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@harryfat1Thank you for the information. I do back up my computer and hopefully, the photos are included. I have so many external drives, I don't know what is in any of them. But I never return to see if they are there. There lies the problem of digital age. I have boxes and boxes and boxes of slides, negatives, and photos pre-digital. I have albums and albums and albums. Slowly, I am dispersing the albums to their rightful owners. But the digital images may be lost in electronic purgatory forever. My son-in-law's mother has one of those fancy cameras (so does he). They must have a zillion photos of the grandkids. Do they ever print them out? No. Do they display them...maybe one or two. Do they make albums? No. What good are trapped photos? Somewhere, a little voice is screaming to get out of the little black external drive/server box.

Embarkation Day / continued: Window Suites Once onboard, I headed straight to our Muster Station checkin since we embarked on Deck 7/Crown Grill. Then walked to the forward elevators to avoid the crowds of people trying to get to their decks midship. One deck down was our coveted Window Suites on Fiesta Deck. On a side note: Did I mention that I called my travel agent in June? I told her that if she could find me a Window Suite on the Grand for the repositioning cruise from Vancouver to book me. I could not see any availability on the website. Not only did she find me a Window Suite but was able to book me in my favorite stateroom, F311. I have managed to avoid F309, F305, and F301. I would get lost on my way to the bathroom at night since the furniture is arranged “opposite..ly”. I can’t imagine why anyone would dislike the location, but one of the cabins was empty. My steward said that the passengers were unhappy when they arrived at their cabin. It didn’t have a balcony and they moved. I didn’t ask if they paid for an upgrade or whatever. But the ship was sailing at about 50% capacity. Didn’t think there were any more suites available. Window Suites have 21 drawers, 3 closets, double sinks, 5 USB lamps, 5 European outlets, 2 US outlets, and feet away from Club Class Dining. My travel agent is a miracle worker and always comes through for me. First things first. Sat my sister down so she could watch the Muster Drill on the television, while I alcohol’d the entire cabin. I’m not as bad as Howie Mandel, but I can be a little OCD when it comes to germs. There was a nice vegetable platter waiting for us from my TA. We went to lunch and then the infamous hors d’oeuvre arrived. At least they were fresh and cold. My room steward appeared and remembered me from my last March/April cruise. He asked for my list. I always have a “list” of things I might forget to request. And as I get oldER, the list gets longer. He brought us 2 glasses of champagne. I always bring along Hawaiian treats and handed him a small bag. This time, I also brought along Dove chocolates and told him to help himself, which he did every day. When I traded out my mini bars, I gave him 6 beers. The suite did not have an orchid plant (which arrived on the third day). Round bars of soap, shampoo, conditioner, and lotion in the tubes were in the stateroom along with the giant bottles (shower gel and shampoo/conditioner) in the shower and on the counter top (lotion and hand soap). My elite and/or suite amenities include an emery board, q-tips, and a shower cap x 2. There was an orchid spike in the bathroom too. I won't dwell on the things that were missing. I called room service to request a fruit basket. She was very nice and told us there were no strawberries or pears but suggested bananas. I also gave her my order for the (two) mini-bar switch out and told them we were not in any hurry and could waiting until the next day when things settled down for them. Missing in the picture are the grapes, vegetable dip, and champagne that my sister enjoyed. Note that masks were “required” but was never enforced.

I agree, but not sure where I read that the actual times can only be predicted a couple of weeks ahead. Of course, that reference point escapes me now. Just one of those trivia points that I file in the back of my head. I am sure there are many factors involved and with such little clearance for the Royal Class Ships, even minor changes will be important. This is the best I could google: https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/pdf/Tide_Prediction_Error_for_the_United_States_Coastline.pdf "Differences between predicted and observed tides will be greater than average during extreme weather events and during above normal river runoff to stations on tidal rivers. Errors in time and height of tide are generally larger for those areas with weaker tides."

I want to know how you pull up photos from 2015. I have photos "archived" in old computers. Whenever I run out of space, I buy a new computer. Photos rarely are migrated.

