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We cancelled our March 10 sailing on March 6 and were told 10 business days for FCC and refunds of taxes, fees and any on- board purchases. The refund of on-board purchases (excursions and service charges) appeared on our credit card just a few days after the cancellation. Our FCC (for cruise and ez air fares) appeared in our Captain Circle accounts about 2 weeks after, then disappeared from the accounts to re-appear again on April 1st. In early April we did not yet have our refund for taxes and fees so we contacted our credit card company, provided them with the documents showing the amounts received by Princess for the cruise and air along with the cancellation notices. It took just a few days for the credit card company to refund us the amount for taxes and fees.  

19 minutes ago, Ombud said:

Which ship? I want to do this!!

Sun Princess, Indian Ocean and South Africa Odyssey (46 days) out of Perth, South Africa. I think they offer this cruise every 3 years or so. We took it in January 2020 and it was wonderful.

From a recent cruise to South Africa.

Hello from Ottawa,

everything is pretty much closed here as well except for grocery stores, pharmacies and take-out. My husband and I are near the end of our 14 days self-isolation period since we returned from abroad in early March. We had left Canada in December and were supposed to be away until the end of March with 2 back to back cruises out of Australia.  We cancelled our second cruise, re-booked flights and flew home early when we saw things getting worse. We are glad we did not wait for the Government to tell us to get back home as many people are now stranded with countries shutting down borders. So far our health is good so hopefully we did not pick up the virus in our travels. The weather is nice here with the spring sun melting the snow. Once we are out of self-isolation we will be able to take walks (while maintaining the recommended distance from everyone else). Hope everyone keeps safe and healthy.

This happened to me also today. The FCC was there earlier this week but gone today. I phoned Princess and they can still see it at their end and don't know why it is not showing in my account. They said when we are ready to book a new cruise to phone them if the credit is not available on-line and they can apply it.

It took 8 business days for our FCC to appear in our accounts. Some refunds to our credit cards appeared after a few days (like pre-paid service charges). The other refunds (taxes, fees, air tickets) took about 10 business days to show on our credit card.

Yes we will book again. We were on a Princess ship in early March doing back to back cruises in Australia. Given the situation with the virus, we decided to cancel the second cruise and fly home early. Princess was very accommodating. No cancellation fees even though we cancelled just a few days before the second cruise. We got future cruise credits and all fees and taxes (including air tickets) were reimbursed on our credit card. 

Great review. We were on the Crown for the 33 day cruise that ended in Fort Lauderdale on March 20. Disembarkation was delayed a bit - Princess told us that because some guests brought food off the ship the custom officials were inspecting all luggage which was delaying things. But when we did get off the ship we were able to find our luggage and pass customs all in a few minutes thanks to the mobile passport app which we used and which allowed us to bypass all the long lines.

Thank you for the great blog! We are getting on board the Crown tomorrow for the Valparaiso to FLL cruise. We have been in Santiago and area for 5 days now and the weather (and everything else) has been perfect! Safe travels for the remainder of your trip.

link to bridge cam

Spectacular photo Linda!

The laundry room is open!! I repeat. The laundry room is open!! ;)

 

I've had a super day in Punta del Este. We were VERY late sailing away...... first time Celebrity have used this port apparently..... or is it maybe just a first time for THIS ship...... not sure. Lovely guide. As it's a sea day tomorrow I hope to catch up with posting pics.

 

I want to leave you with something to read tonight..... this relates to me saying there was a surprise in store. Have some Patters :

Great to hear laundry working again!:)

Linda,

thank you for posting all the pics of the ship!

Could you let us know if the laundry opens eventually. We are boarding the Crown on Feb 15 and I was counting on being able to do my laundry on board.... My packing plans will have to change if the laundry remains closed....

Have a wonderful cruise.

Helene

Wonderful pictures Linda!

Great blog Linda. We will be on the next cruise Feb 15 Valparaiso to Fort Lauderdale. Your blog makes me feel like we are already there!

I am considering booking this aft balcony cabin (C748) for a 2018 cruise. I have had aft cabins before on other cruise lines and enjoy them. Anyone with recent experience with this Diamond Princess cabin?

I am considering getting this cabin for a cruise in 2018. It is a B4 premium aft balcony. Has anyone recently stayed in it? Any issues?

Couldn't log on this morning with my laptop so have come to the D lounge for a quick update. Was not so easy to get on here either. Popping more pics up will have to wait a bit, sorry Ron.

 

I'd heard about a letter that was delivered to rooms on Day 1 of this cruise but I didn't get one; then last night it was mentioned that Capt Gustavo would be talking on the TV about it after Graham's breakfast show. So at midnight I watched it. The Capt gave a full explanation with a map about the process. I called GS to get sight of the letter and she said it would be delivered. It hadn't by this morning so I went to GS... at 0715 they were just drawing the curtains on Deck 5 Centrum. She said the letter was with housekeeping which really isn't any use if the drill is at 1030.... but still.... they had piles of them out on the counter in 3 languages.

