wallyj

Hi @mvaldes140, here is my opinion. You are booked on an EZAir flight so there is a good possibility there are other Grand Princess passengers on your flight, some who probably have already booked the Princess transfer. Princess knows exactly how many are booked on the transfers and on which flights. In most cases, if you flight is delayed, by not too much let’s say 1 hour, Princess has been known to ‘wait/delay departure’ . I have witnessed this on a few sailings out of Vancouver. I have also witnessed cases where the shuttles were done for the day, and the Princess rep told the passengers to take a taxi and Princess would reimburse on the ship. There is no ‘expressway’ from the Airport to Canada Place, so the shuttle buses and taxi’s will face the same traffic. We do not know how many passengers Princess might be waiting for to fill up the transfer. Also unknown, is how fast you are able to be processed thru immigration and customs, my checked luggage in YVR is usually waiting for me or arriving soon, by the time I have cleared customs. if you are both able bodied and can handle your own luggage, I would take the Skytrain, as it does not have to deal with traffic and runs very frequently, like every 10 minutes. If you are not comfortable with Skytrain, , take taxi, as it will be more comfortable, and probably be faster since you will not have to wait for possibly other passengers getting thru immigration that have also booked the ‘transfers’. Since you booked the EZAir flight, you have the late arrival protection already, so depending on the length of the delay, either the ship will wait, or you are flown to next port, if possible. Pre Covid, I know they did this. Read a post where an Australian booked same day arrival into Vancouver, flight was delayed and they missed embarkation. They had to pay a very expensive flight to Ketchikan, as they did not have insurance. I am on the July 6 sailing doing B2B, so returning to Vancouver. Assume you got the email from Princess notifying they are planning earlier sailaway by 1/2 hour, so it does make for a tight connection for you. You can plan for delay,, but these are mostly out of your control. Most likely, you are not the only passengers on that flight scheduled to arrive at 12:45. IMHO, booking the Princess transfer does not really give you any more protection in this case arriving at YVR. Hope to see you on the ship, I booked my flight to arrive a day early, so I have a little cushion. Also are you in a connecting flight itinerary , where your bags might get delayed?

Hi @jacadsis not being clear. I believe when they suggest booking flights using TA, the TA can look up flights for you, but to have next port protection, you need to book your air thru the cruise line/cruise air which for RCL cruises is Air2sea. If your flight is canceled, the airline will try to rebook you and Air2sea will try also, depends on timing of cancellation. Also depending on the itinerary and length of sailing it may not be feasible to fly you to next port as embarkation may not be allowed because of infrastructure, immigration or other issues. Depending on how long the delay, the Captain and or Corporate can decide to wait for late arriving passengers. Port schedules may plan into decision if ship can wait. You are not guaranteed the ship will wait or even getting flown to the next port. I had booked cruise line air for a Transatlantic, which was FLL to Southampton, traveling from LA to FLL and had a connection in ATL. Unfortunately, weather caused flights to be canceled and I was not going to be able to get to FLL before cruise left. Next port was Bermuda in 3 days. At first was told try to get to FLL and cruise air would try to book FLL to Bermuda. I already knew there were very few flights available from FLL, so I told them this was not a feasible option. Then, I was given choice fly day ship arrives Bermuda in 3 days and if I miss ship again, I would be on my own, or fly 2 days early and wait for ship. Since I did not have travel insurance, I was on the hook to pay for 2 expensive hotel nights in Bermuda. I did not want to risk any flights delays to travel the day the ship was to arrive Bermuda. Cruise line air did pick up bill for new flights. YMMV.

Hi @satxdiver, I know you are frustrated, but you already started a thread ‘EZair is anything but easy’? A couple days ago. It seems like unfortunately you are caught up with the airlines reshuffling and EZair staff shortages. The last responses to your other thread shared EZair is giving priority to flights within 30 days and yours do not meet that criteria since they are not till August. I know this is not what you want to hear, and if you had originally booked direct with the airlines, you would be dealing with them, but no time machine. You can spend more hours trying to be that squeaky wheel or wait a little till you are within 30 days. Yes, if it was me, I would like to get new flights as seats are being allocated and flight itineraries are being booked so your preferred replacement flight that are available today, might not be available when EZair gets to you.

