wallyj

The Stockperks APP is a 2 step process. You first have to get ‘verified’ then you should receive an email your holdings were ‘verified’ and then you reopen the APP to ‘redeem’ where you actually select your ship and sailing date. If your cousin was ‘verified’ and they submitted the info using the ‘redeem’ option in the APP, then you are just waiting for Stockperks to process, but that step has been fairly quick in the past. An email to hello@stockperks.com for follow might help.

You can use your OBC towards upgrading to Premier on board, if you call to upgrade before sailing, you can not use your OBC towards paying for upgrade and if you have Princess vacation protection, your insurance will increase if you upgrade before sailing.

The $63 price is Aussie $. Crown grill sailing everywhere else where the on board currency is USD is currently priced at $39 plus 18% service charge per person.

You get a discounted rate if you buy for the duration of the cruise, since you will only be buying for daily 24 hour periods, the per day rate is higher. For the one device plan, you can use multiple devices, only one active at a time, so you can share or switch between phones, tablets, etc.

@HikaruTsuki, I also just checked my Sapphire August/September 14 day Alaska sailing 2024, for reserving Sterling Steakhouse for a date in September and the price shown was $39. So since the OP posted $A63, I am thinking you are getting Aussie $ pricing for some reason.

Is it possible the ship you are sailing on in September is currently ‘down under’? So the APP is pricing based on it’s current location?

I just checked the APP for my upcoming Ruby sailing LA to YVR on April 7, 2024 and Crown Grill was showing priced at $39. As of Dec 1, 2023 an additional 18% service charge will be added unless you are being comped for the meal from Premier package or other means. What sailing and ship are you checking? If the ship is ‘down under’ then pricing will most likely reflect Aussie $ which would explain the $63 price.

@Aexboeingdriver, the OP is quoting Aussie dollars so $A63 is about $USD46, which as you have stated is a decent fare for a steak dinner.

@arizonaperson, OP was upgraded to a reserve collection mini suite from post #44?, so NO 2nd minibar for being in a suite as they are not in a ‘suite’.

@bonox55, I think you are being a little unfair. When was the last time you sailed with Princess? I think the Crown grill was $29 (USD) a long while ago , then was increased to $39 and used to have the gratuity included in that prince, but believe as of Dec 1, 2023, 18% is now added so the total cost is now about $46 USD if you are paying out of pocket. Assume since you are quoting Aussie dollars where prices have gratuity included assume $A63 is comparable with current exchange rates of $USD46. If you compare steakhouse specialty dining on other cruiselines, specifically, Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity, Princess Crown Grill at $39 USD is quite competitive and considerably lower.

No, when you request a ‘shared’ table, they will try to fill the table before any food service has started. If no other passengers show up, you may still end up at a larger table just by yourselves.

Hi @Cruise Raider, was on the Sapphire last summer for 14 days roundtrip YVR and for 18 days last December for the LA to Santiago run and going back for the March 18 Santiago to LA sailing. The crew are great as the ship has won the Princess Cup again for the second time in a row. The ship does have an International Cafe, Vines and Alfredo’s. The Alfredo’s has a limited menu as it does not offer the full menu on Royal class ships, but does has the full pizza offerings. On sea days, they will offer Ocean Terrace, but it is a set menu with no customization as I believe they use a galley from one of the deck5 dining rooms. No other options of sushi were available except the set menu roll. I could not even get all shrimp nigiri, had to get the shrimp, tuna and salmon as the kitchen only makes the set menu. Sterling steakhouse is offered in a area off the buffet, but the menu is pretty much the Crown grill menu on other Princess ships. No SaltyDog Gastropub, so Casual dining is Vines, Ocean Terrace set menu and the limited Alfredo’s. No The Catch, but I did enjoy the Sterling Steakhouse food overlooking the location/ambiance. I do not care for the current Sabatini’s menu. Since you are contemplating a 4 day cruise, I think it will be a good ‘test’ cruise to see if you would do a longer sailing on the Sapphire.

Yes, just wanted to add info some may not have been aware. One department may not know what the other hand is doing. An enquiry to the F&B MGR would answer why the 2nd minibar setup, mistake or otherwise.

I think I saw there is a YouTuber on board who said this cruise is actually split into 2 segments as the first was a 5 day media invite and he was checking if he could stay on for the next 5 days, so the ships feels your 10 day sailing is actually 2 five day segments B2B.

Hi @Dale99, I was on the Sapphire Dec 1-18, 2023 and the steam and saunas are still available in the changing rooms by the fitness center. The steam room in the men’s changing room would be out of order for many days in a row. Princess has removed these facilities on sister ships Emerald with its last dry dock and the last dry dock of the Ruby last year, so it seems like a trend Princess has been implementing. I believe the Sapphire had a recent dry dock and since the steam and saunas were not removed then, I will assume the next opportunity will be the next dry dock. The men’s dry sauna was working, I do not know about the women’s facilities.

