alwalaska

On 4/21/2024 at 9:52 AM, Cruise Starter said:

Has anyone else had problems linking another Booking number (to create shipmates for booking dining) within the new App or on the Ocean Ready webpage?

 

https://oceanready-personalinfo-ui.prod.ocean.com/

 

I cannot find within the App where I might do that and when I attempt to link the Booking number of my daughter and her husband on the Ocean Ready webpage, it keeps returning to the page to input the booking number without linking the bookings.  
 

It was far easier to complete this on the old App. There seem to be as many problems with this new App as there were with the previous one.

Yes.  I too am having this problem with the web page, but it is too early for us to make reservations, so I didn't know if this added to the problems or not.  I just wanted to try things out so that I could get the dining reservations as soon as we made the final payment.

9 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

I just happened upon this page on Princess.com Personalizer.  I’ve done it before but thought it was moved to the app.  
 

Login

Check in

Dietary Requests

…Distilled water

…Low salt

 

i don’t see a place to write specific allergies.

 

I'm having a hard time with the website today.  I will try again and point you to where I added my allergies if I can find it again.  I can't even get to the dietary requests section today.

@mrell345 Thank you for the review and photos.  Did you do a ship tour or through a 3rd party company?  If 3rd party, which one did you use?

Thanks!

On 4/7/2024 at 7:35 PM, JRay21 said:

On Princess I did the “Rural Communities and Traditions” tour and it was fantastic. Here is the description: Get a feel for how local people live and work on this wonderful off-the-beaten-track half-day excursion. Designed to provide you with a glimpse into traditional Mexican life, you will first explore Piedra de Moros, a community kitchen where you will learn how to make perfect tortillas and tamales before tasting the food. See how the famous Teotitlan del Valle rugs are made from scratch in an interesting demonstration. Shop for embroidered items before moving on to a medicinal plants garden to observe a wide variety of healing herbs, citrus and banana trees. Continue on to Pueblo Viejo to a plot devoted to cultivating nopales (the healthy and tasty prickly pear cactus) with the opportunity to try some of its many different forms of preparation. Then settle down for a palm-weaving demonstration, after which you will be able to shop for more regional gifts before heading back to port, enjoying the stunning Sierra Madre mountain range in the distance.

 

I would absolutely do it again if they offered it on my next cruise. 

Hi. Can you please tell me more about your experiences on this tour?  My typical experience with Princess tours is they load everyone onto a bus stuffed into every available seat. Then after driving a distance, you all get off of the bus where you walk to place 1, stand around and wait for everyone to catch up.  Hear about place one, walk to place 2 (at a fairly rapid pace) then wait for everyone to catch up, hear about place 2, and repeat.  The other type I've seen is where you load and unload the bus multiple times which takes forever each time since there are so many people.

There are a couple of ports on this cruise where I'm tempted to give the Princess tours another try, but I don't want to be disappointed again.

On 2/3/2024 at 4:46 PM, Kathyvenice said:

I have the same question for my upcoming cruise in may 2024.  

Please come back after your visit and tell us about it.  We don't sail until Feb 2025.

On 4/21/2024 at 10:15 AM, Dermotsgirl said:

What if your dietary requirement isn't there, such as low salt ?

The web version of the app has an "other" box that can be filled in.  That is where I put my citrus and rolled oats allergies because they are too abnormal to show up on anyone's lists.

On 4/20/2024 at 4:59 PM, dickinson said:

May I ask why send an email and then at the MDR let them know about the allergies?  What is the purpose of the email?  Could one just let the MDR know on the first night?  I am asking because I will travel with someone who can not eat dairy.  Thanks.

1) It allows the cruise line to plan for how many people will be sailing with special dietary needs. 2) When I've added the info to my account (used to be email, now I used the web version of the app to add the info to my reservation), it is in the computer system and easier for the busy people in the dining room to look something up than try and enter all of the information into the system. 

On 4/8/2024 at 3:46 PM, Paula_MacFan said:

Agreed -- it took me about 10 seconds to open the app and look under Profile. 

I'm glad I used the website.  I don't have "popular" or "normal" allergens and there is no way to list other items from what I can see here.  On the website, there is an Other box with a freeform entry. 

On 4/5/2024 at 10:12 PM, CPs4591 said:

Thanks this is helpful.  Sure wish someone else who has been through this could help as well.  I mean I assume there are dairy free “milks” on board that I can get with coffee or room service, but are there?  Is there GF toast and bread?  Maybe someone who has been through this will see this thread.  Thanks for the help, though.  

I haven't sailed Princess in a while and my allergies are different from yours, but I was watching videos on YouTube and they showed a whole section of gluten-free pastries and muffins at breakfast and at least one gluten-free dessert was shown each day.  Every cruise I have been on they recommend that you not eat in the buffet if you have allergies, but mine are mostly annoyances, not life threatening. At the buffet, someone can get a chef to help you with ingredient info. I'm sure there is at least one non-dairy "milk" on board, but if you want a specific brand or type, I would recommend bringing your own. Although this is a really old email address, you can and reach out to dietaryrequest@princesscruises.com with your questions.

