Cruiser411

Here's an up-to-date report from a blogger on the Caribbean Princess right now: http://vickieandbernietravel.blogspot.com/

She says the Medallion is in test mode for the next 3 cruises. Some functionality, but not all.

We talked to some of the Ocean Medallion folks on our cruise in June. They said that they were going to have a very measured rollout on CB, making sure each function works before adding another. They did say that they don't expect full implementation until later this year.

Hmmm... we were on board in early June and found the buffet to be just fine. I really liked the new look. There was staff at the entrance passing out plates and the addition of the wash basins was a nice touch. I thought the added choices during the day in the Planks/Steamers (old Cafe Caribe) area were good too. Although we only ate in the MDR a few times, the quality of the food was good there too. We did go to the Crown Grill and Planks and had an Ultimate Balcony Dinner too. Those meals were excellent, especially the UBD. Maybe the executive chef rotated out in June? We've found that the chef does make a difference in how the various galleys are run. We'll be aboard again in August and can compare and contrast.

I was in the process of booking my sip & sale on the Regal for 2019 and picked the cabin and was almost at the end when the site went down. Tried again and it said it was too close to sailing so I called.

 

Seems Princess is in the process of making changes to the mini-suite categories on the Regal. Looks like more will be part of the club class if she is correct.

 

Not thrilled because I had gone through all the steps but I guess I have to sit tight and see what they have done to the pricing and categories at some point today. There was almost a $900 difference in regular mini and club class so this should be interesting.

 

Has anyone heard anything about what they are doing?

I spoke to my friend at Princess and she said that on Regal, they were actually turning some Club Class mini's back to regular mini's. So, not an expansion of Club Class...

Hello,

My friends have booked our flight out of Fort Lauderdale for 10:55am. I am worried about having enough time to get to the airport. We are planning on getting off with our luggage that morning.

Should I be worried? Will we have enough time to debark and get to the airport?

Thanks for anyone who might have done this successfully, I really appreciate your comments.

Thanks,

Christie

A couple of weeks ago, I had an 11:19am flight from FLL. No problems whatsoever. We were on the 8:15am group, took the Princess transfer and was there in plenty of time.

Are my eyes failing me on the ship's plan?

 

Is there no Crown Grill on the Sapphire?

During her massive refit a few years ago, a section of one of the 4 anytime dining rooms was going to be converted into a Crown Grill (I believe it even made it into the deckplans in the Cruise Atlas), but they didn't have enough time to do it and the plans were scrapped. Even though Sterling Steakhouse is actually a portion of the Horizon Court, it has great views and when we went, the food and service were excellent.

But, would not the same basic problem been present in the Disney scenario as in the Princess scenario, e.g. a large steel ship? Of course that's assuming the interior of each ship would be the same which might not be the case. Different shipbuilders might use different materials for the same purpose which could have entirely different side effects I would guess. So all of this might be the root of the problem or nothing even close and be just useless speculation I guess. Probably not even worth thinking about.

 

Tom

But isn't Disney's version of the Medallion in their parks and not on their ships? So, apples and oranges.

Since work on the implementation of the Ocean Medallion is supposed to occur on the CB this season, did you see any evidence of such work going on?

Bluntly' date=' no.

 

I did see a lot of very detailed cleaning and housekeeping though.[/quote']

 

We are just off the Caribbean Princess too. You can certainly see all the Ocean Medallion sensors placed all over the ship. The large TV screens are in place in most elevator vestibules, the TV system in the cabins is now on-demand. We were told also that the MedallionNet feature will start in a month or so.

Didn't get one in the U.S. Seems odd they call it a loyalty scheme.

 

 

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As others have said, this is an EU requirement. And "scheme" means something different in the UK, specifically "an officially organized plan or system". Nothing nefarious...

Just received an e-mail from Princess offering us an upsell upgrade from an inside to outside cabin for 139.00 person for our June 9th cruise. Did some homework and on the Princess website the cost would be the same for a new booking, the heck with them. That leaves a very bad taste in our mouths. If Princess wants to give us (Elite status) an upgrade, give us a real upgrade.

But, of course, if the upsell is offered after final payment, you don't have to cancel and rebook (with cancellation fees) to get the new booking rate for the upsold cabin (which is probably lower than when you originally booked).

After the condesceding and dismissive attitude displayed on the emerald princess customer service deserves to be flooded with calls.

Did you talk to the cruise director?

I know that you are probably not going to like this but since hockey is a 4th tier sport after football (i.e. soccer in the US), football, basketball and baseball, it is not likely that the cruise ship people will make any great effort to carry it.

 

DON

Maybe it depends on the network carrying the games. We had the hockey playoffs a couple of years ago in Alaska. Watched them on MUTS.

