FawnRiver

Thanks for posting. I just went in and cancelled our medallion order & reordered for our January cruise. We booked the premier package, so the shipping is included. 
It’s great to see the green lane indicator pop up. 
We’ve had a bit of a rough year and can’t wait to get away.

You can try finding a day room. Some hotels have them if you need somewhere to go during the day.

I received unwanted “upgrades” on my last cruise and again for my upcoming cruise in January. Both times I had to call in to get either my original room or one similar. 
It wouldn’t be that hard to write a program to analyze cruisers’ historical preferences to offer cabins to people that they’d be willing to take.

Each time, they’ve tried to move us forward from our favourite aft cabins. Not everyone wants to be smack dab in the middle of the ship. I’d take an upgraded forward cabin before a mid ship one, unless it’s a big jump (small balcony to a large mini suite or suite).
I agree that it would be great if they could just add a Do Not Upgrade button for online bookings. They could easily do that and add a disclaimer to cover themselves if they have to force a move on someone.

19 hours ago, DHP1 said:

Why purchase Switch Health when Princess Cruise offers "free" PCR Test as you disembark?

 

From Princess website:-

Yes, if a negative COVID-19 test is required for re-entry into your home country, Princess will cover the costs of a COVID-19 test administered within the timeframe required prior to travel.

Guests should disembark the ship, collect their luggage, clear customs and exit the terminal for testing. COVID-19 tests will be administered just outside the terminal. Antigen test results will be available in approximately 30 minutes and PCR test results will be available in approximately 60 minutes; please plan your post-cruise travel arrangements accordingly.

1. You get what you pay for.

2. I like not having to dread the last day of my cruise any more than necessary. Waiting 5 hours to find out if I can go home would drive me right around the bend.

3. Because I can shorten the window on COVID by testing before disembarkation. The test for the return flight can be done up to 72 hours in advance of the scheduled departure time. I don’t care if I catch COVID, we’re tripled vaxxed, so all I want is to make sure we have a qualified negative test in hand before the return flight. Plus, if we end up being positive in the US, I have to make arrangements for quarantine in FLL, my work and our dogs. I’d also rather be sick at home, if it comes to that.

Hopefully this will all be academic.

37 minutes ago, dog said:

So they stayed at the port over 5 hours waiting for results?

best to come up with a back up plan 

Glad I ordered the RT Lamp tests from Switch health to use before we disembark from the Feb 8 sailing of the Enchanted Princess. They’re already packed in my carry on before our flight down to FLL on Sunday.

We did a cruise with our elderly MIL & our niece (her granddaughter in her early 20’s) before the world “ended”. They were in an inside room and we were in a balcony room across the hall. Worked out great for all of us. We prefer being in the aft so that’s the location we went with. We used the balcony a few times, and they joined us.

1 hour ago, Jadn13 said:

We extra tipped our wait team tonight and while chatting we learned 2 things

 

1. Princess restructured and did away with the Asst Waiter position so they have just Junior Waiters now, which was a demotion for some.

2. Your Wait Team splits all tips evenly even if you tip one person more. We lost our initial waiter after 8 days and so tipped the Jr waiter more since he was with us longer but it’s all split evenly. 
 

That makes sense with Princess doing away with the regular traditional dining (hopefully that’s only temporary), you can’t be guaranteed the same waiters so it seems only fair.  Thank you for posting, it’s been great to follow along. We’re boarding on Feb 8th. 😀

14 hours ago, Cruisingrampy said:

Could one bring their own approved test on board and do it a day or 2 before rhe cruise is over if they were flying out on the 3rd day

That’s what we’re doing for our cruise next month. We ordered and received the RT LAMP kits from Switch health and set up our account in their system.  once we’re inside the 72 hour window of our return flight, we’ll log in, do the test and hope we’re negative. 

The Switch Health rapid antigen test is manufactured by SD Biosensor.  I took a look at the FDA website and it looks like it has an Emergency Use Authorization, so Princess should accept the results.

I was planning on using those kits too, for our cruise next month, but I haven’t seen any comments about them on the boards. 
 

what is the cause for concern?

found the news story link in another thread, I’d like to surprised by the government’s incompetence but I’m not.

It will be in place as long as the government thinks it’s good optics, they’ll never turn away from a potential revenue source.
 

They can travel without consequences either because they can get away with it by calling their trips “essential” or they can just pay the fines (as if a civil servant would lay fines against them). I would contend my mental health is essential and taking a vacation key to that, but I’m just a lowly citizen without wealth or connections.

I’m taking all reasonable precautions (vaccination, booster, masking, etc) and that should be enough, yet for them it isn’t. 

57 minutes ago, hllwdcruiser said:

We are on the February 28th in D702 but have "no upgrade" marked on our cabin and still have our cabin assigned. I'm wondering if you just received a complimentary "upgrade" to a less desirable location that Princess tends to do on a regular basis. Especially since you did get your old cabin back.

I think it may be a little bit of both. From reading other threads, it seems the quarantine zones move based on what they have available.

14 hours ago, hllwdcruiser said:

@Jadn13If you have the time, would you mind checking what cabins on Dolphin are being used for quarantine?

As illogical as it may seem, different reports indicate that they may not be using the same block of cabins for each journey. 

I think they may be blocked off mid ship on Port side - easy to tell by the closed fire doors and restricted access.

If you don't have the time nor inclination, no worries - but if you find yourself with a few moments looking for something to do, this info will be greatly appreciated!

 

I’m on the Feb 8 sailing in D701, so I’m hoping/suspecting it depends on who they can move from their booked rooms. We got an “upgrade” to a smaller balcony room a few decks up and amidship so I spent more than two hours on the phone to get our room back. I had to go over the head of the very nice young lady who took my original call. Of course, they didn’t mention that they wanted the room for a quarantine zone. That would have changed the conversation significantly.