On 4/6/2024 at 10:36 PM, MacMadame said:

But not from smelling it. They'd have to eat it.

Actually, that is not true.  One of my daughter's friends when growing up could not go to restaurants that served certain types of seafood because the oils (or something) can become airborne and he would have very serious life-threatening reactions.  When they went on a school trip, he had to stay on the bus for one restaurant because there was a last-minute substitution of places and he couldn't go into the restaurant.  Luckily, his mom had packed a ton of non-perishable meals for him just in case. 

1 minute ago, cruisetilidrop said:

Also keep the keep the numbers and pin. During COVID I had to cancel a trip I paid with gift cards. Luckily I kept the paper hard copy. The money is refunded to the cards not a check back to you.

Thanks!! That is really good to know.  

@chrysalis Thank you for the menus.  Were you able to see all of them at the beginning of the cruise, or did you capture them on different days?

Once I have gift cards, do I need to give the info to my TA to may payments, or can I do it online on the Princess site?

26 minutes ago, KeepCalmBearOn said:

I think you can't just consider drive time when comparing airports, but the time from when you step off the plane until you are at your destination.

 

For example, at LAX, it can be a very long walk from your gate to baggage claim and then if you want to use a taxi of Uber, you have to transfer to a secondary lot for pick up. Overall it is very time consuming. Add to that that LAX is undergoing massive construction projects and LAX is a bigger disaster than it normally is.

 

LGB and SNA are small airports and very easy to maneuver through. I'd choose either one before LAX. SNA will give you the most flight options.

Good to know.  Thanks.  We had a surprisingly easy time at LAX this past Feb (but we stayed at an LAX hotel with a shuttle, rather than trying to get an Uber and all), so I wasn't as "anti" big airport as I normally would be.

17 hours ago, princeton123211 said:

They won't be, but basically Long Beach Airport is the physically closest airport to San Pedro-- about 20 minutes in normal traffic. That being said, service to and from Long Beach Airport can be limited-- if a flight gets cancelled or delayed you don't have other options like you would at larger airports. 

 

John Wayne and LAX are each about 40-45 minutes away but are larger with LAX having the most choices in airlines and flight times out of the three. 

 

If you have a direct flight from where you are into Long Beach and you can come the day or two prior and you feel good about it-- good option. Small airport that takes minutes to get through and close to the pier. 

 

If you want flexibility and the ability to adapt to changing things like delays or cancellations, LAX or John Wayne would be the way to go. 

Thanks.  We live in the midwest at a small airport, so very little is direct. Also, for this trip, we'll have a companion pass, so Southwest will most likely be the cheapest and all of the surrounding airports when I checked different dates (ours aren't out yet), were within $10 of each other. 

We do not plan on flying in the day of the cruise.  I'm wound a bit too tightly to be able to handle doing that. 🙂

I'm guessing since Long Beach is so much closer, the Uber or whatever transport we take to our hotel will be less expensive too hopefull.

23 hours ago, ccqueenanne said:

I got this 3-pack on Amazon and they even fit my husband's big boned wrist.I've used them multiple times already.

These look like they have square holes and the pictures of the medallion look round.  Does the medallion stay secure in this?

If price, airline choice, and route are all about equal, which airport would you choose for heading to San Pedro for a short hotel stay and then a cruise, and why?

On 10/27/2023 at 10:25 PM, CactusJack57 said:

I’m getting a little tired of begging for Coke zero sugar on Princess Cruises. We are elite, and every cruise on the questionnaire. We plead for them to include Coke zero sugar in their soda lineup. They spent so much time trying to please the alcoholics with every Drink  variety imaginable and seem to think that having 2 diet sodas is acceptable. It’s not and Diet Coke is terrible.

When NCL switched from Pepsi to Coke, they included Coke Zero and that made me very happy. I'm debating whether or not to get a soda package on our upcoming Princess cruise because I strongly prefer Coke 0, but can stomach the diet as long as it isn't served in the can. I'm glad we can still carry on sodas and waters on Princess.  We'll at a minimum bring diet mt dew for hubby since he doesn't like colas really at all.

On 3/18/2024 at 3:15 PM, HeidisCruises said:

We are looking at this hotel for a 1 night stay pre-cruise in late October. Are there issues to consider in getting a cab or Uber to take us to the port? I saw there was a post about possible traffic/construction problems beginning this fall on the bridges. For that reason, we are also looking at the Doubletree, but like the vibe of the Maya better to kick off vacation. We are tied to Hilton brands and using points, so it doesn't look like there are a lot of comparable options. Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

I know it was a long time ago, but we stayed at the Doubletree in 2017 and loved it.  I was only Gold back then and we were upgraded to a suite on the top floor overlooking the marina. We spent two nights there and enjoyed the overall experience. Service was good, hotel was clean.  I'm looking at it again for an upcoming cruise, but we may end up at the Crowne Plaza depending on points and costs.  I wiped out my Marriott and Hilton points on our last big vacation.

