CruisinAg

One thing to note with balconies on deck 6 of Quantum class is these will likely have at least a partial obstruction to your view based on the life boats that hang above deck 5. As I'm not a smoker I don't really pay much attention to which side of the ship is the "smoking" side but if it's an issue for you, consider that the smoking area on Deck 5 may be just below your balcony. 

I agree with Biker, the noise you'll probably get will be people leaving the show via that back door to 270 up on deck 6 and coming down your hallway. 

I've done several 4 and 5 night cruises solo and loved them. I'm about to embark on my longest yet, 9 nights onboard with 1 night pre-cruise and 2 night post-cruise hotel stays. Really looking forward to it.  As others have said you can set your own schedule and then change it at the last second if the mood strikes. While I enjoy eating in the main dining room when I'm part of a group, on my solo trips I'll usually just hit the windjammer so I can get in and out. It is what you make of it. Everyone else is on vacation and generally in a great mood so it's easy to strike up conversation if that's what you want, but also easy to find some peace and quiet and just take in your surroundings if that's what you want as well. 

I'll be onboard as well. Arriving in Honolulu 4/29 after a few days in Vegas on the way out. (Ya know, 9th island, and all ;)) 

The NS has lots of free times that you'll be able to book once you're on board and connected to the ship's wifi, same with the skydive simulator. The ones for sale on the cruise planner are the "extended" experience which is a longer time and sometimes extends over the side of the ship whereas the free one typically just goes straight up and down.

Thanks for the review! I was on this sailing as well. Looks like much fun (and ice cream) was had.

14 hours ago, Chasep17 said:

Hey thanks! Yeah, sorry, took a little longer this time. Life happens, then you get caught up!

Alaska was beautiful, though, right?!

No need to apologize. It was worth the wait!

Yeah Alaska was phenomenal. You always hear that "pics just don't do it justice" and having experienced it, I'll definitely agree. Like you, we had near perfect weather while there in September. The only day I had to break out my rain poncho was in Ketchikan, and that was only for like 10 minutes. We were able to see the Northern Lights in Fairbanks, and were able to glimpse Denali 3 days in a row! I bet Ovation was really great for Alaska. We did Anthem for NE/Canada and that class of ship was perfect for that itinerary. 

Love your vids. I was anticipating this one for awhile and it didn't disappoint! Your crew definitely knows how to have a blast. 

We did Alaska last summer as well, but it was much more subdued than your trip.

It's hard to recommend not knowing you or your tastes. I would say, go to one of the cocktail bars and ask them to make one for you. They'll ask you what you like and can make recommendations based on that. I've had very good drinks made by bartenders by just asking them to surprise me with a bourbon drink. It's been my experience that the bartenders like experimenting and trying to develop new drinks.

It just depends on the cruise for me. If I'm flying and am already packing a lot of clothes like on Alaska or the east coast then I probably won't also pack a suit. If we're driving to the port and going out of Galveston then I'm more likely to. 

My upcoming trip is with a bunch of my nieces and nephews who have never cruised before and we're celebrating their graduations. We're driving to the port. Most of us don't ever dress up at home so it's a good excuse to. Plus I'm sure my parents, their grandparents will want pics with everyone. I doubt they'll all be suited/gowned out but a little nicer than normal. 

Your teens may be in the minority, but with 5k people on board I'm confident in saying they won't be the ONLY ones dressed up. If they enjoy it, then go for it. They can always go back and change into comfy clothes after dinner. 

Just had a stay at the Westin Bayshore and would stay there again. It was nice and our room had a great view of the harbor. It's right on the doorstep of Stanley Park. 

I was on the Royal southbound last week. This was my first princess and first land tour as well. We did the land first but I would strongly suggest looking at doing your land tour through Princess. They made it so easy for us. Meeting us at baggage claim, taking our luggage and letting us know where to go. Our packet included our room keys so we just went straight to the room upon arriving at the lodge. Same on the bus to Denali, we stopped just outside the lodge, received a welcome packet that had our room key, no line to "check in". The best part was when riding the train from Denali to Whittier we stopped in Anchorage where customs agents came on and scanned our passport in and checked us into the cruise, once at the terminal we went through security and straight to the ship and straight to the room, with our medallions unlocking the door on arrival. Couldn't have been smoother. 

