SantaFeFan

Here is a video of connecting mini suite D214 on Regal. It's a bit jumpy, but at the 3:50 mark you can see the connecting door quite clearly. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZdl6PTyFT4

1 hour ago, antsp said:

Nope, I'll go on a cruise, I just won't tell them if I get covid

Nice! And infect everyone around you so their cruise is ruined instead of yours. Talk about entitlement!!! 

4 minutes ago, SantaFeFan said:

 

Is $10 that important? Considering what the total cost of the cruise, including travel, cruise fare, excursions, souvenirs, etc., $10 is a small fraction of the total cost. Is it worth all the apprehension being expended for a few dollars? Wouldn't all that effort be better utilized at worrying about what other people are wearing on formal nights?  😇

2 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

1.  Thank you for your efforts.

2.  The final chapter has yet to be written.  It will be interesting to see how this unfolds.  I went back and looked at my Medallion Order confirming email and do not see a "$0 confirmation" nor do I see where one could even be listed.  Here is how that email reads (bolding is mine):

 

Great News James!

Your OceanMedallion^™ order OCEAN-xxxxxxx for your upcoming Princess MedallionClass^™ vacation has been received.

You requested to have your order shipped to your home. Your Medallion® devices and any products you ordered will be shipped 10 to 20 days before your Princess MedallionClass^™ vacation. Please be sure to wear your Medallion® device to your port of embarkation to allow for an expedited, contactless arrival experience.

We will send a follow up email to notify you when your order is being shipped. Please note that taxes and fees are estimates and will be finalized at the time of shipment, when you will receive your transaction receipt.

Please save your order number for future reference. We hope you enjoy your fabulous MedallionClass^™ vacation.

 

So it looks like the $0 confirmation would only be sent at the time of shipment, but this email says that fees are only estimates and will be finalized at the time of shipment.  So assuming that at the time of shipment I get another email that shows that I am being charged $10 (and by the way, how do they do that?  Add it to my shipboard account?) and I protest the charge, aren't they just going to go back to the email reproduced above and say that the fee was an estimate only, and the final amount is now $10?  Not sure how one wins that argument.   

 

Is $10 that important? Considering what the total cost of the cruise, including travel, cruise fare, excursions, souvenirs, etc., $10 is a small fraction of the total cost. Is it worth all the apprehension being expended for a few dollars? 

36 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

I do not understand how that can be unclear given the blast email that went out yesterday.  It starts out with:

"You'll be able to upgrade to the new or keep the old at the current price"

Query why I would ever want to pay to upgrade if they were going to grandfather me in to the new additions?   Clear as day, if I want the new additions, I have to call on or after 12/14 and upgrade for $10 per day. 

No need to shout!! Sorry to get you so riled up! 

10 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

 

I don't know what is unclear or what is so confusing.  But if it helps, let's look at this from the back end.  Let's say that you purchased a cruise with the Plus Package and your all-in price is $2700.  You made a deposit of $500 and you have $2200 left to pay.  UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL YOU EVER GO TO YOUR PERSONALIZER AFTER 12/14 AND FIND THAT THE NEW BALANCE IS A PENNY HIGHER THAN $2200.  THEY CANNOT DO THAT.  But let's say that you did not pay for a package and have not yet pre-paid gratuities.  After 12/14 the new gratuity amount will be the higher amount.  You have not yet paid it, so it is subject to change.  And if you did pay it (let's say at the $15.50 per person per day rate), you are NOT GOING TO BE ASSESSED ANOTHER $1.50 PER PERSON PER DAY.    This isn't complicated and people are either making more out of it than is necessary, or have no basic understanding of contract law which includes the requirements of an offer, acceptance and consideration.  Yes, it is embedded in fine print, but it clearly says: "(the terms on such site before the update apply to the original Princess Plus and Princess Premier packages for which you booked.)"  That means, in no uncertain terms, that the terms that were posted on the website and were in effect on the date you booked carry through and stay with you no matter what.  As for free shipping of Medallions, if that was an advertised and promised feature under the terms and conditions when you booked, then you get to keep that.  But honestly, I don't recall ever seeing that as a paid-for "feature" so if it wasn't, then they can change that at any time.  But the bottom line is that EVERYTHING THAT WAS BUNDLED TOGETHER IN YOUR PACKAGE ON THE DAY YOU PUT DOWN YOUR DEPOSIT IS YOURS TO KEEP AND THEY CANNOT AND WILL NOT TAKE ANY OF THAT AWAY FROM YOU.

