Paula_MacFan

Your comments gave me pause so I just logged into my Personalizer and I am able to book my own transfers online just like always under the Flights & Transfers tab. I clipped the screen shot because I don't want our names on here, but everything looks just like it has in the past. Did you book direct? I know if you book with a TA then they have to book the transfers.

Follow up comment -- we were able to use the United app functionality to order meals, track bags, etc just like normal. We have United flights booked thru EZ Air for our trip home from our upcoming Alaska cruise and it shows up in our United account like normal.

I just checked my United account. We flew Polaris Class round trip to LHR last fall using EZ Air and we received PQPs.

This doesn't help your problem but my Princess CVP told me last year that Princess no longer has a dedicated shore excursion department.

Because it's a dreary Saturday afternoon where I live, I decided to use the time to re-price our upcoming Alaska trip. We are doing a 15 day Alaska cruisetour the last week of May and the first week of June 2024. To book the exact same trip with airfare and excursions right now would cost us $5,928 more than what we paid. It really does pay to book early and plan ahead 🙂

I get it -- some people go on several cruises a year and for us it's usually two. Also I can't say they NEVER have salads at IC -- we don't sit there 24/7 -- but I didn't see any on our January cruise and remember commenting to hubby about it. They used to have a shrimp salad that I haven't seem in a really long time. You can report back with your findings next month 🙂

Yeah as I said we enjoyed salads in the past too but on our 2023 & 2024 cruises we haven't seen any. I don't disagree they were available back in 2022 😀

The Island does unique itineraries so if you want to go to those places then that's the ship, IC or not 🙂 Also on our last few cruises we haven't seen any salads in the IC. I used to like the salads there too but haven't seen any in awhile. On our last cruise (January, Regal) the offerings appeared pared back from what we've seen and were primarily sandwiches and desserts.

That is correct -- the Island doesn't have an International Cafe but it has never had one to the best of my knowledge. We sailed on that ship last fall and it was one of the few things we missed 🙂 Otherwise we really liked the ship and didn't have any problems finding food at other venues.

We have an Alaska cruisetour booked for next month and in addition to posts here on CC (both this Princess forum and the Alaska forum) we found this Princess page helpful: https://www.princess.com/en-us/faq/cruisetours This page compares all the different cruisetour options in chart form: https://www.princess.com/learn/cruise-destinations/alaska-cruises/cruisetour-options/cruisetour-finder/ The attached Princess Alaska PDF also has good info. alaska-cruisetours-overview-what-to-expect.pdf.coredownload.inline.pdf

I just did a search using Google Chrome and it looked the same as usual to me.

Ours changed too with the exact same times (we're on Sapphire June 1) and we got a Booking Notice email from Princess a couple days ago on 4/17. It didn't explicitly say 'hey here's a change in the itinerary' but I looked it over and compared it to our prior documentation and noticed the change. I was actually very happy to arrive earlier in Skagway as we have a Jeep rented and with 3 other ships in port arriving at the same time we were hoping to beat the crowd. Now we should be able to with no problems. And the Glacier Bay time change was only about an hour shorter, so that doesn't bother us too much. Especially given that other sailings have times of 6am - 3pm or whatever -- I'd much rather have our time of 9 - 6 🙂

I just looked at our excursions after your post. We booked Hubbard Glacier for $299 and it's now $475! Others have increased as well, but none as much as that. It pays to book early.

Here's the one we got in February 2024.

We missed a port in January on the Regal. We've had this happen before as well and have always received a credit to our onboard folio. I would recommend double checking your final statement to verify you didn't get credit while onboard. If at the end of your cruise you have a credit balance in your account, they will mail you a check. If it's been 2 months you probably should have received a check by now for any credit balance you had on onboard.

One of our favorite features of the app is the ability to check our folio any time, without having to go to Guest Services. We check it frequently during cruises and take a screen shot on the last day. On our last cruise we got our folio emailed very promptly as well.

Edit to say I just saw your subsequent post about your flight leaving at 5:30 🙂 Sorry!

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We considered using the Princess transfer from Southampton to LHR last fall, but the excursion notes said it was for passengers with international flights leaving after 4:30pm, and our flight left before that so we just took the regular Princess transfer without the Stonehenge stop. If you can see the transfer in your Personalizer you might check the notes and see what the flight cutoff times are for your specific cruise. When I look at the general excursions listed on the Princess website it shows a flight cutoff time of 5:45pm (see attached screen shot). Since the transfer didn't work for us after the cruise, we instead used International Friends transfer with Stonehenge tour at the beginning of the cruise. I know the OP didn't ask about pre-cruise transfers, but we would highly recommend International Friends in general for any transfer or tour.

Since it's your first cruise I recommend reviewing Princess' general FAQs here https://www.princess.com/en-us/faq For an overview of the Princess Plus package benefits see https://www.princess.com/en-us/cruise-deals-promotions/plus-premier-cruise-packages For specifics see Princess Plus Terms and Conditions https://www.princess.com/en-us/cruise-deals-promotions/plus-premier-cruise-packages/terms-and-conditions

Same here! I just checked ours and we are aft as well and it shows Crooners. We usually get an aft cabin and have never had muster in Crooners. It's usually the Vista or whatever rear lounge is on the particular ship.

I was going to post something similar -- that if you're going strictly off spreadsheet math, no one would ever book a balcony, mini-suite, or suite! Cruising in general is a luxury with various options for every budget. I don't know why so many people get their knickers in a twist over the packages and not room categories. We don't have endless threads debating the cost/benefit analysis of inside rooms vs suites. Everyone needs to do the math on the entire cruise and see what works for them 🙂 For us that means balcony or better room every cruise and Plus package. Those options fit our cruising style.

I wondered about the photographer too because it's not listed as part of the package anymore on the Princess website. When they raised the price of specialty dining with the additional service charge, I was comparing overall pricing for 2 specialty dinners vs getting Ultimate Balcony Dining. I still think UBD seems to be a a good value, but would be even better if it still included the photos and other perks.

See this lengthy thread for more information 🙂

Here is the cruise ship schedule so you can see exactly where you'll be docked. It looks like the Majestic typically docks at the Alaska Steam Dock, but you can check your specific date. https://claalaska.com/?page_id=1551 Several years ago we rented a car in Juneau from Avis. They have a seasonal office that is under a mile from the cruise docks (see Google maps for specifics). We were happy with the car, the price, and the walk to pick it up was fine. The only caveat I'd offer for this year is demand seems to be very high for Alaska cruises and as such, prices for everything seems to be at a premium. I wouldn't wait long to investigate a car rental or any other excursion choices 🙂