cdngrl

deleted post. sorry.

We are on the same ship!

join us on the roll call:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=56596730#post56596730

oh, and here is the alaska port of call board:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=55

lots of information there!

here is your roll call:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2618187

have a wonderful cruise!

That has happened to us as Canadians several times. If we buy in CAD$ we can not use them when booking through a US TA and vice versa. However, what they have done for us on at least two occasions is refund the FCD and repurchase another one for us on the same card. This was through my TA and I don't know how she did it.

 

Sarah

you can use your canadian fcd to purchase through a US travel agent. however the agent must give you canadian pricing which they are able to do.

on occasion, i have wanted to book in usd and my agent was also able to get my $CAD fcd coverted to USD for the additional exchange rate of the day.

the op wants to use the australian fcd to book in US. it can't, global economy or not, princess won't allow it and its their game, their rules. ask your TA if they can convert your FCD to USD.

If the FCD is in AUD then it's to be used on a cruise paid for in AUD. It doesn't matter where the cruise is. Also how is an US TA which sells cruises in US$ use and FCD in AUD...

 

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i think what you wrote may be closer to whats happened.

if the op bought $AUD FCDs, they have to book in australian dollars which a north american TA can't do.

i have $CAD FCDs and i must book in canadian with them. the only difference is that i am allowed to use a US travel agent who can charge me in canadian. i imagine they don't have access to book in australian dollars.

in juneau, i did the harv and marv tour:

https://www.harvandmarvs-alaska-whale-watching.com/

my captain was steve who has now gone out on his own:

https://www.alaskahumpbackadventures.com/

OP indicated late May so they will get the late sunset as you indicated.

and butchart is only open until 5pm in may. i'm not sure how we got sidetracked there.

i checked out the sale today too. the cruise i am following had the time away sale on yesterday (up to 35% off). today with the sun drenched deals that same cruise (up to 40% off) is the exact same price.

GAH! After visiting the gardens during the day it sounded like it would be great to see them at night. I'm quite disappointed to hear your report but grateful to know in advance that my previous plan may well not be a good plan at all.

i disagree with rockdoctor too, but its all about what your expectations are.

the night illumination is more about the lights than the flowers. there are no giant halogen lights illuminating your way, but the coloured lights on the leaves and the pathways are pretty.

if you've seen the gardens in the daytime already, i wouldn't make a special trip to see them at night unless you are there on a saturday to see the fireworks. in which case you are most likely at the gardens in the evening from before dark to late night.

the pacific princess buffet is quite small but the three times i've been on her, the food has been exceptional.

plus it has the lovely outdoor seating area off the back.

i can't remember what it is i saw now, but the same 'website blinked' thing happened to me a few weeks ago.

i was interested to see something there and then it was gone.

Does anyone know how Prepaid Gratuities are handled. I once read where a passenger reported that their extra tips were required to be put in the pool because Prepaid Gratuities don’t count the same as normally paid gratuities. On our last cruise with the Prepaid Gratuity promotion ( 3 for free) I did notice that there was not any daily gratuity charge. In the past I thought that Prepaid Gratuities showed up as a credit at the beginning of the cruise and then there was a daily charge on my account for the Gratuities?? Just looking at my final bill it appeared that I had not paid Gratuities.

i noticed this year that if gratuities are prepaid they don't show as a credit or debit on the statement. i like how uncluttered this makes it--much easier to see everything else i've spent on board.

i can't remember where mine showed up when i did this. try in the personalizer in your booking, look at the 'boarding pass and travel summary' and see if it shows up in the travel summary.

Thanks for the suggestions. Cdngrl, is the bcaa insurance as a top-up to the Princess coverage?

 

Theo

 

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i am buying the regular medical in addition to princess' insurance.

last year i got tonsillitis on a cruise. for that, princess insurance was fine (and paid out quickly and easily). so for a minor ailment or illness, i'd use princess.

heaven forbid something more serious happens that requires hospitalization in the US for instance-- princess' platinum coverage with its $20,000 maximum isn't going to last long. i'd use the bcaa insurance for something like that.

their 'unstable pre-existing' coverage only has a 7 day look back period.

i researched other insurers: rbc was consistently more expensive. travelguard and a few others had too long of a look back or needed to be purchased right away.

i needed pre-existing coverage (because (and how stupid is this?) my doctor took me off of a medication) and most of the others require you to purchase shortly after depositing on the trip. i put my deposit down weeks ago so that was not an option for me.

its sure hard to wade through the boring policies filled with legalese. i really hope i don't need to use the insurance!

mine showed up in my travel summary just before sailing.

bcaa does have coverage for unstable pre-existing conditions. i had a medication change recently so wanted to get this coverage. it was only about $1 a day. i'm getting this on top of princess' insurance because of princess' low medical amounts.

its funny, i'm not at all interested in flowers or gardens yet i love butchart! its a beautiful place for a stroll, watch the fountains, have a picnic, get some gelato, ride the rose carousel (adults too-it goes FAST! in the summer there are free concerts every day with fireworks every saturday along with the night illumination. its a special place.

you are most welcome dott. i love the inside passage route; you will have a great time.

Really appreciate all the suggestions for Victoria. We will be there late May in 2019 so still some sunlight.

Does anyone know which terminal Ruby will be docking at? Have read the walk into town is 15-45 minutes depending on how fast we can walk in the dark back to the ship.

Would love to get some chocolate creams at Rogers, had given up hope they would be closed by 7pm. That would give this visit an extra bonus.

you will dock at ogden point which is off dallas road next to the breakwater.

princess does have a shuttle to government street if you wanted to do that either coming, going or both. there are also taxis. no uber or lyft allowed here yet.

butchart gardens is only open until 5pm in May. for any other time, its one excursion i'd take with the cruise line because of your short time in port.

late May it will be light until 9:15-9:30 or so.

very few ballgown type dresses are seen anymore. cocktail is good for formal night. my daughter wears long dresses because she loves to dress up. sometimes i wear longish ones too but its because i'm short. hahaha!

i feel like the second formal night is more dressy. its the one i break out the long black skirt and the pearls. i wear a cocktail dress for the first formal night.

walk to fisherman's wharf to see the seals. from there get a harbour ferry to the inner harbour.

take a walk, a taxi, shuttle or carriage ride to the inner harbour. the buskers will still be there and they're usually really entertaining.

there are lot of funky pubs and restaurants, some with live music.

do take a walk up government, there will be some shops open. Rogers chocolates is open until 10. a quick google search showed some tourist shops open until 11pm.

if you're here on a friday or saturday the provincial museum is open until 10pm.

the empress may not be serving tea but you can still walk through it.

what are the princess tours doing? those places will all be open.

i had to google TL DR (too long didn't read)... well, i did read and i thought it was very balanced.

i have quite a few princess cruises and i've done one royal caribbean with 3 generations of family.

royal was okay. i'd go again with family. they loved the flowrider and the kids program was wonderful.

i was on an older smaller ship (explorer) and i thought the buffet was better than princess. they had a kids section which was perfect and a vegetarian section (i'm not a vegetarian but liked the idea).

the staff was outstanding.

i don't like the idea of getting a set time to see a show.

i agree that it was okay and i wouldn't rule it out but princess is still my first choice when i go on my own.

maybe ask this question on a roll call for the pacific that is either sailing right now or coming up?

i was on the pacific last year so the bands and type of music have certainly changed.

i hope you have a fun cruise dancing the night away!

princess' on-line booking is refundable unless a pop up box tells you otherwise.

not having a clue how many MB i'd be using checking email, facebook, messenger once or twice a day; i wonder if there is an alert that you are nearing your daily limit?