skynight

All shops are closed on board while in port.

Is there duty/tax free shopping in Alaska waters? I'm thinking no. But there might be once the ship is in Canada waters. If there is, each adult is allowed to import 1 liter of alcoholic beverage with no charge. The big savings on alcoholic beverages is the Federal Alcohol Tax. If you are flying home bottles of whisky have to be packed in luggage. Not something I think is very practical. The only time I purchased alcohol was when I was driving to the port. 

I don't know very much about cigarettes. Believe the limit is 1 carton, 200 cigarettes, per adult.

Sales? Not really. I have been on some cruises where the on board shop is trying to unload a few bottles that have not sold. Other than that it's usually the price as shown on their on board price list.

To find out if you should purchase on board or in port, compare the costs once on board. Alaska is a U.S. State. They will have the same federal taxes on cigarettes and alcohol as any other U.S. State plus local  and State sales taxes.

There are "sales" every day if you really want to call them sales. Mostly Tees, hats, jewelry, things like that. Pay attention to the costs and quality, not to how much the items may be fictitiously reduced.  There are some nice items in the on board shops. The real bargain comes from using up your OBC, so no real cost to you. 

On 7/28/2024 at 2:20 PM, cruisinsince75 said:

We will be disembarking in Boston on our Sapphire Princess TA cruise from Copenhagen in 2026.  How smoothly did the debarkation process go?

I looked up the 2026 Sapphire cruises from Copenhagen. The itinerary indicates that Boston is the first U.S. port. In that case you will have to be processed through immigration after you retrieve your luggage. There is no way to know for sure how quickly the process will go. In Ft. Lauderdale Princess used facial recognition for immigration. Only a few were actually referred to an immigration official. I don't know if Princess has or will have this technology on the Sapphire.  

It's difficult to determine how long you will wait. The busses arrive from San Pedro with disembarking passengers. When full they head back to San Pedro. I always take private  transport.

You are fine

 Look for the Princess agent in the luggage pick up area

I have read on these boards that others have done just what you are thinking about. You have to apply for and receive a route deviation in writing from Princess. You will also have to arrange transport from leHarve to Paris which is a 3 hour trip. If for some reason the ship misses the port then, of course, you will have to disembark in Southampton.

1. Train to London. Train London to Southampton.

2. Maybe you should consider Paris as a post cruise activity. Your last port on the April 28th cruise is Le Harve, 3 hours from Paris. You could book a Paris on your own tour through Princess, really just for the transportation, remain there for as many days as you like then fly home from Paris. To accomplish this you must receive the written itinerary deviation from Princess that authorizes you to disembark in Le Harve. Be aware that the ship could miss the port, although I don't believe this is common.

The Princess web site shows the Ruby is at sea on 9/2 sailing between Ketchikan and Vancouver, arriving Vancouver on 9/3.

The SF port schedule shows the Crown at pier 27 on 9/2.

mafig. Check out The Sanctuary Collection cabins on the Sun Princess. This does include the Premier package and other items.

https://www.princess.com/en-us/news/news-releases/2024/04/princess-cruises-unveils-exclusive-new-sanctuary-collection-aboard-sun-princess-and-star-princess

37 minutes ago, BeebMarc said:

@skynight ta for the reply. We’re on Caribbean to Greenland/Iceland mid-August. Was convinced the pools were salty on Regal but if that’s not the case, then great!

You probably will want very little pool time on this northern itinerary. The pool water will be heated some, but will probably still be coldish. This itinerary is not like a Caribbean cruise. In Greenland waters there will be some nice views. Some of the good viewing locations are:

-All the way forward on the deck 7 promenade, up the stairs to the bow of the ship. No seats there, standing only.

-All the way forward on deck 16 to the forward area. The roof of the bridge may be open on scenic viewing days.

-Check out Skywalker's, all the way aft and all the way up. Great views. 

Princess pools are fresh water. I can't understand why you feel the Regal was salt water. The pools are clorinated. Caribbean Princess has 4 pools, a number of hot tubs plus a family pool, hot tub, splash area on deck17. All are fresh water. The Terrace Pool, deck 14 aft as well as what is called the Lap Pool on deck 16 forward are for adults. The main Neptune's Reef and Calypso Reef pools are on deck 15 mid ship. They are normal sized. Check out the deck plans. 

The Caribbean Princess, a Grand Class ship, has a very different design than the Sky and Regal, Royal Class ships. It has a 360 degree promenade, nicer lounges including Crooners, Explorer's Lounge, Wheelhouse Bar where there should be the opportunity for some ballroom dancing.

