_rusty_shackleford

So far so good. I've seen a few crew in high contact positions like the casino wearing masks but otherwise standard protocols. Have not seen or heard of any outbreaks.

Yes, but it's not a traditional 110V American outlet. It powers the lamps. I've read in the past that Princess will provide an extension cord along with distilled water but we do not use CPAPs so I'd double check that before you go.

Hello! I'm not sure of the exact reason for departing Vancouver late, but they were still loading luggage and provisions well after the 6pm departure time. Apparently they ran out of several things on the previous leg like bottled water, so maybe that was the reason. They weren't late per se into Vancouver- the tidal schedule meant they had to arrive later in the morning than we have in the past, but we watched her come in and she was on time arriving yesterday. The captain announced this afternoon that we would be departing Ketchikan one hour earlier than normal (2pm vs 3pm) but did not say why beyond weather conditions. It looks like the wind will pick up in the afternoon, so perhaps that with visibility concerns is why. They did not tell us we would be getting in late, so we're still assuming a 7am arrival time.

Probably won't do a full blown review this time, but would be happy to answer questions as I can about the cruise or the ship (Vancouver -> Whittier -> Vancouver). The last time we were on the Royal God forgot to save the Queen so hopefully we don't have a repeat of that experience.

It's really subjective isn't it? My wife and I like it because in general it's a calmer atmosphere than a Carnival cruise. Those can be fun too, but not always what we're looking for. We're towards the bottom of the traditional Princess demographic I'd wager as we're in our mid-30s, but we enjoy the quieter environment on Princess than a more family oriented cruise line offers.

And they aren't fights on Princess, they're kerfuffles. We do have a standard of decorum to maintain.

You should be fine. My wife and I have grabbed some Filipino food from a stand popular with crew in Juneau to bring back to our steward and some for us as well. No one batted an eye.

Not OP but we just got notified that our sailing from Whittier as part of a B2B on 8 June has Glacier Bay shortened by about 1:15 (depart at 6:15pm rather than 7:30pm) and that we will be tendering at ISP.

I don't have anything specific but that category of cabins (DW) are the only ones we stay in on Royal class ships. Much bigger balconies, the nice sitting area/additional space of a deluxe room, and pretty quiet location other than anchoring noise. They're "obstructed" in the sense that there's a bulkhead where the glass typically is for a balcony but you have clear views everywhere else and no lifeboats in the way. You will be very happy with the choice. Part of the balcony is also covered by the cabin above you.

Sailing the Royal this coming June. Crown shows as $39pp in the old app, $35pp for Sabatini's. New app shows Crown for $63pp, $55pp Sabatini's. When you go to purchase, the new app's total updates and matches the old app/existing prices ($39 and $35). Not sure if the displayed price in the new app is a currency conversion error given where the ship is sailing now or what's going on.

The couple of 14 day cruises in Alaska we've done in the last couple of years both gave us 2 credits each. They can also be booked as 2x7 which we're doing this coming year.

Do you happen to know if you can be refunded for previously made speciality dining reservations if you upgrade to Premier? We've got a B2B booked in June and enough OBC to pay for the upgrade from Plus to Premier so I'm thinking that's the play once we get onboard. I just don't want to wait to get on the ship and find out everything is booked/only bad times are left to pick from.

My wife and I did this the first time we were on the Royal. No objections from the crew at all.

I mean there kinda used to be. When I first started cruising Carnival the old Fantasy class ships (probably others but those were what sailed out of Tampa at the time) still had the topless deck up by the funnel. Whether or not the experience was worth it: that's for the fan to decide.

EDLs (Enhanced Driver's License) are also proof of citizenship and are only available in Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Vermont, and Washington. They are different than a normal DL so if he didn't have an EDL and didn't have a birth certificate to go with his standard ID he wouldn't have been able to go.

I believe it was NorthStar when we did ours last year.

Internet is extremely hit or miss on Alaska cruises and generally not very fast. I wouldn't count on having it for any extended period of time especially when you're in the fjords.

It's showing up on the app for booking now. It won't let me cancel a duplicate Harmony reservation (which I think was originally Bistro) so we'll see what happens with that before we board.

Hope you're having a great time! Have they officially closed/converted Bistro in favor of The Catch? We sail next weekend and had made reservations at all 3 specialty restaurants (Bistro, Harmony, Crown). Now my Bistro reservation is showing as Harmony for a second time.

We had it on Sky today as well. Not sure how many people participated but there was a pretty lively crowd watching all around the Piazza.

Turns out I was wrong! They hide them in the Celebrations candy shop on Deck 5 in the piazza.

It's a time of year thing really. Feb-March are particularly brutal with the easterly winds wreaking havoc down in this part of the globe. It was pretty obvious from the conditions in Belize yesterday that CM was not likely to happen today. You've got a much better shot at the end of the month or so than we did.

No, and in my experience you don't nor do I expect any. Weather clearly is not under Princess' control. Would have loved to dive today but even if we had been able to dock there's no way our dive boat would have gone out. If you really wanted to make a scene at Guest Services they might give you $25 or so to placate you but for me it's a bonus day to sit on the balcony, have a man soda, and read a book. Hard to complain about that.

I'd say your best bet is to beat feet to the Matre'd as soon as you board but I've heard that CC roll call groups will get one reserved ahead of time in the past if there's interest.

No, unfortunately. I have a confession to make: I'm one of those weirdos you hear about that doesn't like cheese. I'll eat mozzarella on pizza but that's about it. I'd hate to take a spot away from someone at a dinner where I know there will be fantastic dishes with cheese that I will not eat. I love the idea of the winemaker's dinner but to me it's not fair to other guests or the chef to expect accommodation for a taste preference like that.