karatemom2

Generally your ship will arrive at the port slightly ahead of the posted time to allow some leeway for the clearance process. In our experience with Princess, unless it has been announced we are arriving at a port late which sometimes happens, you are generally cleared to begin disembarking fairly promptly related to your stated arrival time - often we have experienced if clearance goes very quickly they allow passengers to start leaving the ship even prior to the scheduled time - so it really varies. 

What does not vary is that people will line up early to be among the first off the ship, no matter how many times they are requested via the overhead announcements not to line up and clog the stairs and gangway exit routes. It is inevitable!

I am not questioning any of the replies here, just sharing personal experience. When my daughter and her husband did something similar in Florence - leaving there instead of their final stop in Rome the next day it was really quite easy and no fuss. 
 

They called Princess in advance and were told it would not be a problem. They were informed the request was noted on their booking and to check in with Guest Services on embarkation to get instructions for their early departure. They never got anything in writing. 
 

When they boarded they checked with Guest Services who had the information and gave them details on what to expect for disembarking in Florence. They were doing walk off, so didn’t need help with luggage which made it easier. It was really not a big deal and they weren’t the only ones leaving with luggage that day. 
 

Also, when we were in Le Havre, we observed quite a few passengers leaving with luggage while we were outside waiting for our Normandy tour. I think these requests are pretty common and not that difficult to manage. . 
 

Is that Dunrobin castle? It looks like it is. One of our favorite places we visited in Invergordon. Looks like an amazing itinerary. Can’t wait to see more photos!

Depends on the port and the tour. If it was a port that was missed due to weather or a tender port that might be less reliable, I would likely only book with a vendor that offered a guaranteed refund if the ship missed the port. However, in fairly reliable ports if there was an excursion that was a really high priority for me, I might roll the dice and hope for the best and take the risk of being out the dollars if we missed the port for some reason. 

Seems like there may already be an impact as I have not seen Geiranger or Flam on any of the future itineraries - two of the most beautiful deep fjords. I am so glad we got our trip in this year. 

3 hours ago, Foggy Bay said:

Ours is the only big ship in port that day, according to the port schedule.  We have friends in town offering to transport me and my group privately, so we are all set!

Very good!! Much better for you. 

We just did a similar itinerary to the 12 night on the Sky Princess this past summer, and the fjords are amazing. It’s great that both options include Flam and Geiranger. I will say that the added opportunity to cruise into the Arctic Circle, see the Midnight Sun, and visit North Cape via our stop in Honningsvåg was amazing. I’m so glad we chose an itinerary that included those Arctic circle ports. 

The Ovation creates a huge impact on the shuttle and town due to the sheer number of passengers. It can make shuttle lines very long and can create delays, especially if there is more than one ship there. We ended up being in port there with Ovation a couple of years ago on a smaller Princess ship and I was just thankful we go there first. Once Ovation arrived it was a madhouse!

52 minutes ago, Foggy Bay said:

Yes, that's why we loved it--it really is "real Alaska."  I know there's always been resistance to cruise ships--I feel kind of guilty going there via a ship!  I'll be wearing dark glasses with my collar turned up...

 
It will be a little hard going incognito coming if there is a mammoth ship like Ovation of the seas with you. We happened to be in Sitka on a smaller Princess vessel on the same day Ovation came in a couple of years ago. 
 

Be aware, the mass of people all wanting to exit and return to the ship at the same time make the shuttle lines very long. It was a mass of humans! Hopefully you are the only ship in port the day you are there, but the Ovation or other huge ships make a big impact. I would check the port schedule for your date. 

We have done a few Thanksgiving holidays on Princess. It’s not like Christmas - there really aren’t any “special” activities except for maybe a Thanksgiving themed trivia. They do a Thanksgiving display in the atrium generally and there is a traditional Thanksgiving meal as an option on the MDR menu and also carved turkey  and all the sides in the buffet. And some semblance of pumpkin pie that is definitely not your Grandma’s version! That’s about the extent of anything special.
 

Not to say it’s not a fun way to spend your holiday, though. It definitely is a nice break from tradition and no cooking or dishes is always good!

As for cheaper, as @voljeep points out it could be if you are buying the Princess insurance since it raises the overall price of your cruise fare. Another reason to wait to buy onboard is if you are someone who has a lot of OBC from sources like Shareholders benefit, Casino deposit credit, military credit, future cruise credit, or TA credits. Some people have a lot of on board credit which may make it more advantageous to wait and buy onboard if you decide you want it. 

17 minutes ago, dockman said:

No idea who says hand sanitizer works only 2 or 3 times then ineffective and don't see any claim like that on a google search so maybe you can share the source of that info.

Agree. That claim is absolute rubbish. Hospitals regularly use sanitizer as an adjunct to hand washing and when hand washing is not an option. Anyone claiming it is ineffective is stating information that has no basis in fact, science, or reality. 

