Coral

I have had this happen also. It is frustrating. It will be given as OBC on the ship.

I have called and they say "don't you want OBC, everyone wants OBC" and I am like "I used my credit card - I want a credit". Sometimes I have gotten it, other times I go to the casino and take the money out that way.

Their accounting system needs help.

I tendered once on a smaller ship (about 77,000 tons). It worked because I had a longer day there and really had no plans. I wasn't in a rush to get off. Where they dropped us off was right in the center.

Those with cruise ship tours go first.

If I remember correctly, when I exited it was low tide and there was a steep staircase to climb to get to land level.

On 4/19/2024 at 12:19 PM, vwlmember said:

I just received the notification and am not a casino player. Guess I will go back to Royal since they seem to have their act together.

 

It is the shipyard that is delayed, not the cruise line. 

11 hours ago, klfrodo said:

My airline of choice, Alaska Air, has never had a problem just rebanking my miles if I need to cancel. But, that could be because I have elite status with the airline.

Though I may need additional coverage such as medical on the cruise.

And cruise lines won't just "bank the cruise" if you need to cancel. Definitely different than using miles or points. Cruise lines have strict cancellation policies.

I spent my entire time in Hoonah (which I enjoyed). We were told the ropes courses were closed due to lack of employees. 

I was there last May.

1 hour ago, RobC1116 said:

But in our case, we paid $$$ for the original trip that we then canceled. In lieu of an 80% refund (based on the timeliness of the cancellation), we received a voucher for the full amount we had paid. So now, the voucher has 0 value, and cannot be insured? If that is the case, we will just insure the costs over and above the voucher value

Check with Viking directly. I usually don't book with Viking but after COVID, many cruise lines were insuring vouchers and coverage is for the cost of the voucher.

You may want to call @iamtrustworthy also. Things changed after COVID and he mentioned he has some policies (assuming you are in US).

On 4/27/2024 at 4:08 PM, wolfie11 said:

Nice price.  Pricing is dynamic and changes all the time.

It is listed in Canadian dollar though? Cheaper when translated to US dollars. LOL!

On 4/25/2024 at 4:27 PM, Mark_K said:

Just out of curiosity, who’s the “they?” 
 

I don’t recall anyone mentioning a tip amount when I called down to have our bags taken to the ship.

I also was given a card when the bell captain took my luggage up to my room. He indicated if I wanted the luggage taken to the ship, they suggested $2.50 or some amount per bag (I don't remember) as a tip and to call by a certain time. I tipped accordingly. Great service.

It would be the same amount one would tip for luggage service from a bell captain anyway.

I thought I took a picture of the card but can't find it.

35 minutes ago, Eileen G said:

 

Unfortunately we were there when an NCL ship was tendering into that area too so there were two ships using the gondola and the lines were long. Getting the gondola back at 2 was even worse so we walked. 

Thanks for the update. We only had one ship but there was never a wait. I was one of the first off and last person back but we had a long day there (I did 2 shore excursions, morning and afternoon). 

I have previously bought MedJet but have not used them.

I had a recent experience with Allianz and also spoke with them after my experience. I broke my wrist in Canada and needed surgery. Before speaking with Allianz, I decided I wanted to have surgery back home and told the doctor that. I obviously was not an "in-patient" category or life threatening. 

I called Allianz and told them I wanted to go home for surgery. They were amazing how quickly things went into motion and within 48 hours, I was on a plane back home (over a holiday weekend) with a medical escort. I have only positive things to say about this.

I later called Allianz and was asking if MedJet was also necessary. I know they are probably biased but one can't travel with just MedJet alone for medical and my healthcare insurance home doesn't cover me outside of the US well. Allianz told me that they will do everything possible to get you home so you can have medical care back home, if that is possible. They indicated that most want to be cared for by their local doctors and it is many times cheaper for them to fly you home than put you up in a hospital over seas. Granted that example can't cover all examples and if you are severe enough and need medical care overseas - it makes sense to do that right away (heart, appendix, etc..). If it is a broken limb like I had, they are going to try to get you home for care. I appreciated that info.

