SlyOldLady

October 5, 2016

While you can visit Glacier Bay aboard a Seattle round trip I still think the Vancouver itineray is better because of port times. The usuall Seattle cruise leave Ketchikan very early so they can hightail it around the west side of Vancouver Island to make port in Victoria to satisfy the PVSA. I much prefer the scenic day 6 back to Vancouver port.

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September 22, 2016

Of course there are hundreds of opinions on the best time, room, intinerary...here's one more.

My wife and I have have done this destination every way possible in 15 trips...I think, and our go to itinerary is as follows:

End of season back to back out of BC.

Interior stateroom

Include "in transit excursion" in Whittier

Don't worry about weather, it's Alaska, its supposed to be cold and wet, dress approprietly and enjoy.

The back to back is most important to us because seven days isn't enough time, on day six we're looking forward to a nice side trip to the glaciers instead of packing.

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February 6, 2016

A few years ago we were on a cruise with a smallish group that partied very hard in the main pool area rendering usless for most. Security was called up when it started getting out of hand, but we had fun watching the well lubricated men diving from atop the hottubs to the pool a few yards away, drink in hand. All week we had lounges reserved, areas closed etc. Didn't bother us a bit.

I met one of the gentlmen on another cruise a year later and asked him what the group was all about and how they got away with being so roudy...It was a cop convention...

January 16, 2016

my wife and I loved these two glacier hikes, definitely off the beaten path.

http://www.packerexpeditions.com/skagway-day-tours/laughton-glacier-wilderness-hike-and-white-pass-train/

http://beyondak.com/trips/mendenhall-glacier-trek/

January 14, 2016

I don't have a passport so thats not an option for me. .

Kind of the same thing happened to us. Booked a bon voyage for nephew who didn't have a pssport. The Princess rep said photo ID was enough. You're right, no option in personalizer for that though so we ticked off one of the other options, can't remember which one, which allowed us to print boarding pass, then just showed up with drivers liscense.

January 11, 2016

Heck, not only the door but all the walls are metal too. We take a few magnets to stick important stuff up on the wall so I don't chuck them in the trash with all the rest.

January 2, 2016

Just wondering if the Coral is really worth the bigger price (about $250 more). Cuz really, Alaska is all about the nature and not the ship, right?

I did make a mistake...I thought the Star was doing round trips next year, sorry, looks like they are doing the same itinerary for the most part, my bad. With that in mind I would toss a coin.

January 2, 2016

I'm assuming you have been on the Coral since you are responding to this post. Did you go on the forward and aft facing decks while you were on her? Using these decks made a huge difference to our Alaska cruising experience.

Add to that the indoor pool and the space to passenger ratio and I would say that the Coral is very unlike the other Princess ships I have been on.

To the OP - I would definitely pay the additional fare to sail through Glacier Bay on the Coral again.

We've sailed the Coral and it's sister the Island seven times, LOVED them, then again, we loved all the others as well. Our most memorable Alaskan cruise was on the Dawn Princess which is as different as it gets. It was a favorite not because of the boat but because the force 10 storm we hit just north of Vancouver, we will never forget that adventure.

January 2, 2016

I will have to disagree......
Have you sailed all the Princess ships?

We've sailed on all except the Royal and Caribbean Princess of ships currently in the family. I am sure people have there favorites for one reason or another but to us the difference is in the crew not the vessel. I have also done Alaska a dozen times on seven different ships, I could tell you which was my favorite ship but it would be pointless because it had nothing to do with the vessel and everything to do with the crew and itinerary. Yes, I'm sure some people like the Casino on deck 5 verses 6 or some other quirky difference in boats...thats why I said "in my opinion" in the original reply :)

The main point I was trying to relay was the itinerary trumps everything...again in my opinion :)

January 2, 2016

All Princess ships are identical (as far as I am concerned) however, these two cruises are anything but.

Roundtrip cruises can be easier but the Coral itinerary north or southbound are worth the extra work and money...hands down!

If you have a few extra days to spend in anchorage there are some awesome excursion companies in and around town...go climb a glacier and explore the ice caves...

December 4, 2015

Forgive my lack of intelligence but doesn't allowing passengers to fly home violate pvsa?

November 25, 2015

A funny thing happpened to me in a mid deck elevator aboard the Regal Princess the other day (sounds like the start of a bad joke). For the most part of the cruise everyone was very nice and diplomatic, following general eticate one would follow in public elevators, wait for people to exit first, asking which floor, etc. Commonly the doors would open to find a heavilly crowded box. Everytime someone would say "come on in, we have room for one more" always with a smile. They themselves had been waiting a lifetime on another floor and figured what the heck a little chummier and this person doesn't have to wait anymore. I smile a little more when I see people give up a little comfort to help a stranger.

One day I was one of the "fun box" occupants in a fairly full elevator when the doors opened, a young couple waiting when one of my fellow joy riders said "plenty of room, come on in" as they did another couple in the elevator made a discusting sound and barged out almost knocking people down in the effort. "That is so rude to cram into a full elevator like that" the wife exclaimed as she was trudging away.

Made me stop and think...she had a point, or did she. I guess it is sort of rude, but at the same time I think its rude not to give up a little comfort to help a fellow passenger.

November 19, 2015

Having cruised Alaska a dozen times with Princess, taking every route offered on every ship they've sent to the region, I can honestly say that the least of my concerns is what ship to go on, theyre all great. My personal concerns are the route and times in the ports. My personal favorite would be Vancouver based cruises over Seattle with scenic cruising in Glacier Bay. For a real treat try linking two seven day Vancouver/Anchorage voyages together, slightly different routes with different times in each port.

Sorry if I got off question but when I think about which ship is my favorite I keep realizing it has more to do with the staff and crew aboard at the time, the physical structures of all the ships are, in my opinion, the same.

September 23, 2015

I got the credit on an upcoming cruise. A few weeks after I paid it of I got credit for no reason. Called them up about something unrelated and asked about the credit, yup, casino credit...too funny because I've only used the casino to pull money out of my portfolio.

August 3, 2015

looks like they have "upgraded" the whole page now. after experimenting a bit I find clearing my computers cache useless. the only way to view flights for me is to log out and check anonymously. I think I will take it out on my firms own IT man!

August 2, 2015

Try emptying your browser cache and try again.

That's what I have to do every time, just makes it harder to check prices. Not the end off the world but I think they should change the name from "flexible air" to "kinda flexible if you try hard enough"

July 31, 2015

I have flexible air booked through Princess and, as I've always done, check from time to time to see how the fares are looking. Last week I re-fared the air for $165 savings, same flights. Now when I try the same, right after I select the airport of origin the next screen won't show any flights. Thinking this another webpage glitch I waited a few days...same thing. Today I went back using an incognito window and all is well. Could this be a new way to tell me I shouldn't be trying to save money?

January 9, 2015

We've done a few ta's. Both sound great, as a matter of fact we've been looking at these as well. I couldn't care less about which boat to take as they are all great. We look at price and itnerary. Look carefully at the excursions available in each. On a side note we accually like westbound trips more. We get the major flying out of the way early. Getting to port many days early to explore. On the eastbound trips the days are shorter so we found ourselves getting up late everyday, don't think we even made breakfast! Fwiw enjoy your ta wherever it is, they are the best cruises to take.