Cruiserkenn

On other grand class ships (I know for sure the Sapphire and the Star) the balcony is much more narrow for the Emerald deck Vista suites. I believe this would also be the case on the Ruby. The narrower balcony is still nice, but if there was a choice, I would take Dolphin deck for the more spacious balcony.

Bon voyage :)

:D Another classic Iron Bowl!

Yes, a great game! Carolina Cruisr is right about Nick Sabin wanting that last second back :)

Bon voyage, all :)

Wow, Beannie, thanks for the great pics!

Lido deck pizza has been great on recent cruises, on both the Golden and the Sapphire.

Alfredo's on the Sapphire is fab!

Bon appetit! :)

Don't have my laptop with me but here are some pictures of a Vista Suite on Golden Princess to give you an idea.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1803814

Thanks for the great pics of the Vista Suite on Golden Princess. I loved the Vista Suite on the Golden. Thanks so much.

PS WarEagle76 - kidding you about "Roll Tide!" turned out to not be such a good idea. What a game by Auburn!

Thanks for the info. It is just a short cruise but thought it was a win win. 5 days of nothing to do but enjoy the suite and Princess gives us FCC for the amount of the cruise.

 

You have been helpfull but I just cannot help myself.;) Please do not take offense. Roll Tide!

I love the Dolphin deck Vista Suites, and I especially love the special room service from the dining room menu.

Really fun and funny about "Roll Tide!". Thanks WarEagle76 for taking it well:)

For me, it is wonderful that suite passengers can order from the main dining room menu for room service. This has therefore allowed for wonderful meals on the balcony. For me, this is better than dining at the Eiffel Tower or the Tour 'd Argent.

This perk doesn't send everyone, but for me it is fantastic. Special room service meals while viewing the wonders of Tracy Arm, Snow Pass, and the Lynn Canal are experiences beyond belief.

To each his own, of course.

Bon. Voyage and Bon appetit :) :) :)

Yes, true, they are busy. Safety first. But it does seem that one officer could have responded to the invitations, for the group, and apologized for being busy with their duties. The head of HR and the hotel manager are officers, with uniforms, and perhaps one of them could have done it, if they had been asked to do so.

Who was the Captain on this cruise? I just know in my heart that Captain Dino Sagani would have responded in some way, if he was aware of the situation.

Thanks, WendyG, for your posting, and thanks to all, for your thoughts.

Peace to you all during this holiday season:)

I spent 12 years being the travel companion for my beloved brother who was in a wheelchair/scooter/cane, paralyzed on one side and speech virtually gone from a stroke. Nobody ever expected him to make a life after his stroke, but he was determined and unbelievably cheerful under the circumstances.

 

I observed that he had to use enormous reserves of determination to do the things the rest of us take for grated. Sometimes he miscalculated - bumped into someone, brushed past too close or otherwise. Often because he was making such a mammoth effort to climb that stair, climb onto that elevator, he did not notice a person nearby.

 

Never again will I judge the elderly who are not letting their disabilities - visible or invisible - keep them cooped up and unhappy. There but for the grace of God....

Well said, Liz54. Thanks.

I've often put my hands on people who I thought were going to bump into me to either steady them or let them know I was there...the audacity of my hands is no worse than the audacity of a careless bump.

 

As for everything else, I think rudeness would have to assume there was malice in the act. These could have all been accidents.

Yes, good point about accidents.

I am especially wondering about the circumstances of the ping pong ball (being an avid ping pong player myself, and one time college dorm champion:). Smile :)

Another vote for the Coral and Island (we've booked a B2B on the Island for next summer - yum!). In addition to loving the ship configuration, wonderful promenade deck, horizon court buffet at the front of the ship for great viewing and the public aft decks, and spectacular views as you sail the inside passage out of/into Vancouver (whew!), we like that the Island sail away in 2014 is on a Wednesday, which means we're not competing with so many ships in some of the ports. Did I mention the on-board naturalist giving commentary on what you're seeing throughout the cruise, and then there are the Park Rangers that come on board in Glacier Bay with informational programs plus a nice display area in the Horizon Court?

 

One useful resource is this site which identifies the ships in port, which might be helpful when deciding between cruises: http://www.claalaska.com/schedules.html. If that link doesn't work, google "Schedules - Cruise Line Agencies of Alaska"

 

Here's another wonderful site that Tom O put together giving you a nice view of the balcony configuration of these ships. It's also one of our favorite references when selecting a room.

http://mysite.verizon.net/res76zxu/princessbalconies/index.html

 

Have a lovely cruise - Alaska is one of our favorite itineraries and we've never had a bad time, even when it rains! :)

Thanks for this great posting on Alaska cruises. Thanks for mentioning the nice promenade decks. These wonderful promenade decks make it possible to enjoy the Alaska scenery, even if it rains (thanks for mentioning the rains).

I agree that the Coral and Island are wonderful. Please know that if the convenience of Seattle beckons, great Alaska cruises are also available on the Golden. This ship also has a nice promenade deck.

