CruisinCadie

We went on another line the first week of October. Seas were fine. Portland was extremely foggy and they cancelled excursions to sail around the lighthouses. We took the bus ride and had a great time, actually got to see the lighthouses working.

Kathy

Thanks for the review. We are on the Aug. 19 cruise, and our ports are slightly different, but your insights are very helpful.

Kathy

Using the updated email address, I was able to contact Jenny Streeck and set up a meet and greet for our roll call. Thank you for the information.

Kathy

Regardless of how long .. it will probably still be my favorite day. No balcony on this cruise (which incidentally looks to be completely sold out) ... so I might be found up in the indoor pool really early that day.....coffee in hand.

 

You know, the Grand also has a lovely seating section out back near the aft pool. It is one thing I do really love about the Grand....haven't really seen that on any of their other ships. It is such a nice place to enjoy a good book and it is rather wind proof as well. If it is a nice day, maybe that is where I will hang out that morning.

On our first trip to Alaska, the Sun Princess had an aft seating area on the Aloha deck. It was one of my favorite spots on the ship.

Kathy

We have an aft balcony!! And we are super excited!! I will sign my husband and I for the roll call. Not sure about everyone else!! Can they just show up with us if they want?

I just got the Meet and Greet set up. It's at the One5 Nightclub, Saturday, Aug. 20, from 11 am to noon. We'll have a "pay as you go" cash bar. We're a fairly small group, so I'm sure there will be plenty of room for everyone.

Kathy

I omitted a letter in the email address the first time.Try this one and see if she is the current Cordinator for The Grand.

jstreeck@princesscruises.com

 

Hopefully you'll get an answer by Monday or Tuesday.

Julie

Thanks, Julie, I will try that. Often a misspelling is the culprit.

Kathy

Didn't you check port times before you booked the cruise? With so many choices out there it pays to do your research before booking.

Considering that our cruise dates are determined by work schedules, that's not a real option. Thank you very much for your unsolicited criticism.

Kathy

Try Jenny Streek. If she is not the current coordinator for The Grand she can forward your email to the appropriate person. I believe their job title is group Cordinator.

Jstreek@princesscruises.com

 

Julie

I tried this email address and unfortunately it didn't go through. I think I'll try my chances at calling customer service. Thanks for the suggestion though.

Kathy

We're also on the Aug. 19 cruise, and I second Cruise Raider's invitation to all of you to join the roll call.

Wow! I hadn't paid much (make that any) attention to the time in Tracy Arm. Only 5 hours, and starting that early? That's a disappointment.

Kathy

Thanks for your suggestions. I anticipate somewhere around 20-25 people. I will email Jenny Streek and see what can be arranged.

Kathy

Hi, All,

I know this has been asked many times, but whom do I contact to set up a Meet and Greet on the Grand Princess to Alaska? Any suggestions on a good location? We have a fairly small roll call and I'm not sure some of the ones who joined early are even still with us.

Thanks,

Kathy

We will be taking this cruise in August so I am eagerly awaiting every installment. Keep up the good work.

Kathy

Thanks for all your suggestions. We do like seafood, but also are sometimes in the mood for just a quick salad or sandwich. This at least gives me a place to start.

Kathy

Would people please recommend a moderately priced restaurant for lunch in Juneau. Our ship is tendered and will not dock until some of the other ships leave. I assume that will be late afternoon or evening. We don't want to tender back and forth to the ship for lunch, so I'm looking for a decent place to eat onshore. We're a pair of retirees and not extremely picky, just no Asian, please. Thanks for your input.

Kathy

Dear SIL and I both would start out on a cruise in very good health. After about 3 days, we would both start with stuffy noses and sneezing. We finally determined it was a reaction to the feather pillows. Now I automatically ask my steward to remove anything with feathers. Most ships have memory foam pillows now so it is becoming less of a problem.

Kathy

In 2004, it was The Alaska Cruise Companion by Joe Upton. It may have changed since then.

Kathy

yes you can go back to the airport and use the Princess shuttle. However there may be less expensive options, me personally I would take BART from the airport to Embarcardo and walk. As to things to do if you haven't been to Alcatraz it is worth doing but you need to make a reservation early as they sell out. There are also free walking tours of the various neighborhoods given by the SF Library. Lots of hotels near the airport, we have stayed at the Marriott.

Thanks for the suggestion but walking can be an issue for us as seniors. We are also willing to pay the cost of a shuttle rather than struggle with our luggage.

We've been to SF many times and seen Alcatraz. I agree, it's definitely a must-see.

