dreaminofcruisin

Your question got buried. I responded to the same question by another poster in the other thread, but if you didn't see it, here is my response: I had to cancel a cruise in January that I had partially paid with gift cards. I used 5 - $500 gift cards. Each gift card ended up with $500 again, except one that ended up with MORE than $500....which was weird. The balance had been paid by credit card and that also got a credit. The Math all worked, so it was fine. I had printed off paper copies of the gift card numbers/pins when I got them which turned out to be a good idea as it helped me keep track of them until I then applied them to another cruise. It's good to be aware that this will happen since one would need to take another Princess cruise to use the gift cards and if you don't cruise often, you have to keep track of them until the next time you cruise.

I'm not sure who told you that EZ Air only guarantees Same Airline....but that isn't true. Now, it might be that they FIRST try and get you on the Same Airline, but if there are no other options with that airline, they will put you on a different airline. Last summer (which was one of the worst messes in flying ever), Delta cancelled our flight home from LHR 7 days before we left for a 12 day cruise. It took "Princess EZ Air's Back Room" about 48 hours, but they finally found us an Iceland Air flight. It wouldn't have been my first choice, but it was acceptable and it got us home. I agree with the poster who suggested you look up options on your own, though they didn't really give me an option and I was so close to leaving, I just took what they gave me. It is stressful when this happens and I'm like you where this is too close for me to be comfortable---I like my planning all set to go---but you do actually have enough time for them to get you an acceptable solution. Since you are working with a TA....everyone keeps saying this is why you have a TA....so they should be working hard to find you something acceptable.

Nope. Google is your friend....

Nope. This sale is from a 3rd party. Not Princess.

I had to cancel a cruise in January that I had partially paid with gift cards. I used 5 - $500 gift cards. Each gift card ended up with $500 again, except one that ended up with MORE than $500....which was weird. The balance had been paid by credit card and that also got a credit. The Math all worked, so it was fine. I had printed off paper copies of the gift card numbers/pins when I got them which turned out to be a good idea as it helped me keep track of them until I then applied them to another cruise. It's good to be aware that this will happen since one would need to take another Princess cruise to use the gift cards and if you don't cruise often, you have to keep track of them until the next time you cruise.

Yes. You can REFARE if the price drops. However, if there is a sale you book under originally, you may lose the perks from the sale....OBC or the like. Also, sometimes you can't REFARE if the price is for new bookings only. Then you would need to Cancel and Book. For this reason, be careful when you book that your deposit is Refundable. Lately, Princess has made more of their down payments not Refundable especially if booking as Guaranteed instead of picking your own cabin. We usually book as soon as we find something interesting. Most of the time, it seems like the price goes up, but occasionally we will see a price drop and have been successful refaring. Welcome to the Princess Board!

Exactly. Soooo...let me get this straight.... you either have to exercise or shop. Yup. Those go together.......???? 🙄

Congratulations that you have found agencies that work well for you! (2 even!) My experience has not been the same as yours working with agencies....and yes...they are large high volume agencies....I have now been through 4 agents at 3 different agencies. I never found them to be worthwhile. My experience was that they call Princess and talk to the same people that most of us talk to. If they get a clunker, they relay the same bad messaging and insist that they are correct. Even if I have insisted they call back, they continue to tell me that's the way things are, even though I have read differently here on CC. I've pretty much given up on them and figured I have a better chance to present my case to a Princess rep myself, even if it means waiting on hold on the phone for a long time. It would be wonderful if people could share their great TAs so we could all find them...and don't suggest talking to people on cruises. That's where my last one came from. They raved about her, but I think they thought they were getting special deals when in reality they were things they would have gotten just booking online. I don't doubt that you have good agents. Just please don't assume that everyone can find them.

This. Or renting a car from Montreal to Quebec City is another option...

Yup. Exactly this. It could even be a 'move down' situation. We were once offered (and took) what I call a 'move down' to a lower category cabin on the same cruise. It came with a LOT OF OBC. There's no reason Princess couldn't find someone in a BA cabin that would go for this if the OBC was high enough...and if not....they could have bumped the OP to a mini-suite and that should have been at no charge to them. That being said, there wouldn't be a guarantee where on the ship the mini-suite would be.... Princess used to be really good at this and I have never heard them having the situation like on other cruise lines where people found their cruise cancelled...sad to hear.

Also, remember that a lot of people are still cruising with 'old Plus'. We have cruises booked through February 2024 that we paid $50/day for Plus. At $40/day it was a no-brainer. At $50 / day, I thought a bit, but think it is still worth it. Now that it is $60/day I will be evaluating my next few cruises while using it to decide whether or not I buy it in the future. We are in that gray area where we drink some, but do we drink enough to continue to justify the package? We'll be analyzing it. Regardless, we do enjoy having it as one doesn't have to think whether they want another beverage--with or without alcohol, as it has already been paid for.

