SuzieQ521

Oh! Hopefully Skywalkers is not closed on the Star...we loved it on Ruby!

Our first Princess cruise was a 14-day Hawaiian cruise on the Sapphire Princess. It wasn't the very last cruise before dry dock, but the refitting was scheduled two weeks after our cruise.

 

The only thing I noticed was a lot of equipment packed up and secured on the upper decks. Obviously, this was equipment that was to be installed during the refit. Passenger access to this area was not allowed.

 

A few months later I was having a conversation with a new friend who was a very experienced Princess cruiser. He mentioned how much he liked Skywalkers. I was unfamiliar with Skywalkers and asked about it. He explained it to me, and I commented that the Sapphire Princess did not have one.

 

Of course, that is not correct. The Skywalkers on Sapphire Princess was in that area with the stored equipment which was closed to passengers on our cruise.

 

It was no big deal for us. It was our first cruise on Princess. We had no preconceptions or expectations.

 

Chatting with some of the crew members we learned that they were going to be staying on board during the dry dock period, and they were expecting to be given various maintenance or upgrade jobs in the public areas.

Thanks all. We were on the Ruby in September to Alaska and had a great time. We booked this cruise last minute just because it was such a great deal. I'm not expecting it to be as nice as our time on the Ruby but as long as the food and ship are decent, that's fine by us.

Hello,

We are sailing on the Star Princess on Nov 29th, 3 nights from LA to Vancouver, right before it goes out of service for refurbishments.

Anyone have any experience on being the last ship before drydock? Anything they do differently? Hopefully we don't get all the leftovers. ;p

Also, I read a review from October that said they already changed the mattresses...anyone know for certain?

Thanks

Thanks all. I am hoping 90 min will be more than enough time from LAX to San Pedro on a Wed morning, hopefully less.

Uber or Lyft seem to be the most reasonable Private Car options... how far is the pickup spot from the SW arrivals terminal?

Thanks

Thank you, yes for our Alaska out of Seattle cruise a few months ago, we flew in the day before but since we're close and there are many options on Southwest, (and we could drive if we're desperate) we decided to fly day of.

I never like flying in the day of the cruise. You take risk should the flight be canceled or significantly delayed of making the ship.

 

If you have to fly in the day of the cruise pick the airport to fly to as one with a lot of other flight options should your flight be cancelled.

 

Keith

Hello,

We are doing a short one way cruise from LA to Vancouver on Nov 29. We are flying in at 8:45 a.m. the morning of from Vegas on Southwest to LAX.

1) I was hoping to avoid the madhouse of LAX but there is no SW route from Vegas to Long Beach. Do you think LAX will be OK at arrivals on a Wednesday morning or should we look into arriving at John Wayne instead? I'm mostly worried about waiting on luggage, transportation, traffic, etc.

2) Re: transportation, it appears the most reasonably priced options are Supershuttle or Uber/Lyft. Super Shuttle doesn't get the greatest reviews and I'm a little worried about wait time and other drop offs...how long should it take that time of day to get to San Pedro from either LAX or John Wayne?

Thanks!

Thanks all for your replies. Dry dock means renovation? That explains why I could not find any reviews for this particular itinerary. I did read that the Star Princess is a little more run down (than other Princess ships) and I guess we would be sailing on her before they patch her up.

We are coming from Vegas so it makes sense to do the LA to Vancouver one and this worked better with our schedules. A little rough seas would be ok (but hopefully no big storms!)--we just did a mid-Sept cruise from Seattle to Alaska on the Ruby which was a bit bumpy on the first sea day but bearable.

I suspect the potential for worse weather would be on the mid-December cruise from Vancouver to L.A.--does it typically snow in Vancouver end of November/December (although I know it's unpredictable)? We plan to spend 1.5 days in Vancouver after the cruise.

Thanks again.

Hello:

Has anyone ever done this 3 night one-way cruise? We are looking at one from November 29-December 2.

I didn't even think that there were cruises up to Vancouver that time of year. We just did a September cruise to Alaska on the Ruby Princess that we loved and wanted to try to squeeze in one more little cruise and this one seems like a bargain...even the suites are reasonably priced.

