Yosef42

Thanks for the suggestions! I was imagining someplace closer to the pier, but it seems "downtown" is closer than it looks on the map.

1. Context. Casually speaking between friends about trivial annoyances is not dramatic whereas posting in a public forum, using an exclamation point is.

 

2. Photographers are a staple to cruises: choosing to be annoyed by them is right up there with being angry that the ship rocks from time to time.

I disagree.

On 1: My experience on this forum has included far, far more extreme language, sometimes in situations where it seemed to me unwarranted. Further, I'm at a loss to think of a milder term than "annoy" which expresses the same sort of reaction. ("Irritate," perhaps, but that seems to me about the same degree.) The exclamation point, I'll grant you, was probably not needed, but that's an awfully small hook to hang your argument on.

On 2: The situations aren't comparable, in that movement is an inherent fact of being at sea (though over the years, through technology and ship size, it has been significantly reduced nevertheless), while the means and methods of the ship's photographers are merely a matter of tradition. A better analogy would be if someone said that they were annoyed about features of the assigned dining system, to which not so long ago your dismissive response of "that's a staple to cruises" would have been apt. But now there's anytime dining. Things can change.

No, to both questions.

We're stopping in Victoria on our Alaska cruise, and are thinking of meeting a friend who would be driving up from Seattle. Anyone who is familiar with the port area have a suggestion for a good place for us to meet? Something that's not too far of a walk, but outside security and any taxi/tour craziness would be ideal. Our ship will be there 7:00 a.m. on a Friday, if that makes a difference.

Just sharing what went through my mind after reading such a dramatic headline over something that turns out a simple "no thank you" would cure.

Two observations:

1. If you think "something that annoys me" is "dramatic," I would love to have your life because you have a very low bar for drama.

2. Just because the photographer can be easily waived away doesn't make it not annoying.

I don't have a huge amount of cruising experience, but I certainly haven't had any of the outrageous things described here happen to me. For the most part, I don't have a problem just not breaking stride and walking past the photographers when they're set up somewhere. And I don't begrudge the people who want it (and who provide the cruise line with a stream of income by purchasing photos) the opportunity to have their pictures taken.

But that's the key term: opportunity. When it goes beyond photo opportunities and becomes photo intrusions, I find that problematic. Granted, I've yet to have such an intrusion that didn't end promptly after a quick "no, thanks," but in my dream world there'd be some way to indicate interest or lack thereof in advance, so it becomes an opportunity not an intrusion.

Personally, being photographed at all anywhere is my pet peeve. I'd love it if there were some way to opt out altogether instead of the constant barrage of "How about now? How about now?"

But I suppose they keep taking pictures at meals because people keep buying them.

We live in the East Bay and just take BART to Embarcadero station and roll our luggage to pier 27, short 15 - 20 minute walk (we are in our 60s). Last year we splurged and stayed at the Hyatt Regency the night before.

We may try that . . . on our first cruise in 2026 when the BART station opens.

Where is my flying car!!!

At the heliport, of course.

From the south bay: BART isn't a real option (how do you get there?); CalTrain leaves you off at 4th and King, with an awful long walk to the pier (and the trolley lines are not very luggage-friendly). Some sort of car trip is the only realistic option, I think. So your choices are hire a car, drive your car and park, or rent a car.

We opted for the latter. Avis doesn't charge a one-way penalty, and the total rental cost is less than it would cost to park my car in SF (for a 10-day cruise). The rental office (near Fisherman's Wharf) is about a mile from the pier, but I can drop off my SO and luggage, so it's just me either walking or on the trolley. If we had more people or a shorter cruise, the math might be different.

How many people did it take to hold you down while force feeding you?

It's funny because it's true! But don't worry, soon all the untermenschen will eat themselves to death, thus reducing the surplus population.

When I sign in using Firefox it shows up as https://book.princess.com/

It's all about whether the website defaults to secure (SSL) or not. From my seat/computer/browser, "book.princess.com" defaults to the secure site, but "www.princess.com" does not.

The newer versions of Firefox have started notifying the user when they are asked for a username/password on a non-secure site. However, if you force the browser to the secure site (go to "https://www.princess.com" instead of just "www.princess.com") and the message will not appear because you're secure.

