SuzieQ521

For our first Alaska trip a few years ago, we were on the Ruby which was nice with Skywalkers lounge. For our last trip this past May, we were on the Royal. I was a little concerned leading up to our cruise as people kept saying that it did not have a wraparound deck but honestly, we had no problem with viewing spots (especially on Glacier Bay day--we either used our Balcony or went all the way up to the Sun Deck with great views); there are also some hidden spots outside (like outside Crooners bar--patio area). So I would definitely focus on itinerary--definitely try to get an itinerary with Glacier Bay and Skagway if possible, at least for your first Alaska cruise.

Best prices are definitely on Port days...usually the night before they will have the flyer with the specials at the spa. On our cruise last month (Royal), they had 75 min treatment (50 min massage plus 25 min mini facial) for $129.00; there was even a better deal next port day: pick 3 services of your choice (total of 75 min) for $99.00. On sea days, you would pay $149 or more for a 50 min massage for example. Maybe I got lucky but my massage therapist did not try to upsell me at all.

From online: Princess Cruises makes the Dirty Banana with Gosling’s Dark Rum, Kahlua, Patron XO Cafe Liqueur, cream, chocolate syrup, and fresh banana.

We were on the Royal in May and I never saw this paper order form for our balcony room--we would always order the breakfast sandwiches, specialty coffees, etc. off the Medallion App (I would allot at least an hour before you actually plan on eating it as it can take a while for service). The only time they gave us these paper order forms was for lunch on Glacier Bay Day (provided the night before). Not sure if you're supposed to ask your room steward for the breakfast form or if it is different on the Royal. If you order the small bottled water on the app with the Plus package, there's no charge...but there is a charge for the bigger waters.

Dirty Banana is a good frozen drink but my absolute favorite on my recent Royal Princess cruise was Dunes--it was at the Crooners bar but you may be able to get it elsewhere (over ice--coconut rum, melon and banana liqueur, pineapple juice and sweet and sour). I was a fond of the Egyptian zombie (Bacardi Superior rum, Gosling's Dark rum, blackberry brandy, sweet and sour, orange juice, pineapple juice, grenadine) and Mai tai as well.

Are light bites offered at all if you want to lounge in Skywalkers during the day? (Observation lounge on NCL had an area with some light bites). I guess one could order food from the Medallion app but just wondering if they had a specific food area in there. Thanks!

I believe we had Lavazza on the Royal last month. And Yes--the specialty coffee is also served near the dessert area in the buffet and also at the bar near Princess Live, in addition to the IC (at least that's how it was on the Royal). Also--you can order for delivery on the Medallion app.

You can also go around breakfast or lunch time and discuss dinner reservations with them. We had reservations booked before the cruise but had a group of 9 so we would go earlier in the day to ask that we be seated together. One of the dining rooms (I think it was Concerto) will be open for lunch on embarkation day.

That's also a specialty coffee area with the bar next to Princess Live on Deck 7...I would either go there or IC for the coffee depending on which line was shorter.

Layers for sure. Not sure about your itinerary but the ports can be so different too. We just did an Alaska cruise last month. Juneau weather was pleasant, about 60 and sunny but then it was quite chilly on Glacier Bay day and in Skagway. Ketchikan was also moderate weather...you never know with Alaska!

Enjoy your trip! The Royal was a great ship for us...I did the same cruise exactly one month ago😀. Hopefully you get the same nice weather we did!

May I ask what deck you were on? We will be on the Emerald deck in November on the Crown and are definitely firm mattress sleepers. We were just on the Royal Princess (also Emerald deck) and those mattresses were great. Thanks! Regarding the sensor lights, I ended up covering ours with some fabric tape...it is mostly because our young son is also with us and that would definitely wake him up!

I would definitely contact Port Valet ahead of time and let them know this. The problem is that when you sign up and there's an airline bag charge, the charge will post the night before disembarkation on your onboard account. We tried to get it off that night but were told that the person in charge wasn't available; and now a month later, we are still trying to dispute this with Princess since we did not end up using the service.

We were going to use it for our cruise a few weeks ago (got the tags the night before and everything) but ended up taking our own luggage off. My parents used it for their cruise last October and everything went smoothly (SW airlines). Just a word of caution though--try to cancel ahead of time if you know you are not going to use it (if your airline charges for bags). Princess still charged us the $30 for Delta's bag fee even though we didn't use the service and we are still waiting for a refund after numerous calls.