Any input re: the cruise itinerary, weather that time of year, the ship itself, etc.?

Thanks!

Haha, wish it was the champagne! Thanks all!

It turns out my ears are very congested, likely allergies after coming back home. So I'm on a cocktail of Claritin D and Bonine.

We actually had a few whale sightings leaving Glacier Bay. And I believe that people that did the whale watching excursion were successful in seeing some.

They likely do start migrating south end of September.

I just booked for next September. We've taken 8 Alaska cruises but never as late as September.

 

Did you see any whales, or will they have begun migration south.

Yes...usually twice a day. Late afternoon at the Wheelhouse and late evening at Adagio on the upper deck.

Did they still have happy Hour on board? BOGO $1?

 

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Ruby Princess Review-Alaska

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2547522

One thing I forgot to mention re: dining--we did the Anytime Dining which worked out fine although we tried to go around 7:30 p.m. most nights.

If you want to avoid sitting with other people on one table, I would recommend making reservations as early as possible. On the days we did not make a reservation or they were full, we sat with people, which was fine and we had a good time, but sometimes you're tired and don't feel like making conversation Lol!

One thing I forgot to mention re: dining--we did the Anytime Dining which worked out fine although we tried to go around 7:30 p.m. most nights.

If you want to avoid sitting with other people on one table, I would recommend making reservations as early as possible. On the days we did not make a reservation or they were full, we sat with people, which was fine and we had a good time, but sometimes you're tired and don't feel like making conversation Lol!

We did not go to a ton of shows but they had a good variety--some comedy shows, broadway-esque shows, Elton John tribute and a pretty funny married couples game.

Princess also has the rights to The Voice, which was on the last night of our cruise that was a lot of fun (you can also watch the auditions they had the previous nights).

There weren't any drink of the day specials (at least discounted ones but they had a recommended drink), just the happy hours and a buckets of beer special (5 for the price of 4).

There were only a few people using the pools although more in the Jacuzzi just because it was cooler weather. They had one large pool and spa in the middle of the Lido deck and then another smaller one in the back of the ship. Did not use the spa myself but walked in and looked nice; fitness center was also very nice with windows all around with great views.

Have a great time!

Thanks for the info. We will be on her this Sunday to LA. What were the shows like? Any drink of the day specials or just the happy hour?? Did you go to any pool areas or the spa?

 

 

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Just got off the Ruby on Saturday. I was expecting the dining room "syrup" coffee to be worse than what I found, based on what I read, but IMO, it tasted better than the watery IC brewed coffee. The specialty coffee at the IC was hit or miss for us, depending on the item.

There's a visitor's informational center right at the front of the town where the cafes are. We also noticed a do-it-yourself stamp station outside the large General Store when we were leaving.

Thank you for your review:) Can I ask where you got your passports stamped in Carcross? Thanks in advance!

 

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Hello! I wanted to try to review our cruise as best as possible, at least hitting the major points.

My husband and I are in our mid-30's. It was our first trip to Alaska and his first cruise (my last was 10 years ago); our first on Princess.

WEATHER:

This was my biggest concern as I had read some disconcerting stuff about mid-September weather but other than a couple hours of very light rain in Juneau while at Mendenhall Glacier, we had the best weather. This included a rare sunny day in Glacier Bay (no fog or clouds!) and a beautiful cloudless day in Ketchikan which I know is notorious for rain. We got to Seattle a day before our cruise and had a sunny day as well! Very little winds as well at all ports.

EMBARKATION:

We arrived to Seattle the day before, early afternoon and had some sightseeing time. Because they were going through a lobby renovation, I was able to score $197/night, incl taxes, at The Roosevelt which is in a prime downtown location. The room was pretty small (even smaller than our cruise room) but the location cannot be beat.

We took a town car to Pier 91 Saturday morning around 11 a.m ($25). We got there by 11:20 and breezed through the checkin, luggage, medical questionnaire section, etc. We did have to wait for our group number to be called to board the ship but was not too long; then several minutes to walk up the ship as that took longer because of picture taking etc. But we were eating lunch in DaVinci by Noon; we then went straight to our room and luggage was already there.

