sherryf

I loved the donuts in the IC. Had two for breakfast every morning.

Like this? :D

Fetticinni Alfredo in the main dining room (I get an appetizer portion), the NY style pizza by the pool is the best ever, and the tiramisu at the international cafe... plus any fresh fruit and caesar salad I can get!

Such a perfect little size!

Almost any dessert soufflé :)

Like these?

The spaghetti and meatballs from the kids menu is soooo good!

Is it the same as the spaghetti and meatballs on the Italian night menu as the special pasta of the night? I've been tempted to try it!

The pizza when it is fresh from the oven...most of the items from the International Cafe especially the warm cookies...the creme brulee'...the bread basket on the dinner table each night...can you tell that I usually gain weight on a Princess cruise?!! :p

I agree with all of the above, plus the fettuccine alfredo, eggplant parmesan, twice baked goat cheese souffle mentioned by others. I also love the spring rolls on the first night, the veal ravioli on the second formal night, and if you are lucky enough for them to be making it as a special dish on Italian night, the penne arrabiata.

Hmmm... I am noticing a cheese and pasta trend in my choices...

My kid will not be hanging out with other kids who come in between 3 and 6 am. Call me a helicopter mama, I call it smart.

And how are you going to know what time the other kids are coming in? If your kid meets other kids and hangs out with them during the day, swimming or playing on the sports court, you have no way of knowing if they are "those kids" who stay out late. You can give your kid a curfew and not allow them to be out that late, but you can't control the other kids and you can't go around grilling them about their curfew times before allowing your kid to hang out with them. :rolleyes:

Has anyone purchased the soap from Glacier Smoothies? The testimonials all have great things to say and I wonder if any CC folks have any input. Thought it might be a little piece of Alaska (glacier silt) to bring home for others. Are there are "knock offs" of this idea even though they have a patent? Appreciate any input.

I buy some every year! They have some fresh, clean scents that I really like, and I tend to be sensitive to a lot of scents. Using it reminds me of my trips to Alaska.

I'm also getting the Unlimited Soda and more package! They charge around $5 each for soda, juice, hot chocolate, milkshakes, etc. At $8.05 a day for as much as you can drink it's a bargain!

I don't buy many drinks, but I know they aren't that expensive! Cokes are only about $2 each. I'm guessing juice and hot chocolate are the same or less. Milkshakes are a little more. Still, you'd have to be drinking 4-5 a day, every day, to make it worthwhile. For me, that's too many calories, never mind the cost! :eek:

Also, Ray Troll store on Creek Street has very unique fishing tshirts. My sons love them. Ain't no nookie like my chinookie. Baitfull dead. Etc.

I agree! I wanted to get one for my son (16) last year because he likes "punny" stuff like that. It was hard to find one he'd appreciate that would be acceptable to wear to school. :eek: He ended up with "Bass Ackwards". :p

When you are on a motor coach with multiple stops, people tend to leave belongings, bags, etc, at their seats so they don't have to carry them off every time. Proper etiquette is to return to the seat in which you originally sat. First come first serve is for the first time boarding only.

This has been my experience on tours, though I've only been to Alaska. Don't know if people are just naturally more polite there. ;) The exception would be a tour where the bus just takes you somewhere and drops you off, and you have to take all your belongings with you. When the bus returns to get you, you claim new seats. In this case, the bus is mainly transportation, not tour, and seats don't matter so much.

None of these work for me. I'd prefer a wine (bottle) package.

In 4 Princess cruises (so far) I've bought maybe 2-3 sodas, never bottled water, never juice outside of breakfast. Each 7-day cruise I drink maybe 2-3 mixed drinks and 3-4 beers, and those only because they have Alaskan Amber and Alaskan Summer. What I do drink is wine, and we drink about a bottle a day. In the past we've taken our own to drink in our cabin or occasionally bring into the dining room and pay corkage. I maybe buy a few glasses of wine outside of what I bring on. This year, with the new wine policy enforcement, I'm debating bringing on my own (wine that I know I like and pay $5 - $10 per bottle at Trader Joe's) and paying the $15, or just buying bottles from Princess. If they had a package that would allow me to buy 7 bottles over the course of the week at a discounted price, that might affect my decision. From what I understand, the current wine packages are not offered on 7-day cruises, so not an option for me.

I do buy a coffee card. I've bought 3 over the course of 4 cruises, one of those for my daughter that she only used 4-5 punches on. I still have one partial card that I'll take with me this time. If I didn't plan to continue cruising Princess so that I'd be able to use up my old cards, it wouldn't be worth it.

So Avis is definitely better than Green Jeep Tours? How much time should I allow for being back in Skagway to fill up, turn in the car, and get back on the ship?

 

Avis doesn't open until 8:00, so can we expect to be on the road by 8:30 - assuming we're there when it opens? 5 hours RT from Emerald Lake - is this taking into account stops and crossing the border? Emerald Lake will definitely be the turn around point.

 

After reading, I think we're definitely going to reserve a car. Just need to decide if it'll definitely be Avis.

