rocklinmom

After several failed attempts at using the new call center and resisting the urge to smash my phone with a hammer, I used a Princess CVP to book our latest cruise. The man I spoke with on the phone (using the CVP 800 number) was vastly different in his tone and manner than the emails that "he" sent me regarding my bookings. I had found him originally on a Facebook page with his name and profile as a "Princess Cruise Vacation Planner". But I swear, either I am hallucinating or the person I spoke to on the phone and the person who sent me the emails are different people. And in the emails "he" told me he "won't do business by email only by phone" (even though he was sending me umpteen emails about my cabins) whereas the guy on his FB page repeatedly posts to "send him an email". This has left me, a lifelong Princess cruiser, hesitant to book with them again after this cruise. They have made it so frustrating. I miss the old days of just calling the regular 800 number and doing my bookings with ease.

I'm sad to hear that you had to put up such a fight to get your FCC. May I ask what your reason for cancelling was? I want to avoid any problems getting FCC if my elderly father has to cancel our cruise.

Was this standard or premium Princess insurance?

On the Sun the sofa beds will either be next to the balcony or the bathroom, they stagger every other cabin with this pattern. If you look closely at the lines of a cabin you can tell where the longer line is (the bed headboard) and it will be by the bathroom or by the balcony (or window if an Oceanview cabin). If you click on a particular cabin while doing a booking it shows in the comments "Bed by Entrance" or "Bed by Balcony" so that will also tell you where the sofa bed is.

Has anyone else successfully used this offer? It is good thru February and I plan to try it soon on a cruise payment.

What didn't you like about the infinite verandahs? My sister is inviting us to try the Ascent and I'm used to traditional balconies on Princess. Also how was the AC? We would be in the Med in June so hot weather.

The Princess bus stopped at all of the terminals so we just got on at T5 (a short walk from the Sofitel since it's attached to T5). When you buy the Princess transfer it will show in your Personalizer where and when to meet. I don't know if they still pick up at all Heathrow terminals anymore, it could just be at one (I'm guessing T3, so you could take a taxi from T5 to T3 if necessary - those terminals aren't connected or walkable).

If you are flying on BA you will be at Terminal 5 at Heathrow. When we did that we stayed at the Sofitel hotel that is in Terminal 5. It was a nice hotel with a great restaurant. Then the next morning we got on the Princess transfer bus to Southampton. I think they had us meet around 9:30am. We were at the port by 11. They load your bags onto a separate truck and you don't see them again until they get delivered to your cabin.

The current promo goes until February 29th so there won't be a new promo until then. It's hard to say if your cruise's fares will drop, but as mentioned above they can book with a refundable fare and then if the fare drops after that try to get it refared (until final payment, which for a May cruise would be in Feb). I think if they want to go with you they should just go ahead and book now, and also if you want to have cabins near each other.

The age minimum for a separate cabin is 16.

Just log into their Personalizer on the website. They have their own booking number, and use one of their name and birthdate. You can then book whatever you want for them.

Thank you for such a detailed review! I appreciate the details about using the Plus package. Sorry you guys got sick at the end, that's not a fun way to end a cruise. Hope you are feeling better.

Good news! After spending yesterday working on this and several messages back and forth with Princess on Instagram there is now a "Customer Goodwill" $100 OBC on my Dad's booking. Obviously there are still issues with them posting his Military OBC but they got it done that way instead apparently. It shouldn't have to be this difficult honestly, especially since he had it before and it sounds like there are many people who have it automatically applied to their bookings without issue. I'm glad I thought to try messaging them on Instagram (they don't do messaging on Facebook anymore FYI). The 800 number as usual was useless and so was the online chat. Just glad he has it now! 🙂

Yes I have his password to log into his profile. His CC number is the same. Thanks for the tips! 🙂

Yes we submitted his DD214 back in 2016 to get it. I have no idea why it's not on his CC profile anymore. Very frustrating!

Oh wow you had your military status in your CC account? That's lucky, my dad's doesn't show apparently. Or so they say, I don't know anymore. He used it last in 2016. I just dug up the verification success email from their SheerID company from last week and forwarded it to customer support at Princess. Will see what happens.

So I am trying to get my dad his Military Veteran OBC for our upcoming cruise. He has had it before on other Princess cruises but apparently they now use a new verification system through some company called SheerID so he had to re-submit the form. His veteran status was not on his Captain's Circle account apparently. We submitted the form on 12/6 (it just asks for Captain's Circle number and discharge date) and later that day got verification success emails. The email says that he is verified and to allow 7 days for the ($100) military OBC to appear on his cruise booking. It has now been 8 days and it is still not on his booking. I tried the 800 number (for laughs, they literally can't do anything anymore), and the online website chat and they just say it's not on record and to re-submit it - when I do that it says "verification limit exceeded because it's already verified" - Duh. Seriously? It has never been this hard to get the military OBC before. I have now tried to message Princess on Instagram to see if I can get any help. Has anyone successfully gotten the military OBC recently? And if so how long did it actually take to post to your cruise booking?

Wow that's a late embarkation! So passengers will be on their own for lunch and dinner.

We did this same Christmas cruise (was on Royal) from San Fran to Hawaii last year. Yes on the jackets, and I must add bring Bonine or Less Drowsy Dramamine. My poor daughter was taking seasick meds every day and she still got horribly seasick on our way across the Pacific to Hawaii. Wound up in the medical center for stronger prescription meds. And if you can get the scopolamine ear patches before you leave I would bring them just in case (the medical center didn't have them). We have cruised many times all over the world and this particular route and time of year was more than we expected. I should add that the rest of us were fine, so you might not notice it, but best to be prepared. Holidays at sea were great!

Yep those things all disappeared recently.

My sister is trying to convert me to Celebrity (I am a lifelong Princess cruiser) and I've noticed several things in looking over their website: you pay more for refundable deposits, there are no laundromats, and I'm confused by the class system...she's booking a suite with butler and we can only do a regular balcony, so would we all be able to dine together (besides in the buffet)? And how much is their Wifi per person per day? And gratuities? And do they have a room service fee? I realize this might be better asked on the Celebrity board but some here who have done both might know. I appreciate any insight.

I would just log in as them into their Personalizer and purchase OBC with your credit card. As Steelers36 mentioned above, they will see it in their Travel Summary and it will show whenever they look at their Personalizer. I would not try to do it with the overseas call center, most likely you will get someone who will have no idea how to do it.

If someone uses a CVP (out of desperation since I'd rather get a root canal than use the overseas call center again) can they still control their own booking? I would want to still be able to do anything I want in my Personalizer and on the app. I know you can't do a lot of things yourself if you use a TA but what about with a CVP?

OMG that sucks! So sorry this happened to you. I have been sailing with Princess since I was a kid and I don't know what changed but it's not good. The overseas call center is the worst I've ever dealt with, each time I call. I don't think they are trained. And now here you are, with a major snafu that needs to be fixed, and they can't do anything. I ask them to transfer me to a supervisor, they say they can't. I ask them to transfer me to the California office, they say no. It makes me a bit leery using them now sadly.

For us the main difference between the two is having formal nights on Princess and none on NCL (I like not having to dress up for dinner), afternoon tea on Princess only, and NCL definitely has more of a party atmosphere and lots of fun nighttime options. Also liked the self-serve ice cream on NCL haha. We like cruising on both lines and it really comes down to itinerary, dates, and price.