MileHighAko

Sailed Alaska several times and have settled on aft facing balcony is the only way (for us) to go. Lack of wind, wide open view, soft purr of the engines, soothing sound of the wake, we just love everything about it for Alaska.

Now I'm curious about the value of the tour conductor credit? I organized a group of 10 cabins (18 people) with a CVP (who has done an amazing job by the way), but have not received any TC credit or even mention of it. (Additionally, part of our group received 50% more OBC than the others, which is causing some strife in the group, something I need to resolve this week.) What is the going % or value of TC credits?

We asked about this space last fall on Discovery, it runs through each floor on the back of the ship. We were told it contains utilities and such. It's a larger gap than it appears on paper. I haven't read any reports of people saying there is noise because of it, D731 gives you only one shared wall.

When you set your phone in airplane mode, check your watch and make sure it's also in airplane mode. Your watch will continue to communicate with your phone via bluetooth and it will work normally.

You'll be very happy in that cabin. Yes, the balcony is much deeper being on the aft and on 14. We have that cabin booked on Discovery on an upcoming cruise and very much looking forward to it (we actually have the aft starboard 6 cabins booked and plan to have the balcony dividers opened up to make a mega-balcony). I find 14 to be perfect placement since I like to be up high, the balcony is deep, and you have rooms immediately above and below you, and just 2 quick floors up to Lido. The aft elevators are less busy, and being aft you have an incredible view, less wind, soft vibration from the engines, soothing sound of the wake, it's awesome. Two things to watch for: 1) depending on the speed of the ship and the wind pattern sometimes you get a little bit of soot on the balcony and rail. The stewards should be on top of it, but don't hesitate to give them a ring if you need them to come wipe things down. Just be aware of it so you don't accidentally sit down on a chair with soot on it. :) 2) There is a pool 2 floors above you and sometimes if someone is careless or rowdy, some splash might make its way down to you. I've also seen a small leak on Discovery's pool last September that I assume is fixed by now. You'll have a great time!

Oh I don't think their parents are worried about it, we just found it interesting. I believe that answer comes down to 3-year-olds and up can go to the kids club, so they might benefit from a medallion when dropped off.

We had the same thoughts, except 3-year-olds get one and I think they're just as likely to put it in their mouth as a 2 year old. :)

Our upcoming group cruise includes a sweet 2-year-old. I was surprised to learn that kids 2 and under do not receive a medallion. Wondering if anyone knows why? We have been speculating many theories. Because of this, they can't be in the green lane.

As best as I can tell, they begin by offering the experience to suite guests by invitation either phone call or email shortly before the cruise. They then seem to make any remaining spots available by invitation randomly. Some people have asked about it and received an invitation. Others have simply been asked while walking by. My guess is that they try to fill each seating, suite or not. My advise is that if you're in a suite and don't receive and invitation prior to the cruise, just stop in to the concierge lounge (aft on 14) and ask the concierge to arrange.

Why change what has proven to be incredibly popular for them? They keep doing it because we keep booking it!

I seem to always find the extra notches on my belt disappear near the end. But have never experienced services going away.

Aft on Riviera deck is my absolute favorite location on the ship!

New Princess video has some clips of the 360 dining experience: https://youtu.be/MUp83GFpZzQ

If you're in a suite, breakfast at a specialty restaurant is not to be missed. Instead of water slides and race tracks, there are tons of bars with live music. It's worth it to "bar hop" to the different venues and find the ones that vibe for you. The crew chat feature in the app can handle a lot of requests that you might have had to go to guest services for previously, and they happily answer questions like "where can I find xyz" or "how many pax are onboard". The ship gets pretty quiet by 10PM, but there is still plenty of party left in the Visa lounge.

It's the same #. Just put a 1 in front of the number if you're calling from within the US.

I'm pretty sure the few D4 aft cabins that sleep 4 have the 4th bed as a drop down pullman that blocks the balcony door. Just be aware. On the bright side, aft elevators are usually not crowded and it's a quick ride up to 17 where there are restrooms right off the elevators and the changing rooms in the fitness center are super convenient.

When traveling with companions, we always have our CVP link the bookings. It seems to provide extra protection against unwanted upgrades. I'm also afraid to bid on any upgrades because it seems that once you do that, there is a good chance you'll lose your original cabin.

this is my biggest complaint about the mass market Alaska sailings, much of the scenic cruising happens at night after dark.

I know it's not a popular opinion. I'm just thinking big picture. The problem isn't a few folks eating a few extra meals. It's a much larger and more systemic issue that only $ will fix.

I love cruising to Alaska in September! But like others have pointed out, it's Alaska and the weather is always changing and you can't anticipate what it will be even a week out - but you can prepare for a variety of conditions. This last September it was completely sunny and perfect in Ketchikan, partly cloudy at the glacier, rainy and cloudy in Juneau, and in Sitka it down poured for 5 minutes and was mostly sunny the rest of the day. Of course I had a windbreaker on when it rained in Sitka instead of a rain jacket and was utterly soaked! So, be smarter than I was! Since this is a Princess forum, I will say that Alaska on Princess is a great experience! They really know how to do it right, between enrichment programs and fun, you'll have a wonderful time, regardless of the weather.

I'd rather they just raise the overall fare price (I know that comment isn't popular) vs. nickel/dime in the MDR or other venues. Everything is more expensive these days, and the constant cutting of services and quality onboard is adding up. Just charge a bit more and keep the quality and service high. The price of cruising seems to have gone down over time, and expectations have gone up.

Have used EZ Air with success. My advice is use it, but fly in at least the day before. Don't count on EZ Air's "get you to the ship if your flight is delayed" nonsense if you book flights that cut it close or are even same day as departure. Some folks think that EZ Air means the ship will wait for you... it won't. But they do have good rates and you don't have to pay until final payment is due, so it can be a good deal.

In Alaska back in September, we ran by Fred Meyer in Juneau to buy Monster. Boarded the ship with at least 15 large cans of Monster without any issues. :) We all had princess plus, but some of us didn't care for Red Bull that's available on the ship.

Last month (September) we departed out of Seattle. We were boarding group A (11:30) so had an Uber scheduled for pickup from our airport hotel at 10:30 AM and arrived at the pier at about 11:00 AM. We had a lot of bags so we found a porter and tipped him to take our luggage, and we got in line that moved quickly through security and then checkin was a breeze. We waited in the elite/suite waiting area for about 20 minutes, and were on the ship before noon. We explored the ship a little, got connected to the wifi, and then had lunch in the MDR. It was a good experience for us.

To me it's a no brainer - go aft. But that's because I love aft facing cabins, and those aft balconies on 14 (R) on Discovery are very large, lots of room to spread out on the balcony. Not sure how they fare with 3 people in them, I do believe that when the couch is out in bed mode you have to climb over it to get out the door to the balcony. But I can (and do) spend hours enjoying the aft view.