tanyaewa

2 hours ago, Kierste said:

We have pushed it to 9:30 before and it gets really awkward to try and stay after that 🙂

This.  🙂

weather is always a factor.  I’ve been 3 times - May, May and September and I’ve been VERY fortunate but lots of days can be socked in rain. Early September should be fine and downright warm at times. The ships port right in the towns and there is exploring to be done by foot easily at each stop.  It’s really up to your preference as to how much you “splash out” for tours and what interests you. 

 

1. Skagway.  I do not know whether to book the Rail and Bus Excursion (3 hours 45 minutes) or the Rail and Yukon Suspension Bridge (4 hours 45 minutes).   Any advice?

I would suggest the rail excursion.  No need to add on bus trip as well.  We did White Pass railway this past September and it was amazing. There is also an extremely interesting museum in town.

we were late September and the shops were starting to wind down for the season 

2.  I have been advised to take a helicopter tour.  In Skagway there is the Helicopter Glacier Discovery but I can not book that if I do the Train excursion.  In Juneau, I can book the Helicopter Icefield Excursion.  Is that excursion good? 
I would choose the helicopter in Juneau. Although going out to see Mendenhall Glacier is another option. It’s certainly not as impressive as ones you will see in glacier bay but it’s very interesting 

3.  I have also been advised to book the Bering Sea Crab Fisherman's Tour in Ketchikan.  I am not sure I want to book that cruise so I am interested in other recommendations for shore excursions in Ketchikan.

in Ketchikan it’s very cool to just do a town walking tour - we once did the Duck Boat tour and it was super interesting because the y

tour guide was a born and raised local 

3 hours ago, Oregonhiker said:

I’ll answer my own question as am now on POA. It was worth it. As promised by NCL rep, reservations would be plentiful for suite passengers once on board. All requested times were available. Concierge did advise booking with rep available in Cagney’s for embarkation lunch.

 

and yes ship was sold out.

 

In other news, all venues are now open including Key West Grill. Staffing seems fine, service excellent and recent redo of interiors makes ship feel much newer and nicer than when aboard eight years ago. 

Thanks very much for taking the time to come back and give us a first hand account. “Most” of us really appreciate it 

We loved deck 7 mid ship and aft. 
 

19 hours ago, lt0826 said:

I didn't have an option to pick the cabin and all I could do was guaranteed. We decided not to do the upgrade out of fear of being in a bad location.  We later called about a spa club balcony and got a great price a s just took it. 

That worked out great then 

I just booked a club Balcony suite ( on the encore )  and the room selection defaulted to the rooms directly above the cavern. Fortunately I noticed and changed it. I’d be concerned about the possibility….  What is the price diff between guarantee and choosing?

Where do you submit your shareholder statement 

Same thing happened to me for weeks.  Same coastal itineraries. Tried many work around. Finally booked a NCL cruise. Then circled back to check pricing on Princess and it let me book when I wasn’t logged in but prices were much higher than what I saw when I was logged in. Frustrating. Finally got my TA to check and it Turns out NCL is much cheaper anyway.  

Loving this review because 

a) we love cruising with family

b) we have been on the Bliss to Alaska (and my husband was removed from racetrack…( it may have been a DUI ;)) we finally found him in the “waiting lounge”

C) the day you were in Cabo I was in a lounge chair on the beach watching your ship anchored in front of us….. I would have watched all your adventures - arriving, tendering, heading out on your luxury snorkel, etc…

We spent a lot of time on the promenade deck on Majestic in Alaska this September. It was rarely busy and we were literally the only people on the back of the ship on that deck as we left glacier bay. Stunning. It does NOT go all the way around but there are certainly pockets of very underused viewing space on both sides. And there’s the smoke 💨 loungers section too which can sometimes be empty and a nice place for a nap 

5 hours ago, ijscheer said:

We are on the very last (9/10) sailing.  Will let you know what the count is for that one.

 

I didn’t realize it was the last! We are in that one too

I’ve missed you CheapoDad! So glad you are out and cruising again. Heading out on Majestic next month. Looking forward to your perspective here

Gosh thanks for sharing this. This is the sort of thing I love about this message board - the little intel details. I booked the breakfast for our Sept 10. What a fun surprise for my hubby.  