Go on an Alaska cruise, for sure:)

I have used the weights with no fee involved.

If you could chose any Princess cruise itinerary between 10 an 21 days which one(s) would you chose and why?

 

 

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Hawaii, RT from LA 15 days. Hawaii is gorgeous. The whales in Maui are fabulously awesome. Summit of Mauna Kea is an amazing sight. The movies made in Kauai tour is fascinating. Pearl Harbor and the battleship USS Missouri are lifetime experiences.

The lectures on the many sea days are so interesting.

The sea days are restful.

All of this is available from LA. Long flights to Europe and Asia aren't required:)

A big THANK YOU to Princess for making these changes. People who doubt the importance of the opinions voiced on this board, (whether or not the one complaining has been on the ship), are crazy. This is the single most important website for CRITIC-izing the industry and the industry pays attention and reacts. Sorry if the complaints and opinions of members here have come off as "whining". But when you order your cocktail at the aft bar and lounge in the aft pool, and then stroll the Promenade after dinner, you can raise your glass to the whiners. And while it may be too late for Regal, I'll bet you never see another ship without a cental staircase, thanks to the whiners.

Special thanks to you, JimmyVWine, for leading the way with eloquence and in defense of free speech. Thanks so much.

You have a couple of options for that evening.

 

1. You tell your table mates and head waiter that you are on a late excursion and will not be there for dinner.

 

2. You ask if it will be okay to arrive late.

 

3. Other options for your meal that night:

a) buffet

b) anytime dining

c) Trident Grill for burgers and fries or to the pizza place there for pizza

d) If your ship has an Adagio's you could eat there.

e) International Cafe

f) Sabatini's

g) Steak house that is on your ship

h) Room service

 

 

You will never be without food on a Princess cruise! The problem is choosing one!

 

Enjoy your cruise and don't worry!

Great summary! I like buffet + and/or pizza under these circumstances, but there are many choices. Enjoy!

Check out the latest Princess Cruises news from Cruise Critic:

 

Princess Cruises to Tweak Regal Princess Design

This is just the best news:) Thanks so very much:)

I should say thanks to Laura and Princess, as well as all of the Cruise Critic members who expressed the real concerns so eloquently.

The Princess website has one that ends at downtown Vancouver hotels.

Most of the hotels are close to the pier, some even right across the street.

Check it out! This would work. Try Cruise Personalizer, but if no luck, I think the shore excursions desk onboard will have something for you.

Fun in Vancouver is also attainable on your own. Do something great in Vancouver, a fantastic place.

Bon voyage:)

Yes, sometimes shore excursions for the port city are even listed on

Cruise Personalizer. It worked that way for me in Whittier, when Whittier was my B2B turnaround port.

Changes being made to the new Regal Princess.

 

Was lucky to tour the Royal Princess in St Martin last week.

The higher up at Princess told us that they have been listening and are making changes to the Regal.

 

The "aft" pool is coming back and also there will be a Promenade deck. There are also going to be some small changes to the Piazza.

The balconies will remain the same as will the "lack" of stairs in the Atrium.

 

I was very impressed with the Royal and loved the skywalk. I noticed that you can't see into the cabins below just the balconies, which to me is no different than other ships. I do miss the larger Caribe balconies.

Talking to lots of people on board they all loved the new larger showers.

 

I'm glad that Princess has been listening to everybody and is making these great changes:)

Wonderful news:). Thanks for posting:)

The Emerald deck minis are wonderful. Lucky you!

Enjoy and Bon voyage :)

The minis on Emerald deck 8 are covered and much more private. They are super.

The minis on Dolphin deck are open, so people can look down on you from higher decks. If you like private, the Emerald deck is great.

Go for it!

FYI, the "in room movies" were pretty much the same. The only movie we watched on MUTS was "Now You See Me", which wasn't bad... we had never heard of it, but there were some big name actors, so we decided to give it a go... we had fun!!

 

As a side note, we were eating at one of the tables to the side of the MUTS pool when the James Brown concert came on. DH and I both commented on what an odd choice of concerts, and not 10 minutes later they had switched over to the tranquil nature films with accompanying background music. I guess someone had second thoughts!

 

Peg

I agree that "Now You See Me" is fantastic! Saw it on MUTS and in the room on both the Sapphire and the Golden. Give it a go! Thumbs up:)

Good job Julie! Here is a list compiled by CNN of places to donate. http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/09/world/iyw-how-to-help-typhoon-haiyan/index.html

Thanks so much, Carolyn R. Very very helpful.

Yes, Julieh, well said and thanks so much for posting :)

Have it marked no upgrade for sure. They moved me from one of those great Emerald deck minis to an uncovered Dolphin deck mini. They considered it an upgrade.

I did get my original cabin back, but it was stressful for me.

Mark it no upgrade for sure. Tell your travel agent it has happened to others, for sure, 100% sure.

Best wishes and bon voyage.