Bon Voyage Experience Questions

[AlaskaGolden]

For anyone who has already booked this - can you please tell me if you know what the cancellation policy is on this?

I'm planning on booking for my parents who have never cruised, and I want to book it right when it opens because its limited to 40-50 guests and we are doing a December cruise, so I expect it'll be busy, but if for some reason they don't make it to Florida, can I get my $39 x 2 back? :rolleyes:

 

Thanks much!

 

Per Princess when I signed up our "chauffeur" to the pier: "The $39 fee is non-refundable, non-transferable."

[cdngrl]

We just booked this, and I'm confused. You say your guests got to board before you did? That's not what Princess is advertising...

 

From their release: "Passengers and their guests can enjoy priority embarkation and will be able to spend approximately four hours together on the ship before it sets sail."

 

Maybe I'll print it out to have with me when we get to the CB. My DH and I are not platinum/elite, therefore our guests would be on board WELL before us otherwise.

 

we (my daughter and i) boarded in LA and there was 3 separate waiting areas: one for platinum and elite, one for bon voyage and one for everyone else. the princess reps weren't sure what to do with us when we said we wanted to stay together. they put us all in the bon voyage area. when the bon voyage people were called, we held back. it wasn't long before the platinum/ elite were allowed to go, and in fact we caught up with the bon voyage people going through security.

 

if you're not platinum, i'm not sure what happens. your bon voyage guest i'm sure can wait with you. i would certainly try and wait with them. i figure not all of the people waiting with us were platinum.

 

our experience was the very first time princess had done it, so they've probably ironed out a few wrinkles by now.

 

we did not do the ships tour. and every time we encountered them there were fewer and fewer people. we did our own thing. we took our 'ballots' to get stamped and saw the whole ship that way.

 

we did find the time on board with my niece to be more than adequate. we saw the whole ship, ate lunch, explored where we wanted and still had time left over. we thought next time the guest should stuff a bathing suit in their purse because we had enough time for a swim! we had about 5 hours on board together.

[CruisinFinsUp]

Thanks for the info!

[AlaskaGolden]

Just to update this thread...

 

Our boarding passes do not have Preferred Boarding, but our Bon Voyager does have Preferred Boarding. :eek: Should make things interesting when we arrive at the pier! ;)

[BosoxI]

Can someone who has taken the tour of the ship please describe it. One poster indicates it was of decreasing interest. I don't want my guests to be bored by a tour, when one of them has already vowed she would not take a cruise. The intent here is to engender interest, not kill it.

[AlaskaGolden]

Can someone who has taken the tour of the ship please describe it. One poster indicates it was of decreasing interest. I don't want my guests to be bored by a tour, when one of them has already vowed she would not take a cruise. The intent here is to engender interest, not kill it.

 

If you've been a few cruise ships, especially Princess ships, the tour may not be that interesting. But, if you've never been on a cruise ship or a Princess ship, then the tour should be quite interesting.

 

As I indicated in another thread (or above), one of our cruisers will probably take the tour along with our Bon Voyager. Neither one has ever been on a cruise ship so it should be very interesting for both of them. I, however, don't plan to take the tour after being on a few ships similar to the Caribbean Princess. Plus the cruiser has little sense of direction :eek:, so it might make it easier if the cruiser has some idea of where key places are are on the ship! ;)

[WestCoastCruzinator]

I am thinking of doing the tour on Sea Princess in San Fran on June 1st and I read somewhere that you can do it without having a "sponsor" on that cruise. Does anyone know if thats true? I have heard so many negative things about Sea Princess I would like to see for myself before booking it SFO to Alaska for 2011.

[WestCoastCruzinator]

I am also thinking an unintended consequence of this program will be to put an end to certain ships trying to disuade and/or flat out lieing about embarkation lunch being offered in one of the MDR's as there will be so many more people eating there now I doubt they will continue to do it.

[Wheelman]

I think this would be GREAT for people having their Weddings dockside before the cruise. Sometimes not everyone can afford to go on the cruise, but this would essentially be a "reception" for them, and given a "taste" for the cruise and the ship, they are more likely to cruise again at a later time. Remember though, it is limited to 50 guest TOTAL, so if you want to do that, book it early.

[AlaskaGolden]

I am thinking of doing the tour on Sea Princess in San Fran on June 1st and I read somewhere that you can do it without having a "sponsor" on that cruise. Does anyone know if thats true? I have heard so many negative things about Sea Princess I would like to see for myself before booking it SFO to Alaska for 2011.

 

Yes, you are correct. Your sponsor must be a paid passenger on the cruise and effectively becomes your travel agent for the booking. Your sponsor must give his/her booking number and payment at the time of making the Bon Voyage Experience reservation.

[caribill]

I am also thinking an unintended consequence of this program will be to put an end to certain ships trying to disuade and/or flat out lieing about embarkation lunch being offered in one of the MDR's as there will be so many more people eating there now I doubt they will continue to do it.

 

They can continue to say it is restricted to a private group.

[Buddy604]

I am thinking of doing the tour on Sea Princess in San Fran on June 1st and I read somewhere that you can do it without having a "sponsor" on that cruise. Does anyone know if thats true?

