Hobbes67

They had previously announced that booking would open on May 23rd for Elite.  I did not get an email and I have been Elite for many years.  We shouldn't have to check Cruisecritic to determine when to book a cruise.  I am very disappointed in Princess!

We have been sailing in suites, and unfortunately you will be charged for ordering room service.  I realize one of the benefits of being in a suite is that you can order off of the dining room menu,  You can order - but you need to pay for delivery!  I don't understand why they would do this for customers that are already paying probably double the cabin charge.  They really nickle and dime you to death.

On 3/14/2024 at 12:18 PM, RobInMN said:

Thank you for your response.

 

Technically, Ama does not want you to bring Curling Irons:

https://www.amawaterways.com/connections/top-faqs-for-first-time-river-cruisers

"Can I bring my curling iron or hair straightener on board? 

For safety reasons, the use of your personal curling iron or hair straightener is restricted on board the ship. A limited number of curling irons / hair straighteners are available for you to borrow at reception. However, you may leave your hair dryer at home as there is one in every stateroom."

 

This will be in your Cruise Documents under Travel Information & Tips:

"Curling Irons
For safety reasons, the use of your personal curling iron is restricted on board the ship. A limited number of curling irons are available at reception."

 

That said, the current is 220v, Type C or E/F (I have some of both and they both seem to work)

Make sure any device is dual voltage (110v/220v), then you just need something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0058EG0KC

 

 

I also have this:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07YDF8GCT

 

 

Do you know if they have power adapters onboard or what I will need to bring for a curling iron?

We had to pick up our medallion in Seattle and the lines were very slow and long!  No special lines for Suite or Elite.

I received one of those calls when they first started offering this.  It just didn't sound right to me, so I declined.  It was really hard sell, nothing in writing, and you needed to make a decision at that time.  I'm so glad I did not do it based on your story.  Thank you for sharing!

Thanks for sharing your information.  You will enjoy the balcony so much more than an interior.

So if I may ask, which one did they accept?  The most expensive, or the first one in?

I received a notification from CC that there were replies to my comments on a post I replied to.  When I click on it CC states that my access is denied to the topic.  Why would that be?

I was shocked that Medicare Advantage paid, and within 2 weeks of submitting the claim.  I originally submitted so that I could get the rejection EOB to submit to AON.  I would think that Kaiser would pay as well since it is an HMO as well.  We were in Canadian waters, although they didn't ask when I submitted the claim.  We only had one day of isolation so I didn't request anything for isolation.  Do you think I should have?

We just got off the Royal and my husband racked up $1250 in charges due to Covid.  I submitted the claim to his Medicare Advantage and was shocked they paid 100%.  We had Princess insurance which would have paid if Medicare did not.

We recently took our 32nd cruise with Princess on the Royal.  I have been a loyal cruisers and was very disappointed.  We were in a penthouse suite and aside from access to the Concierge Lounge, everything else was far below our expectations.

We did not have our medallions before the cruise so we had to wait in a very long line to pick them up before boarding in Seattle.  When we asked the representative at the beginning of the line if there was a line for Elite or Suite guests and he said NO.  You only receive benefits once on the ship. 

I realize that it is difficult to get staff, but many of the people spoke limited to very limited English.  In the concierge lounge the staff member that provided drinks spoke limited English and understood less.  No matter how many times you told him what you wanted you typically did not get it.  It was still nice to have a quiet place to go.  One night they invited us to cocktail hour with the officers, although no officers came.

The food in the dining room was also below what we had experienced in the past.  We have been on 3 other cruises since the pandemic and this was the worst.  The first night we ate in the Crown Grill and the food was excellent.  The second night we ate in the reserved section and the food was poor and very cold.  When we told our waiter it was cold his only response was it was cold in the room.  No attempt to resolve the issue.  The next night we requested someone else and had better luck.  The food was better and hot, but not what it used to be.  In addition, I am allergic to seafood which seems to be the majority of what is offered on the menu.

