portiemom

Unfortunately, yes! Too often. It's not you it's the app. I wish I had an answer. Best I can tell you is that I've had no problem getting the reservations I want once I'm on board and can speak to the MDR host. I've also spent time with the Medallion folks on board and they can't tell me what's wrong either. They say to wait for the next app update.🙄

EZ Air is linked to your cruise booking number. Your booking number does not change on a refare, which it seems is what you are looking for. If you booked with a travel agent, then you need to go through them to get a refare for a price reduction. If not, then you can call Princess on your own. Before you do, know that the promo you originally booked under, and all the benefits (OBC, specialty dinner, etc.) that went with it change to whatever promo is currently in effect at the time of the refare. Also check that your original booking had a refundable deposit. Sometimes when you look at the big picture, a refare is not a better deal. If you call Princess and you get an agent who won't do the refare, call back and try again. I've had better luck on a weekday, not the weekend, and either early or late in the day. Sometimes the person who answers the phone doesn't know how to process it. If you rebook the cruise for any reason, then your booking number will change and you will have to rebook your flights and any excursions you paid for, etc.

I'll offer a benefit to staying at the Princess Mt. McKinley Lodge. You will have more time in Denali. Without the layover at Mt. McKinley, you will have a longer travel day to Denali and arrive with less time to spend there. Just a thought. I agree with maximizing time in Denali, if you will travel all that way.

As mentioned, we had assigned seats. We were lucky to get seats on the right, but I spent most of my time outside on the platform taking pictures. We were lucky again that we were in the last car. Back platform was awesome. I stayed out there when we went through the tunnel. THAT was cool!

Welcome to Cruise Critic! If you go to the Princess website and click on On Board Our Ships, then Deck Plans, then choose the ship, you can find the following info. A746 is 168 sq ft and has a porthole. L306 is 206 sq ft and has a floor to ceiling window. I've not been in either room. Also, you probably know that A746 faces aft. L306 is near the bow. So they are at opposite ends of the ship.

As I'm reading this thread, I'm not sure if the package I bought is the same as what is being discussed or not. I've never gotten involved in timeshares, so I don't really know what a timeshare pitch is or sounds like. My package is just like the one mentioned by tigtraveling (see earlier posts above). The rep I spoke with has a Princess email and phone number. And the portal for booking the hotels has a Princess logo. I don't see any other company name involved. The rep knew my PVP and when I spoke with her she was aware of the program and was able to apply the FCC to the cruise seamlessly. I can see the OBC from the package in my cruise personalizer. I explored the hotel booking portal (after I purchased the package) and all looks good to me. Lots of hotel choices. The value in the package comes from the hotel booking, so if you don't fly in early or stay after a cruise or if you aren't interested in traveling independent of cruising (7-day stay can be used anytime, anywhere) then maybe it's not for you. Or maybe there is a different pitch going around for something other than this Princess promo??🤔

You should have seen this on the payment screen when you were checking out. You can go back and do a mock payment and it will show you on the payments screen. So add any excursion, go through the process following Pay Now, etc., and when you get to the last screen you will see how much OBC has been used and what remainder you'd have to pay on your credit card. Obviously, that is as far as you go unless you actually want the excursion. From the same page, you can choose to Remove the excursion, as in cancel the payment process and remove the excursion from your cart.

Still free March 2023. I use the laundry every cruise but somehow I've not yet (knock on wood) had a problem with folks leaving clothes in the machines when they're done. Good thing I guess because I couldn't see myself taking anyone's clothes out of a machine, especially out of a washer. I agree it's rude behavior, but that's just not my style. What I will do is consider doing wash at any machine within a reasonable distance, so maybe a deck up and one down and either port or starboard side. Once when I inadvertently chose a busy laundry day, I packed up my wet clothes from one room and carried them to the other side of the ship because someone was hogging both dryers with one load of wash.

I was reading along looking to see if anyone said this! Thank goodness I'm not the only germaphobe. 😆 (It's hard not to be when you're a clinical microbiologist.) We check in with our muster station on the way to the room. As far as I can remember our room has always been ready when we get there. Drop our stuff, and I immediately go out on the balcony - my happy place! Meet our room steward and ask for anything I need, like extra hangers, or once I needed an extra pillow to keep my foot elevated. Wipe down the room. Go out on the balcony and sit with DH, who is already there (while I'm bustling about the room), and now my cruise has begun! Unpack the bags as they arrive. The sooner all the housekeeping stuff is done the better. At some point we go get food. Sail away is on the balcony, unless we're at dinner.

