spingal

4 hours ago, Host CJSKIDS said:

 Very cool. I'm sure that group had to scramble a bit to change some things due to our complete change. 
 

 

Yep.  This is their first Princess cruise so they were a bit stressed out about excursions.  I told them to just go to the shore excursions desk when they board.

Have a great cruise!

I have friends sailing with you!  They are with the Porsche group.

I am onboard the Crown.  I asked guest services and the shore excursion desk about the shore excursion credit.  It can be used for anything and does not need to be used exclusively for shore excursions.

I did the 360 experience on the Discovery.  It was interesting and I enjoyed it.  That said, I would never pay $150 for it.  The food was excellent and the amount was fine for me but candidly it wasn’t a lot; nothing like Chef’s Table.  Plus the wine wasn’t free flowing.  You got wine a small taste with each course but they didn’t refill glasses.

Hi Travelin Sisters!  I am enjoying your thread a lot!

Question for you.  There are people on the Sapphire who posted that Elite passengers are given L’Occitane shampoo and conditioner products in their cabins.  I am on the 28 day cruise that leaves when you get back to LA and am curious if these products are provided in Elite passenger cabins.

Thanks!

2 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

Per our room steward, these are the only Elite amenities they currently have in stock.  Your room steward should be able to replenish if you are Elite or in a suite.

Is there anyway you can find out if this is just on the Sapphire?  I am Elite and love the L’occitane brand.  I leave this Friday on the Crown 28 day Tahiti cruise and would love to not pack shampoo and conditioner.  But I am not sure I should risk it since the regular shampoo destroys my hair.

Thanks!

P.S. Enjoying your thread!

3 minutes ago, quincytoo said:

First time getting COVID 

Woke up yesterday feeling slightly off with mild sore throat but blamed the AC

 

 

Off the ship at 7:30 home at 8 pm 

woke up today and looking for the semi truck that ran me over 

Test was positive 

Do I contact Princess to let them know or is it just kinda expected like catching a cold or flu 

 

Had a great cruise and now it makes sense the last sea day I was so tired and spent most of my day in stateroom watching Love Boat

Exact same thing happened to me in early January.  I was so tired the last day too.  Got home, tested and was positive.  Luckily I had a mild case because I was prescribed Plaxlovid the day I got home.

I am so sorry this happened to you.  I hope you feel better soon.

11 hours ago, arctickitty said:

We were out of our cabins.  We waited in a public area like the paperwork said. Are you saying people should just magically know to go to their meeting areas several hours before their meeting times?

You didn’t indicate you were out of your cabin; I even said I didn’t know where you were waiting.

You left Ensenada early and were docked before 9am; that meant disembarkation would be soon than they told you.  Every cruise I have been on we have breakfast and then head to our disembarkation lounge.  Many times we are called before our time.  That helps the cruise line and the crew when the ship is cleared earlier by allowing them more time to prepare for the next cruise.  So no I never said you should “magically” know.  Sorry I mentioned anything.

7 hours ago, arctickitty said:

Our paperwork said our meeting time was 11:30 so we honored that request and didn’t go crowd our assigned meeting lounge early in the morning.  
 

Every other port they made a shipwide announcement that we were cleared and the process was beginning so it’s not unreasonable to have expected an arrival announcement.  A single clearance announcement would have clued us in that they were running ahead of the published schedule.  No matter, we arrived to our departure spot at the correct time!

They always want people out of their cabins so they can begin the turnaround for the next cruise.  Disembarkation information typically states that ship-wide announcements will not be made.

8 minutes ago, arctickitty said:

We still hadn’t heard any announcements by 10am so I got suspicious and wandered the ship (and got what would prove to be our final coffees) and noticed people leaving the ship.

 

We checked our meeting time (11:30) and I had a hunch so we went at 10:45 and we’re about to cross the threshold into Wheelhouse when they called our number so we turned around and went to disembarkation.  The process was seamless and walked directly on through.  We had an Uber credit to use for this month but the taxis were all lined up in front of us and we don’t have a ton of time to spare now so we hopped in one and are speeding away.

I am not sure where you were waiting.  Princess doesn’t make disembarkation announcements to the entire ship.  They are only made in the disembarkation lounges.

1 hour ago, LACruiser88 said:

We received the below notification from Princess last night for our March 5th, Buenos Aires to LA cruise.  No more vaccination requirement or testing.

 

UPDATED COVID-19 PROTOCOLS FOR YOUR VOYAGE

We are pleased to share that our COVID-19 protocols for your voyage have been amended. As a result, there are no longer any COVID-19 vaccination or pre-cruise testing requirements for guests on this voyage.

Those of us on the 28 day Los Angeles to Tahiti (and back) cruise also received the same notification!  

There are facial scanners in San Pedro.  Not sure why they weren’t using them for you?

On 1/18/2023 at 4:02 PM, Bimmer09 said:

 

Thank you for the kind compliments.

I'm seeing quite a few Cruise ship Covid responses. Luckily we didn't lose taste nor smell with our dose. 

We last traveled August 2022 to Germany for 11 days, 6 nights of which were spent in a crowded theater where maybe 30-40% were masked. We visited beer gardens -outdoors-where none were masked. These were the only times we were in crowds of people. We stayed healthy. Maybe we were lucky.

