ChiefBoats

We were on the Caribbean Princess at the end of August and dined on Planks. We were allowed to pay for one and share the meat plate. We also each got all of the sides with the meal. 

On 3/15/2019 at 1:18 PM, Mare10 said:

I haven't posted here in a long time as we haven't been able to cruise for awhile!  We have decided on a Panama Canal Cruise for the upcoming 50th wedding anniversary.  I'm just starting to research.  We live in Southern California so are looking at the 19 day round trip LA or we could fly to Florida and do the 15 day back to LA.  This will probably be our only time to do a cruise to Panama so would love opinions on which cruise to pick.  I think we would prefer the Coral through the old locks just from what I've already read.  Thanks in advance for your opinions!

 

We have sailed on both the complete transit and the 10 day partial transit.  The full transit starts in either LA or Fort Lauderdale and ends on the opposite coast. This is a 14-15 day cruise. We enjoyed this one because it is through the old locks. The 10 day one is via the new locks and it was interesting to see the difference between the operational differences. Which ever you choose enjoy.

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Aug-2019 Caribbean Princess -Greenland/Canada: 2018 Emerald Princess-Alaska:  2017 Caribbean Princess-Panama Canal: 2017 Ruby Princess-Alaska: 2015 Caribbean Princess-Caribbean: 2015Ruby Princess-Alaska: 2015 Emerald Princess-Caribbean: 2014 Emerald Princess-Caribbean: 2014 Royal Princess-Canada/New England: 2014Royal Princess-Caribbean: 2013 Caribbean Princess-Caribbean: 2013 Island Princess-Alaska: 2013 Crown Princess-Caribbean: 2012 Star Princess-Alaska: 2012 Coral Princess-Panama Canal: 2011 Golden Princess-Alaska: 2010 Royal Princess-Alaska: 2009 Island Princess-Alaska: 2009 Island Princess-Alaska: 2008 Island Princess-Alaska

is this a regal thing or entire princess line?

 

first time i went in the bathroom i thought i was in a horror movie, i heard voices/static, weird things. realized it was from the vent. i should have tried to get it recorded on my phone but never heard this in another ship nor any hotels i've stayed in even. it was eerie and creepy.

 

cabin L 225

 

so is this a paranormal vortex or just bad ship design?

We have sailed on Princess ships 18 times have never heard noise from adjoining cabins.

CB is making her first passage through Agua Clara locks and her bridge cam woke up long enough to give us one view:

 

 

We are scheduled to sail on the CP end of November. Looking forwards to the new locks. Went through the old locks on the Coral Princess a few years ago on a complete transit of the canal.

We have yet to take an Alaskan cruise. 2018 is our 30th anniversary, and we may look into doing just that! However, I would love to hear which Alaskan cruise is the best (your favorite), especially for someone who will probably only take just one such cruise. What are the "must sees" and "must dos?"

 

Thanks,

Janet

We have been sailing Alaska almost every year since 2008. We have taken two of the cruise-tours (land/see) and have enjoyed them. We have one more to take someday. If you decide to do this take the land first and finish with the sea portion last. (The land can be very busy) Also if it is your first take an itinerary that gets you to Glacier Bay. The other nice place is Tracy Arm which we really like. We take an excursion which picks you up off of the ship at the terminus of the fjord and takes you up close to the South and North Sawyer Glacier then takes you back to you ship in Juneau. Great excursion and we take it every time we are in Tracy Arm.

We will be departing on a Saturday from Seattle, and I'm wondering which days will be the formal dinners. I would like have dinner at a specialty restaurant one evening.

 

I haven't been on a cruise in over a decade! Is the food better in the main dining room on formal nights as compared to non-formal nights?

 

I know this is really subjective, but I'm wondering how the quality of the food is compared to what it was ten years ago. We thought it was very good at the time.

 

Also, what time would be good to arrive at the port on embarkation day (no preferential boarding privileges) to be able to have lunch (preferably in the main dining room) on the ship?

Just off of the Ruby a couple of weeks ago. The formal nights were: Sunday sea day after sailing and on Thursday sea day on way to Victoria.

Looking at the dining options PDF it looks like the Horizon court is closed for dinner on the CB, Crown, Emerald and Ruby? :eek:

 

Does this mean we can either do our assigned dining, room service or pay for a restaurant? Any idea why they close the buffet on these ships?