Wondering if you have seen tapas at Vines post-covid and if so, what ship? The ships I have been on are no longer serving tapas and barely serving any decent wine. 🤪 On the other hand, the P/E Lounge seems to have taken a step up and had more tasty food offerings post-covid though it would be nice if they still provided a menu of what is being offered each night. I guess we can't have everything. 🤷‍♀️

No bottles. Cans or cartons only, so if you can find it in cans, you will be able to bring it. Here's the policy. "Guests are prohibited from bringing water, sodas and other non-alcoholic beverages on board that are packaged in bottles. A small quantity of non-alcoholic beverages (i.e., sparkling water, sodas, juice, milk) packaged in cans or cartons may be brought on board on embarkation day, only if carried on in Guests’ hand luggage (not in checked luggage). A small quantity is considered a maximum of 12 sealed, unopened cans/cartons of 12 ounces each or less per person. Guests will be asked to discard open beverages in plastic containers prior to boarding." From: https://www.princess.com/legal/passage_contract/pcl.html Section 5. Also, in the future, if you ask a question, you will get more responses if you are specific in the title what your question is about. 🙂

How was the hotel? We have reservations there in August, so just wondering what your thoughts on it were? In the past, we have stayed at Room2, but sadly they went to a 2-night minimum... 😔

It's nice to see such an uplifting post. I have enjoyed all of my post-covid cruises even with their hiccups. The one thing I haven't heard anyone mention has improved is the selection of wines included in the Plus package....especially white... That's the one thing on which I think Princess is NOT 'back'......

Yes. I am confused with all the negativity. I had been reading in so many posts about how the FCC people had such short hours and long lines when they were available. That actually seems like a poor business practice if you are trying to sell future cruises. I've never talked to either of these people and only once did I try. That was to talk to an FCC person, but their hours were short and when I went during their open hours, like others, the line was too long. As a shareholder it seems like a department that was begging to be expanded. As a cruiser, will it negatively impact something? Maybe, but I'll wait and see.

Since you have kids, you might want to check out the below thread with Camp Discovery experiences:

I know that some people have really good TAs and I congratulate those of you who have found them. However, do not assume any old TA is going to do a better job than whoever you talk to at Princess. I have been through 3 TAs and given up. The ones I have had parrot whoever they happen to reach at Princess.....so not helpful..... just sayin'....

I had this exact same issue about 3 months ago. Interestingly enough, my cruise was also in February of 2024, but on the Sky. I was anxious to get it booked because I was trying to get a cabana and there are only a small number of them. I tried calling Princess. She said she got the same thing and told me it was 'too early' even though they had sent me an email saying excursions were open. I gave up for a while and I think I tried about a month later and suddenly magically, it worked. 🤷‍♀️ I have no advice.....except to tell you I know how frustrating it is! If it isn't something that you think will sell out, try and wait a month and try again. Your only other option is to call them and ask for a supervisor, though who knows if that will do any good. Good luck!

We had heard too many times of ships coming in late to Sydney when we went, so we decided to add another pleasant day in Sydney. We got a hotel near the pier and dropped our luggage. We got on the bus from there to Bondi Beach and did the 3.7 mile cliff walk to Coogee, stopping for lunch near a beach part way there. When we got to Coogee, we caught the bus back to the pier. The next morning we had an easy train ride to the airport and an acceptable flight time that wasn't a rush.

I agree that if it wasn't you that selected the flight online, you should be blaming your TA/CVP or whatever. If you do it online yourself, a BIG Box comes up when you do the EZ Air booking asking you if your name matches your passport EXACTLY. Did you see that?

I know this all has historically been true in Vines. However, the Vines experience has been so downgraded on my last 2 cruises, I wonder if they even have the 'special' wine glasses any more? On our last cruise (August), no one ever mentioned us not taking the glasses to the dining room and the servers were the same servers as at the International Cafe, so not even sure they were serving wine in the special glasses? I wasn't thinking about the glasses at the time, so didn't take note. I was more concerned about the lack of white wine choices..... Anyone have really recent experience that can confirm these glasses are still special?

If these are signs posted onboard,that is concerning. In both cases, they indicate that they are included with Plus and Premier. That is only true if you have purchased the packages under the most recent price increases....to my knowledge. There are going to be some annoyed people if they bought them pre-price increase, buy them and get charged for them. Princess really ought to just grandfather the old priced plans into the new benefits. Otherwise....just another mess by Princess....

However, it does seem really odd that the Zero Alcohol Package and the Classic Soda Package now DO include cans: (Click on the terms and conditions for them) https://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/food-and-dining/beverages/ If Plus/Premier DON'T include cans, which the terms stil indicate, Princess has once again created a confusing mess.... 🤷‍♀️

On one of our cruises, DH really hated having to loudly say our room number. He took a piece of paper, wrote the room number on it and every time a server asked for it, he whipped it out of his pocket and showed it to them. Caused less repeats when they mis-heard what he said also.... 😊