8 hours ago, K_e_short said:

Going to chime in here with some politics for a lovely snowy Sunday morning 🙂

 

Switch Health is making a lot of money off Covid.

 

They have contracts to do airport testing. They have contracts to do regular pcr testing. They have contracts to do vaccination clinics.

If you search online you will see quite a lot of negative comments.

 

There is anger that pcr tests from travellers are being processed before pcr tests for health care providers who can't get back to work until they get results.

There is anger that the government is pushing for Switch Health vaccine clinics when the PHU clinics have space.

 

This just emphasizes that the system is broken.

 

And I'm allowed to say this since I just got back from a cruise - the system doesn't restrict people from traveling. All it does is create more hoops to jump through. Jumping through the hoops doesn't make things safer. It's all optics.

 

It does restrict travel to those who have the money to spare or the willingness to pay extra to travel.  I do agree with you about appearances though, the hoops make the government look good, regardless of whether or not their rules are actually effective.

1 hour ago, AlbertaCruisers said:

 

Wow!! Switch Health is a mess.  Me and my husband tested on Monday at 6:30 pm at Pearson and neither of us have our results yet!

 

I don't think they really care about doing couples together.  Our swabs were all put in a box, and I'm sure they get separated.

A little disappointing to hear Switch Health is in over its head with testing. I know they’re out of their league with doing vaccinations so it’s not a huge surprise. DH and I managed to get booster appointments for Christmas Eve at the International Centre and it was a real disaster. Despite having verified appointments, there were still long lines and they kept letting walk ins go ahead of those of us who had appointments. Our two original vaccination appointments were handled by Toronto Public Health and they were surprisingly efficient in contrast.

Hopefully things will straighten out before our February cruise, assuming Ottawa allows us commoners to still travel.

We’re booked on the Feb 8 sailing of the Enchanted Princess and they gave us an “upgrade” to some small balcony amidships, so I spent over two hours on the phone fighting to get back our D701. They did give us back the room, but they never told me they were using those rooms for quarantine. We spend a lot of time on our balcony and I’m not thrilled at the possibility of having someone quarantining right next door.

Thank you both for the info, I think I may get the portable tests to take with us just to be safe.

We’re booked on the Enchanted for Feb. 8th cruise out of Port Everglades. As Canadians, we currently need a negative PCR test to return home. I had hoped requirements would loosen but with the new variant, I doubt they will, so I have to assume that we’ll need a PCR test to board the flight home. The Princess website says that antigen and PCR testing will be available upon disembarkation and I was just wondering if anyone here has used that service. We’re booked to fly back on disembarkation day (flights booked though Princess).  As the website says the wait for the PCR test result is approximately an hour, I booked a 5pm flight home so the timing should work out okay. I also have the option of purchasing RT Lamp test kits to bring with us and do remotely ahead of disembarkation day, but I’d love to not have to spend another $300 if I can avoid it.

Thanks for any information anyone can give.  

DH and I started cruising with Princess in our mid 30s and loved pretty much everything about it, especially the food and service. We were among the younger cruisers, but there were no issues with that. The itinerary will dictate the age difference too. The shorter the itinerary, the younger the crowd usually. 
I have to say though, it was fun on our first transatlantic cruise when we had a great lunch in the MDR with another couple and the wife made a comment that it was great we were cruising at such a young age.  I had to ask her how old she thought I was.  She thought I was 25, I preferred that to my real age at the time (42). 😂

I found the water cold there, but it depends on your tolerance. It didn’t bother my husband, he enjoyed swimming there. Water shoes are definitely a good idea.  The last time we were there, we just did the boat cruise which was pleasant and had lunch before going back to the ship. 

We took our niece with us on our last cruise in October 2019. She is full vegan and had no problem, you just have to contact Princess and let them know in advance. 

I’ve got the same question. We’re booked for a cruise in February and I’m trying to decide whether or not to cancel it. 
Our plan was to fly down 2 days early, but that means getting tested before the flight & then again in Florida (assuming we can figure out how to do that) or we change it to flying in same day, so we only test once and use the results for both flight & cruise. I hate the idea of flying in the same day though. 

Princess has a Drop n Go section on their website for good prices on near date sailings. You can also sign up for email notifications of these sailings.

 

 

 

Currently there are some very compelling rates for sailings before the xmas holidays.

 

 

 

IMO, the 'sales' and perks are mostly smoke and mirrors, the real price of the cruise is reflected when you strip all of that away.

 

 

 

Booking a cruise after final payment is often very cost effective even if you have to pay per drink prices and don't have "free" gratuities.

We just booked for the Dec. 30 sailing on the Royal, it was a really good price, but we missed it by a day. We booked anyway, because the price we paid ended up being the same as the new price included gratuities. They just upped the better price by the amount of the gratuities and relabeled the sale.

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As was said before, carrying off a back pack and a large beach bag is not a problem anywhere (not food). I have seen the crew unload a lot of large boxes and other items for schools in Ecuador and Brazil. In Manila, crew took off gifts for family in really large bags that they were able to carry. So it is possible, but I don't know about Mexico. I don't remember seeing any customs officers or other officials in Cozumel. Some other ports around the world have bio product checks with sniffer dogs.

In Cozumel, they do use sniffer dogs looking for food, specifically produce. The ship staff warned passengers repeatedly not to take fruit off of the ship.

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Cruising is an adventure, we missed a day in Grand Cayman on a cruise in April due to bad weather, it just meant an extra sea day, yay!

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