On 4/26/2024 at 3:09 AM, edinburgher said:

Based on only our  two 14 night itineraries onboard HAL ships, Holland America and Princess usually have the best docking locations, or had pre-pandemic, but maybe things have changed since then?

Princess often docks at Franklin dock in Juneau. I can't say it is the best location (it isn't bad and extremely walkable) - they dock there so they can hook up to Juneau's power and save energy (so for green reasons). For this, I applaud them. If there are 2 Princess ships, the other ship can dock at various docks.

On 4/25/2024 at 6:36 PM, Eileen G said:

In Juneau make sure the ship you are planning on taking doesn't use the AJ dock. While it is walkable it's quite a walk into town. Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and NCL use this dock. There is a free shuttle. Also in ISP there is a dock that requires a gondola ride that can get a line. There is a walking path that takes maybe 10 minutes. It's a bit up and down and can be an issue if you have mobility issues.

Having used the dock in ISP that used the Gondola - this is incredibly smooth. They can move people extremely quick on this. I never saw more than a few minutes max for a wait time.

2 hours ago, Bogie76 said:

Thanks for the responses. I was wonder about the difference of College Fjord or Hubbard. It looks like the southbound has more time in Glacier Bay and less time in some of the port cities (fine by me).

 

Coral - on the deck plans it shows E731 Twin beds only/not convertible. Do you know if this is true - or can it converted to a single queen bed?

 

 

These floor plans say E731 is fine.

E729 is also good but I like E731 better. E729 is above the band and you can often hear/feel sound from the band.

2 hours ago, Bogie76 said:

Thanks for the responses. I was wonder about the difference of College Fjord or Hubbard. It looks like the southbound has more time in Glacier Bay and less time in some of the port cities (fine by me).

 

Coral - on the deck plans it shows E731 Twin beds only/not convertible. Do you know if this is true - or can it converted to a single queen bed?

 

 

 

E731 converts to a queen.

D736 and D737 are awkward. I would avoid these. They were supposedly setup as handicapped mini suites but the front door isn't wide enough so they are not accessible cabins. They have an odd bed setup and while they can be made into a queen, it is really odd (and it says it doesn't convert). It is best as twins.

4 hours ago, rnr4thatsme said:

Would Carnival Luminosa be likely to be able to make this stop in mid-August (reading that July may be iffy)...

More likely than May. August probably has the best potential for it though anything can happen.

7 minutes ago, Treasure Hunter said:

The old Star was a wonderful ship. We took her around the tip of South America  in the 90s followed by an NCL ship for safety. And then to the Baltic when St. Petersburg was just opening up to tourists. No stores or restaurants! We bought stuff out of people’s car trunks. Great memories of a comfortable friendly environment with great food. All Italian kitchen and wait staff who were having romances with the British hairdressers. The gossip was very entertaining. 

I actually went to Leningrad (and Moscow) in 1988. There were stores for tourists back then. I bought several things. We actually bought things from local stores as well. We did a land trip there and not via ship so we had more flexibility. It was pretty tourist friendly then. We spent 2 weeks there so we obviously ate at restaurants. Mostly ones for locals.

I went 20 years later to St. Petersburg and it was crazy.

I looked and I believe it was D741 that had the awful smell - this was probably 10+ years ago. I haven't read anything recently but it was horrible. D740 would be identical. I wouldn't take a chance and book that cabin again. The smell was coming from the vent. 

I love E731. I try to always get this cabin (covered, extended balcony). Also, Emerald mini suites are covered. dolphin mini suites are not. Never had a wind issue in this cabin. Technically it could happen.

Caribe side balconies are half covered, half open and larger than most side balcony cabins. These are desirable if one doesn't go aft.

I have had several aft cabins but most are suites and I don't keep track which I prefer. I did have an aft balcony cabin on the Sapphire and there was a vent nearby and it smelled horribly outside due to what the vent was for. I forget which cabin that was. There were balcony cabins on either side of the vents and then suites next to the balcony cabins and the suites couldn't smell what I did.