WAHOO!!! Now I know, all I have to do is round up some hockey fans and head over to the purser's desk! I'm bringing my Lightning jersey with me (that's if they get into the championship game). AND if that doesn't work, I have found 2 great sports bars in both Juneau and Skagway, if we cannot get them to broadcast it on the ship.

The OP was talking about the FA Cup final... football (soccer), not hockey. But US based ships in Alaska should have the Stanley Cup final. We had the playoffs a couple of years ago...

You, and others, don't seem to have any problem with a cruise line giving out bad information and you don't think that they should be held responsible for the mistakes that they make.

 

If it were me, I would have called the insurance company directly too, but I shouldn't have to. I should be able to rely on what the companies representative tells me. They are in it for themselves, but that doesn't mean they can give out wrong info then say "You didn't actually believe us did you? What a knob! YOU should have checked with someone else who doesn't work for the cruise line.".

 

As for the OP being 'lucky', what a crock. 'Lucky' would have been being able to rely on the information they got from the company they bought the coverage from. 'Lucky' would have been getting their money back. Heck, that's not even 'lucky'. It's what should have happened if the OP's post is accurate, and I have no reason to believe it isn't.

No. Since we are not privy to the conversation that the OP had with the Princess agents and since he has posted several inaccuracies, it certainly appears that he did not convey his needs accurately to the Princess agents. They are NOT insurance agents. They can give you the information that they have in front of them, but certainly should have suggested that he call the insurance company directly. He says this: "I specificly ask about the insurance. Was told there was only one option. I ask this question for several months over and over agian after reading the insurance info." All Princess agents know there are two flavors of the insurance. That's pretty core stuff. And through it all... "several months"... it didn't occur to him to call the insurance company directly? :rolleyes:

Probably Princess figures that the community will help correct any erroneous posts. You'll notice that people that make outrageous claims/observations are generally shouted down or dismissed as trolls. Facebook is where Princess has an active presence on their official 'site.

Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences on the refurbished Sapphire which we eagerly look forward to sailing again in June. It’s been over 4 years since we last sailed on the ship. At that time they added 40” flat panel HD TVs so surprised they’re being replaced so soon. If the improved TV entertainment with more choices & on demand is installed wonder if the new TVs are touchscreen.

 

Sapphire already had the on-demand system that was supposed to have been rolled out fleetwide. Maybe the OP did not realize that and assumed that it was new.

The Princess rep told me the voyage is sold out. I asked if it may open up after final payment and she said no, their is a waitlist and no more people can be put on the waitlist.

Hopefully the ship hasn't been chartered...

There is an 'aft' pool on the Royal. It is not all the way at the back. At the back is the Santuary. Jus forward of that is the pool.

 

We used it on our Med sailing and never had an issue with smoking. And if memory serves me correctly, there was a bar there.

mmmm. No. The Sanctuary on the Royal Princess is at the front of the ship. No aft pool on Royal.

The ship is wonderful but isn't profitable. She will be sold and will fill out any scheduled bookings even if under a different name. This probably won't happen for another year or so.

I didn’t know you can get Stromboli at the pizza place on the Lido deck. Is it available on all the ships? I've never seen it before.

I believe that stromboli is only available on Caribbean Princess...

This Princess page seems to match up on refurb dates

 

https://www.princess.com/learn/ships/pa/amenities_publicrooms/ship_facts/

The Princess site is out of date on this page. Pacific Princess just had a drydock last year.

From what I understand, PrincessConnect is a trial on Grand and Coral.

Thank you everyone for your helpful responses, especially my friend who knows about Haweater Dollars! While we have cruised on a number of lines Princess Cruises is the first place this issue has come up. Lots of theories and attempts to justify an odd policy but no real reason so we can and will live within the rules as we enjoy what should be a fabulous trip.

Enjoy yours!

 

 

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Enjoy your cruise. And not to beat a dead horse here, I think the problem is simply a system's issue. They don't have it programmed into their website to allow paying for specialty restaurants with OBC yet. As far as I know, they didn't have specialty restaurant reservations anywhere until fairly recently. You certainly couldn't call them up (and still can't) to make reservations, they'd tell you to wait till you board. It's probably going to be a system enhancement somewhere down the line.

Hi,

 

I have a question for either the ED or CD about the engagement speaker program. We just did back to back cruises on Sapphire and they couldn't find anyone for the first cruise. What is the best way to get in contact with them? I have tried social media.

Thanks.

You should call Princess directly. I'm sure the ED or CD cannot hire someone...

I'm sorry... so what was the issue? :confused:

Did I just miss the thread or hasn't anybody said anything about no longer having a tag to wrap youtube videos so they are inserted into posts? Did this happen when I was gone all summer and fall and so I missed the posts?

 

I just replied to a post and was going to insert a short video and discovered there's no longer a button to click to wrap the video.

I see the tag... red with an arrow in it... I'm using Chrome.