a barrel chair.

I thought those electric kettles were a dangerous fire hazard and the reason they don't allow them, except they are OK in the UK and OZ markets.  Just goes to show you can rationalize anything.

My bet is that they will slowly disappear from the OZ and UK markets as a cost saving move.

I'm surprised PCL didn't make them disappear and cite Covid as the reason.

Thanks.  👍👍

I have a long cruise coming up.  I booked the standard and received a nice OBC that I have already use to book a couple of must-have excursions.  If I were to upgrade to Plus - which lists the same OBC - would I get another OBC with the upgrade, or is that just an illusion of their marketing? 

16 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

It'll taste better when they charge for it. 😉

“The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.”

― Benjamin Franklin

What's the allure of the Melanoma Deck?  Premature skin aging?  Extra wrinkles?  Watch that mole change shape before your eyes?  Losing what's left of your hearing from MUTS or the Caribbean band blasting?

Just like anything else - speeding, shoplifting, turnstile jumping - if there's no enforcement, the mob takes over.

9 minutes ago, Musky Ike said:

The Eagles didn't know how prophetic they were with Hotel California. 🙄

 

Mirrors on the ceiling
The pink champagne on ice
And she said, 'We are all just prisoners here
Of our own device"

Love it, Musky Ike.

4 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Crew Call not the same as Crew Chat, so there is a confusion point. 

Picking up phone to call Housekeeping versus Room Service is going to be another confusion point.

Ordering otherwise free things from Steward ( Housekeeping) via App is a confusion point.  I wouldn't be surprised if IT told them it would take 6 mths to write it correctly versus 6 wks or days to slap-dash a quick fix to apply blanket charge.

This is going to blow up in their faces and, as the song said, Change is Gonna Come.

Thanks for catching me up on that finer point.  I knew housekeeping was free, but a guest can get caught with a fee anyway.

 

The savvy guest is not going to incur a housekeeping charge by contacting Steward or speaking directly.  I do this now automatically anyway.  And I mean the guest who isn't planning on using Ocean Now for food/beverage orders.  If planning on using that, it doesn't matter about Housekeeping.

 

It is just silly these things that work one way or another depending on mode of communication.

 

And I wouldn't be surprised if most of the fault isn't IT because they have fumbled with the App for over two years now with bug after bug.

 

You know, if they had quietly raised cruise fares $15 and just left the new RS fee in place, and left the App as-is, no one would notice anything untoward and they would eliminate 1000s of potential complaint issues.  IT work would have been avoided, plus expected future maintenance and issue resolution.

 

Most importantly, they would not have driven a stake into the core philosophy of the App and the concept of delivery service to where the guest is.  Removal of barriers.  Now many are looking how to get around and over a new unexpected barrier.  At least the guests on Standard... which I suppose is not a big concern of theirs.

 

SWMBO and I tend to be old school.  We eschew technology that tries to be a replacement for a face-to-face interaction as much as possible.  CC is our sole social media.  No bookface or tweeter for us.  Betty White summed it up pretty well on Saturday Night Live when she quipped it's "a huge waste of time".

We quit on the wonky Medallion app and just show up at the port with our paperwork and pick up the Medallion there.  If we need something in our cabin, we either see the steward, or we leave him/her a post it note.  

Room service is never an issue since we don't care to sit on the bed, sofa, or desk chair to eat, and then bus our own "table".  Hot morning coffee?  SWMBO's cabin boy delivers her insulated travel mug full of hot coffee.

We use the Medallion to open our cabin door and that's about it.  Need a beverage?  Flag down a server.

There's a whole generation or two behind us that are losing the ability and the art of face-to-face conversation and eye contact.  Look around in restaurants and other venues and notice how many couples and groups are all on their devices instead of conversing and enjoying each other's company.

30 minutes ago, memoak said:

No the fee for the drink is the price of the drink itself   So that $15 drink plus 18% comes to just under $18. I will always take the plus option which makes my $60 go a very long way and I don’t have to worry about gratuities. I am breaking even by early afternoon

Thanks  As I said, I have been woefully ignorant of how this all works.  I'm Elite, so my mini bar setup and a discounted drink in the P&E lounge is all I need.  I still give the server in the P&E lounge a little cash discretely and find that it helps ensure my butt and my drink hit the table at about the same time.  No wonder, now that I know they don't get the standard gratuity and that it goes into the pool.  