We have sailed 16 times on Princess and the Horizon Court has never been closed. I doubt it will ever be. A large number of people do not bring the cloth required for MDR attire requirements. And some just doesn't like the formal dinner setting.

Don't worry. You will be able to eat in the Horizon Court.

I'm picky about beer. I thought the Seawitch beers were AWFUL. I won't drink them. I wish they would bring back Alaskan Brewing Company beers on Alaska sailings. I will drink those.

I will drink it but I'm not an IPA fan in general. But I agree that I wish they would bring back the Alaska beers. At least I can buy the Alaska beers here in Houston.:beer-toast:

Good day everyone! We are not new cruisers, but it's been YEARS and we're rusty...this July we leave for Alaska from the port of Seattle. We fly in on a Saturday evening and embark Sunday afternoon. And that leads to two questions. 1) We're having problems deciding where to stay that Saturday night...airport hotel seems much less pricey, and I imagine most, if not all, offer airport-to-hotel shuttles...but what about transportation from the SeaTac airport area hotels all the way to Pier 91? I found a few companies offering paid shuttle service from the airport to DOWNTOWN hotels and from there on to the pier, but most of the downtown hotels are out of our price range...and the ones that are a little more affordable are booked up. Are we stuck with an expensive hotel or does anyone have a suggestion for us? and 2) When we debark the ship, we're staying in Seattle the rest of the day and flying out the next morning...so again, same questions...how do we get from the pier to a reasonably-priced hotel? City busses seem impractical with all our luggage (there are four of us). Taxi cab? Can we all fit with all our "stuff?" Paid shuttle service? Which one? We welcome any advice and thanks in advance!

We always sail out of Seattle to Alaska each year. We always stay at a hotel around SeaTac. Then go back to SeaTec the next morning (by hotel shuttle) and take a Princess motor coach transfer to the Ship. We always fly in the day before departure.

We are taking our first cruise for our honeymoon on the Crown in July doing the Med. Just curious to know what you wished someone had told you before you went on your first cruise? :D

Just enjoy yourselves.

No, They have never sailed out of Galveston. They sailed out of BAYPORT cruise terminal and that is where they had the problems. Bayport is too narrow a channel and was a BIG expensive goof:)! Galveston does not have the problem. Occasional fog only. Cruises sail full out of Galveston!

They have sailed out of Galveston. We sailed on the Crown Princess prior to Princess sailing out of Bayport.

We have eaten at both specialty restaurants but we prefer the Crown Grill.

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The Ruby is one of our favorite Princess ships. We are scheduled on her next June in Alaska. Had to cancel our Alaska cruise this year. Having withdrawals. :(:(

There's a discussion on one of my roll calls about Princess Insurance. The person who posted this wasn't positive it's correct information. This is what was posted:

We recently had a talk with a favorite TA (whom we don't use however, she's a great acquaintance). She was telling us how she had learned of something about Princess' insurance that astounded her so much that she called Princess several times and talked with several different people of different levels and learned this:

 

Princess' insurance is very good yet only covers you when on the ship or on a Princess excursion (as in under their control). I would imagine that it kicks in once you are inside the terminal? It does not cover you en route to the ship, in port on your own, or on private excursions.

Does anyone know if this is accurate??

Makes sense to me. Your insurance should be covering you while in transit from your home.

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Island Princess 2008 Alaska, Island Princess 2009 (B2B) Alaska, Royal Princess (Old) 2010 Alaska, Golden Princess 2011 Alaska, Coral Princess 2012 Panama Canal, Star Princess 2012 Alaska, Island Princess 2013 Alaska, Crown Princess 2013 Western Caribbean, Caribbean Princess 2013 Western Caribbean, Royal Princess 2014 Eastern Caribbean, Royal Princess 2014 New England, Emerald Princess 2014 Western Caribbean, Emerald Princess 2015 Western Caribbean, Ruby Princess 2015 Alaska, Caribbean Princess 2015 Western Caribbean

Why don't you just call Princess on the phone and ask your question? I'm sure they can tell you how to handle this. Also if you have a "good" travel agent they could also make sure that you are taken care of.