THE ROOM

We booked a partially obstructed oceanview on the Emerald deck (E404); I had looked at photos before and knew that it was barely obstructed and I was right. We had a perfect view out our large window--there was just some tiny equipment below us but certainly did not obstruct our review. I would get this room again; it was also mid-ship and mid-deck.

The room with Queen bed was larger than expected and they made good use of storage and the large closet; bathroom was small as expected but still good use of storage. Shower was as expected in size but the shower curtain stayed in place.

THE FOOD

Both my husband and I were very pleasantly surprised with the dining room food, to the point where we questioned why people would pay the extra for specialty restaurants. Especially for dinner, the menu was so diverse and varied, with the attention on quality. We aren't major foodies but still like having quality food and we felt like Princess hit the mark on this. The desserts were also to die for (definitely try all the Love desserts). We only had one full meal at the Horizon buffet but that was good as well. International cafe had some good stuff too and we enjoyed the pizza, burgers, sausages, etc. on the Lido deck as well.

The dining room staff was always so pleasant and accommodating as well.

Re: coffee--although we purchased the coffee card, the included coffee was not as bad as I read it to be. I actually thought it tasted better than the watery brewed coffee at the IC. The Specialty coffees were hit or miss...depending on the item. The Tiramasu coffee was pretty good and they had Mighty Leaf teas as well that we liked. My husband does not think he wants to do the coffee card again although I think I would.

Drinks--we took advantage of the Buy One get one for a dollar happy hours, that they had twice a day. We aren't big drinkers so that was enough for us.

JUNEAU:

We booked the blue shuttle to Mendenhall Glacier at the pier--at a somewhat pricey $45/pp roundtrip. We got lucky as just about when we were going to hike up Nugget Falls, we see a bunch of rangers running. It turns out that a bear was not more than 10 feet away from us. It was exciting to see on our first port day. Nugget Falls was beautiful and definitely a must-do short walk from the visitor's center.

We then went back to town and had amazing fish tacos and halibut cakes at Deckhand Daves, and then just walked around the capital building and shops.

SKAGWAY:

This was our only formal excursion we booked so we had our whole day covered. Based on good reviews, we booked with Dyea Dave on our own--bus ride up to the Yukon and Carcoss, and the train back down--sit on the right side on the bus up, and right side on the train down for best views. We were again blessed with good weather and had a great tour guide. Had some lunch at a cafe in Carcoss (not much is open that time of year) and got our passports stamped. Then we took the RR back--stood outside on the open deck most of the time and had great views.

We then had a little more than an hour to walk around the cute town of Skagway and shops.

GLACIER BAY:

Again--had the best sunny weather here. We focused our viewing on the Promenade deck and then would move between Starboard and Port side for the views, listening to the park rangers onboard. Based on someone else's review on CC, I had brought insulated coffee thermos from home as no disposable items are allowed on this day. So we were able to get our coffee from the IC and then sip as we watched and listened to the Rangers. They also had a great seafood buffet this day as well, as well as fish tacos and reindeer chili on the Lido deck.

KETCHIKAN:

Nothing planned here as it was a short port day. The day before, one of the naturalists mentioned a hiking trail, Rainbird trail, so we decided to try it. It is a bit steep climbing up but the views are wonderful. We then went back to town and enjoyed the shopping and the cute Creekside street. Bought some smoked salmon from Salmon Market and had some halibut and chips before getting back on the ship.

VICTORIA:

The hours were odd here--7 p.m.-11:30 p.m.. but it was a required international stop. We had just visited there in April so it was not a big deal to us that there was no gardens excursion offered. We still walked to Fisherman's Wharf, had some halibut and chips from Barb's and just walked to downtown and back. Great weather here as well.

DISEMBARKATION:

We selected the 9:30 a.m. departure as our flight was not until 2:55 p.m. and we wanted to have a leisurely breakfast. We put the big luggage out the night before so the porters could take them. We then met our 9:30 group and went down where our luggage was waiting for us. I had pre-booked Seattle Express to the airport so that was easy.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

We had a wonderful time on this cruise and on the Ruby Princess. My husband was a pretty leery about cruising but he had the best time and would do it again.

