runner2013

Hi all, 

Husband and I will be diamond after this upcoming sailing. The benefits for internet say 1 free day for 1 device only. Does that mean 1 device per cabin for 2 people or 1 device per person for 2 people?

TIA 

P. 

12 hours ago, partybarbie said:

Is there any way to get the friend’s Princess confirmation number? Tell him you need it to link your dinner reservation s. Once you have that, you can go on the Princess app and see if he shows up. Hopefully things work out.

We are not going on the cruise. DH has casually tried to point his buddy in the right direction and/or ask him questions to get him thinking about things but so far it isn't working. We're taking more of a stand back approach at this point. DH hasn't been asked for his advice/opinion and isn't going to force it on anybody. 

5 hours ago, Paula_MacFan said:

I might need a refresher on this saga, but has the buddy not logged into the Personalizer to look at his booking? No excursions booked online? No dining? Surely he has looked at his Travel Summary document? I don't get it.

I asked DH if his buddy has gone into the personalizer and checked all his info. He doesn't know if he has. He's torn between jumping in and getting involved and staying out of things because his friend hasn't asked for his input/advice. There are 2 other couples going and one would think everyone would be talking with each other to make sure things are moving along. etc, dinner or shores excursions and such. 

I guess time will tell. I will be sure to come back here and let you all know what happens. 

As far as the payment plan I can understand that, but what cruise line as ever said you only need to pay 80% before the trip and then the rest when its over?? That's what baffles me

2 hours ago, john watson said:

When you say Canada, could it be Nigeria?

 

Regards John

Gosh I hope you're wrong John... 

Hi all, 

I have an update regarding my DH's buddy and his cruise payment situation.

Basically, the confusion continues.  

The buddy talked to DH yesterday saying he got a phone call from his TA the other day, just before Christmas, saying he needed to make the final payment asap. (Jan 2 would be 90 days out which makes sense since the cruise leaves April 2nd). It was midnight when his buddy got this call, so he just hung up saying he was on a payment plan. We think the TA may have been located in another country, perhaps Canada, so there was a time difference, but the TA was more concerned with his buddy missing final payment than what time it actually was. 

His buddy also told hubby he only has to have 80% of the trip paid off before the cruise starts and then he pays the rest in installments after it's over. 

Never have I ever heard of this, and even DH, who isn't a well-seasoned cruiser thinks this sounds wrong. He did tell his buddy to double check with the TA because something didn't sound right but the buddy is adamant that everything is fine. His buddy is also telling him he has to buy his own flights after originally saying they were included in the original cost.

We're trying to stay out of it, his buddy doesn't want any input from us. We just hope things work out and he's not left at the port feeling like he was scammed. 

Hi all, 

Does anyone know if the new port in Nassau has anywhere I can get either free wifi or a shop/restaurant where it's available if I get a drink or snacks. I'll only need it to do a quick check of emails both sending and/or receiving.

thanks. 

Thank you everyone for your replies and insight. I'll definitely check back in and let you know what happens. DH and I are actually leaving tomorrow for a Xmas cruise on Celebrity so we won't be back until the end of next week. 

Happy Holidays everyone and safe travels. 

Azbirdmom, 

DH has 'casually' tried to ask about the personalizer and the booking numbers etc. He suggested to his buddy to reread over everything a few times to make sure he doesn't miss anything.  No idea if he has done that, maybe someone else sailing with him has and says things are ok? I just don't know. 

But my biggest fear is the final payment as suggested above which would be beginning of Jan will come and go and he'll receive an email the next day from Princess saying everything has been cancelled. 

See, that's the thing, 

His buddy isn't the most reliable of people when it comes to things like this.  He sometimes tends to (I feel) put too much trust in the person telling him what's happening and not doing enough investigation of his own. If it were me I would have spent a lot of time going over everything before I was comfortable booking, and even then, I would be checking all the time to make sure nothing slipped through the cracks. But I know not everyone is like me and I can sometimes worry too much about my cruises.  I just don't want anyone to miss out on such a wonderful trip because of an oversight. 

Its the April 2nd, 23 day repositioning cruise starting in Rome/Civitavecchia and ending in fort Lauderdale. On the Island Princess. 

Hi all, 

I'm posting to see what you all think about a situation my DH's friend is in.

We both think something doesn't sound right. It's just too 'wierd' from everything we've ever known about paying for a cruise before you go. 