Thank you for the explanation. We just made our final payment last week as it was due, so we believed that it was being handled as you described. 

One thing that isn't entirely clear is do the new additions (desserts, gym classes) grandfather into the old plans or not. I suspect not, but the increased gratuities apparently do, so maybe the desserts do as well? Not a big deal if they don't, but would be nice to know. 

1 hour ago, voljeep said:

Princess has a section for 'Club Class' ... why not a section for 'Traditional Dining' and STRICTLY ENFORCED attire for formal, dress to impress, smart casual etc.

Some people take this formal dress thing much too seriously. It's just clothing!! Sheesh!! 

34 minutes ago, scottca075 said:

 

That seems a rather nasty and unnecessary response.

 

The poster you quoted didn't "demand" anything. They are addressing what Princess says are Princess's guidelines. I think the poster was pretty clear they do not like dressing up, but will do it because it is requested.

The poster quoted says "If it's formal night and you want to dress informal then go to the buffet." He is telling people that they must do what HE wants them to do. That is a demand in my book. 

Definition of Demand, Oxford Language dictionary:

16 minutes ago, damiross said:

As it should not be.  If it's formal night and you want to dress informal then go to the buffet.  The dressing up is part of the ambiance. I don't like dressing up but I do out of respect for my wife and my fellow passengers.

The ambiance you demand is overrated and outdated. We are dining on a cruise ship, not at a Nobel Peace Prize awards ceremony. 

2 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

I don't ever recall addresses' being shown in our area. 

They were in our area. Might be an option depending on the local phone company. 

55 minutes ago, SantaFeFan said:

 

I've been booking with a TA for years and have always had them notify me of any changes.

And almost on queue, this morning I received a notification directly from Princess and a few minutes ago, which was less than an hour after the Princess notification, I received that same notification from my TA. And this is a Saturday!  

THAT is how a good TA does things. 

I wonder how some people here survived when every city corner had a phone booth with a big book that had their names, phone numbers and even addresses in them. 🤔

17 hours ago, avonlady6390 said:

That is why I book direct no TA for me.

I've been booking with a TA for years and have always had them notify me of any changes.

21 hours ago, Mike45LC said:

......I was far more bothered when they eliminated the midnight buffet

 

The midnight buffet was eliminated years ago. It was a huge waste of food as most people only took photos and didn't eat anything so soon after dinner. 

6 hours ago, Dar & Bob said:

@donaldscLOL so how about we go back to keys?   Skelton at that🤣- Farday works great if you don't want to be tracked but we can't hide from the cameras.  

I can picture it now - a bunch of paranoids with their key cards carefully tucked away in faraday sleeves and slinking around wearing a Guy Fawkes mask to hide their identity, all in an attempt to not be tracked. But, they forget that they are on a 1000ft long floating tub in the middle of the ocean, so they can be found if those insidious "trackers" wanted to find them.   

6 hours ago, Cruise a holic said:

We can agree to disagree and my DH is a physicist!  Wear the heavy dress shoes/loafers on the plane and the jacket-  50 lbs is a decent amount for luggage- we also take a carry-on!  Surely you bring  more then one pair of shoes, sandals and sneakers.  

I bring one pair of comfortable walking shoes, one pair of sandals, and one pair of brown leather shoes for dinner- shoes I wear often during a cruise. I don't need to bring yet another pair of shoes that I will only wear a couple of hours during the entire cruise.

Not that it is any business of yours. 

2 hours ago, 2inTul said:

This has to be the most naïve comment I've seen in a long time. Think about what you are saying. 🙄

 

Of course the passengers are paying ALL of the crew's salary.  

Of course it's naïve. They are the type to reduce the grats even knowing how many people share it. They are the same type of person who will argue that the cruise line should pay the crew decent wages and to include the grats in the base fare, where they wouldn't be able to selfishly lower them for their own benefit. Whether the grats are paid as an additional cost or rolled up in the base fare, the passengers ALWAYS pay the crew's wages. Where do these people think those wages come from? The cruise fairy?

And a note to those naïve people - the passengers pay ALL THE EXPENSES to run a cruise line, including the original cost of the ships, the fuel to make them move, the captain and his staff to safely pilot the ships, the maintenance to keep them operating, the food for all the meals, the advertising to entice customers to book their cruises, the company management who make the decisions, and every other single item or service that is necessary to run a cruise line. 

13 hours ago, VibeGuy said:

Cruising changes.  Some very nice junior officers on Sitmar used to be *completely fine* with letting an adorable kiddo fire a .410 shotgun off the aft deck.  

