Cruise Junky

27 minutes ago, C 2 C said:

We loved the Pinnacle Class.  However when we booked our first N Statendam with an inside cabin we were shocked at how small it was.

Some people refer to the square ones somewhere (I've forgotten).

The ship was fantastic and we booked 8 more weeks for the winter of 22.

We did not book another inside!

Yes, my husband might get a shock with the inside. I’ve told him he needs to get used to it when I retire 😂😂. I’ll buy him a drink package, he’ll live 

7 minutes ago, sunviking90 said:

Have you looked at N.Amsterdam B2B? Not sure if you can do 2 weeks, but we just booked B2B for the last week of August. Our first time in an inside cabin in 20 years! That’s ok though, we’ve been to Alaska (like you probably) multiple times and have already done too much travelling this year, so we just want to be on the ship!

Zaandam also has some availability (not much). We actually would have preferred her but price was higher and we wanted 14 days. 
I don’t know if you’ve been on Koningsdam, but I would not choose a Pinnacle class if other options were available. Of course many would disagree, lol.

We actually really want to try a Pinnacle a class ship. We have friends that rave about her. Can’t do two weeks.  I work 9 day-fortnights so either the first week of August or the first week of September were ideal as I only have to take 3 days off for a 7 day cruise because of the holidays those weeks and my work schedule.  
 

I did end up booking a sideways inside for the Aug 31st sailing.  Fingers crossed for an upsell. 

5 hours ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

I don't know what areas of the world they have in mind, but it's been mentioned several times that they are trying to create more back to back opportunities to piece together longer itineraries without repeating ports. 

I really wish they’d start marketing those as longer cruise options. Don’t make me do the work, actually sell them as a long journey that I can do with one booking.  

Adding to some of the excellent suggestions above, I’d like South Africa.  

29 minutes ago, rj59 said:

I wouldn't do the HAL transfer. You'll be waiting for various flights to come in, enough to fill a bus. Instead, just take a taxi, which has a flat rate to any place downtown, I think $35 CAD, so about $25 for two people and climbing on or off buses or having a bus deal with crowded downtown streets or find parking. At the Pan Pacific, the quickest and easiest place to eat after a day of travel is the food court across the street, which has a wide variety of Asian and other foods, as well as fast food like Tim Horton's. 

I think you missed the point that they were getting in at midnight.  Food court closes at 9

10 minutes ago, [Big Z] said:

I've stayed in both style of inside cabins on the Koningsdam. 

 

First one I did was a regular one (8 Aft), it was roomy enough for two. 

 

Second one was a sideways inside cabin (5 forward) and that I really liked that. I much preferred the layout and it certainly seemed like there was more room. 

 

If I had a choice between the two on Koningsdam, I'd definitely go for a sideways. 

Thank you. There were a couple of those available.  

10 minutes ago, RuthC said:

I AM an inside type, but on the Pinnacle class ships I won't book one. They are all too small, even for this solo cruiser. 
On a Pinnacle I am willing to pay for a veranda cabin just for a little space. 

If it’s a veranda, we’re not going. We already have 9 days in wine country, two weeks in Hawaii and a Spain Portugal cruise booked the last six months of this year. Now I wouldn’t turn them down if they offered an upgrade to a balcony but for this trip, it’s inside or not going.  

4 minutes ago, Blackduck59 said:

My lovely wife had a thought. She suggested that you contact the Pan Pacific and see if they could have a cold plate delivered to your room before room service closes. It would be waiting for you when you arrive. I have no idea if they do this, but it is the Pan Pacific and they have a reputation for service.

I was just going to post the same thought.  

Starting to see some good prices for locals on Alaska for this year. I’d like to try Koningsdam. Are there any insides to absolutely avoid?  There seems to be a lot on deck 4 aft available.  I’m not usually an inside type, but this is going to be a last minute cruise.  

It’s good that it’s changing. I was on Marriott’s site yesterday and you can see all the taxes.  About time. 

They didn’t even attempt to reschedule me with an alternative. They just cancelled and refunded us. Seems like a missed opportunity to me. We were booked on an 8 NZ. The full 12 day is still going ahead, I’m surprised they just cancelled on me.  

