Bucky3

LOLOL :D I didn't quite get the mini-suite comment either. Maybe that poster will come back and explain. :confused:

I'm guessing the poster meant to say "mini-cruise" rather than mini-suite.

Happy to know the OP was able to get their cabin back.

My daughter had a similar experience. She booked a MIDSHIP MINI for her family of three and had it marked "no upgrade." She was upgraded to a full AFT SUITE but did not realize it until it was almost cruise time. She had booked through a TA, but she called Princess and asked what other suites in the same category as the upgrade were available. There were midship suites available and she had no problem switching to one of those. NOW SHE IS SPOILED !!

Point being: If you get an unwanted upgrade, find out where other cabins in that same ugraded category might be available and ask for one of those. It can't hurt to try!

We have always had great service from Princess customer service on the phone or on the ship

We feel the same way about Princess which is why it is now and has been for several years the only line we sail.

Have a wonderful cruise in your mini.

Was this reduced fare and upgrade done after final payment of these cruises?

We would be interested in the answer to this as well.

Mom and Dad did "Fire and Ice" 60+ days, years ago on Hal, started in Vancouver and ended in Los Angeles.

"My" retirement cruise was going to be the 64 day R/T Los Angeles/ Hawaii/F.P. and AUSTRALIA that Princess had 6/7/8 years ago? (When we lived in L.A.) I really wish they would bring that one back, I want to go to Australia, but don't want to fly to or from. So now the World Cruise is on my bucket list.

Tammy

Now that's the one we wish they would bring back. We did it in 2009 on Star Princess, and I have to say it was our very favorite cruise. It was 30 days over to Sydney and 30 days back, RT from LA, and we still didn't want to get off when we returned! We keep hoping they'll bring it back. Only problem was it stopped at the same places on both legs. Would love some added South Pacific ports, but we'd do it again even without the additions!! Actually, seeing New Zealand, as we did on this cruise, rather than Alaska would be our choice. The fjords are gorgeous!

Ask and ye shall receive! ;)

http://www.crystalcruises.com/hawaiian-cruises/round-trip-san-francisco--6310

Thanks, but my cruise has to include Kauai and be on a Princess ship!! It's nice they have both Hilo AND KONA on the itinerary though.

Ahh, a way to get to Hawaii by ship during the summer! We like it RT from either LA or SF!

Where are you? Will you happen to be on the Starlight tomorrow night, October 14th?

Hi Bucky3-

Funny that you should ask. Just like flight attendants, we "bid" our trip schedules and we are doing that just this week. I don't know if I'll be awarded to Seattle on the Coast Starlight or Chicago on the Southwest Chief. Traveling ON Amtrak to a cruise soon ?

Thanks for the quick reply! I haven't even had a chance to read your latest post yet! I guess your reply means that you are not on the Coastal route right now or next week? No, we will not be on that train, but someone we know will be on it this coming Friday (Portland to Martinez) and returning next Monday or Tuesday night (Martinez to Seattle). I had something in mind if you happened to be doing this route. Let me know, please!

Do you happen to work onboard the Coast Daylight? If so, I have a favor to ask, but I need to know within the next couple of days! Look forward to your reply.

We're looking forward to hearing more from you! Thanks for your review.

Thank you so much for taking us along on one of our favorite itineraries! We look forward to your adventure. Enjoy!

Thanks for posting your schedule. We hope to be on one of them! I can't imagine switching ships so often with all the equipment and craft supplies you have to move! Aloha!

We have had them in the Horizon Court on several occasions as well as in the MDR.

I would go for the great pricing and OBC if I could move to a Caribe deck balcony.

ME TOO! We don't like the constant noise of the wake back there!

Quite by accident I came across your review rather late last night, but like a good book I could not stop reading it. Needless to say, morning came too soon after I finally retired!! Thank you for the hours of entertainment filled with love, adventure, and the reality of life!! We are so glad to know all is well now and hope your hubby will be able to enjoy a future visit to the places he missed.

