Therese S.

I thought I recognized your CC name from our roll-call, we're on the same Alaska cruise. I will try again tmrw. I also have booked the 54 day Tahiti/Australia, New Zealand for March 2026, I plan to prepay internet for that too. Oh and the tips to cover the $1 increase from $16 to $17. 22 day cruise that $44 for two people, and the 54 days cruise would be $108.

How far out is your next cruise? I tried to prepay internet for our June 2025 Alaska cruise but the button is grayed out and can't select the plan. Hope I dont have to call, I hate wasting time on hold

Oh no Where did you read this? Did Princess put out a news release as I cant find one. Just makes me so mad! Next they’ll take away the platinum/elite 50% off internet. Even at $12.50 a day (increase of $5 bucks a day) with the 50% off I still wont purchase any of the plus or premier packages.

I have read previous posts that you can book small boat excursions that take you up close to the glaciers. Is this something you book from Princess or directly with the tour company? If from Princess, do you board the boat directly from the ship and return before the ships leaves the glacier area? Will this excursion show up as something to book under the Glacier Scenic Cruising Day? Which Glacier can you do this from? If you book on your own, which port would that be from? We are booked on the 22 day Ultimate Alaska cruise RT from San Francisco leaving June 2025 on the Ruby Princess. Here's our ports in order San Francisco 2 Sea Days Ketchikan Wrangell Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier Scenic Cruising Haines Icy Strait Point Hubbard Glacier Scenic Cruising College Fjord Scenic Cruising Valdez Anchorage (Seward) 2 Sea Days Sitka Juneau Skagway Glacier Bay National Park Scenic Cruising At Sea Victoria 2 Sea Days San Francisco We have been to a majority of these ports but its been over 15+ years. Ive read that the small boat excursions are very expensive and book up fast. Right now, there are no excursions available for any of the Glaciers but I check frequently and I dont want to miss out on the chance. Any help is appreciated, thank you

This is quite a list and one Ive printed for future reference…thank you

Thank you for this helpful information. It opens the door for possibly sailing out of San Diego instead of the long drive from Sacramento.

Thank you everyone for your responses and especially to PescadoAmarillo for your long detailed list. I have printed it out as a reminder. All the help and tips have convinced me not to worry, so I went ahead and booked the 54 day RT from LA to Hawaii, Tahiti, Fiji, Australia, New Zealand on the Island Princess. Just typing out the ports makes me excited! IP is not my favorite ship, but you book the ship that goes where you want to go! I have two years to plan, where to board the cats, son will check on house once a week and get mail. I also plan to set up all remaining bills on direct pay from checking account. I will leave the decision of turning off water, water heater, etc to the husband. We're now on board with maybe flying since it's such a short flight, but I'm gonna need some anxiety pills to get onboard or perhaps Amtrak. Just know that I dont want to drive and leave my car unattended for so long. Thank you again and happy cruising

I also dislike the Island P for the same reasons you mention. Was on her once before they added all the cabins and once after. We were upgraded to an oceanview on the fiesta deck aft section (the added cabins) area and really not happy with it. The cabin shook so much the full length mirror came off the wall. I also said never again on the Island, but just booked her for the 54 day RT LA to Hawaii, Tahiti, Australia, New Zealand. I read elsewhere that the Island is going in for refurbishment in 2024. Sure hope they add an international cafe.

Ive been having the same problem logging on all day and get the same message.

Unfortunately I don't fly, that's the main reason we are interested in the LA round trip. I'm going to look into how Amtrak works and renting a car one way.

Thank you, I would never thought of turning the water off

We are booked on the Grand for 33 days next year sailing to Hawaii and the Soiuth Pacific. I love the Grand especially the pool in the aft. Ive been trying to figure out what to do with our pets, paying bills, worried about the house for so long , and more important paying for that many days of parking as we plan to drive to San Pedro. Well now we’re seriously considering cancelling this cruise and taking the even longer 54 day on the Island Princess to the South Pacific, New Zealand, Australia cruise in 2026, thats adding on 21 more days Whew. Now my head spins just thinking about how to handle things at home. The parking cost for that many days could pay for another cruise! I think this is a once in a lifetime chance for us to see ports we probably would never think about visiting. We have taken a 28 day before and it was difficult for our son to watch our pets, check on the house for that long with working, etc. So how do you long many days cruisers handle life that goes on at home? Do you drive to the port and pay for daily parking? We love sea days so those don't bother me its just being away from home for so long. Has anyone taken Amtrak from Sacramento area to San Pedro?