I’ve told this story before…. We embarked at Rome and one of our travelling companions brought 6 bottles of lovely Italian wine.  They stood at the table for 15 min before 2-3 staff waved them along.  My friends tried to insist they pay but staff were too busy with other things. YMMV

Although the regulations are clear and set out - I believe it varies by port, ship and staffing 

On the glacier you will be walking on snow, ice and melted ice. It’s best to have suitable footwear 

3 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

Since they purchase the wine and liquor tax-free, they make a bundle of $$$ with every bottle sold.

Absolutely- that’s food and beverage.  ALL liquor sales have very significant markups. There is no reason for Princess to not be in line with other pricing elsewhere which in turn increases revenues 
People are willing to pay much more for the exact same thing if they feel there is a prestige to it. If Princess wants to continue to attract a premier crowd they need to sell it as that.  There has to be a wholesale price increase due to industry cost increases and this is the vehicle to do that 

Just now, caribill said:

 

No surprise at all. Princess purchases all alcohol beverages with no government taxes needing to be paid.

 

Selling just one or two drinks from a bottle more than likely covers the entire cost of the bottle.

ALL liquor sales have very significant markups. There is no reason for Princess to not be in line with other pricing elsewhere which in turn increases revenues 

As I said in the other thread…

In my opinion this is the way for Princess to raise all their liquor prices. IMO it’s overdue.  I’m always surprised at the reasonable prices vs an onland restaurant or resort.  Across the board all prices and costs have increased in the past few years and especially months and this allows them a vehicle to do it under the guise of “premier pricing”.  So much interest here  is being focussed on that when in fact I’m sure we will see all beverages significantly increase to new thresholds 

Edited 3 minutes ago by tanyaewa

In my opinion this is the way for Princess to raise all their liquor prices. IMO it’s overdue.  I’m always surprised at the reasonable prices vs an onland restaurant or resort.  Across the board all prices and costs have increased in the past few years and especially months and this allows them a vehicle to do it under the guise of “premier pricing”.  So much interest here  is being focussed on that when in fact I’m sure we will see all beverages significantly increase to new thresholds 

6 hours ago, hsmom said:

I was put in the yellow lane in January since I had contact with someone with covid 12 days prior to embarkment. I contacted Princess 3 times to see what this meant. Each time I was told that I would be evaluated at the pier, maybe given a covid test but to certainly come to the ship. My TA was given the same response.

 

Well, silly me, I believed them. Took my 3 negative covid test results etc, etc and flew to Ft. Lauderdale. Once we found someone who even knew what to do with a “yellow” lane we were sent to the medical area. The Dr. Asked why I was there. I told her that I was 12 days out and it put me in the yellow lane.  Immediately she said that I could not board. Nope…no evaluation, no covid test. She was nice about it. I asked if it was automatic. She said yes.  That was it. We were given a form letter with my last name spelled wrong and not even shown where to exit the building.

 

Don’t get me wrong. In January that was the protocol in place. I answered the questions honestly. But like the OP, I am still dumbfounded that my trip was not automatically canceled. It really hurt that I tried to get to the bottom of things and was given the wrong answer. 

 

I was supposed to be on a B2B. By the time we left the building my second cruise was gone from the Medallion app so we made plans to both go home. The Monday after the second cruise started I got a call asking why I was not on board. Sigh. This Princess employee was wonderful and encouraged me to contact customer service. I sent a letter in January and have yet to receive a response. 

 

 

Holy moly. That’s an awful story and I’m so sorry. What a complete drag and a serious cluster. I want you to get all you $ back ASAP 

Princess room configuration for clothes storage is the best of any cruise line in my opinion 

We did many cruises with our 2 boys in interiors. Absolutely possible 

and ohhh to be the lucky parent who gets to do the nap shift in the quiet dark room.  Heaven 

19 hours ago, atexsix said:

Really?  Wow!  Portland isn't a major seaport, kind of a strange place for a drydock, you'd think there was some place closer?

 

Of course they wouldn't stay onboard, you really think I thought that?

Ummmm. It’s called PORTland 

10 minutes ago, AstoriaPreppy said:

Loving the breathless "IT'S DEFINITELY COVID" speculation, but it seems just as likely that the small number of passengers for a four-day sailing to Vancouver (before a scheduled dry dock) just wasn't financially feasible for the line to run?

I'm sure we'll get multiple CC members who chime in saying they were supposed to be boarding this voyage, but the vast majority of mainstream cruise line passengers aren't taking a 4 day, one way trip to Canada at the start of April.

Absolutely