There is only one gas station in town, with 2 pumps. We were lucky to get there when there was no line, but I have heard there can be lines at times.

Be at Avis before they open. We got there about 15 - 20 minutes before they opened and there were already several people in line. By the time they opened, the line was long.

Allow time for delays at the border, both directions. We waited 20 - 30 minutes going out, a little less coming back. Seemed like they cared more about checking through the big tour buses to keep them on schedule, and just let the passenger cars sit and line up.

The 5 hour estimate is allowing for stops and such. Since you have a 4 PM sailing time, you'll need to be back on board by 3:30, so should have the car dropped off and walking back to ship by 3. That gives you 6+ hours from pickup to drop off. Watch your time carefully, but you should be fine.

If you have iphone 4 or 5 you can use the walkie talkie feature from iTunes

 

Voxer Walkie-Talkie PTT for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad on the ...

 

https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/voxer-walkie-talkie.../id377304531

I looked this up, and you need a data connection of some sort. That means either paying for the ship's expensive internet connection, or using the ship's expensive satellite connection. I think I'll stick with notes on doors and messages on cabin phones.

Here's mine: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1681497

It's not as long and detailed as some of the others, but I thought I'd add it to the list.

Thanks for the info. I wonder if this is true for just those cabins in that area and not the P2-- cabins further forward. Or is it related to something specific to the Caribbean Princess?

 

Did you ever ask the staff what it could have been?

 

I have twice stayed on the Plaza deck, inside cabin at the approx same location on the Golden and the Coral and not heard any noise at all. On the Golden the back of the cabin was by the art gallery and it was quiet.

 

I wonder if the noise could have been from something directly under the cabin in the crew area? Did the staff indicate what was under your cabin on the Caribbean P ?

I've been on the Plaza deck on the Golden twice, in 255 and 322, and never had problems with noise. P322 backs onto the Art Gallery, and one morning there was a bit of noise as they took paintings off the wall to move them, but other than that, not problems. When we were in P255 we heard a bit of noise from the Princess Theater one night, but that's all. Thinking back, there may have been other occasional random noises, but nothing that kept us awake at night. You gotta expect some noise on a ship. I think what I remember most about that location was what sounded like waves, or maybe could have been thruster noise? Like I said, never loud or bothersome enough to disrupt our sleep.

I do recall having a noisy cabin a couple of years back, an inside on a higher deck, maybe Dolphin or Emerald. Anyway, I don't know what was next to us, but there was a constant thumping noise. Not super loud, but enough to hear constantly. It was annoying, but didn't ruin my cruise or anything. Just saying that you can encounter a noisy cabin on any deck, so if it's a problem for you, do your research thoroughly before booking a specific cabin. I'm usually just happy to be on the ship, and got that noisy cabin on a guarantee, so took what I got. Not a big issue for me. I spend most of my time out of the cabin anyway, and always travel with ear plugs just in case. :D

Like food, mattress comfort is subjective. That's why mattress stores have so many options.

You took the words right out of my mouth... uh, keyboard. :D

I also don't mind the Princess mattresses, but I have back problems and prefer a firm mattress.

I've been reading this in my spare time at work for about the past week, and I've finally reached the end. I've been trying to think of anything to post, but can't really come up with anything. All of my cruises have been to Alaska, and most of them on Princess, so I guess not much exciting happens on my cruises. I have never seen anyone vomit, relieve themselves, or have "relations" in any inappropriate places. I've seen tipsy people, but never passed out or falling down drunk. Never seen a fight, or people missing the boat, or even a med-evac. I've enjoyed my cruises immensely, but they have been rather uneventful.

I'm not sure I'd want to take a cruise where all these crazy things happen, but I'm really glad that so many of you do, and post the stories here! :D

Our experience is that it is the dining room on deck 6. You must present yourself before 1:00 and be relatively forceful in order to be seated.

This summer on the Golden we definitely showed up after 1:00 but before 1:30. We only just set foot on the ship at 1:00, went to our cabin to drop our carry-ons, then went to the dining room. Probably 1:15 by the time we got there, and no problem getting in. In the past they have questioned whether I was sure we wanted to eat there, but they never told me we couldn't. We've done it 3 out of 4 trips (the other time we had a pre-honeymoon brunch with family right before boarding) and it is definitely the best way to start a cruise!

I have. This summer we were in Carcross, Yukon (and if you've ever been there, you know how small it is!) and someone walked up to me and asked if I was Sherry. Turns out it was someone from our Roll Call, but it was a bit of a shock at first!

Between the Klondike Gold Fields tour in Skagway or the Historic Gold Mining and Panning Adventure in Juneau, which one do you prefer and why?

We've done gold panning in both Skagway and Juneau, but don't know if they are the same places you are considering.

In Skagway, we went to the Klondike Gold Dredge, as a tour combined with seeing sled dog puppies and a 40 Below Zero chamber. The troughs here were heated, but you only got one pan that they didn't allow "double dipping". They gave you a small container for your gold that looks like an old film canister - opaque black. You can't see your gold in it. They then try to sell you jewelry or other containers for your gold so you can actually see and display it. We didn't bother.