As for obstructions. I was in a midship balcony on deck 10 and I'd say you're probably unobstructed anywhere from deck 8 and above. As for movement, there was very little when traveling between the ports since you're so close to land most of the time. 

anyone know how the late upgrade effects the Medallion? I received my Medallion last week and I'm assumed it's programed with my old room. Wonder if it that gets updated or will that require a trip to guest services before being able to access my room? Guess I can look on the app and see what/if it shows.

33 minutes ago, Grammyluvs said:

Sounds like you may be on the Caribe with the larger balconies and partially uncovered. What an upgrade.Enjoy

Yes, it's the Caribe deck midship. 

23 minutes ago, MsSoCalCruiser said:

 Congratulations! What ship will you be on? I’m about to go on cruise number 16 and I’ve never received a complementary upgrade. This is a huge deal !!!

This is the Royal Princess. Believe me, I'm really appreciative and intend to fully enjoy it. Now if the luck will just carry over to the casino 😉 

1 hour ago, 8dimsum said:

TA notification that Princess is offering a $$/pp upgrade for our next cruise:  inside to a balcony -- not a deal because we are on a B2B 4 + 3 day cruise.  Will wait and see if  Princess will comp us with an upgrade.

Same here, I passed on the offer to pay for an upgrade thinking that I'm a quick flight of stairs away from the Lido and if I want a balcony experience I can always go to my parents' cabin. All the while thinking if they upgrade me at the pier I'll take it. Then got the email today!! 

Thanks everyone. I'm really excited. Good thing I don't have much on my plate tomorrow because I'm going to be pretty worthless at work! 

Wow, I can't believe it! Just received and email with a  complimentary upgrade to a balcony for my first ever Princess cruise and first ever Alaskan trip. Because I was going solo, tagging along with family on the cruise tour, I went with an inside room and was happy enough with the location, deck 15 one deck below the Lido deck that I passed on paying $140 a month or so ago to upgrade to a balcony. Then today, I just checked my email while fighting through the next to last day of work before vacation, and boom complimentary upgrade to deck 10 balcony, starboard side mid-ship right by the elevator!! 

Now I'm REALLY excited. 

Good plan, thank you. Since we're doing southbound our first 2 days are both "scenic cruising" days so I'll need to scout out a spot early. I'm staying in an inside only one deck below the pool deck so that might be faster. Also have family who have balcony cabins but I really like the idea of being lower and closer to the water for picture taking. 

Just a quick question about your "secret spot" on the Royal.... I'm guessing you were on the lower promenade deck? Deck 5? How crowded was it down there vs. up on the higher decks? I'm thinking the lower prom deck would be a better angle to take pics from. 

Wow, what a trip. Can't wait to see the rest. I'm about 30 days out from my first Alaska sailing on the Royal Princess so will follow along. Amazing pics! 

Enjoy your cruise! Absolutely loved the itinerary and the ship. 270 is an absolute amazing venue.

Not an excursion but if you're a baseball fan, grabbing an Uber at the port and going to Fenway is a must. If you can take a tour. It was worth it! Not sure if they're at home while you're there as that would limit the tour times and probably the areas you have access to.

In Bar Harbor we did the Acadia National Park bus tour which stops for a full lobster lunch. It was delicious, although the day we went the weather was pretty overcast so we didn't get to see as much of the park as we would've liked.

Halifax and St. John are both good walking cities. There's a brewery right across the street from the cruise terminal in Halifax that has good beer.

I did the NE/Canada route on Anthem but I think it depends on your style of cruising as to whether you'd enjoy a smaller ship just as much. The itinerary is great and the ports are cool. Was fun going somewhere other than the Caribbean for me. Personally, I like the large ships because I like the options available but in reality I don't do shows and I don't need water slides, flow riders, bumper cars etc.... everything I did on the Anthem I could've done on a smaller ship (save going up in the North Star). I don't feel like it would've lessened my experience at all to have been on a smaller ship. Of course, everyone cruises differently.

As for the seas, I went expecting it was going to be rough. But we had by far the smoothest sailing I've ever been on.

