Coral

Definitely save up for excursions. They are not cheap. If you are only going once, you want to do the excursion that appeals to you and not settle for 2nd or 3rd choice due to cost.

We have -18 F high temps in the winter (or -27 C) temps where I live. I will take Vancouver weather any time over where I live. IMO - you live in a very beautiful place. I think the water keeps your temps warmer. I will take mostly rain over mostly snow any day. 🙂

My point of making a comment is that so many people come here and post that they wished they didn't have 2-10 time frames and they couldn't do what they wanted. So if people like me put that out there - others may look more at their itinerary before they book. Maybe look at what they want to do and if they can't do it with the awful times of 2-10 (yes, they are awful times), then they can look at another itinerary. If you do a 2:30 excursion that will bring you to evening. Very few excursions happen after 5 or 6 pm. So you usually can only do one. If you had 8-5, you can do an all day excursion or two excursions. Many find Juneau a great port, want to do multiple things and can not do that with a 2-10 time frame. I stand by my comments.

Many of us make the most of our times in port. I definitely do 2 excursions in each town if it is half day or I do an all day excursion. Arriving at 2:30 only allows for one half day excursion. Most companies (if not all) are not running evening excursions. It has been a long time since I had that time in port because, honestly, I would avoid any itinerary with those times in port. Even though I have been to Alaska a ton! Taku excursion is one of the most popular and highly rated excursion. I hope you have fun with it. I usually don't do much in town as a lot of shops are not ones I am interested in. It has become too much like the Caribbean (I don't know if it is still there but there was a Diamonds International there). If you look at this board enough - you will find people who book a cruise and then realize the 2:30 -10 pm time slot is not desirable as there is very little excursions to do in the evening and they wish they had a 8-7 time slot in town to be able to do more. Juneau is such a good port with so much to do, many do 2 tours or 1 full day tour. I have no clue if you have been to Alaska before. Definitely different than the Caribbean. Shopping is not a priority of mine in Alaska. A lot of port cities have a ton of shops, not always authentic shops with authentic "Made in Alaska items". And having been to Alaska many, many times, I don't need any more souvenirs. My souvenirs are my memories and my pictures.

It is nicer than where I live 🙂 Everything is relative.

A ship can go from Vancouver to Hawaii. I think a ship does this once a year or so.

It depends on the land tour. My friend was on a Princess tour and it was included. This was years ago.

Yea - I went looking for my pic but yours is just as good! 🙂

The only negative on this is the pre-existing condition clause/look back period. It would be difficult to figure out on the ship if someone is covered or not for a condition.

Princess allows you to upgrade. They used to be included on some but it has been awhile since I have looked at them.

A credit card with a large limit.

While years later (probably 2003) - on the Dawn Princess, I remember being the only ship in Ketchikan and it felt amazing. Also, where they docked, it was like looking down the street and just seeing our ship. It will never be like that again!

24 hours cancellation doesn't help either as a lot of decisions to dock or skip a port happen that morning.

The ropes course was closed when I went also. I was told it was due to lack of employees.

There are other categories than Suites on the ship.

I agree with OP. It is not just more ships, it is much larger ships. I am so glad I have traveled extensively to Alaska in the 2000's when many ships were under 110,000 tons. The ships I was on were 77,000 tons I believe. I went last year and realized while I may return to Alaska, it probably won't be on a ship.

I find May cheaper than September (and the weather is usually great). A friend once mentioned the price on a jacket sale she got. It was the same price as May. Though I rarely buy anything on vacations- my pictures are my souvenirs.

I am guessing the PVP also has 2 days off during the week. They are essentially a TA for Princess that will not discount. You can not use both. It sounds like a lot of PVPs don't stick around long and you may be moved around quite a bit. My TA seems to answer the phones 7 days a week. I consider myself lucky.

Maybe I sailed with them before they started this (2007). I literally got nothing - my TA sells a ton of Princess and HAL so I would have thought she would have coded it correctly. Though I have to say I had a great experience on HAL. I don't know if I was incredibly lucky or what but we had amazing entertainment on the ship that week - best I have ever had on any cruise. Any people complain about HAL's entertainment. Plus, I had an inside cabin that was huge. It was a good experience. I don't know why I haven't returned to HAL.

