HMSDingy

This is on the travel summary on their website. This is what I get. I also tried to order the Medallion on the new app but I can't confirm shipping until 13 days before the cruise. I'm in line waiting to chat with Princess as I type this. BTW I'm Canadian and my charges are in CAD. But even with the current exchange rates, $27 is way too high.

I have the Plus package but what is confusing is that in the Summary it states that the Medallion shipping is free but there's a $27 charge. Is this a glitch or does in Princess lingo free mean not free.

Just now, MTNest93 said:

We have been able to book SD without paying in advance.  When booking through the app it shows the price and then an adjustment for our Premier Pkg (or suite on our last cruise) and then had a zero balance.

That's because you have a Premier package but what if one doesn't?

I was able to book my MDR reservations with Princess on theirr website chat and when I check the app, the reservations are there. Curious to know if we have to pay the SD reservations up front or will the charge appear on our account when we board the ship.

I was able  to book in the MDR for our cruise in August and I have't paid in full yet. But I must admit I'm Platinum so that is probably why I was able. I made the booking through the Princess chat on their website. On another note, are the SD restaurants charged right away on your credit card or will it only show on your account?

I too keep on checking the cruise fare. We have a European cruise booked on the Island Princess for this August and by checking the fares, my cruise was re-fared at $1500 less than I originally booked it at.  The only caveat was that we have to settle for a guaranteed cabin. But we're not fussy and I see that the cabin location will be midship and I've been told that since we are Platinum, there's a possibility of an upgrade. We may also have the option of asking for another cabin if we don't like what we get.

We've opted for the Plus for our European cruise this August. The difference in pricing between both for our 20 day cruise is $800 and we can spend that on other things like excursions. We aren't overly fussy when it comes to wines and/or alcohol.

6 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

Hmm.. were you accessing the web version of the App and not just the Cruise Personalizer?

Sorry for the confusion. I have the new app and when I tried to book a reservation at the SD restaurants, it didn't save the reservation even with regular dining, I called Princess and everything was sorted out. I now have both my SD and regular dining booked. I was mistaken about the SD on the Plus package and I would need to upgrade to Premier to get the SD freebies. 

Just now, t&atravel said:

SD is not free with the plus package.  Did you mean premiere?

I stand corrected Yes, its with Premier but I have Plus. I'll still book even though I have to pay/

19 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Hard to say from the information provided.  I would suggest using the web version of the Ocean App and access DMW there for reservations.  See if that works for you.

When I go to the website, it states  that dining reservations nave moved to the MedaillonClass app. Funny that now I went on the app and I can book a SD reservation but it's showing a charge even though I have the plus package. I would hope that the charge is removed once on board.

19 hours ago, Aggie83 said:

IMHO, I found the new app to be substantially better than the old.  I found the 'Ship Schedule' section much more usable than the old app.  It was an electronic version of the Patter and easy to navigate.  As others have suggested, download the new app and compare the two.  

I have the new app but when I try to download the old one, it just hangs and doesn't load. These are the two apps I found on the iPhone app store. I have the first one.

.

On 1/17/2024 at 11:10 PM, Steelers36 said:

Assuming you are not yet Platinum or Elite, then the system is working the way is should,  It is a Platinum/Elite benefit to be able to access DMW immediately following a deposit payment.  That said, there have been instances of folks not yet at those member levels who have been able to make reservations in DMW.  Sorry, but I hope any loopholes are getting fixed and closed. 

 

Prior to DMW, it was first-come, first-booked for early or late dining or ATD until capacities were filled.  You then would have to request on board if you wanted to try and get something that was showing as full.  With the new reservation system, certain time slots or table types can get filled up before sail date.

 

BTW, you can elect to make your final payment earlier than the due date and then you get access to DMW.

 

I also tried to reserve on the new app and it gives an message that I need to connect to MedaillonNet on board. We are Platinum and our cruise is in August. Am I doing something wrong?

I've downloaded the new app and I noticed that for the dining rooms, there's only specific times for seating. I see no mention of anytime dining. We're sailing on the Island Princess on a European cruise in August. Do we just go to the dining rooms and ask for a table? Mind you the times on the app aren't too bad at all.

1 minute ago, Steelers36 said:

When a guest has a cabin assignment - either selected or from a GTY booking - it is possible to change to another open cabin in the same category.  Since you have a BB GTY, you will not be assigned obstructed since they are a lower category than yours.