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Island Princess 2008 Alaska, Island Princess 2009 (B2B) Alaska, Royal Princess (Old) 2010 Alaska, Golden Princess 2011 Alaska, Coral Princess 2012 Panama Canal, Star Princess 2012 Alaska, Island Princess 2013 Alaska, Crown Princess 2013 Western Caribbean, Caribbean Princess 2013 Western Caribbean, Royal Princess 2014 Eastern Caribbean, Royal Princess 2014 New England, Emerald Princess 2014 Western Caribbean, Emerald Princess 2015 Western Caribbean, Ruby Princess 2015 Alaska, Caribbean Princess 2015 Western Caribbean

You can take them out. I have seen this done on most of our cruises. No rule that you can't.

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Island Princess 2008 Alaska, Island Princess 2009 (B2B) Alaska, Royal Princess (Old) 2010 Alaska, Golden Princess 2011 Alaska, Coral Princess 2012 Panama Canal, Star Princess 2012 Alaska, Island Princess 2013 Alaska, Crown Princess 2013 Western Caribbean, Caribbean Princess 2013 Western Caribbean, Royal Princess 2014 Eastern Caribbean, Royal Princess 2014 New England, Emerald Princess 2014 Western Caribbean, Emerald Princess 2015 Western Caribbean, Ruby Princess 2015 Alaska, Caribbean Princess 2015 Western Caribbean

Last cruise the change out happened with in about 2 hours. We swapped for two coffee cards.

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Island Princess 2008 Alaska, Island Princess 2009 (B2B) Alaska, Royal Princess (Old) 2010 Alaska, Golden Princess 2011 Alaska, Coral Princess 2012 Panama Canal, Star Princess 2012 Alaska, Island Princess 2013 Alaska, Crown Princess 2013 Western Caribbean, Caribbean Princess 2013 Western Caribbean, Royal Princess 2014 Eastern Caribbean, Royal Princess 2014 New England, Emerald Princess 2014 Western Caribbean, Emerald Princess 2015 Western Caribbean, Ruby Princess 2015 Alaska, Caribbean Princess 2015 Western Caribbean[/color]

We have been to Tracy Arm three times. The first time we got close enough to get long range shots of South Sawyer. The next two times we took an excursion which picked you up at the point where the ship turns back. We got on excursion boats and these took you to with in a quarter mile of both the North and South Sawyer glaciers (1/4 mile is as close as the excursion boats are allowed).

After they spend time at each then they take you back to Juneau to meet your ship. It is about an eight hour excursion. If we go to Tracy Arm again we will take this excursion again.

Other than the Ketchikan Crab Fisherman tour on the Aleutian Ballad, which we take every time we cruise Alaska, this is one of our favorites.

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Island Princess 2008 Alaska, Island Princess 2009 (B2B) Alaska, Royal Princess (Old) 2010 Alaska, Golden Princess 2011 Alaska, Coral Princess 2012 Panama Canal, Star Princess 2012 Alaska, Island Princess 2013 Alaska, Crown Princess 2013 Western Caribbean, Caribbean Princess 2013 Western Caribbean, Royal Princess 2014 Eastern Caribbean, Royal Princess 2014 New England, Emerald Princess 2014 Western Caribbean, Emerald Princess 2015 Western Caribbean, Ruby Princess 2015 Alaska, Caribbean Princess 2015 Western Caribbean

We always take anytime dining but we eat normally at 5:30. We have found that we don't generally have to wait for a table. On some of the ships they will let us pick our table if we have found waiters we like.

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Island Princess 2008 Alaska, Island Princess 2009 (B2B) Alaska, Royal Princess (Old) 2010 Alaska, Golden Princess 2011 Alaska, Coral Princess 2012 Panama Canal, Star Princess 2012 Alaska, Island Princess 2013 Alaska, Crown Princess 2013 Western Caribbean, Caribbean Princess 2013 Western Caribbean, Royal Princess 2014 Eastern Caribbean, Royal Princess 2014 New England, Emerald Princess 2014 Western Caribbean, Emerald Princess 2015 Western Caribbean, Ruby Princess 2015 Alaska, Caribbean Princess 2015 Western Caribbean

I was wondering why my ship schedules were showing the Crown in places the schedules said they should be. At least I don't feel like I'm crazy now.:rolleyes:

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Island Princess 2008 Alaska, Island Princess 2009 (B2B) Alaska, Royal Princess (Old) 2010 Alaska, Golden Princess 2011 Alaska, Coral Princess 2012 Panama Canal, Star Princess 2012 Alaska, Island Princess 2013 Alaska, Crown Princess 2013 Western Caribbean, Caribbean Princess 2013 Western Caribbean, Royal Princess 2014 Eastern Caribbean, Royal Princess 2014 New England, Emerald Princess 2014 Western Caribbean, Emerald Princess 2015 Western Caribbean, Ruby Princess 2015 Alaska, Caribbean Princess 2015 Western Caribbean

We have AT&T and in or close to the major ports you get the regular ATT service. We normally call our daughter here in Houston a number of times during the cruise. Never had a problem.