They were identical at one time but Princess decided to "modify" Island Princess and IMO ruined her.

Coral Princess!

We also tendered in 2018 in Gerianger (one of my favorite ports). We tendered as we were there with other ships who had the dock.

Princess 2026 is now open.

Princess 2026 Alaska Program opens for Groups allocations July 25 and Loyalty guests levels Gold and above then opens to the Public on Aug 1, 2024 Princess Cruises is delighted to announce our most expansive Alaska program yet, which includes the maiden Alaska season for our newest ship, Star Princess. The program includes 8 ships on 180 departures with an array of voyages from 7- to 20—days including a portfolio of cruisetours to enable guests to experience mainland Alaska through our Cruises, Lodges and Direct to the Wilderness rail service.   NEW Ship Star Princess: (departs Sundays) and Royal Princess (departs Saturdays) sail 7-day voyages roundtrip from Seattle. 8 ships: NEW! Star Princess, Coral Princess, Discovery Princess, Emerald Princess, Grand Princess, Island Princess, Royal Princess, and Ruby Princess Cruisetours: Combines a 7-day Voyage of the Glaciers cruise, 3 to 10 nights on land at exclusive Princess wilderness lodges and our Direct to the Wilderness Rail. Most cruisetours include a visit to Alaska’s top two attractions, Glacier Bay National Park, and Denali National Park.  Glacier Bay: With 89 calls to Glacier Bay National Park, Princess Cruises takes more guests to UNESCO World Heritage Site than any other cruise line. North to Alaska Programming: Princess enhances award-winning North to Alaska! Program, bringing local Alaskans, culture, and highlighting fresh Seafood onboard. 2026 product highlights: Voyage of the Glaciers: Voyage of the Glaciers voyages sail between Vancouver, B.C., and Anchorage (Whittier) featuring two glacier-viewing experiences with most including Glacier Bay National Park. Experience this itinerary on: Discovery Princess and Grand Princess on Saturdays, joined by Coral Princess and Island Princess on Wednesdays. Also available as a 14-day Voyage of the Glaciers Grand Adventure. National Parks Cruisetour: 15-night National Parks cruisetour is perfect for those who want to seamlessly get their National Parks Passport stamped. Guests will adventure to five of Alaska’s most breathtaking parks including Glacier Bay, Denali, Wrangell-St. Elias, Kenai Fjords National Parks, and Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park in Skagway. Longer adventures include:  20-day Ultimate Alaska Solstice on Ruby Princess roundtrip from San Francisco which will explore the Great Land on the longest day of the year. Features four glacier-viewing experiences: Glacier Bay National Park, Hubbard Glacier, College Fjord, and Endicott Arm & Dawes Glacier. Also includes Ketchikan, Skagway and Juneau, and picturesque ports like Valdez and Prince Rupert. 17-night Ultimate Princess Connoisseur cruisetour (Tour V) featuring two nights at each one of our five Princess Wilderness Lodges for the ultimate Alaska vacation. 16-day Inside Passage with Glacier Bay National Park roundtrip from Los Angeles on Emerald Princess. 11-day Inside Passage on Emerald Princess roundtrip from Vancouver, B.C. including Glacier Bay National Park & Hubbard Glacier. Scheduled to Open for Sale (Star, Royal, Emerald, Ruby, Discovery, Grand, Coral, and Island) Voyages will be open for sale on the following dates listed below (note that Loyalty guests levels Gold and above will have the opportunity to book the week prior to public launch and early group allocations will also be available on July 25, 2024). Market Travel Agent Group Allocations Loyalty Week Public On Sale North America (PDT) Thu, July 25, 2024 Thu, July 25, 2024 (8:00 AM) Thu, Aug 1, 2024 (8:00 AM) North America (EDT) Thu, July 25, 2024 Thu, July 25, 2024 (11:00 AM) Thu, Aug 1, 2024 (11:00 AM)

Sometimes life isn't that simple. Whenever I get these, I have FF miles (free) for airfare and getting those during different dates may be difficult. Plus, my work has busy and not busy times, plus I have to work around other people's vacation times. I have received a ton of these and never taken advantage of them. Maybe when I am retired.