rocky1

Thanks for the update.

 

I'm actually surprised they got rid of the night time BOGO+1. It's usually extremely quiet in the nightclub, it was a good way to draw people to the venue from either 10-11 PM or 11-12 AM that otherwise wouldn't go near there.

Yes, I'm surprised too. The BOGO was a revenue generator as well as a generator of customer goodwill and loyalty.

Just wait, most Hilton Hotel Bars are using electronic liquor management. Each bottle in fitted with a ring that auto counts the pour, no extra, exact pours. The day of slipping the bar keep a few greens for a double up are going the way of the Dodo. Cruise industry will likely follow this path soon as profit is the driving force for executives. Customer satisfaction and loyalty take the back seat.

Yes, sadly I see this coming also. Too bad these executives never learn that customer satisfaction and loyalty are the real driving force for profit.

Just received an email from my day tour provider (A Day in LA) advising that the marathon on Sunday, March 18th may be very disruptive to the tour due to increased traffic and closed streets. We will be staying at the Wyndham Santa Monica and picking up the tour in Santa Monica. They suggested we may want to change dates or cancel. Sunday is our only full day in the LA area, so our only options are to go ahead with the tour or cancel and make other plans.

Are there any locals or other knowledgeable folks out there who can tell me just how bad it will be, and help me out with a little 1st hand experience? I'm thinking that as long as I don't have to drive :D maybe it won't be that big of a deal????

RIP Happy Hour :(

As suggested, I emailed Jan Swartz as well as Customer Relations expressing my disappointment over the demise of the BOGO+1 Happy Hour. I received a call from a Customer Relations rep in regard to the Swartz email. (That is where those emails go, she told me.) She had done enough research to know my cell phone number as well as my upcoming cruise schedule. She confirmed that the BOGO+1 has been discontinued fleet-wide but that they are "tracking" the emails - No apologies.

Fortunately for me, I prefer to maximize my time in most port cities before I board, so I tend to board late. Boarded late for my Med cruise last September (so much so that they were already tearing down most of the check in setup, but I was well before the cutoff time for check in). Not planning on boarding early for two cruises later this month either. Much prefer to spend my time exploring Sydney than sitting on the ship that is docked. Fortunately I am in the minority so my check in takes a very short time with no lines!

Agree completely.

Boarding early so I can eat lunch in the MDR holds no appeal for me - Especially paying for the privilege. For $49 I can stand in long lines, then wait in the terminal so I can board among the first several hundred ------- OR, have a nice lunch in a restaurant on shore (different from the place I'll be eating for the next X number of days), go to the port after the lines have gone away, board the ship stress-free and begin my vacation that way. :cool:

I hope you do not like to much entertainment, Hal is boring!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not sure what type entertainment you may be looking for, but I was favorably impressed by the entertainment on my one HAL cruise, especially BB King's Blues Club. I prefer Princess overall but I would actually give the entertainment edge to HAL, based on just this one experience.

Interesting discussion, but back to the original question. My answer: demise of ethics. Ethical business practices do not include failure to keep your promises or changing the rules in the middle of the game. That being said, it seems OP's coffee card issue most likely was just poor handling by on-board management rather than corporate policy. (At least I hope so.)

You can now add this offer to your card via this link:

 

www.americanexpress.com/wlcl

Thanks very much for the link. The offer didn't show up on my Amex offers this time around, but I used the link above, added it to my card, purchased $500 OBC for our upcoming cruise and the $100 credit showed up 2 days later.:'):D

We are using EZair for the first time and are 33 days out. When should we receive hard tickets or do they not do that?

No, they don't do that. Check the applicable airline's website and you should see your reservation.

The answer must be no but ill wait for you to confirm that.

 

If you book a cabin through princess but then transfer it to an outside TA, must the TA have that cabin in inventory in order to give you the good pricing through the TA website

 

for example i found an online TA that is 200 less for the OV and balcony cabins but they dont list the one set of cabins i like as being available on their site. so my guess is they cannot offer me the cheap price on that good cabin location. but boy would it be nice to book that cabin through princess then get the money off by transferring it out :)

 

too good to be true..yes?

No, it's definitely NOT too good to be true. If your TA can't give you a discounted rate (and/or equivalent OBC) on ANY cabin available on the Princess site, then you need to keep looking.

Please feel free to tell me how lucky I am ;p

Yes you are really lucky, no "could have gotten" here.!!!! :')

Hey, soda drinkers, have you seen diet root beer on Princess?

The $100 offer became available on my gold card between deposit and final payment for our upcoming cruise. I accepted it and received the credit as soon as I made the final payment.:D

Picky Picky, you got the point!

 

Descendants of the original Hawaiians are called “Natives” [emoji6]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Right you are! "Native" is the correct term. A "local" may very well not be a native.

