Jasperdo

Goody, goody, goody. My calendar said to look for your Regal Princess review, and I always do what my calendar says. I'm so looking forward to another Norris review. Especially since I don't have any cruises planned. (Although we did take a nice 2 week road trip last month to make up for that.) Judging from your daily itinerary photos above, it looks like you had some decent weather. I'm very interested in your thoughts on the Regal, since I know there were an number of things about that class of ship you didn't care for. But no rush. I'll savor your review as it progresses.

Just back from an incredible 24 day cruise in Europe which delayed my photos for this cruise. Back to business!:D

What ship was that on? I don't want to miss the review when you post it. I'm still really enjoying your photos from this cruise. These are places I'll never get to visit, and it feels like I'm there through your pictures.

Excellent photos. Looking forward to the rest of the review. The Ruby is a beautiful ship.

Oh dear. One of the reasons my husband wanted to cruise Princess again was his recollection (not sure which ship) of there being a deck you could walk all the way around to the very "point" (sorry, I am not very nautical) of the front of the ship. I am not sure if this is what you are referring to but he will be very sad if we can't do this!

The OP was asking about upper deck access to the front of the ship. The deck your husband is referring to is Promenade Deck 7. You can walk all the way around the ship on that deck, but you need to climb some stairs to do it. Here are a few photos, one from all the way in front of the ship on Promenade Deck and one of the stairs you need to climb to get there:

 

 

Jasperdo Thanks for sharing great photos.

Tony

You're welcome. Glad you liked them.

On my Ruby Princess sailing, the above the bridge deck wasn't open at all the entire trip. The only upper deck bow access was on Deck 16 (Sun Deck), on either side of the Tradewinds Bar. Here are a few photos that show it:

 

 

 

 

As others have said, the Golden Princess only has a few uncomfortable benches scattered around Promenade Deck.It's one of the few things I don't like about the Golden. Here are a few photos:

 

 

For what it's worth, we did the 7-day Mexican Riviera on the Ruby out of LA in February, and the first formal night was the second sea day. Other cruisers reported similar on their 7-day/Mexico/Ruby sailings, so it did seem to be a pattern.

This happened to me as well on a 10 day Sea of Cortez Ruby Princess cruise out of Los Angeles. The formal night was the second sea day, not the first. I was really surprised to see that.

Be sure and drop your Aunt and Uncle off BEFORE you enter the pay parking area. Loop around the outer rim road to the terminal, drop them off, then enter the pay parking lot. If you get there around 10 or 10:30 AM you should be able to park fairly close to the ship. Passengers from the last cruise will be leaving, and most of the arriving passengers haven't gotten there yet. We've been able to park fairly close this way.

My wife and I cruised along the Na Pali Coast onboard the Golden Princess back in 2011. Unfortunately, that was because we couldn't dock at Nawiliwili due to high winds. The Captain circled Kauai instead:

 

Thanks for the input.

I'd love to see a Princess Patter from a RT CA to HI cruise. Think I'll do a search.

It's a few years old now, but I have scanned the Patters for the 15 day Hawaii cruise on the Star Princess out of Los Angeles. Elua were on that sailing, so much of what they did on my sailing would still be relevant. You'll find a link to that Patter below in my signature.

Here are a few photos of what the Patters look like on Princess @ Sea:

 

 

 

This is what the soft serve ice cream station looks like on the Ruby Princess. The line is for the ice cream. To the right of that is where you can get free slices on New York style pizza:

 

This is what the outlet by the desk looks like. It's pretty cramped:

 

Hi Scott,

I noticed your other thread was taken down. So glad to see you starting another one. I hope this one is allowed to stay. Your videos are so informative and entertaining. I've been keeping up with them on your You Tube Channel.

John

Great shots.

Thanks. I wasn't able to get a photo of the Park Rangers leaving the ship because I was on an upper deck and the Park Service vessel was flush up against the ship and out of my view.

I'd love to see this, and will probably have the opportunity (we are usually up in time for sunrise). Where on the ship would we look for it? Do they hop on at the tender doors? Swing onto the Lido Deck from a Tarzan rope?

Here are a few photos I took of the Park Service boat returning to pick up the Park Rangers after our day in Glacier Bay, and take them back to Bartlett Cove. A lot of people were out on the balconies watching, and many of them called out "Thank You" as the Rangers sailed away. It was quite nice:

 

 

3) what are blue bags that there were none of?

It is a small tote bag that is left in your cabin one evening:

Thank you for a very interesting review. I followed your Explorer of the Seas review last year because we were going on the 8 day Pacific Coastal that September. I found that one a great help, especially all the wonderful photos you took of the ship. This one was just as good. Thanks.

For those of you that do this, how do you deal with airfare? I am assuming you pay a premium booking 30 days or less as the rates seem to get more expensive inside of 12 weeks or so....

We live on the West Coast and look for deals that leave from there. Then we just drive to the port. The one time we did need airfare was when we found a terrific price on a 15 day Panama Canal cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Los Angeles. We just needed to get a one way flight to Florida and cruised back to the car. And we lucked out and got a decent price on the airfare, too.

I do it all the time now that I'm retired. All of our recent cruises have cost between $50 and $60 per person, per day, because I can book last minute.

Thanks. I have a wireless printer that has scanner capability. Jill is my techie and she is due back from California Friday so I will have her show me how to do that.

 

Thanks again,

 

Jack

No problem. And if you don't want to individually put each page in this thread, you can just put them into an Album on Flickr and post a link to that here in the thread. That's what I do with the "Dailies" that I scan. You can see how it looks in my signature below. I have links to most of the Dailies from our cruises.

 

BTW, I just wanted to say how much I'm enjoying your photos. This is a cruise I'll never get to take, and your photos are just like I'm there. Much appreciated.

Excellent review so far. Looking forward to the rest. The Star Princess is my favorite Princess ship.

I think I still have most of the dailies stashed in my desk somewhere. I am not sure how to post them, but if there is a way I will be more than happy to do so.

 

Jack

If you have a scanner, just scan them and put them up on your Flickr site. Then you can add them here just like photos.

Skywalkers is a great suggestion, but be aware that it is a late night disco with recorded music. Nothing live. If you're interested in live music there is almost always a house band that play in the Explorers Lounge and sometimes in Club Fusion. There will also be live music in the Wheelhouse Bar with a different band. Check the daily Princess Patter (which you will get in your cabin every evening) for the times and locations of the live bands.