JeffT237

My concern is this appears to be more than just a one time event, it's been reported now that the power failure has happened on at least one other sailing. I feel for all that have upcoming cruises on the Summit, we experienced a generator issue that impacted the propulsion on our 1st Alaskan cruise on Princess 2 years ago, the issue remained the whole Alaska season until dry dock. We were notified 1 week prior. Severely impacted the experience as we had multiple itinerary changes and missed ports, it was disappointing overall. So this appears a smaller scale but still causes headaches as you don't want to deal with this pre-cruise and with the unknown of any potential impact. We are looking forward to our second Alaska cruise in August which we are calling our Alaska re-do to experience all we missed on our first one.........it is on the Summit! 😥😬

Mine is still showing $13.99 per person, Summit Alaska August 2024

Also it depends on the ship and itinerary, we recently returned from the Harmony and spent much less than that for an ocean view balcony cabin with those add ons you mentioned. We do not purchase the drink package when we sail on Royal Caribbean, we purchase drinks a la carte and do not come close to what the DBP would cost the 2 of us especially when using our on board credit. When we cruise with Princess we do purchase the Princess Plus and agree, it's a much more reasonable price than Royal's drink package and based on what we drink we find value in the package. I also would agree with others that say use a good TA, we always receive a good group rate that's lower than Royal's price as well as perks like pre-paid gratuities, speciality dining vouchers and on board credit which we use for our drink purchases. For us it has always lowered the cost of our cruise vacations.

So I signed on at midnight ship's time when check in was available and received an 11:00 time, I believe that's the earliest. Once we got through security we sat in a lounge with everyone else (wasn't that crowded) and shortly after that they began boarding, Key and Suites followed by loyalty status. It was quick, we are Platinum and the time from the first group called to our group was just a few minutes. They did check the boarding passes for the groups they called, so from the Key passengers to us in Platinum it was just a few minutes.

We were on the Harmony out of Galveston 3 weeks ago, Uber dropped us off at 10:20 and they were already allowing passengers to enter the terminal. We were quickly through security and sat in the lounge for maybe 10 minutes before they allowed passengers to board. We were on the Royal Promenade by 10:45 making dinner reservations, it was quick.

Totally remember that, it was $18.99 pp/pd and everyone including the seasoned cruisers tried to grab it knowing it was a mistake. Once it was discovered and rescinded the feeling was oh well, Royal made a mistake and they should honor it, and they did. I don't recall many customers who got it at that price taking a forgiving position towards Royal.

We were there last year on the Wonder and the Odyssey was also there. The island did look pretty busy in the public areas, we were in the Beach Club so it was much quieter.

We just returned from the Harmony that had a stop in Roatán. Our group felt completely safe and had an enjoyable time. Did a beach and snorkel tour, no issues at all.

In our experience with my type 1 wife who has to bring extra supplies, and devices as she wears an insulin pump and wears a CGM it really varies when it comes to security and TSA. She also brings juice boxes and snacks. Some of the time it's not an issue, we've learned to get to the airport even earlier than most. There are times where she is pulled aside and everything examined, and there are times when the TSA agent is more familiar with diabetic passengers and it goes quickly. Sometimes a supervisor has been notified and involved. Just a heads up, it seems every time is a little different. As far as embarkation day, never any issues.

So true

correction, we "don't" use the elevators

If you want to share, is he type 1 insulin dependent diabetic or a type 2 diabetic and manages his condition with diet and medication? My wife is type 1, she was diagnosed over 30 years ago and travel has not been an issue for her. The reason I ask is although similar they have different needs that you may need fulfilled prior to the cruise with the special needs department. For instance refrigeration for the type of insulin he's on or how it's delivered if he is on insulin. Or special dietary requirements. In addition to contacting the special needs department, if you haven't done so I'd make sure to check in with his medical team especially his endocrinologist for any info that is specific to him. As others have said, we walk a lot, use the elevators and hydrate, hydrate, hydrate....especially if you're flying. Love this, so very true. My wife's condition has never slowed her down and she's been very fortunate to be in good health despite her condition.

Yes, the question was answered on post #2. But this is a tipping thread, it must go to the minimum required 10 pages of opinion and rants, or post gets locked....whatever comes first!

It's better than 3 years ago when everyone was an expert in immunology, virology and epidemiology!

I have never heard that a B2B Alaska was not allowed, I thought it's actually a common practice. I'm interested to hear the responses on this.

I cruise on multiple lines, so I browse multiple boards.....many posts end up relating to or commenting on tipping at some point. Yes not all, but many. The arguing in many times is sensless, most of the cruise lines all have their recommendations and have moved to daily gratuity amounts being charged to cruisers onboard accounts or offering the ability to pay them pre-cruise or add them into a bundle package. Most of the lines also allow the removal of the automatic gratuity, they discourage it but their own policies allow this. They almost always end up in a debate on the cruise workers pay structure, tipping cultures in different parts of the world, virtue signaling or the living wage debate in America. And nothing solved.

