jer_l

I guess each of us tends to fall into our own cruise routine.

We usually have a light breakfast either at the hotel or at Starbucks and then head to the ship to board as early as possible. It just doesn't feel like we're on vacation until we are on board. That's when we begin to relax.

While the lunch menu in the MDR is limited and pretty much the same each cruise, we like being able to sit down and relax without having to face the crowds. We've always found something we like on the menu. Last summer I have one fo the best pieces of salmon ever at the MDR embarkation lunch. We usually get a table by a window and enjoy seeing the port activity as we eat. Personally, I think it's faster to eat in the MDR then to wait in line at the lido, find a table and then go back to get iced tea. It's also much easier to have a light lunch when not faced with lots of options which saves room for our cookies and champagne sailaway. (And that will take care of half of our carry on wine allotment for the cruise!)

Our b2b's have all been in Alaska. The best was not an "official" b2b since it was on 2 different ships. We cruised north on the Ryndam, stayed in Seward for two nights at a B&B and then cruised south on the Statendam. We had done the same the year before as a true b2b on the Veendam. The advantages of 2 different ships were the extra time in Seward, the scenic drive to Anchorage to pick up our DD and her husband who joined us for the return cruise, and two distinct itineraries (Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Sitka, Hubbard Glacier and then College Fjord, Haines, Glacier Bay, Juneau and Ketchikan).

I've cruised to Alaska 11 times and have never used an umbrella. I also do not take a heavy poncho. What I find easiest is to use my regular light-weight jacket (which has a hood) and take along disposable ponchos from a dollar store. There are usually 2 to a package and are essentially trash bags with sleeves and a hood. They take hardly any room to pack. We take along a few for each of us and then toss them when we return to the ship. Often the rain is off and on and I don't want to wear or carry heavy rain gear when the sun comes out.

Where's the chocolate soufflé? :eek: Oh, this is not a good change.

It's one thing to add selections that people might enjoy, but it's another thing entirely to remove perfectly lovely selections! :mad:[/color]

Of all the changes that is the one that caught my eye also. I loved the chocolate souffle. (I've always considered vanilla as someone's idea of a joke!)

I tried to explain to my mother (who has been on HAL) my interpretation of the beverage policy based on what I have seen on these boards and the policy itself but she doesn't believe me.

 

We sail next weekend and have 2 points of contention;

 

1. The amount of wine permitted (per person, per cabin, doesn't matter)
   
2. Whether or not we can bring a case of our preferred soda to enjoy in our stateroom.
   

I plan to show her this thread so I do not want to say what each of us believes the policy to be.

 

Have at it, folks! (And thank you in advance.)

So now that you know, tell us who was correct--you or your mom.

The almond croissants are amazing! Add a cup of the Mighty Leaf organic Earl Grey and you've got a wonderful breakfast (every day of the cruise!).

They have cruzan, but not all flavors.

 

On my last two cruises, they were sold out of different thing.

Always safer to buy in port, when you have the bottle in your hand.

That's true; however, our cruise is a Coastal California cruise. Hopefully we can replenish our supply on the ship. Otherwise, we can pay a bit more and buy it at BevMo when/if they have it in stock.

Was on the Royal 10/29 and they had it. Price was $11.95. You can get 10% of if you buy 2 bottles and use the coupon in the coupon book that is in your cabin. Another 10% off if you are Elite.

Perfect. Thanks!

That would be duty free. :eek: I hate it when I make a mistake in the title and can't change it!

My DW's favorite mojito is made with Mango Rum so we alway pick up a bottle or two of Cruzan Mango Rum from the duty-free store; however, the last cruise we took had no Cruzan RUm. Does anyone know if Princess has this in the duty-free store?

I'm mostly a wine drinker but I enjoy at least one or two mojitos on Caribbean cruises. :)

We are also wine drinkers, but we do love HAL's Blue Coco Mohitos.

Time in Ketchikan is dictated by the tides in the Seymour Narrows - part of the inside passage that is very treacherous....big ships can go through only at certain times.

 

Since Ketchikan is usually the port of call just before or just after going through the Narrows, your time in Ketchikan can be affected.

 

Also, during the season in Alaska, ships can be lined up to dock...some may even have to tender. So, since they want to get the highest amount of ships into port in one day (more passengers = more money), the port will schedule short stays for some ships so another ship can take their place at the dock after the first one(s) leaves.

