Gretchendz

40 minutes ago, oaktreerb said:

Interesting information.  It took me a while to figure it out.   Where did you find it?

Travel agent site--Out obviously is outside, each lists the floors by name, square feet

Here's a list for Rotterdam:

PS4/2 OUT PINNACLE SUITES AVG 1290 SQ FT INCL. VERANDAH SCHUBERT

SQ2/2 OUT SPA NEPTUNE SUITES AVG 465 SQ FT INCL. VERANDAH PANORAMA

SA3/2 OUT NEPTUNE SUITES AVG 502 SQ FT INCL. VERANDAH SCHUBERT

SB3/2OUT NEPTUNE SUITES AVG 502 SQ FT INCL. VERANDAH NAVIGATION SCHUBERT MOZART GERSHWIN BEETHOVEN

SC2/2OUT NEPTUNE SUITES AVG 502 SQ FT INCL. VERANDAH SUN

SS3/2OUT SIGNATURE SUITES AVG 400 SQ FT INCL. VERANDAH SCHUBERT

SY2/2OUT SIGNATURE SUITES AVG 400 SQ FT INCL. VERANDAH GERSHWINA

S3/2OUT VISTA SUITE AVG 267 SQ FT INCL. VERANDAH SCHUBERT BEETHOVEN

A4/2OUT VISTA SUITE AVG 267 SQ FT INCL. VERANDAH SCHUBERT MOZART GERSHWIN BEETHOVEN

B4/2OUT VISTA SUITE AVG 267 SQ FT INCL. VERANDAH NAVIGATION

BC2/2OUT VISTA SUITE AVG 267 SQ FT INCL. VERANDAH MOZART BEETHOVENVQ3/2OUT VERANDAH AVG 233 SQ FT INCL. VERANDAH PANORAMAVS2/2OUTVERANDAH AVG 233 SQ FT INCL. VERANDAH NAVIGATION MOZART GERSHWINV4/2OUTVERANDAH AVG 233 SQ FT INCL. VERANDAH NAVIGATION SCHUBERT MOZART GERSHWIN

VA4/2OUT VERANDAH AVG 233 SQ FT INCL. VERANDAH NAVIGATION SCHUBERT MOZART

VB4/2OUT VERANDAH AVG 233 SQ FT INCL. VERANDAH SUN BEETHOVEN

VC4/2OUT VERANDAH AVG 233 SQ FT INCL. VERANDAH MOZART GERSHWIN

16 hours ago, zgscl said:

 

You should get an email back from them confirming when it has been applied but as far as I know you can't see it anywhere. Once we got onboard we saw the OBC on our account (all our credits were lumped together as "promotional credit" but added up correctly). I highly recommend printing the confirmation email from them and bringing it with you just in case.

 

I think they are very backed up right now. My last email was 10 days ago and nothing but the automated email back yet. My TA sent in several transfer requests for bookings I had made and finally had to call her rep after 14 days or so to get them to expedite things. If you get nothing back you can try calling 800 522 3399 and if nothing else I would bring a print out of your documents, your email (or multiple emails) to them, and the auto reply to show guest services and hopefully they can apply it or provide the documentation after the fact. Not sure what kind of allowances they might be making now due to their backlog. Hopefully they are prioritizing by sail date and get it all applied before you sail. 

Apologies to all--I just realized I viewed it on the TA site. I cannot see the OBC credit on the consumer facing Navigator or HAL site--but I can see it on the TA site....if you used a TA check with them and they can see if it has been credited yet or not.

3 hours ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

You are lucky.  I’m pretty sure I applied for mine 2 weeks ago and crickets are chirping.  That said, my cruise is in the spring so maybe they are doing closer in first.

I suspect, as you do, that how soon the cruise is makes for a big factor.  Also, I should have noted, I got no email notice--it just showed up in my account.

I'm on the Nov. 7 Konigsdam. I applied about three weeks ago and the credit showed up within a few days.

Posted on the Princess site:

https://www.princess.com/downloads/pdf/plan/impacted-and-cancelled-cruises/cancelled-cruises-discovery-march-2022.pdf

I'm booked for April 10-hope it holds 🙂

3 hours ago, wesport said:

Amex only downloads 100 offers per card. If you want more, add many of the offer to your card even if you don’t use them . This will add more offers to the card. 

I never knew this--thanks for posting!

Thanks for posting!  Not showing on Delta reserve Amex 😞

1 hour ago, Hogladyrider said:

@aring75......when we sailed HAL it was the same, no self serve at the buffet, they filled your plate from behind the counter.  We actually prefer this over serve yourself.

 

The selection of food at the Lido was outstanding and OMG the fresh bread was to die for since we do not eat much bread anymore.

 

I am a fan of no self serve at buffets for two reasons; cleanliness and cuts down on food waste.  To me there is nothing appealing about seeing a cruise passenger with their plate piled HIGH with food and they leave most of it to go in the trash!  JMO

Or, worse yet, which I have seen on "premium line cruises" a guest takes a roll or something and then puts it back! Ugh!

On 10/15/2021 at 12:48 PM, Duffysmom said:

Is it possible to sail without the medallion?

Yes. Definitely.  You might want to transfer the booking (if already made) to a travel advisor. Let him/her know you will not be using Medallion..They can advise you on current procedures, print out boarding passes, luggage tags, etc. for you and mail (or email) them to you.

