bubbapuck

Sorry this may be a very “newb” question but I am new to cruising and not sure how to handle this. 

A couple of buddies and I planned a last minute cruise for one of my buddies  who is not doing well medically. He wanted to do a relaxing cruise before he couldn’t travel anymore. 
 

I paid the full amount up front which is non refundable because we were inside the final payment date. My sick friend paid his third but my other buddy backed out because he couldn’t afford it. My friend and I are excited and still ready to go. 
 

We paid for the carnival vacation 

protection plan in case my friend had issues with his medical condition and couldn’t go. I am not sure if I’m my situation, I would be able to get his third of the money back. I am fine if I am out the money as it is more important to spend the time with my friend but as Themis was last minute I am not 100% sure how the protection plan works and what it covers. 
 

thanks. 

4 hours ago, kennystwin said:

I too was looking forward to taking the railroad on my cruise in May following yours and have been following this closely (Carnival still has me confirmed on a rail excursion that definitely won't happen). The only train trip that will be running is the Summit trip which still shows available on my cruise. It appears there are also trips available through the WPRR at various times when you are in port (you need to select a time before it shows availability). Any other train trip or train/bus combo will not be happening, though a few are still showing up for my cruise. Chilcoot Charters has cancelled all their train/bus combo ( except for their Summit + city tour). They are a reputable company. They have replaced some of their rail/bus tours with all busses and seem to be more on top of it than Carnival.

I thought they only cancelled this years. I am going in 2023. Hopefully they do get it worked out.

Is that your picture? You do look just like Kenny Rogers!

Hello Everyone!

Its been a long time since I have cruised and need some help. I am not sure if this is the right place. If not, please let me know where to post.

My wife and I have a 14 day Alaska cruise out of LA scheduled for 4/23/23. The main excursion I wanted to go on was the Skagway Rail but it is sold out. Is it really sold out already? That seems very fast. 

Does anyone have a third party they trust to schedule the Railway excursion. I always like to book through the cruise line and am worried I get an unreliable company. Does anyone have any recommendations?

Thank you!

1 hour ago, Ombud said:

Yeah, I've got a TA that's looking like it might not go ...... so much for 950 goodwill OBC

Spoke with the my PVP yesterday. He said the fully expect an announcement from Princess this week about what the CDC has said. I totally expect my cruise. 

to be cancelled. 
 

Was optimistic for a while but I will be cashing out now and going on vacation somewhere for our 25th wedding anniversary. I will try cruising again once things settle. 

I have done a lot of research and have decided to up my budget a little. I am looking at the Canon SL3. If I can find a good Black Friday deal, I may go up to the canon 90d but I don’t think the price will drop that low. 
 

any thoughts on these two cameras?

7 hours ago, Linsifer said:

 Oh, we will always follow the rules.  However, if we knew this was going to be the case long before we sail,  we might consider postponing our cruise until 2022 in hopes that the pandemic will be no longer be an issue.  I’m going to contact my travel agent and ask her about this.  Thank you for bringing it to our attention.  Or at least to MINE.

Please let us know what your TA says. I am curious as this has been rumored but never verified for US cruising. 

The Crown is the ship doing Alaska, Mexico, and California Coast I starting in May 2021. I have a two week Alaska cruise in it. 

3 hours ago, patrickmoran said:

So far Princess's protocols do not require only using P's shore excursions or restrict passengers getting off in a port and doing your own thing. Final payments were due yesterday for the 1st cruises that go in December supposedly. Restrictions should have been published before people were committed.

you gotta think these cruises will be cancelled or it will become a requirement. All cruises so far have required this. I can’t imagine Princess (or the port cities) would want people Walking around willy nilly without any controls. Unless they have some serious testing onboard. 

3 hours ago, memoak said:

Remember they need to show that they have fixed issues so the judge can sign off on the Carnival “probation” before anything can sail. That pretty much takes care of December 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.miamiherald.com/news/business/tourism-cruises/article246620348.html

Does anyone have any experience with the Canon G7X Mark 2? I have seen good things. I plan to compare against the cameras suggested but wanted to see any opinions on this camera.

Absolutely love these cameras but unfortunately outside of my budget. Hopefully I can find a good Black Friday deal or something. 

My wife and I are going to cruise to Alaska next summer (fingers crossed). We want to invest in a good video camera to document our trip but dont want to break the bank. We have looked at the GoPro's as I have heard they are good, reliable, waterproof cameras. I dont know if anyone has any suggestions on other cameras?

Thanks... EB

6 hours ago, paul929207 said:

We will be with you celebrating our 35th anniversary

Very nice! Celebrations everywhere! Congrats! 

My main concern now is the Canadian ports. US cruising looks like it may be slowly starting. Our cruise is 7/17 out of LA. Keeping our fingers crossed as it will be our 25th wedding anniversary. 

46 minutes ago, Pam in CA said:

Not sure what to tell you. I’d booked an inside guarantee on the Sun with the Plus package and have now booked an inside guarantee on the Crown without the package and the price difference is huge (less.) Massive. Like the Crown is half the cost of the Sun would have been. I don’t spend time in my cabin so a balcony isn’t a “must.” I’ve never done a guarantee before so we’ll see what happens. 

I know our cabin was much lower. On the Sun, our price minus taxes was $4398. On the Crown it was $3118. With the difference plus the 25% FCC, I was able to book a 10 day mexican cruise that will only cost me the tax/port fees. Very happy camper now. 