Did it last October. It was my first cruise outside of the Caribbean I absolutely loved it. I was worried about the rough seas that I've read about but don't know if we were just lucky or what but it was maybe the smoothest cruise I've ever been on. We also got hit by fog in Bar Harbor so didn't get to see as much as I would've hoped but was still a really cool, New England town. Boston was great.... finally got to see Fenway Park! One of the biggest surprises for me was St. John. Didn't appear to be much to do outside of the reversing falls and the indoor market but it's a really cool city with very steep hills (like a mini-San Francisco) and some great Irish Pubs and there's a place right across the street from the pier that had probably the best lobster roll I had on the entire trip. Weather for us was really nice - our only really cool day was Halifax but that was mainly due to a pretty stiff wind which made it feel worse than it was. Got treated to some really incredible sunsets as well.

The only one I've done is in October but I was concerned having never cruised the North Atlantic. Turned out it was some of the smoothest sailing that I've ever experienced. These modern ships are pretty good about avoiding storms though.

Absolutely beautiful trip though!

Did it in October and absolutely loved it. Not a pool or beach person so it was great for me. Had a lobster roll in just about every port. ;p

We did the trolley tour of Boston, entertaining and informative way to quickly see a lot of the historical sights. After, I went and took a tour of Fenway Park on my own.

Bar Harbor we did the bus tour of Acadia which included a full lobster lunch.

Portland we went to the Portland Headlight lighthouse. Really great photo opps.

Going into it we didn't plan excursions for the Canada stops as it looked like there really wasn't much to see/do at either. Halifax was neat with the shops and restaurants along the boardwalk (neat brewery across the street from the cruise terminal that served inexpensive flights) leaving from the pier and St. John was a big surprise. Really charming city with steep hills and cool architecture. Had probably the best lobster roll of the trip right across the street from the cruise terminal at Steamers, then hung out at a couple irish pubs for the day and did some walking around.

Was my first time on a Quantum class ship and it's a definite different experience than Oasis class and can feel a little more crowded at times in the Esplanade, but I really enjoyed it. 270 is an amazing room and a highlight, also really enjoyed Music Hall. The iFly, NorthStar and SeaPlex are such unique experiences.

I've yet to be on Symphony but as someone who has sailed Oasis, Allure and Anthem I think it boils down to what you want in a cruise. You mentioned younger couple without kids and seeing NYC is a bonus, I'd recommend Anthem.

My Anthem cruise ranks among my favorites (partly because of the itinerary being a NE/Canada trip) but also because we did 2 1/2 days prior in NYC. Now that's not a lot of time to see everything you might want to see but having been there before I knew there were a few things I wanted to show the first timers in our group and everyone had a great time (even those that were skeptical they'd enjoy it as much as they did). It also made for a relaxing day on embarkation day since we didn't have to deal with flying in (from Texas) day of. Just got up at a normal time, had breakfast and hopped in an Uber from mid-town Manhattan out to Jersey and was on board by like 1 pm.

As for the ship, yes the design of it does lead to some bottlenecks because it doesn't have the wide expanse of the Royal Promenade like Oasis class. But I really enjoyed the décor (seemed a little more upscale) and 270 is my favorite venue of any ship I've been on. It's an amazing space! Also I really enjoyed the Music Hall and the cover band. Because of the October Canada/NE sailing I enjoyed the different options of pool areas depending on the weather that day ... cool (outdoor), comfy (indoor) and warm (solarium) ... I imagine on a Caribbean sailing though the solarium would be crazy hot.

The North Star is also a great unique perspective of the ship whether you do it while in port or while underway (as we did) the views and picture opportunities are unlike anything else you could do at sea.

I also really love Oasis Class but with that said, I see that you're going on Oasis in 2 weeks so Symphony will be very similar just with a few newer bells and whistles. I say give it a few days and if you're in love with the experience then book Symphony and try Anthem later.

Not really a food truck in the usual sense. There's a hot dog stand in a space made to look like a food truck. If you've been on Allure or Oasis it's the same choices as the Hot Dog place on the boardwalk. On Anthem, it's inside, in a corner of the Sea Plex and the hot dogs are pretty tasty. I had a bratwurst with grilled onions and peppers on my cruise and enjoyed it.