Hi @satxdiver, just wanted to make sure even though you paid for the EZAir flights and the cruise at final payment, you know the flights are not ‘ticketed’ till about 45 days from the first flight date and reports lately, EZAir is even waiting longer, assuming you booked ‘flexible’ fare. A YouTuber who was just on the Regal reported their return DL flights booked thru EZAir were cancelled because EZAir failed to pay DL. Supposedly, they were rebooked on American for no charge which the passengers did not like, as they have ‘status’ with DL and would not have to pay bags fees and have access to preferred seats. I believe close to flight date, they were able to reach out to DL or EZAir and it was verified they originally had DL flights and were able to get back on the original DL flights which were still operating, but passengers were cancelled because EZAir did not pay on time. Are you still more than 45 days from your flight? If so, and the airline has canceled the flight, EZAir needs to find you an alternate flight at no extra charge to you. If you are less than 45 days from your flight and EZAir still had not ticketed your flight, they are still responsible to rebook you at no extra costs. If EZAir has ticketed your flight and the airline canceled the flight, usually you can contact the airline directly to rebook you on a suitable replacement at no extra cost. I believe most people can relate to this added stress, it sounds like there is still time to get you new flights as your flight is not in a few days? Let us know if you get flights that work for you.

Hi @meab, it is a known ‘issue’ anytime you refare a Princess booking, if you had the shareholders benefit, it will usually ‘drop off’. Pre pandemic, a quick call to shareholders department and it would be restored immediately. With current long hold times using phone contact, I suggest ‘live chat’. You find live chat link at the bottom of the Princess webpage, make sure you scroll all the way down. I was able to use on my IPad yesterday. They can see the history of your booking and restore shareholders without you needing to resubmit any additional documentation.

No, the cabin steward will not ‘lock’ the balcony door for access. This has been reported on many other threads regarding the forward facing balconies and some of the forward cabins. If you have one of the forward DW’s you are asked to keep your curtain closed at night so the light from your cabin does not cause issues with the ‘bridge’.

I just booked a cruise only 3 weeks from sailing. Emailed shareholders, then I used ‘live chat’ on website. Got connected within one minute to a ‘chat’ agent. Explained sailing was only 3 weeks away. She messaged the ‘department’ and was told they are currently working on requests sent about 1 month ago, so they are behind, but give priority to sailings within 14 days. She told me if I could wait a few minutes, they could probably do while I was waiting. After a minute, she said the ‘department’ messaged her it was done. Yay for me. YMMV.

Hi @The Collie, I suggest you book the DW, it has the extra sofa so another place to sit and slightly larger. Depending on the itinerary, the forward facing DW’s have great sized balconies, but can be very windy. Being forward, you are also subject to more ‘motion’

Did your do the ‘math’? If you can add ‘plus’ for $50/day, you are ahead since you both get the drink package even if the other does not drink, and both get unlimited wifi for one device, when you consider crew incentive is included.

Reading the Terms and conditions, it does not appear both passengers are required to buy the adult drink package. I know on RCL, if the other adult passenger does not drink alcohol they are allowed to purchase the ‘refreshment drink package’ as both passengers are required to buy a package and this must be done by calling RCL. With the drink package pricing, do the math, assume Canadian dollars are equivalent. Currently the adult plus package is $59.99 plus 18% gratuities for a total of just over $70. if you cruise fare is not heavily discounted, usually you can upgrade your booking with the ‘plus’ amenities which will add $50/day per person. This almost would be a wash since the ‘plus’ includes gratuities which would be a minimum $29/day for 2, so add that to buying your single package and you are even, and you would both get unlimited WiFi, and passenger2 gets unlimited non alcohol drinks in your case since they do not drink alcohol.

