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swazzie1

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Posts posted by swazzie1

    Budget Rental CAr

    in Florida Departures

    Posted

    I had an advance reservation from Cape Canaveral on 6/29/14 without the $9.99 fee but ended up having to pay it when I picked up the car since I just got off a ship and took the Budget shuttle (they say that the port charges the fee and it's not for taking the shuttle).

    US air vs AA

    in Florida Departures

    Posted

    im concerned with the comfort. Do they offer movies. I just don't find the info.

    Yes they do fly to MCO From Sacramento. But it does have more stops.

    Requires less miles(points) but again what are the planes like.

     

    US Airways doesn't offer movies unless you're going to Hawaii. If that's a major consideration, you're best with AA (at least until the merger is more complete).

    Travel Agent OBC on Cruise Summary?

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    Thanks for the info. My TA mentioned before that she waits until 10 days before the cruise to add the OBC to the rooms, but it hasn't shown up on the summaries yet. I'll call her tomorrow when the agency's open to confirm how it will show up in our case--I sail on Thursday. I'd prefer to print the summaries only once but I'll take the advice to print out the TA's invoices just in case there are issues anyway :-)

    Elite Status "The Easy Way"

    in Princess Cruises

    Posted

    I'm looking to get Elite status "The Easy Way," while it's available. When I started looking into cruising last year, I absolutely looked at different cruise line loyalty programs as a part of the decision making process. I've done the same with airline and other travel loyalty programs because I'd like to give my business to primarily one company and hope to reap some loyalty benefits in return at some point. Although I initially wanted to cruise on Allure and Oasis on Royal Caribbean, I decided it would be better to cruise on Celebrity first given the cost to sail the big girls because it was easier (at the time) to get their highest-level status and then match to Royal's Diamond level. In looking at other loyalty programs, I learned about Princess and ended up booking my first (very short) cruises with them. In addition to the loyalty program, I also took advantage of the referral program and combining of OBC, which most other cruise lines don't offer. Also, I just like the overall vibe of Princess and its passengers as shown on this forum and on the ship. It's my kind of line!

     

    I had a great time on the cruises last year, and I'm very happy to primarily be a Princess customer going forward. Yes, I flew cross-country to sail, but it was also my first time to the West Coast so I enjoyed other non-cruise experiences as well. I flew again for two short cruises last month and will do the same in September. As long as the program remains the same, I will reach Elite on my birthday this year (my first cruise was also on my birthday last year). So to me, the experience is worth it. With that said, I know Princess isn't the line for my young sons and their dad, so we're going on our first cruise together this week on Carnival so see how they like cruising.

     

    There's nothing wrong with taking advantage of Princess' loyalty program by taking the shorter cruises (or sailing solo, or solo in a suite) as long as those are the rules in place. I fully expect for Princess to take away the cruise credits at some point like Celebrity did last year. The benefits of the program can also change at any time so I want to reach Elite before they do. I don't have the vacation time available to take the longer cruises now, so I'm glad there's a way to reach Elite that's not tied to days sailed--and that solo travelers as well as those who pay $$$ to sail in a suite are recognized in that way. The benefits provided by Elite status will definitely help my cruise experience when I take longer Princess cruises down the road. If someone doesn't like my path, then don't hate the player; hate the game.

    Saved Cruises on Princess Site

    in Princess Cruises

    Posted

    I'm recommend contacting Princess, too. I noticed that I can't add two cruises with the same itinerary but different dates to saved cruises. If one is already there and I add the second one, both saved cruises change to the second one. It's not a big deal to me which is why I haven't contacted them, but something is definitely wrong with the Saved Cruises right now.

    Moms of Young Kids going Solo??

    in Solo Cruisers

    Posted

    I started cruising last year and I'm a single mom of two sons (9 and 6). All of my cruises so far have been short solo cruises on Princess and I've had a blast! I'm grateful to have new travel experiences on my own. It really helps that my sons' dad is supportive of me getting time to myself and he values getting extended alone time with the kids while I'm away. If your DH is fine with it, then go for it! It's not selfish to take a short trip without your family as long as they're taken care of while you're away.

     

    We're taking our first family cruise (including my sons' dad) later this month on Carnival--I already know that Princess isn't the line for them. I hope they like cruising enough so that we can do it more often on different lines. If they don't like it, then I still plan to keep cruising solo as I really enjoy that type of vacation. We'll just do other types of vacations together instead.