Wow great service. You should be working for Princess. You profile says GTA but I see you're a Steelers fan. I know it's not the same level of football but Montreal winning the Grey Cup was nice. Especially their last minute dramatic finish. Cheers!

9 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

You will be assigned BB or better, but could be on any deck.  At least you know BB will not be far forward or far aft if you like to avoid those zones.  There will be BB's on more than Deck 11, but perhaps all are assigned to other guests or withheld from sale.  I wouldn't be expecting a TA to contact client for a Princess (or other line) price drop.  IMO, up to the guest to be on the watch for these and then get with TA to re-fare or cancel/re-book.  (No doubt some do this sort of thing, but they mustn't have too many clients or they wouldn't have a lot of time to sell cruises.

Thanks for the response. But by looking at the deck plans, I see that BB is only on deck 11 and for that reason I'm ok with the guarantee. My fear is that we get stuck with an obstructed balcony or one overlooking a lifeboat. Would us being platinum work for us? Once assigned, would I be able to change in the same category if there are nay available? As for the TA, he's a personal friend so I not too happy that he's checking the prices more often. For all that he's done, I really could have done it myself. 

Firstly, I don't mean to sabotage this thread with another type of question. In all of my cruises I have never booked a guarantee. That being said on our next cruise on the Island Princess, I saw a price drop on the Princess website for a considerable amount and contacted my TA but the caveat to getting the price drop was to take a guarantee. I decided to take a leap of faith, so as t speak, and go for it as the drop was $1500 CAD. I checked my cruise personalizer and the category is BB. Our original cabin was a balcony on deck 12 and after checking the deck plan, I see that BB is on deck 11. Sometimes guarantees work in your favour. Now comes the wait to see what they give me. Am I right in my assumptions? BTW, I got several price drops through my checking on the Princess website, My TA never contacted me.

I got a fantastic price drop on my European cruise on the Island Princess for this August but the only way I could get the discount was to settle for a guarantee cabin. I decided to go for it and when I check the cruise personalizer on the Princess website, I see that I have a guarantee in the BB category. When when I looked at the Island Princess deck plans , I see that BB is on deck 11. My original cabin was on deck 12. So it may work out.

The cruise fare for our European cruise on the Island Princess in August dropped considerably but the only way we could have the change in price was to re-book and with a guarantee. We originally had a balcony on deck 12 and now the guarantee is for the same category but it looks like deck 11 and by looking at the deck plans, we might be getting a better location. 

Sorry for the somewhat confusing topic heading but it must be the scotch taking effect.

We have an August booking for a European cruise and as I haven't made final payment. I keep a keen eye on pricing. Our booking has a balcony on deck 12 on the Island Princess. Just the other day I noticed a considerable price drop. I got on the shoe phone and contacted my agent, who looked into it and said that he could cancel my original booking and get a new one with the price change but with a caveat that we would have to take a guarantee. We have never had a guarantee and we're taking a leap of faith, so as to speak. All told, we would be saving roughly $1500 CAD. I don't know about other folks here on CC, but that would pay for a handful of excursions. We're also flying into Barcelona for a couple of days pre-cruise, and the extra bucks would easily cover our hotel tab. That's all, carry on!

On 12/23/2023 at 8:38 AM, Hlitner said:

I will slightly disagree with my friend, Ine.  Can you make an 11am flight?  Probably, but there is a slight risk that things can go wrong.  We have easily made a 10:50 am flight, several times, but there is always some anxiety attached to that kind of tight scheduling.  In each case, we pre-booked a private transfer (through Romecabs.com) and had the driver waiting for us by 7:15.  We also used "express debarkation" which is the onboard scheme where you must carry-off all your own luggage.  This means you will be among the first off the ship and do not need to waste time hunting for your luggage.  With the private transfer, you will be dropped at the proper terminal/entrance at FCO.  Just keep in mind that FCO can sometimes be a real zoo, so you want to get there ASAP.  Flying Business Class is somewhat helpful as it does get you priority check-in with most airlines.  

 

Booking the later flight is certainly a safer option, and the final decision comes down to your own risk tolerance.  If you would miss the earlier flight, some airlines will be nice and try to get you on the later flight but in some cases the airlines can be really anal and make your life miserable (and expensive).