Having checked flight times, we'll be getting in mid-afternoon and somehow I can't see just hanging around the hotel, so I'm also considering hotels around Fisherman's Wharf.

Thanks to everyone for their input.

Kathy

Check with your cruise line as they may have a preferred hotel and offers a transfer service.

 

Fisherman's Wharf hotels are the closest and a taxi or Uber would be your best bet. Taxi fare estimator: http://www.taxifarefinder.com/main.php?city=SF

Thanks for the suggestion. We've been cruising since 2004 and I never realized cruise lines had preferred hotels. I'll look into it.

Kathy

We too are looking for an hotel convenient to the cruise port for an overnight stay. We will be flying in the day before. We've visited San Francisco many times so sightseeing is not important. Do any hotels offer shuttle service to the pier, for fee or for free? How much approximately would a taxi cost? We have limited mobility and there's no way we are going to lug our luggage, even over a flat sidewalk.

Thanks,

Kathy

We always fly in a day before our cruise. If we stay at our preferred hotel by the San Francisco airport, it's much cheaper than staying near the port. They also offer a shuttle from to/from the hotel to the airport. So if we get back to the airport in the morning, can we pay Princess for transfers to the ship, even though we aren't using Princess Air?

I am also posting on the San Francisco board asking for hotel recommendations. Our daughter lives in the bay area so we have seen most of the sights, but her family will be out of town before our cruise so we can't stay with them.

Thanks,

Kathy

There is an annual 7 day uke players cruise on Princess. In 2014 it was on an Alaska cruise from West Coast. Last year it was on a Caribbean cruise from Florida. This year, 2016, we sail from West Coast back to Alaska agsin.

 

Lots of fun, with daily uke lessons taught by two professional uke players, jam sessions, open mic, and daily gift prize drawings including a very nice high end uke as Grand Prize, uke strings, tuners, food baskets, etc. Special group dinners nightly in the MDR. Special group dinner at Sabatini's. A variety of skill levels from beginner to advanced, and all kiinds of music genres, and playing styles. Many in the group brougt more than one instrument to use/play. Also, to share other uke players interested in a particular uke model/brand. I,myself, brought a Magicfluke Flea soprano, and a Kala travel tenor. Easy to carry. ;)

 

Grand finale was one night toward the end of cruise we put on a uke concert in the Piazza.

Lots of fun fo ther uke group, and the pax I think enjoyed the variety of music played.

 

This year the uke group will be leaving from West Coast for 7 day cruise to Alaska again.

 

Enjoy your cruise. :)

That sounds like a lot of fun. We've already booked a cruise this summer to Alaska, but I'd be interested for other years. How do I get more details?

I'd probably have to get a travel uke because we'd be coming from Ohio and I wouldn't trust either of my antique models on a plane, even in a carry-on.

Kathy

Hi, Cruise Raider,

I just found your review. Thanks for all the details.

What's the deal on the ukulele concert? I play, but I'm not carting one of my ukes across country. But if they provide the instruments, I might give it a try.

Kathy

Just returned from the Celebrity Reflection, Dec. 12 sailing. After reading so many post critical of the music on the Reflection, I am happy to report that we found the music selection had something for everyone. And my husband is a former professional musician, so he's quite selective.

Jonny Mantra, the singer/guitarist, was exceptional. The house orchestra played big band music for dancing in the foyer every evening they were not performing in the theatre. We didn't get to hear Ear Candy, but did enjoy the jazz quartet. And LAX was not as bad as reported, although we only heard them by the pool. DJ's were not obnoxious when playing in the foyer.

So don't worry, you'll find something you like. No string quartets or a cappella groups, but a good variety to make your cruise enjoyable.

Kathy

Just had cabin 6176, Cat. C2 (or 2C), balcony with obstructed view. We were directly above the shops, so noise was not a problem. Our obstructed view was the top of the lifeboat. You couldn't look directly down into the water, but had a perfectly fine view looking out to sea.

Kathy

We were also on the Dec. 12 cruise. As others have reported, boarding was a nightmare, but I'd rather Celebrity took every possible precaution than not.

Disembarking was painless. We used luggage valet so only had our carry-ons. DH uses a cane because he is still recovering from hip replacement surgery, so we breezed through the handicapped line at customs.

The biggest nightmare was at Miami airport, both arriving and departing. It seems we walked from one end of the terminal to the other to get to baggage claim. Returning, TSA lines were not clearly marked so we ended up in a line heading for Cuba! Fortunately we quickly discovered our mistake and were directed to the correct line.

Kathy