shackpacker

Okay, thanks.

Thank. We're on Crown in Alaska next week and the outdoor pools don't sound appealing.

Can anyone use it or does it have to be included in a spa package?

First I have to say that this cruise was my favorite of all the ones we have done. Guernsey--we did the tour based on the book The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Even though we found out the book was not all that accurate about the experiences during WWII, the tour was terrific. We learned a bunch of the actual history and our tour guide was excellent. Cobh--We went to the Blarney Castle in the morning and did not climb up to the stone (I already talk a bunch!) but there was a ton more to see on the grounds.From there we went to the small town of Kinsale but didn't have much time to look around because we had a huge included lunch with Irish dancers which took up a bunch of time. Dublin--We did a tour that included the Christ Church Cathedral (and had one of our more memorable experiences with a strange man and a backpack following our group around). From there we went out to the monastery of Glendalough. So beautiful and got to see a lot of the Irish countryside. Belfast--we went to the northern coast which is spectacular. Again seeing the countryside and not just another big city was great. One of our stops was at the Avoca woolen mill which I didn't think I wanted to visit but this was fascinating. Greenock (for Glasgow)--we went to Loch Lomond & the charming little village of Luss. Again, good to see the countryside instead of a city. Orkney Islands--one of the most interesting places we visited. We toured a Scotch distillery (at 10 in th morning!) Then a couple of stops at some standing stones which are older than Stonehenge and the best stop was the Neolithic village of Skara Brae. Absolutely fascinating. We also got to see the chapel built by Italian prisoners of war during WWII. This was a great day. Invergordon for Inverness. Another really great day with a wonderful tour guide. Inverness is a lovely city. From there we toured the Culloden battlefield. The presentation there is excellent. After that it was one to Urquart Castle and then a cruise on Loch Ness. This whole day was a really good one. Edinburgh--city tour and then quite a bit of time at the Castle. Our tour guide was horrible, got the historical facts mixed up and mostly wrong, lost our tickets at the Castle, couldn't keep count of our group, and just wanted to provide lots of time for shopping. I would like to go back with someone who knew what they were doing or let me have the mic to actually tell the history (I know it well; ex-history teacher). France-- My husband went to Honfleur and got to try lots of very potent cider. I chose to go to Versailles which was incredibly crowded but amazing. Parts were closed so that gives me an excuse to go back. There really wasn't time to adequately do the palace and the gardens and Petit Trianon so this is just a taste of what is there. Again I would like to go back. We had the absolute best time!!

We are on the 9/05 cruise and would like to know the same thing.

Got the same email only ours was for $850 per person for a penthouse suite. We didn't take it either.

I agree. I love the lights. Just enough to see to get to the bathroom in the middle of the night. We used to carry our own nightlight so we didn't stumble around in the night and the inroom lights solved that problem.

We're on the September 5 cruise. I think we'll ask for table 89.

I swear they must have moved our waitress from Sabatini's on Ruby to be your hostess! After waiting a huge amount of time for our entrees (our waitress was flitting about the dining room interacting with other guests, sitting at their tables and chatting) my entree was wrong. I had ordered the chicken and got veal, which I don't eat, at all, ever. When I told her it was the wrong entree she insisted that I had changed it. When I told her I don't eat veal, she said that in that case I shouldn't have changed my order. They did offer to make me a new one but by then we had waited to so long and my husband would have either finished eating his or had a cold meal.And we paid ex extra for this experience!

We have never had a good experience with Sabatini's and have tried it on different ships. The last time was the worst. It took forever for our food to arrive and then my order was totally wrong. The waitress blamed it on me for changing my order which I had not done. We eat late so there wasn't time for the correct order to be prepared and by then my husband would have finished his meal. We didn't think the food was all that anyway. The dining room was virtually empty the whole time we were there so no excuse for poor servicel

Thank you so much for all the information and your stunning pictures. Can't wait for our trip in September.

I am loving your posts! Your pictures are amazing We are about to make final payment for our cruise to Alaska in September and your posts have really gotten us excited.

All I can say is that we had a great time! We have been to these ports numerous times so we had just planned to stay onboard anyway. For us, the whole point of cruising is to cruise so it was fine. We have sailed on Princess numerous times and love it. No, there aren't as many "activities" but that works for us. We have cruised on Carnival, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, Cunard, Oceania, and Holland and Princess is our definite choice. The food was really good, the staff was amazing, Skywalkers is our favorite place to be besides our balcony. Even though there were lots of kids on board, they were extremely well behaved. We were impressed based on experiences with kids on other cruise lines. It is too bad that people were so ill behaved about missing the ports. This is not a decision that is reached lightly. Also it is is in the cruise contract that the captain has the power to make those deisions and all who go on the cruise agree to that by signing the contract. No use fussing over weather. We are already booked on two more Princess cruises and have an additional future cruise credit.

We were in C738. Huge balcony. Loved it!!