CRUISE NEWS! Princess Rumor: Price Hike? | Newark Flight Warning | Grand Princess Problems

CRUISE NEWS! Princess Rumor: Price Hike? | Newark Flight Warning | Grand Princess Problems

Today is a very busy day with what is going on on Princess and lots of other things. So, first up, I’ve got a huge rumor. I had to think about whether or not I was going to talk about it. It is a rumor, but I am hearing it from so many places that I’ve decided to talk about it. I’ve also got some flight advice for you. We’ve got a ship coming back from dry dock with a very rocky start to tell you about. Ship embarking late tomorrow. something you need to know if you’re going to be visiting Istanbul, Turkey uh this summer or really for the foreseeable future. Lots to talk about, so let’s go ahead and get [Music] started. Hi there, this is Allison with Let’s Go Travel Tips. Today is Friday. It is May 10th of 2025. And if you haven’t subscribed to our channel yet, please hit that subscribe button. And if you appreciate my updates, please give this video a thumbs up. We talk about cruising a lot around here. Cruising to travel, all the ins and outs, everything you need to know, and would love to have you join us. So, this evening at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time, we are going to be doing our live. So, come and join us if you can. bring your questions and just come and be ready to have a fun time talking about cruising for an hour and sometimes it spills over and is a little bit longer but would love to have you with us or if you’re busy just watch it later. People ask a lot of really good questions there. So, it’s a really great resource. Now, let’s start at the top talking about the flight advice I’ve got for you. If you have been following along in the news, you have been seeing all of the trouble that Newark airport is having. As I have watched this coming along, I’ve thought, you know what, that’s really unfortunate. They’re going to get it under control. But today, I’ve decided that if you can possibly avoid flying um in and out of Newark through New York, New Newark, New Jersey, I think that’s not a bad idea because uh today they had to have um a stop in all operations there. Again, they called it due to construction that is ongoing there. Um they had another 90-second blackout when the um air traffic controllers could not communicate with any airplanes, could not see where they are. 90 seconds doesn’t sound long unless you’re at a busy airport and you’ve got all of these airplanes in the sky and then it’s an eternity. Uh the CEO of United Airlines actually today came out and said that even though they have already cut back a lot of the flights that they are doing out of New York, they are cutting another 35 daily flights out of Newark because every time these cancellations happen, then you have thousands of people stranded with no travel plans and really no way to manage it. And so if you can avoid new work until they get everything under control, you might want to think about doing that. If that is the airport that you need to use, um, pray and go forward. That’s the best advice I’ve got for you. But add in extra travel time. Whether you’re going to go on a cruise or if you’re traveling to some important function that you don’t want to miss, make sure that you add in a lot of extra time so that you’ve got time to be delayed for a day or so if you have to. Next up, uh, what cruise ship is going to be late embarking tomorrow? Turns out the Sapphire Princess that Gordon and I are going to be embarking on a week from today. We’re flying to Vancouver to embark on that ship on the 17th. So, the embarcation on May 10th, one of the guests who are sailing on that ship sent me this update and I really appreciate it because I had not received it. Uh due to the fact that the Sapphire Princess is coming into Vancouver for the first time this season, they are going to have to go through some um uh immigration formalities. And as a result of that, they don’t want anybody to arrive at the cruise terminal before they are able to start embarcation, not until 12:30. So keep that in mind. If you happen to be embarking on that cruise, uh don’t go early or else you’re just going to have to sit there and wait. And if you have never been to the cruise terminal there in Vancouver, it is really beautiful. It’s beautifully situated. Uh spectacular views um there and everything, but it can fill up really fast. So, um enjoy sleeping a little bit longer or get things done at the hotel uh before you travel over to the cruise port. Next up, the the Port Grand Princess. Now, the Grand Princess is just coming out of dry dock and we all had our hopes really high. Um, I have heard people say that mostly what they did on the Grand Princess during the uh dry dock had to do with accessibility and everything to do with that. But since she has been back, it has been a rough rough start. Lots of guests on board and when I say lots um several like many several of you have um sent me emails and let me know that um a lot of trouble with plumbing. A lot of toilets are not flushing correctly. And I know that there is always, you know, they when you get on board a ship, um, they always tell you if you didn’t haven’t already eaten something, don’t flush it. So, nothing else should be flushed because that can mess up the system. But in addition to that, they’re having a lot of trouble. And so, the plumbing is having a lot of trouble. Um, people are telling me that sometimes they have no water in their cabin, sometimes only hot water, sometimes only cold water, and like I said, sometimes no water. Heating and air conditioning in a lot of cabins is not working as well. Um, I’ve heard both that they can’t turn the heat off, they can’t turn the air conditioner off, um, and no air in some of them. And so, it’s a really rough start. The other thing that stands out to me is, um, the number of people have told me that they wait a really long time in the main dining room because there’s not enough staff and um, it seems a rough go. And so, I’m I’m honestly, this is going to sound really funny, but to be truthful, um, I pray for the crew on cruise ships because you know what? Um, it’s a hard job and it’s got to be hard for management to try to keep