Astro Flyer

Thanks…we can check in tomorrow (9/6) although being in Maui midnight EDT is 1800 HST so will give it a try then. 🤞 If I’m correct, the embarkation time is different than a boarding time because O boards by cabin type?

Thanks…this is the first time we’ve had a guarantee cabin & as I understand it an assignment could be as late as embarkation day. We are on the 9/27 roundtrip LA coastal cruise and would be interested in your Port of LA turnaround day experience. Being in-transit your experience will be different than ours but by knowing your times it would help me plan when to arrive at the port. Your cruise & ours show a 1300 embarkation with a 1900 sailing. Being our first O cruise (interior) trying to decide when to fight Wednesday traffic driving to the port. We’d like to start our cruise as soon as possible but don’t want to stand around too long. Based on the port’s schedule Regatta will be docked at Berth 93.

We also got those fundraiser Crazy Shirts and a mutual friend wrote in an email about your visit. Mahalo for contributing to our economy & being in South Maui if there’s anything I could provide you could email me & our mutual friend could provide you with my email.

We’re looking forward to our first O cruise after many days on Princess and were originally booked on this 20 day itinerary. We had to rebook & have an interior guarantee cabin on the 7-day Regatta sailing on 9/27. Looking forward to vicariously sailing with those of you on this cruise to learn more about an O cruise.

Knowing your attention to detail that doesn’t happen often. ☺️

This change being in the Blue lane when picking up the Medallion at the port was announced at a webinar about 10 days ago.

In May HaveDogWillTravel posted photos of the wine by the glass that’s available in the dining room for Premier & Plus packages.

The link I previously provided a CC contributor shared her experience on Majestic to Alaska. https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles/the-caymus-vineyards-wine-dinner-on-princess Her Caymus WMD was at a MDR table but stated on other ships it’s at the Crown Grill & that it’s available on all ships. Hopefully they keep the $45 WMD in a wine cellar because I’d never pay for the $140 Caymus version. I found a 2023 menu for the $45 WMD on Majestic: https://www.princess.com/downloads/pdf/ships-and-experience/food-and-dining/beverages/wine-makers-dinner-silverado-vineyards.pdf

The Fairwind/Dawn Princess was built in 1956 as Cunard’s oceanliner RMS Sylvania. When we sailed as Sitmar it was an all Italian & Portuguese crew…best service & food ever. While I haven’t sailed on a luxury cruise line, I feel Sitmar provided that level of experience minus the all-inclusive of luxury cruise lines.

That is what I experienced on the second Dawn Princess in 2000 and they had other free options including pasta & salads. In 1988 we sailed Sitmar’s Fairwind with a pizzeria and 6 months later the ship became the original Dawn Princess with the pizzeria removed.

Yes…80% of those RCI surveyed opposed charging for Sorrento’s pizza. If you believe the Princess rhetoric their survey said passengers prefer to pay to shorten lines. I have about 100 days on Royal-class ships & eat at Alfredo’s/Gigi’s regularly but have never waited more than 5 minutes even during the noontime rush. Princess made Alfredo’s/Gigi’s fee based not due to passenger preferences but to generate more income and to sell more packages which will never be cost effective for me. https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/royal-caribbean-will-keep-sorrento-s-pizza-free-after-conducting-survey

The WM Dinner was $40 but now I believe it’s $45 in Royal-class wine cellars located in the midship dining rooms. The Caymus WM Dinner is $140 and not limited to Royal-class ships. Princess Cruises Announces New Winemaker Dinner with Caymus Vineyards https://www.princess.com/news/news_releases/2023/04/princess-cruises-announces-new-winemaker-dinner-with-caymus-vineyards.html https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles/the-caymus-vineyards-wine-dinner-on-princess

