CapeAliso

Has anyone heard of any updates on the Skagway dock damage caused by the small landslide which resulted in a change of port for Majestic this week?  I have been helping a friend plan her cruise and she leaves Saturday on Majestic Northbound. I'm wondering if she'll need to find an excursion in Haines or Icy Straight, or if Skagway is good to go.

9 hours ago, tutumomickey said:

Masking is not mandatory on the Discovery.

Yes, masking only is required on one-way Alaska cruises now. The Princess kids' program is called Camp Discovery, which probably made the subject line of the post confusing.

Given the current situation with Covid and staffing, how are the kids' programs looking onboard?  I am particularly curious about Alaskan cruises. Does anyone have kids enrolled currently or recently? What have been the activities? How has the experience been?

July 2nd...helping her plan makes me want to book for myself!

I am helping my friend plan her family's Alaskan cruise. They will be sailing on the Crown Princess, roundtrip Seattle, Inside Passage with Glacier Bay. What activities can she expect for her children ages 14, 12, and 10? I am curious about kid's club activities and educational opportunities.

On the Princess website it states a digital vaccine record is acceptable. We are California residents with digital access through the California state website however, I read a response in a recent thread on this board (don't know where now) that someone was refused boarding on 9/25 with a digital record.

Can anyone confirm that they've had success with a digital record with QR code?

My sister dropped her vaccine card, among other important papers, down an elevator shaft (yes, seriously) and we sail on Saturday.

I am so looking forward to this cruise and am getting anxious about having our group all healthy and properly documented! 

2 hours ago, cruisnfool said:

How do you make dining reservations before the cruise when you don't know about the shows?

As I looks at the JourneyView Activities Timeline for our upcoming Mexican Riviera cruise, it seems the main shows in the Princess Theater are at 7:30 pm and 9:15 or 9:30 pm nightly. 

3 hours ago, cruzin4us said:

this is what the woman on the Princess live chat told me today:

 

 

Thanks! Of course, we still wonder don't we? Hopefully we'll be able to make reservations on board, but I'd love to have them done already like I do for Crown and Harmony. It just makes me feel good to see those reservations! 

On 10/7/2021 at 11:00 AM, DiRonT said:

Can you check out what is going on with Bistro Sur La Mer.  It is not showing for any bookings.

Thank you for those of you that have given live updates!

Has anyone been able to see if Bistro Sur La Mer is open and if not, why not?

Will I have the option for plant-based milk in my specialty coffees?

1 hour ago, SOCACRUISEGUY said:

Four of us, with 4 different phone types, have two different upcoming cruises. Green lane across the board and medallions received for the first departure. App seems to be working well for us.  🤷‍♂️

6 of us with the same experience...green lane across the board...

I can imagine that it would be frustrating if it didn't work for us though.

6 hours ago, seacruise9 said:

Hi,

 

If you find something out about Bistro Sur Le Mer, could you please let us know?

 

Thanks,

 

Chuck

2 hours ago, Shelly97060 said:

@CapeAliso were you able to find out anything more about Sur Le Mer when you called Princess? 

I called but the representative said that they couldn't view my specialty restaurant reservations, so I didn't even ask. They couldn't help me with my medallion problem either. I'll need to call the medallion department Monday. 

36 minutes ago, seacruise9 said:

Hi, 

 

I am booked on the October 30, 2021 cruise on the Majestic Princess. I made dinner reservations and prepaid for each of the three specialty restaurants. As discussed above, my reservation for Bistro Sur La Mer has disappeared. Also, this no longer is available as a dining option for my cruise. I enjoyed this restaurant aboard the Sky Princess. I wonder if this is an issue with the app or this restaurant is no longer available. If it is no longer available, we should be receiving a refund of the dining charge that we prepaid.

 

Chuck

I am going to call Princess today since I got someone else's Medallion for our upcoming cruise and I'll ask about Bistro Sur Le Mer just to see if they happen to know. 

2 hours ago, fabby50 said:

For the person who asked about the tender process, it is easy.  You get a tender ticket and they call groups.  Once the backlog does down, they usually announce they are no longer required and you can go any time you want.  The worse part is listening to the cruise directors bad dad jokes as he calls the groups.

Thank you! I'll prepare myself for the bad jokes! I am mostly wonder how long it might take us to get off without a Princess excursion.

It sounds like it was pretty quick!

1 hour ago, gmcwalker said:

 

The Captain just announced we will be ported and ready to tender in by 2pm today. As my 1/2 day sail was cancelled due to the late arrival, I booked the Sunset Sail from 5-8pm. I will let all know how it went later. Off to the hot tub now. 

I look forward to learning more about the tender process especially for those without Princess booked shore excursions. 

16 minutes ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

PMS4104 is correct about the availability of Enhanced Driver's licenses - they are only issued in the following states: MI, MN, NY, VT & WA.

I love in California and have an enhanced Driver's licence, "Real ID".

Also, I am not able to book a table for 6 at the Crown Grill. I tried different days and times and always get "party split across 2 tables". Do they not have tables for 6? Will this be two tables close together?

