pompeii

On 7/2/2023 at 7:22 AM, coo359a2 said:

Found the list but cant find it now or the link to putting in your voyage number to see the requirements for going to Australia. We go from San Francisco to Sydney in September and then 4 more B2Bs before flying back home.  The cruise in last March or April from Sydney to San Francisco was considered enhanced. Hoping this September our cruises will just be considered regular cruises 

We're doing a similar thing, going in September from Seattle to Sydney, then 2 more to Queensland and NZ.  I was wondering how the testing would work on the b2bs.  

8 hours ago, beatleman said:

 They  will be in force when entering both Australian and NZ ports you will be notified by the ship not to take any food items of the ship. Trail Mix can be obtained from every supermarket,health food store or just about any where that sells food,so why risk a fine. By the way NZ is a lot stricter than OZ. 

Ok, thank you for the information.  That's very helpful to know. 

3 minutes ago, BamaVol said:

I have Via packets that I’ve never tried, so I don’t know how good the stuff is.  But I know it doesn’t take up a lot of room.  

They beat syrup-based coffee, that's for sure!  No, they don't take up a lot of room but we're on a b4b for about 7 weeks, so if I can count on the coffee on the ship being good enough I'd rather use that room in my suitcase for something else.

On 7/2/2023 at 6:20 PM, mtnesterz said:

What @CruisingWalter meant by older ship was that the Grand and Coral Cass ships still use the syrup. They did switch from Douwe-Egberts for Nescafe. It is better, but still syrup. On Royal Class ships, the ground coffee in the buffet has been very acceptable.

Back in March, Princess announced a partnering with Lavazza for coffee, but whether this extends to coffee in the buffet, ground or syrup, we have not heard and will find out in August. Personally we will bring boxes of Via, as a plan B, and get water from any barista so it's hot enough.

If you'll find out in August because you're going to be on a ship, would you please report back?  I've been trying to find out about the status of the Lavazza partnership but nobody seems to know.  I'm trying to figure out if we should bring our packets of Via on the Royal in Septmeber, or if Lavazza brewed will be available in the buffet and dining rooms.  Thanks!

I just refared EZAir on a booking I had paid in full, largely with aarp gift cards, resulting in a small overpayment.  I'd be happy to just transfer the extra to obc, but I'm not sure that's an option.  Do I have to contact Princess to get that back on one of my gift cards, or should it happen automatically?    

That's awesome!  Had you booked the Princess transfer as part of your transportation?  I wonder how it would have worked out if you hadn't and were planning to take a private transfer to the port...

When we have to fly in the day of the cruise, we always book EZAir and the Princess transfer, just in case of a situation like this.  In that scenario, I want all transportation to be through Princess.  

15 hours ago, PacnGoNow said:

Here’s the last update on the website, June 22, 2023.

 

https://www.princess.com/plan/cruise-with-confidence/cruise-health/frequently-asked-questions/au-cruises/

 

I would use the health tool on the website and put in your voyage number to double check before your sailing.

 

If there is a change, PCL usually notifies you by email also.  

I can't seem to find the health tool on the Princess site where you put in your voyage number any more.  I find the list of enhanced voyages, but not the tool where you put in your voyage number.  Do you have a link?  Thanks

23 minutes ago, SinbadThePorter said:

 

The answer for Australia is "maybe".

 

"Commercially prepared and packaged nuts are allowed into Australia if they are one of the following:

 

blanched/roasted/fried/boiled nuts

shelled and tightly vacuum sealed nuts

nuts packaged in small confectionery tins sealed under vacuum.

 

Nuts must be declared and may be inspected on arrival. Products that do not meet import conditions will be exported or destroyed at the importer’s expense."

Since we're sailing over from the US, the snacks will already be in Australia.  Is it likely that the port personnel will check backpacks when leaving the ship on port days?

12 hours ago, tothemall&beyond said:

Did you carefully read what I actually wrote in my post? I acknowledged Post #7, but noted that it was someone re-posting what a Princess CVP put on her own FB page which is language apparently contained within Princess's own internal materials but NOT the language contained within the email I received. The email I received from Princess did NOT have that language --- anywhere. Which is why I forwarded it in its entirely as an attachment to the email I sent to my CVP,

Please let us know where you get with this.  I also wrote my cvp yesterday asking if we could use it on any of our existing bookings since the email doesn't specify new bookings only, and received the reply that no, it is for new bookings and only certain sailings.  So I'd love to know if you get a different response.  Thanks.  

Does anyone know if they've started serving Lavazza coffee yet?

1 minute ago, yarramar said:

Getting them into the country is the biggest hurdle. If the trail mix does not include seeds, it should be ok but they will need to be declared on your incoming form. Why not just buy them when you get here?

Our cruise leaves from Seattle so getting them in won't be a problem.  I don't want to spend port time shopping for snacks so we always just throw a dozen or so packets into the luggage and we're good to go.  