You can order flowers on the app. Go to your profile and select “Onboard Packages”. That takes you to the page where you can order Plus or Premier. But you will also see a “Menu” bar in the top right corner. When you click on that it brings up a page with other options. Choose the menu item “Extras” and under that is the option to preorder flowers. 

56 minutes ago, Kay S said:

What are the odds of that?

Like pretty much zero sadly. That’s why all you can do is the best to try to protect yourself. But it would be nice if we could all be more considerate in the sandbox. Pie in the sky, I know. 

1 hour ago, vakamalua said:

We avoid the buffet at all costs.  Not just to avoid illness but hate the crowds, wandering around with a tray looking for a table, food that's been there a while & possiblity touched / put back, etc.  

While the buffet isn't always our first choice, there are times for lunch or a late dinner after a long port day where we find it our best option. Yes, it is crowded at times, but no one is wandering around with trays. Princess does not provide trays and hasn't for as long as I can remember cruising with Princess. Most people find their table first and either hold it by placing personal items there, or doing what my husband and I do, and taking turns - one sitting at the table while the other person gets food on individual plates.

And while I have seen some rather unpleasant behaviors in the buffet, I have not commonly witnessed people actually putting food on their plate and then taking it off and putting it back. Although they aren't always serving they do have staff working behind the bar to monitor the dishes and refresh them, so it isn't completely the Wild West. 

In general, the food is basic, there are lots of choices, especially vegetables and fruit if you are trying to eat a bit healthier or maintain some control of your choices. The meat at the carving station is often better, and served hot, compared to what you get in the MDR, and you have decent options. We generally prefer the MDR or restaurants onboard, but when we do eat at the buffet we always find something we like and I appreciate even the ability to just make a nice salad along side a bowl of soup for lunch sometimes. 

If people would just follow common sense approaches mentioned here to maintaining hand hygiene, most issues related to droplet borne illness would be easily avoided. And a little consideration, patience, and polite behavior by all could improve the entire experience because in general, the issue isn't the buffet itself, the servers working there, or the food - it is the rude and obnoxious behavior of a small subset of passengers who fail to remember they are sharing a ship with other people and that the entire world does not revolve around them or their immediate needs and demands.

3 minutes ago, takemeaway2008 said:

Hi. Has The Catch menu changed? I thought I saw someone had said it had changed from the one I saw online a few months back. Maybe it was only on the one ship they were on - maybe the Sun? 

 

We will be on Enchanted. I'm specifically looking for the crab cakes as an appetizer. 

 

Thanks. 

I didn’t notice any changes on our recent cruise on the Sky. The crab cake appetizers were still on the menu. My husband enjoyed them immensely!

We just did the Land of Midnight Sun cruise out of Southampton on the Sky. One thing that is helpful for those with mobility issues is that most of the ports are docked not tender. We did end up tendering in Geiranger as the Sea Walk wasn’t available that day due to weather concerns, but other than that all of our other ports were walk off. 
 

I notice, however, the itineraries seem fairly different next year, so that is something to look at in making your choice. All of the ports seemed to offer some ship tours that were less strenuous and could be handled by people with mobility issues. I think it would just be a matter of reviewing options to determine what would be comfortable for you. 
 

It’s a beautiful trip, so if you can make it work despite some physical limitations, I would encourage you to do it. 

As someone pointed out, many respiratory viruses like COVID are airborne. You are at much more risk in crowded spaces like the theatre, elevator, buses, etc. Masks for those at risk are always a smart choice in these settings. 

However most colds and gastrointestinal viruses are droplet borne and spread on surfaces. Of course, the buffet is a big culprit there. Washing hands before you enter is great and considerate for helping to protect others from you. However, it doesn’t really protect you unless everyone complies, which we know they don’t. 
 

Personally, when we eat at the buffet, which is not a lot, I wash my hands, make sure I select everything I will be eating, including dessert and set it at my table, and then go wash my hands thoroughly again and add a spritz of hand sanitizer on top of that just for good measure. 
 

I do sometimes see people wearing gloves which is not the worst idea if you feel

comfortable doing so. I’ll just stick to excessive hand washing. 
 

One other reminder, there are many other places other than the buffet where you are touching things - think pencils at trivia, slot machines and chips in the Casino, etc. it’s a good idea to wash/sanitize before and after all of these pursuits and just in general avoid touching your, mouth, face, and eyes. 
 

Can you tell I work in a hospital?

3 minutes ago, peder said:

The SF and LA ports don't make a ton of sense to me for summer sailings. Seems like a lot of "wasted" time sailing up the coast.