Here's a quick recap of what's happening:  DH's friend and his long time girlfriend, plus 2 other couples are booked on a 23 night cruise starting in Italy, and ending in Ft. Lauderdale beginning of April 2024. They bought a drink package and the flights through Princess as well. 

(Here's what's so concerning to us). 

1, His buddy booked a gauranteed cabin. He told the TA he wants to be on deck 9 and the TA said " no problem you're all set"

2. His buddy is having payments taken out every week? or every month?   I'm assuming by the Travel Agency as opposed to Princess directly since he didn' t book with Princess. With the amount he quoted my DH that is being taken out, if it's every month there's no way it will be enough to pay for everything. before final payment date. 

3, DH was talking to his buddy yesterday and he tells him the TA said he doesn't need to have the trip paid in full until 2 DAYS before the cruise leaves. I have never heard of that. It's always been 90 to 120 days out depending on length of trip. 

I told my husband things sounds sort of 'wrong' about a lot of this.  Supposedly this is a reputable travel agency but I'm concerned the travel agent is very inexperienced and/or confused. 

I say this because, as we all know, you do not get to pick what deck, or where you are with a guaranteed cabin.  I have also never heard of an instance where final payment was 2 days out. For this trip I believe its 120 days out if not more.  I thought maybe his buddy was confusing the gratuities with the actual cruise payment since he could have paid those onboard each day.  But he bought the all in drink pkg, wifi, tips etc. so that option won't come into play at all. His buddy also told him the TA said he won't get his room assignment until the day he gets onboard. Now this may or may not be true. I know a lot of folks on here who've said they don't get their room until a day or two before, but never have they waited until the day of the cruise to get it. After all, how would the porters know what to put the luggage? 

So I guess I just want to hear what you think about all of this. DH and I are definitely concerned for his buddy, and he's been trying to get more info out of him but his friend seems to be fine with everything he's being told.  The scary part of all this for me is, DH and I were married on a cruise 17 months ago and his buddy came, so he knows what he did for our trip regarding payments etc.  but it's as though he's completely blowing off what the 'rules' for final payment and cabin choice were. 

Should we stick our noses in and get involved or should we just step back and see what unfolds?. There are 2 other couples going and we keep telling ourselves they are all adults who have cruised before. It's not our place to say anything. 

Thanks for your thoughts

18 hours ago, brockmom said:

Me too me too !!!

I’m always that one that people who want to crank the music seem to gravitate too…

Even on deck 17 on Reflections and only 6 people are enjoying the sun and peace and quiet….

the entire deck…..and guess where the man had to pull his chair…

right behind me and hubby…..

Really ?

lol

Ditto,

Same goes for movie theaters. DH thought I was exaggerating when we first met until he witnessed it firsthand several times🤣. 

On 11/9/2023 at 1:58 PM, js said:

I'm Diamond, haven't sailed RCCL since 2018 (but now booked Odyssey) and usually sail NCL (Platinum) but I'm honestly asking why you would take a cruise just to reach the Diamond status.

I don't really see any perk in being Diamond with exception of maybe getting into a lounge. Diamond on RCCL doesn't even get you a free specialty meal.

Honestly, It's something I've been working towards since I first started cruising. I set a goal for myself and want to achieve it. The 'status' of diamond doesn't really matter to me. It's the effort I put into getting there that matters to me. 

Plus, the 4 drinks each day I'll receive will make a difference, won't need a drink package again since we don't drink much. 

Yes, I have more points and he is getting my status. 

33 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Assuming your accounts are linked he will share your status.

 

Its 3 pts per day solo in a JS or higher. 

 

Be sure to remove him before you sail or you wouldnt get the extra solo pt. Personally I hate the term double, lazy math confuses people. 1 + 1 + 1 = 3.

What do you mean, remove him?  we haven't booked yet so when I do book it would be just me.?

thnx

Hi all, 

I need some assistance regarding reaching diamond level on my next cruise. Here's the situation.  My hubby and I are 6 points away from reaching diamond level.  Originally, we were going to do a short 3-day trip in a suite to get the points needed. He now has a chance to go skiing out west, which has been on his bucket list forever, and wants to skip the cruise.  I still plan on going alone. Since I'll be solo I know I'll get the double points I need to reach diamond. My question is this: because we're married, will my DH ALSO get those 6 points and become diamond when the cruise is over?  Or will he stay at his current point level but get the diamond status because i'll have it? 