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You do not have to take bottled water off the ship. I normally just fill up a reusable bottle (like you make take for jogging) put ice in it and fill it with water. I find buying water onboard the ship is a waste of money. Their water is as good as you will get in commercial bottles.

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Island Princess 2008 Alaska, Island Princess 2009 (B2B) Alaska, Royal Princess (Old) 2010 Alaska, Golden Princess 2011 Alaska, Coral Princess 2012 Panama Canal, Star Princess 2012 Alaska, Island Princess 2013 Alaska, Crown Princess 2013 Western Caribbean, Caribbean Princess 2013 Western Caribbean, Royal Princess 2014 Eastern Caribbean, Royal Princess 2014 New England, Emerald Princess 2014 Western Caribbean, Emerald Princess 2015 Western Caribbean, Ruby Princess 2015 Alaska, Caribbean Princess 2015 Western Caribbean

We have sailed on all three. We like the Island and the Coral the most. Less passengers. The Island as had some retrofits which add additional cabinets. However the Coral has had the International Café added to it. The IC is complimentary and the pastries, deserts and sandwiches are available 24 hours. We would sail the Coral if we were doing a cruise out of Vancouver again. We normally sail out of Seattle unless we are taking a Cruisetour which start and stop in Vancouver or Anchorage depending on taking the land tour at the beginning or end.

But which ever ship you select just enjoy the Alaska cruise. We have gone every year since 2008. We will skip this year since we are taking the daughter's family next year for our 50th. Having to save a little extra since we are paying for all of us.

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Island Princess 2008 Alaska, Island Princess 2009 (B2B) Alaska, Royal Princess (Old) 2010 Alaska, Golden Princess 2011 Alaska, Coral Princess 2012 Panama Canal, Star Princess 2012 Alaska, Island Princess 2013 Alaska, Crown Princess 2013 Western Caribbean, Caribbean Princess 2013 Western Caribbean, Royal Princess 2014 Eastern Caribbean, Royal Princess 2014 New England, Emerald Princess 2014 Western Caribbean, Emerald Princess 2015 Western Caribbean, Ruby Princess 2015 Alaska, Caribbean Princess 2015 Western Caribbean

Brewed coffee can only be found at the coffee/bar in the Piazza by the IC. Some ships (Royal Class) have other places to get brewed coffee. You can get specialty coffee in the main dining room but the waiter will take your card and it will get it punched. I've never ask for the brewed coffee in the MDR but it may be possible. Maybe someone will answer this question.

The buffet only has the coffee which is made from a concentrate.

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Island Princess 2008 Alaska, Island Princess 2009 (B2B) Alaska, Royal Princess (Old) 2010 Alaska, Golden Princess 2011 Alaska, Coral Princess 2012 Panama Canal, Star Princess 2012 Alaska, Island Princess 2013 Alaska, Crown Princess 2013 Western Caribbean, Caribbean Princess 2013 Western Caribbean, Royal Princess 2014 Eastern Caribbean, Royal Princess 2014 New England, Emerald Princess 2014 Western Caribbean, Emerald Princess 2015 Western Caribbean, Ruby Princess 2015 Alaska, Caribbean Princess 2015 Western Caribbean

Yes. If you want plain brewed coffee they will use one of the punches. But you can also still use it for specialty coffees.

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Island Princess 2008 Alaska, Island Princess 2009 (B2B) Alaska, Royal Princess (Old) 2010 Alaska, Golden Princess 2011 Alaska, Coral Princess 2012 Panama Canal, Star Princess 2012 Alaska, Island Princess 2013 Alaska, Crown Princess 2013 Western Caribbean, Caribbean Princess 2013 Western Caribbean, Royal Princess 2014 Eastern Caribbean, Royal Princess 2014 New England, Emerald Princess 2014 Western Caribbean, Emerald Princess 2015 Western Caribbean, Ruby Princess 2015 Alaska, Caribbean Princess 2015 Western Caribbean