Live from Majestic Princess - August 15, 2021

[Astro Flyer]

1 hour ago, Jadn13 said:

After following these threads the past few weeks I am definitely considering Alaska for 2023 🙂

I can't wait to read more, Have FuN! 

 

In a recent PCL news release it stated those will be available beginning on 8/18 and possibly a day earlier for elite level passengers.

 

https://www.carnivalcorp.com/news-releases/news-release-details/princess-cruises-announces-2023-alaska-cruises-cruisetours

[Trvlingal]

3 hours ago, cruiser1956 said:

Bon Voyage! Happy Boarding Day! 

I am sailing in September on this cruise.  Being a self-diagnosed over planner, over worrier, and over thinker, I was wondering if after you have successfully boarded today could post about your Covid Test?  Where & When did you go? How long did it take to get your results? What test was it, and how much did it cost? 

 

I really need to get a grip on this before my cruise.

 

Thank you so much, and have a wonderful voyage.

 

Echoing these questions with more.  Was the antigen test at CVS the one people got who used the CVS minute clinic?  If not, which test did you take? Also most posters said it was at no charge.   Did CVS bill your insurance?  Are any of you on medicare and did they accept you without cost?  And did they ask for insurance or did you note no insurance?  And did you only check, the first box about needing it for travel and no on the other answers?  Then the most important....are you on the ship now and did they accept your documentation?  If anyone would post what the CVS results look like (delete your name and dob) it would be helpful to see what Princess accepts.

 

Thanks.  

[Princess Cruises Fann]

It was a half hour from dropping off my luggage with the porters until getting in the ship. I arrived at 12:20. My time slot was 12-12:30 pm. The long part was getting through the check-in process and showing our documentation. 
 

Now enjoying the ship. 

[jennybenny]

23 minutes ago, Princess Cruises Fann said:

It was a half hour from dropping off my luggage with the porters until getting in the ship. I arrived at 12:20. My time slot was 12-12:30 pm. The long part was getting through the check-in process and showing our documentation. 
 

Now enjoying the ship. 

 

Thanks for the details. Did you have your medallion? What boarding group were you in? I understand you provided the time slot, but I had previous heard people referring to them by letter. Just curious as to times and which boarding group it is.

Thank you, 

[Princess Cruises Fann]

33 minutes ago, jennybenny said:

Thanks for the details. Did you have your medallion? What boarding group were you in? I understand you provided the time slot, but I had previous heard people referring to them by letter. Just curious as to times and which boarding group it is.

Thank you, 

I had my Medallion. The long line was everyone having to show their identification, proof of negative COVID test, and proof of vaccination. They gave me a green card, which I found wasn’t really needed since I already had my Medallion. Once you get through that section you can head straight to the ship if you have your Medallion. There was some confusion as one Princess person said that we should now proceed to the green line once we get through the health and identify screening. Another person told us those lines were only if we didn’t have a Medallion and directed us to head to the ship. 

[Jeter02]

4 minutes ago, Princess Cruises Fann said:

I had my Medallion. The long line was everyone having to show their identification, proof of negative COVID test, and proof of vaccination. They gave me a green card, which I found wasn’t really needed since I already had my Medallion. Once you get through that section you can head straight to the ship if you have your Medallion. There was some confusion as one Princess person said that we should now proceed to the green line once we get through the health and identify screening. Another person told us those lines were only if we didn’t have a Medallion and directed us to head to the ship. 

Oooh. Definitely can't argue with them if they're directing you straight on to the ship. That's when I say "Lead me the way"

[jennybenny]

10 minutes ago, Princess Cruises Fann said:

I had my Medallion. The long line was everyone having to show their identification, proof of negative COVID test, and proof of vaccination. They gave me a green card, which I found wasn’t really needed since I already had my Medallion. Once you get through that section you can head straight to the ship if you have your Medallion. There was some confusion as one Princess person said that we should now proceed to the green line once we get through the health and identify screening. Another person told us those lines were only if we didn’t have a Medallion and directed us to head to the ship. 

Thank you so much for providing those details! I agree with @Jeter02, straight to the ship!

[lbfluffy]

I am enjoying the information I’m getting. Does anyone know what the minimum bet was at the black jack table. My husband visits the casino a lot. We were just in Lake Tahoe and minimum bets were $25. I’m hoping Princess is not that high. 

[jennybenny]

1 minute ago, lbfluffy said:

I am enjoying the information I’m getting. Does anyone know what the minimum bet was at the black jack table. My husband visits the casino a lot. We were just in Lake Tahoe and minimum bets were $25. I’m hoping Princess is not that high. 

We went to Reno in March for a friend's birthday and said we'd rather gamble more on a cruise ship because their minimums were less. I'm hoping that's still the case or I will be done with gambling both on land and on a ship. 

[starboardcruiser]

6 hours ago, voljeep said:

Can you order flowers for your cabin ?

