Princess Cruise Secrets 2017

Not a princess perk per se,

But if you book a princess cruise departing in 2017 using/making final payment using a discover card, you get a 10% rebate back to you card after the cruise. You have to book with their specified travel agent to get this rebate.

I'll start by mentioning my favorite "secret": the Refer-a-Friend program. Any person who has cruised Princess before can refer a person who is a first-time cruiser and then they each get $25 on-board credit which can be used in the following 24 months. This is per person (not per cabin). All you need to do is go to <https://book.princess.com/captaincircle/referralRewards.page> There have been varying reports as to whether you can make a referral if the newbie has already booked their cruise (it's worked for me, but not everyone). Since it's such a simple form to fill out, it seems like it's worth a try whether they've booked or not. If you are new to Princess and want to get the credit, all you need to do is send your full name and e-mail address to someone who's sailed Princess before. It's easy and fun to get freebies!

 

Personally, I don't see why any first-time cruiser should cruise Princess without taking advantage of this. Just a thought: if you weren't referred by anyone and don't know of any Princess cruisers you want to give the OBC to, why not consider asking someone who has been helpful to you here on Cruise Critic to refer you? Some people put a great deal of time and energy helping others, posting great reviews, etc. - why not give them some goodies?! And, if you don't have anyone else, feel free to send your name and e-mail address to me at barbpretz at sbcglobal dot net. No point letting a good freebie go to waste!

Just my 2 cents . . .

Just to clarify: Apparently people in the US and Canada can only refer to other people in the US and Canada. And it doesn't work to just post here that you want a referral because there is no way to contact you here. You need to send a separate e-mail to the person you want to refer you, giving them your full name and e-mail address. That's all there is to it!

If first-time cruiser means first time to Princess, you can refer me 😊

Sorry, Mary - I'm in the US, so I can apparently only refer someone in the US or Canada. Maybe if you can find someone in Denmark it would work? Also, if you do find someone, you'll need to e-mail them with your full name and e-mail address. It doesn't work to post here because there is no way to contact you. Good luck!

Hi, you can refer me too!! We have a deposit down for the Athens to Barcelona cruise 'tho s fall. Let me know if u need more info & Thanks!!

Unfortunately it doesn't work to just post here since we have no way to contact you. If you want someone to refer you, you need to send them a direct e-mail and give them your full name and e-mail address. It's worth trying even if you've already booked. Often it works but sometimes it doesn't - but it doesn't cost anything to try!

My second favorite Princess "secret" is the cheese and fruit tray at the International Cafe. My husband and I each brought our allowed bottle of wine on board and kept a cheese and fruit tray in our refrigerator throughout our cruise. Sitting on the balcony watching glorious scenery with wine, cheese, and fruit - heaven!

Regarding the referral bonus....while I had not talked to a Princess agent I had provided my email address to order brochures. Then I learned about the referral bonus. I got around this by having my friend refer me using a second email account I dont usually use. Referral is showing on my account online. I just have to remember now to use that email address!! And my husband and I have our $50 OBC for less than 5 minutes effort.

Lsc226-By having a deposit down you are already in Princess' system, so the referral would not work.

 

And everyone...be reminded that the last time these boards filled up with 'offers to refer people' the threads were all pulled.

 

2017 Tip: It seems that as of Sept/Oct (ish) cruises, you must prepay for excursions booked in your Personalizer. However, the new tip is that you CAN use your OBC to 'pay' for these reservations. Just click the pay now button and you will see any available OBC applied.

Re: the above -- this is already happening on Alaska land tours. We're leaving next week and have had to give credit card and be charged at time of reservations. Excursions during the cruise itself are not required to pay beforehand, unless your choice.

Thanks all, great tips... looking forward to my 1st Princess cruise in August!!

Thanks all, great tips... looking forward to my 1st Princess cruise in August!!

Enjoy:)

Would someone please talk food!, not money - what are some of the "don't miss" menu items. I am first time Princess cruiser and I know there will always be choices on the menu - would love to know what old timers look forward to when back on board.

And did I read somewhere that on the Alaskan cruisers the grill near the pool may have some "unadvertised" specials like crab cakes? That would be good to know!

Would someone please talk food!, not money - what are some of the "don't miss" menu items. I am first time Princess cruiser and I know there will always be choices on the menu - would love to know what old timers look forward to when back on board.

 

And did I read somewhere that on the Alaskan cruisers the grill near the pool may have some "unadvertised" specials like crab cakes? That would be good to know!

