Barry H

We had a similar situation a few years ago when we booked a B2B Canada New England cruise: New York to Quebec City and then Quebec City to New York. When the harbor master changed the return trip dock from New York to New Jersey we were no longer in compliance with the PVSA. Since the ship did an overnight in Quebec City at the end and start of the cruises the solution was for us to disembark in Quebec City one day early, stay overnight in a hotel and then embark the next day with the new passengers. LOL We considered our Quebec City stay as an overnight excursion and booked two local tours.

Was on the Crown for B2B cruises in May. Da Vinci Dining Room (deck 6 midship) was open each sailing from 12:00 to 1:30 for lunch. Main menu includes Salmon and Beef Medallions.

As previous posters have stated, once you get onboard your folio will show the shore excursions (even though you have already paid for them) and a shorex credit. You then have OBC to spend. A good idea to check your on board account for accuracy. With the new medallion we got charged for drinks and the front desk removed the charges. Something you won't be able to do from home.

We have sailed out of Southampton many times. After a Princess transfer had to take a 45 minute stop at a highway rest stop because the driver had gone 4 hours without a break (it is law in the UK) we looked into private car services. We have used Smiths for Airports numerous times for both going from LHR to Southampton and from Southampton to LHR. The cost is reasonable (similar to 2 Princess transfers). Driver meets you at the airport or cruise terminal, helps you with your luggage, and drives you directly to your destination. Vehicles are clean and owned by the driver. Most drivers are ex-military. Most times transfer is 60-75 minutes (and no waiting for the Princess transfer bus to fill). You can check them out on trip advisor.

We leave our automatic crew appreciation on so anything else is a bonus. In addition to tipping our cabin steward and dining room staff cash, we have brought toblerone bars to distribute to asst cruise directors and others who have gone above and beyond for us, think baristas or buffet staff. We bring soap pods and dryer sheets for laundry and leave the extras behind for the cabin steward. We got a deal on some black socks and will be giving them to the staff (like 5 pair per person). If they barter it away I am comfortable with that.

Pacemakers: Have a Pacemaker since 2010 and on the second one. On my first medallion cruise in 2018 I requested a room card. It was crap and often failed to even open the cabin door. Princess does not give out room cards anymore as the new technology does not recognize the old room cards. Popular option is to buy a wrist band at your cost. I use a Medallion on a lanyard and it hangs far enough away from Pacemaker. I tuck it into my waist band. You can easily separate the medallion from the lanyard and keep it in a pocket or purse. Going through Security Scanners I tell them and get hand checked. This is for the magnetic field of the scanner to not affect the Pacemaker programming.

On the Regal last November there were brewed coffee machines in the buffet (no more liquid concentrate). As a result there was no brewed coffee available at the International Cafe, only specialty coffees.

Sorry, unable to help with these ports. On our recent Mediterranean cruise the port guides were available on the Medallion app. On my tablet the app always crashed when I tried to expand the guide. Unfortunately there was no way to save the pdf guides from the app.

Worldtraveller: I have most of the guides as pdf files. If you post your email address (eg name at site dot com) I can send to you.

We did this cruise on the Majestic this August. With Skagway out we were fortunate to visit Sitka and Icy Strait Point. There are two trips into Glacier Bay. This is a backup should one day be bad weather. We went north and then south. Do your Juneau and Ketchikan tours on the northbound trip as you have a longer day in port. The time in Ketchikan on the southbound route can be greatly reduced as the Majestic Princess has to time its return to Vancouver with the tides (It needs low tide to fit under the Lion's Gate Bridge). In Ketchikan the Majestic was in berth 2. It is a 20 minute walk to the downtown area and lumberjack show. There is a free downtown shuttle bus running every 15 minutes right in front of the ship. It goes to both museums in town. We saw Orcas, Humpbacks Bubble feeding, sea otters and enjoyed both legs. There were sightings of goats and bears in Glacier Bay. We liked the Majestic as the Sanctuary has been replaced with the enclosed Hollywood Conservatory and a covered pool.

Cruise is Regal Princess 26 days Barcelona to FLL.

We are on the same cruise as loge23. A B2B cruise. The online (PC) app displays the button to choose the option for booking the entire cruise, however, it does not accept that as a choice. We booked each of the 26 days separately. We were able to get most of the nights in one dining room but had to book a few nights in the alternate dining room. Will have to go back online to check that our reservations are still there. On our last cruise you could get the traditional dining effect only if you booked for 5:00 or 5:20. Then you could request the same waiter's area. One night a lot of people arrived at the same time and the dining room filled really fast and made service and meals come out slow. Now we have to be led to a table every night. There is a line of staff ready to do this when they are given a slip of paper with the next available table for the number in your party.

We are booked on the Majestic for a B2B leaving this weekend. If Skagway is out, we can hope for Icy Strait Point on the northbound leg and Sitka on the southbound leg.