Australia Removes All Remaining Cruise Industry COVID-19 Protocols August 30, 2023 (7 p.m. AEST) -- All remaining cruise-specific COVID-19 protocols have been dropped with immediate effect in Australia as the country prepares for its busiest summer season since the end of the pandemic. For cruise passengers, this means mask wearing, testing and proof of vaccinations are no longer mandatory. New South Wales Premier Chris Minns has signed paperwork officially removing the Eastern Seaboard and Western Australian Cruise Protocols, which also included the states of Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia. The protocol came into force in April 2022, when cruising made its carefully-managed return in the country following the pandemic -- and is the last major cruise destination in the world to retain cruise specific COVID-19 protocols. CLIA Managing Director in Australasia Joel Katz said: “This brings Australia into line with other countries internationally and gives clarity to cruise passengers ahead of the coming summer cruise season. “As the last major cruise destination to maintain cruise-specific measures, Australia’s ongoing testing and vaccination requirements had been causing increasing confusion among travellers, particularly as measures on land and at airports had been removed.” This follows news that all measures had been dropped at the federal level as of Friday, on the advice of Australia’s Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly and a decision by the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC). Katz added: “The cruise industry’s top priority will continue to be the health and safety of guests, crew and the communities we visit. “Cruise lines will continue to abide by their own robust health and safety measures and hygiene standards, and the industry will work closely with health authorities into the future.” Carnival Cruise Line was among the first cruise lines to react to the news that Australia has dropped all remaining Covid-19 restrictions for cruisers. In a statement, Kara Glamore, Vice President of Carnival Cruise Line, Australia, said: "We are thrilled with this long-anticipated announcement, which brings clarity to our guests and harmonises the Australian cruise sector with global standards." Carnival Cruise Line has 112 sailings in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific through December 2024, with Carnival Splendor sailing from Sydney year-round, Carnival Luminosa from Brisbane seasonally. Princess Cruises, which currently has three ships -- Coral Princess, Grand Princess and Royal Princess in Australia -- has also responded. "We applaud the decisions by governments throughout Australia to make visiting and exploring the country easier and more convenient for all travelers. This long-awaited development means that all cruise enthusiasts can once again indulge in the sheer pleasure of exploration, and Princess Cruises looks forward to helping guests to connect to the vibrant cultures, breathtaking landscapes, and captivating histories across the magnificent Australian coastline and beyond." https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/australia-removes-all-remaining-cruise-industry-covid-19-protocols

On all of my consecutive cruises the balance from the previous cruise rolls over to the next cruise including the remaining OBC.

And beginning on 9/25 our friends in Canada can have them delivered for $15 USD for standard fare passengers.

I had not heard of matrix.ita & checking for a one-way LAX/BNE next March it was 50% more expensive than using Princess Flexible EZair which also allows cancelations up to 45 days prior to flying without any cancelation fees. I’ve had good luck using the Hopper app which also has the option to receive notifications when airfares change. I use it for pricing but usually book directly with an airline when fares are the same.

This is how I feel about this board…helpful more objective insights & less snarky than on other boards. Our first O cruise is next month & we decided to try their experience with a 7-day cruise near home with only a drive to the port. Good friends who primarily cruise on O have highly recommended it to us. Although reading some of the comments about a reduction in the experience our expectations are better informed. Most cruise lines are struggling post pandemic to consistently provide the same level of cruise experience. We are expecting to have a much better cruise experience than our most frequently sailed cruise line…Princess. We’ve also booked a longer O cruise at the standard rate in Fall 2024 before simply MORE was implemented which is not cost effective for us as we’re not big alcohol drinkers nor do we take many ship tours. Hopefully we won’t discover that O is our new best cruise experience but due to simply MORE pricing we won’t book more O cruises. I’m not seeking another debate about the pros & cons of simply MORE because it’s not cost effective for our style of cruising although it would be desirable for other passengers.

