yags

Its $25 per cabin, not per person. The person must not of ever sailed on Princess

It is $25 per person. I just did it for my brother and sister-in-law. As mentioned make sure they stay on top of it. It took me a couple of phone calls. If the answer is a no for any reason insist on talking to a supervisor. It is amazing how much the line agents don't know.

BEcause I do not let my meal times determine when and how I do things the rest of the evening. I am also not one of those who are so rigid they must eat at the same time each and every evening or it upsets me. My anger, which is minor, is at both Princess and those who think nothing of inconvenience others without a thought.

I agree. Just because you CAN (Make a reservation) does not mean you SHOULD (stepping to the front of the line like others do not exist).

With all due respect, for some of us reservations do not defeat the purpose of Anytime Dining. For us the main reason for choosing ATD is that we think 5:30-6:00 is too early for dinner and 8:15-8:30 is usually too late. If we can make a reservation for 7 to 7:30 and not have to wait for a table, that is "just right" for us.

I am an advocate of no reservations in the Anytime Dining room. When you make reservations you displace people who understand that Anytime dining comes with a caveat. You may have to adjust your dinner this way or that way, just wait in line, or God Forbid! take a beeper and go get a cocktail or hit the casino. Remember you are part of a group who all have different expectations but are willing to play together. Do the same.

Although I have no argument with the MDR and have always been treated well and felt welcome the Crown Grill was supposed to be a step above. Billed as a totally different dining experience. I am not sure I would do the CG in the MDR. Don't try to be everything to everybody. It is not that hard to get reservations at one of the upscale dining venues to have to use them through the MDR.

There is usually one dining room used and the Patters tell you everyday which dining room will be used. Usually the same one. Just show up and get seated. Most times you have a choice of a private table or share. There might be a short wait during peak hours but we eat early so that is never an issue.

It is silly to suggest nefarious motives for why the Princess does anything. The fact is that is what they require now. Do it or don't Princess does not care either way. I find it to be perfectly acceptable to pay now for something I am asking for. If it is too much order it when you can pay for it. You can cancel up to 72 hours before departure of the excursion and buy another excursion with the monies already paid. Paying now gives you the luxury of not paying later and paying with money that you are not going to miss when the cruise is happening.

Thanks - sounds a little like the summer weather in the UK :D. We take a brolly everywhere :cool:. I wondered if the seas would be a little choppy on our way up. Hopefully, they will be kind to us in August.

That part of the Northern California Coast is more rugged and rough then the popular Southern California Coast. Like I mentioned in a previous post I tend to enjoy the movement but if you are a little sensitive you may want to engage in your favorite sea sickness pharmaceutical.

Yep I live in Brentwood and we can be 100 degree's and once we go thru the tunnel into Oakland it can be a 45 degree difference. Burr. We have hosted many exchange students, both 90 day and full year and they are always amazed at how cold San Francisco can be in the summer. I love going under the Golden Gate Bridge. We had the same captain twice on the Princess Dawn who had the song San Francisco open your Golden Gate broadcasting on ship as we sailed toward the bridge and I think most of the passengers sang along. It was spectacular!

What a great memory. I would really enjoy something like that. Of Course my horrible voice might have an ice burg effect on the ship.

We are also on the June 25 sailing, this is our first time with Princess, should have gone last year to Norway but took Princess up on a Moveover offer . June cant come quick enough.

When we first booked this June 25th Alaskan cruise was last March 2017 on our return from a 9 day Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Crown Princess. It seemed so far off. Now only 5 months away I am getting very excited. The good news is that the last 10 months went by in a hurry I am sure the next 5 months will. See you on board!

I’ve taken a look at the Patters, thanks for posting - I’ll be looking out for the rest when you upload on your new roll call ;). Was the sea quite calm on the way up north? We sail in August and I’m presuming the weather will be nice in SF and then progressively get cooler.

 

We are so looking forward to seeing all the wildlife again in Alaska. Did you take any tours (private or ship)?

Having grown up in the San Francisco Peninsula and now living just 90 north I can tell you that weather wise August in SF can be a real crap shoot. Unlike the rest of California July and August can actually be quite chilly in the city by the bay. The reason for this is the high temperatures in the central valley draws in the fog off of the ocean. Septembers tend to warm up before the fall (such as it is) settles in in October. In the summer ALWAYS bring a jacket to San Francisco. Mark Twain once said "The coldest winter I ever Spent was a summer in San Francisco. That part of the northern California coast the water tends to be a bit tortuous. I love it but bring your pills if you are sensitive. The best part is leaving under the Golden Gate Bridge. This will full fill an entry on my bucket list.

I have several family members on the Regal this trip. I would be interested in knowing how St. Martin is Doing. I have spent time on the Island mostly at Orient Beach. I heard it was hit pretty hard.