 

They used to offer skeet shooting off the aft of the ship in the so-called "glory days" of cruising. They also used to allow the practice of hitting golf balls of the ship as well. Thankfully, those activities are no longer allowed. 

2 hours ago, Cruise a holic said:

I am not at all negatively impacted by what other wear- However to say that for example, a dressy top and nice slacks or a skirt weighs  more than less formal attire puzzles me.  Also, many men wear their sports jackets on the airplane, and other attire weights the same.  But that is me.   Of course it is a personal choice.  Also I find the ships cool at night as the AC is always on high, so jackets are actually helpful.

It does weigh more because formal wear for men - tux or suit or jacket, plus dress shoes - is in addition to the normal clothing we would wear on non-formal nights, and not only adds more weight, but also takes up more space. It's simple physics.

And I don't find the dining rooms too cold, so a jacket is too hot and constricting to wear while dining.

Here's your original thread:

3 hours ago, that said:

Which ship

Royal Princess, perhaps? It sails out of San Francisco about an hour drive north of San Jose.  

43 minutes ago, Over from NZ said:

Here's the thing. It's not that you have an "old fashioned view".. it's that you have a different culture. We're the same.. tipping is not a thing down under. However.. as pointed out.. "when in Rome". If that's how they roll over the other side.. it's not for you and I to try and impose our culture and get indignant because they do things differently. 

Thank you for a rational view on this topic. I do my best to understand and appreciate the customs and culture of the places I visit, and to follow them instead of imposing my own. It's nice to see people from other countries with the same thinking when they come into contact with the customs of my home country. Our differences make each journey more interesting and enriching, not an intrusion and irritation. 

9 minutes ago, Kahawali said:

Thanks for all the comments. I should point out that I never said that I was planning to do this, but I do have the old-fashioned view that a tip should be given for good service and the amount should be decided by the giver. Yes, the culture is different in the UK and elsewhere in Europe as someone points out.
Once the discretion is removed from tipping,  the payment becomes a (another) service charge, which is a shame because the incentive to provide exceptional service is then lost - unless of course yet another layer of additional tips is given. (a third layer by my reckoning).

 

You will quickly discover that the service you will receive is quite good, and often exceptional. Your belief that there is no incentive to provide exceptional service with the "service charge" is entirely wrong. These people take pride in what they do. They provide excellent service BECAUSE they know they will be receiving those gratuities from the majority of the people they serve. Your assumption that they only provide excellent service to earn a tip reward is insulting. You are putting them in the same category as a performing animal who does tricks to earn a treat. 

And, to further challenge your assumptions, if a person removes the gratuities, do you agree that it should be fair then for the staff to react in kind and provide that person with the sub-par service they are paying for? 

2 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Sure, but even the Princess recommendations as written allow flexibility and do not literally suggest tux to the exclusion of any other formal wear. 

 

The advice thus far has been on the money from contributors and IMO the OP's question has been answered.

 

ETA:  PCL could easily "man up" and alter their recommendations to match the reality on the ships.  By that I mean expand the examples of acceptable wear.

2 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

It doesn't exclude other "formal" wear but it does seem to exclude someone wearing nice pants and a nice shirt. While the FAQ title says "Clothing Recommendations" the FAQ for formal night actually says:

 

When formal nights are held, please observe the dress code in the dining venues for the enjoyment of all our guests.

• Evening gown, cocktail dress or elegant pant suit for women
• Tuxedo, dark suit or dinner jacket and slacks for men

 

That sounds more like a requirement then a recommendation. And I reiterate that I am fine with the way it is done, but this could be a dis-satisfier for some others sailing Princess for the first time. 

What to wear depends on where on the Princess website you go to. One page called "Dress Code" says:

"Formal:
"Evening gown, cocktail dress or pantsuits for ladies, suit, combination or dinner jackets for gentlemen."

There is no mention of Tuxedos on that page. Even their own recommendations aren't consistent.

5 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

I have no problem with this, but Princess needs to adjust their policy to match the practice. As a first time cruiser with Princess I would follow their guidance to a T and bring my tux. It could be a little off-putting for a first time Princess cruiser to find out once onboard that they didn't mean it. (For me personally I always wear what I wear and don't really care what others choose to wear and I'm likely to bring my tux anyway, since I need an excuse to make sure it still fits, but people sailing for the first time do have expectations based on what the website says.)

The only reason Princess keeps their current dress code policy in their publications is to appear to be an upscale cruise line. It is more about an image they want to project than in what kind of cruise line they actually are. They want people to think they are a more luxurious cruise line than they are.