Coral

Though I have a friend who is scheduled on the Emerald Princess this summer and the itinerary switched from Portland, Maine to Bar Harbor. So they are taking ships this summer.

The cruise ship pier/building in Norfolk is a very nice building. They sort of had the idea "if they build it, ships will come". It didn't necessarily work out that way. I did like my stop in Norfolk on a cruise though. Plus, the locals all came out to greet us. Nice community.

Due to Baltimore not being able to take ships - I heard Norfolk is taking them. My guess is that is the reason why. The demise of the Baltimore bridge is most likely the reason.

Switching cruise ships allowed this 🙂 Glad you found a good TA! Spending the night between cruises also solves it.

I know when my agent has group space and a sailing is popular and sold out - Princess recalls her group space with written notice to the agent. They may tell her "you have 2 weeks before we recall your group space". So it is possible an agent may have space if a sailing is sold out but Princess is not going to let the agent sit on the cabins for that long if the cruise is very popular and sold out. I have seen when my agent has access to categories which Princess has listed as sold out though. When agents get group space, they lock in the price of certain categories. So if Princess increases the cost of that category, the agent may have the category at a lower rate based on when they locked in their group space.

@wolfie11 is right - you will go West of Vancouver Island due to the ship size (and limitations) on the first and last day. It could be rough sailing. If you are prone to sea sickness, I would plan accordingly. It will not be scenic.

I got off immediately last summer (one ship in port) and there were huge lines to get on the buses to downtown Sitka. I decided to go back to the ship and changed jackets. When I got back off the ship, the lines were much smaller. My guess is you have to get off right away or wait an hour or so. I also agree with @wolfie11 that it varies if there are 1 or 2 ships in port. We only had 1 ship in port.

They may offer more excursions once on the ship, depending on how many people are on the ship for 14 nights. I do have to say, 26 glacier trip gets a lot closer and is a great excursion, even if doing College Fiords via ship. Or you can rent a car.

Just a quick search: There are restrictions on bringing meat, dairy, fish and animal products and fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds into Great Britain from abroad. Best to follow ship rules.

Just because you did, doesn't make it right or legal.

They used to do that in the past but it really didn't matter. People showed up whenever and they processed them when they came. They no longer do it. Whittier is also a different beast. A lot of individuals are coming from cruise tours at multiple times, independent touring and then buses from Anchorage. It is not like the airport is 10 minutes away like in FLL. Most do arrive through Princess some how or via train.

Yea - Congress doesn't even want to talk about this.

You are doing a B2B? No, there will not be vendors offering this at the port. Have you considered renting a car in Whittier for the day? Driving yourself and then back? Princess does offer excursions for the day for B2B cruisers. Though sometimes they are cancelled due to lack of interest. I forget which ones are offered - I want to say a kayaking in Whittier, 26 Glacier, a trip to Anchorage for time on your own (this is one that has been cancelled due to lack of interest on cruises I have been on), etc...

You can not do Seward to Vancouver to LA. You can do Seward to Vancouver and back to Seward. Or Vancouver to Seward to Vancouver. You can not start in one US port on West coast and go to another US port on West coast with out switching ships. Your TA is one of the few that understands this law properly. Passenger Services Act. Jones Act deals with cargo (not passengers).

The excursion people recommend it, not the ship. It would surprise me if this is allowed. Clarification - you are fine taking pre-packaged food off the ship. Not items from the buffet that are not pre-packaged.

You can drop off your luggage before hand. Go to 26 Glaciers and take the cruise and then check in after 26 Glacier cruise. It will be fine. People do this all the time. 26 Glacier cruise will be filled with individuals on your trip.

You can do the 26 glacier tour. The walk between that and the check-in is probably 3 minutes. There will be several from your cruise on that tour. I believe you need to be checked in by 7:30. Though it seems they often run late because buses run late from Anchorage with passengers arriving on planes.

I wear Gotex athletic shoes (Brooks Ghost GTX). I wear them back home when it is raining.

I have been to Alaska a ton and have never bought any boots with me. I bring athletic shoes. Is there a reason you are bringing boots?

I am guessing you are retired? And you seem to live near a port. I am no where near a port and am not retired, so going monthly is not an option as it takes me all day to fly to a port. I do not cruise for the ship experience. I cruise for the ports and am no longer interested in Caribbean, Mexico, etc... Though there are things on the ship experience that do affect my cruising and when those are decreased, I desire to be on the ship even less.

I miss the old Princess also. Unfortunately, I miss the Princess that existed way before COVID but I agree, the cuts from COVID are noticeable. At one time, I was cruising 4x a year. I haven't been on a ship since last May and I have nothing booked with Princess. It is funny - new cruisers are very happy with the current Princess. My response is "just wait 4-5 years" or most likely how quickly things are changing, "just wait 1-2 years". My sister started cruising right before COVID and even she has noticed the huge changes and not for the better.

I always try to get to know the naturalists. The one on my last cruise was amazing. I learned so much from them. Sometimes if you are lucky, there are more than one (we had 2). Plus - they bring people onboard in multiple ports to talk. These are all amazing talks. I agree with @capriccio 1000%.

Yes there are formal nights. IMO - people dress up less on Alaskan cruises compared to other itineraries. Though I mostly do one way cruises in Alaska - it maybe different out of Seattle. Business casual is fine. I think they just don't want jeans in the dining room. Yes - there are buffet meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner. In the dining room, meals are coursed out - if you don't like that, just tell the dining room waiters you want your food all at once or to arrive quicker. I avoid the buffet as much as possible. Most shows are 2x per night. Most.

Do you have hotel and air reservations? You can insure that to get medical and evacuation for the entire trip.

Avoid Sanctuary for Alaska. Best place for glacier days is Deck 7 - Promenade. It is outside (great for pictures) and covered (in case the weather isn't great). You can easily move from side to side. Everyone is on the top deck and it gets crowded. The perspective of the glaciers from a lower deck is actually better, especially for pictures. Go to all the Naturalists talks. Go to the talks of the people they bring onboard such as Libby Riddles (first female to win Iditarod). I think Rex Redington was on last year (winner of last year's Iditarod and grandson of the first guy who started Iditarod). Other speakers are amazing. If your choice is food or scenery - choose scenery. Eat around glacier times. Port days - don't skimp on excursions, they are expensive and many are worth it.