Steelers36

In fairness, you did have a complex itinerary involving separate reservations and different airlines. I always prefer to be able to book separately for flying to/from Europe, but not always possible. If a guest has booked a single cruise voyage, EzAir forces both the outgoing and return flights in a single reservation. In this case, a reduction in fare for one direction may be useless if the fare in the other direction has increased. In Fall 2022, when we flew to and from Europe for cruises, we had a B2B2B + 1 more on different ship. I changed airlines and pricing through almost daily monitoring. That said, we got screwed on both transatlantics by the airlines swapping equipment and we ended up with old business cabin layout and seating versus the newer. Two different airlines. What are the odds? The day before - no swap. Sheesh. Nothing to do with EzAir because it would have happened had I booked directly with each carrier. IMO, the airlines will cause a passenger way more upset and issues and EzAir. I was watching the airline websites as well.

I have not read of anyone getting PCL to ship special service in advance. The standard is 11 days prior to sail date. This week, our friends' arrived at 12 days out. You will need port pickup (Blue Lane). The Medallions are made on the ship - not in the terminal. Reports on this forum indicate guests are handed a cruise card to board and then visit GS to have a Medallion made.

I have not followed CFL since I was a kid. In those days, I was a Tiger Cats fan. Team colors, steel city, team profile led me to Steelers when I turned to "real" football. Never regretted it. (I grew up in Kitchener, but not there now... we live west of Toronto).

When a guest has a cabin assignment - either selected or from a GTY booking - it is possible to change to another open cabin in the same category. Since you have a BB GTY, you will not be assigned obstructed since they are a lower category than yours.

They do not want guests doing this. Get the water into one of their plastic glasses and then transfer to your bottle. We cannot be trusted in the whole to not contact the water spouts with our own containers.

I am about 75% Scottish ancestry (going back before ancestors came to Canada in 1930's). Perhaps that is why I would never purchase a $10 GC where I am immediately out 40% of its value.

This is probably the best value in the Specialty Dining arena even though it isn't a restaurant setting.

You will be assigned BB or better, but could be on any deck. At least you know BB will not be far forward or far aft if you like to avoid those zones. There will be BB's on more than Deck 11, but perhaps all are assigned to other guests or withheld from sale. I wouldn't be expecting a TA to contact client for a Princess (or other line) price drop. IMO, up to the guest to be on the watch for these and then get with TA to re-fare or cancel/re-book. (No doubt some do this sort of thing, but they mustn't have too many clients or they wouldn't have a lot of time to sell cruises.

If your TA gives you a cash discount off the cruise fare, you get that same discount off the portion for Plus ($60/day). You can also purchase Plus on board Day 1 and then whatever OBC you have goes towards the cost. You won't be getting a TA discount, but if you purchase trip insurance, your insurance cost is higher with the higher cruise fare that includes Plus. The Plus does cover the relatively new charge to order via the App - a flat $15 per voyage. You can dodge the $5 RS fee by not phoning for room service. Order in the App and have it delivered to your location (cabin) as part of the $15 Ocean Now service fee.

We shouldn't be recommending the standalone beverage packages IMO. They are a rip-off and not cost-effective. It is also in accurate to use those standalone prices to compare or justify purchasing a package. One should begin with $60/day and subtract out the items they would do anyway (typically Crew Appreciation and MedallionNet). Perhaps the Ocean Now access. Whatever net balance remains is for the bar tab and compare that to your personal typical habits.

You guys must not have cruised with Princess for eons. The Sanctuary has been around for many years. I am not even sure what you were writing about in the first post. They are not alone in having an exclusive for-fee area.

Assuming you are not yet Platinum or Elite, then the system is working the way is should, It is a Platinum/Elite benefit to be able to access DMW immediately following a deposit payment. That said, there have been instances of folks not yet at those member levels who have been able to make reservations in DMW. Sorry, but I hope any loopholes are getting fixed and closed. Prior to DMW, it was first-come, first-booked for early or late dining or ATD until capacities were filled. You then would have to request on board if you wanted to try and get something that was showing as full. With the new reservation system, certain time slots or table types can get filled up before sail date. BTW, you can elect to make your final payment earlier than the due date and then you get access to DMW.

Short-sighted of Princess to do it that way if true.

That's even worse. Another thing I was thinking is in B2B2B2.. situations (like you most of the time and us last Fall when we had three on one ship) is I don't really need to do three of them for one ship.

IMO, the evening schedule is not all that different from pre-DMW times. Maybe more things to choose from, but the basic structure pretty similar.

THIS!

I do agree it is a tedious process and I do wonder if they get back many completed ones? Another thing I do not like is they give a pretty short timespan to complete it in and when I get back home, often busy catching up on things.

My guess is they got rid of it rather than trying to improve it. It is kind if funny, because a year or so back (or less), they did announce it was going to be upgraded and provide a notification of received message. Something changed that. Most people consider it pretty useless without the notification. Secondly, with most guests on an internet plan, a slew of messaging options is available that are much better. For me, I'd rather they spend IT resources fixing and improving the things they need to provide for a better pre-cruise and on-board experience. I don't them providing and supporting a thir-rate messaging system.

Main showtimes in the theater are 7:30pm and 9:30pm - mostly. Could be shifted 1/2 hr later on Euro itineraries. Some headliner shows may be set 15 min off the preceding. In addition, there are other entertainment experiences scheduled at various times - but a ship will often have a discernable pattern to these once you see a couple of schedules on board (formerly the Princess Patter). So, figure out how much time you want for dinner (at least budget an hour), plus how much ahead of time you want to be in the theater, and book accordingly. Or, do walk-up if you prefer. If you book and are totally wrong for what you want to do, then you can work with DR Hosts and make changes.

This all said, we are all speculating to some degree here and I do like the idea that the levels may be used to sort out TD, from staggered reservations, to AT walk-ups. Give all the options to the guests and organize by location. IMO, speed of service can always be a request thing and no one at PCL seems to be paying attention to the option in the App. I would say the only issue a guest would have is to not expect any variation in service if sharing a table in a TD situation. Not easy to get outside the lane the table is in. One way to speed service is to order less things or less courses. But so much easier to control pace with a private table.

If this is true, then PCL has to be bringing back organized and formalized (not clothing) TD experience.

I do not see why multiple kitchens would be required to produce a chicken fingers and fries dish versus a filet mignon dish.

I am as interested as you.

SEE ABOVE UNDER EACH ITEM.

According to the sticky for key crew members on all ships at the top of this forum, Jodi is scheduled to be on the Crown until April sometime.