PTMary

2 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

As noted, the only cutback / elimination that I’ve noticed is the loyalty credit and I rarely buy the expensive rooms or the premier package because I can’t easily afford it.  Call it what you will but I call it working hard for what I’ve earned and what I choose to spend my money on.  To me, it’s all what I prioritize as having value.  

Then you are clearly not paying attention. Food quality in the regular MDRs has dropped, while exclusive restaurants with higher quality choices are being added so the wealthy can eat away from the masses. Public areas of older ships are being walled off for expensive suites, denying the peons access to areas that were open to all. Newer ships are increasing the percentage of public space for exclusive use by the wealthy, while reducing the percentage of space for the lower classes.

I work hard for my money as well. Not all of us have high paying jobs that allow more discretionary spending on luxuries. Some of us need to carefully budget to be able to afford even a basic cruise on a mainstream cruise line and cannot justify spending even more for higher levels of pampering. That is why we book on mainstream lines instead of luxury lines. I would bet that I work just as hard, if not harder, than people who can afford suites and higher levels of service. So don't use that false "I work hard for my money" to justify you getting benefits at the expense of the rest of us. We work hard too.

4 hours ago, wowzz said:

Not accepted practice for 99% of Brits.

Most of us on CC would not be "99% of Brits" and would travel predominantly in areas that tourists would visit, so your point is moot.

Most of us care about doing the right thing where we would typically visit, not what is the practice in some small village off the beaten path or tucked away in a residential area. It would be nice if "100% of Brits" would do the same thing when visiting foreign counties or cruise on foreign cruise ships. 

4 hours ago, wowzz said:

If I'm just popping into a pub for a drink or two, no tip. And, I don't carry cash any more ! Foreign tourists might leave a tip, locals don't.

We have friends who are Brits and live in Bristol. Their college age daughter is a waitress in a local restaurant off the tourist path. She receives tips all the time. 

A tip doesn't have to be paid in cash. It can be added to the bill.

From what you say, I am guessing that some locals are cheaper than others - just like here in the States. 

2 hours ago, SantaFeFan said:

 

 I am not one of those prima donna types who flash their money around to buy someone's attention. 

10 minutes ago, c-boy said:

🤣  .... oh,  wait that's me.

The first step to addiction recovery is admitting you have a problem. I applaud you for taking that first step. 😇

5 hours ago, SargassoPirate said:

I don't see it as stealing .....

I would bet that thieves would say the same thing. 🙄

47 minutes ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

Neither is the decreasing the quality of your product to the point that formerly loyal customers are going to the competition, yet that's the path Carnival is on.

Based on the narrow scope of the topic of this thread, only a small percentage of customers will be affected. I don't think Carnival has anything to worry about. If the people are "loyal", as you say, they will deal with it and stay. For heaven's sake, we're talking about eliminating a tiny fraction of the amenities for a small fraction of the customers, not scrapping large aspects of the experience.

On 10/30/2022 at 7:48 AM, pppatpc2 said:

I have many comments, regarding several of these posts, but don’t know how to quote more than one person.

Hit the "+" to the left of the "Quote" button and the "+" on any additional posts you want to quote and you will be able to include two or more quotes. 

1 hour ago, SantaFeFan said:

" overflowing outhouse of a show "

Nicely put! Pretty much describes it as well as possible. 🤣

8 minutes ago, Princessfan20 said:

You are still invading someone’s space, removing private property without their permission and creating a possible conflict and disturbing the peace situation.

I would argue that the chair hog is the one invading private property and creating a possible conflict and disturbing of the peace situation. The lounger is not his/hers. It belongs to the cruise line and is not there for the chair hog to claim when they are not there. Period!

Each day in Patters Princess has a statement in bold print asking for folks not to save chairs around the deck and in shows. Princess has made their  statement clear. Mature, responsible passengers are expected to oblige. Chair hogs can expect to be treated as selfish, entitled people who don't deserve any sympathy. 

35 minutes ago, Wakepatrol said:

What are hundreds of people waiting outside the dining room at 4:58 waiting for, a full body stone massage?

We traveled with a couple who liked to enter the dining room right when it opened when traditional dining was the norm, and we would sometimes join them waiting at the doors if we all had a drink together in one of the lounges. I never - repeat - NEVER saw "hundreds" of people waiting to enter. Two or three dozens, perhaps, by absolutely not "hundreds". 

