LynnSD

I usually buy their water special - 12 bottles for $7 (last time I checked.). I think you need to purchase this before you sale. If you are elite I think you can also exchange your bar for waters. That’s in addition to the package. I get sparkling during the day but like regular bottles on hand.

Princess has been our go-to for years, but we tried HAL because they sail from San Diego. Entertainment is important to us, and HAL was sadly lacking. The bands were good but not good enough to be the only thing to do every evening. Daytime activities were non-existent. We liked the variety of dining choices, but only because I booked them in advance. Once onboard there were no times left, and the MDR was overcrowded and unfriendly, with limited choices. So- it’s back to San Pedro and Princess for our local cruises.

My husband is retired Navy and a volunteer docent onboard so it’s a big deal around here! If you start your cruise in San Pedro, they have the battleship USS Iowa there.

Yes, it is the actual ship. It’s a great sight to see. Afterwards you can walk along the Embarcadero, enjoy the views, lots of shops and restaurants.

We always park and wheel our bags to the porters. Unless you’re overloaded you’ll be fine!

I don’t think you can blame Princess for this. I booked our excursions with the vendors, all of them published new pricing in January. I got last year’s prices on all but one….

We now buy a yearly travel policy through Allianz. When we went to Europe regularly I also bought medjet as a “just in case…” I tend to be over-cautious!

Our cruise a few months ago was on Discovery, and I was surprised at how many people were in tuxes and long dresses for formal night. The photographers were doing a booming business too. It was fun people watching. We no longer do that, I wear a sparkly top, and husband a button down shirt, sometimes with sport coat. No reason to be too judgy; there are so many options for dining now.

I have the same problem and could never figure out how to solve it. Now I just use my spouse’s acct for random browsing. When I have a cruise booked I can sign in by using the cruise booking number.

It’s popular among my family members, but most of our flights have been west coast or Hawaii so can’t speak to their cross-country reliability.

Agree with Astoria for the reasons mentioned. Loved the maritime museum and Fort Clatsop. If you’ve never been to a Catalina it’s a good stop. Best thing we did was a walking/ food tour with a local guide; the other excursions are cheesy but fun once! When we stopped at Santa Barbara we always took a wine tour in the Santa Ynez valley; we were already familiar with the town.

Thanks all!

Sorry, it’s kind of a silly question. We end our cruise in Whittier, and I’m planning a car service to take us to the Anchorage airport for a 2:30 flight. Is 8:30 a reasonable time for pick up, or ??

What’s the best time to request pick up by private car for the transfer from Whittier to Anchorage? Thanks.

My travel agent gave me all the princess transfer information when I asked for it. I ended up booking a car through Viator.

I agree that arriving later should save you some frustration. This happened to us earlier this year. We ended up getting lunch at Ketch in the Brigantine restaurant complex a block north of the pier; the line actually extended almost that far. We could watch the line from there, and saved ourselves an hour of standing in the crowd on the sidewalk.

If you want a convenient walk, you can easily go past Midway and walk through Seaport Village.

If you go on your own, it’s best to be there when the zoo opens. Look at the zoo map online to have some idea of your route. We often walk to the back and take the sky buckets to the front. The kangaroo bus is good too. My grandkids enjoy the bus tour, it’s a good overview. I’ve seen zoo passes on Groupon recently so you might want to google that. USS Midway will be right next to your ship. They have a special kids tour that’s very well done.

Thank you!

Princess cruise ends in Whittier. Are there any wildlife cruises or similar activities to be had there? Or should we plan on getting to Seward for a couple of days? thanks.

Following, I’m looking for the same options.

Midway Museum is right next to the pier where your ship will be…

Good to know BecciBoo. I’m looking for 3 rooms for June 24. I might book somewhere else and just keep watching PanPacific prices.

We do a mix of princess and local vendor tours, rarely on our own. Last year in the med, we’d been to the major cities many times before, so we took several Princess tours to local farms. All were very well done — they were family farms with a new generation trying to keep it going, so the stories were interesting. We usually had lunch prepared with home grown ingredients. Added benefit was smaller tour groups and no crowds!

Malibu Farm just opened in Seaport Village too , we haven’t been there yet.