shellgirl61

I bought mine online before our cruise last summer. I wanted to read it before the cruise, not while I was on the cruise. My copy came with the map. I really enjoyed all the information in the book, and gave a great heads up for what to see and where to look for all the scenery, wildlife, etc.

In certain areas on Alaskan cruises, such as Glacier Bay and the fjords, they are not allowed to put beverages in disposable cups.

In these areas they are only allowed to give you glass cups or glasses.

It seems like many people are in the same situation that I am in. Blessings to all of you who are moving on and pursuing your dreams. My husband passed away in January 2015. I was 59 at the time. He was 71. We traveled a lot, both cruises and land trips. I have been vacationing with my adult son for the past 3 years. I will be retiring in 6 months. I have booked my first solo cruise for October 2019, a Princess Mediterranean Cruise. I am very excited about the trip, but I also have a lot of anxiety about traveling out of the country alone. Reading these posts are helping. Thank you to everyone for sharing their thoughts and experiences.

Laundry is the last thing on my mind when I go on vacation, cruise or land.

Sign up for Ultimate Ship Tour, unpack, wander around the ship and take pictures. Eat at the buffet. Love to watch sail

away from my balcony.

I watch it every Sunday night.

I will be taking my first solo cruise October 31, 2019 on the Sapphire Princess from Southampton to Rome. I just booked it a couple of days ago. I am a little anxious about traveling solo, but also very excited. This cruise is my retirement gift to myself. It will also tick off a few bucket list items.

We got one on the Emerald in June.

I bought a beautiful Totem in Skagway. It has the bear and cub on the bottom and is signed by the artist. It is truly one of my favorite things that I have purchased from my travels. I have been wanting one since my first cruise to AK in 2009. On our first trip to AK, I picked up a lot of the free items. It was kind of like a treasure hunt. I never purchased anything in the stores. I got my free trinket and left. My cruise in early June was my 4th trip to AK. I purposely looked for Made in Alaska items. My son was with me on this trip. He picked up lots of the free trinkets, but he got his trinket and ran out the door. In one store, the saleslady showed him this really expensive bracelet. He looked at her and told her very seriously, "Do I look like someone, who can afford something that expensive?" She did not know how to respond to that. We laughed all the way out the door.

My adult son and I were on the Emerald in June. We had a wonderful time. The ship and crew and staff were great. We had a free Specialty Dining from our TA. We went to Share. We loved it. Do not think little kids would like it to much. We ate anytime dining in the Michaelangelo DR the other nights. We were both very pleased with it. I agree with your opinion of the buffet. I did not enjoy what I ate there. I also thought the dessert menu in the DR was not the greatest. This was my fourth Princess Cruise and I always liked the Buffets. but this time it did not appeal to me. We ate there for one breakfast and a couple of lunches. My son liked the grill and the pizza. I loved the IC. We ate breakfast there all the other days, and I ate lunch from there after a couple of buffet visits. We did eat one dinner in the buffet and it was OK. Overall, the cruise was wonderful. I think the Emerald is a beautiful ship. It was very clean and looked great. My first time on her was in 2012.

My son and I sailed on her from June 3 - June 10, 2018 to Alaska. We had a wonderful time. She was very clean. The staff were cleaning constantly and painters were scraping and painting on the decks all the time.

The crew and staff were very friendly. I was always greeted with a smile and kind words every time I passed one while walking around the ship. Our cabin steward was wonderful. His name was Roger. The food in the MDR was very good. We ate in the MDR most nights. We had anytime dining. I called in the morning and made reservations for 5:30 each day. The head waiter always seated us by a window so we would have a good view .We ate in the buffet a few times. The food was fine, I just did not want to eat that much food for breakfast or lunch. We ate at the IC for most of our lunches and breakfasts. I went to the IC every morning around 5:30 to get a cappuccino for me and a coffee for my son. They were always very friendly. There was never a line at that time of the morning. We ate at Share, the Curtis Stone restaurant. It was a lovely experience. The onboard Naturalist was up on the bridge a lot, giving commentary. I enjoyed the entertainment, especially Nathan Foley. the Captain was very friendly. We got all the way into Tracy Arm Fjord. That was quite an experience. I have no complaints from our cruise. We thoroughly enjoyed. the new beds on Princess are so comfortable! I would have loved to put the mattress in my luggage and brought it home.

I have done 3 AK cruises. All of them on Princess, and all RT out of Seattle. I would book a cruise that goes to Glacier Bay for a first time cruise.It is truly awesome. AK is all about the adventure, scenery, and wildlife. It is truly a magical place. Each trip I did different excursions in each port. I have enjoyed all of them. Whale watching is the thing to do In Juneau. My favorite excursion in Skagway was the bus ride into the Yukon. We went to Caribou Crossing and Carcross. The scenery was amazing, and the bus stopped lots of time for photos going an coming. Many people like to do the train ride in Skagway. My favorite excursion in Ketchikan was the Deadliest Catch excursion. It was so much fun!!!! We also saw lots of eagles on that excursion.We also saw lots of wildlife from the ship. Ketchikan and Skagway are very cute towns with lots of character. We also found lots of Made in Alaska souvenirs, not just the typical stuff in Skagway and Ketchikan. There is so much to do and see. It can be overwhelming planning your trip, but so much fun.