As a former strict vegetarian (not vegan) of over 30 years, Sabatini's is a much better fit for a vegetarian. Although you might not "like" the menu there, it's a better choice if your aim is to "treat" your daughter.

Agreed. That's the way it looks to me, too. I would avoid that stateroom. I had M501 on Regal for 28 days a few years ago. I think it could be the drink station in the buffet that was right above us. No noise at all.

Yes, the walk-in closet. The light is in the ceiling near the bathroom door. The sensor faces the bathroom door and the door swings right under it when opened.

The hall light with the sensor is at #1. Doesn't cause any problem for me and is actually a benefit to my husband, as are the nightstand lights with sensors. Hubby had a stroke a few years ago and is now legally blind and has a poor short-term memory. He can't find the light switches at all, but does need the light to see with what little vision he has left. Of course, I'm biased because without those sensors, he'd probably stumble around in the dark until I'd wake up and turn on the light for him.😔

This has happened to us on 2 cruises now. I made screenshots, but I wound up not needing them. The MDR was very accommodating. I explained on first night and it was no problem at all. They simply took us to a private table. We did not get the same table every night, but usually were in the same section with the same waitstaff. Host remembered us and addressed us by name every night when we arrived, thereafter. My guess is they are seeing this a lot. I hope all goes just as smoothly for you.

Riviera is deck 14. Marina is deck 15. I agree, the balcony is small. The trade-off for me is not having the skywalk on deck 16 directly over my balcony, but I haven't booked one of those to know for sure. I just know standing on the skywalk, I can look straight through the floor onto those balconies. We were in M501 once for 28 days and loved it.

My husband can walk slowly with a cane and has very limited vision. He uses the wheelchair services at airports just to get to the gate, but can walk onto the plane okay if they let us board in the first group (without folks running up our backs). We've been through Heathrow 3 or 4 times now and it never goes well. I realize this is a HUGE, busy airport, but I'm at my wits end in figuring out how to get through there without raising my blood pressure. I would prefer to never go through Heathrow again, but we enjoy London and the cruises leaving Southampton port. Our first time through, they separated us. DH was shuttled to customs and baggage claim on the buggy, but I had to walk. By the time I reached him, DH was in tears because I wasn't with him. He thought I was lost. I was advised to ask for special services myself so I can go on the buggy with him. So now I put in for wheelchair services for myself. The last time was the worst. We were flying home to the US. They put us in a holding tank room (have done this before) because Princess transfer got us to the airport at 9:30 for a 14:30 flight. So we waited in the cramped room for hours and by the time they got us to the gate (a very long buggy ride, btw), we were one of the last people to board! Forget overhead bin space. Forget a calm walk onto the plane and getting settled in. (Sorry for ranting.) Am I too passive? Am I too angry? Am I not saying or doing the right things? Do I need to adjust my expectations? Next time, I will try harder to find a flight to Gatwick, but I welcome any advice for dealing with Heathrow, in case we need to go through there again.

I've not been to Alaska on Royal Princess, but I do like Deck 15 Marina. The sweet spot for me is a stateroom in the range of the M500's through the M600's. If you book one of these, you will have the overhang above your balcony to protect from weather. Horizon Buffet is one deck up. Two decks up you have open deck for sightseeing. (If at all possible, you'll want to get out and about on the ship to see the gorgeous scenery that is all around you, not stay on your balcony.) And you're close to the laundry, if you need it. Only downside for me is lack of a good wrap-around Promenade deck on Royal. As I say, you'll want to move about the ship. Our first trip to Alaska, we saw a whale breach the first night on board while standing on the Promenade. Of course, I did not have my camera ready, but it was magical! You're sure to enjoy Alaska!

A suggestion: Scroll down to Ports of Call and post this on the Alaska forum. There's also a Solo Cruisers forum that might be of value.

Another sourpuss here. The light actually works well for my husband who is cognitively disabled and legally blind. He can have difficulty finding the bathroom, let alone a light switch, in a regular balcony stateroom, especially at night. Personally I sleep with my eyes closed, so I never noticed if it is turning on and off throughout the night. Glad the rest of you have figured out a workaround.

This was not my experience. I entered the "missing" info to access my account. A new account was NOT created. Member number still correct. Still showing platinum. All my upcoming cruises are correctly listed. The mystery continues, but obviously there are are varied effects.

See my answers above in red.

We were also on this cruise with one other couple. Princess tested all of us on June 1. We all flew home on June 2. The other couple flew American LHR to PHL and they were asked for their test results. We flew British Airways LHR to PHL and we were NOT asked for our test results.