RE: seasickness--we wore seabands most of the time and took Bonine once a day. Saturday night and our first sea day was somewhat rough but we did not get sick. However, being 2 days home, I currently have "land seasickness" that I am hoping will subside soon!

Hope you found this review informative! Thanks to all the CC members in helping me plan this cruise with great recommendations and input.

Hello! I wanted to try to review our cruise as best as possible, at least hitting the major points.

My husband and I are in our mid-30's. It was our first trip to Alaska and his first cruise (my last was 10 years ago); our first on Princess.

WEATHER:

This was my biggest concern as I had read some disconcerting stuff about mid-September weather but other than a couple hours of very light rain in Juneau while at Mendenhall Glacier, we had the best weather. This included a rare sunny day in Glacier Bay (no fog or clouds!) and a beautiful cloudless day in Ketchikan which I know is notorious for rain. We got to Seattle a day before our cruise and had a sunny day as well! Very little winds as well at all ports.

EMBARKATION:

We arrived to Seattle the day before, early afternoon and had some sightseeing time. Because they were going through a lobby renovation, I was able to score $197/night, incl taxes, at The Roosevelt which is in a prime downtown location. The room was pretty small (even smaller than our cruise room) but the location cannot be beat.

We took a town car to Pier 91 Saturday morning around 11 a.m ($25). We got there by 11:20 and breezed through the checkin, luggage, medical questionnaire section, etc. We did have to wait for our group number to be called to board the ship but was not too long; then several minutes to walk up the ship as that took longer because of picture taking etc. But we were eating lunch in DaVinci by Noon; we then went straight to our room and luggage was already there.

THE ROOM

We booked a partially obstructed oceanview on the Emerald deck (E404); I had looked at photos before and knew that it was barely obstructed and I was right. We had a perfect view out our large window--there was just some tiny equipment below us but certainly did not obstruct our review. I would get this room again; it was also mid-ship and mid-deck.

The room with Queen bed was larger than expected and they made good use of storage and the large closet; bathroom was small as expected but still good use of storage. Shower was as expected in size but the shower curtain stayed in place.

THE FOOD

Both my husband and I were very pleasantly surprised with the dining room food, to the point where we questioned why people would pay the extra for specialty restaurants. Especially for dinner, the menu was so diverse and varied, with the attention on quality. We aren't major foodies but still like having quality food and we felt like Princess hit the mark on this. The desserts were also to die for (definitely try all the Love desserts). We only had one full meal at the Horizon buffet but that was good as well. International cafe had some good stuff too and we enjoyed the pizza, burgers, sausages, etc. on the Lido deck as well.

The dining room staff was always so pleasant and accommodating as well.

Re: coffee--although we purchased the coffee card, the included coffee was not as bad as I read it to be. I actually thought it tasted better than the watery brewed coffee at the IC. The Specialty coffees were hit or miss...depending on the item. The Tiramasu coffee was pretty good and they had Mighty Leaf teas as well that we liked. My husband does not think he wants to do the coffee card again although I think I would.

Drinks--we took advantage of the Buy One get one for a dollar happy hours, that they had twice a day. We aren't big drinkers so that was enough for us.

JUNEAU:

We booked the blue shuttle to Mendenhall Glacier at the pier--at a somewhat pricey $45/pp roundtrip. We got lucky as just about when we were going to hike up Nugget Falls, we see a bunch of rangers running. It turns out that a bear was not more than 10 feet away from us. It was exciting to see on our first port day. Nugget Falls was beautiful and definitely a must-do short walk from the visitor's center.

We then went back to town and had amazing fish tacos and halibut cakes at Deckhand Daves, and then just walked around the capital building and shops.

SKAGWAY:

This was our only formal excursion we booked so we had our whole day covered. Based on good reviews, we booked with Dyea Dave on our own--bus ride up to the Yukon and Carcoss, and the train back down--sit on the right side on the bus up, and right side on the train down for best views. We were again blessed with good weather and had a great tour guide. Had some lunch at a cafe in Carcoss (not much is open that time of year) and got our passports stamped. Then we took the RR back--stood outside on the open deck most of the time and had great views.