I was totally amazed that the hospital could not/did not provide an interpreter for you. I can't imagine how difficult it must have been for both of you during those final days in Papeete. What kind of travel insurance did you have? Was it through the cruiseline, TA, or ? It sounds like they came through for you in the end. Would you use the same company again?

We cruised RT from LA to Sydney in the fall of '09, made stops in New Zealand, and fell in love with your country. It was so beautiful there, and we loved our short time in each port. Your wedding pictures are gorgeous.

Wishing you a long and blissful married life!

:eek: YIKES! :eek:

Like Colo Cruiser I've never had to be one of the "first on the ship" nor found any "mob scene" to reserve a specialty restaurant. I have signatures shut off when viewing CC so manually adding the number of cruises doesn't add much credibility to me. :rolleyes:

And that's the problem for Princess. I don't think we have ever seen a specialty restaurant full, but we don't frequent them often, so perhaps sometimes they are. I can see where Princess could increase their bottom line if people thought they had to book and prepay ahead of their cruise in order to secure a reservation. I can also see where it would be good for them to have an idea of how many people they would be serving each night

Princess wishes there was a mob scene to book the restaurants! ;)

That's the way we see it!!! And prepayment might be just what does it!

Guess we'll just wait to see what Princess comes up with and hope they keep the flexibility they now offer.

We like the Doubletree in San Pedro, and you can leave your car in there parking area for free. They shuttle to/from the short distance to the pier.

We consider NOT having to prepay for booked excursions a Princess perk! I hope they don't change it, but thanks to the OP for the head's up!

Perhaps this suggestion will help some of those who receive "upgrades" that are unwanted. Before begging for your original cabin back, If you are offered an upgrade in a category that you would like but do not like the location, check the website to see if there are other cabins available in your upgraded category that are in a satisfactory location and ask for one of those.

Example: Our daughter and family - three people - booked a midship mini and had it marked "no upgrade." When she went to fill in the personalizer, she noticed their cabin had been changed to an aft (looking over the wake) suite. She checked the website, noticed there were midship suites available (same category as the aft). She called and was able to change to the midship suite! Now they are really spoiled with all those sweet suite perks!!

I really believe that Princess tries hard to satisfy, so working with them to solve problems sometimes turns out for the best.

This thread was moved here from the main Princess board.

We have been to both Glacier Bay and Tracy Arm. They are two entirely different experiences. If you want to see and hear a glacier calving, Margerie Glacier in GB will probably be the best opportunity for that, although there are no gurantees! Glacier Bay is like a big lake, so in my opinion not as scenic as cruising Tracy Arm with its waterfalls, high cliffs on either side, and big chunks of ice floating along your route to/from Sawyer Glacier.

I guess if seeing and hearing a glacier calving were my main interests, I would choose Glacier Bay, but for gorgeous scenery, I would choose Tracy Arm and hope to get close enough to really observe the glacier.

As another poster suggested, best would be an itinerary that includes Glacier Bay and also allows enough time in Juneau to take a small boat excursion into Tracy Arm. That's what we hope to do on our next cruise up there. Have a great time cruising on our favorite ship, Star Princess!

Oh, what wonderful pictures. We especially loved those of Emerald Lake. How lucky you were to get those colors in your pictures. Makes us want to go back! Thank you so much for sharing your adventures.

Thanks for sharing your great pictures. Look forward to your adventures ashore.

Now that the Alfredo's and room service charges have been halted, would you prefer to see them reinstated with notice or a cabin price increase with notice?

Response to the original poster's question (quoted above): Not that I would like to see these charges reinstated, but if corporate does this, then yes, passengers should definitely be advised ahead of time.

If a slight increase in cabin price for everyone would solve the problem, we would prefer to see an increase in cabin price rather than extra prices for various services - even though we rarely use room service. Whatever Princess has to do to stay in business AND keep their loyal clientele, and attract like minded passengers will work for us!