hammo

So we were assuming the deal offered by Quantums Future cruise promo for a Next Cruise booking credit was a great deal . November Cruise , all good ..Got the onboard credit for the promo - thankyou much appreciated - and assumed we would then receive The Next / future Cruise Credit as agreed - $100 ea for a future booking . . All good - told we would receive confirmation -- until nothing arrived as promised , and now we are ready to book a new cruise . . No certificate and nothing on my account on log in . We are Diamond , no big deal , so I thought it would either show up as an email or find its way to my account eventually . Nothing has arrived so I called today and received a surly curt response and told to email RCCL myself and try and find out how to claim the Next Cruise Credit . Not the response I was hoping for given I gave all the details I assumed necessary . Aside from the rude response to my query about how I should go about retrieving the Next Cruise Credit , Im left with the feeling I will just go back and book something else with anyone but Royal Caribbean and forget about it. Just got off Grand Princess last week and were treated Royally . Not sure if thats ironic. lol .

Yes , I get it OzKiwijj , we have been cruising for ages - 26 - Elite on Celebrity and Platinum on Princess and several cruises with NCL and Crystal , and have loved every minute . Waiting at home to head to the port later today , embarking time now 4:30 - 5 pm which Im trying to be positive about . The thing with the masks is going to be the deal breaker for me cruising in the future . Will obviously do it diligently this trip , but future cruises with mandatory masks will be a no for us . I mask up each day at work when working at aged care ) and a holiday where I must do that is not how I plan to enjoy time away. As you mentioned we dont do it in everyday life here even at crowded events and shopping malls , air planes etc etc. We have cruises booked for Feb and April and both lines not mandating masks ( yet I guess ) . Alternative is to fly to destination / resorts / car travel , will miss cruising .

Grand Princess Emergency Notification - another delayed boarding time , this time for us 4:30 - 5pm . Day 1 gone . Masks now compulsory inside . Is it just Princess cruising ? - We recentltly sailed Quantum of the Seas and Celebrity and nothing like this .

OMG ! 😭 So now our 3 visits starting Sunday may turn into 1 if that is the offering for inbone steak . Very hard to believe this is from Crown Grill and so very disappointing for you . Fingers crossed for us which is just so ridiculous when you consider the reson you pay for a fine specialty dining experience .

Rick an Jeannie , We also had trouble locating the arrival time in the app and of course now , having found it , the arrival time available for us is "late ' . Also got notification that boarding is now delayed 2 hours and to adjust the arrival time accordingly which means our boarding time would be around 5 pm ! We are Platinum with Princess and now cranky we will seemingly miss most of the first day if this goes down as such . We have Crown Grill booked first night early so thinking of cancelling as we may not even have time or luggage . Sail away now 7pm so would also miss that . You mentioned this is a "bogus " cruise line requirement ? Thinking we will try and arrive earlier .

Thanks ozkiwi

Thanks Tripmode33

Just received an email from Princess re embarkation saying not to turn up at the Pier untill 2 hours after our assigned boarding group time . New departure time 7pm ! " Guests should arrive two hours later than their assigned boarding group time in the Princess Medallion App ; if you have not already done so , please select an arrival group and remember to arrive two hours later than your assigned time . Please do not arrive at the pier earlier than your designated time as you will be unable to check-in and the terminal will be closed " GroupA - 2-2:30 pm , Group B - 2:30 - 3 pm , Group C 3pm - 3:30pm , Group D 3;30pm - 4pm , GroupE - 4pm - 4:30 pm , Group F 4:30 pm - 5pm , Group G 5 pm - 5:30 pm , Group H 5:30 - 6 pm . Refer to the Princess MedallionClass App for your assigned boarding group . Thing is I cannot find in the App anything about about an assigned boarding group ???? Let alone a borading time . Ive checked all the app and every email and nothing about this . Can anyone advise me as to how I can locate this - we are potentially Green Lane but that isnt confirmed untill we do the covid test 24hrs prior to embarkation and send in the photo of the result . Any help here most appreciated . We are Platinum with Princess but guess that means very little now .

Just received an email from Princess re embarkation saying not to turn up at the Pier untill 2 hours after our assigned boarding group time . New departure time 7pm ! " Guests should arrive two hours later than their assigned boarding group time in the Princess Medallion App ; if you have not already done so , please select an arrival group and remember to arrive two hours later than your assigned time . Please do not arrive at the pier earlier than your designated time as you will be unable to check-in and the terminal will be closed " GroupA - 2-2:30 pm , Group B - 2:30 - 3 pm , Group C 3pm - 3:30pm , Group D 3;30pm - 4pm , GroupE - 4pm - 4:30 pm , Group F 4:30 pm - 5pm , Group G 5 pm - 5:30 pm , Group H 5:30 - 6 pm . Refer to the Princess MedallionClass App for your assigned boarding group . Thing is I cannot find in the App anything about about an assigned boarding group ???? Let alone a borading time . Ive checked all the app and every email and nothing about this . Can anyone advise me as to how I can locate this - we are potentially Green Lane but that isnt confirmed untill we do the covid test 24hrs prior to embarkation and send in the photo of the result . Any help here most appreciated . We are Platinum with Princess but guess that means very little now .

