99Cruiser

At least you had plenty of notice. 2 years ago I got an email that my Pacific Princess cruise was cancelled the day before I was to fly out to Spain. I know it was due to an accident as the ship hit the break wall pulling into port but to get an email the day before saying your cruise was cancelled was painful.

I had the same problem and had to call Princess and they entered it for me

I'll be getting off the ship in Ft. Lauderdale on 10/21 and my flight is not leaving from Miami until 3:00PM and looking for suggestions on what to do. If I can find a car rental that will allow me to rent in Ft. Lauderdale and return to Miami I may even rent a car to explore.

Suggestions?????

I have been on both Viking (once) and Princess (elite) and REALLY enjoyed Viking. I was extremely worried about going on Viking as I enjoy the Princess ships (shows, activities, casino, etc.) and Viking doesn't have those items BUT, Viking was AMAZING. The ship was gorgeous (was on the Viking Sea), the food was as good as a 5 star restaurant at home and the ports / tours were great.

As much as I love Princess, I think I would recommend Viking

I get offers all the time for being a casino player. On my last cruise last month I was told I was one of the biggest gamblers on the cruise and the last night I got a letter saying if I book certain cruises they would give me $1000 in casino credit.

For those that do gamble here's a tip. Make friends with the casino supervisors and managers and if you are playing enough ask if they will buy you a drink. I did this the very first night and the rest of the cruise never paid for a drink while I was in the casino.

I just did this train ride a week ago and it was great. We got to the train station about an hour ahead of time and they did take our luggage with the Princess tags straight to the ship. On the train you can get up and walk around or stand between cars and get fresh air and great pictures.

We got to the ship at noon and even through boarding didn't start until 12:30 Princess let us board early and we were some of the first passengers on the ship.

Just got back from a 7 day Southbound Alaskan cruise fromWhittier to Vancouver aboard the Coral. This will be my first time doing a review and will answer any questions.

Flights

We had a red-eye flight from Los Angeles to Anchorage and landed at4:30AM. On the recommendation of peopleon these boards we took the train from Anchorage to Whittier. We took our time getting to the Alaskan TrainStation since the train didn’t depart until 9:30 but it was much better thanthe Princess transfer which wasn’t leaving until 12:30.

Transfer toWhittier

We got to Whittier at noon and it was great not having to worry about luggageas the porters pick up the luggage from the train and take to the ship. Even though it said boarding wasn’t until12:30, we got checked in, our room key and onboard by 12:15. We dropped off our carry-on bags in the room,met our cabin steward, and went to the grill for lunch. We were going to go to the dining room but Ilove the grill on Princess ships and was not disappointed.

Service

Our cabin steward was great and always very pleasant.

The bartenders in the casino were not great and if you asked for water or soda(DW had a soda sticker) they took their time, if you were buying a drink theydid it immediately.

Ship

I have read the ship is in need of repairs and such but we didn’t haveany issues. Our AC in our room workedgreat (was actually cold some nights so had to turn it down) and even though itwas sold out it never felt crowded

Gym

For a ship gym it had enough ellipticals, treadmills, machines and freeweights so it never felt busy. I was inthere daily and never had to wait for anything.

Food

Food is so subjective and everyone has an opinion.

Lunch

We ate lunch mostly at the Grill (I love the Princess hot dogs) or thebuffet. The food at the buffet was thesame (or close to it) on most days and was just ok. They didn’t have a wide variety and what theydid have was just so-so.

Dinner

We had traditional dining and were seated with a family from Chicagowho were great and easy to get along with. Our head waiter was good and actually sang almost nightly and was reallyentertaining. The assistant waiter wasok. He took a long time to get drinks orrefill the water. I know his job is torun to the kitchen and bring the food and he did good it was just a littleslower than normal.

The food in the dining room was good but the variety was not as good as Iremember. My DW doesn’t eat sea food andthere were only a few options for her each night.

Entertainment

We only saw one show and that was Jeff Peterson and his dog Indy(comedy/magic). Honestly, the onlyreason I remember his name at all was because I looked in the Patter justnow. The show was pretty bad and Indy didn’treally do much. I guess if I could workon a ship and have my dog with me I would love it.

Ketchikan – Lumber Jack Show and Totem Poles

When we got off the ship there was someone with a sign but then justpointed us down the street where to go for the show. You would think they would either havesomeone walk you over or better directions than just go down the street. We found it with no problem but it just againseemed unorganized. The show was kind ofUniversal Studios Like and very scripted. It was cool to see the things the guys can do but it was all justsketched.

The Totem Pole park was very interestingand our guide was great. To see thedetails and hear the stories of the poles was fascinating.

Debarkation

Since we were spending the night in Vancouver and couldn’t check intoour hotel early we were in no rush to get off the ship. We had breakfast in the buffet and then wentto our designated meeting place and waited to be called. We were called a few minutes prior to thetime stated and had no issues finding our luggage, and going through customs.

