Clownfish Cruiser

On 5/3/2023 at 11:55 AM, Saint Greg said:

I saw them every stop in Alaska. But for an eagle watching tour, this one in Ketchikan was pretty good.

 

https://www.saintgregtravel.com/ketchikan-lighthouse-totems-eagles/

 

I booked it through a cruise line but this is the company. Their dock is actually right next to the NCL port. Which was about a 20 min shuttle from the main port.

 

https://lighthouseexcursion.com/

 

 

We loved this excursion! We saw plenty of eagles, along with 2 humpback whales! 

Thanks so much! 

This is great! I had no idea. We have a balance due in April for a 10-day cruise. Time to start buying gift cards! 

Any recommendations? We have enough Hilton points for a free night, and there are a lot of Hilton options around SFO. We will be staying an extra night after our cruise in July of 2023 and have an early flight the next morning, so we would prefer to be close to the San Francisco Airport if possible. We will be picking up a car and just sightseeing after the cruise, so we will also need to drop the car off at the airport the morning of our flight home. 

I noticed the same thing and also thought it was hiding! We have the beverage package for our cruise next week, but we like to have our own spirits in the room....especially now, in case we don't feel like venturing out much! We really enjoy cocktails on our balcony. Thanks for the information! 

Has anyone had any success with upgrades using their Princess TA? We've booked through the same agent for years and were thinking of calling her. We leave this Friday on the Regal. 

Thank you for the information. We were able to purchase the KN95 masks on Amazon and received them quickly with our Prime membership. Not all quantities/colors are Prime, so we just picked some that were and bought those. We go for our test in 2 days. We're still on pins and needles about our cruise, but if it goes, we're going. We can drive to Fort Lauderdale if we have to. Please keep the updates coming! The information definitely helps! 

Bon voyage! Just watched the Enchanted sail away on the Port Everglades webcam. I hope you have a fantastic cruise! Looking forward to this Friday on the Regal! 

23 hours ago, skents said:

Currently on the Regal.  Our head waiter last night said there are  1500 on board. They were at 2000 before the CDC made their announcement against going on a cruise. 

I hope to be boarding the Regal next Friday! Thanks for the report on the numbers. I hope the remainder of your cruise is fantastic! 

I guess it could happen, but I hope not! If everything works out, we will be sailing away next Friday on the Regal. We also have plan B in place if something happens to plan A. 

We experienced a medical emergency on a previous cruise (not us personally). Helicopter landed and it turned out to be a teenager with an appendicitis. He turned out fine, but those medical events are scary. I hope and pray the passenger does ok. I watched the ship leave Port Everglades yesterday on the webcam and am ready for next week on the Regal! 

6 hours ago, palolake said:

I'm going to be on the Sky January 8th!  I just read that there are currently more cases on land vacations than cruise ships.

Makes sense! I have a friend who is coming back from Disney (Orlando) tonight. She said it was EXTREMELY crowded and everybody on Main Street was packed in there like sardines for the fireworks. 

3 hours ago, Scubadoc said:

I’ve done all inclusive and lots of cruises. To me no comparison. First of all unless you spend a ton of money I think the food on cruises is much better than the all inclusive so I have done. Plus there’s just something magical and mystical about being on the open ocean. I love it so much and I’m just praying that we will be able to go on the regal January 14!

Same for us on the Regal January 14th! I watched her leave Port Everglades today at 4:00...via the webcam. We are soooooooooooooo beyond ready. 

9 minutes ago, croozer said:

Minutes ago, Fedex delivered the tests I ordered two days ago.  The tests were manufactured 12/09/21and are valid until 11/06/22.  Looks like a fresh batch.  Hope this helps.

I'm glad you got them! It looks like we got the same "batch." Mine were also manufactured 12/09/2021. 

12 minutes ago, CalLuvsCrusingToo said:

What is the Expiration dates on Binax from those of you who Ordered &

received them recently?

 

(I've been waiting to order til new batches with summer + expiration dates)

 

It looks like the expiration on all of my BinaxNOW boxes is 11/06/2022. If we don't mess up a test, we'll have two extra tests for Alaska next July! I ordered them 12/21/21 and received them 12/22/21 (FedEx). 

12 minutes ago, PacnGoNow said:

I ordered Dec 24th, says delivery today.

Don’t think so.  Fedex…we will see.

I hope you get them! 

I sure didn't know this about the dining change, but it's been several years since we've cruised. I did find the information in the Medallion app. Thanks for posting this information! 

3 minutes ago, Ombud said:

I'm old school. I just want it done in front of a NP / RN

If you do the BinaxNOW, you will have to do the test in front of a proctor (via phone, iPad, etc...something with a camera). The Telehealth appointment is included in the cost of the test kits. 

I ordered the BinaxNOW test kits last week through the Princess link (Optum website). I received them within 24 hours. I noticed that the website now says to allow 3 days for delivery. I'm so glad I ordered them last week because I would be getting worried now (we don't leave for about 3 weeks...if we still go). You do have to pay $69 for 2 tests, but it was worth it to me for the peace of mind. I ordered 2 kits (4 tests) as recommended by other posters. 

