West Coast Gal

On 1/18/2022 at 6:50 AM, snowmc said:

There are some fun ideas in this article. 

https://zest4travel.net/2018/01/28/what-to-do-in-anchorage-alaska/

Thank you for this link!

On 1/17/2022 at 9:01 PM, Ferry_Watcher said:

You will have a crazy amount of daylight during your Alaska visit.  I would bring clothespins or clips to help fasten your drapes at nighttime, and maybe silk sleep masks.

Have fun!

Definitely Great suggestion!

On 1/17/2022 at 12:23 PM, oaktreerb said:

If I had a week I would drive to Homer, stopping along the way at places that interest me,  A couple of nights in Homer, a couple of nights at Alyeska, a couple of nights in Seward.  There is so much to see and do, Homer has small boating  opportunities to see places nearby (Peterson Cove, etc) and interesting places in town also,  take a side trip to Hope on the way.  Check out the visitor information online.  There is a lot of information for each community.  TravelAlaska.com and each community has a visitor web site, except maybe, Hope, but you can say you’ve been there!   If you check the trip reports at the top of this page you will get lots of recommendations.

You know, my DH brought up Homer so I think he would be excited about this!

On 1/15/2022 at 9:59 PM, AKStafford said:

Are you open to renting a car? So many options...

In addition to your research here, I'd also suggest the Trip Advisor forum for Alaska: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g28923-i349-Alaska.html

The Matanuska Glacier is a great experience. You could overnight in the area. Denali National Park's road is only open to mile 43 this year due to road damage. So do some research to see if that's something you'd want to do. The Alaska Railroad's Glacier Discovery train is scenic.

Definitely open to renting a car, good information here

On 1/20/2022 at 9:27 AM, donaldsc said:

Have you thought about flying to Kodiak Island.  You could easily spend several days there.  It is a neat place.  

 

DON

That is an idea I had not thought of,  I will look into it.

We recently booked a Princess Northbound that lands in Whittier on June 11, we are not leaving until June 19th on Holland out of Whittier again.  Looking for Suggestions on things to do for the week.  We have spent several days in Anchorage in the past, but wanted to see what ideas others might have for my DH and me.

On 3/28/2021 at 6:30 AM, Lady Arwen said:

I don’t know why, but I always enjoy finding my daily Princess Patter on the bed when we return from dinner and our evening.  I get ready for bed, get my little snack and take it and my Patter to bed and I read every page!  Such a silly routine, but it makes me happy.  Hoping to enjoy it again very soon.

I totally agree, I did the same thing

On 2/14/2021 at 7:17 PM, Heidi13 said:

In current times, HAL & Princess are mass market lines that are both owned by Carnival Group. While they are still distinct Lines and have separate offices, they are both managed by the Holland America Group. The 4 cruise lines in the Group share many managers/directors.

 

Oceania is considered one of the luxury brands and it was purchased by NCL 5 or 6 years ago. 

 

I spent 40 years working for and cruising for P&O/Princess. Starting in 1975 with P&O and then moving to Princess in 1979, I am well aware of the pre-Carnival standards. We continued cruising with them until the 2015 WC out of Sydney, which will be our last ever cruise with Princess. Since they were purchased by Carnival in 2003, in our experience, the standards have continued dropping.

 

We spent a couple of years of research, starting with developing a statement of requirements. Basically - what did we want from a new cruise line, some of which included:

• Number of pax - our preference was 750 to 1,250. Less restricts the entertainment options and more is too busy
• Space ratio (GT/pax) - we wanted a less crowded ship, which pushed us towards luxury/premium brands
• Segments - depending on how managed by the cruise line, segments can make a WC more of B2B2B...... Our preference was no segments, or less segments
• Inclusive - tired of mega ship nickle and diming, we wanted a more inclusive experience
• Meals - quality meals, with preference for no additional fees for alternative restaurants
• Rig of the Day - preference was a cruise line that enforces their dress code. While we enjoy formal nights, we are tired of the increasing non-compliance, so wanted to try a more relaxed smart casual standard every night.
• Kids - not interested. While WC's have few kids, we did have some on segments with Princess. Also the kid's zones are wasted space.
• Casino - not interested, so again preference is not to have one. If not provided, it is more space available
• Photogs. art auctions, bulk shoppies - definitely NO
• Lectures - quality and varied lectures
• Entertainment - not interested in tacky pool games, marriage games, etc. Looking for quality shows and guest entertainers.
• Number of port days & time in port - the more and longer the better
• Number of ports with 2 or 3 days - more the better
• Wifi - prefer quality bandwidth and included in price

Although we did consider HAL & Celebrity, they were quickly eliminated. We then did a review of Crystal, Regent, Seabourn, Silversea, Viking, Oceania and Azamara. We short-listed to Viking and Oceania, eventually selecting Viking.

 

Oceania had reportedly the best food, but we felt Viking provided the best overall package.

 

We completed the curtailed 2020 WC on Viking Sun and the day it was published booked the 2023 WC on the new Viking Neptune. Note - the Viking base fare in 2020 was almost double the 2015 Princess cabin, for a comparible balcony. However, once all costs were added, the gross daily cost on Viking was fractionally cheaper than Princess.

 

While Viking works for us, it does not meet the needs of everyone, hence the reason I suggest determing you needs for spending 4 - 6 months on a ship.