We then had a little more than an hour to walk around the cute town of Skagway and shops.

GLACIER BAY:

Again--had the best sunny weather here. We focused our viewing on the Promenade deck and then would move between Starboard and Port side for the views, listening to the park rangers onboard. Based on someone else's review on CC, I had brought insulated coffee thermos from home as no disposable items are allowed on this day. So we were able to get our coffee from the IC and then sip as we watched and listened to the Rangers. They also had a great seafood buffet this day as well, as well as fish tacos and reindeer chili on the Lido deck.

KETCHIKAN:

Nothing planned here as it was a short port day. The day before, one of the naturalists mentioned a hiking trail, Rainbird trail, so we decided to try it. It is a bit steep climbing up but the views are wonderful. We then went back to town and enjoyed the shopping and the cute Creekside street. Bought some smoked salmon from Salmon Market and had some halibut and chips before getting back on the ship.

VICTORIA:

The hours were odd here--7 p.m.-11:30 p.m.. but it was a required international stop. We had just visited there in April so it was not a big deal to us that there was no gardens excursion offered. We still walked to Fisherman's Wharf, had some halibut and chips from Barb's and just walked to downtown and back. Great weather here as well.

DISEMBARKATION:

We selected the 9:30 a.m. departure as our flight was not until 2:55 p.m. and we wanted to have a leisurely breakfast. We put the big luggage out the night before so the porters could take them. We then met our 9:30 group and went down where our luggage was waiting for us. I had pre-booked Seattle Express to the airport so that was easy.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

We had a wonderful time on this cruise and on the Ruby Princess. My husband was a pretty leery about cruising but he had the best time and would do it again.

RE: seasickness--we wore seabands most of the time and took Bonine once a day. Saturday night and our first sea day was somewhat rough but we did not get sick. However, being 2 days home, I currently have "land seasickness" that I am hoping will subside soon!

Hope you found this review informative! Thanks to all the CC members in helping me plan this cruise with great recommendations and input.

Re: the current price of drinks, we just got off the Ruby Princess yesterday, and the mixed drinks were going for somewhere in the ballpark of $8 to $10, most glasses of wine under $10. They also had the buckets of beer on the Lido deck... I believe 5 for $25. We took advantage of the buy one get one for a dollar happy hour often.

Just got off the Ruby Princess to Alaska yesterday. They had the buy one, get one for a dollar happy hour, twice a day, for most of the cruise.

Thanks all. Just got back last night and started experiencing it this morning. Other than a feeling of constant swaying, I feel OK so far... Using sea bands and just took Bonine.

But if it doesn't get better by tomorrow, I may just go to the doctor in case.

Hello, just got off a 7 night cruise on the Ruby to Alaska. Never got sick, although I wore sea bands the whole time and took Bonine twice.

I felt fine all day yesterday and night, even after taking a 2 hour flight home.

I woke up today feeling dizzy and swaying like on the ship. I read this is a common condition and hopefully will go away soon. But I've cruised before, last time 10 years ago, and never experienced this. My husband feels fine.

I just put my sea bands back on but any other recommendations to get over this? Thanks!

Just coming back from our cruise today. For Ketchikan, hubby and I saved our money on excursions. Did a hike on Rainbird trail where there were great views from above...it's moderately steep but not too bad. Then spent the rest of time walking around cute streets with shops and the lovely Creek Street

Hi all,

At the airport now after our amazing Alaskan cruise on the Ruby Princess.

I hope to do a full review soon but just wanted to mention that we had wonderful weather...worst of it was some very light rain for a couple hours in Juneau.

Glacier Bay was gloriously sunny all day, and we also had sunny days in Skagway, and the best sunny weather in Ketchikan with no wind. Last night's weather in Victoria was pleasant as well.

I had been concerned based on what I read about a stormy September but we had none of that, although I know it's unpredictable. Took advantage of some great end of season sales too!

Thanks all for the advice and input.