cruisequeen4ever

I highly recommend only going with the excursion. The ferries get delayed and/or sold out, and you could miss the ship. We did the excursion twice. The second time we had considered going on our own, but I chickened out. I’m so glad I did because when we arrived on Capri, we made note of return ferry availability to see if we would have been ok, and every ferry was sold out from 1:00 PM on! Our excursion actually used one of the regular ferries, so we were onboard with independent travelers as well, and it departed very late and then hit rough seas the whole way back, making it take way longer than usual. If we hadn’t been on a ship excursion, we would have missed the ship. We adore Capri and want to go back again and again, so you’re right that the limited time isn’t enough. It’s just not worth the risk to go on your own, IMO, especially in our new world of labor shortages and constant delays.

That’s great; congrats!

That’s great they have you full lounging capability on your balcony; that’s so rare these days. You’d think the ship would be functioning and flowing better with it being the newest ship in the fleet. I’m glad you experienced Princess’s awesome food!

The.Voyager Inn must still be the place or at least one of the places because it shows it’s closed to bookings for the whole season, yet I drove by, and there are people staying there with their windows open and one standing on his balcony. I also read it was used for oil workers to quarantine during Covid before going to the slope up north. I’ve never heard of an Aptel Hotel in Anchorage, so I looked it up. It’s not in a good part of town, though I guess it doesn’t matter, since you aren’t allowed to leave your room anyway if you’re quarantining/isolating.

Oh dear; that’s awful. The fine is unfortunately legit, since you hadn’t been to the foreign port yet. There was an article here in AK recently about Denali being high for community transmission now, and masks are required in the park. I’m sorry you missed out on a wonderful cruise and hope you can take a healthy one when you’re well!

My hubby and I were camping in Cooper Landing, AK where the Kenai Princess Lodge is located. We decided to have dinner there because it’s the #1 rated restaurant in the area and to get a slice of our beloved Princess cruise experience. We had had the #2 restaurant for lunch and had eaten at the #3 years ago, so this would be a good comparison. Spoiler alert, the Kenai Princess Lodge is definitely the #1 restaurant in the area! Just arriving is exciting because of the beautifully maintained and decorated property, very Alaskan with the flowers and the cabins. It was so fun seeing cruise pax and experiencing the typical friendly nature. The decor of the restaurant is cozy and well-themed for Alaska. When we arrived, it was peak dinner time and packed, yet we only waited a few minutes to be seated. You can either eat in the dining room, bar, or out on the patio. The hostess seats you in the dining room, but if you want to sit in the bar or out on the patio, it’s open seating. If you eat in the dining room, you order from the dining room menu. If you eat in the bar or on the patio, you are able to order from the dining room menu and/or the bar menu, almost doubling your food options. We opted for the cool, fresh air as the dining room is set to super warm for guests not used to the cooler air. Now if you can deal with the cooler air, you’ll be treated to a gorgeous view of the Kenai River below. Aim for a table right on the railing for the best views. There are pretty flowers along the railing, too. They do have multiple heat lamps going to help you stay warm. There were plenty of servers, and the service was great. We ordered the Kenai River and Fireweed Lemonade cocktails, which were both delicious. We shared the salmon chowder and the KPL salad; both were awesome, and the chowder really warmed us up after starting to get cold outside. We then split 2 entrees, the Steak Frites and Halibut Tacos. The halibut tacos were ok to us, though since we routinely eat halibut, we may be a bit jaded in our opinion. The pink and green peppercorn sauce on the steak gave a fantastic peppery flavor to the steak, and the fries were yummy. My hubby did consider the meat quality to be less than what he’d expect there, though. We finished dinner by sharing the berry cobbler and adding vanilla ice cream, which is a must add to us. It was sooooo yummy!! In terms of Covid, the employees all wore masks. There was an air purifier running in the bathroom. Very few guests wore masks. A few were coughing. We returned the next day for a brief visit, and they had live music going in the bar area. Some guests were lounging in the tour desk area on comfy chairs. There are rocking chairs out on the patio to take in the beautiful mountains and river scenery. It all makes for a relaxing and fun atmosphere. If your cruisetour includes Kenai, or if you’re considering this itin for next year, I hope this info helps, and I’d be happy to try to answer any questions you may have.