The Golden Princess is sailing out of Seattle and the BC Inside Passage is not part of the itinerary so Seymour Narrows would not be the reason. I think it probably has to do with stopping in Victoria the next evening and making sure there is plenty of time to make this required port. It could also be to make room at the dock for another ship arriving in Ketchikan that afternoon .

I looked up your cruise on the internet. You can find the Gospel Cruise. I looked for Inspiration Cruises for Jan 18, 2014 and found web site http://www.inconcerts.com/even.php Looks to me like they WILL be taking ove rthe ship and the entertainment may just be the Gospel Groups. I would rebook. Go up higher and get someone to listen and see the website.

Since this is not a full charter, the group will present entertainment ONLY for their group. Sometimes groups will welcome others to their group concerts, but that is not the usual case. The regular entertainment for all guests will still be available. In fact, prime seating will most likely be more available since half of the guests will have other entertainment to occupy much of their free time.

We were on a cruise with a large jazz group. While it was evident they were on board, I can't really say it was a major impact on the cruise. In fact, we would often walk by the Queen's Lounge when they were having concerts and be able to stop outside the doors and enjoy the music for a few minutes before continuing on our way.

Obviously, a group this size will have an impact, but you may find the the negative impact and the positive impact will balance out. Some public venues may not always be available. On the other hand, many members of this group will not frequent the lounges and bars nor the casino which might actually have a positive impact on your cruise.

We usually stay at the Holiday Inn on the Bay right across the street from the terminal.

This is now the Wyndam San Diego Bayside.

We bought a couple of Brita water bottles that have small filters in them. We use them whenever we travel. They are great for flying because you can fill them after security and they filter out chlorine and make the water taste like bottled water. We also fill them with water on the ship so we have good tasting water when we are in ports.

I posted several times here prior to our cruise. Everything went great thanks to the help I received from those of you who know Vancouver. We stayed at the Sheraton in Richmond overnight. After lunch I found the BC Liquor store nearby where I bought a bottle of sparkling wine for the hotel stay and received good recommendations from a young clerk on BC wines which we purchased the next morning near Canada Place after we had checked in and had lunch on the ship. There was a grocery store in the same center as the Richmond BC Liquor Store where I bought cheese, blueberries and rolls to go with our wine and pastries for breakfast. (We had planned to go out for dinner, but decided to relax in the hotel and spend some time in the jacuzzi where we met two other couples from our cruise. After all, we knew that we would have several days of overeating ahead of us.)

We rode the Canada Line from Brighouse Station which was only a few blocks from the hotel. In fact, we saw a young couple walking somewhere for breakfast who had planned to ride the hotel shuttle back to YVR and take Canada Line form there. When they saw us wheeling our suitcases they stopped us and found out how close Brighouse Station was and decided to follow the same plan. We found we much preferred Canada Line to the taxi rides we experienced on previous cruises. It took less time, cost much less and was much more relaxing than riding through traffic.

So "thank you" to all who answered questions.

The yum-yum man is right outside the MDR after dinner with a cart of yum yums like candied ginger, mints, and other after dinner goodies he hands out for free.

When we have chosen flex dining we have rarely seen the Yum Yum Man, just an unmanned cart.

So not only did I love Alaska, I would rank it as my second favorite destination. (Sorry guys, Europe is still #1 - though Alaska is now a REALLY close second). We will definitely have to go back, probably and do a north/southbound itinerary and spend some time in Denali.

Great review Amy!

If you keep trying new itineraries you may find Alaska moving up to a tie. :)

Many of the north/southbound cruises stop in Sitka or Icy Strait Point and Hubbard Glacier (Alaska's largest tidewater glacier) which will be all new facets of the Alaska experience.

Thanks again for your sharing.

We were considering a Misty Fjords excursion on our upcoming trip. We generally do one big excursion on each cruise to Alaska. Instead, we opted for an 8-hour excursion to the Yukon while in Skagway, mainly because we are there for 14 hours; however, the Misty Fjords trip is definitely on my "to do" list--perhaps next summer or the summer following--especially after seeing your pictures.

As the trail became more level, we heard streams of water rushing around and knew we were getting close to the lake. You have a couple choices here- you can hike around the lake, which isn't that far but the trail is extremely rough and slow going - or you can hike to Upper Dewey Lake which is a few hours away - or you can hang out in the flat parts of the trail, take a bunch of pictures, then hike down by way of the reservoir. We picked that last one. Actually we started going around the lake, but gave up about a quarter of the way around. It was too much like work.

