rj59

Actually I've never had vodka in the minibar. It's been rum, whiskey, and gin. I usually just use up a few minibottles and bring the rest home, and use military/shareholder OBC to try different cocktails, and try beers or margaritas in ports. On my previous three cruises I've found baristas in the international cafe who don't charge me for Americanos and sometimes lattes, so changing for a coffee card isn't worth it.

Check out youtube videos of Majestic, particularly the Hollywood Conservatory and Pool. It's the only Princess ship I know of with that sort of forward covered viewing areas with lots of windows, cabanas, and loungers. To my mind, that's what makes it better than other Princess ships. I'd choose on itinerary, though, since on cruises to Endicott or Tracy Arm outside of Juneau, ships rarely get close enough to view an actual glacier. So I'd put priority on seeing Hubbard Glacier, which is an immense glacier, the only one actually increasing in size, so you have a good chance of good views and calving. My second choice would be Glacier Bay. The virtue of smaller ships is an outside promenade going around the ship, which is good for viewing wildlife and spotting whales close up. Smaller ships also make it feel less congested--I was on Discovery, the same size as Majestic, and 3400 people meant too many crowds and full theaters. I find I also prefer sailing out of Vancouver, not only because you get to sail under the Lion's Gate Bridge, but also because you get the calmer, more scenic inside passage going up to Alaska. Royal Caribbean, Holland America, and Celebrity have r/t cruises out of Vancouver on smaller ships.

The N/S ones should be less crowded, especially with families. I was on the Discovery at 3400 too, which was a big shock after 1000 or so on Majestic in Mexico. I shouldn't have let Crown negative talk scare me off, especially since Discovery didn't even get within viewing distance of Dawes Glacier. The benefit of the Majestic is that it has the Hollywood Pool and Conservatory, which allows for spreading out and excellent viewing areas, whereas the Sanctuary isn't much used in Alaska on the other ships, so if the weather isn't nice, people crowd inside in the limited venues. I also had the unusual shock of going to a 9:30 production show on formal night and there not being any seats available. If there are crowds on Majestic, I recommend skipping bingo and going outside on the port aft section with chairs--I saw an epic whale show of 20 or so humpbacks there as we neared the WA coast, and it's a perfect place for glacier and fjord viewing.

I was on the same cruise. Embarkation was fairly awful, because everyone had to drop their luggage off at scanning machines, instead of with porters, which is their way of keeping some crowd control for 3,400 people. Closing Gigi's at embarkation was also part of crowd control. Icy Strait Point is non-touristy if you walk to Hoonah--I saw a family of eagles swooping down to the water to try to catch salmon, and a sea lion wrestling a salmon catch. It's about a 10-15 minute walk to downtown Victoria if you walk through the lovely neighborhoods, and there was free entertainment down by the harbor, like a street magician. If you want a good Victoria experience, I'd recommend a coastal cruise that spends much of a day there, or there are high-speed boats that do day trips to Victoria from Seattle or Vancouver. I loved the comedian, since it worked the room and got the audience involved. Every production show was completely full of people, so I should have skipped the rock opera show, since with a half-hour of people looking for seats and then people all around me for an hour is the most likely place that I picked up Covid. The highlight of the cruise was seeing a whale show of 20 or so humpbacks flapping fins and tails and playing in the wake, on perfectly calm water as we neared the WA coast on the final sea day.

Almost everything is self-serve now, except for peanut butter cookies, for some reason. I wish they'd have someone serving the seafood feast at lunch the final day, since people were piling their plates high with as many oysters as they could fit on a plate and attacking a line of cakes like starving piglets.

It's a good place to have a coffee or snacks in the morning, with tables right above the water line. I was irritated that their taps had a European beer I wanted to try, but they said they only had Heinekin and one other one.

It wasn't open on embarkation a few weeks ago, but with 3400 people boarding right across from Gigi's, I think they were just trying to get people to head up to the buffet instead, otherwise too many people would have just stopped at Gigi's and created heavy crowding. After being able to easily get a table at Alfredo's on Majestic, I found there was often long lines at lunch, even on port days, and they only let the manager seat you, which makes things go slow all the time. I found that the only slack time was on the Juneau port day. I found it easier to just go to Slice and wait until they get a hot pizza right out of the oven. Instead of waiting at Gigi's, you could also just pay the $3 or whatever to have one delivered.

I just don't understand why people are doing land-sea tours, Hawaii, Panama Canal trips, and others right now, or even one-way Alaska cruises that begin or end in Canada, especially people whose age or health problems open up even a remote possibility of hospitalization or worse. I know people are anxious to travel after years of sitting at home, but there are a lot of travel options that won't get you quarantined and where you can minimize your time around others in infectious situations. I got Covid on Discovery a few weeks ago, and probably wouldn't have gone in the first place had I known there would be 3400 passengers, but I at least didn't get symptoms until after I drove home and tested negative on debarkation morning. Still, I'm only going on 4-5 day warm-weather cruises until Omicron and its parade of variants is done, or until cruise lines stop forcibly quarantining those who test positive. When on board, I'm not doing any shows, meals, tours, or other activities where I can't keep a safe distance--I most likely got Covid in a packed theater during a lame production show I've seen before. I'm going to be especially cautious on my next cruise, since I don't want to be quarantined on the Diamond Princess.