They have been doing the SF sailings for years and they are so popular they fill up quickly. A lot of people enjoy extra sea days and the convenience of not needing to fly to a port to cruise. I love sailing out of San Francisco, and LA is even closer. More sea days equals more Casino time for the DH, so he would be happy with that. A lot of people enjoy sea days and also just do not want to deal with the hassle of flying. That's why the LA to Hawaii cruises are so popular. If you enjoy cruising, most don't look at sea days as wasted time, but more time to relax and enjoy the ship and all its amenities.

1 hour ago, PATRLR said:

Olden:  We did the Loen Lake and Kjenndal Glacier boat excursion pre-booked through Olden Adventures (https://www.oldencruise.com/loen-lake-and-kjenndal-glacier/). They have a kiosk immediately as you leave the ship, so, easy to find and check in. I don’t think this was sold out despite there being the QM2 and another small ship in port with us.   The excursion starts with a short (~15-20 minute) bus rid to Loen Lake where we boarded the boat to cruise Loen Lake which was spectacular. At the far end they drop you off at a café where we boarded another bus and drove about 10 minutes where we then walked about 5-10 minutes to a viewing area for the Kjenndal glacier.  It too was spectacular. Upon return to the café we were fed Norwegian waffles and coffee/tea and then had time to hang out on the shore of the lake (while the other half of the cruise went to the glacier). We then boarded the boat to return to the origin, and then bus rid back to the port.  We had a knowledgeable local guide with us the whole trip (he was born and raised in Olden) which made it even more interesting.

 

On the return, the bus will stop at the Loen SkyLift for those that want to do that for extra cost.  They had some tickets for the lift on the bus (so skip the ticket line at the lift).  I had heard many reports of people doing the lift and not seeing anything because of the weather.  We decided to make it a last-minute decision to do the lift and as it had started raining on the bus ride back, we opted to skip the lift and go back to the ship. 

We had great weather with sunny skies and the upper 60s, maybe low 70s for temps.  For those contemplating this lake cruise, bring layers as it can be chilly on the lake itself especially when the sun goes in as it did for us on the return.   

 

I highly recommend this excursion.

 

Some shots from sailing into the fjord:

 

 

 

 

I didn't get a picture of the boat we were on for the excursion, but, these next shots are from Loen Lake.  

You can see the Kjenndal Glacier in the upper left here:

 

More pictures from the boat on the lake:

 

 

 

This is where the boat stopped and we transferred to another bus and eventually came back for waffles and coffee

 

Pictures from the end of the very short hike.  The glacier is visible in the first two:

 

 

 

Inside the cafe:

 

Another shot from the lake:

\

 

 

 

Great photos! This was our favorite excursion on our recent cruise! Just well run and beautiful!

Hopefully they will add more than one cruise going out of Los Angeles - nice to see the Emerald on that particular run. I am fond of that ship.

Although, now that my son lives in Anchorage, we may be more likely to look at the one way cruises and combine it with visiting him going forward.

Yes, was following someone on the NCL Board who is there today and mentioned this. For people planning the train trip or to rent a car to drive to the Yukon, it is definitely something to pay attention to. It does seem like Skagway has just been plagued with issues. We are looking forward to our next visit there in September on the Ruby and have a Jeep reserved. I sure hope it is cleared up by then.

Looks like a great tour and lovely day!

52 minutes ago, Thrak said:

It's not all that surprising the whole thing is a failure. J. P. comes from a Marketing background. When I worked in IT for the state it was not at all uncommon for Marketing to promise "wonderful" things that we simply couldn't implement. Whenever I heard the Marketing folks say they were "Excited!" about something I knew it was almost certainly a disaster in the making. It's easy to promise things when you aren't the one who has to implement them and when you have absolutely zero knowledge of the field required to do the implementation. (Hey! Where's my flying car?"

As someone who has spent my career in Marketing and PR, albeit in the health care industry, I must confess you may have a point. As a group, we tend to be creative and sometimes "Pie in the Sky" thinkers and need a good reality check from those who have to deliver the actual product or service. I'm proud of my field and the good work we do, but in this instance where you had am Executive leader with that background who was left unchecked - or likely didn't listen, he needs to be held accountable. It was a lot of spaghetti being thrown at the wall with these new ship designs, and a lot of it clearly didn't stick!

5 minutes ago, DCThunder said:

I think you would be very surprised that the demographic on HAL (at least the cruises I've been on with them) aren't anything like what you think it is.

Well, maybe it has changed or maybe it was just the cruise we were on, but it seemed to skew quite a bit older. We were closing down the piano bar at 10 p.m. every night with one other couple our age and we were in the minority. Earlier in the evenings as we would walk back to our cabin to freshen up after dinner we were shocked to see all of the breakfast cards already out on the doors by 8:30 p.m. It was not what I would classify as an energetic crowd. We felt very young though, so that was nice!