karatemom2

Honestly, both ships are great and we have cruised on both. However, I would give the edge to Sapphire for a few reasons. First, if you are getting a balcony cabin (which is a good idea for AK if you can), the balconies on Sapphire are slightly larger and more comfortable. The Royal class standard balconies are notoriously skimpy. You will want to spend a lot of time enjoying the scenery so it’s nice to have more space. Along those same lines, Sapphire offers more comfortable outdoor viewing space onboard - particularly the promenade deck. And, one big factor for me would be that on Sapphire you have a strong chance of actually cruising the inside route to and from Vancouver. I don’t know if it will - but I know it can as we took the inside route in her sister ship, Diamond, on a B2B cruise out of Vancouver many years ago. The scenic viewing and wildlife viewing opportunities on the true inside route are excellent. The Royal, due to its size, will always go the outside route in open ocean. It’s definitely not as scenic. We did a round trip cruise from Vancouver on the Royal in 2022 and it was wonderful - but there were aspects of a smaller ship cruise in Alaska I missed. Given our experience on many Alaska cruises, I don’t think a one week departure difference will be a significant factor so I would probably choose the Sapphire over the Royal. Either way though, you will no doubt have a great experience and will love Alaska!!

Yes, that’s what we do as well - usually upgrade to a balcony or mini suite. But the number of offers have really dried up over the last week. Much fewer showing $0 for us anymore. We had our eye on three we were thinking of booking for Fall 2024 and in 2025 including one of the early Star sailings. But the paying in full at booking and potential to lose our $400 deposit had us dragging our feet. Now we regret waiting. At this point we are not booking anything until we see what offers materialize after our Norway cruise in June. Guess DH is going to have to “show them the money”. 😎

Makes me quite nostalgic to see her. Golden was our favorite and still the ship on which we have the most days.

Well if it is the Golden Princess that is a VERY old photo since that ship was sold to P & O in 2022, which still makes me sad. We spent a lot of great days aboard and I miss that ship!!

DH is still getting the free interiors as the standard. The only times he is usually offered a free balcony is as a Come Back offer at the end of a cruise - and not all the time. He plays Craps, not slots, so maybe more subjective? He got a free balcony offer on both of our Southampton cruises where he likely stood out more as there weren’t many Craps players and the host took notice of him and his play. On our LA cruises there are TONS of Craps players - he is one of many. So even though they are logging his playing time and investment at the table, his play is not remarkable by comparison. Slots are much easier to track and reward. It’s very straightforward. But we have definitely noted the offers getting stingier and casino cash less. It will be interesting to see what offer he gets after our Norway cruise out of Southampton this summer as I anticipate he will once again be among a small group of gamblers on that itinerary.

Wow! "Premium" soft serve. I'm intrigued. Must come from only the most refined cows! 😄

I was literally just thinking about posting the same comment. There were likely quite a few booked on the first couple of cruises that got canceled, as well as perhaps some high volume TAs.

Generally my DH is in and out of his suit in short order on formal nights, preferring to change into something more comfortable before he hits up the casino. But on a couple of longer cruises where some portion of dinner ended up on his jacket or pants on an early formal night, we have sent his suit out to be cleaned in advance of the next formal night and always had it come back promptly and sparkling clean!

On the few occasions we have needed to consult with medical onboard, we have always found them to be professional and caring. They were wonderful to my husband when he developed a kidney stone on a boys trip last year. It was a pricey care experience, but fortunately fully reimbursed by our insurance. Sounds like you have been given good advice here and have a good plan in place, so I just wanted to wish you speedy and complete healing and share the hope that you have a great cruise!

Yes! Ultimately it will be a capacity issue and be determined by how hot sales are after the launch of the Sun. If sales stay robust, they will keep prices high. But if it starts to cool because people are put off by the price hikes they will adjust. It may be very ship and itinerary specific depending on demand. Editing to add: We have seen a big shift in the Casino offers we normally get thanks to DH. A week ago, most itineraries were still showing $0 for an inside cabin, but that has changed dramatically now to just a few sailings - probably those that still have significant capacity. We are wishing we had booked a few more instead of fence sitting!

As someone who works in marketing I can say this is a not an unusual strategic move for a company that is launching a high profile new "project". It is a "strike while the iron is hot" approach. I'm sure Princess Corporate is anticipating the buzz around the new Sun Princess launch, despite the initial setback, will increase interest in their cruise offerings across the board and are fully going to take advantage of that for the next few weeks while they have influencers and travel media talking them up. Now is not a great time to book - best to hold off at the moment if you can. It's sort of like the idea of "surge" pricing for peak times. This is a peak time for Princess because of all the free PR and promotion. It will subside and then prices will likely swing back on the pendulum, especially for cruises that might be less full. However, for those itineraries that are wildly popular that might not hold true, so booking early on anything like that is a good idea. Those prices may not fall again.

