kiwimum

As someone who is actually at the tournament it is referred to both ways.   The Open and The British Open.   

B

19 minutes ago, danny8826 said:

 

Thank you.  

 

 

You and I are thinking of the same cruise. That's why I mentioned that in my previous post that we are considering the Dec 19, 2024 date.  

 

Before you make a decision on what cruise to book, take a look at the airfares.   We do not fly coach, usually Business, did fly premium economy once and never again.  On researching flights, found it as less expensive to cruise from LA to Santiago than flying BC.   I took into account all our OBC. 
Do your homework, look at all your options.  Flying out of BA on your return, look at flights the day after or so.   Far less than expensive for us BA-DFW-SAN. 

3 minutes ago, tert333 said:

We are thinking about doing the cruise from Santiago to Buenos Aires and saving Antarctic until another time.   You mention the worse was Antarctic.  For those not taking the extra 4 days in Antarctic, would you say the seas were still rough as well?  My wife tends to get seasick and not sure she would want to do this cruise if the seas were rough most of the time.  A day or two would be probably ok.

The seas were rough crossing the Drake Passage.  Captain made a run from Ushuaia to Antarctica when he saw the seas were moderate.   Not bad, rough, but not as rough in my mind as the South Atlantic.  The time cruising around in the bays were relatively calm.   We went out into a channel at night to avoid possible sea ice issues and it did get lumpy.   Captain was very honest in his daily updates, giving weather predictions and suggesting those prone to seasickness to start taking meds.  
Picture is to tempt you to go ahead and book.   Snow was from overnight December 27.   Serenity picture the same evening around 8:00pm, leaving a bay.  Drink on our balcony heading to Ushuaia in lumpy seas.  

On 7/15/2023 at 11:31 AM, danny8826 said:

I looked at the prices for the Sapphire Princess this December (Dec 19th sailing) to South America and Antarctica and it looks very reasonable starting out at $1598.  I wonder how high they will raise the prices for the Dec 2024 sailing during Christmas and New Year.  

We were on the 2022 sailing, booked for 2023.   The Santiago to Buenos Aires leg was fully booked.   Many large South American extended family groups.   This was a memorable voyage.   Very well done for Christmas and New Year festivities.  On the down side weather was not the best, snow, seas very  rough, ports missed.   Captain McBain, HAL certified captain and Ice Pilots from Chile and Argentina kept us safe at all times.   The worst seas were leaving Antarctic waters heading for Montevideo.  No chance of stopping in the Falklands.  
if you have the chance to sail this voyage, do it!

Use Seattle Express. Far

more efficient than trying to catch Uber or a taxi.   Both lines were massive when we disembarked Princess end of June.

Seattle Express was waiting with a large bus and plenty of room for luggage.   They did not wait for the bus to fill up

before leaving.   
https://seattleexpress.com/
 

2 hours ago, BabsinTX said:

Thanks for sharing this.  I don't understand how the lowest Reserve Collection cabin is cheaper on the Majestic's 51-day South America Grand Adventure  than the Sapphire's 35-day Antarctica

and Brazilian Grand Adventure ($10,099 versus $10, 349).  What am I missing?  

Antarctica is the answer.   

The Acropolis closed today due to extreme heat, 105 degrees.   Definitely not a great time to be in Greece or Spain.   

On 7/12/2023 at 2:21 PM, kiwimum said:

We used the Port Valet out of Seattle June 25.     Had no issue with our prebooked seats, all 7 passengers.  Our issue is baggage fees.   SIL is active duty military and eligible for free bags on Alaska, plus all tickets were paid for on my Alaska credit card.   This was noted on the request to utilize Port Valet.   We were ultimately charged $280 for bags.   Princess indicated onboard to contact their vendor as it was their decision to charge.   Contacted Seattle Customer Care, not their problem, provided an email address of another party, not their problem contact Bags Inc out of Florida, the actual service provider. All in all this all took place via email with a resolution by Bags Inc to refund our funds.   Everything was resolved within a couple of hours.   Very responsive to emails.  Waiting on the reimbursement check.

Two bags did not make it on to the plane and subsequently delivered at 4:00am 2 days later.  
I would definitely use the service again.  Makes disembarkation a breeze.