For me the "don' miss" food items are the BBQ wings served at the Trident Grill on some evenings. The filet mignon at the Crown Grill is a must on every cruise. If eating in the main dining room I like the crème brule' desert. For breakfast in the Horizon Court buffet I like the corned beef hash. If eating breakfast in the dining room I like the eggs benedict or the Belgian waffle.

And did I read somewhere that on the Alaskan cruisers the grill near the pool may have some "unadvertised" specials like crab cakes? That would be good to know!

I don't know about unadvertised, but it seems like the day before each port there was something specific to the upcoming port at the grill. I remember some type of fish tacos one day, and crab cakes another day. Look on the Patters each day!

My favourite appie in the MDR is the double goat cheese souffle. A cruise wouldn't be the same without it.

Would someone please talk food!, not money - what are some of the "don't miss" menu items. I am first time Princess cruiser and I know there will always be choices on the menu - would love to know what old timers look forward to when back on board.

My DW never miss the Creme Brulee after dinner at the MDR.

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That they are very overpriced!!!!

That they are very overpriced!!!!

That's not entirely fair, and since they continue to do a good business, I'd guess there are 10's of thousands every year that would disagree with you. ☹

Buy 100 shares of Carnival stocks and get an OBC every time you sail!

curious how much of an obc do you get for the 100 shares?

curious how much of an obc do you get for the 100 shares?

It varies by the length of the cruise, and I don't know the amounts off hand. I do know that my 15 day cruise got me $250, which is tax free money. I was happy to spend it!

curious how much of an obc do you get for the 100 shares?

6 day or less cruise gets $50 per cabin---not per person

7-13 day cruise gets $100 per cabin

14 day or longer gets $250 per cabin

6 day or less cruise gets $50 per cabin---not per person

7-13 day cruise gets $100 per cabin

14 day or longer gets $250 per cabin

Unless both people in the cabin EACH own 100 shares in their name. Not just 100 shares owned by a married couple.

Food: Like others here I love the Crème brûlée. It is larger than I get in most land restaurants and it wonderful. It is my "go to" dessert when I cruise. I will have other things - especially when a Chocolate Journeys item is offered - but most often I have the Crème brûlée. :) I find the lobster to be small, overcooked or (even worse) undercooked <shudder>, and mostly flavorless. It's really sad as I love good lobster. We also order the escargot. On our last two cruises we were the only people at our table who ordered it. I guess the others found the idea of eating snails repugnant. The escargot varies and we have had really good escargot and some that was more on the "meh" side. Never had it be bad though.

OBC: We love it. We always use FCD for our deposits and get the OBC from that as well. On our next cruise we will have $300 ($150 x 2) OBC from our FCD and also $250 OBC from owning CCL stock. (We don't qualify for the military OBC but anybody who does qualify for it would be crazy not to apply!)

Unless both people in the cabin EACH own 100 shares in their name. Not just 100 shares owned by a married couple.

Not correct. Only one Shareholder credit is permitted per cabin and only one person is required to hold the shares. In our case I claim the military credit and my wife, holder of the shares claims the shareholder benefit.

Louden

Thanks for the correction. I thought two people in one cabin each owning 100 shares were eligible. I guess not!

How about the reverse, where a married couple owns 100 shares, but books 2 separate cabins on the same cruise? (one cabin in each of their names) (teenagers.....)

Exactly. We have never had our cabin not be ready when we board. We just head straight there, drop our carry on luggage, and head out to wander the ship. We are spoiled that way as we started cruising with Princess and just stuck with the line because we like it so much. I would hate to have to deal with luggage and stuff while waiting for my cabin to be ready. Of course that also means we have to disembark early on the last day but it's a very fair trade off and just gets us moving early on that day.

I totally agree we did celebrity last year and they actually have the doors to the hallways shut and locked so you cant get in. So we had to haul our carryons around with us til roughly 1 or 1:30...or guess I should say we ALL had to do this...made for a heck of a time at the buffet with luggage left everywhere even out at the pool. That was the 1 thing that I did not care for on Celebrity. I have on occasion gotten to our cabin on Princess and the steward was still setting stuff up like the robes, towels and/or still cleaning it or putting the beds back to queen from previous twin arrangement but we have just dropped our bags in the closet out of their way, introduced ourselves and went over any special things that we had requested or told them of normal things they put out that we don't need. Then we get out of their way and wander the ship luggage free. I wish Celebrity would adopt that option...instead of passing out cards at check in that say cabin not available til X time just have it be known online or somewhere that you can get to your cabin but it may not be 100% done if you board early.