As someone who picked up covid on Discovery last week, with 3400 passengers, I'd mask up smart, regardless of the rules. More people + more time = high risk, and I was distanced or alone most of the time on board, except for the second mainstage show, where I had people around me for over an hour, talking, moving, and breathing on all sides of me. I had an exposure notification app on my phone that also reported I was close to a positive case on that day. In retrospect, I should have skipped the show or worn a mask, given the growth of Omicron 4/5 and the new study that showed it's more transmissible than any other variant or disease in general. The buffet on the Discovery also gets completely packed a lot of the time, so I should have avoided it, although I used my own plastic tray to carry food outside or in an isolated buffet area. Lines for Gigi's can also be long and slow, and going for opening times for lunch and dinner also mean standing in a line with no distancing. So you have to do your own risk assessment, deciding which events and venues are worth the risks of infection and quarantine, deciding where you can reduce your risk by avoiding crowds or masking or staying outside, and doing the same on excursions or indoor shopping in ports. Every tourist shop in Juneau was a zoo, many shows in Princess Live had overflow crowds, the buffet was often packed, even the 9:30 production show had no seats by start time, and August will mean more rain so a greater likelihood of 3400 people packed into limited inside venues.

On Discovery to Alaska last week it was 3400 out of 3600 or so capacity. That means big crowds in the buffet at peak times, huge crowds in all inside venues during bad weather and at night, and the biggest shock for me, not a single seat available for a 9:30 production show after it started. I was way too spoiled by 40% or so capacity on two earlier Majestic sailings. I at least learned one thing--going to a show a half-hour early to grab a seat meant over an hour surrounded close by people on all sides, which is the most likely place when I picked up Covid--I got an exposure notification on my phone that I had a positive contact that day, and my symptoms kicked in the day after I got off the ship. So on my upcoming 3 cruises until the end of the year I'm passing on any place where I can't social distance for extended times, and I'll go back to dining after 8 pm and saying "I got covid on my last cruise so I want a socially distanced table". My other intentions for adapting to higher capacity is to spend more time on the ship on port days, skip excursions, and avoid the Pacific coastal cruises I used to love, since the cold weather means everyone is inside and it's more difficult to sit outside all day. I'll also avoid school break times and summer, as well as longer cruises, to minimize crowd stress and infection risks.

Does Jan even work at Princess now? I thought she was moved to some job involving Princess, HAL, and some other line. They have John Padgett doing the sailaway rah rah speech now, which is disappointing for single males like me who liked seeing Jan.

My Discovery stop at Skagway was diverted to ISP last week because of pier damage, and I was disappointed at first but quite happy, because the other ports had multiple ships and thousands of passengers, whereas we were the only ship in ISP. They're added a free gondola ride to get some views, and it was low tide when we were there, so families and adults were beachcombing, seeing starfish, clams, and other things. I walked to Hoonah, only 1.5 miles each way, and saw many bald eagles swooping down trying to catch salmon, including right in front of a kayaking excursion, and I also saw a a sea lion splashing around with a salmon in its mouth, and heard the kayakers see him resting on rocks. I also got to meet actual Alaskans in Hoonah, stopping for coffee and seeing fishermen and others out working, so I think it makes a better alternative to Juneau and Ketchikan than Skagway does, particularly for those who have been there many times and aren't into shopping or sitting on a train.

It's usually too cold in Alaska, but the pool area outside it has some nice lounger/recliner areas that people rarely discover, since it's a bit more hidden on Discovery with the Penthouse suites over the Lido pool area. I wish they'd retrofit every ship to have a Hollywood Pool and Conservatory, as on Majestic, particularly since the new NCL ships have gorgeous front viewing areas, RC has a nice front Solarium, and even HAL still keeps their classy Crow's Nest, all of them free and sheltered. The other lines have bars there to make money, instead of charging for access.

On my first Majestic cruise in October they just put out bins of coins, but not on my second one in February. I can also confirm that Discovery laundry is free, with no coin possibilities, which would have allowed me to have a very light duffel had I known ahead of time. I believe there were 4 each of washer and dryer in each room.

I'd make sure to mention to your steward that it's your first cruise, which would encourage them to be extra-special and helpful to you. The 'privacy' and 'service please' buttons on the door are difficult to work precisely on the Majestic, and I ran into a couple on the Discovery last week who didn't even know how to get in their room using a Medallion, so a good steward will help you with anything. I even saw a video about an NCL steward who made towel animals for first-time cruisers, even though they stopped it in general, so hopefully yours will want to impress you.

Check your spam folder. That's where mine ended up. I recently updated my email, which just confused their system (IT is not their strong suit, either on the app or web site), so now I get duplicates and some going to spam.

I did a one-way from Vancouver to Hawaii, with most of the passengers going on to Australia, and the average age was about yours. People are quite friendly, if you want to be, but now you have to balance that with staying healthy and the risks of testing positive early on a looong cruise. You have to decide how much socializing and communal dining, drinking, shows, and events are worth the risk of quarantine and missing out the ports on your bucket list trip. I had no problem on trips at 30-40% occupancy, but on a near-100% occupancy for an Alaska trip last week I felt too close for comfort in most venues, and I ended up picking up Covid. Personally, I wouldn't risk such a long cruise, especially if I were over 70 and at higher risk and particularly with the greater ability of current Omicron variants to spread and not be blocked by vaccines. I realize people reallly want to travel and go back to socializing with someone other than the spouse they spent years with in lockdown, but my plan is to stick with short cruises for now, until Covid risks and quarantine are behind us, and then go for longer cruises and trips. On my Hawaii cruise we also had to go full-speed to get to Hawaii because of a medical emergency, so the options for emergency health care are limited when you're not within a medevac helicopter distance from a US port.

You can get a free afternoon tea service in your cabin as well, which I'd choose after catching Covid on the Discovery last Sunday (fortunately no symptoms or positive test until after I drove home).

It's in the Take 5 lounge now, next to the casino (also a secluded area with nice music to get ocean views and some privacy now that they're close to full capacity). The Vista Lounge is only used for the Captain's Circle reception.