And I would guess that the people who arrived early wanted to pick their favorite chairs at their assigned table. On a cruise for just the two of us, we shared a table that was located in a corner with six other people who always arrived before us - they might have been waiting before the doors opened as you have observed. We spent every dinner during the entire cruise staring at these six people and the blank wall behind them. Never once did any of them offer to switch places so we could look out towards the dining room at least one time. And they pretty much kept their conversations between the six of them. In retrospect, I wish we had arrived before opening at least once to score the better seats. Unfortunately, I often take too much time getting ready, and we always arrived after everyone else.

I am so happy that traditional dining has gone the way of the dinosaurs! No more of those bad table problems!

58 minutes ago, Outerdog said:

 

I feel like I just got yelled at by my dad.

Post #22 explains why. LOL!!

5 minutes ago, 4x4bob said:

Or, we started taping our paper tags years ago. So, we continue to do so as part of our family cruising tradition.

As for being Frugal, If I wanted to purchase plastic holders I would just go to the local park and collect a bag full of aluminum cans and cash them in to make the purchase to prevent an impact on my multi thousand dollar cruise.

Bob

Well, traditions are indeed important. But, I'm not sure I would want to fight off homeless people to gather enough cans to save a few bucks. "Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting!"  😁

As an aside - my hubby and I have been throwing our extra change in a box for who knows how long. He finally decided to take them to a CoinStar machine to cash them in. He ended up with $375.46 when they were all deposited! Now we have paid for our specialty dining and my massages on the next cruise. Every penny, nickle, dime, quarter and half dollar counts! 😉

36 minutes ago, 4x4bob said:

Just to offer another method.  I print out the tag at home, fold them, and then cover both sides with clear packing tape.  Then punch a hole in both ends of the tag.  When adding the tags to the bag, normally at the cruise port hotel before going to the port, I then attach them with a plastic wire tie.  If you use this method you must bring with you a nail clipper or something to cut the wire tie off later.

The packing tape water proofs the tag just in case it is raining and the bag handlers let the baggage carts sit out in the rain for awhile. 

Bob

Or spend $6 for reusable plastic holders with screw on wire loops that require almost zero effort to use, are almost impossible to damage, and don't need tools to be carried to be installed or be cut off. After spending thousands of dollars on a cruise and transportation, I doubt that extra $6 will break the bank. Plus, they are reusable, so the cost will be spread out over multiple cruises. I can understand being frugal, but all that effort to save a few bucks on a multi thousand dollar cruise seems like too much of a chore. 

2 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

Catch up, or succumb? 

What kind of a business decision is it to follow the competition instead of being better than the competition? It used to be that being unique was a plus. But today, with the dumbing down of life brought to us by social media, being like everyone else is now the goal. 

20 minutes ago, ldtr said:

In some ways it is kind of like when Disney changed to the additional fee system for bypassing lines.  Those that pay for them get shorter waits, but certainly those that did not have been negatively impacted by longer waits.

We always took advantage of the Fast Pass system Disney had for years. It was free for all and no one had an undue advantage over the next park guest, and only one jump at a time possible to make it even for everyone. Considering that John Padgett was part of the team that developed the additional fee bypass system, it makes sense that the same thing is happening at Princess now that he is president. We saw the same thing happen to what used to be our favorite cruise line, Celebrity, when Lisa Lutoff-Perlo took over as president and began to introduce the many extra cost features the newer ships are rife with. 

Then they decided to charge people $15 per day to jump to the front of the line. Where everyone had equal opportunity to make that jump, which was fair to everyone, now only the people willing to pay another $15 (over the already steep $120+ per day to enter the park) can bypass people, while the ones who don't pay that extortionist price stand in line even longer. 

Thank you Mr. Padgett for looking out for the little guy. (sarcasm)

2 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

This is exactly the right "math".  Providing luxury should be a zero sum game.  Upgrade some people while keeping other people level to where they were.  But when a restaurant decides that it now wants to serve A5 Wagyu steak, it should be free to do so for those who want to pay for it.  But when the restaurant takes the regular ribeye off the menu in order to add the more expensive cut, the general public suffers the consequence.  Or, if the restaurant used to stock 20 regular ribeyes a night and then cuts that back to 5 to make room in the fridge for the Wagyu, that too causes the general public to suffer the consequences. 

Or when the quality of the meals in the MDR is lowered to encourage more business in the upcharge specialty restaurants. We have seen this on all mainstream cruise lines in the last decade or so. 

Hmmm, I opened up your thread to see what your husband might do that he would have to sleep on the sofa. I was hoping for some juicy drama, but got none! 😂

2 hours ago, Princessfan20 said:

 

What you pay is what you pay and if Princess has a casino rate that a person qualifies for and it beats a rate a TA can get for the same cruise and cabin category I will take the casino rate.   It has nothing do to with fairness.  But posting a temporary booking without final payment being made proves nothing.   It is all smoke and mirrors in saying TA's are the only ones who get get great discounted rates on Princess.  

