Cobber76

On 1/23/2024 at 1:27 PM, Traderboy said:

Thank you for these comments,

I did not mean mobility impaired.

We ware reasonably fit septuagenarians!

It sounds as if we need to book a local tour in Olden. 
is it possible to book one in advance or are they easily available on disembarkation?

 

Does anyone know anything about  Skyolden/Sognefjord?

 

Walk up to the Skjolden Viewpoint.  From the center of town, It’s roughly a 1-mile hike up. There’s a paved road for part of it, before it veers off to a pretty decent trail.  If it’s a nice day, you can get a beautiful view of the end of the Sognefjord.  We took this photo at the end of August this past year.

@skynight is correct.  There are no seats on the forward viewing area of Baja and Caribe decks. These forward viewing areas are *usually* open—but the staff can close them if weather conditions dictate.  It can get cold up there, especially for Alaska-type cruises!!  And you probably don’t want to be out there on sea days at all, due to the wind.  But if you’re heading into or out of port, those areas will usually be open.  

2 hours ago, MplsYogini said:

I really like the 11-day Inside Passage itinerary on the Coral on May 3rd, but is that too early in the season to be enjoyable?  Thanks.

@MplsYogini We sailed on the Royal Princess on May 2, 2022, on a 12-day Alaska itinerary.  We also were a bit concerned that it was "too early"--but it was absolutely fabulous!  Yes, it was cold at times--but as a fellow Minnesotan, you can likely handled the temps just fine.  The scenery was absolutely amazing, with snow covering every mountain!  We saw otters, a couple of bears, sea otters, seals/sea lions, mountain goats (and babies) and tons of eagles.  We took a whale watching trip out of Icy Strait Point and were thrilled to see many humpback whales (pretty close up!) and even got to see them bubble net feeding twice!  We also saw a pod of five orcas as we were rounding the southern end of Vancouver Island.  We had very little rain--but did come prepared for it, just in case.  My husband and I loved May so much that we booked back-to-back cruises on the Royal Princess for mid-May 2024 . . . and we can't wait!  

On 7/11/2023 at 5:27 AM, jinpasco said:

@mrmarklin and @cobber76,     any news on air ? Nothing from my TA on Monday but figure Mondays are awful.for questions . Today I press on. I tried going to Princess online and hit the ticketing button as suggested and nothing. 

I have been following another who is doing the Japan cruise and that's hopefully our next adventure. However, it may not be with Princess after this trip. One thing being in England but I don't know any Japanese !! I best get studying.

@jinpasco  My travel agent was finally able to get through to Princess.  Our tickets on Delta (Minneapolis to London) were ticketed yesterday--and they do show up on my cruise personalizer.  The Princess agent said our return flight would not be ticketed until July 30.  

I just looked back on my confirmation from my travel agent.  We booked our Alaska cruise for May of 2024 on December 7, 2022.  Elites were able to book on December 6, 2022.

3 hours ago, jinpasco said:

A bit off topic but Jeter02 and those that have been following his adventure,.........anyone use EZAir lately ? We  are a little over 40 days out and still not ticketed. My T A called and got the runaround. She is climbing the ladder to find out why.  I wanted to ask here if anyone  had issues with ticketing? I don't want to post yet another similar question on the site as looking more for recent experiences. Princess service of today isn't the Princess of yesterday ! Travel is a mess. No way am I going to go on the trip with no actual ticket number. So far it's still on Virgin Atlantics site. Princess has not paid. We are scheduled to leave here Aug 16.

Thanks.

@jinpasco  As of today (July 7), we also have NOT be ticketed.  We are on Delta out of Minneapolis and also leave on August 16.  I'll send my TA a message today.

A few months ago, there was some type of glitch at AARP, and the Princess Gift Cards were unavailable for many days . . . And then they suddenly reappeared.  I was planning on buying many of them for our Alaska 2024 cruise, so fingers crossed they come back soon—and with the same terms.  

Princess opened up their 2024 Alaska bookings the week of December 5, 2022.  Who knows if Princess will follow the same pattern this year for the 2025 Alaska cruises!  I’d suggest watching posts on Cruise Critic in the fall, as sometimes travel agents will have advance notice of the release dates..

On 5/3/2023 at 7:51 PM, Jules&Ted said:

Thanks for that....we usually travel very aft so we get to see the wake and normally does not affect either of us.  In fact, I have had more motion sickness with cabins in the middle!  We always have our curtains closed at night so that will not worry us either.  I am feeling more positive about this cabin now.  We usually only go on the balcony leaving or coming into port, so this sounds like it might suit us. 

