love2relax

On 5/17/2023 at 12:04 PM, mz-s said:

 

My understanding is on the Excel class ships that is what they do, they give you a glass of wine during the party and put another drink on your account.

We just got off of the Celebration and that is exactly what they did. I don’t drink wine, so we decided not to bother going, even though I love the video of the ships that they always show. By the time they had the party I was sick of being around crowds of people and found better things to do with my time rather than sit around waiting for the movie with nothing appealing to drink. 

I’m not on a ship now, but my last Princess cruise was at the end of February 2023. We still swap the mini bar for “virtual” coffee cards. As soon as we get to our cabin we call room service and tell them we want to make the swap. Instead of physically giving us the cards, they put it on our accounts. We just flash our medallions at the IC when we order our coffee: very simple. They usually don’t come to collect the mini bar for a few days, but if we wait until evening on the first night, even though we still have the minibar we can get our coffees. Usually I see some kind of charge like we have purchased the card, but it disappears later at night. Once the charge appears we are good to go. I usually ask room service for an approximate time when it will be on my medallion. It’s usually about 1 to 3 hours.

On one cruise when I was traveling with a non-coffee drinker, we swapped out for bottled waters.  

I would be thrilled to skip the dining room altogether and just order a salad and an entree to be delivered to my cabin or out on deck somewhere. We really dislike waiting to get into the the dining room early every night to get a table for two. (On many ships, they will not accept reservations for 2 on the reservation line. It seems to be hit or miss depending on the ship, but even on different cruises on the same ship, sometimes they will let us make them and other times not. If not, we get in line about a half hour before the dining room opens, and it is usually already getting long by then.)

Even when we say we want to get out quickly, we are stuck in there a long time as they serve all of the extra appetizers and dishes to the tables around us. We don't cruise to eat. There are other things that we would rather be out and about doing and honestly, sometimes I literally get sick when I overeat.  But we enjoy the dishes the main dining room has as opposed to the buffet. The nights that they have the Norman Love desserts are the only time that we order dessert; but again, we are usually stuck waiting until the other tables around us are ready for dessert, which leads to a LOT of sitting around and waiting. Ugh! I am very excited about this new way of dining!

We have high either the highest or next to highest status on Princess, Royal, NCL, and Carnival. We very rarely use them. As many have said, the check in lines on embarkation day and at Guest services are usually longer for the higher status folks, so we get in the regular lines. I do enjoy the BOGO for the slot tournaments on Carnival (although it used to be free) and the shore excursion discounts on NCL for those few excursions that we actually book through the cruiseline. Pretty much the only perk that we use consistently is the ability to get on or off the ship in the first group. Otherwise, we could care less about what they offer. 

I don't use hardly any of Princess perks either. I could care less about tea or wine tasting. We trade our mini bar for coffee cards and enjoy priority embark and debark. Otherwise, we do our own laundry if we have a land trip planned post cruise. 

I like the idea of using the days, but giving double days for suites and solo cabins. 

As many have said, we don't cruise for the perks. 

1 hour ago, Godzoox said:

Super excited about this news already checked to see if i could book but no dice now I have a reason to check the site everyday again lol...😄

I already checked too! I had one for next February that has been cancelled. I was going to move it to next June! I can hardly wait until it shows up for bookings!

There is a glacier bus that will take you to the glacier. It runs every 30 minutes until later in the afternoon. You can take a taxi by calling the number you see on the side of any that you see around town. The taxi use to be reasonable, but now they have increased the prices. Last summer we called a Lyft driver, but they are only allowed to drop us off quite a ways from the glacier so you have a hike to get there which eats up more time.  The glacier bus is a little pricey, but doable. The only thing that worried me on a recent visit was I wasn't sure how many people were going to be lined up to come back at the same time as us a recent trip. We had to be back at a certain time because we had a whale watching excursion. We ended up contacting Juneau Limo to take us on a custom trip out there. It cost a little bit more than the glacier bus, but we were able to set our own time and actually make a few stops on the way back. She dropped us right in front of the overlook, and then parked in a lower lot until we contacted her to come pick us back up. I would definitely use them again. 

For me, it would be the Star. She is just a little smaller than the Ruby. I like the layout better. Also, Captain Tuvo is a hoot. You will enjoy sailing with him. 