Greatly appreciate any input. 

My DH was having the same issue. He just deleted his # and put it back in and his points are showing now.  Thanks for the info. 

1 hour ago, New2Cruise76 said:

 

I don't disagree with what you're saying at all, Runner, but I'd love to provide a counterpoint, since I'm one of those 'newbies'. We're planning to take our first cruise next summer, and decided we'd do a cruise.

 

For some background, when my family does vacations, we generally do fairly basic vacations. We own a pop up camper, so most of our short vacations are to state parks, but we generally do one week long vacation per year to more of a resort campground (think Yogi Bear Resort). Since we have 2 tweens and a teen, our trips need to have a mix of high activity days for the kids as well as down time days so the vacation isn't miserable for the wife and I.

 

The last few years we've had to change things, since the camper is getting cramped, so 3 years ago we rented a houseboat, and 2 years ago we rented a Class C motorhome and went to Cedar Point. This year we had to skip a vacation because we needed a "new" car which destroyed our vacation budget.

 

My personal goal with vacations is to see new places we haven't seen, and do things we've never done. I've always been interested in cruising, but have ruled it out because of distance (since airfare is insanly expensive for 5 people), as well as what i perceived as an exorbitant price for the cruise itself. I also saw cruising as being targeted to an older demographic, with not a lot to do for kids. However, it's always stayed in the back of my mind because it meets my #1 priority of seeing new places that we wouldn't see otherwise.

 

Over summer, our family started talking about 2024 vacation ideas and settled on renting a houseboat on the Erie canal. The kids would have lot's of stuff to see along the canal, and it would be a really neat experience. This vacation would have been ~5K, plus food, gas to get to the canal, as well as whatever we spend at the towns along the way. 

 

Well, back in August, reddit started poulating my feed with posts from r/cruise, and that started me thinking about seeing what that would cost. I did mock bookings with MSC, CCL, and RCL, and was shocked to see that 2 interior cabins would have been between 3 and 5k with gratuities and port taxes. That wouldn't include drink packages (except for MSC, which had a level that included it). I also discovered that we could cruise out of New York/Jersey or Baltimore, which are both reasonable driving distances from SW PA.

 

Of course, the plan has evovled and gone up in cost, since when I brought the idea with the kids, the automatically went straight to,  as they put it: "We don't care where we go, as long as it's tropical, and either has go karts, a roller coaster, or is one of the biggest ships", lol. And we're contemplating booking balconies if the difference is less than 150/pp, so we're now at around 7k without drink package. But that does include food as well as entertainment like the shows and comedy clubs, which we normally don't do because of costs.

 

All of this is to say that, to me, cruising is, surprisingly, comparable to or only slightly more expensive (for my family of 5) than our typical vacations. But with the benefit of seeing "exotic" locations and checking out entertainment options we normally would try.

 

The other side of the coin is that prices on everything has skyrocketed, and technology, combined with stagnant wages, particularly for service level jobs, has brought about reduced service levels across all industries. In addition, all companies are going to target the most profitable demographics, in this case younger families in the late gen x and Millennial generations. This group is used to activities and amenities on their vacations and, for better or worse, don't sit on formality on their vacations. Many of them have to follow business casual dress codes at work, and really don't want to do that on vacation as well. 

 

I've already "outgrown" a few demographics, and it's always annoys me when I realize I'm not the group they're targeting. My mind always thinks "I'm not that old, I should still be in that group".

 

To somehow loop back to evidenced original topic, RCL is obviously having success targeting these families and newbies, as evidence by their profits, Carnival seems to be doing well also with this targeting. I think it's pretty cool that while they're still building the megaships like the oasis and Icon classes, they still have the smaller existing ships, as well as talks of a new smaller class that can target smaller ports, and more intimate settings for those that prefer those. I personally would fall in the latter category if it wasn't for the kids. I love seeing stuff that's not buried in touristy stuff, but the ships that will keep my kids fully entertained are too big to hit thise smaller places.

