Suite Holders VIP Lounge - New

[Guardsy]

Did anyone else get a phone call about the soft rollout of the new Princess VIP Lounge for suite holders?  Supposedly it is a new airport-type lounge located on the way to the ship, where you would be able to check-in, get complimentary food and beverage, be able to drop your luggage for transport to your cabin, make spa and dining reservations before you get on the ship, etc.

 

The young man who called had all of our cruise info for our cruise that leaves this Saturday.  The # he called from is 833-679-3272.  However, how could not email me the info on the location of the "lounge" as they did not yet have the proper email addresses to send from.  He could only tell me the address over the phone.  It is at the corner of x and y streets.  I was in the car and couldn't write anything down.

 

Anyone else?  It sounds too much like a scam, but he had our info regarding our upcoming cruise. ????

[Guardsy]

Update.  The phone number does come back to "Princess Cruises".  My PVP did not know anything about any of this, but she said it could be brand new.  Just sounds odd, especially since they didn't have an email account to send the info from.

[eclue]

7 minutes ago, Guardsy said:

Update.  The phone number does come back to "Princess Cruises".  My PVP did not know anything about any of this, but she said it could be brand new.  Just sounds odd, especially since they didn't have an email account to send the info from.

HMMMMMMM.......

 

[memoak]

Sounds like a cone on to me. Like the cold calls people are getting about “deals”

[Guardsy]

Just now, memoak said:

Sounds like a cone on to me. Like the cold calls people are getting about “deals”

Yet they had all of our info about our cruise and the phone number he called from comes back to a legitimate Princess Cruises #.  I am on hold with them now.

[milolii]

This is interesting.  The suite pre cruise experience is an area which could use improvement.  Other lines have this down- even a dedicated pre cruise suite concierge(on land) who handles many issues, reservations etc.   At the port there are dedicated lounges and check in desks.  Then the concierge (or their assistant) walks suite passengers on board. Never heard of a place off site from the port.  What is your embarkation port?  Then again who knows if it’s legit?  Let us know why you find out. 

Edited March 29, 2023 by milolii

[memoak]

15 minutes ago, Guardsy said:

Yet they had all of our info about our cruise and the phone number he called from comes back to a legitimate Princess Cruises #.  I am on hold with them now.

It’s a third party vendor working with Princess to do a bunch of future upsells where you pay a whole bunch of cash up front to get discounts later on.  No thanks. I will keep dealing with my CVP and getting casino deals 

[tngman]

I got the same phone call today from the same number and it did say Princess Cruises on my phone. The message was the same - the lounge is located at 17th St and Eisenhower Blvd and they will offer perks for suite guests like excursion booking, Sanctuary booking, spa treatments and specialty dining even if the desired booking is showing full.
They will shuttle you to the cruise terminal. If I remember correctly the agent said the VIP lounge will be available from 8am until 2:30pm. As the OP said it is a soft opening for Princess to gauge customer interest. I declined because it is easier for my wife and I to take a taxi to the terminal than a Princess shuttle. We booked a Princess transfer one time from FLL to the cruise terminal. It just took too long and really didn’t save us any money. The other reason I told the agent I declined was that I would much prefer the VIP lounge be located at the Princess cruise terminal. 

[VibeGuy]

Yup.  The space in question has been controlled by Princess for a few years now and was formerly used in part to demonstrate Medallion technology to industry and press.  
 

Here’s the view from Google Street View from a month ago.   Note the sign.   And the logo on the right side of the upper windows . . . 

Edited March 29, 2023 by VibeGuy

[Guardsy]

4 minutes ago, tngman said:

I got the same phone call today from the same number and it did say Princess Cruises on my phone. The message was the same - the lounge is located at 17th St and Eisenhower Blvd and they will offer perks for suite guests like excursion booking, Sanctuary booking, spa treatments and specialty dining even if the desired booking is showing full.
They will shuttle you to the cruise terminal. If I remember correctly the agent said the VIP lounge will be available from 8am until 2:30pm. As the OP said it is a soft opening for Princess to gauge customer interest. I declined because it is easier for my wife and I to take a taxi to the terminal than a Princess shuttle. We booked a Princess transfer one time from FLL to the cruise terminal. It just took too long and really didn’t save us any money. The other reason I told the agent I declined was that I would much prefer the VIP lounge be located at the Princess cruise terminal. 

Yes, that is exactly the same call!  So, after 45-minutes of two phone calls with Princess, and I am sorry for this comment, no one could understand English enough to understand what the question was I was trying to get answered.  However, I was told twice that the Caribbean Princess has a Concierge Lounge on the 14th deck!  Yeah!  Well, actually, that is wrong.  No such lounge on the CB.  We are coming from a hotel that morning, so if I could get stuff handled in this way, vs. onboard, I would be happy!  My caller did say that this was ONLY for suite holders at the moment to gauge interest and helpfulness.

