bronzey214

We first visited Alaska in 2019 and loved every moment of it. It was so much different than a Caribbean cruise. You’re constantly passing scenery while in the Inside Passage.

We couldn’t wait to go back in 2021…. er, 2022 (I know there was a small return to cruising in 2021 but ours was cancelled). One of the things we wanted to do was walk on a glacier. I saw there was a Mendenhall Paddle and Trek in Juneau and in 2022, there was a disclaimer that, due to the glacier receding, it was difficult to do the “trek” part.

I was heartbroken but saw a Glacier Point Wilderness Safari in Skagway that looked promising.

We ended up booking it - you take a fast zodiac boat toward Haines and eat a packaged lunch - granola bar, turkey sandwich and string cheese which wasn’t gourmet but was more than adequate. From there, you switch into boots and life jacket and walk your paddle about a half mile through the woods toward your canoe. The water flow from the glacier was strong and our paddling basically left us paddling in place. The guides then pulled out a small motor and we (slowly) made our way to the glacier. We made great time because they said we had enough time to get toward the face of the glacier. We walked toward it and the wind coming down the face of it was intense. You never truly know the size of them until you’re standing directly in front of one.

We made a brief YouTube video showing the excursion. You can view it here! 

Just curious but does princess help with flight change costs due to coming in later now?

13 hours ago, travelin.sisters said:

....wait...there's still one more Hawai'i cruise before the season ends!!! Don't lock the doors before our turn!

There's more than one! We're on the Crown to Hawaii in April!

Disappointed at the reduction of options in the new menu. The formal menu has fish twice, duck twice and no chicken entree.

We were on the Grand in 2019 for Alaska and the Crown last year.

The Grand has a covered pool and is a little smaller. If you want to save some money, Lido deck has some rooms that would traditionally be balcony on other ships of her class, but the Grand has floor-to-ceiling windows which makes it an oceanview and perfect for Alaska - it also makes the room a bit larger too because balcony space is now indoor space. If you see something really cool, you're like... 30 feet from Lido deck.

Just setting expectations, I believe this is JUST Summer 2024 and does not include October.

Thanks all 🙂

Hi all - I am on the Crown Princess out of LA to Hawaii on April 14 (the last Hawaiian cruise for the Crown this season I believe). I was doing my research and saw that Princess has couples that act as Hawaiian ambassadors as part of their cultural enrichment programs (one of the reasons we choose Princess over other lines).

BUT - I saw both Brian and Rowena and Elua are on different cruises. Does this mean there won't be any one running these programs on our ship?

We're in the same boat. (Well, not literally. I'm on the Crown in March) Princess says 12:30, but...

So - just from my experience. Princess<->Carnival<->HAL - offers don't cross cruise lines. My father in law had a free cruise from Carnival, tried to call them to see if he could get any discount on a Princess cruise and they said no - so he booked a Princess cruise and now has offers from both.

As far as cruisetours, the casino will not pay for the tour portion. You can do it, but you're responsible for that portion

I had an AirTag holder for my Apple Watch that I used previously. On my last cruise, i forgot it and bought a Sustainable Sports Band - by the end of the cruise, the rotating piece that is used to keep the Medallion in the band would freely spin on my wrist causing my Medallion to fall out.

We stopped sailing NCL because we felt we were being "nickel and dimed" on NCL vs Princess. ($45 for a 12 pack of water). Of all the changes to Princess Plus vs Princess Premier vs Princess Basic, I never though anything was being "taken away" from anyone until this - "reserved seating in the Princess Theater".

If you're removing seating for the possibility of people sitting there.... something is being taken away. Between this and the class system on the Sun, I think our time with Princess is running out.

Not that I know of. Keep in mind Princess has self service laundromats which will end up being cheaper than anything you send out. $3/load for washer and dryer but bring your own detergent.

12 hours ago, Mittens101 said:

I just got off sky very few were wearing masks and there was a ton coughing by the end. Hopefully we escaped without catching the bug. Whether you mask or not that’s up to you. 

Yep - I came off with a slight sore throat but have tested negative for three consecutive days.

38 minutes ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

It’s best I just don’t cruise I guess, or I would find myself in trouble. 

I will miss your blogs but I understand and respect your decision - I’m 36, just took my parents (65, 62) on their first cruise (originally scheduled for Nov 2020, then Nov 2021) and was having nightmares of them getting COVID during the cruise.

Do you plan on land travel at all?

To those who are masking on cruises: do you still eat in the MDRs? I’m not mocking at all. We just came off the Sky and

many people developed coughs towards the end of the cruise. We didn’t mask (figuring we’d be outside mostly) but I’m wondering if we should mask indoors except for the MDRs but then… is there a point? Maybe it’s just about amount of exposure.

The F&B Manager on the Crown alluded to adding hand washing stations outside of the buffet on the Crown during drydock. I don't see how that would be feasible but I'm curious if it happened.

I know it's Halloween but there was no need to bring this thread back from the dead.

On 10/26/2022 at 11:23 AM, pierces said:

Pricey at $3900 USD (buy the best and cry once?)

I've always been a Canon customer (my first camera was an HP Photosmart and then my mom bought the first Digital Rebel as a graduation present - then came the 40D, 70D, sold both for the RX10 and RX100, sold those for the R)

After the R, I jumped to the R6 for the IBIS thinking "I won't miss the pixels".

I missed the pixels. Ended up selling the R6 after just 75 shutter actuations and got the R5. I'm set for quite a while now.

4 hours ago, Asquare said:

p.s. I didn’t spend a dime in the Princess Logo Shop.

I've complained multiple times about the merchandise in the logo shop on the last couple cruises.

Typically those are refunds of OBC I believe.

No - don't forget the other benefits though. It still might be worth it for both of you. Princess Plus also gives you fountain soda and coffee benefits as well as wifi and crew appreciation.

The Crown did not have handwashing stations.

We used a suction mount + a gooseneck from GoPro but there's a new "Gumby" mount too.

Gumby Flexible Camera Mount | GoPro

(But the suction cup + gooseneck worked for many cruises)

Hello - we are four people travelling in November for a 7 day cruise. Since the removal of the testing requirements, we are curious now what happens if one person would get sick with covid immediately before our cruise.

It seems like the "default coverage" provided by the cruise line (FCC) would be sufficient - we're flying down but can cancel and receive future credit back.

Due to both of this "default coverage", does it make sense to also purchase travel insurance? After calculating, it would be around $600.