bjkTX

I think in all we went to the P/E Lounge more as unauthorized guests than we have since being P/E.  No one ever questioned us back then, and no one has ever asked us to verify we are eligible since we have been 🙂  We went to visit with people we were cruising with before we all went our separate ways for the evening.  The $1 discount on a drink I don't drink wasn't a draw, and for us nibbling on goodies just before we go eat wasn't enticing.  It's one of the great things about cruising - something for everyone.  I can't imagine your friends being turned away, and if you can find someone to ask like you mentioned you plan on doing, I think you'll be fine. 

1 hour ago, Steelers36 said:

Follow the money.  I am not looking for advice, just a good discount off the cruise fare.  Using an online agency that discounts, I don't particularly expect anything much else other than timely and accurate service related to the booking and any changes.  

I'm with you.  We have gone on about 26 cruises and have always used a TA.  If it comes down to booking online with Princess or using the TA and getting a discount - I go with the discount.  Maybe we are just easy - but we have never needed to be "in control" of the booking for any reason so far.  I decide on a cruise, request a quote and determine of the discount is what I expect, and have it booked.  Then I go on the cruise. 

It may be a local law like we have in Texas.  Drinks we purchased before and just after sail away were charged to us because they couldn't apply the package until we were in international waters - but they gave us a credit on our account at the same time to make up for it (even if you didn't buy a drink...)

Since it is past final payment date and no one wanted the empty cabins I'd be suspicious of any of them unless I just didn't care where I ended up 🙂

3 minutes ago, ldtr said:

They handle all of the Captains Circle and ther loyalty events. They have also been very handy in resolving issues both directly and indirectly related to getting Captains Circle benefits.

 

They have also been very handy to make sure issues that noone else seemed willing to address got to the right person to get resolved.

 

We have gotten to know several over the years.

I guess we have been lucky and haven't had any issues that would have required their assistance.  Hopefully whoever gets the responsibilities will continue to be helpful when needed.

I think I remember meeting a Captain Circle Host back in 2002.  I'm going to miss them.

1 minute ago, huttenkt said:

That's great to know, thanks!  Maybe I'll be able to talk my husband into trying an aft cabin with that info!

If you look at the shape of the ships - Princess ship decks stick out father the higher you go ( \)  - so you are mostly always protected by the deck above you.  While Carnival ships (at least the ones we have been on have the decks just the opposite - the lower decks stick out more ( / ) so we had soot issues 🙂

52 minutes ago, huttenkt said:

@bjkTX love that you chose the same exact cabin each time!  And I love those aft cabins as well, although my husband doesn't like the soot issues. What do you mean by the "private" entrance? 

We have never encounter a soot problem on a Princess ship because of the way the decks stick out.  On a Carnival ship we had a horrible problem and would never do that again 🙂  As for the "private" entrance both C-753 and C-752 (opposite side of the ship) are at the end of the hallway - then to get to C-753 you turn left and go to the end of that short hallway where your cabin door is - so no traffic - no one but crew ever comes near your door.  With the Medallion when we turn the corner at the end of the hall we can hear our door click open 🙂  C-752 is the same, just on the other side of the ship.

15 minutes ago, WAvoyager said:

 

Is that better?  😉

Much much better - and you'll get your next level CC badge soon!!! :-)

On 4/30/2023 at 10:46 AM, BamaVol said:

We did a partial on the Caribbean Princess. Frankly I was bored after 30 minutes. How is a full transit not twice as boring?

We did full transit of the old locks several years ago on the Coral Princess and it was fascinating.  But unless you are somewhat of a history buff I have to agree with you - after going through one set of locks and seeing how they work I don't know that I would have missed doing it two more times.  But it did entitle us to the t-shirt!  And the best memory was we passed our twin ship (Island Princess) while we were in Gatun Lake which caused a lot of excitement on both ships.

We are booked on the 10 day partial on the Emerald Princess in November because I want to see the new locks.  I considered another full transit but since most of the ports are sketchy at best AND we have done them before the 10 day seemed like a better option for us.

I'm a bit upset by your review - it certainly isn't up to our usual standards of complaining!!!  You could have tried a little harder to find more things that went badly!!!!  🙂

It's great to hear that the thing we all like to do - cruise - is still fun - thanks for sharing your experience with us!

We departed from Pier 35 on a cruise 10 years ago and it was a miserable mess.  If it was still a mess when you sailed in 2022 I'm betting it still is 🙂

3 hours ago, 1160451 said:

Hi. Yes checked in and it’s on green lane. But can’t find the Boarding Pass.

Thanks for your help. 

When I first got ours - and printed it out - it was the last time I ever saw it - I could never find it again 🙂  And when we went to check in at Southampton I was excited to have that green lane paper with the QR code - except no one cared - they just herded us on to the ship 🙂

9 hours ago, caribill said:

If the 14 day could have been booked as two 7-day cruises, you should have received a cruise credit for each segment (two credits if in a full suite for each segment).

 

 

I understand that - what I was questioning was this statement:  "Princess does give a cruise credit for each segment, no matter which way you book it."   Booked as a 14 day cruise we have never been given 2 credits.  Perhaps the difference is IF you could have booked it as two 7 day cruises.  All our 14 day cruises could not be booked that way.

2 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Princess does give a cruise credit for each segment, no matter which way you book it.

 

Either that or another unannounced lost benefit.