Did you have any issues with wind noise?  Someone mentioned he had to wear earplugs at night!

Thank you again for your feedback.

We heard an occasional creak near the balcony door a couple of times--but no other wind noise that I remember.  With all the activity we did in Alaska every day, we were really tired by the end of the day and we slept really well.  Perhaps we so exhausted we just didn't hear it? HAHA!  Regardless, I don't think it was an issue in our particular cabin for the sailing we were on.

We had one of these cabins for our Alaskan cruise last May and loved it!!  The balconies of those cabins can be accessed at ANY time during your sailing.  The balcony doors don’t lock at all.  That being said, It can be very windy if you’re in open waters—so much so that you probably don’t want to be out there at all.  Your room steward may strap down any chairs/cushions on those days.  But heading into or out of ports—there is no problem whatsoever.  Just be aware that the lower area on these balconies are metal (not the blue glass), so they might technically be listed as obstructed.  And at night, you need to keep your curtains closed so your cabin lights don’t interfere with ship navigation from the bridge.  And please be aware that because these cabins are far forward and are high up, this may not be the cabin for you if you’re sensitive to motion.

It’s our favorite cabin ever . . . Especially on very scenic cruises such as Alaska and Norway!

8 minutes ago, compozer said:

I am not an AARP member so this is the first I have heard about these gift cards.

 

Are they discounted?

 

 What is the benefit of buying them from AARP?

 

Thanks

There are two AARP gift cards options right now.  Pay $90 for a $100 gift card or pay $450 for a $500 gift card.  You can buy up to five gift cards per month.  You can use them to pay off some of the balance of a current Princess booking—or you can use it on board.  We are currently wrapping up our payments for a 14-day Norway cruise—and we’ve saved over $1,300 by using the gift cards.  The only downside I see is that if you cancel your cruise, the money gets refunded back to these same gift cards—so you have to make sure to hold onto the paperwork so you can apply the gift cards to your next Princess cruise.

Following our cruise to Norway this summer, we are staying one night at the Hilton Garden Inn at Heathrow.  Since our flight leaves the next morning around 9:00 am, we would have had to get ourselves to the airport by 6:00 am, which sounded pretty awful.  Yes, we are taking the simple route by staying at the airport hotel.  But for us, this will have been Day 17 of our trip—so we’ll likely be pretty drained by then.  But Windsor sounds fun!  Maybe I can check that out prior to our cruise!  Good luck!

1 hour ago, leahthecaterer said:

I just got a copy of the highly recommended book from amazon but there was no map in it.  I wondered if anyone had one that they could take a picture of and post. 🙂  I've been trying to find one online but no luck so far.  We are looking forward to our first Alaskan cruise this May. 

 

And speaking of amazon, is there a pair of binoculars that you like that are less than $150 that would be good?  I like the ones that you can take photos with too but not sure how well they really work.

 

Thanks!

Leah

Here are photos of the map from the Alaska Cruise Companion book.  The map measures about 24” X 30” when opened up.  Hope the photos help!

Try the Horizon Terrace, located behind the Horizon Court buffet.  It’s on the aft of the Lido deck (16).  It has partially covered aft views, some casual seating, and is adjacent to the Outrigger Bar.  

10 hours ago, Sea Hag said:

That is so weird! I was sure it was a pullout. Oddly, deckplans on Princess' site show it as having a sofa bed. I don't doubt your experience, but it's really odd. 

 

On another note, I see that these minis are now listed as "Reserve Collection Mini Suite." Wonder when they made that change.

 

Edit: I was curious on this, so I checked it out. Those forward corner minis sure don't show up if you choose 3 persons, at least on Royal and Discovery.  I lack both the patience and curiosity to check all of them, but I imagine they're all like that. Go figure.

At the time I initially was looking at M108,  I just couldn’t believe it didn’t hold three people—so I had my travel agent check into it.  After Princess confirmed it was only for two people, we had to change our plans, because our adult daughter was planning on joining us. When our daughter’s plans changed, we were able to secure M108.  On our first day, I double checked the sofa, because I thought for sure it would be a sleeper sofa.  But, nope!  That cabin was only for two people!  It makes no sense to me—unless because of the position of the sofa that it would be a fire hazard for those in the bedroom?  That’s the only thing we could think of.  

1 hour ago, Sea Hag said:

Yes, you can. There's a small sofa that folds out or pulls out.