Thank you for this information. I was wondering where the folks who purchase the plus and premier plans were getting their morning coffee. The international cafe is so popular with Princess cruisers I’m surprised they haven’t found a location to establish a full IC. I don’t purchase either plan, but do enjoy a coupe of lattes per day. Does this location also serve morning donuts and afternoon soups and sandwiches?

I agree, the IC is one of my favorite venues provided by Princess. Seems like they could find an area to add one. We’re thinking about booking the 54 day Hawaii/South Pacific/New Zealand/Austrailia cruise in April 2026. Was so disappointed to see its on the Island. We’ve been on her twice, once before remodeling and once after. Not only did they add all the cabins where the theater/lounge was they took out the sanctuary pool. They added all those cabins but no international cafe, bad decision! Where do people get coffee without having to go to the buffet?

We also drink a lot of water and pre-purchase multiples of the package of 12. I used to always get swollen ankles and fingers whenever we cruised, Once I started purchasing our own water the problem has gone away. I’m always reminded that the water on the ship is fine to drink, but feel there’s too much sodium in it.

The coffee package is the item I miss the most, and on long trips I would buy two! I was not impressed by the Lavazza brew in the buffet. Still bitter A latte in the IC was $4 plus 18% tips total $4.72 per cup. Not a bad deal. Oh and still miss the free internet minutes! I need a package for daily tips, internet and coffee. That I would buy

I'm one of those people that hates to pay for things I used to get for free. But in the case of paying $10 for the medallion we went the easy route this time and paid for shipping. Carrying on two bottles of wine, a six pack of sodas, husband carrying on his Cpap and diet tonic water it was worth it to us to breeze though the line and straight to our cabin to unload. I was really surprised at how long the lines were for those picking up their medallions at the port. Reminded me of the old days of waiting for your cruise card. After security screening and because we were green lane with our medallion we were onboard very quickly. If Princess raises the shipping fee in the future I will have to rethink it.

You’re right.,,got on board yesterday no QR code needed. Green lane and medallion is all you need. We walked right on, biggest line/wait for us was the security area scanning bags. Was very surprised at how crowded it was for those that either were in the blue lane or preferred to pick up their medallion at the port. It was packed! Reminded me of past years when we all stood in Disney type lines to get our cruise card.

I'm in the green lane...my ipad shows the QR code but my Iphone does not and nothing I do seems to bring it up. Is the QR code really necessary to board?

Thank you everyone for your help and tips. I'm very new to Uber. We've been to the San Pedro cruise port multiple times but always boarding for the start of a cruise, never a port stop. Its always seems so crazy and hectic. Still hoping we clear the waitlist

We are doing the 7 day CA Coastal from SF on the Crown and have been wait-listed for two months now for an excursion to the Getty Center in LA. In case we dont clear the wait list when we board on Sunday, I'm trying to make a backup plan. Questions - Are Uber's allowed into the LA San Pedro Cruise port? When using the Uber app to get an estimate of cost, two addresses for the cruise port pop up- one listed as 100 Swinford St San Pedro, the other 425 S Palos Verdes St San Pedro. Which is the correct address for Uber pickup? Any suggestions for the best place to wait? Should we go out onto the street or stay at the terminal? Thank you

Welcome back and thank you for your posts. We board the Crown next Sunday. So what is this Princess Bangle bracelet you mentioned in a previous post? Is it worth standing in line for? Cost?

It is Dravuni..thank you for the tip.

We did the Hawaii/Tahiti 28 day round trip from LA in March 2019, still my top cruise. Snorkeling in Bora Bora and Moorea was amazing and we’re going back next year for the 33 day on the Grand which includes two new ports of Fiji and Raitiea. After doing 28 days, adding on another 5 days for 3 additional ports is easy.

Last week I purchased internet for my upcoming cruise through the Princess app at $7.50 per day for those that are platinum or higher. Look for MedallionNet on the app