Worldtraveler 4727

The Premiere Package with my booking allows for 2 specialty restaurant reservations, and in my Medallion app it clearly states that I have dining credits, but on Aug 2 when I made the two reservations, my VISA was charged. The Medallion app said that I would not be charged for these reservations upon confirmation of the two reservations.

I was charged for 4 dinners each time as my booking is linked to our friends’ and they too have specialty dining credits.

Can someone give me some advice? Do I need to call Princess? Any advice if I do have to call?

Anyone know if free laundry is now the situation on the Royal?

According to the above very recent post, laundry is free on the Crown!

Can anyone confirm this for any of the other ships--particularly the Royal?? Above, 65Mommy said the laundry was removed on the Royal? 🤔

Anyone on the Royal or know someone on her now??

22 minutes ago, mtnesterz said:

Since you say you will not be there within the usual ten days delivery time. Be sure someone you trust is picking up your mail. Having had an issue with mail theft, and a problem tied to criminals knowing we were on vacation, if thieves read the Medallion they will see the dates you will be away.

Having had that experience, I cannot understand one good reason why anyone has theirs mailed.

Excellent food for thought. 
Same goes for not posting here, or any social media while away. 
 

Seems like “pick up at terminal” is the solid way to go. 

14 minutes ago, Nebr.cruiser said:

Yes to the above.  My sister didn't have hers; took all of two minutes longer than us, if that.  I'm not sure I'm ordering ours ahead anymore.

Right. Doesn’t make sense— especially if you have to pay shipping. 

Thanks everyone!!

Sorry--this has probably been asked before, but I couldn't find an answer....

Has someone experienced ordering Medallions and having to leave before they arrive in the mail to your home?

We ordered ours, but will likely not be here 10 days before--we might be here 20 days before if they are mailed out to us early enough, but there is no way to know when they will arrive. If we are gone, the Medallions will be sitting in our held mail at home. 

Does Princess just have another Medallion for you upon embarkation if you arrive without yours??

12 hours ago, wallyj said:

Hi just of the Emerald 7 day CA coastal, I had the premier pkg so I had the photo package. Also had it a month ago on same ship and will identify a change.

 

Photos taken at the backdrops on ‘formal’ night are NOT considered ‘portrait’ and are available to pick just like any other photo taken on non formal nights or at the ports.

 

You can select ‘any’ 3 pictures up to size 8x10, as the embarkation and dining room pictures are typically smaller. So if want different pictures or the same it is your choice. 
 

The photo department does NOT print every picture taken to display on the racks. But you can view all of your photos at the photo gallery on their screens or your own device and if a printed copy has not be made, you can request it as one of your included ‘free’ of 3.

 

A month ago when I had the photo package, I asked does the photo department supply a complimentary USB drive to download all the digital photos and was told, yes. At the end of the cruise, I selected my 3 prints and they downloaded all of the digital photos to a ‘ship shaped’ thumb drive.

 

Last Friday, the last night of my cruise, again I went to the photo gallery to select the 3 prints I wanted. I noticed many of the pictures I had taken were not there. Then I remembered hearing the photographer telling a passenger a few days ago that not all photos are printed.
 

I had enough photos to choose 3 I might like, but if I had planned better, I would have reviewed ALL of my photos first on my tablet,  and if I saw one I liked that was not already printed, I could have requested it to be printed. Suggest you do this the afternoon on last day.
 

If it is a port day and they take port arrival pictures, wait till the mid afternoon when those morning pictures should have been uploaded into the system. The photo department probably will not print any of those taken that morning.

 

When I requested the thumb drive, I was told ‘sorry’ we are out of the complimentary thumb drives but they had others I could ‘buy’ for I think $7? Was told if I did not want to purchase a thumb drive, I needed to download the digital pictures to my own device before disembarkation, else they would no longer be available. Fortunately, I still had enough ‘space’ on my IPad and was able to download them to my device. You do this via the Medallion APP. One link is View my photos, another has Download my photos and gives the option of ALL or you can ‘select’ individual photos.
 

I think Princess should have still provided a complimentary thumb drive, as they know exactly how many passengers have the premier package and should have supply for that number as a minimum in addition to others without a package who might want a separate thumb drive instead of having the pictures on their phone or tablet.

Thank you! Perfectly explained. Much obliged. 

On 5/27/2022 at 7:42 PM, Murray's Pop said:

So does this mean you will only get the digital files for either 5 or 10 pictures along with the printed pics?  Does anyone have actual 1st hand knowledge of what you do and don't get?

"The photo package includes digital downloads of all images taken by onboard Princess photographers and three prints, up to 8×10, of any photo. The photo package does not apply to Platinum Studio, weddings, portraits, or group special events." 

That description is for the Photo Pkg within the Premier Pkg. Can someone clarify "portraits?" Do they consider the photographs taken on formal night, for example, a "portrait" photo?

And does the above wording mean you receive up to three, 8x10's of any single photo? Or does it apply to 3 different ones?

Hopefully, someone who has experienced this new package will be able to answer for us. 

https://www.princess.com/cruise-search/results/?resType=T

There are 170 options here. Look for "Connoisseur Escorted" in the title.

Not rushed trips at all! 

