Coral

Cunard is going to be more like Princess and HAL. Cunard has one of the most knowledgeable researcher about whales onboard - Rachel Cartwright. Make sure you go to her seminars. She is a great speaker and her talks are very entertaining.

Sounds like you have confirmed your answer. I would only be worried about this time if you were tendering and not docked. If you are docked, you are fine.

If at the end of the cruise. I couldn't tell if it was at the beginning or end of cruise. Sounds like both? At the end of the cruise, you can buy through shore excursion desk or a form they send to your cabin when asking disembarkment plans.

Who did you book with? If with a TA, you need to contact the TA. I have never booked directly with Princess so I don't know if you can do it via web or if you need to contact them.

I agree about spending several days in the area. Very nice museums and other cool places to see.

They mentioned no one in their group has been to NY before.

Do not stay near Brooklyn pier/Red Hook. Bad area, nothing there. I think there is a Marriott there but there is nothing there to see tourist wise. I would spend the night in Manhattan and see the city before your cruise. You can then arrange a car service to the pier.

I agree. It is difficult for one person to be a great web designer plus a great insurance person. I have been pleased when I spoke with Steve. He knows his stuff.

If a cruise is popular and sells out, Princess will pull the group space. So I doubt sold out notifications are related to TAs holding group space. My agent had group space on my Norway cruise.

I doubt it is related to travel agents. If a ship fills up, they pull travel agent space. They don't let agents sit on it for very long if they think they can sell the cabins. This itinerary is always pretty full as they only do a few Norwegian Fiord trips per year. I know when I went in 2018, I got a move over offer to September. They were doing the cruise I was on in June and September and that was it.

I think it is related to having fewer ships than before COVID. Plus, people are vacationing again. Just think if they hadn't sold off several of the ship's - there would be more ship's going to more places!

I had a huge inside cabin on the Oosterdam also! I agree - it was the nicest inside cabin on any ship I have had. I later had a balcony on that ship and it was probably 1/2 the size. The inside wasn't an accessible cabin - it was like a deluxe cabin or something. It was nice. Corner couch, etc...

Almost 3 months. I would be surprised if this is covered.

We took a tour of the island. It was super foggy so I can't rave about the tour. Apparently this is not uncommon.

NCL advertises Glacier Bay cruises that don't go to Glacier Bay. Stranger things exist. I think all the cruise lines use the term "inside passage" loosely. None of the large ships on any lines go inside.

Panning for gold seems to be popular amongst the kids age group. I think many adults find it hokey. I am sure other adults on this website will prove me wrong but that seems to be the consensus of those I have spoken to.

Actually - my box lunch was when we went to Tulum! I think we docked in Playa De Carmen. We were supposed to dock somewhere else and there was a military ship there so we had to change docking locations.

The only time I have been provided a boxed lunch from the cruise line was on a Mexican excursion with Celebrity way back when. That literally was the only time! @Senga If a vendor wants you to pack you a lunch, suggest that you have them pick up a lunch for you and offer to pay for it. This was really common on itineraries that went to St. Petersburg years ago - they expected people to bring food off of the ship.

Next year? I wonder if Princess selling several ships during COVID is interfering with covering the map. I have no real insight into itineraries. Just purely guessing. Doesn't look like Princess is doing Japan in April 2025 from what I can tell. Not a good sign. Such a pretty time to see Japan.

Your first and last day are probably going to be rough. You will not sail the inside passage on the Discovery Princess. You will sail West of Vancouver Island due to the size of the ship. Expect to rock and roll. Be prepared for rough seas. Sorry.

I would recommend end of May. Historically driest month of Alaska (less rain). Sept and Oct have the potential/odds for the worst weather. For places - I would recommend driving North of Vancouver to Squamish and then Whistler (spend the night) and then go East. https://www.whistler.com/activities/summer/ https://www.exploresquamish.com/discover/about-squamish/ https://www.exploresquamish.com/discover/about-squamish/#group_21535_1

Shore excursions are pretty much the same, regardless of what cruise line one goes on. Only the price differs. I wouldn't hesitate to book independently. You may want to spend time on this board reading reviews of other individuals shore excursions.

I would really be surprised if Norfolk didn't want the cruise ships. They built a huge cruise terminal that has barely been used. I think Carnival used it some. They really wanted the ships to come. Maybe a local could shed some light onto this. I can see Charleston limiting ships. Though I was there on the Crown several years ago. It was a great port.

My friends booked it the day it moved from Portland to Bar Harbor (less than a month ago). They were looking forward to Portland.

You are right. I didn't realize it was 2025. Though it would surprise me if there is a bridge there in 2025. It is going to take awhile though I don't think they know anything yet.