WatchHill

Frustration with the Medallion App will cause me to make excessive use of the beverage package. I made a reservation for the Crown Grille, $87 confirmed for the 3 of us, at 6:30pm. It's on my credit card. That was over a month ago, today the App shows 7:20pm. Looks like I need to pay a visit to the grille as soon as we get onto the ship - either back to the confirmed 6:30 time or recourse to my credit card. I do not appreciate the disfunctional App games. I did manage to book 6:30 in the Amalfi for 4 other nights - they disappeared a few times, but are back on...for how long, who knows? Who is making these disasterous decisions at Princess? My TA notes the long history of IT issues with the line. Darcy

One of the options for our upcoming Enchanted Princess cruise extends to 4:30 pm - the ship sails at 4: Yet another well thought out option on the damn medallion. We'll be sitting in the Elite/suite area about 11: am. Darcy

We're sailing on the Enchanted mid November and find you comments very helpful. I had planned to pick up Estee products with the 10% discount [no MA salwes tax]. Looks like I'll log onto my Macy's account today and pick up items I need and come out $$ ahead. Not a fan of logo items uless it's "runway" associated. I have always loved Vines, especially the wine flights. It's location in the Atrium offered extra seating for the International Cafe, too. Princess needs to bring back Vines ASAP. We have no interest in Salty Dog or the Bistro - neither menu appeals to me. I agree that Princess needs to explore an alternate dining option to better meet revenue expectations. Other crusei lines have done this, time for Princess to copy others. Heck, I really liked The Brazilian Grille on NCL, or what about something with an Asian flair? Ah, another preson who avoid salt. Cruise food, like all restaurant food, tends toward very high sodium. Even the so called No Added Salt items come onto the ship in a salted preservative. Keeping an open mind in anticipation of our upcoming cruise. It's a much needed vacation. Darcy

My fuzzy memory recalls when Princess first introduced technology to pair with our iphones. Passengers were encouraged to download something associated with their booking and cabin; doing so, you could go to any bar and show this feature that entitled you to a free drink. DH, wanting to sever ties with his moblie phone, left it at home - I got my free drink and he had to pay for his. Now we have the beverage package, so something similar wouldn''t work. Maybe a small OBC for first time users? Darcy

IMO, people tend to go for the familiar, uncertain about venturing beyond their comfort zone - Holiday Inn, Embassy Suites, Hilton, etc. Trip Adv has reviews of this property. Darcy

Novotel Miami is part of a hotel brand, owed by Accor in France. Accor group owns Ibis, Fairmont, Delano, Swisshotel and a lot more - it's a HUGE company, world wide presence. We always stay at Novotel Southampton prior to a UK sailing and have been very pleased with the hotel. Darcy

Princess will probably add it to the Medallion App, sort of like using Waze, but with an added charge that you can book through Shorex. Darcy

DH likes to send out his Dockers and casual shorts. They seem to tolerate the hot water and dryer. The one time I sent out my shorts, a zipper was damaged and could not be repaired. With easy access to self laundry, it's easy to toss in a load or two and press as needed. With the shift to more casual attire, using the laundry works for us. Oh, I always pack a few packets of travel unscented HE detergent to use rather than buy on the ship - there have been times when the machines haven't been refilled and you may have to run deck to deck in search on a dispenser with products you need. I wonder with the Medallion, if I can equest a drink [martini] and have it delivered to the laundry room. Darcy

Check out Hyatt House in Dania. We reserved a two king bed, two full bath, living room with fully equipped kitchen for two night in mid November. Total cost with all fees and taxes, a bit over $600. Splitting the cost, so it works out less than two adjoining rooms and Hyatt Place. This was military/veterans rate, also included breakfast. Darcy

The Bistro menu has little appeal to me. IMO, it's but another revenue source that isn't generating the bottom line the bean counters anticipated. Personally, I would like to see Vines return to the Atrium primarily because we like the wine flights and it offers additional seating for the International Cafe. Maybe moving Salty Dog from the Atrium to the Bistro location would work. However, there's no way I'm paying $18 for a burger. For our upcoming Enchanted cruise the only "extra' dining venue we reserved is the Crown Grille. I liked the old, old Sabatini's menu, not the current offerings. Darcy

I looked at Hyatt Place Dania for Nov 11, prices start at $228. If you are AAA or miilitary, or any other affinity group, Hyatt member, etc. you could get a lower price. If you go with Hyatt, then join their member program, no cost to join, free breakfast and I think that particualr Hyatt has frequent pick up and drop at the airport and PE. Darcy