I received our Optum tests last week and they also have an expiration date of November 2022. Good luck to those of you waiting on tests to cruise. I was very nervous about getting the tests on time (and  also the availability)...we leave in 2 weeks. 

16 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

That app can become your friend once aboard :).  I normally hang out in the atrium (near the International Cafe) early in the morning while DW continues to sleep.  My norm was to sit at one of the tables (which gives me social distancing) where most folks removed their masks.  Rather then getting in a line for coffee/cappuccino, I would simply use the App to put in my order.  Within a few short minutes one of the masked wait staff would bring the order to my table.   In the early evening (before dinner) DW and I would often hang out at the Bellini Bar.  If we wanted a bar snack (there were no snacks at the bars on the Enchanted) we simply used our app to order some potato chips which would be delivered (by room service) to our seat at the bar :).   On deck we would often use the App to order drinks (you can also use it to order all kinds of food) which would be delivered to our loungers wherever we happened to sit.  

 

This was our 4th or 5th cruise with the various forms of the App.  Princess does keep improving the App and it works a lot better now then in years past.  I suspect that if we live another 20 years the cruise line might get it right :).

 

Hank

More good information, thank you! I just now booked my Crown Grill reservation using the app. Haha, I'm the one who hangs out near the IC in the morning while husband sleeps in! I will definitely try ordering from the app! 

11 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Yes, there have been changes although the actual implementation is not always as advertised.  You are asked to use the Princess Medallion App to handle your pre-cruise process including entering health data.  These is a section of that app where you can request a preferred boarding time (broken down into various groups with assigned times to arrive at the port).  The earliest groups get a time starting at 11:30 (no guarantee that this is when the boarding process will actually begin).  

 

On our recent Enchanted cruise, we were able to get the 2nd group (11:30 - 12:30) but arrived at the port around 11am.  Upon arrival we were immediately allowed in the terminal where are documents (vaccination form, COVID test results, and Passports) were checked.  Since we had our medallions pre cruise (some folks need to pick them up at the port) we quickly moved through the process and were directed to a large room full of "Elites/Platinums."  We barely had time to find a seat before the boarding process started (about 11:20) and we were on the ship within 15 minutes after one final stop to have our Medallions scanned and pictures updated.  Once aboard it was a relatively normal embarkation day with lunch being served in one of the MDRs, at the Lido, or at Gigi's.  There is no longer a muster drill.  You are directed to watch a safety video in your cabin and then head to your muster area (for us it was the main Theater) where your medallion is scanned, and you receive some very brief instructions.

 

On our particular cruise those who showed-up at the port before their allotted time were processed without a hassle.  But this might have happened because there were only about 1400 souls embarking that day (with another 400+ doing the 2nd half of back to backs).  

 

Getting back to the Medallion app, when you complete the various forms, you will get assigned to either a Green or Yellow embarkation line.  At the port there were two separate lines (Green and Yellow) with the Greens (including moi) quickly moving through the process.  Those with Yellow had one or more additional steps because they had not successfully completed the pre-cruise App process.  

 

Hank

P,S,  The Medallion App (for which you need a Smartphone or device like an iPad) has a place where you can request a disembarkation time at the end of your cruise.  This part of the App was not being used for our cruise.  We were never asked if we had a disembarkation time preference (even though we are Elite) but simply received the usual colored luggage tags about 2 days before the end of our cruise.  If one was unhappy with their assigned group/time they would have needed to go to Guest Relations to request a change.

Very helpful information! That app was a pain, but we are in the green line. Leaving in about 2 weeks...hopefully. 

9 hours ago, Upper Bob said:

On our recent cruise, the first people were in line around 9:00 am (as were the people when we got off the ship). They let us inside around 10:30 to go through the initial check-in process (which was quick) and then were led to the appropriate waiting rooms (Full Suite & Elite, Platinum, and all others). We boarded the ship at just after 11:00 am.

January will be our first cruise (at least we hope we will go) since the pandemic. We've always been able to get on the ship fairly early, but I'm not familiar with the new process. I completed everything on the Medallion app and it says to proceed to the green lane and arrival group is A. What does that mean?? I had enough trouble just getting the app to work right, so I don't want to go back in there...I'm afraid I'll mess everything up! 

Our BinaxNOW tests have arrived! Received the test quickly, 1 day after ordering (the website said to allow 1-2 days). I received a tracking number from FedEx yesterday. There are two dates, 11/6/2022 and 12/9/2022 on all the boxes. I'm not sure which is the expiration, but regardless, I will be able to use them for the January Caribbean cruise and also for Alaska in July (if we don't mess one up). 

18 hours ago, Scubadoc said:

 I'm seeing quite a few people commenting on the number of people on their ships. How do you know that? For instance we are sailing on the January 14 regal. Is there a way to know how many passengers are currently booked?  I think it would be wonderful for us to have a half empty ship but I would rather see it full so the cruise lines don't have such a hard time financially! 

We are on the same ship! Looking forward to cruising again. 🙂