Last May was my first time on the Grand and my first time to Alaska. It was one of the best cruises I have ever taken. It was very relaxing as it was to cold to use the pool (May 28 sailing) so for the first time in 23 years we did things around the ship and not at the pool. Once in the inside passage it was like the ship was not moving the sea was so calm. It was like floating thru air. Scenery was so beautiful. The ship was smaller than the other Princess ships we have been on but for a ship that was built in the late 90's I thought she was in great shape. We had a balcony cabin and it was nice, however the closet was smaller than any closet on any ship we were on in the past. No big deal. We enjoyed the Pizza on deck 5 and the international café which is also on deck 5. I have been posting my princess patters on my new roll call, Grand Princess - May 26, 2018 so you can look at them. I will be posting the rest of them later this week. We also had a whale entertaining us when we were in Juneau and I also posted that on my new roll call so you can see the whale right next to the ship. My whale swam around for about two hours showing off his /her excellent swimming and breaching skills. It was such a delight. and many cruisers were watching. This was around 7:00 - 10:00 PM . I loved this cruise so much we booked it again right after we go home.

That trip sounded awesome. Everything I hope mine will be.

We’re also taking this cruise in August, YAGs, please let us know how you get on. We’ve started to look at tours we would like to take. I’ll be following the thread with interest.

 

It’s our first cruise on Grand (only our second on Princess), so it’s good to hear there’s a covered pool for Alaska. Our teens will appreciate the information on the pizzeria ;). Does the IC serve sandwiches and cakes as well as salads?

That is the same with me. My first on the Grand and I did the Crown last March. ( I have two princess cruises under my belt as well). We have chosen as excursions the Summer Dog Sled camp (Juneau) and the White pass and Yukon railroad in Skagway. The IC serves great sandwiches and desserts and even better designer coffees and teas. Keep me posted on what excursions you are thinking about.

We will be going on a 10 cruise out of San Francisco to Alaska on the Grand leaving June 25th 2018. I have done my share of cruises and cruise ships but have never been on the Grand or been to Alaska. To those seasoned veterans of both what is the best piece of advice you can give? I am getting excited and want to make this an awesome trip. Thanks.

My father-in-law is taking us on a 10 day cruise to Alaska in June. My dh and I have never been on a cruise. How much of a hold will they put on our Credit card when we board? There are 4 of us in our cabin. Thank you!

I don't think they put a hold on your card. But they will use it for everything you buy or think about buying. We will be on the Grand on her June 25th sailing. Which one are you going to be on?

Those ships would not be in port at the same time if Port Everglades could not handle the crowd. Princess will act accordingly with additional of everything.

I had room service delivery hot food to me on the Crown about 15 minutes ago. I had to sign for the delivery and on the sheet that I signed, there was a line for gratuity. This leads me to believe that the delivery folks are not included in the tipping pool.

I believe they are included in the tipping pool. Those gratuity lines are there to confuse. This is done everywhere just not on Princess. We always keep a stack of $1's in the desk drawer to tip additionally to room service.

We will be going on the Grand in June (SF-Alaska-SF). The weather should be cold enough for the hot tub but I am sure I am not the only one thinking that. In the Sanctuary are there hot tubs and what is the current charge for the Sanctuary. Seems to me if you can avoid a crowd the charge would be worth it. Happy New Year to all.

The should work it the same was as they do for tender assignments.

Show up the the door when your whole group decides they want to eat.

The beauty of Anytime dining is that period when everybody shows up is not the time to eat dinner. It is not hard to figure out when that time is and then go 5 minutes earlier.

Exactly ! People have to wait because others need the same table each night & don't care for traditional dining. :confused:

 

Anytime should mean exactly that you show up when you want to eat & then they seat you.

No reserving seats ahead of time or for the whole cruise.

I totally agree. Reservations at anytime defeat the whole purpose and penalizes those who understand and agree that anytime means as it happens. Besides unless you want to eat at peak hours you never wait longer then 10 minutes.

We are doing the Summer Dog Sledding Camp. Checked it out on You Tube and it looked great. That is if you like dogs. Be careful of the excursion to Mendenhall glacier provided by Princess. From what I understand it is not far from the ship and you may end up paying a lot more then you want.

We were on the Crown last March and received a tumbler in our room.

Although we have not been before we are going in June and have decided on:

Juneau: Summer Dog Sled Camp

Skagway: White Pass and Yukon Rail road

Ketchikan: The lumberjack show

Really excited about the first two. Check You Tube on these excursions.

That's the way I feel. Between the ultra-high tour cost, and requiring pre-payment up front, I'm oriented towards private companies as much as I can.

 

For our upcoming New Zealand cruise, in the port of Dunedin, Princess has bought out the public train to the popular location of Taieri Gorge. Both the train company, and private tour companies, say they don't have any tickets available and there won't be any public trains available that day. The only option is to go with the Princess tour, at literally 250-300% the cost of the private tours.

 

Doing that with a family of 4 makes it cost prohibitive, paying upwards of $1,000 more than we would have with a private tour for the same thing.. At best, I might be able to do it just myself, rest of the family doing something else that day. But Princess has made it so there's no other option than pay their massive prices (ahead of time, too) for that tour.

 

Boo.

Hoarding all the tickets versus paying now or later are substantially different. I would not do an excursion where Princess excluded all other vendors. That hurts their own clients who have paid enough already without having to be involved in a shakedown. In addition it hurts the local economies.

I have not done SF yet but will in a few months. I think the standard is 11:00 AM - 11:30 AM you can check in if desired. They always try to put cruisers off a little so to shift the crush and even the flow. We are going to be gone for 10 Days (to Alaska on the Grand) might as well get used to a line. Merry Christmas Cruise Critic Travelers.