Not sure if I understand what you are replying to - but we have never received 2 credits for a 14 day cruise (booked as one cruise not two 7 day cruises) unless we were in a suite.

Also - someone earlier mentioned if you are on a 14 day cruise and are elite you get a mini bar setup twice?  Is that really the case?

7 hours ago, voljeep said:

'too much wine' - that is not a concept I am familiar with 😉

That's right up there with the old "What do we do with left over wine after dinner?"  Huh???

3 hours ago, voljeep said:

Cruise fare only - but that may now include the PLUS or PREMIER packages if they are included

in your fare when booked.

We just added insurance to a Feb 2024 cruise today - I forgot to do it when we booked almost a year ago...  The cost was based on the fare including the Plus Package.

1 hour ago, Momma Rene said:

You can order doubles?  Is that for wine and vodka, etc.??

We took two cruises with the Plus package in the last 6 months and every night on our way to the cabin for the night we always stopped at the bar by the aft elevators and ordered two double Baileys on the rocks.  After a few days they were waiting for us 🙂  I don't know if they would have balked if we were asking for doubles of something pricey - but I suspect not since as was noted above it all counts toward 15 🙂

49 minutes ago, ldubs said:

 

I'm just not following your comments about GE and LHR.   How was it obvious people were applying for GE at LHR?    See post #50 - are you confusing GE with LHR E-Gates?  

 

One thing I do understand is LHR isn't the friendliest airport to negotiate.  

 

 

Ok - I give up - sorry I mentioned it 🙂  When we were in line at our terminal at Heathrow there was a section along the wall that looked to be about 20-30' long and if I recall it was roped off and the sign on the wall above it said "Global Entry."  There were maybe 8-10 people doing whatever they were doing.  I get it - GE doesn't do LHR.  But at the time, seeing that, and not knowing any different I assumed people were using GE instead of being in the line with the other 2,000 people.  What it actually was - maybe a one day event - maybe just information - I don't know.  And now - I don't even care :-)

This thread need another bump 🙂  I was Air Force from 1963 to 1993 and in a few months will have been retired as long as I was on active duty (30 years :-).  Sue and I have been cruising for about 20 years - mostly on Princess.  After telling all our friends 3 years ago we were done with cruising...we took a British Isles cruise last Sep/Oct to celebrate our 50th, and we took an 11 day Christmas cruise in the Caribbean - both Princess.  We have booked a partial Panama Canal cruise out of FLL in Nov because while we have done a full transit, I want to see the new locks.  We also have a 14 day Caribbean cruise out of FLL booked for Feb 2024.  After that we're done cruising!!  Maybe 🙂  We bought Princess stock about the time we started cruising for $8 a share and enjoyed the quarterly dividends and OBC many many times!  We watched the Princess stock go way up again, and then way down and sold it but immediately bought more for $8 again.  So far that $800 investment has given us $700 in OBC in the past year or so - so even though they stopped the dividends it's been a great investment.  Between that and the Military OBC Princess has been very good to us, and while things aren't the same as they were 20 years ago I still find it hard to cheat on her!

Dredging up an older thread 🙂  I was looking for an answer to a question I had when I saw this post.  It didn't answer my question - but it was the right subject 🙂

I just saw in a post someone said that if you were Elite on a 14 day (or longer I suppose) cruise they got 2 set-ups.  I never heard that before and it dawned on me we haven't taken a 14 day cruise since we reached Elite.

IF that is true does it only apply if they are booked as two 7 day cruises combined rather than as one 14 day cruise?

I realize that an Elite in a suite would get 2 set-ups which isn't our case - and with the Plus Package we rarely drink anything from the set-up other than the soft drinks and beer - but inquiring minds....

28 minutes ago, davekathy said:

Princess needs to enhance the tier level perks like RC and Celebrity and give wash n fold bags of laundry as an added perk. We've never used the Princess laundry rooms.

Elites already get free laundry service - are you talking about something different?

5 hours ago, Eleanor Rigby 14 said:

. A friend who traveled with us did all her wash and her husband’s wash on the last day of the cruise so she wouldn’t need to do it when she got home. I myself would savor my last cruise day and not do wash but that’s just my own preference.

Agree!  Load them into the suitcases and hope the airline loses them! 🙂

On 4/9/2023 at 10:08 PM, compozer said:

Thanks Cobbler76.  I appreciate you taking the time to explain it to me.  That is a good deal!!   Even if you have to join AARP, it certainly would be worth the $16 a year.

 

I use my AMEX card for payment and receive a very nice OBC.   I wonder how many dollars I can put on these AARP cards and still get the OBC.    

 

Has anyone tried to pay just their EZ air with them?   Our flights total $16,000 so that would be a great savings.

 

Thanks again for your fast reply.  

Just a quick side note - you don't have to join AARP - just sign up on their Rewards Page.  Also - it was noted there is a limit of 5 cards a month - that is per person!  Yesterday I bought 5 and my DW bought 5 - so if you are running out of time that can come in handy 🙂

We saved another $500 today by purchasing AARP gift cards to pay for our Nov cruise.  First we applied for a new credit card that gives a large sign up bonus (in this case 170,000 IHG points) and requires you to spend X amount in 3-4 months.  Got the card in the mail today, the minimum spend requirement has now been met, and we saved $500 🙂  We used gift cards to pay for the two cruises we took a few months ago and had no issue having our TA apply them.