nukesubsailor

On 7/4/2019 at 9:11 AM, chengkp75 said:

Pretty much what the Rolls-Royce tech rep told me.  It just goes against all my training.

Maybe the Rolls-Royce tech is anticipating selling replacements for corroded parts sometime down the road.

On 7/4/2019 at 8:19 AM, satxdiver said:

 

Thanks for the explanation.  I also find it interesting that replacing the oil to stop the leak into the sea can be replaced with sea water which is corrosive does not present a serious problem.  Perhaps it is an issue of how long the sea water is left inside the thruster since corrosion does take some time.  

Different metal alloys such as stainless steel,  Monel, or Inconel,  have a different resistance to sea water corrosion (chloride stress corrosion).  Still, if it were me, I would avoid sea water contact if there was any reasonable way to do so.

On 7/2/2019 at 9:03 AM, krufrank said:

I just read that this weeks Princess Star cruise to Alaska got off to a rough start - engine issues.  They left Seattle late and then had to stop while out at sea.  I heard reports of scuba divers trying to fix engines  Anyone have an update?  I leave for Alaska on the Star on July 7th.  Thanks.

Interesting.  Those engines must have been outboards.

On 7/13/2019 at 6:57 AM, Daniel A said:

Then don't wear one... 

I actually once saw some lady at Princess Cay sunbathing without the top half of her bikini.  I guess she realized the hair dryers in the cabins would take forever to dry an entire bathing suit.

2 hours ago, nukesubsailor said:

I have always seen Crown Royal at most of the bars when I check to see if they have my favorite---Gentleman Jack.. 

If you want to shake up your taste buds----try a whiskey sour made with Fireball whiskey.

I have always seen Crown Royal at most of the bars when I check to see if they have my favorite---Gentleman Jack.. 

17 minutes ago, twodaywonder said:

So checking to make sure the cabin door is locked when you leave is not possible.

Just make sure your medallions are out of range of the door then check to see if it is locked.  We determined the range at which the medallions unlocked the door on the first day of the cruise.  One of us stayed 20 -30 feet from the door and held both of our medallions while the other one stood next to the door to see when it unlocked as the one with the medallions approached.

9 minutes ago, 2ferfun said:

Is it only the grand class ships?  I know that I am a relic from the past but i enjoy an occasional cigar and glass of port and I have always liked the environment at Churchills. I have noticed that it is not on any of the new builds though.  Is it a thing of the past?

I know that the Coral, Royal, and Regal have a Churchills.  

2 hours ago, AF-1 said:

Maybe a few accounts got messed up; Barclay may not even know about the screw up until you contacted them. 

The transactions that are now missing from the redemption list were scattered throughout the 2 page list.  They were not contiguous so an accidental deletion of a block would not have gotten all of them.  They cherry-picked just the transactions that were redeemable at the 2% rate.  I cannot image how that could have happened accidentally.

This is not the first trouble card holders have had with Barclays.  I am sure they will drag out their investigation into my case until the 180 day expiration date for one or more of the transactions they "disappeared" has been reached to make sure they won't have to pay the 2%

Late last night I got this message from Barclays.

On 7/11/2019 at 12:06 PM, Jeter02 said:

To be fair, I think the world market buffet is a huge step up from Princesses older ships and their lido buffet. Presentation and quality has definitely improved, with a wide array of selection different daily. The decor and design was smartly done, giving a warm cozy family oriented vibe.(Still incomparable to the their Royal class ships). Some unique funded in the WM are,  In the morning you can find a variety of fresh fruit / vegetable smoothie drinks. Planks and steamers are open as a normal buffet for breakfast and lunch. At steamers / planks they offer a create your own omlette station where you fill a cup with all the ingredients you'd like. For lunch which I thought was neat wAs as steamers and planks they have your make your own take meals. for example they would have a day where it was make your own stir fry and then they had a ramen noodle bar where you just put all your ingredients in a bowl new hand it to them and they cook it and they give you a pager until your meal is done. It was pretty quickly made. I just thought it was very unique. each day at the world market it's a different destination theme. P.S. one of my most favorite food finds with the day they did Asian cuisine and they had the most amazing kung pao chicken and there vegetable spring rolls were amazing. I never really do doubles but I definitely had like triples of that it was amazing.

 

Typically on older princess ships especially those that don't have the world market usually you can find me for breakfast lunch and dinner strictly in the main dining room for sit-down meals because I can't stand the layout and the lack of variety of food. Usually I find nothing up there to my liking. but on board the caribbean princess I would just do my dinner in the main dining room cuz I was able to get along just fine for breakfast and lunch in the buffet. 

 

also keep in mind they upgraded the pizzeria to slice and they upgraded Trident grill the burgers to salty dog. So they have great selections over there as well that are unique.

I agree with everything you stated.  

14 minutes ago, MustangGT said:

I know I have read about the PVSA but I'm having a Senior Fog Moment! 🙄

Two cruises on the Ruby in May, 2020

Cruise 1 leaves LA and arrives in Vancouver

Cruise 2 leaves Vancouver and ends in Seattle

 

I'm thinking we cannot do these 2 cruises back to back.