I don't think I can post links here, but if you google "juneau downtown area map," you'll see where all the docks are. The CT (Cruise ship Terminal) dock is smack in the middle, and it looks like you could throw a rock and hit the tram from there.

My understanding is that it's just north of the AS (Alaska Steamship) dock. On the "Juneau Downtown Area map," that's in between E and F. Would love to have this confirmed by someone who's been there; I'm in the same boat (literally and figuratively) as you.

Not that anybody asked, but I'm going to put my two cents in on the (American) tipping tradition.

In spite of its history, for a long time now the customary so-called "tip" has in fact been a service charge. It is factored into the employee's salary, both on the front end (how much the employer pays) and on the back end (how it is taxed). It is neither more nor less than a fee for a service, and as such should not be withheld except in extraordinary circumstances (such as not receiving the bargained-for level of service).

Mind you, this is a stupid, convoluted way to go about things, and I would welcome its immediate end in favor of employers paying their employees the full value of their work, with the rise in costs to me the consumer which that implies. But until that happens, I will continue to "tip," perhaps somewhat on the generous side.

On a cruise which follows the American tradition, that means leaving the auto-tip in place, and possibly adding more as appropriate for exceptional service.

We will be on the Ruby next month and have a stop in San Francisco. Can you give me any info on the best way to get to the Walt Disney Museum. We cannot take public transportation with my husband in his mobility scooter unless their buses are equipped for it.

 

Thanks for the help

That might be an option. Buses are run by the SF Muni (SFMTA dot com), and they claim to be quite accessible. I'd try calling them and scoping out the specific routes before relying on it, though.

However, we find, the longer one waits, the better the food taste once you get it.

I love your attitude!

We will be staying three nights in SF in February 2018 (yes, I know I'm very early but I'm excited!) what are the Must Sees? Obviously Alcatraz is on the list, but what else would you recommend?

Fort Point is a personal favorite. It's a civil-war era fort (now a museum) underneath the GG bridge (that's why it has that extra arch on one end).

Sorry. This was on the Regal last year. Alfredo's & International Café food looked great, but was a bit bland tasting. Horizons has very good food for a ship buffet. The lines were a bit crazy, but aren't they like that on any ship?

Thanks! Nothing to be sorry about. IMO, one of the nicest things about cruising is that if there's some food you don't especially like, it's no big deal. There's always another option!

The parking lot that the port and Princess recommend is $16/day for a regular sized vehicle. "Cheap parking" and "San Francisco" are not phrases that go together.

Really LA traffic, TSA and airline luggage restrictions.....just sounds like a lot of excuses to me.....it's all part of traveling....we fly all over the world to catch Princess ships....cannot figure out how a 50 minute flight to LAX is an imposing obstacle to increasing your options for cruises and being on different Princess ships...:confused::confused::confused:

I don't recall saying anything of the sort. But the topic of this thread is the effect of Princess's dominance of the West Coast, and in support of that I pointed out the objective fact that there's only one ship that does round trips from SF.

I then pointed out some reasons that one might prefer to sail from one's home port. I never said I wouldn't sail from somewhere else (I have certainly done so, and expect to do so again in the future). Your repeating that these factors aren't a big deal (to you) doesn't counter my point that they are factors, though. All other things being equal, I'd prefer not to fly to get to my ship, but all other things are rarely equal, so c'est la vie.

IMO....if I didn't want to fly and there was a sailing from LA or San Diego that I favored, I would either drive or take the train.

Which we've done in the past, but if you've ever driven in L.A., you'll know why we'd prefer not to have to do that.

A $115 RT flight from SFO to LAX is a deal breaker.....(pretty much hourly flights).....guess you are stuck with where you are and what you have......:confused:

The cost of the flight isn't the dealbreaker, it's having to deal with TSA and their luggage restrictions. :cool:

We have taken plenty of other cruises on Princess from west coast too such as South Pacific, partial and full transit of Panama canal, South America, Australia and New Zealand....not that limited IMHO....:cool:

I believe the point was not that Princess provides a limited number of itineraries, but that for a given itinerary there is often no other line but Princess. I don't know about LA or San Diego, but here in SF-land we have only one ship doing round trips this year, so if you don't want to fly you're not only limited to Princess, you're limited to Grand.