Hi @Vacation...Yes, what website are you using? When RCL sold off Azamara last summer, they inherited the booking engine and it says something about valid only for Azamara ? I was told they were working on a replacement but it is possible it has not happened. Your option now is to call them directly and try and find if they have any air options that will appeal to you. I think they are supposed to be available 24/7.

Hi @megsterl, here is my recent experience on Navigator of the seas this past February. The mini fridge in the cabin had a sticker that noted this is a ‘cooler’ not a refrigerator and if you require items to be refrigerated, contact your room steward. on a later sailing I was in a balcony cabin, and that ‘cooler’ was definitely set to a lower temperature , so I do not know if the stewards can adjust or it was a qwerk?

You may have booked a ‘refundable’ First class ticket that does not have any restrictions regarding cancellation or changes. People need to be aware, ‘your’ booking rules may not be the same for them, Air2sea lists refundable fares, but there are terms and conditions attached to some of those which have ‘fees’. If you book with Royal Air2sea, make sure you know if you are allowed to make changes and up to what date, if applicable, and if you are subject to any ‘fees’. Policies are subject to change, I know a few years ago, Air2sea bookings were due and payable and ‘locked’ at time of booking, no grace period of waiting till cruise final payment date, now I know they are more flexible. Passengers need to understand booking ‘rules’.

Hi @ChrisB123, I am assuming you have sailed with Princess previously? If so, make sure you take advantage of their referral program since you say you are booking with 2 other couples who are ‘first timers’ Hopefully no one else has referred them to Princess previously. See the Princess website for more details, essentially for each referral that books and actually take cruise you and them get $25 OBC. You would receive on the cruise you are sailing together. So if you are referring 4 people, they each get $25 OBC and you would get $100 total. You need to do and get referral confirmation before ‘any’ bookings are done.

@Cruise a holic, good to hear you got a fare adjustment for your Air2sea reservation. I see your earliest cruise is not till December, so I assume you are still before final payment. There is a time limit associated with when you can take advantage of airfare price drops. Your comment just says prior to cruise, one needs to confirm with Air2Sea the exact date, when, if you wanted to make any changes, or price drops, you are not subject to any fees. For example, Princess EzAir will not charge for flights booked through them till your final cruise payment is due. If you booked a ‘flexible’ and not ‘restricted’ fare, you are allowed to cancel or make any changes up till 45 days before your first flight or start of the cruise, whichever date is sooner, keeping in mind many passengers fly in earlier than cruise start date, so the 45 days would be earlier. Royals Air2sea program is a little different so you need to confirm with them regarding this policy. I have not used Air2sea lately, I used it to book flights for last summer for sailings of the Adventure out of Nassau, but I know when they sold off Azamara, Air2sea portal changed and you could not use online and had to call to see flight options if you were not traveling on cruise start and end dates. I was told months ago it was to be updated but have not checked as I booked my flights for upcoming Brilliance TA for November 2022 on my own and it was a hassle to call Air2sea and since I am flying to Rome a few days early, I feel I have a cushion if there are flight disruptions.

Hi @little britainmeans you get back/make your way back to VCE/ Marco Polo airport. Where RCL has scheduled shuttle service for a fee to get passengers arriving that day to the Ravenna port.

Just looked at deck plan on Princess.com and it still shows Izumi , deck 15 aft.

Hi @Bxc53, for your big box TA booking, they do not participate and have opted out of the RoyalUp program so you will not be able to participate, but if you see a drop in higher categories you could ‘upgrade’ that why. Your thread title answer is NO, RoyalUp is open to TA bookings if they have opted into the program. There have been previous threads your big box TA and others have opted out of RoyalUp and you cannot participate.

Thanks for the quick reply Ken, @Ourusualbeach. It has only been a couple weeks since I emailed RCL shareholders for confirmation, but it appears I made the right decision to refare to WOW fare and get shareholders. I have appreciated reading your many posts offering advice and perspective on many threads.