I am getting toward the end of your thread, but you seem to be posting faster than I can catch up. Now on page 10. Sorry if someone has already addressed La Paz. The Sea of Cortez is one of my favorite itineraries. Don't know who is sponsoring the buses to La Paz, but they are nice buses. (Had to look up plural of buses...also acceptable...busses). You can stop at a beach on the way in, but not on the way back to the ship. Then catch the next bus going in to town to return to the ship. You are dropped off and picked up at the bus station a few blocks from the pier and Malecon. There is a washroom/bathroom. It is suggested that you pay the 25/50 pesos to get toilet paper and a slightly cleaner facility. La Paz is lined with street cafes and shops. If you go a little further in (up the hill) you will reach a really nice cathedral and off the beaten path stores. You can even have your photo taken with a donkey. It is a really safe city to visit. Absolutely love the fact that Diamond International and other tourist traps are not in La Paz or Loreto. I love your photo journey. Thank you for doing lives. Looking forward to your Hawaii cruise "live". I found your take on the internet manager amusing. Princess definitely has an issue with false advertising. It is far from being the "best internet/wifi at sea".

I've been escorted on the ship once....and it was post-covid. I was shocked to see a man in a suit (from the MDR) make a beeline to us sitting in the elite lounge with his device. He called us by name and said he would be back at 11 to escort us onboard. It was a fun experience and great having a young and strong able body pull our heavy carry ons for us. We found him in the MDR later and thanked him again. We did tip him. I don't know if it is port specific but we were in San Pedro. I don't need to find my way, but would have been impressive to my sister. At least "he" knew where my cabin was. I've been told by elevator people that there were no cabins on deck 6.

@travelin.sistersWill your sister join you on your Hawaii cruise? Sure hope you are cruising with Elua on the Crown this fall/winter. You are going to have such a blast. When is your cruise?

Trying to catch up to all of your pages. Just getting started. I did the same for my sister (EFFY), but not as OCD about the charms. Thanks for breaking in the Sapphire. It was good to hear that the Captain was aware of the start up issues. I am looking forward to the next 10 pages.........

Way to early for you to remember this, but you will need to close your casino account before you start entering Vancouver Harbor.

I saw you tied up. Both you and the Royal had midnight departures. Nice to have that extra time in Vancouver. I am not a fan of the Royal Class ships. This problem AND too big to do the inland passage.

The Royal Class ships are having trouble fitting under the Lions Gate Bridge when entering/leaving Vancouver. They must sail under the bridge at low tide. Unfortunately, tidal accuracy only occurs a few weeks before. My best guess is that the Discovery will need to transit this area in the evening if she wants to be at the dock for a 6 AM disembarkation. It is too early to see the port schedule for Vancouver. https://www.portvancouver.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/2022-Cruise-Schedule-as-of-Aug-4.pdf

Thanks for following along. Today was Embarkation. Embarkation Day has arrived: Monday, September 26, 2022 And there she was… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwBdWVTR-o8 I woke up with excitement and joy as I peered out my window to see my lovely Grand Princess below. She was just tying up to the dock. We had a lovely breakfast in the room before preparing for the day. The Pan Pacific has a service that is perfect for cruising. I called the Bell Desk at 9:30, they came for my luggage, and delivered it directly to the ship. There is a recommended gratuity of $3-$5 per bag. From my understanding, a truck arrives at 11 to pick up all of the luggage, it is sorted at the dock, and given priority. Our luggage was in the room by 1:30 PM. We checked out about 10 and began the walk from the hotel to check in. First, we had to take the elevator to the parking garage. That was an incorrect instruction since we didn’t have any luggage to drop off. So back up the escalator to check in. Showed our medallions, passports, vaccination cards, and proof of negative covid tests. Then back downstairs. Passed through the security counter. Used our passports to scan at the kiosks before walking past an CBP officer who was busy on his phone and could have cared less about us. He collected our printout. It was nice that I could do everything for my sister and myself at the same time. Fortunately, we were the only ship in port. Finally got to the holding area. We found two seats at the front end of the Elite/Suite/Platinum section and waited until 11:30. Watched in-transit passengers file through and after a little wait, back on. Watched as crew escorted Covid passengers off the ship (different walkway). As if those masks and thin plastic aprons would really protect the crew. Later, I found out that the Captain had announced that there were actually 125 cases on board the previous 12 day round trip sailing to Alaska (re: passenger who was on the previous sailing and continuing on to Australia). I was rather disappointed that we did not have a suite escort (for my sister) nor did we have any refreshments. But, we happened to be in the right seats and were the first to board! As always, the crew was there to celebrate our arrival.