Yes, it is true. Your travel agent can arrange it for you either to accompany your agent on a ship tour or as a stand alone tour on your own. Princess has really been selling it to agents as a tool to get your clients on board their ships.

 

Yes, you are correct. Your sponsor must be a paid passenger on the cruise and effectively becomes your travel agent for the booking. Your sponsor must give his/her booking number and payment at the time of making the Bon Voyage Experience reservation.

Actually no. :D See above - if you don't have a "sponsor" sailing on the voyage, your TA can arrange it for you.

 

I think this would be GREAT for people having their Weddings dockside before the cruise. Sometimes not everyone can afford to go on the cruise, but this would essentially be a "reception" for them, and given a "taste" for the cruise and the ship, they are more likely to cruise again at a later time. Remember though, it is limited to 50 guest TOTAL, so if you want to do that, book it early.

I'm pretty sure dockside weddings already have an option for this - despite the "no visitors on the ship" pronouncements, embarkation weddings have had the option to hold a reception on board for non-traveling guests for years and years now. Of course, I've been told that thanks to a recent court ruling about the validity of sea weddings, all the weddings are now dockside, and the non-legally binding vow renewals are at sea.

 

Personally, I brought on two guys from the travel agency during the middle stop in LA of a B2B early this month and it was very smoothly done. They did get a picture, and were offered wine with lunch, though I was not. There was a number of other BVE folks onboard and a charitable association touring the ship and receiving a presentation check at lunch in the same dining room. I imagine they'll continue to restrict the embarkation lunch to the BVE, private groups and passengers in transit.

[caribill]

Of course, I've been told that thanks to a recent court ruling about the validity of sea weddings....

 

 

??????? Please explain more

[WestCoastCruzinator]

Yes, it is true. Your travel agent can arrange it for you either to accompany your agent on a ship tour or as a stand alone tour on your own. Princess has really been selling it to agents as a tool to get your clients on board their ships.

 

Actually no. :D See above - if you don't have a "sponsor" sailing on the voyage, your TA can arrange it for you.

 

I'm pretty sure dockside weddings already have an option for this - despite the "no visitors on the ship" pronouncements, embarkation weddings have had the option to hold a reception on board for non-traveling guests for years and years now. Of course, I've been told that thanks to a recent court ruling about the validity of sea weddings, all the weddings are now dockside, and the non-legally binding vow renewals are at sea.

 

Personally, I brought on two guys from the travel agency during the middle stop in LA of a B2B early this month and it was very smoothly done. They did get a picture, and were offered wine with lunch, though I was not. There was a number of other BVE folks onboard and a charitable association touring the ship and receiving a presentation check at lunch in the same dining room. I imagine they'll continue to restrict the embarkation lunch to the BVE, private groups and passengers in transit.

 

 

Thanks Mike.....thats the answer I was looking for, just emailed my TA :D

[AlaskaGolden]

...I imagine they'll continue to restrict the embarkation lunch to the BVE, private groups and passengers in transit.

 

Actually no. :D See below:

 

"1st Day Dining

 

...Or join us in one of our main dining rooms for lunch served up by a staff -- from chefs to waiters -- dedicated to making your dining experience something special..."

 

Above quoted from:

http://www.princess.com/learn/faq_answer/onboard/dining_nightlife.jsp

[idcruisers]

Since they have started this program, has anyone actaully eaten in the MDR for lunch on embarkation day without signing up for the Bon Voyage experience?

 

We love to eat in the MDR on the first day and are hoping it will be available to all passengers on the Golden out of Seattle. Any insight would be helpful.

[Buddy604]

??????? Please explain more

Apparently, and I'm going based on something I was told in a recent travel meeting with my bosses, there was a recent court case where a bride was suing for alimony and the groom successfully defended against it by effectively proving that their marriage at sea was invalid. Something about needing to occur within territorial waters of the licensing authority, I think.

 

I've since been trying to verify this. I know that Princess now does have some location restrictions on getting married at sea, but I haven't confirmed it there is a blanket ban on it yet, or if it's only some locations and/or some cruise lines.

 

I'll keep looking to see if I can find anything definitive.

[Buddy604]

Actually no. :D See below:

 

"1st Day Dining

 

...Or join us in one of our main dining rooms for lunch served up by a staff -- from chefs to waiters -- dedicated to making your dining experience something special..."

 

Above quoted from:

http://www.princess.com/learn/faq_answer/onboard/dining_nightlife.jsp

Wow, that great. Thanks for the clarification. The Horizon Court is always such a zoo on embarkation day, it will be nice to be able to have a proper sit-down lunch now.

 

And it makes sense - if they're opening the MDR for the BVE and others, to keep it open for the boarding passengers too. I know the BVE lunch was pretty early. They boarded the guests at 11am and lunch was either 12 or 12:30, I can't recall. By the time we'd finished, they had started boarding regular pax.

[spongerob]

I am thinking of doing the tour on Sea Princess in San Fran on June 1st and I read somewhere that you can do it without having a "sponsor" on that cruise. Does anyone know if thats true? I have heard so many negative things about Sea Princess I would like to see for myself before booking it SFO to Alaska for 2011.

