Bon Voyage Experience (BVE) for 2015

[caribill]

What an absolute mess! It is sad that you really do need to be assertive, and know how the system works, when doing the BVE. It should be a great program, but Princess really needs to make it easier for people to book and also very clear and easy to board. The program will turn more people off than generate new customers unless they become better organized.

 

The last two times I have cruised on Princess there was a sign directing where BVE participants should go to check in.

[Colo Cruiser]

The last two times I have cruised on Princess there was a sign directing where BVE participants should go to check in.

 

 

Apparently they forgot to put it out.

[Smokeyham]

The last two times I have cruised on Princess there was a sign directing where BVE participants should go to check in.

 

I've had mixed experiences. Sometimes it has been well organized, and at other times information such as the boarding time on the printed boarding passes conflicted with email instructions. Shore staff have sometimes been very familiar with the program, and at other times have been confused by it.

 

It is a great program when it is well organized.

[Colo Cruiser]

I've had mixed experiences. Sometimes it has been well organized, and at other times information such as the boarding time on the printed boarding passes conflicted with email instructions. Shore staff have sometimes been very familiar with the program, and at other times have been confused by it.

 

It is a great program when it is well organized.

 

 

Something tells me its not a high priority. :(

[trbarton]

My Husband and I are sailing on the Crown the day after tomorrow out of Seattle. We live just outside of Seattle so it is an easy process to get to the terminal and board the ship. My mother is 86 years old and has never cruised before because she is scared to death of being out on the water. She has been curious about our passion for cruising so we treated her to the BVE last Saturday so she could see the ship. We decided to do it a week before our cruise because of needing someone to take her back home if we stayed on board.

 

We had a wonderful experience. We were asked to arrive at 11:00 am. We checked in and were directed to the preferred seating area. After a brief wait a very nice employee came over and checked us off her list of BVE participants and said it would be just a few more minutes until we board. (they were waiting for a stay passenger to disembark) Once cleared for boarding we were escorted on to the ship and as far as I could tell we were the only 3 people doing this. We got our pictures taken right away and they said we could pick them up between 1:30 and 2:00. We then set out on our own to tour the ship which was nice because we could take our time and my mother tires easily so it worked well for us. At 12:00 we went to the dining room and were seated by a window where we could see the passengers boarding. We had a nice lunch with our complimentary glass of wine. Our pictures were ready before 2:00 so we picked them up and decided to leave since mom was getting tired. We got some very interesting looks as the three of us made our way opposite the rest of the passengers trying to board. My husband was tempted to tell them we got kicked off the ship :)

 

Can't wait until Saturday when we get to sail for real!

 

Thanks for posting. What time were you able to board the ship?

 

Tom:)

[Tyskie]

We did the BVE last year on the Royal out of NY - it was great. We did not have to stay with the tour group. We got on early - wandered around. Had lunch in the MDR. Got our picture, lol Even sat in Crooners had a drink and people watched. It was a great day.

 

This Oct we are doing the BVE on the Regal out of NY - our cousins will be cruising on the repo cruise - we're driving them to the ship - great excuse to do another BVE :D

 

I have to say our experience was great the last time - nothing like myfuzzy experienced. Interestingly we met saw others that we had cruised with before. I think many do this just for a nice afternoon! :)

[PEZdudesWife]

Thanks for posting. What time were you able to board the ship?

 

Tom:)

 

We boarded between 11:20 to 11:30. We didn't check the time but we boarded on deck 7 and showed my mom the area above the piazza, the theater, art gallery, some of the lounges and then sat for a few minutes in the piazza while waiting for the dining room to open at noon. It was a little while after we boarded before we saw other passengers.

[vplsh]

We did the BVE last year on the Royal out of NY - it was great. We did not have to stay with the tour group. We got on early - wandered around. Had lunch in the MDR. Got our picture, lol Even sat in Crooners had a drink and people watched. It was a great day.

