ssbeagle

4 hours ago, JanetMarie said:

ACL is very good about having ample employees to assist with getting on/off the ship for excursions.  They have plenty of golf carts to transport you to the bus for excursions.  The bus has a step stool with wonderful drivers that help you aboard.  The first few seats are reserved for those needing assistance.

Thank you so much for that information.  I’m going to look into taking a cruise with them.

2 hours ago, BaumD said:

Yes, many of their passengers use walkers and wheelchairs and they are very good at helping them. One suggestion, take one of the newer ships with TWO elevators. Some of the older ships have only one elevator and they are very small and very very slow.

Thank you.  I would love to do the Columbia and Snake River cruise as well as the Canada/New England one.

I am interested in booking a couple of cruises on American Cruise Lines but I am wondering if they are good for people who use rollators (walkers) or scooters.  Can anyone provide information on that please?

We just disembarked the Caribbean Princess on the 20th in New York.  This cruise is supposed to end in Quebec.  We were getting some height winds on our way down in Charlottetown and missed Sydney because of high wind.  Fiona is headed right for Halifax and will be pretty bad unless conditions change.  I hope you all are having a good time despite missing ports and stay safe!

On 6/12/2022 at 2:54 PM, Tedferg said:

Does Princess advise passengers about Arrivcan? We are cruising New York to Quebec and would not have known about this if we had not seen it here on CC.

Yes, we were notified in the special requirements on our booking.

We have always chosen our cabin at booking.  We did it for this one but our TA messed up and lost the cabin because she didn’t follow through on finalizing the booking, thus the guarantee.  It wasn’t any cheaper than choosing our cabin either.  Same price.

We have a guarantee cabin category on a cruise in December, so no cabin assignment yet.  I know that you can get assigned as late as embarkation day.  Can anyone tell me how that works, please?  If they can't give you a cabin in the category you booked, do they upgrade you?

Princess made a big mistake when the made masks optional and stopped all the covid testing.  We were on the Ruby for the Feb 10th to Hawaii and were tested 5 times in total and masks were mandatory. There were the occasional people who always took them off.  But we had no covid on board.  The next cruise on the 25th the mask wearing was optional after March 1st and many people didn’t wear them.  We did wear ours.  By the time we reached Fort Lauderdale there were about 8 people with covid.  It goes to show the protocols they were using prior to March 1st worked.

We were just on the Ruby out of SF and the ship tested everyone before they could board the ship and tested again the day before we were back in SF as we were on a b2b also.  If a test is required within so many hours of hitting a port, the ship will test everyone.  No charge to you.

On 3/13/2022 at 9:30 PM, iamaqt2 said:

It was an amazing cruise.  So sorry for your trip delay.. can totally commiserate. 

Not sure where he caught it.. onboard is a possibility, but we did get off the ship in ports.

I have a question for you.  We’re you both wearing masks when in port and on the ship?  We were on board with you and heard so many people coughing.  We always had our masks on except when eating/drinking or in our cabin.  The worst of our trip was at the airport.  We didn’t get home until 3:30am Sunday morning and had to change airports dragging bags from FLL to MIA.

How far out can you choose arrival time?  Our cruise is 72 days away and app says it’s too early.  Everything else is done.

With the mask requirements still in place and extended through February 2022, does Princess have masks on board or do we need to be sure we bring enough for our cruise?

In all the cruises we’ve taken we have never had to change cabins on a B2B before.  However, we booked for 2022 and we have to change on turnover day.  Can anyone tell me how this is hand,Ed?  DH thinks we have to pack everything up and unpack again.  

I would choose the Emerald over the Crown.  We were on both ships recently and the Emerald was much nicer.  The Crown looked like it could use a dry dock overhaul.  We are booked again on the Emerald for March 2021 through the Panama Canal from Fort Lauderdale to Vancouver.  Also, the Emerald didn’t seem to be quite as crowded as the Crown was.  

Yes, we’ve looked on trip advisor and I see the ratings, but sometimes the ratings don’t match.  I just wanted to see some of cruise critic opinions and to see if anyone has actually stayed at that particular hotel.  Besides TripAdvisor doesn’t specify handicap accessible.

It would depend on what's most important to you, the ship or the itinerary.  I prefer the Sapphire because it's a smaller ship than the other two and is beautiful.  We were on it for 28 days from Sydney to LA.  If the ports are more important than go with one of the other ships.  Also, decide if you want to get to Sydney or just leave from Melbourne where you live.  No flights required.

I know a lot of people rent mobility equipment and when they board it is on the ship.  How does one go about getting this service?

On 7/13/2019 at 6:02 AM, Daniel A said:

I just surprised DW with a private vow renewal ceremony in April.  I did it on a Panama Canal Cruise on the Coral.  I was NOT allowed to pick the date and time, the schedule was entirely dependent on the Captain's schedule.  That said, they try to set it up early on a formal night.  The look on DW's face made it all worth it.  Go for it, some of the crew even attended the ceremony.

Yes, it does depend on the Captain's schedule; however, they try to work with you on the date you want.  The best time is a sea day.  Our time was changed but it was still on the day we chose.  Everything was done so nicely.   It was even fancier than our original wedding. Worth every penny of the $200 or so we paid for it.

Princess has some fun things for kids to do on board.  They don't have to do everything in the kids' program but they will have a good time anyway.  My grandsons always enjoyed a cruise and my granddaughters always have things to do on a cruise.  Unless you have a lot of sea days there will be tours and things to do in the ports.  Princess has great kids' programs during the summer and spring break season when they get a lot of kids on board.

2 hours ago, ceilidh1 said:

When I have guests in town they always stay at Blue Horizon on Robson Street. GREAT rooms, GREAT views, and convenient to shopping, food, (and me -lol!). They used to offer GREAT pricing, but sadly the secret is now out about this gem and the pricing is more inline with other hotels in Downtown. There are many nice places to stay, but as MartinCath pointed out you would have to give an idea of budget. If money is no problem, then look at either Pan Pacific or Fairmont Waterfront - both wonderful hotels right at the pier. They're not cheap, though!

Do you know anything about the Granville Suites?

Looking for a hotel for two nights post cruise before flying home from Vancouver for first-time visitors.  I can’t walk much but want to be able to arrange a tour while there.  What suggestions do you have?

My husband and I did the renewal of vows for our 50th anniversary on the Golden Princess back in May. It was a wonderful experience. The flowers were beautiful, the Captain and staff were dressed up, and there was a videographer and photographer there. We had arranged for a table in the dining room for a special lunch and shared our champagne with our friends. We have two beautiful glasses to commemorate the event. Princess really knows how to do it well.

I would recommend using a private transfer to the port from the airport. We used Rome Cab and we got other cruisers to share with us that were arriving at the same time through cruise critic. It made the cost quite reasonable and it was much more comfortable than the bus. Cost of transfer to port from airport would be around 180 euros.

We always trade our mini bar setups for soda and water. We won't do coffee cards any longer since they are only good for the cruise you are on. They ask you what you want to trade for. When we do the water and soda we always get more than enough water to hold us for the cruise.

$500 total

If you lose obc and any other perks, not worth it for only 7 days to me.