GJCruiser

If you are flying to/from Vancouver direct your flight is WestJet even if it appears to be Delta. It is a code share. We used it last summer with no issues. Flight times do get changed. 1115AM in very tight in Vancouver as you go through both Canada and US Customs/immigration in Vancouver. If you have Global Entry or Nexus, it is doable, if you do walk off and take a taxi to the airport.

Good luck.

We booked the Majestic Princess for our October cruise from Princess USA website. The gratuities are included according to our booking summary.

If you booked during the '3 for Free', your gratuities are paid.

We have two upcoming Princess cruises from/to Sydney, purchased through a USA TA, and we have auto gratuities shown on our personalizer.

I had my TA call and got a minor upgrade for no charge. Moved from a Verandah to Concierge. Not a big deal but better than nothing!

yes I was reading and replying to that thread... wife is worried that is we book and pay for a private excursion in Cairns and the weather turns bad or something and we are unable to tender into Cairns then we will lose that money....

I understand. The Tableland Tours group stated we pay on day of excursion. If weather does not allow us to go ashore, we do not pay.

We have the ships' excursion the first day as we leave from the ship. Not enough time to get ashore for anything that day.

Have not reserved anything at Port Douglas. Looking at ReefSprinter. They said to call them a few days prior so they have an idea on weather.

We are on the same cruise.

In Cairns - we are going on the Catamaran ships excursion to the reef on the first day. On the second we are on CAIRNS TABLELAND TOURS; Skyrail Rainforest Cableway&Kuranda Scenic Railway. That is not through the ship.

A great Live thread https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2580747 had a lot of very useful information.

Sea Princess is an Australian ship every thing is in AUDollars and when a ship embarks from any Australian port we don't pay gratuties

IF the cruise was purchased in Australia. If purchased in other parts of the world, gratuities are still charged.

Try the Alaska board. Search for it. Lots of answers -----

Reading the posts earlier in this thread and other places I question if we should stop the auto-gratuity. It sounds like our cruise fare includes the tips but because we purchased through a non-Australian TA our personalizer still shows the gratuity. I am OK with that if the crew gets the gratuity that we pay but I wonder if that is true as it sounds like their pay is increased while in Australia.

We loved the unlimited internet for Platinum and Elite.

Really? I did not know the internet allocation had changed.

Are you sure that's from the current website?

It was directly copied from the Celebrity website.

Where is your cruise? This program is not available for Caribbean or Alaska cruises.

Australia

Thank you for the reply. I found this under the description of Concierge Class - which we will be in:

Extend Your Stay

Extend your cruise vacation. Remain onboard and enjoy some ship services up to 90 minutes prior to the ship's next departure. Enjoy breakfast and lunch in the Oceanview Café, access to the pool, fitness center and select public lounges. Opt for private or group transportation to the airport for an additional fee. We're here to help you squeeze every last second out of your vacation.

We just completed several cruises on the Golden Princess, which operates in AUD. All of our OBC with the exception of the Loyalty OBC was parity, USD=AUD, so we effectively lost 20% of the value. The Loyalty OBC was handled differently, and we received AUD $137 OBC for that.

Thank you so much for first hand information!

I see on the Celebrity website that you can stay on board up until 90 minutes prior to the ship sailing on its next cruise? We have a late flight and this sounds interesting. I realize you would have to exit your cabin but the website stated you could eat lunch in the Oceanview Cafe, use the pool area, and select lounges.

Has anyone done that? Is there a cost?

My $100 OBC showed up as au $137.

Which OBC is that? We are on Diamond Princess, B2B, March 2-22. All of our non-refundable OBC is showing in AUD in our personalizer after 1:1 conversion rate.

Will not know how the refundable OBC will be handled as that does not show up until on the ship.

Complimentary mini bar set up is composed of small quantity alcohol and beer and other non -alcoholic beverages. It is free but no replenishment

You can substitute alcohol for alcohol or non alcohol, non alcohol for non alcohol.

You can also trade the whole thing in for coffee cards.

You get breakfast in Sabatinis, only for suite passengers.

You get lunch (when served) and dinner in Club Class.

we will instruct Sea Princess' passengers services to not apply any of our onboard charges to the refundable OBCs from our TA.

I am going to be very interested if that is possible. I am suspecting not.

I do find it interesting that some are saying their SBC/OBC has been adjusted for exchange rate, but, from all indications I have seen, that is not true.

I stand corrected = Princess never visited Glacier Bay in the past on the RT Seattle trips.

Take care.

FYI - The RT Seattle trips do NOT go to Glacier Bay --- they typically get into Tracy Arm fjord IF the ice conditions permit.

If you have Shipboard Credit shown on your personalizer, then those funds can be placed against your Excursion total prior to paying off the balance.

If it is promo or TA SBC, it most likely is non-refundable. Any SBC you purchased is of course, refundable.

No. I have seen 10% discounts a few weeks before sailing. However typically the excursions cost the least right after they are opened for reserving. I find the popular ones increase in price the closer you get to sailing.

Last summer we did cruise north, 10 days land, cruise south! We planned our own 10 day land trip, excursions, B&B's, one Princess lodge, etc. Used a rental car out of Anchorage, downtown. It was great! Lots of information out there for things to do. And you get to go on your own schedule, not the bus!

Have fun!

All non-refundable.

Can be used for excursions, casino, shops, etc.

If your OBC is from Princess it is currently shown in your Personlizer. When you reserve your excursions you can apply the OBC now to your shopping cart and will only pay for the excursion cost above what is in your OBC account.

If you are getting OBC from a TA - that is refundable and may not be showing in your account until you board the ship.

Stretching my memory but I believe there are loungers and chairs.

Hopefully someone with a more recent memory can help out!