[Guardsy]

12 minutes ago, memoak said:

It’s a third party vendor working with Princess to do a bunch of future upsells where you pay a whole bunch of cash up front to get discounts later on.  No thanks. I will keep dealing with my CVP and getting casino deals 

I don't get the vibe it is that at all.  As someone else noted, the pre-cruise for some guests could use some work.  Maybe this is a step in that direction.

[Guardsy]

17th & Eisenhower IS right at the entry to the Port.

[VibeGuy]

Just now, Guardsy said:

17th & Eisenhower IS right at the entry to the Port.

Yes.  It’s the other end of the building where the Walgreens is.  Across the side street from the Holiday Inn Express. 

[VibeGuy]

4 minutes ago, Guardsy said:

I don't get the vibe it is that at all.  As someone else noted, the pre-cruise for some guests could use some work.  Maybe this is a step in that direction.

Given that there are fewer than 60 full-suite guests on any sailing and they can offer a substantially better experience than the in-terminal one, I very much think this is a step in the right direction, especially with Sun having more suites and more of a ship-within-a-ship experience.  Having Princess shoreside employees to fix any last minute glitches rather than contract pier staff, not having any rent-a-cops yelling at your most valuable passengers when they’re queueing for security, opening early enough for guests coming in on the first wave of flights?   Perfection. 

[milolii]

I agree, sounds like a step in the right direction.  Hopefully someone will take advantage of this and post their experience.  

[azbirdmom]

46 minutes ago, memoak said:

It’s a third party vendor working with Princess to do a bunch of future upsells where you pay a whole bunch of cash up front to get discounts later on.  No thanks. I will keep dealing with my CVP and getting casino deals 

Exactly what I heard.  It's the cruise industry equivalent of a timeshare presentation.  You get some perks for listening but have to go through the (possibly) painful experience of listening to the sales pitch.  By the way hope you are feeling better!

[VibeGuy]

I’d be very interested to hear what happens at the terminal when you’ve checked in this way - my fervent hope is their shuttle drops you in to the secure side and your next stop is the gangway.  
 

I would never ever pay extra for early boarding as sold on Carnival and HAL, for example, but the equivalent of being able to use the corporate terminal at the airport rather than the scrum of the airline desks *is* something I value.  I don’t need reservation tweaks, I’m not trying to find the perfect lounger in the Sanctuary (or my vacation will be RUINED) or a complimentary danish, but a comfy seat and nobody (staff or other guests) yelling and not having to schlepp my hand luggage or deal with people who can’t queue for bag drop?   
 

The single best check-in I’ve ever had on Princess for a full ship was in San Juan, of all places.   Arriving passengers were welcomed inside regardless of their scheduled check-in time, into an air-conditioned area with chairs for everyone, a short distance from the kerb.  There were clean restrooms and helpful people from the line and I vaguely recall concessions or at least vending.   One row of seats at a time were called to go through security, hit the Duty Free, and then complete check-in.  It was so well-organized and pleasant.  I miss that. 

[AZjohn]

2 hours ago, azbirdmom said:

Exactly what I heard.  It's the cruise industry equivalent of a timeshare presentation.  You get some perks for listening but have to go through the (possibly) painful experience of listening to the sales pitch.  By the way hope you are feeling better!

You both could be right but, seems like contempt prior to investigation as I haven’t heard of anyone actually doing this yet.

 

Like some other posters, if this isn’t about some sales pitch but rather a new benefit of being in a suite, we would be very interested in participating.

 

Lets see if we hear of a report about it soon (crossing fingers it’s a benefit rather than a sales pitch)

 

 

[gkbiiii]

MSC Yacht Club had this, with butlers, food, Champaign, etc. 

[Guardsy]

Up to today I have always had good luck going directly through Jan Schwartz' staff as a last resort.  I emailed them today to see if they had any info on this new amenity, if it is one.

 

On Saturday I plan to leave the hotel early and go to this location and see what is what.  Worst case, it was all a hoax of some sort.  Best case, it is everything we have ever hoped for!  I will report either way.

 

If it is a hoax, however, you all owe me!  My wife will never let me forget it and will likely be a bit cranky I took her on an "adventure" that didn't pan out.

[wcflats]

Total scam!

[memoak]

You would think if it was real than all suite passengers would have gotten emails and not a random cold call

[Guardsy]

8 minutes ago, memoak said:

You would think if it was real than all suite passengers would have gotten emails and not a random cold call

I don't disagree.  From the start I was convinced it was/is a scam.  But, they have all of our info and the number they called from is the same number I called back to inquire and got through to Princess customer service.  I'll let you know Saturday!

[Guardsy]

Got a call back from Princess. Sounds like this is all legit and this is the first weekend they are starting a soft rollout of it.  Not being done at the pier as they cannot control food and beverage service there.  Will report more after we try it on Saturday.

[c-boy]

36 minutes ago, Guardsy said:

Got a call back from Princess. Sounds like this is all legit and this is the first weekend they are starting a soft rollout of it.  Not being done at the pier as they cannot control food and beverage service there.  Will report more after we try it on Saturday.

Ha! ...... Brilliant !