As so many people hate the faux balcony window cabins, the SVs will be the first to go.  

1 hour ago, jelayne said:

Some have posted earlier today that the beverage package or upgrade have gone down on their sailing.

My offer for a drink package went to 35% today 

I’m getting NCL right now but not HAL. Will keep my eyes open.  

15 minutes ago, TRLD said:

Problem you and your neighbors are not average, let alone the worst case that the cruise lines must deal with. As a result they must deal with the statistics and risks based upon the overall cruising population.

 

As far as dictating. They can dictate, if they are willing to assume risk. Otherwise the excursion vendor assumes risk. All one would need to do is find one email in discovery indicating that the cruise line dictated the age limit and they get drawn into being a defender in any case.

So is the average 70 year old American that out of shape that the rest of the world gets painted with the same brush?  That’s just sad.  

3 minutes ago, Shmoo here said:

Well, their insurers can.

As stated in the example that started this thread there was no age limit booking direct. So is Princess being lazy and using old print?  Insurers can cover anything for a fee 

So ridiculous to base this on age 70.  Seventy is not what it was 20 years ago. Friends of ours hiked the Himalayas, bike trip all over the world. My husband walks 7 miles a day.  They need to update their policies for this century.  And for those who blame the suppliers, Princess can dictate the rules.  

1 hour ago, suzyed said:

OK, this is from the horse's mouth AFTER I had already booked a B2B on Discovery LA>Vancouver>Alaska>Seattle online:
 

Good Afternoon,

 

These back-to-back voyages violate what is called the Passenger Vessel Services Act (PVSA). PVSA prohibits ships from embarking in one US port and disembarking in a different US port. The only exception to this rule would allow passengers to be transported between two U.S. ports if the cruise itinerary includes a port call at a "distant foreign port". Distant foreign ports do not include Canada, Mexico, Central America, Bermuda and most Caribbean islands. South America and the ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao) do qualify as distant foreign ports. 

 

Unfortunately Princess.com only views reservations as their own individual voyages and does not take the guest’s back-to-back voyages as a whole into consideration. However our reservation system does run reports weekly to identify reservations that would violate the PVSA and advises us to notify the guest.

 

We understand you’ve already opted to cancel both bookings, but still wanted to provide this insight for future reference.

 

We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused,

 

Guest Services

 

 

Princess Cruises

24305 Town Center Drive,

Santa Clarita, CA 91355

Good lord, this is a first, they actually called it by it’s right name.  And got the details correct. 🤷🏻‍♀️

48 minutes ago, mahasamatman said:

 

False. It would have to be a different cruise line.

You’ve posted that a few times please stop. 

It’s out and is showing on some cruise agent sites. 

12 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

Were you planning on settling the bill, and taking all your luggage with you when you disembarked in Seattle?  If not, then they are correct.  You must permanently disembark for one voyage to be declared ended, and then you can start another.

They were two different ships. Royal Princess to Majestic Princess.  

Guess it was popular 

https://thepointsguy.com/news/holland-america-grand-australia-cruise/

40 minutes ago, cbfb said:

Infuriating! Why have a balcony if the chairs are to uncomfortable to sit on for more than a few minutes. 

Because you can’t spend money on your balcony 🤷🏻‍♀️

4 hours ago, Munday said:

Hello All,

 

Before I call Princess, can someone familiar with the PVSA confirm if this B2B is legal to book;

 

Cruise 1: LA, San Diego, SF, Victoria, Vancouver

Cruise 2: Vancouver, Ketchican, Seattle

 

 

Thanks in advance

 

Not legal on the same ship.  You are sailing from LA to Seattle (two different US ports) with no foreign DISTANT port in the middle  

14 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

No, that is a violation and they won’t allow it.  
Of interest, I know others may argue with me on this, but wanted to tell you of my experience.  We were to travel from Seattle roundtrip on the Royal, take the bus from Seattle to Vancouver to embark on the Majestic before disembarking in Los Angeles.  We were informed it was not allowed even for the life of me, I could not see the violation. 
We had the option of disembarking in Vancouver to stay one night there, so we did that.  

 

That’s mind bogglingly wrong.