Fat Bottom Gurl

I would say because people didn't register a CC and also because they were removing the autograt.

For sure Joey there is/are some very good food. I have come back with some ideas...this I was served and then duplicated.

 

Cubed watermellon, cubed feta cheese, sunflower seeds, lime.

 

Yummy and always a big hit.

Yes Jules 59, my request was honoured. thanks.

 

ftb

I want to start a thread about why cruising is so much fun. I am a newbie in cruising, but after my first cruise I was hooked. One of the best things I love about cruising is that when I wake up, I am in different part of the world and I didn't have to pack or move my clothes/suitcase.

 

Another thing that I love (maybe others not)...my sister and I book traditional dining latest booking and the biggest table. Why you might ask? Well....we meet the most interesting people. Don't be afraid to explore - if you are just a couple, book yourself with the biggest table. It;s so much fun.

 

Let's face it - cruising is a floating resort. Enjoy yourself. REalzie that crap happens. Don't get angry...just go with the flow.

 

Tip the staff - they deserve it.

I am happy to report that I got my original cabin back.

 

FTB

Thanks - I forgot it was the weekend (my job does that to me - days have no meaning here).

I received an email from Princess yesterday saying I was upgraded. Originally, I had selected cabin C316 because I wanted the big deck. I was upgrade to Baja deck and in my opinion, that was not an upgrade as I lost the big deck. I phoned Princess (within 48 hours) and requested my original cabin. They said I should receive confirmation within 72 hours. So far, my request for my original cabin has not been honoured. I told the agent that the only upgrade I would accept would be to a minisuite or higher. I hope I get my original cabin back.

 

 

FTB

I checked today on my cruise and there was a huge sale including pre-paid grats. So between my sister and I, we save a grand. SWEET!

Thanks for the explanations.

I bought a $100 FCC on my last cruise and am now applying it to my upcoming cruise. I am still not quite sure what the significance of a FCC is (yeah silly me for buying something I don't really understand...sucker).

 

Would someone kindly explain FCCs to me? Why should I buy them? Seems to me I am just giving Princess money that would be better spent sitting in my bank account earning interest (yes, I realize $100 doesn't earn much interest).

 

Thanks,

FBG

I just called Princess because I noticed a price drop on our cruise and I got the discount. I don't use a TA. Why not call Princess yourself and see if they can do it? Whenever I've called Princess, I've always had a positive experience.

 

FTB

HI Gang - I just happened to go to the Princess website to check on the Panama Canal 11 day partial transit cruise departing Jan. 9 and noticed a price drop. I phoned and got it :-), plus 100 OBC for a balcony.

 

Thought I'd pass on the information.

 

Cheers,

FTB

 

(whose bottom just keeps expanding)

The 15% is charged on the per day price of $50pp. So you don't pay it every time you order something. It is a one time, pay up front charge.

 

Because of this, I ended up tipping extra for good service.

 

Well, that makes a huge difference. I was thinking that every time I ordered something I would be charged 15 percent.

 

Thanks.

Do they charge 15 percent on things like pop, water, coffee, juice?

We booked passage for Southbound Alaska in Aug 2013 to sale in Sept. The price did go down. We had booked an inside cabin, but ended up upgrading to an oceanview. I believe it was the 2nd last sailing of Sapphire Princess for that season. Also never made it to Ketchikan due to hurricane force winds. That was some RIDE!

Paul - I was just looking at the price of stock with Carnival (as it includes Princess) and it's trading around $35.00 a share. We are seriously thinking of investing as we see lots of cruises in our future.

 

With buying FCCs and then receiving OBCs combined with being a shareholder and points for airline/hotel fees - why one can "almost" cruise for free. :D

I have not read this entire thread but I was really pleased today when I called Princess about applying future cruise credits (FCC) to the cruise I booked for March. We purchased 100 FCC each back in Sept while on a cruise to Alaska. Now we have booked a Panama Canal cruise and have received 200 bucks in on board credit (OBC).

 

What a lovely surprise. I had no idea that by purchasing FCC, we'd get OBCs. It's a win-win situation and we'll be doing this all the time now. I know we will want to book a cruise for 2015 so I plan on doing this on the ship in March and topping up on FCCs.

I am confused about OBC - can't these be applied to anything purchased on board, including drinks?

 

I haven't cruised enough to really acquire any OBCs - I have a big $15.00 in my account so far. Woo hoo - party time!

How would this work if only one person in the party gets a drink package? For example, let's say just me and my hubby didn't. Does this mean that I can order a bottle of wine and share it with my hubby (or anyone else for that matter?) If so, it would make sense to order one drink package just to cover a bottle of wine and a couple of drinks per day, plus coffee and water.

 

Hubby would pay for his own individual drinks (which would not be that much because apart from a beer or two, he would drink wine with me).

 

Perhaps I am figuring this wrong.

FTB?

I am wondering if the US gov. shutdown affected the cruises that originated in US ports? I realize it affected tours to things like national parks, but I am mostly wondering about how it affect foreign travelers in terms of customs, embarkments, airports.

We are scheduled to travel in March, and I believe that the US shutdown is looming again (is it Feb or March?)

In another thread on wine, someone was kind enough to list all the wines and prices offered on Princess. So, I printed out the list and then went to Total Wines website and searched for all the bottles. I was able to find at least 80 percent and then compared the prices.

 

The least bang for you buck is Pinot Grigio - so, if you really like this wine buy your own, as you will save a lot even paying the 15 dollar corkage.

 

I found that the other wines, when adding the 15 bucks maybe save 2-3 bucks. In some cases, bringing on your own bottle would cost you more (this is for the higher priced wines).

 

We were thinking of going to Total Wines before the cruise and loading up, but now we think we'll just get our 2 "free" bottles of a really nice vintage and not available on the ship, then buy a wine package on the ship.

 

Not as much hassle and less to lug as carry-on.

 

Has anyone else done any number crunching?

FTB

I've never seen an upgrade or no upgrade option when booking but I do hear people talking about it often. Maybe it's an option for TAs but I can't see anything on my end through the regular website booking.

 

That's probably correct. I booked online and never saw an option of "no upgrade". I guess I would have to phone Princess directly to choose no upgrade. I'm going to let this one ride...wooohooo - I am so edgy.

 

Grins,

FTB

We love eating dinner in the HC. Think the food is at times better than the DR. Gives us a chance to try different foods and we don't have to dress!

 

I didn't know we could go there naked! Sweet! :D

If you leave it as is the lowest Cat. cabin you will get is BE. You could be upgraded to a different category and location on the ship. The balcony category cabins all have the same interior, except some have pull down berths for 3rd & 4th passengers. The difference in category is location on the ship.

 

I would try to book, if still available, Cabins C311 through C317. They are also cat. BE, but they have larger balconies.

 

Just checked and those rooms are sold.

 

I do not recall saying "no upgrade" when I picked the room, and was wondering if by picking an actual room the "no upgrade" is assumed. I realize that having a randomly assigned room could be problematic if we were assigned a horrible spot (not sure where that would be). I really just want a balcony. I made the mistake of thinking the entire Carribe deck had large balconies (because they do on the Crown), but forgot that I was on a different ship when booking (duh). Oh well.

 

Thanks,

FTB

I have booked Room C302 on the Coral. Does this mean that I the upgrade fairy will not bother to anoint me with her magical dust. I have no problem with being anointed. Should I change my reservation to having a stateroom assigned to me randomly?

 

Thanks,

FTB