No one ever said that TAs are the only ones who get great discounted rates on Princess. 

1 hour ago, Princessfan20 said:

Proves nothing because prices change all the time on Princess.  We get much better deals with a casino rate then that.  
 

But glad you are happy with your TA but most people who know travel know that TA’s really have very little unique training that a regular person cannot do the same travel arrangements themselves.

 

We still find dealing with Princess as the best option.

It's amazing how some people will refuse to acknowledge something they don't want to accept as fact. Provide proof, and they claim it "proves nothing". It's a common trait of humans in general not to admit they are wrong, so providing facts won't change that mind set for some. They will never admit that someone is better at something than they are. Quite amusing!!

3 hours ago, fleeflicker said:

That’s why I don’t use a TA anymore. I don’t like not having the ability to do anything with my booking. 

You don't have any less ability than with a TA. In most cases, you still have to talk to someone to get your issue resolved, whether it's a cabin change or getting a reduced fare if they have gone down. An experienced TA will have the same control over your booking as the Princess rep will have. Both will follow the same chain of command to get issues resolved. 

But, as one poster has said - it's a personal choice. Work with the method you find most comfortable. Some of us very are satisfied with using a TA and enjoy the cost savings they can provide that dealing directly with Princess can not. And if you find direct to Princess to be more to your liking, then that's good as well.

In the end, we all get to go on a cruise. And that is what is most important. 

3 hours ago, Ereggae said:

Much ado about nothing.  Personal choice and experience.   I do just fine directly with the cruise line.

Much ado about nothing? Saving hundreds of dollars is not "nothing" to many of us in retirement. You must be rich if you don't care about saving money. Good for you. Many people would envy you for that freedom. Personally, we use a TA for the money we save, which we can allocate to future cruise costs. We're on fixed budgets and have to plan where we spend our retirement income. It's not an unending flow that we can throw at expenses that are higher than they need to be. Many of us have to watch our expenditures and having a TA who can save us hundreds of dollars is a positive.

And we give up very little. When you deal directly with Princess, you still have to call, text or email someone. Same as using a TA. And a good TA will have connections that the Princess rep you end up with may not have, or the years of experience that a Princess rep who may be new or been in that position for a short time doesn't yet have. 

And how much of a difficulty is it to wait a day for an answer? How often does the reason for the call have to be resolved immediately?

Not passing judgment, just asking. 

On 8/22/2022 at 8:02 AM, Potstech said:

And some do miss the point.

We can't miss the point if there isn't one. 

We're doing a Hawaii cruise next year and I want to do a wall decoration so the kids can easily find our cabin. I am thinking of these two door covers. Both are thin vinyl and are not self stick like many are. I'll use self stick magnet strips on the backs so it will adhere to the door without damaging it, and making it easily removable.

To help choose the one with the best fit, does anyone know how wide the entry doors are? One of the covers is 30" wide and the other is 35.5". 

Thanks!!!

1 hour ago, mom says said:

Fire your TA and get one who knows what they are doing. Any TA who deals with cruises should have asked you at the time of booking if you were open to upgrades. There is a No Upgrades option. It's not Princess's fault if people don't read before they book.

Reports are that even with the No Upgrades option some people are still getting unwanted upgrades. It's NOT the TA that is at fault here. 

39 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

Nothing personal, but this is not at all how it is supposed to work and I do recall reading a similar post.  Seems like things have changed.  It is supposed to be one of our benefits.  I presume you are not booked in Club Class or a Suite or you would not need DR reservations.

 

I certainly have a bone to pick with Princess, but cannot blame you or anyone else who can book DR tables even if you shouldn't.  It is really bad form on their part since if they fix it and take it away, it's going to piss off some folks who had been able to do it and may not even been aware it was a gift.

We are in the lowest category (ie: cheapest) mini-suite. We are Elite on Celebrity, Diamond on Royal Caribbean and 4-Star Mariner on Holland America. I have cruised more than some people with very high tier loyalty status on Princess, so I find the whole concept of loyalty status as a way to push ahead of other passengers to be elitist.

The "status" classes are way over rated, in my opinion. More fluff than substance. I have never, nor will I ever, choose a cruise based on the "status" level I have with that cruise line. And I never throw around that status to get preferential treatment over others. I am just not the kind of person who thinks I should be able to jump ahead of others because of some "do you know who I am" elitist club program.

If that's what I needed to feel satisfied, I would only cruise Cunard with their well defined class structure.

Nothing personal.