Hi @mncbabu_yahoo, I sailed on the Sapphire last Dec, 2023 and will be back for the March 18, Santiago to LA sailing. I had the premier package. Your casual dining options on Sapphire are Alfredo’s, it is a smaller version, so the menu is not as extensive as Royal Class ships with an Alfredo’s/Gigi’s. The Sapphire does have all of the Pizza selections. Your other option will be a modified Ocean Terrace, they will only have the ‘set’ menu and no substitutions, as I believe the sushi is made in the Deck5 galley, opposed to being made to order on most Royal class ships. Ocean Terrace will only be available on sea days and at lunch on the Sapphire. @startedwithamouse, in December, there was no ‘pop up’ SaltyDogGastroPub on the Sapphire. I will be back on Sapphire March 18, so will report back.

Hi @cusematt4, you are a little confused, with Princess FCD’s you receive the OBC on the cruise you actually book using your FCD. You do NOT receive OBC on your CURRENT sailing when you purchase FCD’s. The value of the OBC you will receive when you book your next cruise with the FCD, depends on the cabin category you book and the length of the sailing. You may be confusing Princess with NCL, as NCL advertises getting OBC on your Current cruise if you purchase Cruise Next deposits, but in reality you get the Cruise next deposits at a reduced cost. On NCL if you buy two $250 Cruise Next deposits, you will only be charged a total of $250, so each of your $250 deposits actually only cost you $125 each, you do not get $125 OBC to use on the current cruise.

FYI, I was on the Sapphire for the Dec 1-18 LA to Santiago sailing and had a good cruise. I believe there is a current live from @Ken the cruiser, Jan 20-Feb 19. Although the Sapphire is an older ship she is well maintained and one of the 2 ships that were built in Japan, her sister the Diamond is the other. Princess started a competition a couple quarters ago among their fleet named the Princess Cup. The winner is based on the total metrics from the Cruise survey passengers receive at the end of the voyage, so it is entirely based on passenger feedback. The Sapphire has won this ‘prize’ when the competition started 2 quarters ago and again for the 2nd time in a row, so based on passenger feedback, the Sapphire has received the top spot among the fleet, so this should tell you something about the ship and it’s crew. It is an actual trophy and the ship proudly displays it currently between Crooners and the Wheelhouse.

There have been reports passengers have been able to add Princess gift card $ as OBC, BEFORE sailing. I think most Princess call center agents will not be able to help. I would try calling once, then not waste time again if they were not able to do and then try on board when lines are not long at GS. Also, it is a Princess Gift card, AARP is just the vendor selling the gift cards at a discount. A caveat is sometimes the on board system to process the gift card is not working and you will have to come back later during the cruise and hope it comes back up before the cruise ends. My sister ran into this issue on our Sapphire cruise last December. She had guest services notate her record that said if they were still not able to process her gift cards before she disembarked, Princess will allow her to use them against her paid folio and then issue credit back to her credit card.

Future cruises no longer has a ‘list’. Was just told today discount are for sailings in the next 60 days and not all sailings qualify. You just ask if there is a discount for a sailing you might be interested in and they will check. I happen to ask about the 32 day Sapphire roundtrip LA for April 5, 2024. The princess.com fare is showing as almost $1900 for the lowest fare, double occupancy. The on board booking fare is currently pricing at just over $1300 , so an almost $600 savings or about 30%. Was told they no longer produce a list as the sailings are selling out very quickly and pricing is very dynamic, so you need to ask about the particular sailings you might want.

For the on board booking promo with a discounted cruise, one of the ‘rules’ are you are not able to apply a FCD. When it is a big discount like the previous 50% off , you still have a good savings. All other benefits apply, like shareholders if you qualify and if your travel agent offers any extra amenities.

Yes, you will only pay the remaining balance due for cruise and gift card will have $30 balance which you can take to Guest Services on board and they can add to your folio. Please note, Guest Services usually request a paper copy of the gift card for their records, so have a printout.

Currently on the Discovery Princess. Future cruise currently says most sailings within the next 3 months are discounted anywhere from 20-70%. You need to ask which particular sailing you want pricing and they will tell you how much discount is available. With these on board bookings, you can not use a FCD and since sailing is within 3 months, you are in final payment period so it must be paid in full. You can use Princess gift cards to pay if you have or can purchase before you book. The previous on board discounts promo was also discounting the packages, now the Future cruise agent will remove any package from the pricing so only the cruisefare will be discounted.

Yes, a passenger currently on board a Princess ship is eligible to purchase FCD’s for any other person who has a Captain’s Circle account. You need to keep in mind the acquisition date of the FCD must be before the ‘booking’ date of any cruise you plan on sailing. The FCD will be charged to the person on board, so you want to only do this for individuals you know/trust will repay you, unless you are gifting it. Also if that person does not use within a year, it will be credited back to the person charged, not the person it was bought for.

I have a ‘friend’ who has used a ‘router’ but you need to remember, all users will need to be in proximity of the ‘router’ while using the WiFi. So all can be using WiFi at the same time, but you will also need to be at the same place, same time. It is not like you connect other users and they can then roam around the ship and use WiFi when and where they want. Using a router works if your ‘group’ wants and can meet at the same place and time to use the WiFi, which is not really ideal for many groups and depending on who wants to do what on their devices.