 

At my smoking table on the Diamond I seemed to be a magnet for people who wanted to chat. That I always enjoy-meeting new cruisers-but  none of us were ever masked as we were smoking and drinking.That was the closest I came to strangers but we were close enough to be breathing in the same air. It's a risk you take on a cruise ship.

 

There seems to be a collective (here and in Europe) feeling that Covid has passed or is no longer a threat. I may have missed that memo...

 

I have said to Carol during the past two weeks or so "won't it be great to wake up one morning without a cough and with our energy restored?". If it takes 4 more weeks then so be it.

 

Hope to see you in my June 22 review on X.

Norris

Norris,

Were you in Oberammergau for the Passion Play?!  I was there and saw it!

Jamie

19 minutes ago, pompeii said:

If they don't clarify the requirements prior to our sail date, then we'll err on the safe side.  But we won't feel good about spending $$ on a proctored test if we find that our fellow passengers boarded with just a photo of their free home test because they followed the instructions on the app saying that's ok.  

 

Anyway, I think we can all agree that Princess should use unambiguous language so there is no clarification needed.  

Blue Shield will reimburse for the test.  So check with your insurance company.

Unfortunately Covid is still very active on the ships!  My sister, her family and I got home on 1/7 from the Discovery Princess NYE cruise.  I knew something wasn’t right when I got home so I tested and was positive.  Then the rest of the family tested too.  My sister and nephew also tested positive.  Luckily my case was very mild and my sister and nephew had zero symptoms.  I ended up on Plaxlovid for 5 days since I am over 65.  We are all negative now but I have a lingering annoying cough.

Norris, glad to hear you and Carol are now negative!  Hopefully your cough and lethargy resolve soon.
 

I always love your reviews!

52 minutes ago, tawlaw1526 said:

Has anyone recently been on a cruise that falls under the Enhanced Guidelines for Covid testing?    In March, I am going on a 28 day cruise round trip out of LA.    I am assuming due to the length of the cruise it is requiring everyone to get Covid tested 3 days prior to embarkation.   

 

I read the below on the Princess site and if I read this correctly, I can use an at home self test which does NOT require it be a proctor test.   The wording seems a little confusing and I just wanted to see if anyone has experience with this Enhanced Guideline.    Has anyone done the at home test and taken a picture of it with my government photo ID?    Is this now accepted by Princess?
 

Testing Requirements

• All guests ages 5 and older are required to take a medically observed COVID-19 Test. 
  • PCR or medically observed Antigen COVID-19 test taken within 3 days prior to embarkation, or
  • Medically observed or self-administered antigen home test taken within 3 days before embarkation.

For guests who have completed a pre-departure self-test:

1. The guest must take one (1) photo which shows the guest’s negative test result next to the guest’s government issued photo ID; and date and time taken.
2. The guest must carry photo of the negative test result (or have access to it on their mobile phone) and show it upon request at the terminal.

I am on the same cruise!  Two months from today!
 

There was another thread about this that caused myself (I am a travel agent) and someone else who is also a travel agent to contact Princess.  As you mentioned the wording is very confusing!

The test MUST be medically observed.  I hope they correct the wording soon!

Here is what my Princess business development manager sent to me in an email:

”Thank you so much for bringing this to my attention! The guests absolutely must be medically observed, though they can be the self-administered tests as LONG AS they’re medically observed (Optum tests are an example of this). I’ve escalated this to my director and support team so that this gets addressed asap.”

On 1/27/2022 at 12:35 PM, nini said:

If you LOVE coffee and possibly want to have WiFi, then you might consider the Princess Plus. When you add up beverage purchases (coffee and about everything else), Crew Incentives, and WiFi; it is a great deal. ($40.00 per day)

Princess Plus is now $60 a day.

1 hour ago, PacnGoNow said:

I just called my TA with the booking number and they took care of it.

Hmmm

I am a TA and also take care of it for my clients.

Here is the form you use.  I have always just printed it and then scanned it and emailed it.

Reservation Transfer Request Form .pdf

23 hours ago, Shelly97060 said:

@spingal@PacnGoNow  @Jemnibabe @Yehootu I heard back from the manager I contacted at Princess and they verified that the requirement is medically observed PCR or Medically observed antigen test taken 3 days before embarkation. 
 

so I will be ordering my BinaxNow from Emed. 😄

Thank you!  It is scary that the TA chat team would tell me a self administered is OK!  I am going to let my business development manager know!  

They sell too many passes!  I was in the enclave one day on the Discovery.  It was so busy; no available heated chairs and women talking loudly.  So many people in and out of steam rooms and saunas.  It was not a relaxing experience.  

I hate it too!  Rarely use it; only when I left patter in the cabin!  It is way too hard to navigate.

12 minutes ago, Shelly97060 said:

I have emailed the conflicting information to one of the managers at Princess and asked for clarification ( using this exact cruise as the example).  I will report back on what I learn. Hopefully they can also help get the information updated to remove the confusion. 

Thank you!  Princess is a bit of a hot mess when it comes to communications.

19 minutes ago, that said:

ours arrived 12:48 pm PST

 

I am so glad I contacted Princess.  Looks like everyone is finally getting them!  Princess had no idea they weren’t sent.  😳

4 minutes ago, LACruiser88 said:

We just received our cruise surveys, finally!!!

Finally is right!  I am a travel agent and was just on a chat session with one of the Princess staff. I told them that a bunch of people had not gotten the surveys so maybe they just did something that triggered them being sent. I just got mine as well!