Lorabelle

Too bad they don't have the stew on the Sun. I ate there twice on Enchanted and got the stew both times because it was so good the first time.

Since our next cruise will be pretty port intensive, we are foregoing the Plus package this time. I got to thinking that in the "olden days" you could buy a bucket of 5 beers at the outdoor bars and pay for 4. Does anyone know if this is still offered, and specifically on the Sun Princess? I haven't seen the buckets promoted in a very long time, and I can't find any info online. They don't sell them on the Personalizer anymore for your cabin upon embarkation either. I know we have purchased those in the past.

Wonderful!! Thank you for confirming that. I love the idea of doing it all the time to save a little money if there is a need to cancel. Thank you for mentioning that, I think I will start booking this way regularly.

I am interested in a cruise for next year and I have a casino comp offer that I can use. I can book a solo cabin with no solo fees involved as a casino comp. My question is...can I later add a guest to my room and they would only pay the port fees and taxes as if they had booked with me initially? I have called Princess and they tell me that they can. However, I have received other important information from them that turned out to be inaccurate. Has anyone here done a casino comp booking as a solo and then added someone to your booking at a later date? I'd feel a lot better to know that someone has actually done this before I place my deposit. I know I want to travel with someone, but my husband is on the fence right now as to whether he can go. So I'd like to go ahead and book and then add my companion at a later time.

I have always wondered if they take that into consideration when dishing out the offers. Some cruises with long port days, and places where you can't gamble at all for days, like Hawaii, really cut into the time the players have to spend in the casino. Seems unfair to be penalized for that when you're on a longer sailing.

We used the Aloha Tower Marketplace location. It was the closest to pier 2 that we found. It is super convenient for those lucky enough to call at Pier 11, as it is just steps outside the terminal building. From Pier 2, it's about a 3/4 mile walk, if you cut through a few parking lots, rather than go the street route that Google Maps showed us. It's an easy walk, and we walked back to the ship in darkness and did not feel unsafe. If you have someone who has limited mobility, maybe best to send the faster walkers to retrieve the vehicle and go back to the port area to pick up the others.

The Hearts cruises are what used to be called the VIP cruises. They are special sailings. While on board, there will be some special activities in the casino for the invited guests, as well as a special Welcome Aboard party. There will also be a gift delivered to your stateroom each day. I just got off a Hearts cruise in September. We received chocolate covered strawberries, truffles, a bottle of prosecco, some packing cubes, and something else that escapes me at the moment. These are not based on how much you are playing onboard for the cruise, but are just part of the Hearts booking. The other offer, I suspect, is just a general offer where you will have many more options as far as sailings and dates. It will not come with all the goodies in your stateroom, and no special casino activites.

This is exactly correct. I have free play on every cruise. When I play my free play, I watch my point count. I always play it in small increments of $20-40. I watch my counter, and I accumulate zero points. On the very spin that I actually get a point added to my total, I know that I have exhausted my free spins and I am now playing with my winnings from the free play. At that point, I cash out to my player bank, and load some more free play. When I have played all my free play through the machine, I now have real money in my player bank that I can choose to play or not. If someone loads free play onto a machine and then plays until it is gone, if you have won any spins at all, then you have not only played your free play at zero points, but then have also played your winnings. You will accumulate points on the winnings from the free play.

Our excursion was on Aug 15th last year. Hopefully you will have even better luck than we did and get a bear or two right in the beginning of your time at the platform.

We did it last summer with Island Wings. It was wonderful. For us, it was the very beginning of the salmon season, so the bears were not abundant. We had to wait over an hour for a bear to appear. Two bears finally showed up, and it was amazing. Just like the videos you see, the bears got in the water and began fishing. They caught several. The bald eagles showed up to get the leftovers. Sadly, we had to leave after a short time, because we had to go back and catch the plane. But I still feel that we got our money's worth with what we were able to view. It's a beautiful walk through the forest to get to the platform and a beautiful (but short) flight to get there. I would recommend that you bring some binoculars if you have them.

I completely agree. The first time I saw Mendenhall Glacier was in 1992. It is much smaller now than it was back then. It has receded quite a bit. Same goes for the various glaciers in the bays that the ships cruise. It's very sad to watch over the years. Nothing funny about it.

I second the Sand Bar suggestion. Delicious halibut and chips there. Definitely a local's spot, nothing fancy, but really tasty.

There are so many options. Personally, if it were me, I would just put the rest on their shipboard account. That will give them a credit when they board the ship. At that point, they can spend it on whatever they wish to. They could buy beverages, (fancy coffees or cocktails). They could use it in the spa, they could use it to buy an excursion in one of their ports. They could use it to play in the casino. They could use it to go to one of the specialty restaurants. This just gives them the choice instead of you having to make it for them. You are wonderful kids to do this for your parents. ❤️

I just got off the phone with a cruise consultant over this matter. I have an Alaska sailing in Sep I wanted to all the HIA to. There was nowhere online to do so. The CC tried to add it and she said it was coming up "not combinable" and therefore she was unable to add it. My sailing is a VIP sailing, so not sure if that makes a difference. I guess I will try again another day and not call my cruise consultant, and see if it can be added by someone who knows a way to make it work.

Thanks for doing this! We are boarding (also on a casino comp) on May 27 as you disembark. We also fly into Oakland, we do find it much easier, and typically the price of the airfare is a bit less for us as well. Thanks for the casino photos, I'm always interested in what games are onboard, it's been awhile since we've sailed on Ruby. Can't wait to follow along on your journey. Have a fabulous time and win big!!