Overall

Had a great cruise and loved Alaska. I do hate that Princess tries to up sell you on EVERYTHING and you endup with a huge stack of papers they put in your mail slot daily. Even when I went to buy ONE picture they kepttrying to sell me a package, or disk or…….I finally said, LOOK, I want ONEpicture, if you ask me to buy one more thing I won’t even buy this onepicture. It just gets old the nickelingand diming on everything.

I know this is the end of theAlaska cruise season but hope this review helped some people as I had helpreading reviews prior to my trip.

When I was on the Sun Princess in 2013 we were using USD in the casino. I can tell you that the casino was dead and not many on the ship gambled

I cancelled my transfer and booked the train. The train gets to Whitter at noon and we can board at 12:30. I'll most likely board and drop off my carry on and such then go out and do something

You give it to them in Anchorage and they give it to the porters at the ship.

The train pulls right up next to the terminal/ship.

You don't see it after Anchorage.......until it arrives in your cabin.

Thank you for the information, I booked the train today. There were only 8 seats available and I took 4 of them.

I really appreciate Cruise Critic and the information you can get here on the boards

I agree! Check out the train! You hand them your luggage in Anchorage and don't see it again until it's in your cabin.

Train pulls up in front of the terminal/ship. $83pp

 

https://www.alaskarailroad.com/ride-a-train/schedules

Luggage was going to be my question. Does Alaska railroad take your luggage to the ship or do you have to drop it off?

anyway that you could go a day early?

I posted this in the Alaska section but will also post here and see if I can get assistance

I'm flying into Anchorage on a redeye and land around 4AM and paid for a Princess transfer to Whitter. I've read it takes between an hour and half and two hours to get from Anchorage to Whitter and since we don't board until early afternoon does anyone know what Princess does for their passengers? Will they take us early and we just sit around the port until it's time to board? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I'm flying into Anchorage on a redeye and land around 4AM and paid for a Princess transfer to Whitter. I've read it takes between an hour and half and two hours to get from Anchorage to Whitter and since we don't board until early afternoon does anyone know what Princess does for their passengers? Will they take us early and we just sit around the port until it's time to board? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I'm a last minute packer. I'm usually doing laundry the night before we leave and am usually just zipping up the suitcase when the limo comes to pick us up....BUT, I have my list planned out about a month ahead of time so it's easy to just take stuff from the closet to the suitcase. Knock on wood I have never forgotten anything

I look forward to the review.

In 2009 on the Golden Princess I found 2 dealers blackjack dealers that when sitting at 3rd base would expose the corner of their hole card. Blackjack is an easy game when you know what the dealer has. You still need to have some luck as you can't hit when you know you are going to lose and can't make it obvious or they would have caught on. Throughout the 2 week cruise I won almost $8k and the only reason it wasn't more was the table limit was $300. I had everyone always looking at me when it was time for insurance. I would have to play stupid sometimes and not take insurance even when I knew I would lose so they didn't catch on.

On a 14 day cruise from LA to Hawaii and back I was down almost $8k and on the last night won $3500 back so only ended up down $4500.

Many times my wife and I go to the casino after the late show and after 11:30 or 12 we are 2 of the very few that are still in there.

We have been on many cruises on both Princess and other lines and never had any "loud" issues with Princess as we did with other lines.

I agree that Princess needs to upgrade their technology but charging reasonable prices for faster service is not what the OP wished to happen & instead she wished "they offered unlimited internet to everyone".

Viking Ocean offers free wi-fi to everyone.....and it was great service the entire cruise

Seattle and Vancouver are entering the driest and sunniest time of year and will likely be seeing temperatures around 80° for highs in the afternoon at sailaway time. Cool cloudy mornings due to marine layer but that burns off by noon usually. But north of these cities things cool off fast due to cold ocean water and depending on where you live your need for shorts will vary. People from Pac. NW who wear shorts pretty much all year, down to 45° will be fine for the entire cruise. Folks from far south may as well leave them home. Not to say a freak east wind blowing down off the coastal mountains might not warm it up (to 70° or so) a day or two but the odds of that are long in any given week. Cruise tours going to the interior (like Denali) can see really warm temps due to long daylight hours and no cold ocean water nearby.

How long will that last? I'm going in September and have no idea what to bring.....being from Los Angeles we have 2 seasons....warm and hot

We are going to Alaska the 2nd week of September and I have no idea what to pack. This will be my first cruise in a cold region and my living in Southern California I don't have a lot of cold weather clothes.

I'm looking for advice on a private helicopter tour in Juneau so I don't have to book through the cruise line. If anyone has experience they can share that would be great.

looking forward to the review as we are doing this trip in September on the Coral

if the seas are rough sometimes if you walk by you will find quarters that have fallen