We have parked in this lot at 80 Francisco for our cruises out of San Francisco several times and it has been fine for us. Can be a bit hard to navigate with a larger vehicle but we managed to make it work with our Suburban. I agree with the advice to drop your bags first - my DH generally drops me off at the port, along with any other family traveling and we get the bags checked in while he parks and then walks over to meet us. As far as reservations, I would suggest as early as possible if you want to guarantee a spot. We have never had a problem leaving our car there - it seems pretty secure and is reasonably priced and convenient.

Funny enough, there is another thread about Easter that just popped up yesterday - I included the link below. We have been on Princess ships for Easter three times in the past. There are decorations (see photos in link), there is an Easter egg hunt for the kids, and in our experience the Easter Bunny did make an appearance - I can't remember if it was every time, but it seems like it was on at least two if not all of the cruises. So, for your upcoming cruise there will almost certainly be Easter activities for the kids, and probably a good chance of an Easter Bunny sighting.

It makes sense that a cocktail party might be more conducive to those intimate and self directed conversations. I'm sure the officers appreciate that as well. It frees them to move among people, and perhaps spend more time with those they find genuinely pleasant and less with those who are among the more, shall we say, braggadocious. And, no one gets confined at a table from which they can't escape. I will note, however, our friends have raved about the menu served at some of the lunches!

Same. One of the great joys of traveling is getting to experience the different types of food and drinks served in the places you visit. We log as much time in all of our ports as possible and always make a point to try to have one meal while in port.

Check with Hoonah Travel Adventures. They are local and excellent as well. We have also done tours with them. https://hoonahtraveladventures.com

This is a smart plan. If time permits I also highly recommend the “Days of 98” show. It’s a very entertaining performance that provides wonderful historical perspective. A great thing to see before your visit to the cemetery.

We have spent three Easter’s onboard and there is some low key activity. Not like Christmas but there are usually some decorations, the kids club organizes an egg hunt, Easter bunny has shown up, there is usually some ham and/or lamb options on the menu and in the buffet. If there is a crew member so inclined we have seen a non denominational worship gathering - but that was just one time.

There was a place in Honolulu that we visited that made something called "Malasadas". They were the most delicious filled donuts we have ever had. I think it was Leonard's Bakery. Of course we never come home without a big load of Macadamia Nuts of all sorts, chocolate covered, honey roasted, salted, etc. And in Hilo we visited the Hawaiian Vanilla Company and had an amazing tour and lunch - and of course we brought home some beautiful vanilla. And on Kauai, in Poipu, we had to get a Puka Dog. I have tried my best over the years to duplicate their spicy pineapple relish, but can never get it just right!

No French Onion soup would be a real heartbreaker from my husband. I hope they don't extend that to other ships. Interesting about the soft serve - $5 for that little cone seems a little outlandish!

Is this an actual cabin balcony? It looks like a hallway!! Not too sure about this one!

Wow, that is next level. I want to make those kinds of friends. Actually, I am friends on certain social media platforms with a few of the entertainment staff we have befriended over the years and have met up for lunch in Los Angeles on one occasion when they were in port. Nice how these friendships form!

Oh my gosh - thanks for the trip down memory lane!! I live and grew up in Southern California and we spent a lot of time at Disneyland. My Mom loved that exhibit and it was always our first stop even though we were itching to just get to the rides. And E-ticket! I love that - nice to know there are those of us that still remember. In terms of the Arizona, I do think it is worth a visit, at least once. I'm the daughter of a WWII vet and found it a moving experience. But I do advise getting right off the ship and doing it first thing, early in the day and before crowds to allow yourself time for the many other wonderful things Honolulu and Oahu offers. My favorite was hiking to the top of Diamond Head and also heading to the other side of the island to visit Kualoa Ranch. Nice thing is most itineraries allow for a really long day in Honolulu, so time to do more than one thing!

Yes, we did take the bus for part of the route. We have done the train/bus combo a couple of times, but just the one time all the way to Lake Bennett, which was my favorite. The bus ride from Carcross is great as it gives you chances to stop along the way and take in the scenery from a different perspective. The trailhead for Yakutania point is within easy walking distance from town and the dock - just behind the airport. Look online for directions and just ask one of the locals if you need more direction once you get there. It is such a beautiful walk - super easy and the views are amazing!

Fatima, was she the one doing the domino move with the shots? Wow, that was impressive! Yes, the Cabana suites - yikes! Not sure who thought that was a good idea to place a literal public lounging area in front of what should be private balconies. Definitely would not be something I would choose.