Yes! Even though the Caribbean is our favorite out of our current options, the airfare is through the roof, so we will likely go with our moderately priced airfare option of our second pick or our super cheap airfare option of our third pick that’s close to home.

It’s concerning to read many of you longtime Princess loyalists and CC contributors are straying. We haven’t sailed since the restart, but I want us to form our own opinion, and 🤞 we experience our beloved Princess. I did share with him about Oceania operating the Pacific’s sister ships. I had forgotten about that, and since he reallllly misses the Pacific and sails for itins, that may be a good one try someday. Happy sailing everyone, and please share your experiences on the other lines!

I feel very sorry for everyone who ends up testing positive on the land tour and being unable to do the cruise as a result. At the same time, I am very glad they require testing before the cruise since it is a congregate setting, and a lot of time is spent indoors due to the cold weather. I live in AK, and the news announced this week that there’s high community spread in the Denali area now, so they’re requiring masks. There’s limited medical care out there, so it’s wise to be extra careful. Testing and masks aren’t foolproof, but they help.

I’ve been getting email discount offers from them lately despite only sailing Celebrity once and not spending much in the casino.

Good for you for ensuring the wire issue made it to the top, and I’m so glad your hubby’s ok! I can’t say I’m surprised about the food quality or lack thereof. My buffet burger (they had the grill closed all cruise) a few years ago was red inside, and they ran out of things without replacing them til asked by a pax.

Unfortunately, no; there is no available transportation from anywhere in Waikiki to Kualoa Ranch unless you book their all day adventure, in which case you can pay it an extra $25 or $30 per person for their shuttle from a hotel in Waikiki. Ubers are not in the Kualoa area hanging out either, so don’t rely on that as an option. Celebrity may offer an excursion there, you can hire a driver for the day, or you can rent a car for the day to get there. It’s about a 45 minute drive. We just went through all of this in May, so it is fresh in my mind. We rented a car. If you do choose to rent a car, book far in advance because car rentals are still limited there, and they sell out fast. Kualoa Ranch is awesome; we’ve been twice, doing the horseback ride the first time and the jungle jeep expedition the second.

The home tests can become faulty if exposed to extreme temps; we Alaskans were warned of this when the government shipped their free ones during the winter. If you live in a cold climate, yours may have become faulty if ordered during the winter. I’m very sad for you having your vacation ruined and hope you can have a redo.

Thank you for posting; that’s gonna be really helpful to watch!

I wish it would be decided firmly for each ship whether there will be an official change to ISP for the rest of the season. It’d really help people plan.

Thank you to all the contributors! The Emerald and Ruby are special ships to me, and I hope Princess maintains them well for years to come.

Outstanding depiction of your cruisetour; thank you for sharing!

Such a wonderful, thorough trip report; thank you! It’s very concerning how many tested positive after the land portion.

My 2 cents: The Discovery Princess is over 20 years newer. We highly prefer Princess’s food to Celebrity’s. You experienced Celebrity’s best food options by sailing on their newer ships. The Millenium does have that wonderful classic ship feel, though. Have fun deciding and planning!

Oh my; keep us posted!

So glad you got to celebrate your 40th (a year late) with such a special cruise!

It would be mighty disappointing to plan and anticipate a big cruise vacation only to have it canceled. I suppose NCL would rather proactively cancel pax than risk a bunch of complaints from pax onboard about lacking service. At least they’re giving what I consider to be very nice compensation! Maybe you could pick a different cruise to use the FCC on this summer and then use your refund to book the Hawaii cruise for next year.

Goodness, I would contact the Holland America rep at the hotel again and report that no one ever contacted you. They are not supposed to leave you in the lurch like that. Thank you for doing the right thing and isolating! It’s scary to think that some people are ignoring it and just flying like someone else reported. I hope you guys get better soon!

I’m so sorry for your loss! I always enjoyed his posts on here. God bless you as you grieve.

That’s great news!