I rebooked for the 17th also. I am not sure why the price difference is so substantial. Des anyone know? I ended up having enough cruise credit left to fully pay for a 10 day cruise to Mexico on the Grand Princdss in 2022 (minus taxes and fees).

Does anyone know why it was so much cheaper? I expected it to be the same or more then the Sun cruise.

14 hours ago, d9704011 said:

Let’s address question #4 first.  If it’s important not to financially overextend yourself pick an ocean view or inside cabin; you can save a lot on an inside.

 

Q1.  It doesn’t much matter which side of the ship you’re on, no matter what cabin you choose.  Besides, much of the viewing will be done from promenade or upper deck.

Q2.  Sleeping/darkness should not pose a problem.  If you have a verandah or ocean view the drapes do a good job of blocking light.  If you choose an inside cabin, it will be plenty dark!

Q3.  No.

Thanks for the advice. I am going to decide this weekend but overall, I am thinking inside will be best for the situation. As part of my Sun cancellation, I will be getting $1100 and while it brings me close to a balcony. I still would have to find another $1300 or so. 

I am going on the Crown Princess next summer to Alaska. I have a few balcony questions for people who have been on a balcony on an Alaskan cruise. 
 

1) I am curious which side of the ship is best for a balcony. The cruise starts and ends in LA so it isn’t a North or South bound cruise where the side is obvious. 
 

2) How much light gets in when the blinds are closed? My wife is a very light sleeper and hates sunlight waking her up. Will it be fairly dark when the blinds are closed?

3) Does the balcony and the large glass window cause the room to be too cold in an Alaskan Cruise?

4) I know everyone says it is worth it. I am sure the views are beautiful but my wife and I are in a tight budget. We have been saving for many years for this cruise and the extra $1500 for the balcony, while it can be obtained, would be putting us very stretched for the next 8 months. Is it “stretch yourself by the seat of your pants for 8 months” worth it? I don’t want to deprive ourselves for 8 months for a 2 week splurge. 
 

Any tips or advice on cabins for the crown princess would be appreciated. 
 

33 minutes ago, Pam in CA said:

Received notification this morning from my TA that it’s the Crown. She sent me the itineraries and pricing. 

I am not sure if it is allowed but can you post the itinieraries and possibly the pricing so I get an idea of what it will cost me. If not, I udnerstand completely. Just curious and want to see if the intinerary is the exact same as what I had for my 7/17 Sun trip.

1 hour ago, mtnesterz said:

Thanks bubbapuck. The information I posted about the San Pedro port schedule was from a CC Post, different thread.  Question: When your PVP rebooks you for the substitute sailing, will your previous deposit and FCC cover your new booking deposit? I was told I would have to come up with more deposit money. Our FCD became FCC. It would be great if there is a dispensation for those of us on the Sun's cancelled sailings, transferring to a replacement booking. All works out the same dollar wise. Not complaining, just curious.

I honestly am not 100% sure. When the Sun cruise was cancelled, they said it would take several weeks for the money I had paid to be converted to a FCC. My PVP put a hold on a cabin I wanted on a Vancouver cruise to Alaska until my Sun trip converted to FCC. This week, my PVP and I talked about the LA cruise. When it goes on sale 10/7, he will again put a hold on the cabin I want and move my FCC to that cruise when it comes. I had paid $4400 of my cruise so with the extra 25%, I should be able to pay for the cruise sailing. I will only need to come up the port fees and taxes on final payment day. 

2 hours ago, Pam in CA said:

If you were booked on the Sun 7/3/21 and haven’t joined the roll call, it’s there. 🙂 

 

I’ve been booked on this cruise for quite a while and was disappointed to learn it’s been canceled. 
 

For those of you who have been on these boards a while, “Wizard-of-Roz” and her dog Horton were booked on this cruise. Her sister-in-law just posted on the roll call that Roz passed away last week. I’ve sailed with her quite a few times over the years and was so sad to hear this. RIP. 

Very sad to hear about Roz. I didn’t know her as I am fairly new to cruising but I wish all her family and friends condolences. 
 

I was on the 7/17 cruise. I was on the roll call for The 7/17 In the Sun. I am not sure if a new one will be created for the new Crown cruises or they will just take over the old Sun roll call threads?

30 minutes ago, 1emerald1 said:

Yes, it's tricky to find but here it is:

 

https://www.portsamerica.com/operations/cruise-los-angeles-terminal-schedule

let me know if it works, sometimes when I copy links onto this board they don't work.

worked good. Thanks!

28 minutes ago, 1emerald1 said:

Is your PVP Larry?

No. His name is Tyler. He is very good. 

6 minutes ago, 1emerald1 said:

I just checked the cruise ship calendar for San Pedro and it shows the Crown going out on 7/3/21 thru 7/14/21 and then 7/17/20 thru 7/31/21.  So most likely those would be the dates for the Alaska round trip from LA itineraries.

Thanks! there are two announced for LA to Alaska. One on the 3rd and one in the 17th. Both are for 14 days. 
 

can I have the link to the port schedule. Was trying to find the other day with no success 

My PVP called me today. He was on avacation last week so this was the first time I had talked to him since the new cruise itinierary was announced.

I asked himif he knew what the ship was. He said he believed he had saw in one of his emails (was catching up from vacation) that it was going to be on the Crown. This seems to be in line with what alot of people have been thinking.

Just wanted to update all of the La to Alaska people on this.