Caribbean does not have Alfredo's. The buffet area is smaller and not as extensive as the Sky/Regal and other Royal Class ships.

You did not mention where you are sailing as well as the time of year. The itinerary and timing make a lot of difference on how busy the pool areas may be as well as how many youth may be on board. 

It's the same cost pre-cruise or on board. However, if purchased on board part of the cost could be covered by any OBC you may have. One thing to note. You mention "drink package." There is a stand alone alcoholic beverage package. It's the same package that you receive if you purchase the plus/premier package. The stand alone package does not make financial sense. It cost more and does not include any of the extras like gratuity and wifi. 

Cellular at sea is very expensive.

I see Princess at the Flynn Cruise Terminal. Look here for your sailing.

https://www.massport.com/flynn-cruiseport/cruise-directory/cruise-schedule

It's walk in dining with prompt seating anytime the DRs are open. The service is greatly improved. The menu is the same as the other DRs plus there is one addition main at dinner.

Note: DRs are open for breakfast and dinner each day and lunch on sea days. The DR is also open for lunch on boarding day.

46 minutes ago, JStar said:

The Terrace Pool is adults only and clearly marked as such on signage. We just got off Emerald 10 days ago. One afternoon I actually witnessed a deck attendant tell a  woman that her son was not allowed in that pool and pointed out the sign.

Thanks, I guess I missed that.

My attraction to these cruises is being on the ship, not really the specific ports of call. I'm booked on four sailings b2b this January/February/March. It's Mexico, Hawaii, Mexico, Hawaii. Total 48 days, 34 of which are sea days. For me, shore excursions are in the past. Now it's just a little walking around at some ports, sometimes to restock supplies.

This past winter I sailed 24 days b2b in the Caribbean with lots of port days. The ship was kind of empty on those days, very comfortable to be on board.  

The Terrace Pool, deck 14 aft is not specifically an adult pool, but few youth use it. Downside, really no shade.

Youth tend to use Neptune's and Calypso Reef pools. 

I'm closing in on 600 days. I don't select cruises based on the possibility of being in the top 40. Some cruises I'm in some not. 

59 minutes ago, BobAnne said:

Does anyone know how noisy the passageway is? Is it intolerable for the cabins around or do people generally not notice? 

You will not even know the stairs are there. Not really used very much. Crew use the crew elevators mostly.

Your deck is two decks above the small outside smoking area on deck 7 located where the promenade narrows to go around the aft of the ship. 

Tender. It should state this in your itinerary similar to this:

BRAVO.  For sure. It's a great show with great songs and an enhanced orchestra. 

Yes. There will be some noshes and you can order any drink you wish.  For those with the standard fare there is a charge for drinks. On the Grand, lounges like Crooner's on deck 7 are also busy during happy hour. Crooner's is close to the DR which for full suite passengers on deck 6, mid ship.

From what I have seen the traffic back up through the luggage drop off area can be very heavy at 9am/9:30am. Personally I think it makes more sense to just take the rental car shuttle with your luggage, one trip. The luggage & passenger drop off are right next to each other on pier 2. Other piers are similar. 

With the plus & premier all day is happy hour. There are no real discounts at any specific hour.

First of all there are thousands and thousands of postings regarding on board tipping.

Basically with the standard fare each person will be charged $16, $17 or $18 per day depending on your cabin category. This amount is posted each day to your folios and nets against any credit (OBC) or debit balance. The funds are placed into a fleet wide account and are distributed to most crew members, those you see and have daily contact with, such as cabin stewards, and those you seldom or never see. With the standard fare you do have the option to remove the daily gratuity at passenger services. This is up to you. 

It's easy to tip the cabin steward. Just provide him/her with a cash amount at the end of the cruise. Specialty dining? Just give the waiter cash. Same with DR waiters. Bartenders and bar waiters you can provide them cash each time you order a drink. I really have never noticed anyone tip the slice pizza, burger grill, International Cafe, buffet waiters and so on. I don't believe this is a wide spread practice. These are the crew that are described as those you never see or have very little personal contact.

Regarding your question of charging specific tips to your onboard folio to net against any credit (OBC) balance. This isn't possible. If you ask passenger services to charge say $100 for gratuities to your on board folio that amount will go into the fleet wide pool and not to a specific crew member.

I'm not going to get into the whole tipping thing. There are wide spread opinions. I will say that for me it's just easier to leave the auto gratuity in place and provide extra cash to the few, such as the cabin steward, that provide you personal; service throughout the voyage. I don't try to analyze it any further.