Ports - We had to miss Juneau due to a storm, then went to Skagway which was very nice.  It rained so hard in Ketchikan that after getting off for 10 minutes we had to return to the ship to dry our clothes and shoes.  We had an umbrella, but it was raining sideways.  I guess we chose the wrong time to go!!

It didn't help that my husband got Covid on Friday and was severely dehydrated so we had to go to medical.  $1250 later we were back in the cabin to pack up to go home.  Once we got home I got it also.  Then husband got better and tested negative a week later.  Another couple of days he got it again. I don't blame any of this on Princess, it just obviously did not provide a great memory for the trip.  Our flight was at 1:30, however they came to the room at 6:30am and made us leave the ship with all other Covid positive people and their families. 

This is the first time in many years that we did not purchase any future cruise credits and we talked about this being our last cruise.  There are so many other places we can spend our money and have a better experience. 

Where is the LB Embassy Suites/Hampton Inn property?  There is a Hampton Inn by the airport but I don't know of an Embassy Suites.

What I was referring to was the benefit that allowed suite guests to order room service using the menu from the dining room, which provides additional choices.  You would then need to incur the $5 charge.  I assume you would also for the afternoon tea as both would take a call to room service.

For us, it doesn't make sense to pay for the package as we get 2 drink set ups in the room, and we have the concierge lounge in the evening for drinks.  Since I don't drink it really is a waste of money. 

No Elite has not lost these benefits, you are missing what I was trying to say.  Or, I wasn't clear.  To charge someone $5 to call room service for a benefit that you are given in a suite seems pretty cheap.  Yes, we can afford $5, but that is not the point.  You cannot get the suite room service benefit on the app, only through the phone.  Why not just eliminate one more benefit since it appears the goal is to cut back on room service.

I understand the need for Princess to become profitable again, and will need to make changes to do this.  However, charging people in a suite for room service is wrong.  These people are paying twice what others are paying, and one of the benefits is that you can order from the main dining menu for room service.  Are you now telling us that they will have to pay for this benefit.  It seems that if you are Elite there very little perks for you anymore if you are not on a ship with a concierge lounge.  This is no different than if the airlines were to decide to charge their first class passengers for drinks and food.  All you would then get is a larger seat - for at least 2x the cost.  I don't believe that they would do this as they understand what first class means, Princess does not.

Thank you.  I didn't realize you could do this under round trip as I first thought you might have to go back to the hotel.  Just booked for 2 and it worked fine!  ($100)  I also arranged for Port Valet.  It is great to have all of this taken care of in advance.

We are in Long Beach and so far it has mostly been light rain.  Right now, no rain at all!

Yes, it does not give you the option to go from Hotel to Pier and Pier to Airport as a round trip.  You must pay the additional cost of 2 one way tickets plus multiple fees.

If I were just coming in for the night I would keep my reservations at Hampton Inn.  Lots of places to eat and it is not an unsafe area.  We never go downtown anymore, including the convention center area with crime etc.

We are staying at an airport hotel and planning to take Seattle Express to the dock and then back to the airport at the end of the cruise.  Is there a way to book a round trip, or do we need to do individual one way tickets? 

Hopefully someone from the Royal will post soon as to what they are doing since it starts today. 

I agree with Steeler35.  It would make much more sense to put the mini bar choices on the app.  They could even have us pre-order before the cruise so that they do not make 2 trips.  We always swap ours out!  We selected standard for this trip as we have a suite and a concierge lounge for an evening glass of wine.  The Plus is just a lot of extra money for nothing as we do not need or want many of the things that are offered.

We are in a suite in September and am interested in hearing if we will need to pay $5 for room service and the $14.99 fee for the medallion use.  Does this include a charge for changing out your mini bar since the only way you can do this is to call room service.  I will probably just ask the concierge when we board.  Given the cost of a suite it doesn't seem right.

I have been trying to book a flight all day today and keep getting a message that the system is down.  I finally called to check on it and the person said he was told it was down for 3 days.  Does anyone know anything about this?  I hope the person I was talking to doesn't know what he is talking about.