We were in Seattle for 3 days before our cruise. I see that you need a car to go out to San Juan Islands. If any of you plan on, staying in Seattle before or after your cruise, you really don't need to rent a car. We took a shuttle from the airport to our hotel. Our hotel was less than a five minute walk to the Space Needle and all the Museums. We walked to and from Pike Place for an early morning food tour. It was so much fun. Most of the hotels downtown have a free shuttle to places within a mile of the hotel. The Olympic Sculpture Park is also a pretty place to walk through and it is on the water. We had a blast and saw lots of stuff. Seattle is a very walkable city. We had beautiful weather. We got a shuttle from the hotel to Pier 91 for $25 for both of us. Whatever you decide to do have a wonderful time in Seattle. It is a beautiful city.

We cruised to Alaska on the Emerald Princess in early June this year. We got all the way into Tracy Arm. We got real close to North Sawyer Glacier. It was a beautiful day. Definitely one of the highlights of the trip. They even sent photographers out in a tender to take pictures of the ship. We got two great pictures of us standing on the deck with North Sawyer in the background.

We walked into town from the dock. We walked the Fisherman's Wharf route. A very cute area. There were some gift shops open. We walked through a beautiful residential area. Government street was also good. We took lots of pictures. There was a pretty good gift shop past this area. I bought a beautiful print by a Canadian artist. It was a beautiful evening. We went in June, so stayed light out. There is also an artist market at the dock. We also shopped there. Everything was hand made by local artists. I bought 2 beautiful and unique necklaces. My son bought me a bracelet. We had a lovely evening there. We also chatted with several locals out walking their dogs.

We paid $199 pre cruise. It was well worth it.

I recommend the Deadliest Catch excursion. It was so much fun. the ship's captain and crew are from the show. They were great.

Eagle viewing on this excursion was amazing.

My adult I son and I were on the Emerald in June. I pre purchased the package for $199. We loved it. I came home with 70 great pictures. I could have gotten a lot more pictures, but we never seemed to be on deck during sail away, where the photographers were. I am very much an advocate of having lots of pictures taken. My husband passed away three years ago, after a very short illness. Our vacation photos are some of my most precious memories of our life together. I would not trade them for anything. Take advantage of every moment, because you never know what tomorrow will bring. Scenery pictures are also an important part of vacation, but make sure your loved ones are in those photos too. Years from now the picture of that beautiful glacier will mean a lot more if someone you love, and is no longer here is in it, One word of advice on the photo package. Pick up your pictures each day! Many people wait for the last couple days of the cruise to pick up pictures, whether they have the photo package or not. The photo pick up area gets really busy on the last two days. In fact, it was a madhouse.

I have been in both Tracy Arm and Endicott Arm. They are both beautiful. It amazes me how the amount of ice seems to change day to day. I guess that is part of the beauty and magic of Alaska. We were able to get into Tracy Arm in early June.

I am sure they do say that to every ship. It adds a little bit of excitement. It was truly magical and amazing. Very happy we got to experience it.

Have lots of fun and enjoy. Tracy Arm was truly magical on our cruise. Being able to get all the way in to N. Sawyer Glacier was amazing. Hope your experience will be equally as awesome.

We had the photo package on our Alaskan cruise last week on the Emerald Princess. They also give you the hard copies of the pictures, in addition to the photos on the USB. We had 70 pictures taken. I bought the package pre-cruise for $199. It is $249 if you purchase it on board. I am pleased with it.

We did the Mendenhall Glacier and Whale Watching Tour in Juneau. We were at the Glacier for about an hour. I was disappointed in the Glacier. My husband and I were there in 2011. I really enjoyed it that visit. The Glacier has receded so much, and the lake was so beautiful in 2011. There were so many large icebergs in the lake. This visit I saw much smaller icebergs. It was kind of depressing to me the way the area looked this time. I wished I had booked a whale watching tour without Mendenhall Glacier inlcuded, and went up Mt. Roberts Tram before or after the whale watching tour. It was a beautiful day in Juneau, and I think the scenery from the Tram would have been beautiful. We also got great views of glaciers on the whale watching trip and in Tracy Arm. We would have had glacier viewing without going to Mendenhall.

My son and I just returned home from the June 3 - June 10 Emerald Princess Cruise. We had a great time! We got all the way into Tracy Arm Fjord. Shelley Gill , the on board Naturalist, said we were the first Cruise ship to get in that far. It was definitely a Wow!! experience. She was very excited about it! She had nothing but kudos for the Captains ability to navigate through Tracy Arm. It was one of the high points of the cruise. Tracy Arm is absolutely beautiful. It was awesome watching the ship turn around in such a small area. I think I heard Shelley say that the ship only had a 40 feet clearance. We chose not to do the small boat excursion through Tracy Arm, instead we did the Mendenhall/ Whale Watching tour in Juneau. On the cruise the week before ours, they could not get in tp Tracy Arm or Endicott Arm.

Glad you had a great trip. Definitely plan your Canada/New England. We cruised there in 2013. Ten days starting in NYC and ending in Quebec City! It was a very enjoyable trip and the scenery was absolutely beautiful. We both loved all the ports. It is a definite must do.