 

Hank

Hi Mr. Hank, you're always spot on with your responses. We will be on a European Princess cruise next August and our flight t back home to Montreal out of FCO leaves at 13:20. As we are Platinum with Princess, we will be using express disembarkation and will be booking a car with Roma cabs, I figure we'll have plenty of time to make our flight. 

On 11/19/2023 at 2:10 PM, Steelers36 said:

Perhaps this is what she found: 

 

https://cottagelife.com/general/orillias-island-princess-cruise-ship-up-for-sale-on-facebook-marketplace/

 

LOL 

On 10/3/2023 at 3:35 PM, Steelers36 said:

Readers of this thread should note that the menus at this link were the original draft ones and not the finals that are deployed on the ships.

 

Looking at the ships the venues are no, I've realized that for our next cruise, the Island Princess doesn't have much of a choice.

2 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

These may not be your flights as I don't recall your original post in the deleted thread.  But we can shop fares for early summer next year to Rome (FCO) from Montreal (YUL).  I accidentally began looking at it from YYZ, but recalled you will use YUL and pricing is different of course (costs more it seems).  In late June, Transat begins daily flights - otherwise you have to work around their schedule in shoulder seasons.  

 

Transat sells an Eco Budget ticket which is a bit unusual for transatlantic flying in that it excludes a checked bag and of course other restrictions like no changes or refunds.  EZ-Air is selling the Eco Standard ticket which does include a checked bag (to 50.5 lb).  This is similar to domestic North America where EZ-Air does not sell the stripped down Economy tickets with nothing included, but quotes standard economy (the original economy we are all used to).  If a guest wants to fly most budget all the way, then EZ-Air can be beat, but let's compare apples to apples.

 

For a Rome round trip leaving in late June from YUL and returning July 20, I see EZ-Air at $1,353 for Flexible and $1,453 for Restricted.  So I am not sure which flights you are looking at showing "much lower" in Restricted.  What I see is consistent with what I normally see when shopping airfares.  BTW, since I am in Canada, these fares are showing in CAD on Princess.com.  The flights are NS from YUL-FCO.

 

If I use Transat's website, the Eco Standard fare for same flights is $1,374.  This is $21/pp MORE than EZ-Air and EZ-Air gives complete flexibility to change flights, dates, and airlines until ticketed.

 

If I shop Eco Budget on the same flights on Transat website, the fare is $1,184, which is $169 LESS than the EZ-Air quote.  But, it is an unfair comparison since it is not the same thing. 

 

I realize you can buy the Eco Budget you must be referring to from Transat and then pay $75 fee for a checked bag.  This brings total cost to $1,259.  The savings is $94 over purchasing from EZ-Air, but of course you get added benefits with EZ-Air.  It is up to guest to decide of course if extra cost is worth it.

 

Same with Transat's Option Plus.  At $119, it includes the $75 checked bag, meaning you pay $44 for some extra perks, including seat selection and priority processing.  This seems a valuable offering to me and if I was to fly Transat would likely do that. 

 

Thanks for all of your help. Our cruise is Aug 5th to 25th from Barcelona to Rome. I calculated an Eco Budget with the Option Plus with Air Transat and got a better price had I gone with EZair. The price quoted by  EZair was also Eco budget but, after having spoken to an Air Transat rep, the luggage was not included. With the Option Plus the seats to Barcelona were free and for those on the return flight I chose better seating at a lower cost . With EZair, I would have to factor in the costs of seats at the standard price which would be higher and the cost of the luggage. At the time of this writing, Air Transat Eco Budget with Option Plus and seats & luggage included is $2454.40 for two and EZair is $2828.24. With EZair, the price would be for standard seating and $75 per person per way for the luggage.

Our European cruise next August will be our first post COVID. We are Platinum and for all of our past Princess Cruises I have always rented a tux and DW in a cocktail dress. For the other cruise lines we sailed on, I wore a suit. For this next cruise I'm debating bringing at least a sports jacked on top of chinos.  Our last cruise with Holland was a Med cruise and I wore a suit on that one. We don't mind dressing up a bit.

As I'm checking out CC, I looked into the fares with EZair and the same Air Transat flight is up $400 CAD per per person in Flexible but much lower in Restricted. In fact some of the other larger airlines have lower fares. I'm still better off booking directly with the airlines. As stated before, the Air Transat fare with the extra advantages as with Air Canada, is $300 CAD cheaper.