    Shareholder OBC credit dilema

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    You'll see it by going to 'My Cruise Manager,' choosing 'View Cruise Documents' from the 'View Details' drop-down menu of the booking, checking the 'Print General Information' box, and pressing Submit. On the file that appears, your total OBC (including Shareholder) will be in a box under the 'Itemized Charges' box.

     

    Sent using Forums mobile app

    used a TA to book, want a price drop OBC

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    Agree. The reason Carnival turned you down was you booked thru a TA. Once the TA stepped in, it was resolved. And this is their job for you, shouldn't be any extra fee involved.

     

    If this was directed at me, please reread my post, which hopefully answered the OP's questions. I didn't submit any price drop forms--the TA did and the first two forms were rejected regardless. My submitting the DD214 to Carnival instead of the TA was not the reason they turned me down.

     

    I'm fully aware of a good TA's job and value which is why I've used one for all of my cruises so far (Princess and Carnival). I agree with you that TAs shouldn't charge extra fees but some do and I wouldn't recommend a TA that does.

     

    By the way, everything doesn't have to be done thru the TA; I've gotten the shareholder OBC thru both lines directly.

     

    Sent using Forums mobile app

    used a TA to book, want a price drop OBC

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    Agree. The reason Carnival turned you down was you booked thru a TA. Once the TA stepped in, it was resolved. And this is their job for you, shouldn't be any extra fee involved.

     

    I've done both, used a TA and also directly with Carnival. For the little bit extra you get with a TA, I'm sticking to work directly with Carnival. This way, if I have a problem, I don't need to wait for the "middleman".

     

    Steve

     

    If this

     

    Sent from my DROID RAZR using Forums mobile app

    used a TA to book, want a price drop OBC

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    I told my TA about a price drop two weeks ago for a cruise later this month (matching ES to Military rate). I submitted the qualifying person's DD214 to Carnival and they submitted the price protection form, but it was rejected. The TA went to bat for me for over a week to make sure we got the OBC for our cabins. There were 2 more price drops during the week and the TA had no problem resubmitting the form each time. The original amount of OBC provided by the TA was reduced due to the drop in price, but the Military rate came with almost enough OBC to make up what they took away. The TA didn't charge any fees to do this.

     

    It's very possible for a good TA to secure price drops for their clients.

     

    Sent using Forums mobile app

    How do you book?

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    I used to book direct, then with a good PVP. After I received a mileage credit card from an airline that advertises here, I experimented with booking through them for the additional mileage points. The woman that answered the phone when I dialed the 800 number was fantastic. She blew my PVP out of the water! I've booked several cruises through her...

     

    Do you have to pay any booking fees thru that agent?

    Refund of unused Obc

    in Princess Cruises

    Posted

    I'll make every effort to cash out any leftover OBC before leaving the ship. I had some unused shareholder OBC (stated as non-refundable) on some cruises last September. On the first ship I was told that the extra funds would go to my credit card--like others, I ended up getting a check a few weeks later. On the second ship (the next day), I was stopped from leaving the ship until I went to Passenger Services to get the funds. On the third ship, I cashed out the extra funds at the casino after playing some slots and coming out ahead.

     

    I just got off of another ship this month and I cashed out my OBC at Passenger Services once the daily gratuity charge posted--it was 1-night cruise. There shouldn't be a problem getting back unused OBC somehow.

     

    Sent using Forums mobile app

    It does pay.....

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    I've been using Fare Viewer and a cruise price alert web site to track pricing on the cruise my family is taking in June (booked in January under Early Saver). The cruise got turned into a 'Carnival Live' cruise the day after I booked so I figured there would be no price drops on this one. Low and behold, I got a price alert last Saturday stating that the military rate dropped $80 per cabin below what I paid. I got another alert yesterday with another $20 per cabin drop!

     

    My sons' father is retired military and he's sailing with us so I submitted his DD214 and I hope we're able to get the difference as OBC--final payment was last month. Even if not, I'm still fine with the price that we booked at. We're all looking forward to the cruise either way, but it'd be great to get the extra spending money :D

    Free Crown Grill/Sabatinis for Elite?

    in Princess Cruises

    Posted

    Its not free for Elite members of the Captain's Circle that I am aware it's free to eat in Crown Grill/Sabatini's on the first night for those booked into suite's.

     

    Also keep in mind that it's (generally) only available for cruises that are 6 days or longer per the Princess flyer below:

     

    http://www.princess.com/downloads/pdf/ships/PrincessSuite_eFlyer.pdf

     

    I recently took a 1-day cruise in a suite and it wasn't available that night. Although there are a few reports of it being available on cruises less than 6 days, don't count on it.

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