Womble99

We use either our ING or Ubank debit cards, neither have foreign transaction fees. But as always it pays to do your research to ensure a product is right for you.

2 hours ago, Dr. Peds said:

The more Princess does to reward pre-planning and those who are willing to commit earlier the happier I am.

Not sure that is the case here. They are not proposing dropping the price for pre-purchases which would be rewaring those who pre plan, rather they are increasing the price for those who delay (and therefore increase their profits) effectively punishing those late to the party.

No generosity on display here from Princess for pre planners.

36 minutes ago, Ricklan said:

Not recommended. The staff works hard and deserve your appreciation

Funny thought that, would it be logical that if the staff worked hard the employer would have paid them appropriately for their efforts?

On 2/15/2025 at 2:07 PM, arxcards said:

They don't go out of their way to promote, and I haven't seen these openly promoted here either. We prebooked via the personaliser.

Geoff are they (UBD) listed at the same price onboard? Often there is some issues with the website converting USD to AUD....

Have never had one inform us they were leaving, just either receive an email out of the blue from someone else or get the no replies to your own emails and calls when you try to contact them.

I thought they removed 360 from the suite perks a while ago?

On 1/26/2025 at 5:08 PM, OzKiwiJJ said:

On the Coral Australian world cruise they padded them out with mushrooms. We asked for some without mushrooms so they replaced them with caramelized red onions. I was not happy! 

 

It will be interesting to see what they offer on our upcoming Diamond cruise next month 

There was none on offer on the Diamond in January for us

The Thermal spa was included with our suite on our last cruise on the Diamond, is the enclave included with suites on the Royal class ships?

On board an no surprise it is the cabin we booked. The only thing we heard from Princess was the late boarding notice....

Don't think we will bother with any more bids

So far we have never heard anything back on any bid we have ever placed. Each one has been radio silence until boarding and our original cabin awaited. 

Never anything about being outbid or other offers. See what happens when we board tomorrow, I am betting it is the cabin we booked (3 bids were placed)

We have sailed in the Aft Vista suites on a couple of the Grand class ships and they all have had a pull out sofa for the 4th so I expect the Caribbean will be the same.

17 minutes ago, Ozwoody said:

The second is priced without the Gratuities include to suit the USA market.

 

A confusion arises in differencing between Gratuities & tipping.

 

The Gratuities in the second one is not really tipping as we know it, but an alternative way of paying wages.

So when you delete Gratuities in the second case you are deleting peoples wages

And this is where I find the problem to be, the insistence to call the avoidance of paying employees a fair wage and expecting the customer to pay it for you a Gratuity.

The whole idea of paying a gratuity or tip for good service is far in the past nowadays that the process is a complete farce. All I ever read is how so many seem to believe that you must tip upfront and well for good service (bribery) or how a gratuity is compulsory and is auto included on all bills regardless of quality of service etc it is an expectation.

Slight difference in size but the main difference is the balcony. Most of the Vista suites have a reasonable obstruction (a pillar) on the grand class ships where the Penthouse Aft suites have minimal or no obstruction.

Have a look at images on cruisedeckplans to get an idea

On 12/19/2023 at 11:13 PM, AZjohn said:

What about the cigarette smoke smell spilling over from Casino next door?

Never a problem when booking down here as there is no smoking in the casino 😉

9 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

The disabled do not have to get a dog from any organization. Currently it is an honor system. No certification or paperwork. For that to change congress has to change the law. A new bureaucracy would have to be set up. Good look with that. 

Lucky not every country is the same then huh? There are places where you do require certification and paperwork and it is necessary to have it re-accredited regularly for service animals.

So it is possible 🤷‍♂️

Still don't get how they charge the mocktails against the alcohol drink limit for the package when they are included with the soda package which doesn't include any alcoholic drinks at all?

Thanks John and Hilary, your adventures have been an enjoyable read and we have looked forward to each installment 🙂

Has anyone tried this venue since the Diamond has returned? There is a few mixed reviews on the princess board from Sapphire but I am interested to hear what our locals think?

Is it worth a go on our next venture aboard the Diamond?

I guess it also depends where you are cruising as well since the laws are different in different parts of the world.

We didn't have any so we will see if we can refare ours when we are onboard in Jan 🤞

8 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

Why not put that same island by Manly or Double bay

I am guessing size would be an issue with double bay as the island proposed is over a km wide?

For $50B why not just build another OPT opposite the one they already have?

Ditch the Pullman etc and build one on the eastern side (dons flame suit 😁)

3 hours ago, arxcards said:

It is more convenient for me to fly to Brisbane or Melbourne than it is to take 3 trains and 4hrs to Port Kembla. That makes it complex enough to recommend an overnight stay

Funny, I would rather fly to Perth than cruise out of Melbourne but each to their own 🤷‍♂️

2 hours ago, arxcards said:

Hey, and the good news is that we can access existing attachments that were not previously viewable - like this one with the 26/27 Princess schedule.

 

Awesome! This is what we have been missing 😃

I have seen folks try with spreadsheets as well as documents. It seems we have the ability to post an image or a link but not anything of substance which maybe useful to someone else?