This thread brings back a memory for me. I went to use a washer and someone’s clothes were done so I waited 15 minutes and then removed them and put the clothes on a table and put my clothes in to wash. Just as I finished putting detergent in the couple came in and asked where their clothes were, I said I put them on the table. They asked me why I took them out of the washer and I told them when I got there the clothes were done and I waited 15 minutes after that it’s fair game. They told me I was rude I shrugged my shoulders and said oh well and smiled.

I stayed there the entire time until my clothes were done washing. When they came back for their clothes after using the dryer I just smiled, ticked them off even more.

 

I think it's safe to say we all know who was really the rude one in this scenario. That couple probably had to leave their "saved" chairs by the pool to get their clothes out of the washer.;p

Sorry I did not bother to read the previous pages so I do not know if this was addressed but I KNOW I have the best answer......

It was given to me by a TSA manager in Washington DC after months of trying to recoup our losses for things stolen by the TSA....we never were reimbursed..

He said do NOT put cruise tags before your flight there because it is an alert that your probably have nice clothes small electronics, etc. in your bag.

He said that after you get off the cruise ship, remove the tags they put on to give you your time off the ship. He said that is like advertising you probably have nice souvenirs in there....that is where they got us.... they took a lot of different things but just to show you how bold they are...

I collect miniature perfume bottles and bought some in the Caribbean. They actually took the bottles out of the boxes so that they would probably fit in their pockets easier.

I told them I had the boxes & they should check for finger prints but was told that they all wear gloves !

No, I don't think this had been addressed - thank you. Another good reason I had never thought of to use cruise tags only for the cruise.

Thank you so much for all your replies but can you explain why phone should be on airplane mode on the ship? And what features can I utilize when it's in airplane mode? When on Travel Pass do you get all your voice mail messages when in port and what about emails? Is that part of my data plan? Or should I purchase the internet plan on the ship? You are all so helpful!

We have used Travel Pass on several International cruises, including Mexico, and it works well. You will be notified when entering each country where you will be charged $10 per 24 hours (if you use your phone) which gives you access to the same voice, text and data plan you have at home. If you also use their service on-board ship, you will be charged for all talk, text and data at per-usage pricing. If you want to be available for messages while at sea and not face exorbitant charges, simply disable data roaming instead of placing your phone in airplane mode. The charge for incoming texts (at least on our plan) is only .05 each, and no charge for voice unless you actually connect. Service, however, is not the best so you may not receive the texts until you get in range of a land-based tower.

SW uses smaller regional airports. I find their personnel a lot more personable and they pay more attention to details. Not like what you see on You Tube or television.

Southwest also uses huge regional hubs (e.g. ATL).

The most reasonable explanation for your bags making the flight? That is the norm for a 1 hour (or shorter) layover, not any special handling because you were going on a cruise.

Pleased to announce that after following instructions here and carefully watching the airfares, am back to my original lowest plus $60 pp. Considering this is a small percentage of a $2,000 pp fare (US east coast to Sydney) I am now a happy camper.

 

Thanks again.

Glad to hear of your success, and trust you are still keeping a close watch for further price drops. But PLEASE don't cancel again before having a new booking. If the website throws you a curve just call 1800Princess.

EZAir question are you able to pick your seats..

We have always been able to choose our seats on Delta through EZAir, and actually have a better selection than we would have on the Delta site - go figure.;)

So this morning when I checked the current pricing on our upcoming cruise in March, I went thru the complete process of picking a room. At that step, the price for an interior was $ 70 less , than the 'advertised' price on the page before you actually picked room type and specific room. Past final deposit, and our price is still less, and with prepaid grats, so we're all good.

 

Still may not have gone that far without reading about it on CC

 

The things you learn...:cool:

 

and the interior category was the only category with the reduced pricing..

It's great to learn something new, isn't it? And CC is a great place to learn (IMHO).:')

As you well know, the "walk up any time and a table will be waiting for you" is reserved for club class....who pay for that privileged.

Right, I understand completely, but it seems there are some who do not. Those of us who choose not to pay for that privilege have to just wait for a table or make a reservation, just like we do at home.

Thought that line was great too!!! Best idea ever :-)

Glad I'm not the only one to see the humor in that.:D

Just because they publicize that statement doesn't mean it's entirely true. They'll say what you want to hear but once on the ship, reality sets in. ;)

If one interprets the statement as "walk up any time and a table will be waiting for you", then it is obviously not entirely true, but he has some pretty unreasonable expectations. If he understands the first phrase, "Just like a restaurant on land", he should have reasonable expectations and in my experience get pretty much what he expects.:D

Your anger or disappointment should be with Princess not with those who make reservations like Princess allows.

 

Why don't you just make a reservation if it bothers you that others "jump the line"?

EXACTLY! If you believe Princess shouldn't allow reservations in ATD, then you have a valid point (although we may not agree). If you believe people who make dining reservations where they are available (whether on land or sea) are somehow being rude or selfish, that is something else altogether.