Jumping in late, but the original question was about the cost of Wi-Fi and a glass of wine? Got to love CC, all the posts almost always end up in an endless and unsolvable argument about gratuities!

We ended up taking this cruise, 45 minutes from our home because we had some FCCs we received after the Crown Alaska issues . We really took it because it was a new ship, local and not expecting much from the California Coastal Itinerary and we absolutely loved the ship and itinerary. As native Californians we've been to all of these places but it felt different on a cruise. Cruising under the Golden Gate bridge was awesome, taking a van day trip to Sonoma/Napa for wine tasting was one of my favorite excursions as we had a great group of guests who all hit it off tons of fun, lunch and shopping in Santa Barbara, San Diego we have family there that we met for dinner and as I said Ensenada stayed on the ship to enjoy. We will sail this again, we still enjoy our other lines and Caribbean & Alaska itineraries, but this really was one of our favorite cruises and it's local!

I feel they are, especially during certain times of the year but we have not done a Mexican Rivera on Princess, just the other lines. I'm just speculating that a 7 day Princess cruise on the Discovery would be a less party atmosphere than a short Carnival or Royal Caribbean cruise. We're in SoCal and have grown up visiting the Pacific side of Mexico and it's just not our interest anymore. Safety is certainly and issue but we also don't find much to do there anymore. The party atmosphere is not a deterrent for us, especially on a newer bigger ship. We've found plenty of places to partake or have quiet time which I feel the Discovery has to offer. Plus the Discovery does not have any of the kid activities like water slides, zip lines, roller coasters etc. so I'm guessing that attracts an older crowd and younger adults.

We really enjoyed the Discovery Princess, we sailed on the Discovery in October of 2022 on the California Coastal itinerary. It was nice sailing out of our home port which we rarely do anymore, we're mostly Caribbean and Alaska now. We have also starting skipping the Mexican Rivera cruises, just not what we enjoy anymore. Our itinerary was San Pedro to SF, Santa Barbara, SD and Ensenada. We stayed on the ship in Ensenada. We will sail this itinerary again on the Discovery. This itinerary was a more laid back cruise, hardly any kids and less of the party atmosphere, not sure what your interests are. But it did not feel too big for us, but we typically sail Royal Caribbean on Oasis class ships which are much bigger. Plenty of resources on CC and YouTube, but we really enjoyed the ship. Quiet, great crew and service. No complaints with the dining, both complimentary and speciality. Bar services were all good for us. Did not attend any theater shows, just enjoyed the live music. We're both in our mid 50's. Enjoy!

We went through something similar a couple of years ago, ours was post cruise and we went through the traditional phone based customer service at first. We were always assured we would get a return call from a supervisor which we did not. Our issues went on for about 8 weeks and escalated to several chat sessions, e-mails to the executive team and many phone conversations. My biggest frustration was the promised return calls/e-mail responses, some with dates that went unfulfilled. I documented everything, took screen shots of the chats and saved all of the e-mails. I was clear with my complaint and what I felt was a fair resolution. I would recommend you do the same in case you haven't yet. Ultimately it was after I went through the complaint process with the Better Business Bureau that I finally got the resolution I was looking for. Princess is not accredited with the BBB but they do respond to the process. Best of luck! https://www.bbb.org/us/ca/valencia/profile/cruises/princess-cruises-1216-38000445

We are also staying at the Pinnacle, did you walk to the port and if so how was it? It looks like any easy walk on Google maps but sometimes it differs in person.

We are staying at the Pinnacle Marriott, a couple of blocks from Canada Place. We looked at the Pan Pacific but for the night before the price was over $700 CAD. Looks like a great hotel with the convenience of having your luggage taken to the ship a big plus. I see you get in late so by the time you get out of YVR in will probably be after midnight so staying near the airport and taking a taxi or Uber might be the better option to save some money.

@lobsternight@Heidi13 Thanks for all the info, really does help. Thanks for the reference points as well! Nice to see them on the map. We are scheduled to depart Vancouver on August 30th.

Forgive me if this was answered previously, but has the trace amount of diesel fuel in the drinking water story been either verified or debunked? I have read some comments from posters saying it's fake news, I've also read some stories online that seem to indicate some was found or found in the past. If so has it been completely rectified? I have not gone through this whole thread but has Princess put out an official statement confirming or denying? I would think Princess would want to say especially if it is fake news that they're aware of internet stories claiming this but to put it to rest if it is definitively false. This is just one of a few I've read, I realize it's 5 days old and I'm specifically asking about the diesel issue. Thanks. https://www.civitavecchiaport.org/the-sun-princess-does-not-leave-for-civitavecchia/