In Juneau, we did a tour to the Gastineau Mill and I don't think the troughs were heated, but you could pan as much as you wanted from the dirt in the bottom. You didn't get as much gold from there as your first "seeded" pan, but you could get some more. They gave tiny glass bottles to put your gold in, so you can actually SEE it. They didn't try to sell extras.

We enjoyed both tours for different reasons. We took the kids on the Skagway tour, and they loved the puppies and 40 Below chamber. They had fun panning the gold but didn't care about displaying it in an expensive trinket.

The Juneau tour included a tour of the mine, led by a real miner who was quite interesting. I thought the gold panning was more fun and relaxed there, and I preferred their little glass bottles.

I allowed my 12 year old daughter the freedom to roam on our cruise last summer. However, she is very mature and responsible and was almost always in a group with 2-3 other kids her age. Between myself and my husband, my two teen sons, and the parents and older siblings of her friends, there were plenty of people around the ship watching out for them. They were very rarely in a place (other than the kids club) where there wasn't someone they knew nearby. We did prep her in advance about rules such as not going in someone's room, not accepting drinks from strangers, etc. We left notes and phone messages regularly. Oh, and the fact that she's a 2nd degree black belt doesn't hurt!

OTOH, when my kids first cruised in 2001, my oldest was only 8 and I wouldn't have dreamed of letting him or the others out of my sight!

We had rooms in this area on the Golden in August also. We were in P255 and our teens were in P305. I found this to be a rather quiet area. Since there are so few cabins and most people don't have any good reason to be passing through, there is very little foot traffic. Since our cabin was more forward, we did hear a little noise from the Princess Theater a couple of times, notably during the "illusionist" show, since he used rather pounding, dramatic music. It wasn't enough to really bother us or keep us from sleeping. I would choose rooms in this area again, since I found them to be so convenient to the International Cafe, Princess Theater, dining room, etc.

Waterproof rain jacket with a hood. This will be sufficient in most cases. I live in the Seattle area and do not own rain pants. In 4 trips to Alaska, I have never felt the need for them. Of course, I am used to the rain and it doesn't bother me much. You may have a different tolerance level for getting slightly wet.

Binoculars. So many times we've been standing on deck with our binoculars watching whales in the distance, spotting bald eagles in the trees, etc. while others just stand there saying, "Where?! I can't see it!"

Sunscreen. I forgot mine (did intend to pack, but forgot) two years ago and had to buy on board an an exorbitant price. Yes, it can be sunny, and I did get burned as we sailed away from Seattle that year. I needed it that whole trip, the weather was so gorgeous. I haven't needed it as much in other years, but have used it here and there. I wouldn't go without it. (Sunglasses too, for same reason!)

I have been to Alaska 3 times and will be going for a 4th time in 5 weeks. The first was a family trip in 2001, when my children were very young. (2, 5, 8) We went on the Carnival Spirit, and it was fine. The nice thing was that they would take un-potty-trained 2 year olds in the kids club.

The past 2 years, my husband and I have been to Alaska on Princess and really enjoyed it. This year will be our first trip with the kids, now 12, 15 and 18. I can report back in about 6 weeks.

One thing you may want to look at is cabin configurations. If you are trying to put 4 in a cabin, in some cabins you end up with essentially 2 sets of bunk beds. When we went on Carnival, we had 2 kids in our cabin and one in with grandparents. In our (balcony) cabin, we were able to have one queen bed for parents, the sofa converted to a bed at night, and the 4th bed dropped from the ceiling above that. If I had to put 4 in a cabin again, I'd much prefer that. As it is, we are getting 2 cabins, one for us adults, and one for the kids.

Of course, if you are sailing to Alaska to see Alaska, you should look primarily at glaciers, ports, times in port, etc. Princess has a naturalist on board who gives lectures during the week and comments during glacier viewing. In Juneau, Libby Riddles (first woman to win Iditarod) boards every Princess ship to give a presentation. Many Princess ships visit Glacier Bay, which is considered by many to be far superior glacier viewing than the more common Tracy Arm/Sawyer Glacier.

There are many factors in choosing an Alaskan cruise, and kids are only a minor one. Be sure to check out the Alaska Ports of Call board for more information on itineraries, ports, excursions and base your decision on what you want to see and do in Alaska.

Hope this helps. I'm happy to answer any other questions, especially next month after we are back from our cruise and know more about the Princess kid programs, etc.

We got a move-over offer last year. We were booked on the Golden to AK and they offered to move us to the Sapphire the following day, since we live locally and don't have flight restrictions. Unfortunately, we had all our excursions booked, some through private vendors, and didn't think we could rearrange them all at such short notice, only a few days before the cruise. We turned it down and didn't regret it.

We are booked on the Golden again this summer, but don't have any excursions booked yet. Don't know what we'd do if we got a similar offer this time. The biggest drawbacks would be 1) we are really looking forward to finally seeing Glacier Bay, and Sapphire only does Tracy Arm, which we've seen twice; 2) I think Sapphire doesn't have the International Cafe yet, which we do love! I guess it would really depend on just how good an offer they gave us.