DiRonT

for the first time we will be cruising with a portable oxygen concentrator.  Do I need to inform Princess of any info in advance and how do I request an extension cord to be able to plug the concentrator in by the bed.  Sorry, but it used to be so much easier with the old Cruise Personalizer.  Your help would be appreciated.

59 minutes ago, Pam in CA said:

My TA seems to work 24/7. Very responsive, even to say she’ll get back to me. 
 

I use a TA for several reasons:

 

1. I always pay less than if I’d booked directly. Important as I cruise solo in a cabin but I also like paying less.

 

 

Agree with all your points.  Think we are still using the same TA and she is the best!

20 minutes ago, PacnGoNow said:

I emailed IT and asked what was going on. They said it was an outage. Don’t think so.  They were probably reprogramming the suite bidding process and broke something else.

 

Send a message to the IT team.  Tell them the cruise/date/category and the error response.
 

I found some cruises worked for all categories and some would give me an error for a suite request.

 

A360ad7@carnival.com

 

If you have a TA/CVP maybe they could book it or help.
 

 

Yep - sending note to IT, then will check with my TA.  Just trying to avoid having her look at so many different cruises, but oh well.

19 hours ago, chill6x6 said:

Same for me,  I can book any cabin category BUT a suite.  So I called Princess...the rep couldn't look at the prices/availability either.  He said to try/call again tomorrow.  

Well, tomorrow is here and no difference.  Wow, seems like they might want to fix this.  Why would any company want to cut themselves off from their highest paying clientele?

5 hours ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

Yes I can not view or book suites. My PVP said he’s had a lot of complaints lately but there’s no explanation yet.  

Yes, I am also trying to book a suite - no luck.  

Trying to get a price on Alaska cruise for next summer and keep getting notice "oops something went wrong, not available right now" for all ships and a.  Anyone else experiencing this?

For the first time (after 20 plus cruises) I will say the lamb chops in the main dining room - EXCELLENT!  This was on Sapphire 9/24 to 10/4/22.

On Sapphire in September, cabin steward left one on our bed every evening.

15 minutes ago, travelin.sisters said:

Absolutely!! it was sad

when we did Hawai'i in January we were the first ship to dock after the pause & when we left LA they still didn't have the agreements in place so we weren't positive that they would let us off the ship there...they did, but we had decided we wanted to go even if we just went around in circles

We did the 28 day to Tahiti, round trip from L.A  in 2011.  So-o-o many sea days- LOVED IT!!!

13 hours ago, travelin.sisters said:

just some assorted photos of the ocean because it makes me happy to watch

 

 

 

 

 

YES - and this is exactly why we cruise.  Ship could goaround in circles for a week and we would be happy!

13 hours ago, travelin.sisters said:

lots of new things in the IC on the Sapphire but missed the "normal" sandwiches like tuna & chicken salad

 

haven't had a Princess PB cookie since the Grand in January 😥

Totally agree regarding the tuna salad, chicken salad and egg salad sandwiches.  Also not available in the buffet to make our own sandwiches.  Made note of this in my survey response.

1 hour ago, mhkcdk said:

I just saw this thread today and the comments on the food caught my eye. I posted my own review of the ship under ship reviews if you want to see the entire review. But as far as the food was concerned, this excerpt might provide some additional insight: 

"Food in the main dining rooms and buffet was not what I expect from Princess. Early in the voyage, I met Chef Rudi Sodamin, the new corporate executive chef hired in January to revamp their menus. He agreed there were problems. He said most of the chefs aboard were new because experienced chefs had found other work and were not coming back. He said he met nightly with the cooking staff to go over what he saw.

Dining room service was below average. Longer waits, lack of attention to detail (no recommendations, no offer of ground pepper for salad, not always checking to make sure mains were adequate, etc.

Chef Rudi promised that by January we would see significant changes to the food and menus. He is working on more than 100 new recipes. He also said supply chain issues are continuing to be a problem with sourcing food. The bars ran out of limes and ginger beer."

"Different strokes" as the saying goes.  I would agree with you regarding the buffet - just awful, but our experience in the dining room could not have been better.  So much attention to detail, great recommendations and fabulous service and really good food.  First time in 23 Princess cruises that the meat was cooked to perfection the first time (without sending it back).

2 hours ago, dmaikui said:

Considering an aft suite (S3) on the Discovery. Wondering if the balconies are private enough to sit out for sunbathing and a meal? It appears on the deck plan that a portion of the balcony is not covered. Any feedback would be most appreciated. Also are the actual cabins smaller than suites not facing aft?