16 hours ago, afn10305 said:

We have some cruising buddies who live in Seattle, so they have done Alaska many times and we asked their opinions too. That's our other *kink* in the thought process of WHERE to cruise FROM since we've never been to Seattle either and we could potentially meet up with our friends there first.  OH, the decisions... 🤔

 

90% of the cruises from Seattle spend less time in ports and usually only have 1 glacier day (one extra sea day of not viewing much) verses if you cruise from Vancouver one way North. I look at Seattle 7 night RT cruises and they just don't interest me. They are not in port very long. The only exception would be if you can find an 11 or 14 night RT Seattle cruise.

You can easily take a one way cruise and still spend time in Seattle. Many cruise lines will do a transfer from Seattle airport to Vancouver pier.

I have friends in Seattle who have done several Alaska cruises from Seattle. They don't go to Vancouver because Seattle is easy for them.

14 hours ago, oaktreerb said:

The idea would be to fly into Fairbanks, bus to Denali, train to Anchorage, train or bus to Whittier to join the ship.  Yes, it would be too far for someone who starts their itinerary in Anchorage as it would require backtracking and a waste of travel rime.

I still think it is too much transit time and not enough time to do things by going to Fairbanks for 3 nights land trip. I think the time is better spent not going that far North. I have heard from several who have done it and they wish they had skipped Fairbanks. I get that. I would only include Fairbanks if I had 7 nights.

6 hours ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

Certainly agree.  But, how would Princess know about the specific needs of passengers in accessible cabins?  Last I knew the ADA banned inquiry of needs.  Those with disabilities can volunteer and ask for assistance,  but not required to so.

There is an over statement. My Mom had a Seeing Eye dog. We had to notify Princess of bringing the dog onboard whenever we cruised. They could not ask what disability my Mom had but could ask what services the dog provided to my Mom. So there are ways around the questions.

We were not shy about the fact it was a Seeing Eye dog. I had a letter from the Seeing Eye and also a letter from her doctor saying that she was blind and used the services of her Seeing Eye dog. I would send them the same letter each and every time we booked.

10 minutes ago, TM said:

We stayed at the Fairmont Pacific Rim last August on the Princess hotel deal which also included a taxi transport in form the airport.  If I remember correctly, it was $289 per person for the room. The hotel was very nice and I would definitely stay there again.  It was right across the street from the cruise terminal.  Transfer of the luggage to the pier was included but we did tip the porter that picked them up.  As previously noted, boarding can be either good or bad.  We had to pick up our medallions and that process alone took close to an hour.  Never again will I do that, I will pay to have them shipped to my home.

It is a very nice hotel. Probably one of the best in Vancouver. 

I picked up my medallion at the pier last year. It took probably 1 minute. Goes to show how different experiences can be.

12 minutes ago, wolfie11 said:

But the room is close to $1000

I remember in 2010 spending $400/night to stay at Fairmont Pacific Rim. I couldn't believe how much I spent there but it was an amazing hotel. Probably nicest hotel I have ever stayed at at the time (and probably still).

4 minutes ago, wolfie11 said:

But the room is close to $1000

Though for a reasonable tip - they do take the bags to the ship for you! 🙂

I paid $300 last year.

32 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 

For a huge promenade one can't beat Sapphire. Our first cruise was on the old R Class Sea Princess. It too had an extra wide promenade and we thought that was how they would all be. Imagine our disappointment when we found that wasn't the norm. If I remember right Coral has an extra wide Promenade as well but, of course, it's not a Grand Class ship.

I never heard the Sea Princess as an R Class ship. We called it the Sun Class ships (referring to the old Sun Princess). The Pacific Princess (2nd), Tahitian and Ocean Princess (2nd) were all R Class ships. These were Renaissance ships, thus, R Class. Approx 30,000 tons.

The Sun Class had the Sun, Dawn, Sea and Ocean Princess. These were around 77,000 tonns.

I agree about Sapphire and Diamond Princess wide promenade decks. I don't remember the Coral Princess having that wide but it has been awhile since I have been on that ship.