westcoaster

I just got off the Grand Princess today after 14 days going up to Alaska and back. We had a great time. Enjoy your cruise!

I was also a big fan of the old Love Boat dream, but I had the new version a couple of times on my recent Alaska cruise on the Grand Princess and really liked it - even more than the original. The raspberry creme brulee makes it a little lighter than the original.

We boarded on May 11, but we must have made it through before there were any computer issues. It was the quickest boarding I've ever had. We arrived shortly after 10:30 and were on board by 11 am.

I'm on the Grand Princess right now. The ship seems in very good shape. There are lots of areas with new carpeting and new furniture, but I haven't noticed any significant changes made during the drydock. The internet can be a bit slow at times, but it's generally quite good. There are currently 1465 passengers on board, so no crowding.

I agree. I'm surprised that the cruise lines haven't found an alternative to Victoria as the required Canadian port call earlier than this. The San Francisco based cruises used to stop in Victoria from 8 am to 2 pm, which isn't great, but this year they were moved to 6 am to noon, which is really crappy. Most of the Seattle based ships have the very limited evening call, with most of them not arriving until between 7 pm and 8 pm. By late summer, that means you don't even get any usable daylight.

Prince Rupert is beautiful. It's a lot smaller and less touristy than Victoria. Since Prince Rupert doesn't get a lot of cruise ship calls, you won't find a lot of jewelry shops and other tourist shops like in the main Alaska ports, but it's great for accessing wilderness.

You are correct. I just checked the cruise schedule for Victoria, and the Ruby Princess stops from May 18 onward all appear to be cancelled.

I saw some news articles and a press release from the Prince Rupert port authority indicating that the Ruby Princess will be making 16 port calls in Prince Rupert during this Alaska cruise season, starting on May 17th. The Princess website isn't showing this for the San Francisco RT cruises on the Ruby. Has anyone heard about this, and what port would Prince Rupert be replacing?

It depends on which ship you are on. Grand Princess travels on the east side of Vancouver Island, but the Royal Class ships seem to have navigational issues getting through Seymour Narrows, so both Royal and Majestic Princess may go on the west side of Vancouver Island.

No test required to enter Canada by land, sea or air. However, you do need to complete ArriveCAN.