RSF Cruiser

I just checked and round trip mileage from the ship for the Rushbrook trail is 4.5 miles. The 1.8 miles must have been one way (I just saw my recorded trail route with the info). I don’t want to mislead anyone!

21 minutes ago, sfpd3000 said:

We'll see.  As @telecheck wrote, I usually post on the particular roll call thread that I work.  But we don't get the work requests until a month or two out, depending on when the sergeant posts them.  He posted this morning for the June and July cruises.  Or if he gets mad at me (twice already), I get dropped out of the rotation...

Last I checked there wasn’t a roll call for the Oct 19 cruise. I generally lurk, and rarely post unless I have a question like today. If someone starts a roll call, I’ll be lurking and will look for your posting. 

1 minute ago, sfpd3000 said:

If you had waited one more week... I'm working the Discovery tomorrow.

Maybe you’ll be there in October, then. 

2 minutes ago, sfpd3000 said:

We probably sailed past each other twice.  I was on the Crown last week on the way south while you were on the Discovery going up north and then vice versa.

Ha! Had I known I’d have waved to you!

7 minutes ago, sfpd3000 said:

Doing a little more research here.

 

My cousin did this cruise last year (doing the itinerary from Post #19).  But they only spent the day in San Francisco.  So I'm guessing since you're staying overnight in San Francisco, you'll miss Catalina and Santa Barbara too?

We just did this cruise last week and will be doing it again in October. Perhaps when the schedule first came out, the itinerary included Santa Barbara, and then it got changed to Monterey, and then Catalina. I got suspicious about Catalina for October when no excursions were listed. The Catalina port schedule still has the Discovery listed, but my bet is the schedule hasn’t been updated, especially if the SF port schedule just got changed last week. Thanks for confirming my suspicions!

11 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

Good suggestion, but Cruise Critic disabled Direct Messages to other members.

 

You can try @sfpd3000 and hope Alan responds

The link for messaging has been disabled - I tried various ways, and all of them gave me a message that the function is not available.

Not far from the port is the Rushbrook trail that follows the harbor with pretty views. Once you get to the trailhead, it’s about 1.8 miles round trip and fairly flat. 

Right now San Francisco is listed for only one day on the

ship itinerary. There are excursions listed for San Francisco, San Diego, and Ensenada. That’s why I’m concerned Catalina will be cancelled since it’s the only port with no excursions. I checked the port schedules and the Discovery is listed on the Catalina site per the cruise itinerary, and the sfport.com schedule lists the Discovery for SF for two days. As for excursions, dates are not given for the SF excursions other than the cruise itinerary which says we’ll be in port one day. Guess I’ll have to wait and see if we get any official clarification. Thanks for your help!

5 minutes ago, karatemom2 said:

Catalina is a tender port and can really only comfortably accommodate one ship - it is very small. So maybe there is a delay to see how the schedule shakes out? Other lines regularly stop in Catalina including Carnival which has a regular rotation there.

 

If you do end up going, be sure to check out the inland Hummer tour that takes you to the more remote parts of the island and up to the Airport in the Sky. It's an amazing (albeit a bit bumpy tour). Great way to see parts of the island that those who stick just to Avalon don't experience and also catch sight of some of the wild roaming bison.

Thanks - I was in Catalina last week and hiked up Hermits Gulch and then down the Sea to Sky trail into the botanical garden - the hike was incredible! Lots of wild flowers and great views. In October we are planning on doing the interior jeep tour with the Catalina Conservancy. I’m afraid Princess is going to cancel Catalina, and that’s why there are no tours listed. 

I should have been more clear - I am not interested in taking an excursion in Catalina - I’m concerned we are not going to go there and spend two days in San Francisco, which I do not want to do. Princess has not said anything about dropping Catalina, and of course, Princess customer service didn’t know if Catalina would be dropped or not. I had hoped some of the travel agents who participate in cruise critic would know more of the details of the Discovery October 19 cruise. That said, thanks for taking the time to respond. 

We are booked on the Oct 19 CA Coastal cruise on the Discovery. Originally the itinerary included San Francisco, I think it was Monterey, San Diego, and Ensenada. The schedule changed and Monterey was changed to Catalina. When I check excursions, none are listed for Catalina, yet there are excursions for the other ports. 
 

This same itinerary is on Oct 5 and April 12, but again, no excursions for Catalina. For the November 2 and March 29 sailings, the Discovery is staying two days in San Francisco - no Catalina. 
 

Does anyone have any “insider” information about the October CA Coastal cruises? Are there plans to drop Catalina and they just haven’t told us?

I’m probably not going on the excursion, but if I do, I’ll report back. Although the whales should be in Magdalena Bay in early January, it’s unlikely any of the babies will have been born, so I might do a separate trip just to see the moms and babies some February. My reason for not doing it is about the whales and not my age!

Have any if you taken the Magdalena Bay Whale Watching excursion or glass bottom boat ride from Loreto? To get to Magdalena Bay you take a two hour bus drive each way to get to the boat, where you are on the water for two hours.
 