Our experience on the Royal Princess last May was that there was NOT a third person option in M108.  We were shocked at that, considering the size of the mini suite.  We had our travel agent double check with Princess, and she confirmed that it only slept two.  There certainly was a small sofa—but when we double checked it in person . . sure enough, it was NOT a pullout.  I’m not sure if that’s the case for the other Royal Class ships, though.  And L107 and L108 might be different.

There are Club Class mini suites on all Princess ships—but only specific cabins are designated as Club Class.  They are generally in a preferred location on each ship.  But as previously posted, Club Class mini suites often sell out quickly.

For most Alaskan cruises, either port or starboard is absolutely fine.  But if your cruise goes into Glacier Bay, you will see Margerie Glacier on approach if you’re on the port side.  The ship will rotate while at Margerie Glacier, so all sides of the ship will see the glacier.  But seeing it for miles in advance is pretty awesome!

In the past, we have purchased the All-Inclusive Photo Package for our cruises to Alaska.  That doesn’t appear to be an option in our Cruise Personalizer for our Alaska cruise this May.   There are only two packages listed:  a 5-photo package and a 10-photo package.  Has anyone been on a recent cruise where an All-Inclusive package was offered?  My husband and I are traveling alone this time, and we wanted to have more photos of the two of us that aren’t just selfies.

In the past, we have purchased the All-Inclusive Photo Package for our cruises to Alaska.  That doesn’t appear to be an option in our Cruise Personalizer for our Alaska cruise this May.   There are only two packages listed:  a 5-photo package and a 10-photo package.  Has anyone been on a recent cruise where an All-Inclusive package was offered?  My husband and I are traveling alone this time, and we wanted to have more photos of the two of us that aren’t just selfies.

2 hours ago, CruzeQueen2 said:

Thanks for sharing your favourite places in Ketchikan. You found one of my haunts. Tongass Trading 2nd floor - with everything one could imagine for outdoor living. Can't wait to get back to Alaska. Looking forward to hearing /seeing your WM pics later. ENjoy every moment, every mouthful.

I agree about Tongass Trading 2nd floor!  Our first cruise port in 2019 was Ketchikan.  We anticipated rain before we left—and I had packed one of my best rain jackets.  But that jacket just couldn’t keep up with the steady rain we had in Ketchikan.  A quick trip to Tongass, and I scored an Outdoor Research water proof rain jacket (NOT just water resistant) for a really decent price.  I stayed dry the rest of the cruise, despite having rain on many of our sea and land days.  It became my best Alaska “souvenir” ever!! 

I just watched a webinar on Facebook that was done by John Chernesky, who is the Senior VP of North American Sales for Princess.  The webinar was done on June 30, so it’s pretty recent information.  I believe the webinar is also available on YouTube. 

About 47:00 minutes into the presentation, he stated that Alaska 2023 should be coming in August!  That’s really early, since the last couple of years Alaska bookings weren’t available until November/December.  I’ll be watching Cruise Critic and the Princess website for the actual release date!

12 hours ago, snoozecrooze said:

This question is asked yearly so make sure to search the forum for feedback many have shared. The page for that is here.

 

But as for suggestions, most prefer smaller ships for Alaska cruising because it provides more optimal opportunities for scenic cruising. This is not to say Majestic would be awful, but that you'll be gazing among larger crowds and there isn't as much unobtrusive deck space (unless you mainly spectate from the pool decks). Among the three, that leaves Grand and Sapphire, and among those two, I think a lot have mentioned they'd choose Sapphire because of its particularly wider promenade deck. When it comes to size, Sapphire and Grand are very similar in size, but have select differences in onboard features, such as yes/no Skywalkers, more/less dining room choices, different restaurants, and also accommodation variations (Grand has window suites on deck 6). I'll let others speak to their choices as well!

Thanks so much for the link!  I got some valuable information and look forward to delving more into the posts!

14 hours ago, Cobber76 said:

We’re planning on sailing to Alaska in 2022 and are trying to decide between the Grand, Sapphire or Majestic.  We have previously only been on the Coral Princess, which we loved.   I’m looking for any positives or negatives of each ship.  We spend a lot of time looking for wildlife and taking photos on our Alaska cruises, so great viewing spots (other than our balcony) would be important to us.  Also, getting close to glaciers would be high on our list.  Dining options and onboard entertainment wouldn't likely sway us towards or against a specific ship.  Thanks for any input!   

 

UPDATE:  The full 2022 schedules haven't been released yet, but it appears that these three ships all have the same itinerary, but they just leave Vancouver on different days of the week. I would assume the port order and port times are similar, but maybe Princess alters them.  We are considering doing a back-to-back cruise this time--which would give us two trips into Glacier Bay, plus a trip to Hubbard Glacier.