On 7/23/2023 at 10:30 AM, cusematt4 said:

Hi all,

 

We are planning a first time trip to Alaska for 4 people - 2 adult kids and 2 parents.

 

We're planning to start the cruise in Alaska and end in Vancouver.  There are over 50 Princess land tours to choose from, and of those around 20 3 and 4 night Princess land tours.

 

Does anyone have any experience with Princess land tours?  We are trying to narrow down the 3 and 4 night tours to a few that would allow us to see the most.  We have no preference on rail, bus or both.  We'd like to see some highlights in the 3 or 4 days and not be on our own / have a guided tour.

 

If anyone has any experience or advise for Princess 3 or 4 night land tours they'd recommend for first timer's to Alaska, we'd appreciate it.

 

Thank you.

Here is the link to the day-by-day blog I wrote on our land tour and cruise to Alaska. Lots of people found it helpful. 

Perhaps it will help you make some decisions.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2560841-trip-review-connoisseur-land-amp-sea-rb8-june-19-july-4-2018/

"Also, does anyone have advice on how to go about picking the best pre/post cruise tour to see Alaska (train/lodge/Anchorage/Danali combo)?"

P.S. Interior Alaska is VERY DIFFERENT from the coast and the ports you cruise. Both have their advantages, but the interior has the wilderness, the gorgeous lodges, and the animals! A must, in MHO, if you are going all the way to Alaska. 

We made a conscious decision to do the land portion first. The cruise portion is more laid back. We wanted the beginning-of-the-trip energy for the land portion. That meant we went from north to south for the cruise, ending in Vancouver, meaning a shorter flight home when we were finished with our vacation and more tired. 

Note: if you choose a route from north to south, be sure to get a cabin on the port side of the ship so you will see more land as you cruise. 

We decided to do the land tour AND cruise. I wrote a blog about it when we returned. It is a day-by-day report, so you can get an idea of what the Connoisseur Land & Sea package is all about. We definitely thought the price was worth it!

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2560841-trip-review-connoisseur-land-amp-sea-rb8-june-19-july-4-2018/

At least I know someone there READ it!

Why not answer?

Tried to contact them through Facebook (besides email via their website). 

Nope. Nothing. Nana. Zip. Zero. 🤯☹️

20 minutes ago, capriccio said:

I hope you have a great time.  We certainly did and loved the wonderful people, food, wine, cities, and countrysides.  We did the reverse of your trip, taking an independent tour around the South Island of New Zealand first and then the cruise around Australia. 

Thank you!

Still hoping to hear from CC members who have had the Bob Wood Group as their tour company in AU. Looking for any and all (reassuring? 😵‍💫) info on the land tours and this company. 

15 minutes ago, capriccio said:

Based on our experience boarding the Coral Princess in April for the Round Australia cruise, this is a requirement of the local government (New South Wales in this case). 

 

Within 24 hours of embarkation take a self-administered test (we brought tests from home but they are readily available in Australia) and photograph the test results, along with a date/time stamp (we used a cell phone home screen), and your name.  Princess had us submit the photo on the Medallion app.

 

There is a current thread on the Austrailian and New Zealand Cruisers board that includes the information that this covid testing on Princess has been extended: 

 

Thank you. This was helpful! 
(Much more so than the  Bob Wood Tour Co so far! 🙄) 

53 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

I cannot give you a definitive answer to your question...but keep in mind that the key word "attest" simply means that you must verbally state that you have done a test...I may very well be wrong but it *sounds* as if you take your test wherever (within the confines of the time window stated) and maybe just take a picture of the result.  I *think* the days of needing an "official" certified test result are over.

So are you thinking we need to take over our own tests from the US?

10 minutes ago, compozer said:

Phone

number said disconnected.   But then why do I need to spend my money on a long distance phone call when they are being paid by Princess to help us??

Yes! Exactly!

I did a very comprehensive day-by-day report of our land tour/sea cruise with Princess to Alaska. You might want to read through it. I think it will help you to make a decision about what you want to see, where you want to stay, and how many days you’d like to include in your trip. 
 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2560841-trip-review-connoisseur-land-amp-sea-rb8-june-19-july-4-2018/

I’m having a difficult time getting the Bob Wood Tour Co to respond at all. I sent an email days ago and a FB message today 🤞🏻

This is the message I sent them:

Have any CC friends out there dealt with this company in AU? 
I don’t understand why they don’t respond to emails sent directly through their webpage. It’s making me nervous with regard to the overall service we can expect in AU! They are in charge of hotels, flights, luggage etc on this land tour. 🫤

12 hours ago, christodan said:

There is an lesser known alternative i.e. going up one of the pylons. Much cheaper and much lower in height.

https://pylonlookout.com.au/

Thank you. I'll look into that!

Agreed!

But…for us, the Bridge Climb is not about money. It’s about the height! 😱

Sadly, can’t do it. Sigh. 🫨😬😮

Ahhh! Thank you!

We are visiting Sydney Oct 22 & 23 and would like to tour the Sydney Opera House. I understand advance tickets are recommended.

Can anyone tell me why their 1 hour tour on the official Opera House site is $43, and the seemingly same tour through TripAdvisor and Viator is $29.22?

Any "Insider Advice" on touring the Opera House welcome as well. 

Thank you!