Here's a direct link. Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I guess I am an "oldER" cruiser.

That's too bad. On the Grand, the Window Suites have 7 USB ports. 2 at the small desk and 5 USB lamps. Also has 5 European outlets, 1 US outlet behind the television/1 US on the desk.

On the Grand (a sister ship) it was deck 6 starboard side.

Vancouver Checked in to the hotel hoping to start unwinding and getting settled after an early morning flight. No such luck. Receptionist told me that there are ONLY 2 acceptable places to get my complimentary covid test. Both required a taxi or long walks. I asked if I could use a toll free number from my room. “YES”. So that was my first order of business before doing anything more. I called the number and had to meander my way through a maze of button options. When I finally reached the menu for those with covid, the only question they asked me was when I had a positive test result. That’s it ????? I recorded my information (not even a live person to speak to). I was asked to answer any calls that came through from Canada. Secretly to myself I whispered: “Sure, it you call me when I am in my room and I have wi-fi calling.” I did sign up for my carrier’s international mobile plan but was not going to use it unless it was an emergency or if I needed a Lyft because I was too exhausted to walk back to the hotel. Finally, time to get settled in, relax, and enjoy a moment of relaxation. Outside my window, I had a view of the Royal Princess. I was surprised that both she and the Discovery (the next day) left around midnight. Must have been restricted to the tides to get under the Lions Gate Bridge. At least it gave passengers a long day in Vancouver. I just love this city. Several other ships were also moored at Canada Place. Refreshed and re-energized, we walked to Gastown to pick up dinner. I am not a foodie so you won’t be seeing photos of food. Found a lovely place on Yelp. It had some nice pastries for breakfast too. Signed on to eMed to get my sister tested with a proctor. That went relatively smoothly using the room's wi-fi. Results were sent to me within a few minutes. One more thing off my checklist. Filled out the Princess health form on the app. Now it was time to really start this vacation. I can't remember if I also had to upload her results to ArriveCAN. But it doesn't matter now since they've thrown out this requirement. We were all set for the night. Hit the bed early and slept so well. We had a “free” walking tour of Mount Pleasant scheduled for Sunday morning. Took a train across town and walked, walked, and walked some more. 5 miles and almost three hours later, I was spent. But sister wanted to keep on going. So we took a train to ChinaTown. It required that we “transfer” to another line. Got off, and unlike men, we ask for directions. Found this 65 year old resident who was so helpful. She told us to follow her since she would be getting off to go home. I invited her to lunch. She declined, but walked us through the Pacific Center Mall (a shortcut) to the “other line”. I will never see this lady again, but her generosity will remain with me forever. She dropped us off at the turnstile, told the guard to look after us, and she walked all the way back to the other station to go home. That is the Aloha Spirit alive and well in Vancouver. I was beginning to get my bearings; been here before. This all looked familiar. Once we got off the train to ChinaTown, I knew exactly where we were. Found a nice place for lunch with a Chinese bakery owned by Filipinos next door. Filled our bellies with noodles and duck then picked up food for dinner next door. Hawaii doesn’t have 99 cent stores or Dollar Stores so of course, my sister had to stop and shop. With the exchange rate, it was actually cheaper to buy items in Canada. US: $1.50. In Canada: $1.09. By then, I had it. Found a taxi to take us back to the hotel. Down for the night.

One of the best perks of a Window Suite is that the Club Class Main Dining room is on the same level,, just feet away. I have done lunch in my room. Dinner may be a little trickier on the oval coffee table. Window Suites are Full Suites with ALL of the suite amenities, including the thermal spa with a hot rock bed. If you have a drink package, consider donating your beer/alcohol to your crew. They will truly appreciate it. You will also receive 2 bottles of water a day.

I thought I was the only crazy person with an email account just for Cruise Critic plus an assortment of other addresses for this and for that. Thank you for letting me know I am not alone.

It sounds like you have already made final payment (90 days before cruise). Princess often times has these drop and go fares for NEW bookings. This sounds like where you are at. I have never had success upgrading after final payment by paying the difference. Others have. Hopefully, they will chime in and give you the "how to's". Good luck.

Keeping an eye on this thread. So far, 2 pages of "not interested" to zero posts about how wonderful this new series is. I am sure I am not the only one to coin "What was Princess thinking?"

