Lost our favorite cabin to COVID!

[ckfajf]

We sail almost exclusively in D726 or D727 on Regal class ships. We plan our itineraries around it. Found out when I logged into my onboard account that we had been moved to A734. After a zillion calls to Princess finally found out that our portion of D deck is blocked for isolation cabins. Cannot get another aft cabin now other than A734. Not thrilled with the choice and really not happy that Princess put us there without letting us know.  We will be sailing though and look forward to the Majestic, friends and family!

 

Don’t get me wrong, we are happy to be cruising and lucky to be able to afford aft cabins but this could have been handled a little better. 

[LarryL]

2 hours ago, ckfajf said:

We sail almost exclusively in D726 or D727 on Regal class ships. We plan our itineraries around it. Found out when I logged into my onboard account that we had been moved to A734. After a zillion calls to Princess finally found out that our portion of D deck is blocked for isolation cabins. Cannot get another aft cabin now other than A734. Not thrilled with the choice and really not happy that Princess put us there without letting us know.  We will be sailing though and look forward to the Majestic, friends and family!

 

Don’t get me wrong, we are happy to be cruising and lucky to be able to afford aft cabins but this could have been handled a little better. 

I feel your pain. We had D726 booked on the Majestic and without notice we were changed to C738, directly above our coveted cabin. The balcony is tiny compared to the Dolphin balcony. We book based on balcony and aft location. I was furious at, not only the change, but no notification or reason why the change was made. I called Princess immediately and got the reason after a long, long wait. I get the isolation cabins but why not use the Caribe deck and keep the better balconies for paying customers? Then I was told it should be OK because there is no difference in the balconies. I ended up getting B735 which worked out fine. There were some cancellations a couple weeks out and D727 came open but I didn't trust them to not move me again. I hope something opens up for you. 

[arizonaperson]

This was posted ( see below)from a passenger currently sailing on The Majestic ( December 29th-10 day) I believe it is cabins D702-730- not sure on exact rooms though. My mom and her husband are currently on the cruise and they feel your pain as far as balcony size ,they are on Baja deck and their balcony is tiny. Usually on the royal class ships they are on the very back of the ship ,but since they haven’t cruised for awhile they forgot all about that .

 

We went to a life aboard the sea chat yesterday.  It was led by the cruise director and one of the assistant cruise directors.  They said every turn around ( aka back to San Pedro) they are getting between 40 -100 new crew members.  They get boosted at the airport and then have to go into quarantine on deck 9 for at least 5 days.  If any crew member had a cough or stuffy nose, they automatically go into quarantine.  Even if they test negative, they stay in quarantine.  Crew members are tested weekly.  
 

Edited January 5, 2022 by arizonaperson
Oops

[ckfajf]

27 minutes ago, LarryL said:

I feel your pain. We had D726 booked on the Majestic and without notice we were changed to C738, directly above our coveted cabin. The balcony is tiny compared to the Dolphin balcony. We book based on balcony and aft location. I was furious at, not only the change, but no notification or reason why the change was made. I called Princess immediately and got the reason after a long, long wait. I get the isolation cabins but why not use the Caribe deck and keep the better balconies for paying customers? Then I was told it should be OK because there is no difference in the balconies. I ended up getting B735 which worked out fine. There were some cancellations a couple weeks out and D727 came open but I didn't trust them to not move me again. I hope something opens up for you. 

I can see R731 available but I am being told it isn't. I guess my only hope is to head to the pursers desk and have it changed. A734 is really the lousiest cabin in this class. I shouldn't complain but I am not happy about all of this and I agree. Why not save C deck for isolation?

[HaveDogWillTravel]

2 days before Christmas Princess customer relations calls me and says that I can not sail in the aft facing big beautiful owners suite A752 on the Ruby for my Jan 6 sailing. My choices were a penthouse suite on riviera deck right across from the elevators which has a lot of traffic and everyone can look inside your room when you open the door or…..the family suite aaaaaaallll the way in the front of the ship with a balcony that can only be used while in port.  Neither choice was the experience I was hoping for on my birthday cruise. 

After reading these accounts I’m glad they at least phoned me!  I agree it sucks not to get the cabins that we love. However I am very happy with  how well Princess is treating the crew and really keeping them healthy (and us). Reading the reports on other lines with 60 or 100 crew infected with covid it’s clear that Princess is doing a better job.
 

Crews are kept in pods by teams, an entire MDR is used to keep them socially distanced when eating, the back aft promenade deck is closed off to give them a safe smoking area and the mask wearing is strictly followed. While some of these measures negatively impact passengers, the benefits to crew health far outweigh those inconveniences. 
 

The funny part is that when I sailed over thanksgiving in A751 I noticed that the fire doors were shut on the port side and that the entire aft port side of Aloha deck was closed for quarantine. Never occurred to me then that I would not be able to get to my suite for my birthday. Duhhhhhh.
 

I am also extremely happy that should the worst case happen and DH and I go into quarantine we will have a balcony & that Princess will keep us on board and get us back to our home port. Maybe they will even give us our owners suite. Lol. 