 

Alright, I'm done writting a novel, lol

Fair enough, I don't disagree with a lot of what you say as well. But, (there's always a but isn't there:) my feelings are just that I've enjoyed the 'older' style type cruising and have no need for roller coasters, amusements or all the bells and whistles when I cruise. (not to say there's anything wrong with all those, it's just not my thing) I realize 'the world' is changing and the cruising industry will adapt, (they are a business after all) but as you see the building of more and more mega ships taking place, one of the things that also happens is the 'older' ships are sometimes sold off to pay for debts incurred to do this.  So on some level, I feel the cruise lines are sending out a subliminal message to us "slightly" older folks that our money isn't needed or maybe appreciated anymore because they are not interested in providing what we want in a cruise vacation and have moved on to a different generation who are willing to spend more money than we are. 

Again, just my feelings. 

My thoughts. (Some of you may agree with me, some may not. To each their own right?)

Those of us who have been 'around' for a while remember what cruising was like way before covid came along.  Since then, it seems ships are marketing towards families and 'newbies' by offering more and more attractions, more food venues that mimic eating 'on land', and the mentality that cruising is just like a land vacation. Of course, they've achieved this by raising prices on absolutely everything to pay for these additions and enhancements. First time cruisers, who don't 'know any better' as well as families who are already so conditioned to pay exorbitant prices for a vacation will continue to demand all the bells and whistles for a 'land vacation experience' and pay for those experiences no matter what the cost.

Even if those of us who remember, and actually enjoyed and appreciated dressing nicely for dinner, relaxing with our fellow cruisers with a drink before a Broadway type show, or even just enjoying some nice music for the evening chatting with new friends, completely stopped cruising all together, the cruise lines won't even blink. They'll just keep pushing those who are willing to pay more for less to spend.

I honestly don't ever see or expect prices to level out or go back down to something more manageable. It's a shame. I feel a lot of us out there who really appreciated what a cruise was, or even could be in this day and age, will end up finding alternative ways to go on vacation and take our long standing 'tradition' of cruising with us.  Give it another year or two and a good portion of the 'mass market' cruise lines will all just be floating versions of Epcot Center or Universal Studios in Florida, and the ones who've managed to 'hang on' to the 'old' cruising experience will be the 'luxury' lines that not a lot of us can afford. I know DH and I can't, and it's too bad. I introduced him to cruising when we met 7 years ago, we were recently married on a cruise and have always dreamed of cruising the world when I retire in 4 years. More and more it seems that dream is slipping away. 

But hey, as long as little Johnny can ride a roller coaster while floating around the St. Lucia it's all good right? 

Ahh,

Thank you for clarifying.  Much appreciated.

Hi all, 

I have a question regarding the benefits for drinks I'm seeing for Emerald level members on the Crown & Anchor page. 

The first benefit listen under the Drinks and Dining heading says : 50% off glass wine/beer/soda (2 coupons per sailing) Note1 after it is saying 50% off purchase of glass of wine, beer, soda This offer can be redeemed twice per sailing.  Ok seems pretty self explanatory. 

Now.... 3 discounts below that the next benefit says: Discount on any glass of wine/beer/ or soda. Note 3 after that says a onetime discount per sailing will be applied for a glass of wine. beer or soda. (we're emerald so it would be 10% for the glass)

Not sure why there would need to be both of these benefits? Shouldn't it be one or the other, or am I missing something?

Thanks

Hopefully the app is wrong. It is up to date. Guess we'll see when we're on board. 

Hi all, 

Couldn't find another thread pertaining to this, apologies in advance if this has already been addressed. 

DH and I have a trip booked for October on Serenade. I just downloaded the app and was looking at the dining options. From what I found, (not taking into account the specialty restaurants) it looks as though the buffet is only serving breakfast and lunch and is now requiring reservations. Otherwise, you are seated according to availability. At least that's what it says on the app. 

The My Time Dining Room is from 6:45pm until 9:00pm. (we aren't interested in fixed dining at 5:30 so I'll not include it as an option for us)

Park Cafe will have 'snacks' from 12:30 until 6:00pm. Then from 8:30pm until 11:30pm.

The only other option would be room service which charges $7.95 if you get something other than a continental breakfast. 

To me is seems they are almost 'forcing" you to use the main dining room or pay extra for room service unless you only want a 'snack' for dinner. 

Is this something that's been happening fleetwide? We haven't been on Royal since last Oct and it wasn't like this at that time.

If it is, this will definitely change who we sail with after October. 

Hi all, 

Does anyone know if there's a place in the app showing the times we get into and leave the ports each day. I thought there was somewhere you could pull the itinerary and times for each port, but I can't see to find it. 

I checked the JourneyView tab but that doesn't have the times listed. 

Any ideas?

Thanks