Also check Hyatt Place in Dania, just south of the airport. We, too, were not able to book Hyatt Place Convention Center for the following week, looked at Hyatt Place in Dania and Hyatt House Dania - booked House since there were three adults fo rmultiple nights. There are quite a few hotels throughout the area, you have to search to find one at your price point. Darcy

Go to Resorts for a Day to book this. It includes transportation to and from and a food credit, towels and lounge chair. We have this booked through our TA's web site and have used "resorts" on numerous islands. Darcy

When you check in at the Hyatt, verify that they have your Hyatt Loyalty membership number on the reservation. It can be added then. Normally with the Hyatt membership, you can grab a complimentary bottle of water and always get the breakfast. We never book hotels through a third party - too many potential issues. It happened twice and never again. Plus booking directly has always given us the best rate options. Can you go into the Hyatt site and see if the reservation is there or does VT not do this? Darcy

IMO the App has selective functiionality - It works for some people for some things some ttime. You need to have access to the web site and App at teh sam etime to do everything that's required. Whoever developed this gimmick medallion never conmsiderd the need for redundancy when one system fails. When we get any tour tickets in our cabin, I use a magnetic clip and post the tickets onto the wall or any metallic surface. I'm still requesting a printed Paatters and will highlight things I want to do - easier than trying to scan through the info on the annyoing App. atters gets posted, too. I do the same thing with any important notices, reservations, Elite lounge schedule, etc. "Seeing" things [visual learner] works for me as this brain gets a bit foggy while enjoying a few more beverages than I normally enjoy when at home. Darcy

Sun Trolley has a nearby stop or walk toward the Hilton Marina and take a 3 hour tour on the water taxi. Darcy

I booked online, using the pull down menu on my TA's web site. I put in the cruise we're on and it comes up with offerings for each port. It was $139 pp. This includes transportation to and from the resort, access to pools and ocean, lounge chairs and towels, WiFi and a $65, pp credit for food and beverages at the Salty Iguana Ocean Grille. Once I did the reservation, my TA added this to the booking so it's covered by cruise insurance. We've used Resorts on previous cruises and have been very happy with the porduct. Darcy

We have done Normandy related tours a few times, each with Overlord - excellent reputation and you can customize segments. I book directly are add fellow passengers to form a small group, less than 8 or 9 in the van. Use your roll call to connect. Darcy

They're supposed to be on the Medallion App - Darcy

DH has always been a vodka martini drinker, then he discovered Chairman of the Board while chilling out at the Platinum/Elite Lounge. On our upcoming November Enchanted cruise I'll be sipping my tradtional cosmo. With the beverage package, we may be tempted to sample a few new drinks as long as they are not super sweet. I know we have wine tasting, but don't recall martini sampling on Princess. Always loved that on Celebrity cruises. Darcy

I submitted an email with brokerage statement attached, a week ago, no form, just required info written on monthly stock statement. Today, the OBC was posted for our November cruise. I've done this multiple times [used to fax back then] for prior cruises and do not recall any notification. At least it's there for our use. Darcy

We always try for the Hyatt Place Place off 17th, near Harbor Shops, but couldn't get rooms for our November cruise. Since we've also stayed at Hyatt Place, Dania, I considered booking there. But, since we're 3 adults, I checked out Hyatt House Dania and got a 2 king bedroom suite, 2 baths, with kitchen, etc., for less than 2 separate rooms. Hyatt Place Dania is located at 91 Southwest 18th and Hyatt House is located at 90 Southwest 18th - across the parking lot from each other. Darcy

Pre-medallion, it was up front coming out of the existing OBCs. As of an hour ago, there weren't any additional OBCs. Not worth worrying over, though something to either deal with once on the ship, or a post cruise letter. Clarity within the entire pre-cruise booking, medallion, reservations, uploading docs, pre-cruise purchases, etc., is lacking. Darcy

And I thought it was my quasi IT skill level! DH is listed as Elite and I'm Platinum. My sister who is in another cabin, by herself, and was Platinum a few years ago is now showing first time cruiser! DH reserved a few floating water toys and also booked a Princess 4x4 in Dominica never got the 10% Elite discount. Waiting to speak with a human at Princess appears worthless. Once onboard, we'll deal with these issues. Bottom line, Princess needs to find a few highly qualified IT people to get their technology up to speed. Gee, I think I said that when on the Crown inaugural. Darcy

We have a cruise in November '22, arriving a few days ahead of the voyage to ensure we get to FLL from BOS in case of air delays. Upon arrival in FLL, we are heading to the airport rental center to pick up our reserved Enterprise vehicle and then to Hyatt House. At the present time, there isn't a return site by the port, so we'll return the car to the airport location the morning of the cruise and either taxi or Uber to the port. Darcy