 

I tried to for a late November cruise - not available

I called a few days ago regarding my September 5 sailing and was asked whether I wanted to order flowers. I was resolving a problem and not in the mood, but I now wish I had been more curious to inquire. I considered bringing some aboard (all of the talk about flowers on this board the past few weeks makes it sound so appealing). Perhaps I'll call back next week to see what the options are. Knowing how things go, that person will tell me it's not an option. 😉

[WAussieSFO]

3 hours ago, Trvlingal said:

Echoing these questions with more.  Was the antigen test at CVS the one people got who used the CVS minute clinic?  If not, which test did you take? Also most posters said it was at no charge.   Did CVS bill your insurance?  Are any of you on medicare and did they accept you without cost?  And did they ask for insurance or did you note no insurance?  And did you only check, the first box about needing it for travel and no on the other answers?  Then the most important....are you on the ship now and did they accept your documentation?  If anyone would post what the CVS results look like (delete your name and dob) it would be helpful to see what Princess accepts.

 

Thanks.  

We took the rapid antigen test through CVS Minute Clinic, they took a picture of our insurance card. We didn’t pay anything at the time although it wouldn’t surprise me if they bill our insurance. We were called approx 40 minutes after the test with the result. It was also available on CVS My Chart. A text was also received with a link to a pdf which I printed and showed at check-in.

[WAussieSFO]

Ultimate Balcony dinner is not available on these cruises 😢I believe that anyone that pre-booked will get a refund and a complimentary dinner at a specialty restaurant, although I cannot confirm the complimentary part.

[WAussieSFO]

Captain Dino is now on vacation, Captain Tony Draper has taken over.

[mina]

12 minutes ago, sfkaren said:

Ultimate Balcony dinner is not available on these cruises 😢I believe that anyone that pre-booked will get a refund and a complimentary dinner at a specialty restaurant, although I cannot confirm the complimentary part.

Oh no.  Did you have it booked precruise and they are not honoring it?  We have it booked for the sept 5 cruise.

[Astro Flyer]

28 minutes ago, sfkaren said:

Ultimate Balcony dinner is not available on these cruises 😢I believe that anyone that pre-booked will get a refund and a complimentary dinner at a specialty restaurant, although I cannot confirm the complimentary part.

That’s very disappointing…they have CT & WM Dinner available but not the UBD while socially distancing on a balcony.

[mina]

3 minutes ago, Astro Flyer said:

That’s very disappointing…they have CT & WM Dinner available but not the UBD while socially distancing on a balcony.

Agree.  Covid can not be the reason as the waiters are serving in the open air as opposed to an enclosed dining room.  Must be staff shortage or some other reason.  

[Jeter02]

3 minutes ago, mina said:

Agree.  Covid can not be the reason as the waiters are serving in the open air as opposed to an enclosed dining room.  Must be staff shortage or some other reason.  

That's exactly what I'm thinking is shortage of staff. Because I know during that first inaugural sailing they ended up having to shift some stuff around to help with the room service department as there was an abundance of people using the ocean now to order room service which apparently got very overwhelming for them.

[cruiser1956]

46 minutes ago, sfkaren said:

We took the rapid antigen test through CVS Minute Clinic, they took a picture of our insurance card. We didn’t pay anything at the time although it wouldn’t surprise me if they bill our insurance. We were called approx 40 minutes after the test with the result. It was also available on CVS My Chart. A text was also received with a link to a pdf which I printed and showed at check-in.

Thank you for the information.  I really appreciate the response.

[cruiser1956]

7 hours ago, JF - retired RRT said:

Check this thread out: 

That's pretty much all they're talking about.

I appreciate the information, but I was looking to hear from specific cruisers, on a specific cruise line, going to a specific place.  I have been reading other boards, and they are as varied with information as they are with cruisers.  

[LATGVT12]

For PESCADOAMARILLO, 

Since you are staying on the ship, is Princess requiring that you take  another COVID test?   We just called Princess and added  Sep 19 - 26.  We are booked from Sep 12 - 19.   Princess did not say anything about taking another COVID test for the second week.  From reading your blog, we decided to stay on another week also. 

[Jadn13]

1 minute ago, LATGVT12 said:

For PESCADOAMARILLO, 

Since you are staying on the ship, is Princess requiring that you take  another COVID test?   We just called Princess and added  Sep 19 - 26.  We are booked from Sep 12 - 19.   Princess did not say anything about taking another COVID test for the second week.  From reading your blog, we decided to stay on another week also. 

She shared on an earlier post that they were assigned an 8:30 am test this morning by Princess 

[TM]

8 minutes ago, Jadn13 said:

She shared on an earlier post that they were assigned an 8:30 am test this morning by Princess 

And it was done in the ship's Medical Center.

[Jeter02]

16 minutes ago, LATGVT12 said:

For PESCADOAMARILLO, 

Since you are staying on the ship, is Princess requiring that you take  another COVID test?   We just called Princess and added  Sep 19 - 26.  We are booked from Sep 12 - 19.   Princess did not say anything about taking another COVID test for the second week.  From reading your blog, we decided to stay on another week also. 

She mentioned earlier that they did a covid test down at the medical center on the ship. Keep in mind when she joined the ship a week ago the covid tests were not required for the first three cruises.

[farsight]

It appears that they have fixed the bridge cam issue. Not sure how often it is updating but it was at the pier a couple of hours ago and they just took off about 40 minutes ago:

 

[candacej]

Sitting on my balcony watching the beautiful scenery as we Saul away from Seattle.  Embarkation was orderly and fast, we got tgere at noon and 30minutes later we were in our room,, no one checked our wine quantity, yay, got our luggage right away.looking forward to a great week!