 

Received refund of bag fees via check today.   Filed for refund 6/27.   Happy camper.

53 minutes ago, icat2000 said:

Especially when you have to add in expensive and looooong flights from Land of oz.

And the issues of getting a Visa!

6 hours ago, tert333 said:

I was a bit disappointed that you can not start in Buenos Aires and end in Santiago, with a stop in Antarctica, like the one on January 4 of next year.   That means I will then also consider the celebrity cruise on the Equinox as well.

I am sure that will be available.   They have made the Antarctica at least three times each of the last couple of seasons.  2023 and 2024 departed BA on January 4.

Business Class air has increased over 50% in the last couple of years from BA to San Diego.

9 minutes ago, curlygirlygirl said:

Well fudge, I was hoping to avoid having to pack any!

Pack a few books and leave them so other young travelers can enjoy.   

We used the Port Valet out of Seattle June 25.     Had no issue with our prebooked seats, all 7 passengers.  Our issue is baggage fees.   SIL is active duty military and eligible for free bags on Alaska, plus all tickets were paid for on my Alaska credit card.   This was noted on the request to utilize Port Valet.   We were ultimately charged $280 for bags.   Princess indicated onboard to contact their vendor as it was their decision to charge.   Contacted Seattle Customer Care, not their problem, provided an email address of another party, not their problem contact Bags Inc out of Florida, the actual service provider. All in all this all took place via email with a resolution by Bags Inc to refund our funds.   Everything was resolved within a couple of hours.   Very responsive to emails.  Waiting on the reimbursement check.

Two bags did not make it on to the plane and subsequently delivered at 4:00am 2 days later.  
I would definitely use the service again.  Makes disembarkation a breeze.

Info on transfer from our August reservation:

If you plan to be in London prior to embarkation day and wish to return to the airport for your transfer to the pier, please meet at the airport location below and locate a Princess Representative to confirm your transfer to the pier.   LHR Airport - T2 by Café Nero , T3 by Tourist Services , T4 by WH Smith and T5 by Point South   LGW Airport (North & South Terminals) - Meet by Costa Coffee   Meeting time at both airports: 9:30AM   In case of flight delays, please call the Princess Enroute: 1-800-545-0008   If you cannot locate a Princess Representative at the airport, please call locally at +44 7715 182038   Unused transfers are non-refundable

What ship are you looking at?  We recently sailed on the Discovery on Marina deck, forward, with absolutely no issues.  

50 minutes ago, CynCyn said:

I sat with a future cruise consultant and she quoted me a fare that was $2100 over what I could see online.  Make sure you look before you leap!

Definitely need to check your pricing.  Not the greatest offer.

6 minutes ago, Coral said:

Just wanted to say "Good Luck"! 

It has worked the 2 times I have resorted to Twitter to resolve an issue.

30 minutes ago, kasowell2 said:

Post link please. I’ve been waiting over a month for a refund 

There is no link, Twitter is an app where you need an account.   I created an account to deal with my issue and had a response within a weeks or so.   A month to wait for a refund is minimal.  Usually 2-3 months.

Comment on Twitter.   More responsive than most avenues.

I placed an eligible cruise on hold the day before the email was released.   My CVP needed to cancel the hold booking and rebook to take advantage of the additional OBC.  

My understanding, if you are qualified for the military credit you should have received an email indicating the voyages qualified.  You cannot now apply and hope to receive the double credit.   Not all voyages are indicated as qualifying.  We have many trips booked and  only one shows as qualifying.  

2 hours ago, memoak said:

At the June Discovery Most Traveled lunch the loyalty officer was there but the presentation was done br future cruises. Seemed to be a transition period

The transition took place June 25.   What her new position is was left hanging.    Discovery has 6 Future Cruise staff onboard.

46 minutes ago, RV Queen said:

How do we know what sailings?

There is a link in the email.   Several of our sailings are not listed.  Our January cruise is but the added OBC is for new bookings only.

I checked on a couple of our bookings and they are not listed.  Found this on another site.   

Check your email for the latest from Princess.   Military OBC is doubled for select voyages.    Offer is valid thru July 21.   

Horrendous line last Sunday, disembarked around 9:00am.  Fortunately we booked with Seattle Express and highly recommend.