Cruise Raider

Smart!! My neighbor drinks martinis exactly like that when we go out.

We will be booking this sailing as well.

Yes

Sorry to hear about the hotel. A friend of mine was in this situation and she just told me that she got her reimbursement a couple of weeks ago and that was from late May/early June. So, about two months is maybe what you are to expect. She also knows all the ins and outs and picked her own hotel. It’s my understanding that they will reimburse up to a certain amount .. so she just paid the extra. You mentioned you don’t feel much like eating but be sure to keep your strength up. You will be able to fight off the infection much easier if you keeping up your nutrition. Best of luck to you in getting back home soon!

Why wouldn’t they report it? It’s the right and decent thing to do!

The Ruby is going to be back in SF for the Alaska season for 2023. I think the Crown will replace her in October 2023. Not sure where she is going from there.

We traveled on her a couple of times and although the more recent on her was better, she still had some issues. This is when she was fairly new. The worst we’d seen was her totally losing all power .. just dead in the water. There were other issues that were related to management decisions and untrained staff, which I understand are fleeting. But, these memories still give me pause to book on her again. The propulsion problems and other issues being reported lately confirm that it is a ship that we are likely to avoid.

Good to know. Mine were during the height of the pandemic so it may be different now but it seems like mine were reloaded in about 6 weeks. Everything was slowed down at that point in time.

I do remember seeing ships over there from time to time but don’t know which ones were over there. oh .. and I probably won’t be jumping to cruise on the Crown, either … it’s probably my least favorite ship on which I’ve cruised.

I would do as @PacnGoNow suggested and call the hotel. Ask there if they are on the up and up. I wouldn't blame Princess as it is easy to copy a logo and use it fraudulently, if that is what is happening. Next, contact your credit card company to see what they can do to help you. If they need to reissue you a new credit card, they will let you know.

I've seen it before on my cruises. I believe there is even a clause in the contract that extra taxes, port and government fees can be passed along to the passengers when they are increased. There's probably a threshold where they will need to contact you to make sure it is ok with you. As others have said, I've seen reductions as well on my folio as well due to those fees being overestimated.

I've never had any trouble upgrading (and sending in more money) after final payment. The problem seems to only occur when you are looking to get money back. If they try to tell you it is only for 'new bookings', then ask them what it would cost you to cancel, pay the penalties and rebook. They've always just refared it for me. LOL! I'm sure there has been some eye rolling going on from the other end of the phone. Now, I have a really good travel planner down at Princess so I never have to go down that road anymore.

I'm not sure if the OJ is fresh squeezed but yes, the juices and specialty coffees are included in the Plus package.

I had good luck during the height of pandemic when calling Princess Cruises Gift Card Customer Service @1-833-907-3079. It seems they know everything about the gift cards and may even be able to check to see where the balance currently sits. They even answered the phone without waiting on hold forever. BTW, yes .. mine were reloaded back to the gift cards. If you've tossed the numbers and the pins, they should also be able to issue you new cards. Fingers crossed for you ... bon voyage. PS .... I think they are also only available on weekdays but who knows, someone might be there on a Saturday.

Princess doesn't appear to 'upgrade' passengers based on a phone call or a bidding process. You may receive a complimentary upgrade (usually to a cabin that hasn't sold), you may receive an email for an upsell offer or you can always just book an upgraded cabin at the going rate.

I believe he/she has to go to another area to get retrieve your order instead of just getting the food from the room service pantry.

I've always thought that tipping the porters at the terminal should be $5 per large bag and $2 - $3 for each small bag given to the porters. I believe this info came from a Trip Advisor tipping guide I used to have. Perhaps the ones that turn around and comment about people being cheap is from learned behavior ... they may try to guilt people into tipping more. However, that seems sufficient to go by this standard. I've not ever had one of the porters be rude in the past. They always thanked me and off they went.

I usually only drink wine so that would be three bottles all to myself. I would be blotto if I did that. haha

Just of note, it’s not an ‘all you can drink package’ but limited at 15 alcoholic drinks and no sharing with others is allowed. But, it is hard to reach that limit within a 24 hour period.

No, I think you are safe looks like the Crown will be coming to SF the following month (October 2023). Well, anything can happen but this is what it looks like at this point.

And don’t forget that Princess also is home porting a ship in San Diego. That will be my first choice over LA. I’ve sailed on the Crown a few times when she was newer, one of which was plagued by problems. Seems like one can still have a great cruise on her but she has so many issues. I wish we could get one of the newer Royal class ships here for several years. Celebrity probably won’t put a ship here in SF, as they just couldn’t fill the ships without just about giving them away in the past.

The Ruby is headed to Galveston in December of this year. In the meantime, we are getting the Royal here. I wish she would stay. I love the Royal class ships. But, Carnival is also home porting one of their ships in SF (at least for now) so, it makes sense that they don't want to leave one of their larger ships here in SF. The Embarcadero is such a mess when there are two ships in port at the same time.

I believe it’s true. Looks like the schedules for the America’s are also posted for 2023 and 2024 on this forum. So, the Crown appears to be coming on a cruise from Vancouver to SF on or around October 19, 2023 and will stay in SF for awhile. I’ve really loved the Ruby being here and am so excited about the Royal being here this Sept. Oh well. I’ll probably book on the Crown when she gets here, although, she’s not my all time favorite ship in the Princess fleet. I might find myself heading down to LA a bit more often, even though San Francisco is so very close.

Looks like she will be in SF in mid to late October 2023.

But even if they are over that amount, you only pay the difference. That’s my understanding of it.