The interior if the cabin is a different layout in the aft PH Suites than the Riviera deck PH Suites on the sides.  I don't think there is a big difference in square footage though.  The aft balconies are all very different.  The Dolphin deck have huge balconies with about 1/3 of the space covered.  The Baja deck aft suites are the next biggest with a little more than 1/2 covered.  The Caribe, Aloha. Marina and Riviera are quite a bit smaller and some havelittle or no cover.

1 hour ago, LACruiser88 said:

Your DRO is Mario Propato.  He is currently the most senior DRO in the Princess fleet.  

Thank you for this info - I did know his name but the other info is interesting.  A very nice gentleman indeed.

We are on the Sapphire.  The Head Waiter (in the Santa Fe dining room) is outstanding and has been very attentive as well.

For the first time ever (25 Princess sailings) the Dir of Restaurant Oper has stopped by every evening and occasional mornings to say Hello and ask if things were going well, etc.  Is it appropriate to "tip" this position or not.  We are tipping extra for other restaurants positions as the service has been over and above.  Appreciate your opinions as we do not want to insult the man if this is not appropriate.

What makes things worse is Princess has been giving conflicting information - "check in and drop luggage at 93" and "go directly to 46 drop luggage and check in - if you are driving go back and park at 93 and get a shuttle back to 46".  Also, the parking facility is telling people to drive directly to 46 to drop passengers and luggage.  Yesterday we spoke with people that will be working in the "tents" at 46 and they still hadn't been told what the procedures would be.  It was still under discussion between the port authority and Princess.  Berth 93 is definitely not equipped to be able to process passengers for 2 ships from different cruise lines.

1 hour ago, Mike45LC said:

I thought the "Wellness Check" is the same thing as that little card we used to have complete at check-in at the port, attesting to good health that day.  

 

If you can't do it on-line, you can do it in person.

Wellness Check is now one question - have you had any Covid symptoms in the past 7 days - Yes or No.  We uploaded our Vax cards months ago and did the wellness check yesterday - got the green check so we are good to go, BUT they will still ask to see the card and will probably still ask the Covid question at checkin.

On 9/12/2022 at 7:46 PM, DiRonT said:

Called at 9:00am this morning and no return call yet - currently 7:45pm.  I sent an email to Customer Relations a week ago and as of yet, no response.  I tried the online chat - first response I knew was incorrect so tried again a day later and received a completely different response, but it was not complete but before I could type in my follow up question the"chat" dropped off.  I give up!

It is now 1:30pm on Thursday and still no call back.

Called at 9:00am this morning and no return call yet - currently 7:45pm.  I sent an email to Customer Relations a week ago and as of yet, no response.  I tried the online chat - first response I knew was incorrect so tried again a day later and received a completely different response, but it was not complete but before I could type in my follow up question the"chat" dropped off.  I give up!

13 minutes ago, CruisinFinsUp said:

A family member has anaphylactic tree nut allergies.    In the past we've done traditional dining & the head waiters have done an amazing job taking care of her.  

 

With the new dining app and all the fun that goes along with it, HOW do we navigate the allergy pre-ordering if we are seated at a different table / time every night?  

 

Any recommendations or tips that you have would be greatly appreciated!   

 

Thanks!   

DH has same allergy - even though we make note of it in app, we still have to speak to head waiter (and often remind him each evening) as well as the wait staff each course.  Amazing how many times he has been offered a dessert that contained nuts.  

4 minutes ago, PacnGoNow said:

They are 2 separate services.  UBD is $100 for two and the UBB is $45 for two.

 

Thanks. Yes, I understand but I was responding to the post that these events would not be offered until they could hire more galley crew.  So, either they have more crew - or the service will not be up to standards.

We are on the Sapphire first sailing, Sept. 24th (fingers crossed) - but it is giving us the option of Balcony Dinner and Balcony Breakfast.

1 hour ago, CineGraphic said:

Until they can hire enough galley crew, I don't foresee them adding any extra dining options such as Crab Shack, Ultimate Balcony Dinner, Pub Lunch, etc....

 

Shortages in the galley have been the major problem for the line, and it's been an ongoing problem since start-up. Folks realized during the shutdown that they don't have to work such long hours away from their families for long periods of time.

1 hour ago, Lady Arwen said:

I really think you’ve made a wise decision.  Regal is a lovely ship and Crown……well let’s just say there are issues.  We cannot wait to board Regal in Southampton.  Could you possibly come back and let us know how it went?  We don’t sail until September and I would love to know what to expect.  Thank you!

To each his/her own - thank goodness for options.  We much prefer the Grand and Crown class ships to the Royal Class ships, so would definitely select Crown over Royal or Regal.  Also, Crown is going in for a fairly lengthy drydock in October, so hopefully her propulsion issues will be fixed - "hopefully"!!!!!