Flight to YVR: I took a PCR test 72 hours before embarkation (results received after arrival in Vancouver). My local testing site throws in a free Rapid Antigen Test (results within the hour). We spent 2 nights in Vancouver before the cruise. Tested sister from the Pan Pacific Hotel within required 2 days using a proctored eMed Binax Now Test. Sister flew into Long Beach the night before. It was actually cheaper to do this than fly her directly to Vancouver. Plus it was just easier to travel to Vancouver together since I had all the digital paper work. Although she is a seasoned traveler by plane, cruising was new to her. I tested her at my house since she had just returned to the islands (11 days prior) from a trip to Oregon. I tend to over test. She did take a PCR test upon returning from Oregon. I don’t like surprises, so tested her to be sure she wouldn’t be denied boarding in Vancouver. It is not a guarantee, but a little reassuring. We used EZ Air and took advantage of one price drop ($134.78). The second was too small to make a difference and I wasn’t willing to take a risk of doing it myself online. I have this fear of losing everything, although I am proficient (teacher talk) on the computer…..most times. Woke up early the day before departure to check in and get our “free” seats. Canada Air charges for selecting your seats early. I was able to fill in all of her information needed for Canadian Air. I must have been one of the first to check in because there were still a good number of seats available for the picking. It took me almost 45 minutes to fill in all pertinent information, again. Flight was packed when we boarded. Have I mentioned how much I detest LAX? Traffic was already backed up by 6 AM. Driver dropped us off in a timely manner. Check in was smooth and we were through security in just a few minutes with our TSA precheck designation. My gates are always the very farthest in a terminal. We settled in and regrouped. Then had to make a trek half way back to make our last minute bathroom run and get coffee/water. “Mother” always said never pass up a bathroom stop. Every seat was occupied for this short 3 hour jaunt to YVR (Vancouver). Then the fun began. With ArriveCAN QR codes and passports, we used the kiosks to process entry into Canada. The immigration line wound around 6 switch backs. Took about an hour to reach a customs official. Signs along the way kept saying check your email for a random covid test requirement. Luckily, YVR has free internet. Not so lucky that I had, but chose not to use, an international cell travel plan. You guessed it. Got in the taxi and on the ride in checked my downloaded email. Mandatory testing.pdf

I made it to the second commercial. I recorded it, but don’t have high expectations for the rest. It made me miss the original Love Boat even more.

Let us know which ship you are looking at and which category you are booking. Grand Class ships are different than Royal Class ships.

Aloha to the Grand Princess as she continues her voyage to Australia. This was my 5th cruise on the Grand since post-covid opening. She is one of my favorite ships and it is heartbreaking (too strong an emotion?) to see her leave us until her next Alaska Season 2023. I was on the repositioning cruise from Vancouver, BC to San Pedro on September 26 - October 3 with my sister, a first time Princess cruiser. We were in a Window Suite, masked, and tested. My comments reflect my/our experience on my trip (report). It may not be as creative as some of the other lives/reports, but it will be filled with mostly positive thoughts. Now that sister has been placed on a plane, I hope I can find the time to write in increments. Pre-Cruise preparations: My older sister lives on Oahu. I live in California. Very challenging to fill out ArriveCAN from a distance and minus 3 hours. I was home this summer and tried to get as much filled out before I left. Fortunately, I had the know-all to record important documents like passport, vaccination records, Known Traveler’s number, etc. ArriveCAN allowed me to fill out everything for the both of us including the Advance CBSA Declaration form. She was supposed to have cruised with me in March, but had to cancel. Medallion App kept all of her information. That was a time saver. I was able to pick an embarkation time 59 days before the cruise. Both Medallions arrived at my place 2 weeks before embarkation. I was able to book Suite first night dinner at the Crown Grill. That was a first I was ever allowed to do that before getting on the ship. Sister had huge concerns regarding cruising and COVID because of her age. I tried to let her know that we would do everything possible to remain safe. Of course, Canada lifted ALL restrictions on October 1.

I spoke to one of the retail people on the Grand. He says that when Princess changed vendors (and I forgot the name already), they decided not to carry any more Stanley Bears. The new vendor does not have the sources that Princess had. I think he named only three. They did have a Stanley Bear jacket that stuffed into a SB hood. Conclusion: ALL of you that own a Stanley Bear now have a highly coveted collector's item.