On 2/12/2024 at 10:16 AM, Halley's Comet said:

When we were there in January, the shuttle ran every half hour starting at 9:00 am or 9:30.  You have to sign up at the front desk in advance.  We used the 9:30 shuttle and it was full.  

Do they charge for the shuttle if you are staying there, or is it included in the price?

On 2/8/2024 at 3:04 PM, MochiiOwl said:

Can we still use this shuttle service to the terminal if we are not staying at the hotel?

We are thinking of staying elsewhere and returning our rental car to the Enterprise that's connected to the Crown Plaza and then using their shuttle to get to the Princess cruise terminal.

Please let me know how your rental with Enterprise goes.  We did something similar in 2017 and returning the car was a long and hard process.  They didn't have anywhere to line the cars up to return, so the employees would go and put one car away before processing the next.

What we did was hubby dropped me at the ship with all of the luggage and then he walked from Enterprise to the ship.  It is too long of a walk for me, but not for him. 

Someone complaining on another cruise lines forum said that with the Princess app, you could see the menus for the whole voyage so that you could pick which nights you would prefer to do specialty dining or the buffet, etc.  Is this true or an exaggeration?

7 hours ago, XBGuy said:

Here you go, @alwalaska.

 

Reading across the sheet, you can see that my methodology was to items costs for the three pricing scenarios:  Standard Pricing (with not package), Princess Plus addon pricing and Princess Premier addon pricing.

 

The reason, neither plan seem to work for me is that we order wine by the bottle, and the 25% discount that the plans offer on bottle purchases do not cover the cost of the packages.

 

While this spreadsheet demonstrates that the addon packages would cost rather than save me money, anybody can modify it to better reflect their cruising preferences, and I would not be at all surprised if it showed that the packages work out to their benefit.

 

I know that some of the amounts that I have entered for some of the items have to be updated.  Specifically,

• Gratuities.  I really don't recall where I found that number.
• Wi-Fi -- We are Captain's Circle Elite Level.  We also, really don't use internet access very much when we cruise.  So, a single-device plan works fine for us.  However, I know that Princess has increased the rate since I built this.  I think it doubled.
• Specialty Dining -- I know there was an increase (18%?) recently.  That would have to be added in.

 

 

The pricing that I used for the "Wines" line item in the "Standard Pricing" column was based on the final folio from a previous cruise--that was our actual consumption.  The Plus/Premier entries for that line reflect the 25% discount on bottles of wine.  You can see that I created a second version of my spreadsheet starting in row 25.  The only difference here was that I inflated the price of the wines in the "Standard" scenario figuring that Princess had increased their prices since my last cruise.

 

I do not expect people to cruise the same way I do.  Anybody can take these sheets and plug in the numbers that they typically spend.

• I like my coffee hot and black.  The standard hot-and-black coffee offered in the various rooms is fine for me.  Mrs.  XBGuy does not drink coffee.  If you like custom coffees, then enter a line for that.
• In addition to not drinking wines by the glass, we do not drink cocktails.  If you do, then put in a line for that.
• We do not attend fitness classes.  If you do, . . . .
• If you require multi-device connectivity, then you would would have to update the Wi-Fi line.

 

We have a domestic situation that precludes us from cruising in the immediate future,  When that situation is resolved, I will look at this comparison again, and see whether or not it works for me.

Thank you for taking the time to post all of that.  It is very helpful.

On 4/11/2024 at 1:07 PM, XBGuy said:

@Drew B 58, your new approach is completely reasonable.  Go for it.

 

I am also an analytical guy.  Some time ago I posted a comparison spreadsheet that pretty convincingly demonstrated that neither of the package plans "pencil out" for me.  However, what works for me has nothing to do with what works for somebody else.

 

I agree that a cruise should be a "splurge."  Don't deny yourself.

@XBGuy Do you happen to have a copy of your spreadsheet that you would be willing to share?  I tried to look through your older posts, but wasn't able to find it.  

15 hours ago, UpcountryTravelers said:

So...just what is the difference between traditional and reserved?  Just the times available? I predict confusion by eliminating anytime, which has been our preferred for years.

 

 

15 hours ago, Rudy888 said:

The difference is with traditional you have the same table , same waiter. And if you share the same tablemates, 

Reserved, same time. But maybe different table and waiter. 

 

I thought on Reserved you would be able to pick different times on different evenings.  Way back in 2018, last time we sailed Princess, you could reserve a different time each night. Traditional is same time whole trip, same table, same people, etc.  I hope that is what it will be again.