I know there are many PVSA well-versed CC members who can answer this.

 

Thanks!!

What makes that B2B itinerary against the law is that it doesn't end in the same US port where it began.  I tried that once where I boarded the Coral Princess in LA for a cruise to Vancouver and wanted to stay aboard for an Alaskan cruise that ended in Whittier, Alaska.  Instead I got off in Vancouver, spent the night and took an Alaska cruise the next day on the Star Princess.

2 hours ago, cruiser113 said:

 

nukesubsailor……...please  let  me  know  the  outcome.

 

All  my Princess eligible  transactions  are  gone  and I  called  Princess Rewards  Center  and got  no where,  asked  to  speak  to  a  supervisor and  still  no  answer.  They  will look  into my  transactions.  

I made  a  redemption on 5/20/2019  for  a  statement  credit and  according  to  the   supervisor they  used my most  recent purchase  over $4001,  instead  of  the  one  I had chosen that   was older.

 

Wishing   you better  luck

By not using the oldest purchase they could be hoping it hits the 180 day expiration before you can use it.

Please let Princess Customer Services know of your experience. Their email address is customerrelations@princesscruises.com

They will pass your email on to the department that is the liaison with Barclays.  

You can also email Barclays employee Rachael Mortensen to state your case at rmortensen@barclaycardus.com

Barclay Rewards Customer Service Manager phone number   1-866-928-3106

The only response I have gotten from Barclays has been a message on my account page.  They said they really want to give great service and they reviewed my account and see that I have 3 transactions with Princess Passage that I can redeem against.  Of course those are all small transactions that only get a 1% redemption rate.  I replied back and told them to review my statements for January through the current one for July and they will see 6 transactions with Princess Passage that qualify for the 2% redemption rate.

13 hours ago, Dani24 said:

 

Are all of your transactions missing? Or just the ones over $4001?

 

I just checked my account and I still see the other charges I haven't redeemed against.

Not all transactions are missing.  Just the 6 transactions over $4001.

If Princess is like one corporation I worked for, they created this new position of assistant because the department head was having to do more work than desired.  Now the assistant gets to do all the crappy little jobs the department head doesn't want to do.  In order to pay for this new position, two or more low level employees get fired and the rest have to absorb their work load without any increase in compensation.  Corporate headquarters would then issue a press release using all the latest corporate-speak buzzwords to explain this paradigm shift enabling the company to more fully utilize all the available synergy.

50 minutes ago, Dani24 said:

I just redeemed over 200,000 points on my Princess Visa towards a purchase of over $4001 at the 2% rate (so I doubt they're looking to screw people out of that if they let mine go through). The purchase was made in late April, and I redeemed the points in early May. I did still see the cruise deposit from January showing in the list of eligible purchases to redeem against at that time (but didn't select that). I had no trouble at all redeeming my points. I'd imagine it's a glitch. Given how close you are to the 180 days I don't think I'd wait for a response. I'd call them until someone answered and resolved it.

The disappearance of all of the $4001+ purchases from my redemption list has happened just recently as I made a redemption in late June at the 2% rate without problem.  It was then that I made a note of the next purchase I needed to redeem against before the 180 expiration date arrived.  

4 minutes ago, Jeter02 said:

It's a 1.5% redemption rate. If you call them, they will be gladly to help you. Many times I just tell them I want to cash in all my points for the redemption rate. Which they can do, just as long as there was a recent princess purchase within the 180 days. 

My original post mentioned purchases of over $4001.  Your 1.5% redemption rate is for purchases of $2001 - $4000.99

From the terms and conditions for the Barclay Princess Visa card.

"Statement Credit Redemptions

• You may redeem points for statement credits toward eligible purchases made using your Princess Cruises Rewards Visa Card. The redemption can be made online at BarclaysUS.com or by calling the number on the back of your card.

• You may redeem points for statement credits towards any purchase from the World’s Leading Cruise Line brands (Carnival, Costa, P&O Australia, P&O Cruises, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Aida, Cunard, Seabourn, Fathom) or any airline purchase that is equal to or greater than $50 and has posted to the Account within the prior 180 days. World's Leading Cruise Line brands are subject to change. For a complete list, please visit worldsleadingcruiselines.com.
  • The statement credit redemption value for airline purchases and World’s Leading Cruise Line Cruises will be 1%.

• Airline purchases must be submitted by merchants using the merchant category codes for purchases in these categories to qualify for redemption.

• Airlines: Airline purchases are defined as air carriers, airlines, airports, airport terminals and flying fields as identified by the merchant category codes.

• The amount of points needed to redeem will vary by transaction.

• If you do not have enough points available to redeem for the full purchase amount, you will only be able to redeem within pre-determined statement credit increments as follows:

• $50.00 increments between $5,000.00.