I *think* the answer is yes after doing a google search, but I wanted to check with you all, the experts.  We like to throw a few trail mix packets into our backpack for port days and I know that Australia and NZ are strict about food items coming in.  The trail mix includes nuts, M&Ms, and raisins.  Will it be a problem?  I know I can just wait and see but I don't want to pack the packets if I won't be able to use them.  Thanks.  

We're on the Royal Princess stopping in Papeete overnight October 10-11 and I want to take an early ferry over to Moorea the 2nd day.  Does anyone know how early they open the gangway in the morning for people to get off?  I want to know if I can catch the ferry early enough to meet an early snorkel tour.  Thanks.  

Has anyone been on a ship recently that has the new Lavazza coffee?  The Lavazza partnership was supposed to roll out this spring.  I’m wondering if you get Lavazza just at the IC or everywhere on the ship. 

Has the new partnership with Lavazza started?  All it says in the news release is that it Princess will begin offering Lavazza products this spring.   If anyone's been on a ship with Lavazza, could you post your experience, ie is it only at the IC or in the MDR and buffet as well?

Here is what my pvp suggested when someone is unhappy with their planner:

Hi S----,

I am sorry to hear your friend is unhappy with her vacation planner, she can call our (800)901-1172 number and press 0 or stay on the line until our support agents answer and can request a new vacation planner and they will transfer them to our supervisors to be reassigned.

If you have any additional questions or anything I can do for you please give me a call.

Kind Regards,

K----

I can tell you from first-hand experience on the Enchanted recently that the production shows did not reflect any cost cutting.  Quite the opposite in fact; they represented quite an investment in terms of the sets, costumes, lighting, sound, and tech in general.  Spotlight Bar, 5-Skies, and Rock Opera were quite impressive.  I know these are not on all Princess ships, but it was great to see some very fresh shows and very impressive talent.

18 hours ago, billco said:

We just got ours. Looking forward to wearing them next week on the Sapphire.

I have one of these as well and it works great. I bought mine several years ago and they look slightly different now. Mine doesn’t have the extra center prong on the bottom. But I’ve never had any problems with it even coming close to slipping out. I like that it fits right onto the watch band I already wear. 

25 minutes ago, fabby50 said:

I tried an experiment on my last cruise.  I took Via Instant coffee (Starbucks).  I've found the water on cruise ships to be exceptionally hot, so I made myself a cup of instant first thing in the morning.  It was fine as long as you didn't cool it down with milk, next time, I will take non fat milk powder.  It wasn't super hot, but it got me going in the morning until I could get room service delivered from between 6 and 6:30.  I also ended up liking the Via better than the room service coffee (it was stronger).

We took Vias on our recent TA on the Enchanted. Our steward gave us a kettle and I either ordered milk from room service or picked up a glass of milk from the buffet the afternoon before. Frankly, it worked out better than waiting for room service coffee in the morning or getting dressed enough to venture down to the IC to get it. 

15 hours ago, northwestbear said:

I really appreciate this information. It gave me a reason to join AARP. The gift cards were showing in denominations of $500 and $100 at 10% off the face value - I bought a few and was immediately able to apply them to the balance on a future cruise on the Princess website.  Really great deal. 

Just fyi, you don’t actually have to join AARP (ie, pay for a membership) to buy the gift cards. You just have to create a free account. 

3 hours ago, SiliconCruiser said:

My experience is that they issue the credit quickly (within hours), but I've never received any kind of acknowledgement that the credit had been issued.

Yes, I faxed mine in this morning and by the time I thought to check on it early afternoon, it was already applied.  

28 minutes ago, butternut1 said:

Thanks everyone for the replies. I really do appreciate each one. The internet prices have obviously gone up from our February cruise. 😵 The problem that we were not getting the 50% off for the internet for elites is because somehow on the app it does not show us as being elite any longer. We need to fix that and then should be good to go. We just need to figure out who to contact to make this change.  Thanks again!!

I used this email and they helped me.  A360ad7@carnival.com.  I gave my Princess member number, name, booking number, and DOB in the email and told them I had a loyalty level conflict in the app.

Others have said they were able to call and get it fixed, but I tried that for months and they never did anything.  YMMV

Check and make sure the app still shows you as elite. This happened to me and that was the problem. Look at the little sea witch logo next to your profile picture. It should be black; if it’s not then then during some upgrade or something it switched your status and you’ll have to get it fixed. 

Does anyone know how refundable obc works?  For cruises in USD, we get a check in the mail a few weeks later in USD.  We'll be taking two cruises later this year with AUD as the onboard currency.  Will we receive a check like normal in USD but subject to the exchange rate?  Never faced this before...

Even if you only use it a couple of times to re-enter the US in the 5 years, it's well worth it.  No standing in the miles-long lines.  You just breeze right through.  Plus you get TSA pre-check for all your flights.

Like others have mentioned, it is kind of a hassle to get the first time because you have to have an "interview" and fingerprints, but renewing is much easier.