 

Good luck and enjoy the research.

 

 

You have had some great information, and I have enjoyed your information.  So I talked with my TA who has been strictly a cruise TA for decades.  She is very watchful of Viking right now, they were quite unkind to the TA community over the last year.  With so many cancelations over the last year the TAs had a lot of work moving people off of cruises, getting cruise credits or refunds, work they were not getting paid for and while the mass market cruise lines took care of the TAs for all their work, Viking did not.  The world has changed, I can't help but wonder that everything we knew about cruising might be different after this is over.

Loved full breakfast delivered to the room, last time we were on Princess they had stopped that, more of a continental breakfast.

On 3/15/2021 at 9:15 AM, donaldsc said:

Re "Will Going Forward Ruin etc.". going forward always ruins things.  Everyone who has been cruising for years will always tell you that it isn't as good as it used to be and that the cruise lines are getting cheap.  The people who are starting to cruise around now or at least post Corona will be saying the same thing 10 years from now.

 

DON

SOOOOOO True!

On 3/15/2021 at 5:06 AM, AF-1 said:

Revolutionary reusable respirator masks | envo masks

you beat me to it, sorry for the duplicate answer

On 3/14/2021 at 1:16 PM, oskidunker said:

Can you provide a link to buy the mask? I thought I saw it here but it is gone. What is the price?

Are you talking the envomask  just add a .com to that name

3 hours ago, AnyMajorCruiseDude said:

Having tried that, I can tell you it didn't work on an American Airlines flight, as well as a Delta fight.  I had other masks in anticipation of this, so everything was ok, but you should be prepared.

Sounds good, and no worries, it is all about being safe!  I just will put on a second mask.  Actually surprised about American Airlines -  I have a group of people at work, that have had to fly all through COVID and American Airlines has been very lax.  2 different times people have left the flight after boarding because of conditions of too many people on board and not enforcing masks being worn.

1 minute ago, Astro Flyer said:

Hopefully that works for you when traveling although that would be subject to the interpretation of the rule by an employee who might not allow it.

So true, to date when I have gone anywhere that is strict about it (most places indoors lol) they usually ask if there is a vent and I just put on a second procedural mask over it . . .  so I am thinking when they ask, I will just say there are no open vents and see if that work, if not I will just continue to double mask. no biggie . .  all the other features are work it.

5 hours ago, Roberto256 said:

I think having the exhalation valve would be excellent around the anti-maskers.

 

They protect the wearer, while allowing the 'exhaust' out to the anti's.

 

I am sorry to say, you did make me chuckle on this one and I felt guilty after I did! LOL

5 hours ago, AnyMajorCruiseDude said:

These look nice, but seems like they are the type using a one way exhalation valve, so not allowed on most transportation since it allows your breath to escape unfiltered and don't protect others around you.

They now have a small cover for the vent, I just ordered that a week ago, so all the venting is now through the filter.

8 hours ago, AF-1 said:

I looked at these on the company website;  these look like an industrial mask for contractors.  Is that what you have?

We do have them and they are really great!  The gel around the mask makes it really comfortable and keeps glasses from getting fogged up.  They don't move on your face, so you don't have to pull them up onto your nose constantly.  DH prefers the over the ear, I prefer the over the head.  That and how much protection they provide, it was been well worth the price for us!

27 minutes ago, donaldsc said:

We will end up with cruising being like flying on Spirit Airlines.  Pay for your seat.  Pay for your luggage.  Pay for any food.  Pay for use of toilet paper or haven't they instituted that policy yet.

Nooooo!  I booked DH on Spirit once and he said Never Again!

7 hours ago, AF-1 said:

someone needs to come up with a non fogging mask.  That would be a big seller

We have those, it is called ENVO - pricey but lovely mask, we love them (as mush as you can enjoy any mask lol).  Does not slip off your nose and is highly effective, and no fogging

16 hours ago, SargassoPirate said:

A world cruise itinerary, with a nice mix of port days and sea days is important to me.  The Princess world cruise has several port days in a row, which can be tiring, but if I've been there before there's no law that says you must get off the ship.

Absolutely agree!

Viking does look fantastic, but just can't afford that.  I know that Princess has changed since Carnival has purchased them, but wondering if anyone has been on a Princess World Cruise in the last 3 or 4 years and what were the good things that you noticed.  I was looking at their itinerary and was very excited about it for 2023.

Afternoon tea with scones and clotted cream . . . .sorry I can make all of that at home but why oh why does it taste so much better on the high seas??

MUTS - Movies Under the Stars

On 2/24/2021 at 5:34 PM, norcalcruzr said:

Sleeping in a comfy bed that someone else makes.  Eating delicious food that I didn't have to cook.  Searching out quiet spots to sit and read a good book.  Walking for exercise on level floors [as an older adult this is important to me].  Playing trivia.  Watching live shows in the Princess Theater.  Frozen drinks at the International Cafe [Banoffee Blast and Black Forest Freeze].  Enjoying the fabulous crew, miss their smiling faces.

We must be related, lol . .  Ditto to everything you mentioned 

All of the above!  YES!  And going to the quiet, relaxing main restaurant for lunch the first day and getting a big window seat, because everyone else is at the buffet . . .  and hearing . . .  wait for it . . .  surprised no one mentioned it yet . . .  Bon Appetit !!