Back to the handicapped cabin for 3 topic: we had the same dilemma on our Bliss cruise. The only option was a suite or an inside cabin. We opted for the inside cabin due to finances. That being said, we are all women in our 60's (2 of us with major mobility issues). The least decrepit of us thought she would be able to climb up on the bunk bed, but there was so little clearance to the ceiling that she couldn't do it. We tried moving the mattress onto the floor. I have to give credit to some of the crew who brought in a third bed frame. We slept three beds across with no space between the beds for the cruise. We didn't have any other option. I would not do it again. It was very difficult to get in and out of bed, The bathroom was great, but unless there was a small child, or an able bodied teenager, it was not a cabin for three adults.

I am looking at accessible cabins for 3 for 2020, and although we really want to go on the Joy or the Bliss, we may have to go with another cruiseline because we can't afford the Haven.

I am guessing that you probably couldn't get a handicapped cabin so close to your cruise date. My brother (65) broke his ankle only 3 weeks before our New Year's Eve cruise. We ended up renting him a power wheelchair that we took onboard so there was no issue getting him on and off the ship. We made sure when we rented it that it would be narrow enough to BARELY make it through the cabin door. It was a tough fit, but we managed. Showers were out of the question, but he was able to hop in and use the toilet okay. We were glad he was still able to go. Also, because of the scooter, there were only 2 public restrooms on the entire ship that he could maneuver into, but we made it work. Have a wonderful trip!

We always book Lido deck cabins. I like paying for the inside, but having a huge balcony (Lido deck) that I can easily get to.

I would call and talk to them. I believe the 7:30 time may be when they pick you up at the ship dock. If I am wrong, then they would probably pick you up around 7:00. It take about 30 minutes to get to Auke Bay where their boats are. They know the cruise ship schedules very well. They will know whether or not you can make it.

We usually stay by the airport, but I have stayed at your hotel once, Captain Cook's once, and the Comfort Inn at Ship Creek once. The last one is the one that I felt was the best value, with the added shuttle transportation. We stayed there pre-cruise, and after I returned my rental car to the airport, I waited over a half hour for the shuttle. They finally told me to take and cab, and they would pay for it...which they did. that was about 4 years ago, but I was impressed. You might want to call and double check that they will pick you up at the train station, but I remember it being really close by...not as close as the Grand....but only a block or two away.

https://www.choicehotels.com/alaska/anchorage/comfort-inn-hotels/ak006?pmf=yext&mc=llyxyxpx

I will try to answer your question based on what I know.

If you are taking the Alaska RR from Seward, do you know if it is the cruiseline chartered train? If you take that transfer, sometimes the train will take you directly to the station at the airport, where you can easily walk to the car rental location. However, if you are taking the regular Alaska RR, you will probably debark in Anchorage, right by your hotel. ( I have stayed there before too.) Unfortunately, it is about a 15 minute drive to the airport from there. The Grand Hotel does not have a free shuttle either, so you will have to take a cab to pick up your car. You may be able to find a small rental place downtown, but as far as I know, you will have to take a cab to get to one of those places too. Just a quick thought: I stayed at another hotel that is a little bit further away from the train station that had a free shuttle to/from the station AND the airport. Are you locked into that particular hotel? We only stayed there one night, but found the train traffic disturbed us at night due to the hotel's proximity to the tracks.

I agree 100% that the view past the turn-around is not to be missed. If you do end up renting a car, there is a short hike to Reid Falls above the cemetery that is stunning, and a cutoff of the highway that will take you to an overlook if you want to take a picture of the ships in port.

Gosh! Are we the only ones who hated our bathroom on the Gem?

We loved the ports and the ship itself, but our balcony cabin toilet area was literally unusable. The sink and shower were accessible, but the toilet stall was VERY small. If you sat on the toilet, your legs had to be smashed against the wall in front of you which was at an angle, and you literally could not bend over to pull your pants up. My brother could stand to urinate, but any time I needed the bathroom during the entire cruise, I had to rush to a public bathroom. I was so afraid of having to use it during the night, that I didn't drink any liquids after 6:00 p.m. My brother also used public restrooms whenever possible. For some bathroom emergencies, I did use it, but my knees and shins got bruised by doing so. We are not unusually tall (5'10" and 6'1"), and my legs aren't super long; but we have never had an issue like that with a bathroom on any ship we have ever been on. I've seen small bathrooms on cruise ships, but I never had one that I literally could not fit into!

It looks like the inside and ocean view cabins don't have the same layout, so if we ever sailed her again., we would book any category but a balcony.