That's cool. Just don't assume the smaller TA, local or not,  cannot meet or beat the other prices. As always, if price is your sole consideration, shop around.

Many can. To each their own, but I have seen estimates that about 80% of cruisers choose to book through a TA and not direct. I suspect that many of them don't want to spend many hours to save $50 or whatever and prefer to have high quality advice and service.

On 10/14/2021 at 4:12 PM, Cruise Suzy said:

On the Website, under "Already Booked", "Manage My Bookings", "Shore Excursions" - you can book shore excursions immediately. The Specialty Dining reservations, under "Cruise Activities", will appear 2-4 months prior to your sailing. I made them on 8/18 for a 10/20/21 cruise and 10/8 for a 2/20/22 cruise. If you have Anytime Dining, you can also reserve times in the MDR under Specialty Dining.

 

Thanks--I just wanted tro be sure that if I booked an excursion, for example, now--that it would go against my Have It All credit--some cruise lines make you wait until you are onbaord to book the promotional ones.

I think others have made most of the points pro and con. 

The most important thing is, if you find you are not happy with a TA, you have a choice of telling them why and/or just moving on with your next booking.  Many local TAs are affiliated with large consortiums and often get lower rates or, more commonly, extra perks like OBC. I would not let that be the factor for that reason.

If you have a serious problem with a booking, the local TA who is part of a large consortium is more likely to go to bat hard for you. Honestly, not to knock the HAL PCC or the Big Box, but they are big enough they don't care that much if you walk away on your next booking.  The local TA, who is trying to maintain a good local reputation for service, is more likely to push harder and longer for resolution. 

For some Covid refunds, we had to fight for a year to get a refund for someone!  The Big Box (at least the one I think you mean)  rebated you virtually all of their commission and really does not want to invest that kind of time into resolution.

For a really long trip there are virtual mail services like Postscanmail.  They scan the envelope, you tell them to toss it or save it or open it. They will open it and scan the contents for you so you can review.  They will also forward it somewhere if you want. All for a price of course!

First, thanks to you posting from the voyages. It is very enjoyable to read!  I'm going on the Nov. 7 Coastal cruise with some friends.  A couple of quick questions:

1) Did any of you receive upgrades or upsell offers before the cruise?  I keep thinking there should be plenty with the ship half full, but that's just my sepculation.

2) If you have the Have It All package--did you have to wait to book the shore excursion and specialty dining until onboard?

Thanks in advance!

I'm on the Nov. 7 cruise on Koningsdam. I'll be following your posts!

14 hours ago, LocoLoco1 said:

Wondering: I sail in 11/months. Are cruiselines cutting shipboard amenities lately, or not?? 

So, looking at the title and content of your question, I suspect your underlying question is will the cruise line go bankrupt or seriously cut service.

The finances of the cruise lines and the cutting of amenties are 2 different things, although I grant there can be some relationship. 

Cruiseline finances. While of course Covid has hit all the travel industry, Carnival Corp (CCL) which owns HAL, and other lines, is generally thought to be financially stable.  Stock prices are not nearly at ther previous peak, but they are also not near their previous lows.  There are other smaller cruiselines, usually privately owned, that are of more concern regarding their finanacial viability.

Amenities. In the last month or so both HAL and Princess annouced changes to their loyalty programs (for people who have cruised often with them previously). There are threads here and on the Princess forums that can tell you what the frequent cruisers thought!  If you are asking about the main cruise experience (I suspect you are) the main changes are due to health and safety. For example, a gloved cruise person will put your buffet food on your plate as you want. No more grabbing a piece of bread and putting it back!  Personally, I consider this an improvement.  There will be many little things like that.

If you are worried about the Cruise Line going bankrupt, that seems unlikely in HAL's case.  However, since travel insurance is always a good idea, you might want to look into third party coverage. The important thing is to make sure it covers "supplier bankruptcy or financial default."  A good travel agent can help you get quotes for such a policy.

Apologies if I read too much into your question!

I emailed my request in last week for a Nov. 7 2021 cruise. Received it within a few days.

If you look around there are many posts costing out whether it is worth it or not...Most think it is.  To me, it is way better than NCL's similar offer--the Princess offer includes the drink tips--while NCL's does not.

Here's one example of a cost-out in this thread:

6 hours ago, traceytd said:

How do you follow the occupancy of the cruise. Is there a place to go check on line?

A travel advisor can go into the system and see how many cabins are available in each category.

Others who have sailed Princess lately can say if this is wrong, but as of three months' ago, the specifics for laundry were:

For transferring a direct booking to a TA the current policy is:

• The booking transfer form must be submitted no later than 60 days after booking has been created and must be outside of the Final Payment period.

As to the rest of your question, once the TA has control of the booking, they can go in and see if your booking "took."  If not, they can see what inventory is available

Good luck!.

So I have three cabins booked under Best Sale Ever for April 10 2022 Discovery Princess.  Knowing that sometimes you can double up promos, I called in.  On the two minisuites the price has increased significantly.  On the balcony cabin, the price was the same but I would lose the benefits of the BSE--so definitely not something to do.

More and more, it seems, the best deals come if you book very early (or at the very last minute).

Just thought I'd start a thread on the new Fall Frenzy promotion. What are your thoughts? Were you able to get more on board credit?