FlaMariner

Yep.  

Our two April cruises are now at the new tips of $16/day when I view the pre-pay online option....looks like we missed our opportunity to save $2 a day. 

That now explains why our TA was unable to get an answer from HAL regarding if we would be "grandfathered" if we bought them online before the price went up. They were scurrying to get the website updated with the new amount. 

Makes sense.

No worries.....

No personal experience but the MDR is not listed in this "exclusion" venues list.....(from the website description of the quench package):

The package excludes purchases made in the Mini Bar, Juices at Gelato, Room Service and beverages purchased on Half Moon Cay. 

5 hours ago, mwj said:

We have no problem with an increase in the crew appreciation.

 

However, it will entail a cutback in the additional cash we give to crew.

We have generally given an additional eleven dollars a day (~$150 for a 14 day cruise) cash to crew at the end of the voyage. The amount per crew member varying base upon level of service. We will likely now only give cash to crew members for outstanding service.

Agree.

I'm going to rethink our tip strategy.......Along with the auto charge tips, we've tossed cash around to those onboard who have exceeded our expectations (and sometimes we have filled out the form to increase the auto charge tips).....Maybe it's time to just let HAL assess the tips and we stop w/the extra cash......

Our next cruise is $74/day per person....at $16/day, tipping charge represents 22% of our cruise fare....seems reasonable but perhaps that's the ceiling. 

13 minutes ago, Seasick Sailor said:

Don't care how much it increases. 

You can visit guest services and they will happily give you a form to complete to increase the tip amounts to a higher amount that "you do not care about"......The crew will be most appreciative!

We've used the form in the past to clear out our OBC and also to add a few bucks when expectations were exceeded.

3 hours ago, Native Floridian 26 said:

HAL website still doesn't reflect this increase and my major cruise TA doesn't have any info on it yet.

I emailed my TA (big internet TA) 1/6 after reading on here about the tip increase....

(I wanted to find out if I bought tips pre-increase, would that be "grandfathered")

She got back to me on 1/9 saying she was having difficulty getting an answer on and was still checking.

I wonder what is up?  Is this an internet rumor or for real? Or a corporate secret that got out early?

LOL.

Could we help you with your question on here?

(In the last couple of years, I find calling a company on a phone to be mostly a waste of time)

8 of us planning a DIY day at Taormina...Looks like it's a tender port at Giardini Naxos. 

Suggestions from those that have gone before us?

How best to get from pier to town and back?

2 hours ago, ctbeacher said:

Hi.  How mobbed is it for pre-dinner drinks - say from 7-8:00?  Do seats around the pianos turn over much?

 

Thanks to all for the great information.

We've had no problem getting seats around the piano when we arrive after first sitting dinner...so around 7ish.....Sometimes we will "hold court" at our good seats around the pianos for the entire evening but we've also scored seats around the piano after attending the first show in the main theatre.

.....and yes, the seats will turn over during the evening......but does seem to vary by ship/performers

YMMV.....

Enjoy Billboard Onboard......it's our favorite entertainment venue

You are fine without it....IMO.

Here is what we use it for (sometimes) and what is the alternative:

boarding pass at embarkation ......print it instead

ordering at dive in & NY pizza......order at the counter and get pager for when ready

daily schedule......paper schedule delivered to your room

communicate with guest services......visit guest services

use text feature to tell Her Majesty that I am at the bar.......leave paper note in room

Menu at MDR......view it on TV

onboard account (I think it is on there)......view it on TV

Others may have more but from our experience, anything you can do on the app, has an easy alternative.....Again, not missing out, IMO.....we've been known to lock away our phones and we are just fine.

Enjoy the cruise........

Got a group of 8 and we will be in in Malta for the day......

Any recommendations for a private tour?

(We are interested in making the most of our day and seeing all that we can)

I think you are supposed to de-tox in there......and drink the cucumber water....LOL....but drinking wine while on the warm lounges sounds much more fun....or a glass of wine while in the hydro pool....oh my.

44 minutes ago, TRLD said:

Then he went the dispute route for approximately $300. 2  people 149 each. End result dispute contested and denied and son banned.

I would agree w/Princess and the credit card company.....and perhaps if I was Princess, that might not be a passenger I would want onboard again......The "contract" regarding excursions is fairly cut and dry regarding when/how to cancel.  Not any wiggle room for him to get out of it just because he thought the weather was bad.....and the credit card company agreed also.

Filing a credit card dispute is for whenever you cannot get money back due to negligence of the merchant.....the above was not any fault of Princess but rather a lack of knowledge by the passenger.

Just my 2cents on the situation......and experience.