I still remember the first time I hiked up to Lower Dewey Lake. It's been quite a few years. I did hike all the way around, but it was a beautiful sunny day. Since then I've hiked it three more times--twice up and back and once all the way around again. One of the things I found striking was the color of the water. I've also walked out to the cemetery with my (non-hiker) wife who has since forgiven me. She does like the cemetery and has read a dozen or so books on the history of Skagway, but she likes to ride out to the cemetery. Reid Falls is amazing!

As you discovered, there are many inexpensive options in Skagway. There is another hike (shorter and easier) to Pirate's Cove and Yakutania Point which is also worthwhile.

You are making me more anxious to get on the Amsterdam with each of your posts.

Wonderful review! We will be sailing on the Amsterdam in just two weeks; however, the itinerary is different and we will be cruising Tracy Arm instead of Glacier Bay.

This will be our tenth cruise to Alaska. It's our favorite destination, but we live in Central California where we have had temperatures of up to 110 this month so we look forward to cooler weather.

I totally understand your frustration with the MDR. We have chosen flexible dining for most of our HAL cruises because we enjoy eating in the specialty restaurants and didn't feel that would be fair to our tablemates if we opted out of the MDR for half the cruise. The last couple of times we have cruised with HAL we have not had the best experiences with flexible dining so we have opted for late seating at a table for two. We will just let our waiter know the night before when we plan to dine elsewhere.

Again--your review is wonderful--filled with the same excitement we experienced on our first Alaska Cruise 13 years ago and still experience when we are in Alaska.

As I mentioned in an early post, I would check out the Richmond Liquor Store Merchants at the hotel. They may have just what you are looking for. I drove by it yesterday and at 10am, they were open. If they don't have what you are looking for, then you could certainly head off to the one of the other locations.

We will definitely check it out before heading out to another location. I tried (unsuccessfully) to find a web site, but since it is right where we are staying I'm guessing I could at least find a chilled bottle for that first evening. Thanks for the input.

Since we are planning to take Canada Line to the cruise terminal, I'm not sure if we want to buy wine for the cruise before we check our luggage at the ship since I don't know how much luggage my DW will bring. We may have our hands full!

I should point out that the store close to Canada Place at Seymour and Cordova Sts. is closed on Sundays and holidays but as July 26th is a weekday you will not have a problem in this regard. I think that you will be very pleased with our BC Wines....enjoy.:)

Thanks! We should be enjoying a bottle of BC sparkling wine to celebrate our sail away as we pass your house.

This store that you have identified is what is known as a "Signature" BC Liquor, is larger than most standard BC Liquor Stores, carries a large variety of wines and as consultants on staff to offer advice. There is a standard sized BC Liquor Store at the corner of Seymour and Cordova St. and is kitty corner to Waterfront station where the Canada Line terminates. I am certain that either stores will meet your requirements.

Is BC Liquor Stores the best place to purchase wine? Difficult question to answer. BCL generally have the best prices and satisfies the needs of most. However, where a private store will sometimes win out is that they may carry some brands that a BCL will not carry, the product may suit some and the private store may have a good price on it. However, you will only know this by shopping and tasting.:D

We enjoy wine, but certainly aren't connoisseurs, but we would like to try wines from BC. It sounds as if the BCL will work for us--especially since there is one close to our hotel and another close to Canada Place. We would prefer checking our luggage prior to purchasing wine so that we don't have one more thing to carry aboard the Skytrain.

It's hard to believe that our cruise is less than 5 weeks away. Reading this thread makes me anxious to see Vancouver again. We have most of our plans set thanks to some help here. We are staying at the Sheraton near Richmond Centre the night before and then taking the Canada Line from Brighouse Station to Canada Place. We also plan to buy some BC wine near the cruise terminal to take aboard.

We would also like to get a bottle of wine in Richmond to drink at the hotel--perhaps trying out one of the ones we plan to buy the next morning. Are the BC Liquor Stores the best place to buy wine? It looks like there is one about 3 blocks from our hotel. Are there better places near Richmond Centre? (I'm so used to going to the local supermarket here in California and finding hundreds of varieties of wine while buying groceries that I rarely go to a liquor store.)