That's probably a good idea. The cabins are tiny! The atrium area is nice, though, far better than the Grand-class ships. The layout is a bit confusing in spots but there's always a cocktail lounge handy where you can have a quick one while you get your bearings.

[WestCoastCruzinator]

That's probably a good idea. The cabins are tiny! The atrium area is nice, though, far better than the Grand-class ships. The layout is a bit confusing in spots but there's always a cocktail lounge handy where you can have a quick one while you get your bearings.

 

A handy cocktail lounge??? :eek: Who would ever think that might be a priority for me! :D

 

June 1st BVE sold out...looks like I will need to grab one later in the summer :(

[dr&ss]

We booked the Bon Voyage Experience for my son and his wife on the Golden Princess cruise July 14 out of Seattle to Alaska. We got to the cruise terminal early, processed through the "elite" passenger desk, and they put "bon voyage" stickers on our two guests. Then we were told to wait in a holding area with other (what looked like) elite guests for boarding. We were supposed to board earlier than them so we could have the special lunch, free wine and free boarding picture and free tour. The woman at the elite check in desk sent us to the WRONG area, telling us to look for the woman in the green jacket. No green jacket showed up, and we ended up boarding with the regular cruise guests, bypassing the lunch time. We told our concerns to the Passenger Services desk who tried to find the Future Cruises Director, but she was hard to get ahold of. We lost more than an hour of the experience until she finally showed up, apologized, and rushed us to the Donatello Dining Room for a lunch. The lunch was wonderful. She said since we had cruised with Princess before (although not on this boat) we could show our guests around....so no guided tour by the Future Cruise director, but that ended up being ok. The pictures were nice, but they just barely came out into the photo lounge 10 minutes before our guests had to get off the boat. The experience didn't seem well coordinated, and the FC director said she had also lost others that were slated for the BV Experience. I hope they get it together in Seattle, because this is a wonderful opportunity for them to showcase the ship if they can avoid giving the impression that they are disorganized. Bottomline: ASK specifically WHO, BY NAME, you are to meet and WHERE, and hang out by the Elite check in desk (that is where we were supposed to be placed!)

[cellyml12]

Thanks for sharing your experience. Two more weeks until we have our BVE in San Francisco! Looking forward to it!

[highheel girl]

We booked the Bon Voyage Experience for my son and his wife on the Golden Princess cruise July 14 out of Seattle to Alaska. We got to the cruise terminal early, processed through the "elite" passenger desk, and they put "bon voyage" stickers on our two guests. Then we were told to wait in a holding area with other (what looked like) elite guests for boarding. We were supposed to board earlier than them so we could have the special lunch, free wine and free boarding picture and free tour. The woman at the elite check in desk sent us to the WRONG area, telling us to look for the woman in the green jacket. No green jacket showed up, and we ended up boarding with the regular cruise guests, bypassing the lunch time. We told our concerns to the Passenger Services desk who tried to find the Future Cruises Director, but she was hard to get ahold of. We lost more than an hour of the experience until she finally showed up, apologized, and rushed us to the Donatello Dining Room for a lunch. The lunch was wonderful. She said since we had cruised with Princess before (although not on this boat) we could show our guests around....so no guided tour by the Future Cruise director, but that ended up being ok. The pictures were nice, but they just barely came out into the photo lounge 10 minutes before our guests had to get off the boat. The experience didn't seem well coordinated, and the FC director said she had also lost others that were slated for the BV Experience. I hope they get it together in Seattle, because this is a wonderful opportunity for them to showcase the ship if they can avoid giving the impression that they are disorganized. Bottomline: ASK specifically WHO, BY NAME, you are to meet and WHERE, and hang out by the Elite check in desk (that is where we were supposed to be placed!)

 

 

Thanks for the input, we have had exposure to many future cruise consultants and most leave alot to be desired. When cruising we try to avoid them like the plague (not hard to with their limited hours :rolleyes:) and use the drop box for any requests.

Its too bad because its not a rocket scientist job.

Had we been on a BVE with limited time onboard and lost an hour or 2 we would have not been happy. :mad:

[CruiseNut24]

As I read the thread, I did not see a direct answer, are booked guest (cruising) allowed to board early with BVE participants if they know each other (as I booked it for my friends driving us to the pier)? I did ask Princess to cross reference my booking. Sorry if the answer is buried in the thread and I overlooked.

[ladyco4]

As I read the thread, I did not see a direct answer, are booked guest (cruising) allowed to board early with BVE participants if they know each other (as I booked it for my friends driving us to the pier)? I did ask Princess to cross reference my booking. Sorry if the answer is buried in the thread and I overlooked.

 

We are sailing on September 15 for Alaska and have booked the BVE for my DD, SIL and 2 granddaughters. There are 20 of us on the cruise and we all want to board with the BVE. I have asked my TA to get written confirmation that ALL of us can board with the BVE group. She has been told on the phone that we can but I want it in writing so that there aren't any misunderstandings at the pier.

 

I am going to talk to her again tomorrow and hopefully we can get that written confirmation soon.

I'll let you know what I hear.