everybody moving the way they want them to move during dinner time and other times. But at the same time, it’s it’s hard if you’re new to it or things aren’t going smoothly. And so, um, while we all have expectations when we go, also remember for the most part people are doing their best. I think that’s really important. So, I am hoping that as the cruise moves forward on the Grand Princess that things smooth out a little bit. This first cruise she is doing is a longer cruise. So, like I said, I hope that they get all of these glitches with the heating and the plumbing and the water worked out. But just wanted to kind of let you all know how everything is going. Does this mean that I think you should be worried if you’ve got a crew scheduled on the ground this summer to Alaska? No. Um, history will show that usually they get these problems ironed out pretty quick and if they don’t, they give on board credit to try to help soften the blow of having um glitches during your cruise. So, um, I’ll keep you all up to date with what I hear about what’s going on there. Those of you who are on board, I love to hear from you. I love to hear how everything’s going. So, whether you’re on the Grand Princess or another ship, let me know how things are going and I’ll share it with everyone. Uh, but really, I hope things pick up around the Grand Princess there. Um, next up, uh, if you are going to be going and then I’m going to tell you what the rumor is, okay? Uh but right now I want to let you know that um in Istanbul the highest Sophia that beautiful mosque is going to undergo a renovation on the dome. They want to shore it up um so that it is more stable against all of the earthquakes that can happen. And in order to do that they are going to kind of cover it with um like a protective steel structure to cover it and then they are going to work on it. Um they have not said how long this is going to take. They expect it to be quite the undertaking. And when you look just at the size of that dome, you can tell it’s going to be quite the undertaking. A really important thing to note is they really want to minimize the disruption to people who come there to worship because it is a working mosque as well as people who come to visit. People travel from all over the world to visit the highest Sophia. When we went in 2022, uh we were able to go on the ground floor of that um beautiful mosque, but now things have changed and visitors only go up on the second level, which you can still see everything on the ground level there beautifully. It’s a beautiful place to visit. So, if you get to go to a symbol, definitely go visit it. But I just wanted to give you a heads up a little bit that they are going to be working on the dome there. And um if I get to go during the time they’re working on it, I’ll share the pictures with you. Okay. All righty. Let’s talk about the rumor now. It’s a really interesting rumor and I’m trying to decide. I think I know what it applies to. I keep hearing the rumor coming in from several people on several different Princess ships that the price for the plus and the premiere package are going to go up by $5 a day later this month. And so I want to talk about it here so that everybody can kind of think about what’s going on and have some context for that. So of course the price for the plus and the premiere package could go up at any time. I never have a heads up on that. So, when you hear about it, I am just as surprised as you are. But with the news that I keep on hearing people saying, crew members telling people that the price is going to go up by $5 a day. What I think they’re talking about is the fact that the day is coming that Princess is going to put into effect that change that I told you about that the price for the plus package will go to $65 per day when you book it when you’re on board the ship. If you book it before you get on, it’s still $60 a day. But if you wait until you get on board and you add the plus package, it’s going to be $65 a day for the duration of that cruise and it’s going to be $95 a day for the for the premiere package if you add it while you’re on board. I think that that is what I am hearing about. So, if you hear a rumor going around saying that the PL price for the package is going up, that could be it. Now, if you hear other rumors, um, let me know. is always fun really to talk about things, but rumors always really make me nervous because you never really know if people start them on purpose, if they really know what they’re talking about, really what the context is. But the rumor that the price is going to go up, I believe, is because the day is coming, like I told you in my video, um a few gosh over a week ago now, maybe two weeks ago, that the price for the um package was going to go up when you added it when you were on board the ship. So, uh, let me all know how everything goes for you all. If you add it soon, let me know what you see. I believe it’s May 15th that that is going to go into effect that they’ll start charging more if you add it once you’re on board the ship. So, really fun to go on. I’ve done lots of videos talking about the Plus Premiere package. If you’re going to use what is in the package, they are definitely worth it. And, uh, I’ve talked about that until I’m blew in the face. If you want me to talk about it again, I am delighted to because it’s always fun to talk things over and really decide how they’re going to work and whether they’re going to work for you or not. So, um, thanks for joining me here today. I will see you tonight and I’ll be talking to you all again really soon. You all take really good care. God bless you. Love you. Bye-bye.

Big news today! Allison shares a serious rumor spreading across several Princess ships that the Plus and Premier packages may be going up by $5/day starting May 15 if purchased onboard. She also gives an urgent flight warning about Newark Airport due to repeated delays and blackouts, plus an update on Grand Princess after dry dock—with plumbing, HVAC, and staffing issues reported. There’s also an important heads-up for those cruising from Vancouver on Sapphire Princess and those visiting Istanbul this summer. Don’t miss tonight’s live at 8 PM Eastern!

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