 

This may sound crazy but I'm concerned about going into details..... they're not much and pretty obvious really. He talks about lookouts and evasive action. He mentioned 'full speed' on the TV. On hearing the code word 'Safe Haven' further announcements will be given, people in Inside Rooms can stay there. People with balconies and OV are to go into the corridors. People in lounges will be directed by staff away from windows.

 

I've not seen any barbed wire or water cannon..... was that comment earlier for real?

 

Will let you know how the drill goes.

Hello Linda,

we left the ship in Dubai (to fly to Istanbul where we are now) but am still following your blog so feel as if I am still on the cruise. lol

re security, we did a similar cruise last December (Italy to Dubai) and we did not have barbed wire but did have water cannons, lookouts and black-outs. we were able to go out on decks, however, every night. everything went well on that cruise so am hoping for smooth sailing for you as well.

Helene

We had the consecutive cruiser meet today.... the one I didn't know about having been assured by Guest Services that they do know I am staying on board... my room steward assured me today I AM on his list for next cruise.... thing is Guest Services still don't have me on the manifest.

 

Some of the questions people were asking..... quite a few about wine.... packing everything up for room changes.... not all had answers.... like what are they to do with their valuables.... there is to be a letter detailing the whole process.... my concern is that I even get that letter, let alone the seapass card.... everyone has to have checked out by 9 am on the 17th.... the GS manager has promised to ensure that I do in fact get one. One chap wanted to know about Casino credit..... he didn't have any.... In the queue for the GS Manager afterwards someone was actually complaining that RCL didn't have a system for recognising Consecutive Cruisers so as to avoid the need for a new seapass card, the closing of accounts and so on. Intimated that they would be losing guests as a result. I think there are other reasons that RCL will be losing guests..... at lunch people were complaining that the quality of the films being shown was very poor. It appears that the films shown on the big screen poolside are a different format to the ones shown in the theatre.

 

Graham Seymour (the CD) lead an interesting and at times very funny briefing. I get a hug from him after....

 

Dining times are reverting for the next cruise..... so 1st sitting will be at 6pm.

 

Royal are putting on free shuttle buses from the port in Dubai to a mall.... not clear which one yet.... on the 16th and 17th. There will be a consecutive cruisers lunch but they want numbers for catering purposes.

 

Currently sat all alone in the Schooner Bar... the roll call had posted a catch up meet and time here..... ho hum....

We are consecutive cruises from Sydney to Dubai and the Singapore turn around went very well. We did not have to change cabins so cant comment on that but we did get our new seapass the night before arriving in Singapore along with a "transit" card to ensure that we did not have to go through the check-in when we came back to the port after a day of exploring Singapore.

It all worked very well. We got off the ship around 8:30 am to go out for the day and came back in the afternoon. with our transit cards we by-passed the check-in to walk back on the ship with our new seaspass card. Overall it was a very easy process. Hope it works as well for you consecutive cruisers who are going on to Istanbul.

I'm hoping RCL are following this.

 

Wait staff at my dining table (MTD) are exceptional, from the Maitre d' at the door down..... names shout out : Jackie and Avelino. They are what bring me to the MDR each night. My last cruise, which was on Oasis I devolved pretty quickly to the WindJammer..... not had one evening meal in WJ this cruise. Am sat with other CC-ers. We have the same table each night, pretty much the same time each night. I'm not asked about wanting decaf cappuccino or bottled water..... it appears by magic. My friends have their wine glasses continually refilled. And wait till you see the pic of the table for my birthday.....

 

Then Guest Services shout out to Adriana. She's been the source of the daily Compass .pdf. Without fail. And she will answer questions I have by email. Not having seen her since day 1 we bumped into each other very very late one night this week when I decided to pay my bill to that point and she was on night duty. Was like running into a friend not seen in a long time.

 

There's a lovely man at the Solarium bar..... my eyes don't reach to his name badge and to my continued dismay my ability to recall names is touchy but I will remember for a subsequent post..... he knows I'm there for the freshly squeezed OJ and always smiles and greets me personably asking about my day.

 

And finally my lovely room steward Rudi whose quiet administrations are really very much appreciated. He has many rooms on his list; I cannot fault him at all.

I agree with Linda - most of the staff on the ship have been excellent.

we got on the cruise in Sydney so this is day 28 for us. We have had the same server and assistant serve in the MDR (MTD) because they are wonderful - Bonaficio and Anthony. The bottle of sparkling water appears on our table without asking and they even remember what we had on the previous leg of this trip! The Maitre D has tried hard to sit us in their section every night and we have had excellent service.

Our cabin stewart is also excellent. we kept the same cabin for the two cruises and were happy to have the same stewart.

This level of service makes our cruise even better!

I've had the most amazing day. Am currently sat in Izumi catching up with the UK election results.

 

Pinnawala is a long way from Colombo but is so worth the schlep. I'd have stayed longer. We stopped en route on the way up; can't wait to share the pics.

 

Good to hear others have had a great day too. Details of our guide are a few posts back.

We went to Pinnawala yesterday also but on the ship's excursion. Went there by train (nice scenic trip of about 2 hours) and back by bus (lots of traffic so took longer than the train but interesting). I agree with Linda, Pinnawala is worth the effort. Loved our day with the elephants.