Interesting. I canceled my Bistro Sur La Mer reservation yesterday fory upcoming Majestic cruise because I needed to add a person and there was no way to do that in the app (I also tried chat on the website).

Now that I am trying to rebook, it no longer shows as an option. I hope it's an app quirk that gets resolved. I was looking forward to trying all 3 specialty restaurants on this cruise.

21 minutes ago, farsight said:

I was originally going to post this thread much later tonight. However, after receiving DW’s and my negative antigen tests and the fact that I have been champing at the bit to post this ‘Live From’ thread was so strong I could taste it. Tastes like cruise souffle! Oh baby oh!

 

This is the last sailing of the Majestic Princess from Seattle, Washington to Alaska in 2021. I was questioning how a “Live From” thread from this last sailing of the season could benefit the CC community. However, I recently had to go without a ‘Live From’ for a week and was on the verge of  withdrawals. Then, I noticed that others who had been following the ‘Live From’ threads were thrilled to find a new one after the week hiatus. All doubt cleared out.

 

I hope to post some pictures, answer some questions and maybe give a touch of perspective. Some of our other roll call members should be active as well.

 

This first post is meant to be an homage to all those who have contributed to the “Live From” threads for the Princess restart of 2021.

 

The first “Live From” thread was started by @HaveDogWillTravel. She launched what became a tradition for the 2021 Seattle to Alaska sailings on the first cruise of the season that disembarked July 25, 2021. Thank you @HaveDogWillTravell! These threads have been very popular (DW and I have followed every one of them). They have allowed us to travel vicariously and electrified our cruise starved senses. We have been able to ask questions about the cruising restart, view Princess Patters, peruse menus, and see pictures of the ship, ports and excursions. Thank you all!!!

 

Also, a special shout-out to @PescadoAmarillo (Yellow Fish) who captured her experiences in a great blog (a most captivating writer!) on the August 8^th and 15^th sailings:

https://pescadoamarillo.blogspot.com

 

Following are the original posters (authors) with links to each of the Princess Cruise Restart “Live From” threads in descending order:

 

OP: @Purple Gallinule

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2802469-live-majestic-princess-alaska-sailing-on-september-19-2021-from-seattle/?tab=comments#comment-61843553

 

OP: @Musky Ike

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2800267-live-on-majestic-princess-09052021/?tab=comments#comment-61781034

 

OP: @4cats4me

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2798693-live-4cats4me%E2%80%99s-last-minute-cruise-on-the-majestic-princess-august-29-2021/

 

OP: @geoherb

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2797649-live-geoherbs-solo-cruise-on-majestic-princess-august-22-2021/?tab=comments#comment-61693478

 

OP: @WAussieSFO

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2796075-live-from-majestic-princess-august-15-2021/

 

OP: @azbirdmom

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2795203-live-from-the-majestic-princess-august-8-2021/

 

OP: @pkt1976

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2793653-live-from-the-majestic-princess-at-last-august-1-2021-to-alaska/

 

OP: @HaveDogWillTravel

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2791112-july-25-2021-live-from-majestic-princess-alaska-sailing/

 

Some nerd background:

With the passing of the Alaska Tourism Restoration Act (ATRA), this and all previous 2021 Alaska sailings were allowed to sail to Alaska. Legislators from Alaska sponsored the bills due to the halt of cruises devastating their economy. The act basically considers a round trip voyage between ports in the states of Washington and Alaska to be a foreign voyage and temporarily waives the Passenger Vessel Services Act of 1886 (PVSA) until February of 2022. The PVSA has not been waived from Seattle to LA and probably explains why I can’t find what would have been a three-day cruise at the end of the Alaska season. There is now legislation introduced to make it permanent. Please no discussion needed or desired in this thread.

I love how you credited the starters of the previous live threads and provided the links! 

I'm looking forward to following your adventures!

I am also wondering how many are coming down with Covid once they get home, since on average symptoms show 5 days after contact.

Overall, with the precautions, I think cruising is relatively safe, and don't plan to cancel our October cruise, but I wish I had the data.

2 hours ago, travelers07 said:

All good- lots of grumbling but the crew did a good job. All part of cruising I guess but wide awake at 2:30 in the morning. So glad everyone is safe!

3 hours ago, coastcat said:

Wonderful news - all passengers and crew are now known to be safe. Turning back around to head to Glacier Bay. 

What a night! I am glad everyone is safe and you are on your way!

1 hour ago, mina said:

Aft deck 7 part of smoking area and fitness center pics, yes totally opposite purpose photos. No need to comment. 

Thank you for the excellent photos!

I have sailed to the Mexican Riviera twice on the Diamond Princess, but it has been many years ago.

The Majestic is due in port at 11:00 am. What time, if I don't book a Princess excursion, can I anticipate making it ashore? 

I noticed that a Carnival ship is due in port at 10:00 am, but I'm not sure if that matters.

I appreciate your input as I plan our day!