Hello: Anyone know of a reliable (and not extremely expensive) shuttle/car service for a group of 6 leaving from the Pleasanton area to the SF cruise port? ABC shuttle service and Aegis Limo service are some I have come across if anyone is familiar with them? If we do Lyft/Uber we would need the XL so I wanted to compare prices with any shuttle companies. Possible option also to do long term parking at the cruise port but from what I read, safety is an issue at some of the nearby garages so not ideal. (BART is not an option since we have elderly and a child in our group, in addition to luggage). Thanks!

I agree; definitely a photo selling opportunity. My 4 year old and I stood in line on the Royal a few weeks ago for this. I thought it was going to be a nice event where we got to at least spend time with the puppies. Rather it was a hyper rush just for Princess to take a quick photo and the puppies looking scared with people darting in and out next to them.

Oh that's too bad! We water shuttled tendered a few weeks ago at RRF on the Royal Princess and it could not have gone smoother. We definitely used more than 2 boats. I wonder why the change? And I agree on the landslide being so close but I guess the worry is that a big ship (like the Majestic and Royal) would have no time to move if something would go awry; that's why they have to "park" so far out.

Power strip without surge protector should be ok; we sailed a few weeks ago on Royal Princess and brought this, no problem: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BN4Z47CK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Ugh, I need to learn the tricks; first time sailing out of SF for a Thanksgiving cruise--we will have a group of 15, including a young child and elderly family members. We just did a cruise out of Seattle a few weeks ago that had very efficient embarkation so was hoping for the same...

Yes, definitely reserve Seattle express as soon as you can as they are pretty popular and fill up, especially during the Alaska cruise season.

I have a very detailed review about the kids club on our recent Alaska voyage on Princess (on the Princess thread--just search "Discovery Kids club") but in a nutshell, Princess's kids club is by and far better than NCL's in my opinion. We have a 4, almost 5 year old; when we tried NCL (Bliss) to Mexico this past January, he really did not care much for the kids club and it seemed more like a babysitting service (no real structured activities)--mostly playing Mario Kart and Legos, which is fine if that's what your kids want. We just did a Royal Princess cruise last month and they have the most amazing structured Alaska programming...my son did not want to leave and kept asking to go back. We almost needed a whole separate suit case for all the fun crafts and activities he brought home; they had theme nights (like Pirate night, cowboy western day, Olympic games day, PJ party night, etc.) and Alaska specific activities. On Glacier Bay Day, they had a park ranger come and speak as part of a junior ranger program and they all received pins and special certificates. Your kids would be in the second group for ages 8-12 on Princess and that room is a lot of fun too (skeeball, air hockey, video games, and other games in there, plus all the structured activities). Also, Princess's kids clubs are open on Port days (you reserve ahead of time) while NCL's were not for us. What I also liked about Princess's kids club is that they would give you pagers in case of emergencies; NCL would ask us what deck would be on which wasn't really helpful if parents wanted to move around. I think NCL is fun for older teens for all their activities like the go karts, laser tag etc. (although those cost extra). I definitely recommend Princess's kids club!

I was just on the Royal and purchased the Enclave pass but sailing the Crown in November. So is the thermal suite on Crown like the Royal's enclave, minus the whirlpool area? I would imagine it should cost less? (Enclave was $149/week pre-cruise and $168 on board). Thanks!

Is this Seattle? If you want downtown, I know Pioneer Square is not one of the safer areas, so probably want to avoid that. Anywhere in the heart of the city is going to be pretty expensive during cruise season. If you want near the airport (much less expensive), we really liked Country Inn & Suites Radisson by SEATAC for our group of 9; free airport shuttle, clean rooms and free breakfast. The area was one of the safer ones near the airport although you don't want to be walking around there much anyway (and not much to see regardless).

We just stayed at the Country Inn & Suites by Radisson by SEATAC the night before our cruise and it was great...24 hour airport shuttle and great breakfast in the morning. Rooms were clean and service was great; we then used Seattle Express the next morning to drive us to Pier 91.

We had the Plus package on Royal recently and we’re always given Kirkland water bottles!