Welcome to the World of Cruise Critic passenger reviews. 😉 In my opinion the CC reviews where stars are given & we cannot ask for clarifications are useless because too many are rants. I find reviews on this board much more helpful because it’s possible to discuss the good & the bad opinions by reviewers. While there are more experienced cruisers with thousands of days sailing on Princess, my 500 days in the past 35 years on Princess in addition to sailing on Costa, RCCL, Celebrity, NCL & Carnival and soon Oceania so I do have some experiences. I’ve read reviews doing the same things on the same cruise that were much different than mine. I don’t doubt their experiences but too many bad passenger reviews are to vent…more likely they’re negative than are glowing reviews about great cruises. I have not sailed on Caribbean Princess (pandemic cancelation) but I’ve read enough posts by people on this board who to me are credible & objective who like the ship. Being an older ship, I prefer Royal-class ships for the past 10 years. But that’s merely based on my preferences and others will prefer the older ships…neither are right or wrong for everyone. Princess continues to be my first choice for a mass market cruise line and reading reviews on other cruise lines including a premium line…Oceania…all cruise lines are struggling to provide a pre-pandemic cruise experience. I’ve never had a bad cruise…just some that are better than others. ☺️ So I take reviews with a grain of salt and do not let them affect my cruise decision but only to be aware of some possible issues.

That is my understanding.

Mahalo to everyone who provide input about your experiences which I've confirmed are official Princess policy...one guest can have MOBC and the other guest can get SOBC for jointly owned CCL shares or owned by them. My TA contacted the Princess Partner Support section & a knowledgeable agent stated that the vague 6/29/23 email was followed up by a clarification email...I did not receive either of them. The PS agent is planning to eventually forward that email to my TA stating that one guest can have SOBC and the other one can have MOBC in the same cabin. If I receive a copy of that clarification email, I'll share it here. SBPCL wrote that if SOBC is eliminated when refaring a cruise that by emailing them the details they can locate the original SOBC request & will restore it to the reservation. Yesterday two CSRs and a Partner Support agent provided my TA with incorrect information by assuming it was either SOBC or MOBC per cabin but not for 2 eligible guests to get SOBC & MOBC...wrong. Sadly another example of incorrect information being provided by Princess staff to create more unnecessary confusion for their guests. Princess needs to resend the clarification not only to their guests but also to their staff to provide accurate information.

That statement has been there since I got my shares in 2010 but being a simple credit to onboard accounts it’s used for any type of spending although I have no casino experiences.

Thanks for sharing all of your helpful info.

Thanks for sharing your experience.

Thanks…that’s what I thought…have you, or anyone else been able to get SOBC reapplied after it was canceled? We jointly own the shares however two CSRs & our TA’s sales rep insists that by refaring that’s considered a booking after 6/29 & based on their inter office memo SOBC & MOBC are based upon per cabin and not per person even though the memo does not state it. If anyone has their policy in writing that one can get SOBC & the other MOBC in the same cabin would appreciate seeing it. I’m considering emailing the shareholder benefit section prior to refaring to get their advice. If we refare & lose her SOBC and cannot get it reapplied it’s not cost effective to refare.

Does anyone have any recent experiences to share about the possibility of one person getting MOBC and the other person in the same cabin getting SOBC? Our 2025 cruise had about a 10% fare reduction so we had our TA check about refaring. We booked before the 6/29 change resulting in SOBC and MOBC not being combinable for bookings after that date. Currently I have MOBC and my wife has SOBC which Princess said she’d lose the $250 SOBC by refaring our cruise. Our TA contacted her PCL sales rep who sent their inter office memo stating the following which does not address whether one can get MOBC and the other SOBC which if I recall correctly some said they got both when in our situation. Any experiences either way would be greatly appreciated because if we lose SOBC that would offset the fare reduction. Please note that effective on 8 a.m. PDT on June 29, 2023 for all voyages departing after September 12, 2023, Shareholder and Military Onboard Credits have the following policy changes: • The Shareholder and Military OBC will no longer be combinable with each other. • The Military OBC will be non-refundable. • The Shareholder OBC is currently and will remain non-refundable.