 

This Oct we are doing the BVE on the Regal out of NY - our cousins will be cruising on the repo cruise - we're driving them to the ship - great excuse to do another BVE :D

 

I have to say our experience was great the last time - nothing like myfuzzy experienced. Interestingly we met saw others that we had cruised with before. I think many do this just for a nice afternoon! :)

 

We're looking to do this one too. What dock did you go to? Was it Manhattan or Brooklyn?

[vplsh]

Just booked my husband, sister and me for the Regal on Oct. 17. Took a while to get through to the BVE section but the agent, Vanessa, was efficient and got us all taken care of.

[Tyskie]

We're looking to do this one too. What dock did you go to? Was it Manhattan or Brooklyn?

 

We went to Brooklyn, easy to park for the day. :)

 

Glad you had an easy time to book, we have never had a problem, have fun!

[myfuzzy]

The reason I posted, was because I did read about others BVE experience and was well aware of the process, thank goodness I listened, and was able to unfortunately be assertive to get the product Princess offered.

 

I knew about the "special" BVE boarding area, but never saw it, I also knew we were supposed to get a "sticker" to show we were BVE and never got that either. As I previously stated, we never saw anyone else that was the BVE group either, even though we were the 44 & 45 people to book. When we bypassed the photo "OP" I was totally taken aback.

 

Its unfortunate when you rely on others to learn of different types of experiences, but, if you know what you are expecting to receive, and don't get it, someone has to answer.

 

I have also learned to take customer service numbers with me, regarding any of my travel arrangements, so if things aren't as advertised, you can call right away and get things straightened out.

 

I am glad a lot of you had the pleasant experience with the BVE, but it should not be hit and miss, especially for those who have never sailed before, especially with Princess, and had an unfortunate experience, would never sail again.

 

I have been in customer service for many years and if I find fault or failure with any product or service, I make sure, by calling the right person, that it doesn't happen to any other customer going forward.

 

Thats my two cents!!

[Gallivanting Souls]

I'm glad this thread is still alive. We had such a great time on our BVE out of San Pedro. If I didn't say it before, we were the very first persons on the ship. It was the best experience! We had a great tour guide, Kathryn, FCC rep. She took us exactly were we wanted to go and see what we wanted to see.

 

My husband says now that I am spoiled. :confused:Our next cruise we will be trying Carnival. I **had to** purchase Faster to the Fun. My husband thinks it's because I really liked being on the ship first (which is awesome, but the fact that my husband is really unpleasant/grumpy waiting in line). I did it so I could start our cruise out with a great attitude!

 

I also was able to purchase FCC's for my son and DIL who went on the BVE with us. Highly recommend doing a BVE if you can. Worst part is saying goodbye to your friends and family at 4pm.

[Crystabel]

Does anyone know if you can book the Bon Voyage Experience if you're sailing on the ship that day? Seems like a great way to start your cruise.

[Smokeyham]

Does anyone know if you can book the Bon Voyage Experience if you're sailing on the ship that day? Seems like a great way to start your cruise.

 

I don't believe you can do that. If you can, then your $39 fee would get you earlier boarding, a glass of wine, and the photograph.

 

To me the real advantage would be the ability to have a "served" lunch in the Main Dining Room as opposed to having to eat in the buffet.

 

If you have friends who would like to do the BVE, then you can join them in the MDR.

[HLR]

 

To me the real advantage would be the ability to have a "served" lunch in the Main Dining Room as opposed to having to eat in the buffet.

 

One of the MDRs is usually open on embarkation day...you can get a served meal. We ate lunch in the dining room on our last cruise on the Caribbean Princess. Few people know this.

 

HLR

[Tyskie]

One of the MDRs is usually open on embarkation day...you can get a served meal. We ate lunch in the dining room on our last cruise on the Caribbean Princess. Few people know this.

