cruising922

We were on the Discovery Princess at the end of June. Ketchikan was close to 70 and sunny. Lots of people in the pools that day. The very next day in Juneau it was in the 50’s and raining. Surprisingly to us, they had much better weather on a few of the cruises in May. The point is that you never know what type of weather you’ll have no matter when you go which is why everyone says to pack clothing that can be layered. We never wore a winter coat or boots, but our raincoats and fleece jackets were very handy. Typically June cruises are less expensive than July and expect lots of families and kids.

9 hours ago, Ombud said:

Just checked. My flight was at 11am.  So yes @cruising922 it's more than do-able

Thank you so much! We’ll take your advice and check out the Whyline app. We’ll have to check our luggage now though because Port Valet will no longer be an option for us. I’m hoping having TSA pre and Clear will help too.

9 hours ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

Taking a completely different approach here..... what time was your original flight?  Your airline may allow you to change to a later flight at no charge if the time difference is big enough and you tell them the change may prevent you from checking in in enough time after you debark the ship. 

I appreciate your thoughts. Our original flight was at 12:15pm. I realize it was only 25 minutes later than the 11:50am flight time we currently have, but that change made it so now we can’t use Port Valet which had meant saved time not looking for our luggage at the port after disembarking and not having to stand in lines  to check it at the airport.

A later flight won’t get us home until after midnight driving through Detroit which we would prefer not to do if possible. My husband has to work the next day so spending the night is not an option unless of course it was circumstances beyond our control. 
 

1 hour ago, John99 said:

@cruising922   Greetings.  Hello Michiganders.  What city?  We are from Sterling Heights just north of Detroit.   I think you’re on the Discovery not the Enchanted.  John

We are on the Discovery this June to Alaska. We are on the Enchanted next Feb 26 to the caribbean.

We’re in Macomb. Moved here a few years ago after living in Sterling Heights for 25 years.

50 minutes ago, John99 said:

 

 @cruising922          Greetings.  Very good info from ViberGuy.  I always enjoy his commentary. 

We're cruising out of Seattle on the Princess Discovery in July and flying in the day before.  We might do some sightsee in Seattle or just relax at the hotel.  We’ve been Seattle before.  In my humble opinion, most major chain airport hotels are fairly similar.  Based on Tripadvisor reviews, we ended up booking the Hampton Inn and Suites 28^th Ave at Sea Tec at a reasonable price versus downtown Seattle hotels (Home Suites by Hilton downtown was also considered but too expensive for us retirees).  Plus, you can cancel 48 hours (with Hampton) before the cruise without a penalty.  Hotels downtown are very expensive.  I called Hampton to ask if they have baggage storage because we arrive early.  Yes!  Also, Hampton indicated they have 3^rd party shuttle to the pier which they can arrange.  Plus a free breakfast, free airport shuttle (to and from) and not far from the Light Rail station.   Mostly likely we’ll use Seattle Express ($25pp) to the pier next morning.  Good reviews on Seattle Express.  You can book SE on line.  John

 

 

Thank you! Looks like we’ll be joining you on the Enchanted Princess next year! And we are fellow Michiganders.

19 minutes ago, VibeGuy said:

Local here, who used to live on the hill to the west of Pier 91.
 

11:50 is fine even with luggage assistance.  It’s a closed-loop cruise so CBP issues are minimal and luggage handling in Seattle is pretty efficient.  It’s also not the first few cruises of the season so they should be in a groove. 

 

Do not use a prebooked shuttle.  Order a Lyft XL/Uber XL as soon as you have your luggage in hand.   Seattle is awash in these vehicles and you want flexibility.  
 

That Homewood Suites is one of my recommended properties for people who want to be near the port, and there’s good walkable options for dining and last minute purchases.  Way better than any of the airport properties aside from Cedarbrook Lodge. 
 

 

Thank you, that makes me feel so much better. With the time difference for us booking a later flight wouldn’t get us home until after midnight.

21 minutes ago, Ombud said:

I used Seattle Express and walked off early. Then I used Whyline to skip past all the TSA Precheck ppl and had to wait for my flight. It was easy but I do carry on only 

What’s Whyline?

We’re a group of 4 adults cruising to Alaska from Seattle from June 25 -July 2 this year.  Our flight home was just changed to 11:50am so we will be unable to take advantage of Port Valet for our luggage. This put a glitch in our plans because we were counting on not having to find our luggage at the port or stand in line to check bags at the airport.

1) Is an 11:50am flight feasible? There are 2 ships disembarking (Discovery & Westerdam) at Pier 91 and a Norwegian ship at Pier 66 that day. One couple has TSA precheck and the other has TSA precheck and Clear.

2) Best and fastest way for the 4 of us to get from the pier to the airport. We were thinking of possibly reserving Seattle Express, or would a taxi or Lyft be a better option?

3) We’re currently booked at Homewood Suites by Hilton Downtown arriving 2 days before the cruise, but I’m wondering if a hotel by the airport would be better so we can just take Seattle Express to get to the port on embarktion day. We don’t really care about exploring Seattle.

Sorry for all of the questions. We have only cruised out of Fort Lauderdale in the past so I’m nervous about timing to get everywhere in Seattle. 

On 3/12/2023 at 6:14 PM, Torfamm said:

I was also on the Enchanted at that time and thought it was one of our best cruises with Princess. The staff was terrific. Beyond the smoke problem in the casino, it was exceptional.

 

The Retreat Pool was crazy windy! I couldn’t spend enough time there to notice the music.

 

One miscellaneous thing I noticed was that there were a fair number of people dancing in the piazza in the early evening before dinner. More than I usually see. The jazz band in Take Five also seemed really popular. 

Was the Retreat pool windy on the top deck or by the pool? I was hoping the new layout with cabins surrounding it would help with the windiness we found on the Royal and Regal.

Going to St. Maarten in a few weeks and looking for suggestions on Orient beach for a good restaurant/bar with reasonable fees for chairs/umbrella. Last time we were there was not too long after the hurrican destroyed Club Orient and most of the beach bars so there wasn’t much to choose from. Choices near the nude section will not bother us.

Also, how easy is it to get a taxi back to our ship? There used to be plenty around Pedros back in the day.

Thanks!

On 9/15/2022 at 11:43 AM, richsea said:

The Retreat Pool on Royal & Regal is head & shoulders better that that of Sky & Enchanted & the cramped pool on Grand class.

I agree 100%. And if none of the pools on the Sphere class ships have steps then they are sending a pretty clear message that they don’t care if their elderly or disabled passengers are able to enjoy them.

We love Orient Beach but Princess doesn’t seem to have any excursions there any more. Are they still having problems on the french side with protests and unrest? Will it be safe and easy to grab a taxi there and back?

We were on the February 12th cruise. I remember Black Widow, Cruella, The Call of the Wild, The Greatest Showman, Tolkien, The Personal History of David Copperfield, The Best Marigold Hotel (or something like that) and The Devil Wears Prada.