 

Keep checking for cabins and put a free temporary hold on anything you find that you’d prefer. Then call or chat to get moved. I was able to eventually snag an aft facing penthouse on caribe deck 2 days ago. 

[ckfajf]

14 minutes ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

2 days before Christmas Princess customer relations calls me and says that I can not sail in the aft facing big beautiful owners suite A752 on the Ruby for my Jan 6 sailing. My choices were a penthouse suite on riviera deck right across from the elevators which has a lot of traffic and everyone can look inside your room when you open the door or…..the family suite aaaaaaallll the way in the front of the ship with a balcony that can only be used while in port.  Neither choice was the experience I was hoping for on my birthday cruise. 

After reading these accounts I’m glad they at least phoned me!  I agree it sucks not to get the cabins that we love. However I am very happy with  how well Princess is treating the crew and really keeping them healthy (and us). Reading the reports on other lines with 60 or 100 crew infected with covid it’s clear that Princess is doing a better job.
 

Crews are kept in pods by teams, an entire MDR is used to keep them socially distanced when eating, the back aft promenade deck is closed off to give them a safe smoking area and the mask wearing is strictly followed. While some of these measures negatively impact passengers, the benefits to crew health far outweigh those inconveniences. 
 

The funny part is that when I sailed over thanksgiving in A751 I noticed that the fire doors were shut on the port side and that the entire aft port side of Aloha deck was closed for quarantine. Never occurred to me then that I would not be able to get to my suite for my birthday. Duhhhhhh.
 

I am also extremely happy that should the worst case happen and DH and I go into quarantine we will have a balcony & that Princess will keep us on board and get us back to our home port. Maybe they will even give us our owners suite. Lol. 

 

Keep checking for cabins and put a free temporary hold on anything you find that you’d prefer. Then call or chat to get moved. I was able to eventually snag an aft facing penthouse on caribe deck 2 days ago. 

Great advice thank you! Also really interesting about how Princess is handling keeping people safe by isolating crew but not at the expense of crew mental health and safety.

 

Edited January 5, 2022 by ckfajf

[Techwizardress]

Hello,

I feel your pain.  We are booked on the Majestic in 10 days and have had D710 (taken from us) and D703 and D702 (both taken from us as well for COVID isolation)

I agree with you about using Deck 10 for isolation.

I was moved to a cabin that has a connecting door.  I have email my Princess vacation planner asking her to move us.  The price we paid for our balcony is more than the Deluxe Balcony.  I have asked her to move us to one on Deck 10 that does not have a connecting door.

I love the Caribe deck balconies on the older ships and wish that they would bring those on the newer ships.  I spend a lot of time on my balcony.  

Either way, first world problems I guess....

[K.T.B.]

Does anyone know what cabins/deck is being used for quarantine on Ruby?  I still have my cabin at this point, but just curious.

[KLM3164]

58 minutes ago, Techwizardress said:

I was moved to a cabin that has a connecting door.  I have email my Princess vacation planner asking her to move us.  The price we paid for our balcony is more than the Deluxe Balcony.  I have asked her to move us to one on Deck 10 that does not have a connecting door.

As someone who is a novice cruiser when it comes to cabin selection what is the issue with having a connecting door? I have a cruise booked in April on the Majestic. Our cabin (C415) has a connecting door but a larger angled balcony. I prefer a larger balcony so I didn’t think about the connecting door. I’d appreciate any thoughts you all may have. @Techwizardress@HaveDogWillTravel

[Techwizardress]

11 minutes ago, KLM3164 said:

As someone who is a novice cruiser when it comes to cabin selection what is the issue with having a connecting door? I have a cruise booked in April on the Majestic. Our cabin (C415) has a connecting door but a larger angled balcony. I prefer a larger balcony so I didn’t think about the connecting door. I’d appreciate any thoughts you all may have. @Techwizardress@HaveDogWillTravel

Welcome to Cruising!

Connecting doors can have some noise from the cabin next door.  If you do not have any issues sleeping, you might be fine.  You just never know when you will get a noisy neighbor.

[startedwithamouse]

Mental health for new crew and them having ample balcony space when isolated is much more important, IMO.  You can go freely up to the open decks to enjoy everything.  Don't let it ruin your cruise. 

[nocl]

4 hours ago, LarryL said:

I feel your pain. We had D726 booked on the Majestic and without notice we were changed to C738, directly above our coveted cabin. The balcony is tiny compared to the Dolphin balcony. We book based on balcony and aft location. I was furious at, not only the change, but no notification or reason why the change was made. I called Princess immediately and got the reason after a long, long wait. I get the isolation cabins but why not use the Caribe deck and keep the better balconies for paying customers? Then I was told it should be OK because there is no difference in the balconies. I ended up getting B735 which worked out fine. There were some cancellations a couple weeks out and D727 came open but I didn't trust them to not move me again. I hope something opens up for you. 

Princess is intentionally using larger balconies for quarantine areas.  Basically to give people , including crew, in quarantine to get some exercise.  Was on the Majestic a few weeks ago, could look down on Dolphin deck where crew was quarantined joining the ship.

