VaCruzers

We sailed AK May 2023 on Sapphire in an aft facing balcony - the only cabin type I would have for that itinerary. The Sapphire was wonderful! Enjoy the planning and have a great trip!

All from North America thus far.

D740 to Alaska last year. No issues whatsoever. Would book again! In fact, we've had an aft facing balcony on several of the Grand class ships and have never experienced any issues with odors.

I have no idea about the BBQ sauce ingredients. I just know it didn't have cheese. I don't have any medical reason not to eat cheese, and I enjoy it by itself, but most sandwiches, I just don't like it, so that is why I know these didn't have cheese. I can't speak to any other dairy product because I've simply not needed to pay close attention. I'm sorry you have had difficulty finding items. There's almost always cold cuts and bread in the buffet to construct a dairy free sandwich.

Not sure if I've responded on this thread (this question comes around often). My experience is that I've had no trouble getting Sprite Zero or Coke Zero on any of the 14 Princess cruises I've taken, but I can see that the supply may not be consistent across the fleet, or from one sailing to another.

Hmmm....that's weird about all having cheese. I've had a grilled veggie, BBQ, and tuna salad from IC with no cheese. But it's been a while, like August 2022 on Caribbean Princess. Also, techincally not a sandwich, but avocado toast in the AM.

This photo is giving me vibes from the Canada & Greenland cruise we shared in August 2022. The perpetual foghorns! Still a good cruise. Have a great trip!

That may be true. I was thinking of the Grand class ships since those are the only ones we sail with Princess.

Just so you know, balcony cabins do not have a sofa unless perhaps the suites do. Standard and deluxe balconies only have the one chair at the desk. Hope that makes you feel better about not getting the balcony.

Yes, I would do it. My longest cruise in an interior cabin was 16 nights. No problems. The aft deck was steps from our cabin so I could get fresh air, check the temp/weather, etc.

We've sailed inside, oceanview and balcony. We are sailing the British Isles cruise departing 8/29 for 14 nights in an interior cabin. Because it's such a port intensive cruise, we'd not even have the time to spend on the balcony, so for us it was a no brainer to put the difference in cabin category rates toward 5 days in London precruise. We always get the plus package. It's an indulgence we enjoy and, for us, it's cost effective. Just my two cents.

I also had to log in with my booking number after installing the new app.

We took an Alaskan cruisetour May 2023. It included 2 nights at Princess Fairbanks Lodge, 2 at Princess Denali Lodge and 2 at Princess McKinley Lodge. We added three additional nights in Fairbanks ahead of the cruisetour actually starting. We enjoyed the days prior to the cruisetour when we weren't bound to the tour's schedule. We rented a car and visited North Pole, Running Reindeer Ranch, Museum of the North, Morris Thompson Cultural Center, the large animal research station, the AK pipeline and more before turning in our car the night before the cruisetour began. The lodges were certainly acceptable although our room at Denali was blazing hot as there is no A/C. We were part of the first cruisetour of the season so everything was just opening and not all staff had arrived or been trained for the lodges and restaurants. This led to exceptionally slow service in lodge restaurants. Luckily, in Fairbanks we were able to eat offsite since we had a car. We also walked across the street from the lodge at Denali for lunch one day. We traveled by bus from Fairbanks to Denali and again by bus from Denali to Mount McKinley. We traveled by train from Talkeetna (for McKinley Lodge) to Whittier to board the Sapphire Princess. Our train ride was about 6 hours if I remember correctly. We shared a sandwich and had a couple drinks, chatted with our travel companions, and watched for wildlife/scenery. The portion through Turnagin Arm was absolutely stunning! Would I visit AK again? Absolutely! Would I take a cruisetour again? Not very likely! For us, it was the the inability to do whatever we pleased at our own pace and being held to a specific schedule combined with the slow service which prevented us from being able to do as much as we may have liked. There was also a lot of wait time, especially the last morning before we were taken by bus to the train. If our desire to return to AK outweighs other destinations on our bucket list, I'd absolutely plan it on our own to allow for seeing and doing what we want on our timeframe, which would not include setting luggage out in a hallway by 7 am! Having shared my experience and thought process, I trust fellow forum members will kindly respect my opinion as I try to do for others.

dog, sorry my post was a bit incomplete. We prefer the Grand class ships with huge private aft facing balconies. We have no interest in any ships larger than that class. So, I actually don't know whether Sun has aft facing balconies or not.

That doesn't look very private, which is what I look for in a balcony cabin, so we choose an aft facing. The sound of the wake helps mask the conversations of nearby neighbors.

Once booked, you can use Skymile perks.

In my experience, if a 14 night booking can also be booked as two 7 nights (as in back to back), then the menu does repeat because it's the 7 night menu. When we have had sailings longer than 7 nights that are NOT back to back sailings, then there is a different menu each night. Our longest sailing that was not back to back was 16 nights (in 2022) and I think there may have been some repeat dishes or menus, but it was not the same after 7 nights. Even if the same, there is usually enough variety that it's not an issue. Things may have changed, but this is just my experience.

Thanks for sharing! This was a hot topic a few weeks ago.

I haven't read the responses, having been away for a while, but just ask your cabin attendant for one.

No need to start a meeting, they will be announced in the Platter.

The OP had no cruise experience, so has no idea of the cruise experience. Additionally, has no respect for experienced cruisers who have tried to set expectations.

Might be a challenge since many of us experienced cruisers know that the cabin attendant hangs out under your bed to ensure your cabin is quickly serviced as soon as it's vacated for meals, shore excursion, ship exploration, etc. 🤣 Hope you enjoy your cruise, but based on the info you've shared, I question as to whether this is the best type trip for your group.

We typically don't go to MDR for lunch, but based on my recollection, this menu has more items for lunch that past menus had. I can't imagine cancelling a cruise over a menu, especially since there are so many other options than the MDR, but different people prioritize differently.

Thank you for this email address. I emailed about my booking and was informed that the OBC had been applied on 10/22. It doesn't show on any of my documents from my travel agent, so I wasn't sure whether it had been applied or not. I received the email response about 48 hours after submitting. Thanks, again!

By far, my favorite item on the ship is the broccoli egg bites available at breakfast in the International Cafe! Enjoy!