Hi @Ourusualbeach, would you mind answering this question I recently sent to RCL shareholders but who knows if they will ever reply. i recently found a few Travel agencies using their online booking portal and found a fare description of TA F&F which I assumed means Travel Agency Friends and Family. This fare for me traveling solo is about $40-$50 less than the least available fare offered on the Royal website. When I read about price guarantee within 48 hours of booking, I see a notation, the fare must be available on Royal website which these fares are not. Anyone accessing the booking engine for these Agencies can book these fares, so not only for TA’s. If I booked the TA F&F fare, do you know if it is eligible for shareholder’s benefit/OBC? If so, I would consider booking this fare in the future. Also when I did book one and a few days later the fare dropped about $20 and still before final payment, I emailed the TA, and was told the TA F& F was applicable for ‘new’ bookings only and because I booked with NRD, to book at the now lower fare, I would lose the $100 NRD, so of course not financially prudent to lose $100 for a savings of $20. A week later, I asked my TA to refare me to the lowest fare on the Royal website which was the recent WOW sale with OBC which I am pretty sure I will get shareholders, and will be slightly better than if I stuck with the TA F&F fare and it turns out Royal does not allow shareholders with a TA F&F rate booking.

Hi @RoperDK, I had Hip replacement surgery about 4 weeks ago on May 4th. When going through all the classes and the pre-op prep last year, it was recommended I plan on 3 months recovery. Fortunately for me, earlier this year my surgeon trained for the anterior approach and by the time of my surgery had a couple months worth under his belt. My understanding is the anterior approach was developed about 10 years ago, but it is taking awhile for many surgeons to adopt. I was told there are only 2 surgeons at Kaiser Sunset(Los Angeles, CA) that do the anterior approach. My sister had the posterior approach done 4 years ago, also at Kaiser facility, and she says she is amazed at my quicker recovery. No restrictions on crossing legs or bending. Physical Therapy released me/discharged me from needing further sessions at 3 weeks. Had 2 weeks of In Home PT that was 2x week, then 1 out patient PT during week 3. Everyone’s recovery will not be the same, but most report much better results with the anterior approach. I am a 62 year old male in average shape and was concerned how long my recovery would be. I feel I am about 90% percent after 4 weeks, so if you have 8 weeks, I think you have a good chance of doing ok, provided you have the anterior approach. Have a plan B and C and travel insurance, unless you are covered under CWC ? Discuss with your surgeon your concerns, but as you have said, they are doing posterior approach, time to find another surgeon? Scheduling may be an issue, if you need to find another surgeon, will they be able to fit you in with 8 weeks recovery before your cruise? Good luck and I hope your surgery is a success without any complications.

Hi @Dar & Bob, sorry, I typed Grand but meant Crown. My posts repeated mention see Crown Princess Alaska past, present and future, which should have been a clue and the dates for Juneau arrival were for Crown not the Grand. I do not think your Grand sailing has itinerary changes. Sorry about the confusion.

Hi @phabric, It seems to depend on which ship has supplies. I did B2B on Majestic in April, so only a couple months ago. First day, steward delivered ‘elite’ bathroom amenity kit that was in a mini blue ‘dopp’ like canvas bag. Had loofah pad, nail file, cotton ball and Q tips, and razor and tube of lotion. Got one for second sailing too. sounds like supply issue.

It may depend on which port and what they are doing for making ‘new’ Medallions. For San Pedro, my sister needed them to make her a medallion as hers was not delivered. They made a new one at the pier before boarding. Last September, my medallion did not arrive for San Pedro embarkation and instead of them making me a ‘medallion’, I was issued a ‘cruise card’ which they said take to the PSD to swap for a medallion. It makes sense so they do not need to have a medallion making machine at the pier since they know the ship has one to make or replace any ‘lost’ or ‘non functioning’ ones, usually because battery is low or died. Do not worry, either they make you a medallion at pier or give you cruise card to board and you get medallion at PSD. They will give you complimentary lanyard too, if you want.

Hi @Dar & Bob, please read my post carefully. Princess has only officially updated the sailings arriving to Juneau up to June 20th arrival. Your sailing in July has not be changed as of now. Please read the previous threads on the Crown and the , past ,present, future thread for more info.