• Redemptions start at 5,000 points for a $50 statement credit toward an eligible Princess Cruise purchase. Statement credit redemption value toward Princess Cruises purchases will vary based on the amount of the Princess Cruise purchase as follows:

• Princess Cruise purchases within the last 180 days:
  • $50 to $499.99 will have a redemption value of 1%

  • $500 to $2,000.99 will have a redemption value of 1.25%

  • $2,001 to $4,000.99 will have a redemption value of 1.50%

  • $4,001 and up will have a redemption value of 2.00%

• If you redeem your points for a statement credit, the credit will be posted to your Account within 1-2 business days and will appear on your Account billing statement within 1 billing cycle.

• Statement credits reduce your Account balance but cannot be applied toward any minimum payment requirement and are otherwise subject to the terms and conditions applicable to your Account."

12 minutes ago, greenie082756 said:

I'm gonna have to go check on our account.  I am hoping its just a computer glitch.

Did you happen to call them and ask what happened?

🤞

I sent an email to Barclays this morning.  I also copied the email to Princess Customer Relations.  I have heard nothing from Barclays yet.  I just got a phone call from a very nice lady from Princess Customer Relations.  She informed me that she sent the email to the Princess office that is the liaison with Barclays.  Please let me know if you have any missing purchases of over $4001 on your list of purchases that you can redeem points against for statement credit.  

Yesterday I logged in to my Princess credit card account with Barclays to redeem points against a purchase I made for a Princess cruise.

The purchase was in excess of $4,001 and was made on 1/24/19.  As I went to select that purchase to redeem against for statement credit,

I found that the purchase was not on the list.  It has not been 180 days since the purchase so it should have still been listed.  Then I noticed that

5 other purchases from Princess that were in excess of the $4,001 minimum amount for the 2% redemption rate were not on the list either.

Is there any reason to remove them other than to screw card holders out of the 2% redemption rate?

No one wants to pack a wet swimsuit.

We like to take cruises of 3-4 weeks.  That means 21 or more days  without my wife having to cook a meal, make a bed, clean the shower, or grocery shop.  Happy wife = happy life. I don't have to put up with getting multiple daily calls from telemarketers or politicians.  One more thing I like about take a cruise on Princess-----the scenery is better than it was on all those Navy cruises.

22 minutes ago, Thrak said:

I've never considered that they might provide slippers. I sincerely doubt I would use them if provided. I have nice pair of leather slippers at home that are cozy in the winter but don't take them with me on trips. I don't wear robes so don't bother with the Princess robes. The ones I've seen have pretty much been designed to fit super petite 10 year old girls or something.

And the slippers I have found in our suite were also too small for my little size 10 D tootsies.

1 hour ago, Qcruise said:

Honestly.....I'm not sure where you frequent to purchase drinks,  but I find Princess drink pricing very reasonable when compared to many other places.  If you've traveled with RCI lately you'll find they charge around $12 dollars per average drink while Princess is closer to $8.....many lines are pricing to get you into their "package" and at the higher price it's worth just paying for it.   If you don't drink that much then ala carte is a better way to go on Princess.

I compare the cost of a drink to the cost of a bottle, not the competition.  Take my usual drink for an example - Grey Goose and tonic: A 1 liter bottle of Grey Goose vodka costs $42. (Princess may get a better price by buying in volume.)  That bottle will make 33 single shot drinks.  At $9 per drink that means a revenue of $297.  The ice and tonic in the drink cost very little.  The 18% gratuity would cover the cost of the labor of the waiter for the time he spends taking my order and bringing me the drink.

Princess drink prices might beat other cruise lines but that doesn't make them reasonable in my opinion.  I used to own a bar many years ago and I made a very good profit selling a vodka and tonic drink for $1.  Now the price of a bottle has gone up 6 fold since them but the Princess drink price has gone up 9 fold.

50 minutes ago, allanna said:

Just booked an 11 day cruise to the med on the above what, if any benefits , are available to me?

The suite benefits can be found on the Princess website.  I am not aware of any benefits the specific cabin you mentioned receives that differ from what other suites receive.

16 minutes ago, grouchomarx said:

I have not sailed Princess in 5 years and will be sailing on the Sky in December.  I have a few questions to get updated on Princess.

-Can you buy a day pass for the thermal suite or is it only for the whole week?   Never use it so can't help.

-Same as above for the Sanctuary  As soon as you board make reservations for either the entire cruise or just for the specific days you will want to use the Sanctuary.  You can reserve just a half day also.

-How would you generally rate MDR food?  My last cruise (Regal), we were not loving it like we did in the past and did a lot of specialty dining.  We check the menu every afternoon.  If it appeals to us we will dine there.  If not we make other plans.

-How would you generally rate Sabatinis?  I have never tried this "new" menu and it looks quite dull.  The menu at Sabatinis does not appeal to us.

-Are drinks still reasonably priced?  We will need to decide on the drinks package, not sure (we drink a good deal).  I don't consider $8-$10 for a drink to be reasonable.  To decide if the drink package is good for you, just do the math based upon how many drinks per day you will want.

Thanks.