Thats what I thought , Thanks Aus Traveller

On a recent Quantum cruise we sailed out to Willis Island enabling duty free purchases at the liquor store .Very nice . Wondering if our short 5 night cruise melb / Adelaide / Kangaroo Island / Melb on Grand Princess means similar duty free will be unavailable ?

Thanks cr8tiv1, No reason really , we have historically booked any time dining so never really got the benefit of a server relationship with set time service and as this is just a short 5 night cruise we didnt want to queue around 7:30 again I suppose . Just 3 nights Crown and 2 nights Sabatinis and MDR lunch or a pizza / buffet . Tables for 2 are also usually crammed in the MDR and service slow so not this trip . My dad was a butcher , so I grew up thinking amazing steak was the norm . Been an up and down journey since those days .

Fair point Jwattle . Thanks Incognito1, looking forward to the relaxed personal nature of Princess specialty dining. Also still pleasantly surprised by the reasonable price on Princess . Just off Quantum of the Seas and Cagneys there is twice the price . Our favourite Specialty dining is at Murano on Celebrity but that is now becoming out of reach for us Aussies with our dollar . We had to book first night for our April cruise and for that as a "special " - still $69 . Its over $100 each for us now so even the new pricing on Princess seems like a bargain.

Having just read a terrible review of Crown Grill from someone currently onboard " steaks were rubbish " - Im a tad concerned about our 3 reservations now .Perhaps my expectations are set too high , but I really am hoping for excellent steak which is why we were going 3 times instead of the MDR . Perhaps if the first night is "rubbish" then is cancelling the following 2 allowed ? Maybe Ill stick with the ocean offerings - havent heard anything terrible about those yet .😅

Any reviews , comments pictures etc of the specialty dining onboard . We just have 5 nights on our short cruise later this month and have 3 nights Crown Grill and 2 nights Sabatinis just cause . Booked and paid for at the old price for 3 and price increase for 2 .Will have MDR lunches when available I guess . Wondering if the Specialty restaurant menus are the same as the samples online ?

Thankyou for the review - I'm hooked . We have sailed on Celebrity many times and are on Eclipse again in April so this review is most welcome . We have booked Murano first night with a slight discount but would have paid anyway as we regard it as a proper specialty dining experience . Too expensive but we pay it .Agree with your assessment of Tuscan . Would be interested in yourtake on Murano if you decide to Splurge. A side note , we are on a short Princess cruise later this month ( just 5 nights )and booked their Crown Grill for $29 AU ea and Sabatinis for $25 AU pp , - changed a booking date and they went up to $40 and $30 AU - still way less than Celebrity Specialty dining . We booked each night in these instead of the MDR as the menus look very good .

Yes , I cancelled and changed the dates for a Crown Grill and Sabatinis booking for 2 (this Jan cruise) - just swapped them around - and the new price went from $58 to $80 for Crown Grill and similar increase for Sabatinis .

Id like to know also

Thanks Torfamm , I checked there and all thats listed each day is progressive trivia at 6:30 pm 😂 so much for "Plan Your Vacation "🤣

Thanks for the advice . Yes I just said formal night knowing its description now is less than formal -Evening Chic on Celebrity etc , in the past the menu was more enticing and worthy of planning a night away from the speciality restaurants . ( Not always the case though I know )

No roll call on our short 5 night Aussie cruise so thought I would ask here . Goes - Melbourne , At Sea , Adelaide , Kangaroo Island , At Sea , Melbourne . Anticipating just 1 formal style night , assuming a sea day , but which one ? Just planning Specialty Dining and thought it better to be main dining room on the formal night ? thanks for any advice .

Thankyou again BecAus

Hi BecAus , just trying to confirm what you said earlier regarding booking through the Singapore RCCL website for a Spectrum cruise -"Grat's are included like they are in Aus." . I havnt been able to find any where that confirms that ? Do you know that this is the case ?- The site is a bit cheaper than the Aussie site but about the same if grats are added .

We have booked 3 nights Crown Grill 1 night Sabatinis on an Aussie 5 night Grand Princess cruise January 2023 and the price quoted was $29 and $25 when we reserved the tables - we anticipate that will be the charge .

We are on the 5 night Grand Princess Melb - Adelaide Kangaroo Island cruise . Any idea on the testing for that - are we able to bring saliva tests if testing on day 2 is mandatory - the nose swab makes my nose bleed I"ve done so many ( I test daily as my work requires it )