 

Those not in quarantine have plenty of space to move around the ship and gym access, those in quarantine do not.

[Sox Fan Cruiser]

We had D276 booked for the Sky Princess in December.  The balcony is enormous!  (Shhhhh, don't tell anyone).  We were terrified for weeks waiting to get moved to another cabin because they were using Dolphin deck for quarantine.  We would have cancelled if they moved us.  Luckily they kept the very aft section of that deck open (using the aft stairs only) for our B2B.    We feel your pain.

[HaveDogWillTravel]

2 hours ago, K.T.B. said:

Does anyone know what cabins/deck is being used for quarantine on Ruby?  I still have my cabin at this point, but just curious.

‘the entire aft port side of Aloha deck was closed for quarantine.‘ So the even numbered cabins back there. This was buried in my post #5 above.
 

At the rear elevators is where I saw the fire doors shut on the Ruby for quarantine cabins. 

[jwattle]

2 hours ago, KLM3164 said:

As someone who is a novice cruiser when it comes to cabin selection what is the issue with having a connecting door? I have a cruise booked in April on the Majestic. Our cabin (C415) has a connecting door but a larger angled balcony. I prefer a larger balcony so I didn’t think about the connecting door. I’d appreciate any thoughts you all may have. @Techwizardress@HaveDogWillTravel

Helpful hint: Put a towel or two down between the doors; helps muffle noise 🙂 

[Scubadoc]

Well this sure has me concerned! We are in D727 on the regal leaving January 14. I have heard nothing about any cabin change. We also booked this cruise particularly for this cabin. 

[K.T.B.]

6 hours ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

‘the entire aft port side of Aloha deck was closed for quarantine.‘ So the even numbered cabins back there. This was buried in my post #5 above.
 

At the rear elevators is where I saw the fire doors shut on the Ruby for quarantine cabins. 

 

Huge sigh of relief here then.  I'm on Caribe deck for my cruise.   Here's hoping those cabins on Aloha remain empty the entire time I'm on board.    Thank you for letting me know, I definitely missed it!

Edited January 6, 2022 by K.T.B.

[FawnRiver]

We’re booked on the Feb 8 sailing of the Enchanted Princess and they gave us an “upgrade” to some small balcony amidships, so I spent over two hours on the phone fighting to get back our D701. They did give us back the room, but they never told me they were using those rooms for quarantine. We spend a lot of time on our balcony and I’m not thrilled at the possibility of having someone quarantining right next door.

[MsSoCalCruiser]

9 hours ago, startedwithamouse said:

Mental health for new crew and them having ample balcony space when isolated is much more important, IMO.  You can go freely up to the open decks to enjoy everything.  Don't let it ruin your cruise. 

Part of me agrees with you and the other part of me is pretty sure that I would want to keep my customers happy and returning.

[HaveDogWillTravel]

23 minutes ago, FawnRiver said:

We’re booked on the Feb 8 sailing of the Enchanted Princess and they gave us an “upgrade” to some small balcony amidships, so I spent over two hours on the phone fighting to get back our D701. They did give us back the room, but they never told me they were using those rooms for quarantine. We spend a lot of time on our balcony and I’m not thrilled at the possibility of having someone quarantining right next door.

I can only say what I know about quarantine cabins on the Ruby. The fire doors are shut on aft port side Aloha deck at the rear elevators.  No passenger cabins are mixed in with quarantine cabins. Others have made similar reports elsewhere about other ships. 

[hllwdcruiser]

2 hours ago, FawnRiver said:

We’re booked on the Feb 8 sailing of the Enchanted Princess and they gave us an “upgrade” to some small balcony amidships, so I spent over two hours on the phone fighting to get back our D701. They did give us back the room, but they never told me they were using those rooms for quarantine. We spend a lot of time on our balcony and I’m not thrilled at the possibility of having someone quarantining right next door.

We are sailing on Feb 28 on the Enchanted in D702. I specifically requested no upgrade after we once had a horrible midship "upgrade" on Dolphin right above a tender. The top of the tender was level with our tiny balcony.

I have the same concerns as you, especially since we booked this cabin for the larger balcony.

The quarantine cabins are isolated, so no need to be concerned about that, but if they are using our cabins for quarantine, why let us book them in the first place?

[ckfajf]

Thank you for all the comments, I was able to snag R731 and have secured the booking. (Thank you Vince Chown, at Princess you are amazing!). Not our beloved D726 but looks to be much better than the one we were moved to! Happy Cruising everyone and yes I acknowledge freely that this is a first world problem…..

[Kathyrd]

I have d 727 booked for November. I do not want to go into a smaller room or deck I would rather cancel is this a penalty free option if they take the room?

[Techwizardress]

We have cruised twice this year on the Majestic Princess.  For our January 15-22, 2022 cruise, we had D710 booked and ended up with it taken away due to the entire Deck 9 (Dolphin) being used as quarantine.

This time, April 23-30, 2022, we were able to get D704.  

FYI Deck 9 from the bow until D630 is currently quarantined cabins.  We were two cabins behind the quarantined area.

We finally had our big balcony last week.