We’ll be there the beginning of January and we’re trying to decide between going to Magdalena Bay or taking a glass bottom boat ride in the Sea of Cortez. As I understand the excursions, in Magdalena Bay we see mom and baby whales that swim right up to the boat, and in the glass bottom boat ride we see a large variety of marine life - two totally different experiences.
 

My question is, if you have taken either of these tours from Loreto, what did you like or not like about it? I’m not asking which is better; that’s a personal decision! 

Thanks!

I decided to see if I can book the excursion, and I was able to. My credit card has been charged and the excursion shows up on my account/journey. Hmmm, I wonder if I will be turned away?

I did a trial booking, and I got as far as paying for it, so I thought I might be able to book it. Maybe I’ll try booking it and see what happens. 

I will be on the Grand Princess ten day cruise to Loreto, La Paz, and the Mexican Riviera in January 2025. A whale watching excursion description I want to take states the maximum age limit is 75. I’ve never seen a maximum age limit before. The excursion also has the usual stuff like do not go on the excursion if you have mobility problems etc. 

Has anyone encountered a maximum age limit before? Do people over 75 get turned away? I am a physically active over 75 year old in excellent health. I called Princess and they said the limitation was set by the vendor and suggested I let the tour desk know of the situation when I board, and if the tour operator turns me away, I’ll get a refund.  
 

We are taking this cruise to see the whales near Loreto. I do not want to take an independent tour since these tours are generally seven hours long, we are in port for ten hours, and it’s a tender port. I do not want to miss embarkation in Loreto! I’ve looked at the independent tours and none of them had a maximum age limit. 
 

Have any of you run into this before? What happened? Any suggestions?

Thanks!

I'll be on a January 2025 Sea of Cortez cruise on the Princess Grand and want to take the Magdalena Bay Whale Watching Adventure (LTO 645). To my surprise, the Princess listing states in red letters the maximum age to go on the excursion is 75. Now I understand stating no one with heart, neck, back etc  problems should not go on an excursion. But a maximum age? None of the whale watching excursions in the other ports has a maximum age listed. We are taking this cruise to see whales in the Sea of Cortez! Has anyone experienced being turned away because of your advanced age?

They will have reserve collection dining where only suite and mini suite reserve collection passengers can eat. Plus they can eat their breakfasts in the suite only venue. You won’t be able to join them, but they can join you in the regular dining room. We often travel with others who are not in a suite, so we join them in the regular dining room. As a suite passenger we can generally request and get a specific table/waiter and time in the regular dining room for all of us. They have a broader room service menu and can order for everyone and have it delivered to their suite. That includes afternoon tea service, too. 

The photo packages you asked about are for a specified number of print AND paper photos. If you only want digital photos, it’s cheaper to buy the individual digital images - the last time I bought digital only, they were $15 each and I downloaded them onto my phone. The packages with paper and digital are more expensive than $15 for each image. 

NIH - National Institutes for Health - has outstanding information on drug drug interactions with Paxlovid (https://www.covid19treatmentguidelines.nih.gov/therapies/antivirals-including-antibody-products/ritonavir-boosted-nirmatrelvir--paxlovid-/paxlovid-drug-drug-interactions/)

Although there are some medications that would preclude you from taking Paxlovid, many don’t, and others you may need to wait 12 hours from your last dose before taking Paxlovid and then not to restart for 3-5 days after you are done taking Paxlovid. All of the specific information is in the information in the above link. 
 

Although your physician will direct your care, it’s helpful to know what to do about any medications you may be on. 

Glad I could help. 

Here are the trails I’ve done on my own without a guide: first mile or so of Deer Mountain - great views and a moderate hike. In looking at the map, it looks like there’s 700+feet elevation to the first overlook (per the legend, each contour line is 100 feet); I did not like Rainbird Trail as much - not much elevation gain and minimal views - Deer Mountain was more interesting; Married Man’s, Schoenbar, and Waterfront Promenade Trails are quick and fun. We once saw a bear fishing in the stream; I did not like the Joseph C Williams Sr Coastal Trail at all - the entire trail is flat and along the highway with vegetation blocking most of the view of the Tongass Narrows; Hollow Cedar Beach Access, Lunch Creek, and Lunch Falls are well worth the drive and a lovely walk through the rain forest; Ward Lake is a pleasant walk through trees and around the lake, and I love Totem Bight! I’m not sure of your hiking interest, so you may or may not agree with my preferences. My favorite is orobably a tie between Lunch Creek/Lunch Falls and Deer Mountain. Totem Bight isn’t really a hike, but rather a stroll among the historic Totems. Hope

my response helps! Happy Hiking!

I’ve watched it. They set up easels (maybe ten?) in the atrium and each person paints the “assigned” topic, then after a few minutes you go to another easel and continue what the previous person started. The process is repeated several times until the painting is “finished”. It was fun to watch and I’m sure it was fun to do. 

The 5 photo package includes print and digital pics. If you only want digital pics, then it’s cheaper without the package. I forget the price, but I think the digital pics were $15 each and can be downloaded into the app and then saved on your phone.

We were on the Ruby August 15-25 and had same day laundry as you described as a suite benefit.