We recently booked a 10 day Alaskan cruise on the Grand which will leave on June 25th, 2018. I was somewhat surprised that no discounts or perks of any kind were offered or available. They said if any promotions come up between now and the sailing we "May" be entitled to them but not guaranteed. I had just gone on the Crown a month prior to this. Is this the norm and should I expect to see any promotions which would lower our costs? I am a little disappointed so far. Thanks for the scoop on how this works.

I believe there will be a special in early September (around the 5th I think) where the daily service charge will be paid by the cruiseline. You'll have to check and see if it applies to your Alaska cruise.

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I prefer the Grand. It is actually our favorite ship. I do love sailing out under the Golden Gate Bridge, but I also like that it is a little smaller. I prefer the location of MUTS on the Grand too.

One more thing: I am not a smoker, but I sail with 2 brothers who are. The Grand has a really nice smoking area complete with ceiling fans and comfortable furniture outside the OneFive aft on the port side of the ship. Many of the smokers congregate in that area. They are super happy to have such a nice spot, and the few other spots onboard for smokers seem to be less busy. For me, I can avoid the smokers, and for them, they have a great place to hang out.

I too am SO sad to see the Parmesan Cheese Basket discontinued. I am a very picky eater, and I usually order it 3 to 4 times per cruise with a chicken breast. I eat every bite of it!

I have had a hard time getting the basket on my last few cruises, but I had been told to be sure to order it as a main course instead of the appetizer to get the basket. Now I guess the real reason is that it is no longer available.:(

I feel the same way. After Alaska I lost interest in the Caribbean. I always loved the beach and snorkeling, but now I go to Alaska almost every year instead.

Interesting comments here... My least favorite Alaska cruise was on a HAL ship, even though we had one of the biggest suites on the ship. We just didn't enjoy the activities in the evening or the food. My niece, who was a teenager at the time, was frustrated because she wasn't allowed to go to karaoke or the gym since she was under 18, (even if she was accompanied by me). We have been on Princess, NCL, Carnival, and Royal Caribbean, be we never returned to HAL for another cruise.

I guess I can't give any other advice that wasn't already given below except to figure out what is the most important to you. Then compare the price for what you get and the itinerary.

I eagerly anticipated our stargazing on our Mexican Riviera Ruby cruise, especially because of the association with Discovery. It was a bitter disappointment. We got up there early along with a lot of other people, but there was no place to sit. A member of the crew staff came up there a few minutes after the scheduled time and started off with a disclaimer that he was not an astronomer. He had a cheat sheet that he used and a megaphone (which he didn't use), but unless you were right up next to him, you could not hear him very well. His laser pointer was not strong enough to really see where he was pointing. Turning out some of the ship's lights helped, but you really couldn't see that much. After about 10 minutes, a lot of people gave up and left (us included). He was standing in the middle of the deck, and since there was no where to sit, it was hard to keep your balance with the sway of the seas that night. We tried going toward the middle where there was a railing to hold onto, but then we really couldn't hear anything at all. I don't think I would ever attend one again unless I was assured that they actually had a knowledgeable person onboard and at least a few deck chairs to sit on.

I also have saved a lot of money by booking inside cabins frequently. They have the same space as the ocean views and balconies, except that the balconies get more square feet outside due to the balcony itself. I really like the inside cabins on the Lido Deck.. They are on the same deck as the buffet, except that you have to walk back across the pool deck to get there. Also, it is a quick trip outside to see something. The best part is that you can hop on the elevators and go straight down to the showroom, casino, and many of the bars that are forward on the ship.

The International Café and two of the dining rooms are midship, which are also very convenient. Unlike many others have mentioned, I do spend a lot of time in my room relaxing, reading, and watching movies. If I want to go outside, it is a quick trip down the hall. I also keep the tv on the bridge cam channel when I am reading to see the weather and light during the day, and as a nightlight during the night.

All 3 of my Crown cruises were in inside cabins on the Lido Deck, and we were very happy with our location. We tend to stay in L257 or L253, but if you go down the hall a few more cabins to L243 or L242, your category will drop from an IC to an IF which should be easy to switch to since it is lower than the category that you have been assigned to.

Wow! Thanks for sharing the information about your ordeal.

Note to self: avoid Rio until I hear of an improved situation.

I realize it's not cutting in but when it get crowded & 15 or 20 people see you on a short line they all give you the eye. They really have no way of knowing if your Elite/Suite or not. T that point a Princess necklace can come in handy although I wouldn't be caught wearing one. It's just not my style.

I often have found when there are 15 or 20 people in the regular line, that if I get in the Elite line they ignore me. So I just get in the regular line along with everyone else.

Another vote for the Star for the itinerary and the ship!