I've never read or seen or experienced anyone's mouthwash being confiscated....I've also not read of any rule in the "before you sail" information restricting mouthwash in a plastic bottle......All the personal hygiene and personal toiletries in my luggage must be made of a type of plastic that does not harm/upset folks as those are allowed.

But whatever they use for plastic for water bottles seems to be really bad for the environment.

(I do not understand but that seems to be the way it is handled)

Bring on the Listerine.....no matter what's in the bottle!

17 minutes ago, TRLD said:

Have not heard of any cases involving cruise lines and basically would not expect to,

Agree. Me either. 

Recommending filing a dispute w/the credit card company seems like helpful advice & possibly easy solution for the OP. (IMO)

6 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

There are a number of possibles charges that can't be added to your account until after you have left the ship.

We've been charged post cruise for the shipment of left luggage home for someone else......We were mistakenly charged instead of the legit pax...After getting the run around from HAL and their long delays in "researching", we filed a dispute thru the credit card and the $$$ were credited back.

54 minutes ago, TRLD said:

Disputes should be a last resort option, not a first resort option.

Agree.  

First resort is working w/HAL to get it resolved.....and the OP has done his job (IMO) of trying to get HAL's attention but it is not working and the delays are (IMO) unacceptable......It's time (IMO) to use the 2nd resort which is the benefit of paying with a credit card.....the dispute process. 

41 minutes ago, Real NHDOC said:

I have filed several disputes over the years and even had to resort to suing HAL once and am still welcomed aboard.

Ditto....I've filed two disputes w/HAL over the years and they were efficiently handled and both landed in my favor.....Not abusing HAL and they must not think so as I am also welcomed onboard...along with my $$$.

Both disputes were after too much time on hold with HAL, phone tag and no responses back....and that is all documented in the dispute case......I'm sure some do abuse the dispute process and I do not blame a merchant for saying "no soup for you".......but there is a difference between a legit dispute and abusive dispute......The $11 dispute seems legit to me and I'm certain HAL will not want to banish the pax from cruising again.

16 minutes ago, WVU_Neal said:

Doing a credit card dispute is in essence a “nuclear option.” In this case, not worth the effort.

From my experience, filing a dispute is perhaps a two minute effort......I click the transaction in online banking and complete the form and attach my documents.  Done.  

For me, the "back and forth" and waiting for the merchant to do the right thing is not worth the effort. 

No more drama.  The pros handle it and I get a confirmation letter or two. 

Good luck and keep us updated on how/when/if HAL responds. 

Our experience (Nov 2022) at Park n Go was that they did not care about the time on our reservation. 

They run a tight ship and get a lot of cars out/in at one time.  

On 1/4/2024 at 6:13 PM, WVU_Neal said:

After returning from an October cruise, I noticed an overcharge on my statement of $11.

Anytime I have a credit card charge that is incorrect and after I've attempted to contact the merchant with no success (or a ridiculous turn around time as you have experienced), I simply call my credit card company and file a dispute and let them handle it.....That's one of the reasons we use a credit card to pay for stuff.

I would not waste further time/energy on it and let the pros handle it.

Good luck......(and I have not read the entire post so forgive me if all this has been discussed)

Enjoy the journey........not the hassles. 

Passing along my "stockperks" experience......

Uploaded my stock statement (took a pic of the computer screen...LOL) 

Approved in 2 days

Once approved, I entered my info and the OBC was approved in 4 hours

I'll give it a week and then verify w/TA.

Easy peezy and, IMO, a better way to handle......

Prices for us are still quite the deal.....especially with the 50% Mariner Discount.....

Package one is $14.25 a bottle (8 bottle package) + 18% tip on $28.50 = $19.38 a bottle......That's less than $5 a glass (4 pours to the bottle).......(somebody double-check my math)

Enjoy the journey....and the onboard wine prices!

54 minutes ago, Horizon chaser 1957 said:

So we were officially denied, but unofficially approved.

Yahoo!  I'd call that a win!

Good for you for filling out the form and giving it a try......

Our experience is that we select our own "check in" time by arriving at the port when it works for us ........Post Covid, we've never paid any attention to the "check in" time and we have been welcomed to enter the embarkation area at Seattle, Port Everglades 2x, the Netherlands and Chile.

(The line moves rather fast now with the face recognition and keys at the stateroom)

Disclaimer:  YMMV.

Enjoy the journey.....

51 minutes ago, Suzanne123 said:

I’m not getting an option.  If I try to bypass the screen, it won’t go any further.

Try by hitting the X in the top right....Once I tried to "abandon" after the log on credential requirement, the app then gave me the option to upload the statement.