59 minutes ago, memoak said:

 But if you go non plan and drink you will pay a gratuity on all drinks plus a heavy fee for the drink

Are you saying that if the standard cruiser buys a drink, there's the cost of the drink, plus a gratuity, plus a fee?

One thing you can take to the bank, literally and figuratively, is than when a company offers you a multi-faceted package of goods or services, it's not for your benefit but for theirs.  

If everyone who purchased the Plus or Premiere package drank up their entire allotment of alcohol every day, you can bet the terms would be changing quickly.

Case in point. Years ago there was a General Motors affiliated credit card that accumulated points that could be used toward buying a car.  They forgot to cap the number of points one could accumulate and use for a car purchase.  A neighbor with a small business racked up enough points that he walked out of the dealership with a new car for free. The dealer was steamed but there was nothing he could do.

The terms changed not long after, so I suspect it wasn't the only free car to roll out the door.

8 minutes ago, memoak said:

I have never heard a peep even when standing outside the door

Me neither.  Likely because of the vestibule and the two doors.  I've never stayed adjacent to the laundry either, but have heard from people who did and it was more noisy than a passenger cabin  from the machines and people talking over the machine noise.

Why risk it?

34 minutes ago, Esjung1 said:

With all of the changes announced last week, I'm considering upgrading to Princess Plus. I checked my cruise personalizer and it showed $1,080 USD for two people to upgrade (I was expecting it to be $1200 even) so I'm wondering if the difference is because I'm eligible for the 50% off WIFI?  I'm not complaining that it is less but was wondering in general if that benefit can even be applied when you have the princess plus package. In addition, I have shipboard credit right now so IF I do this it probably won't be until day 1 when I board.  Any insights would be appreciated!  

 

Just put the pencil to it and see which is better for you, a package or a la carte.

I would avoid being adjacent to, across the corridor, or underneath a laundromat.  Ever hear an unattended and unbalanced washer?

That being said, I like to book a cabin a few doors away so that it's easy to pop in and see if the equipment is in use before I drag my laundry bag along.

36 minutes ago, cruzsnooze said:

It goes to people who didn't serve you. An example would be the photo dept which I don't use or the shop keepers or the photographer..........and others

Those examples are overhead.  Why should we be tipping shop keepers?

Just now, skynight said:

If I understand the current system correctly the $2 cash provided to the server is no longer shared, but retained by the server.

My question is where do you obtain the $2 bills? Banks in our area really do not have them. 

My bank will order a bundle for me.  They are nice a crisp in a wrapper.

If I just walk in and ask, they'll usually have a few on hand, but not a quantity.

With the discussions here about the costs of Plus and Premier packages, disappearing amenities, new charges for amenities, and calling tips/gratuities "crew appreciation" I noticed: 

All of the Crew Appreciation and Service Charge payments made by all guests on all ships in our fleet are pooled, net of credit card transaction fees. The pooled funds are distributed throughout the year in the form of compensation, including bonuses, to crewmembers fleetwide who interact directly with guests and/or behind the scenes throughout every cruise, including those in the Bar, Dining, Entertainment, Housekeeping, Guest Services, Galley and Onboard Revenue areas.

All of which got me to wondering who actually gets the 18 percent when I order a wee dram in the evening?  From all appearances, it doesn't look like the server, so what is their incentive to hustle - other than my folded two dollar bill handed to them as I place my order?

1 hour ago, MissP22 said:

We're pretty much just like you but these days we're in the minority. The clientele that Princess is aiming at are not people like ourselves but those that splurge on cruise vacations & the newbies who need everything on their first trip. 

We've become customers who fill cabins, spending little extra on board and they hope we'll be enticed to spend something extra from time to time. This way they can keep their base price attractive, knowing that the majority will spring for the extras. 

By being cost conscious standard cruisers, we can afford multiple cruises each year instead of one big blowout, have it all, shop and drink 'til you drop, cruise.

We are probably considered "deadbeats" by the cruise lines.  I watched a show about money on Netflix and it revealed the games credit card companies go to to get you to charge more, but only pay the minimum amount due.  Those of us who pay the credit card bill in it's entirety each month are called "deadbeats" within the industry because they we are not paying them usurious interest rates and are building bonus points with each purchase.

Signed,

Standard a la carte Cruiser

5 hours ago, CPT Trips said:

Is this comprehensive coverage or medical only?

Here is a cut and paste from the policy cover page.  This coverage costs us $518 per year for two people.  And, as I mentioned, it covers ALL trips within the one year period.

Standard Packages