 

HLR

 

We always have lunch in the MDR - great way to start vacation - no need to fight the crowds in the buffet! :D

[Smokeyham]

That used to be the case, but on my last cruise (Star Princess - October, 2014) people who were not participating in the BVE, or who were not suite passengers, were turned away and told that all non-suite passengers now had to go to the buffet for lunch.

 

I don't want to hijack this thread, but FYI... I will be curious to hear if anyone has actually tried to book a BVE when you are also a passenger for that cruise.

 

I don't believe you can do that. If you can, then your $39 fee would get you earlier boarding, a glass of wine, and the photograph.

 

To me the real advantage would be the ability to have a "served" lunch in the Main Dining Room as opposed to having to eat in the buffet.

 

If you have friends who would like to do the BVE, then you can join them in the MDR.

 

One of the MDRs is usually open on embarkation day...you can get a served meal. We ate lunch in the dining room on our last cruise on the Caribbean Princess. Few people know this.

 

HLR

[caribill]

That used to be the case, but on my last cruise (Star Princess - October, 2014) people who were not participating in the BVE, or who were not suite passengers, were turned away and told that all non-suite passengers now had to go to the buffet for lunch.

 

On three Princess cruises (last November, December and March) there was no problem eating lunch in the MDR as long as you were there before it closed at 1:30 PM. The back page of the Patter listed which dining room it was.

 

I don't want to hijack this thread, but FYI... I will be curious to hear if anyone has actually tried to book a BVE when you are also a passenger for that cruise.

 

You cannot book a BVE if you are already a passenger on the cruise, just as you cannot book yourself into two cabins on the same cruise. No, I have not tried it.

[myfuzzy]

That used to be the case, but on my last cruise (Star Princess - October, 2014) people who were not participating in the BVE, or who were not suite passengers, were turned away and told that all non-suite passengers now had to go to the buffet for lunch.

 

In my curiosity, what where the reactions when the people were turned away from the dining room?

[Smokeyham]

That used to be the case, but on my last cruise (Star Princess - October, 2014) people who were not participating in the BVE, or who were not suite passengers, were turned away and told that all non-suite passengers now had to go to the buffet for lunch.

 

In my curiosity, what where the reactions when the people were turned away from the dining room?

 

Myfuzzy,

 

Come and join us on this thread http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2251513 to learn about the differing experiences which people are having as they try to have lunch in an MDR (Main Dining Room) on embarkation day.

 

.

[Cruise Raider]

You cannot book a BVE if you are already a passenger on the cruise, just as you cannot book yourself into two cabins on the same cruise. No, I have not tried it.

 

So, if you book this for your friends that give you a ride to the pier, do you only pay for the friends and not yourself if you are already booked on the cruise. And if so, do you get to board early with them? Sorry...haven't done this and it sounds like a great thing to do for our next cruise.

[bmench]

So, if you book this for your friends that give you a ride to the pier, do you only pay for the friends and not yourself if you are already booked on the cruise. And if so, do you get to board early with them? Sorry...haven't done this and it sounds like a great thing to do for our next cruise.

 

Yes, if you are booked on the cruise already you will not pay for yourselves just for your friends, just make sure you link your booking with your friends BVE that way you can board early with them. Again make sure to have it linked with theirs.

Becky

[Cruise Raider]

Yes, if you are booked on the cruise already you will not pay for yourselves just for your friends, just make sure you link your booking with your friends BVE that way you can board early with them. Again make sure to have it linked with theirs.

Becky

 

Thanks for the quick response. That is awesome!! I will be sure to link their BVE with my booking number. :)

[Go-Bucks!]

Can you just book yourself to do the BVE or do you have to be with someone who is sailing on that cruise?

[JF - retired RRT]

Can you just book yourself to do the BVE or do you have to be with someone who is sailing on that cruise?

 

It isn't required that you link your BVE with a passenger who is sailing. We did a BVE to "check out" the Pacific Princess. We weren't sure if the small ship experience was right for us.

We are now booked on 2 17 day cruises on the PP.:D