SiliconCruiser

Odd. In February, the assistant restaurant manager asked if we would like the same table each night, and we were accommodated. They even held the table for us one night when we didn't expect to be on board. We were mostly able to use the same table for both breakfast and lunch on most days. Apparently this information was also conveyed to the restaurant manager as well. On most occasions, when someone saw us in line to enter the dining room, we were pulled around the line and led to our table. Also, as it is not customary to tip supervisory/mangerial staff, we did not, but we did show our appreciation to the wait staff.

We were there in February and it seems that they've gotten their act together. If you get there early (disregard your selected boarding time) you'll be able to get on board, drop your luggage off, and go have a leisurely lunch, and relax while everyone else boards. Bear in mind that the pier is run by a company called Cruise Metro and for lack of personnel or trained personnel, they can cause a mess (also take into account that many of the people are elderly (and we're sometimes kinda slow,) so they try to follow what they've been trained (maybe) to do, but may require more time. Then you have to go through security (also not Princess) before you get to the Princess employees that do the check-in. We were also there last July and while we got on early without issue, the ship left the port over an hour and a half late (the ship has to transmit the passenger manifest to CBP and hour before.) We ended watching the ship sail under the Golden Gate from the MDR during dinner (no big thing, I'm a native.)

Are you one of those people working pay jobs on turnaround days?

Maybe not in your world, but there is a Platinum/Elite area for both embarkation and disembarkation.

It has been our experience that they don't really care about the arrival times. Ever since our very first Princess cruise, we get to the port early, get checked in early, and board early, regardless of embarkation port. That's been our experience at multiple U.S. ports, Europe, and Asia. On our first cruise, we were just told to get there early so that we could have lunch in the MDR. We have since found out that we have always had priority board (before suites and Elite/Platinum.)

Would never work for us. My wife does not drink alcohol and she wouldn't let me drink her share ...🤣😂

:Ya mean having a group of waiters singing off key with Happy [insert occasion] to the tune of Happy Birthday. And yeah, I don't like the desserts 'cause I'm not much of a cake eater.

I always ask them to refrain from singing. I got caught off-guard on our first cruise and didn't welcome the attention.

The ones are those small groups who hog a large table in the buffet. I even saw one guy pull over a table for two to a table for four, for his group of four and refused to let anyone sit there. Then they moved their chairs to hog both tables. Or the ones who hog a round table of 6 for their mahjong while others are trying to find a place to eat..

The Ruby has 6th floor ADA access as do all of the Royal class ships (like the Royal currently sailing out of San Francisco,) Not sure but it looks like they may have retrofitted some ships (like the Grand?) for 6th floor access during the shutdown. We looked at the nosebleed section when we were on the Royal a few weeks ago, and they've got both ADA parking/seating space, and additionally rows of seating behind that as well.

It is very annoying and difficult for people who are confined in mobility devices, when chair hogs hold ADA seating. Even had one who acted as if she never heard of ADA (I was aware that she was an immigrant, but she spoke enough English to understand and probably lived in the SF Bay Area.) But just as annoying was a person in one of the rental scooters who parked her scooter in one of the ADA cutouts and sat in the row behind it, using the scooter as a footrest, blocking access to two rows of seats.

I seem to remember the lobster tails served in the MDR on the 2nd formal night, not being much more than about 3oz. If that is what they are passing off as a 6oz lobster tail, there is a problem.

The airport and the cruiseport are right nextdoor to each other. Far more convenient to catch a cab or rideshare. Didn't even know that Princess had an airport transfer there.

Yup much of my maternal family as well as my late wife's family are Canadian and I'm well aware of the "sin taxes" in some of the provinces. Other provinces are a little different.

Losing the medallion is no big thing, they'll just make a new one for you. I lost one on a port call and didn't realize it until I got to the security gate at the pier. They asked me for my name and cabin number and called guest services, then let me through. On the way to the ship, a guest services employee was running towards me with a new medallion (they have your picture, so they know what you look like.) It is more important that you don't lose the AirTag holder. Also, I had to really fight it a lot to get the medallion into an AirTag holder, however the medallion is easily dropped from many of the Princess holders since they are only held in with the magnet.

But we both know how those costs or bypassed 😉

Those are 375ml bottles, they just charge you 750ml prices for them.

Um ... the Captain's Circle number would also let them know if the person is actually on board one of the ships ...

Did any of your cruises have a formal night? It is generally held on the first formal night, or in the case of 5-6 day cruises, the only formal night.

It is. Straight from the streets of New York.

I preferred Prince Rupert to the glitz and canned tourism of Victoria. Lovely little town with genuinely friendly people.

They often do not tip as it is not customary in their country, if they're part of an organized tour, the tips are often factored into the tour price. In countries like Taiwan, tipping is not expected, though most restaurants where you are served will add a 10% service fee. As I recall, my late wife's relatives in the UK (native born Brits of Welsh descent) did tip at some establishments (but at my age, sometimes my memory may play tricks on me. 😂

Yes, we were there last July. Quaint little town. You can explore it on your own or take a local excursion. As for things to see, it all depends upon your tastes and expectations. If you're one of those people who will only go on organized Princess excursions (for whatever reason), then probably not. It does have some shops and museums that are interesting. You can check travel sites like tripadvisor and others for organized tours and excursions. We just wandered around town, visited places like the Museum of Northern British Columbia, some of the shops, and took pictures of the bald eagles flying around. Just remember when you need to get back to the ship. And don't worry about getting lost, you'll most likely have the ship in sight from most parts of town (it's not that big 😏

Please delete this posting. I did not see kiwimum's post above attesting to the legitimacy of this site.

It should be noted that excursion operators at all ports are not operated by Princess, rather they are contracted by Princess. They are paid by Princess after Princess extracts their share of your excursion fees. Contrary to Princess' claims of getting you back to the ship on time, those same companies may also be operating other tours and are very familiar with the cruise ship schedules. So much so, that they are often aware of any changes the porting times well before you are. That being said, if your tour bus is delayed in traffic, the very same company may have some of their own buses ahead of the "Princess" bus that are also stuck in traffic. One company in Hawaii, Roberts is very familiar with most of the excursion routes. They contract with Princess for excursions, but also have their own excursions for the same routes. They also contract with some of the municipalities in Hawaii for their public transit bus service. In one instance they called me when we were in Honolulu to tell me that they had to refund my excursion because "Princess took our last accessible bus." After explaining that my wife's motorized wheelchair could be folded and fit into the baggage compartment, they said they might have a solution. When we arrived, they had sent a 55 passenger bus with a luggage compartment ... for 16 passengers! Our destination specialist on the ship just said "that's the Aloha spirit."