KruzPrincess

15 hours ago, geoherb said:

So far, the pastry chefs on the Majestic have struck out two out of three times with my memories of desserts on previous cruises. Only the chocolate journey dessert the other night tasted as good as I've had on previous cruises. The flourless chocolate cake and key lime pie were flops.

 

 

Have you seen any Pavlovas? Meringue nest with a filling . That’s my favorite dessert. They usually only have it once per cruise. I look for it every day. My first pavlova was when Sabatini’s had the old huge menu. 

3 hours ago, geoherb said:

 

Here are a few from this morning. I haven't been up there for lunch or dinner yet. There are crew members serving most of the dishes. There are a few grab and go items in the third photo and the whole fruits in the last photo as well. But a server was there for the cut up pieces of melon.

 

 

Thank you for sharing these pictures for me. It looks pretty quiet there. Thanks. 

20 hours ago, FredZiffle said:

One guy wore a tux, and two showed up in gym shorts and tee shirts.  Several blue jeans and polos. No one was turned away.

Maybe they’re picking their battles. At this point, Princess may not want to alienate any paying customers when people are canceling left and right. On the other hand, maybe they lost their luggage. 🧳 🧳🧳

4 minutes ago, cruzsnooze said:

who said they did?

You said if the WHO has it’s way. I was quoting you. 

Will you take pictures of the buffet and share them? Thanks. 

6 hours ago, cruzsnooze said:

I got my booster and am happy to have the protection. It may not be available in a month or two if the WHO has it's way.  The WHO president is asking that all boosters be halted so we can give it to countries that need first doses. I don't agree that we should put our citizens at risk. It seems that we are making enough vaccine to share after we take care of our own. Anyone at high risk should get their booster now because who knows if it will be available later.

"

The World Health Organization (WHO) is asking countries to hold off on administering COVID-19 vaccine booster doses to their populations.

During a conference on August 4, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the WHO, said that while there are still populations that "need vaccines urgently" and millions of people are waiting for first doses, some rich countries are already administering or working towards giving booster doses."

The WHO doesn’t have control over administering vaccinations in the United States. 

I am a senior and I’m fully vaccinated. I have underlying conditions, but I am not immunosuppressed. I have cancer, but I’m not receiving chemo therapy. I’m not eligible for a booster. Immunosuppressed people didn’t get a full response to their original vaccinations. Their bodies didn’t fully respond. For average people it’s expected that they got a full response. This is why immunosuppressed individuals are eligible for a booster early. The booster isn’t authorized for anyone else at this time. Yes, people can figure a way to work around the system. I will be eligible for a booster 8 months from the date of my second vaccination. I plan to get it then. 

If you have questions about your specific situation you should be asking your doctor.

Personally I really really really want to cruise this fall, but I think the risks are too high for me. I’m happy that I’m vaccinated and the odds of getting covid are low, but I’m not ready to take the chance yet. I have a cruise booked in March and I’m hoping for the best. It’s very depressing not to cruise and I’m jealous, but it would be much worse to get a breakthrough case. That’s for me. I’m not judging anyone else. 

I always buy an annual Medevac insurance policy when I’m traveling. This kind of expense could bankrupt some people. I just think the cost of the insurance policy is worth the peace of mind. 

Those are great pictures! 

15 hours ago, Old & Retired said:Naw, you are right.  Most people want to hang on the ship for several hours when they hit a beautiful port in Alaska.  Many probably don't exit the ship until after lunch if at all..............

That’s going to be difficult for passengers on the Bliss next year. The ship will be sailing out of Ketchikan while you’re eating lunch. They’ll get excursion people off first. Non-excursion people will be waiting in line, riding shuttles, waiting in line, riding shuttles. They’ll have a brief time to walk around Ketchikan. 

I do love the Bliss. 

5 hours ago, Old & Retired said:

No matter how you slice it.  With 4000-5000 passengers packing into the too small Ward Cove port, they will be waiting for too few busses.  Add in the loading and unloading times and you have huge lines and huge waits.  Don't forget your single data point was for a ship slightly over half full.  Things will only get worse at Ward Cove.

Did I read that Ward Cove can dock two ships? Imagine how many people that will be. 

18 minutes ago, Maplemoose said:

Tasha, very few cruises will be 100% vaccinated. That is why I am saying maybe only NCL will be able to include Canada on their itinerary. The others will have to cancel, whether they depart from Canada or just visit hete.

Actually, most of the cruise lines require proof of vaccination. Princess definitely does. They’ll do whatever they need to make it happen. 

1 minute ago, Lady Arwen said:

Consider yourself lucky.  Many times I’ve endured the clingy curtain and wondered why all the other cruiselines have installed glass doors and Princess only offers that in suites.  On  Celebrity all Edge class bathrooms, in all cabin categories, have increased the size by 25% and have large walk in showers with rainhead and glass doors.  I love them…..so luxurious!

Don’t misunderstand me at all. I would prefer doors. I’ve been on Celebrity. NCL’s new ships have beautiful showers. Princess showers below mini suites are tiny. I just happen to like the Princess experience mostly. 

Here are are a couple pictures of Princess shower curtains for anyone who’s not familiar. 

The Enchanted Shower. 🦄🌈💫🚿🛁

Seriously, the shower curtains are not plastic. They’re a lightweight fabric material which is a man made fiber. I have never once had a plastic shower curtain on a Princess ship. At least not in the last 20 years. I don’t recall beyond that. They’ve never stuck to me. It’s true that they don’t change them between cruises. You could probably ask for a new one if you wanted. This is my 2 cents. 

1 hour ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Based upon a single data point that happened to be the first cruise after 18 months.  Let's see what folks are reporting after a few more weeks.

I hope you’re right and I’m sure they’ll make improvements, but they can’t make it as wonderful as getting off the ship downtown. This will affect my future cruise choices. I like NCL and really enjoyed cruising to Alaska on the Bliss. 

14 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

How much time does one need to shop at the tourist shops in Ketchikan?  After about 30 minutes my head was about to explode.

I have taken time to walk around Ketchikan and found a lot to do in addition addition to shopping. You can walk to the Alaska Discovery Center, the Tongass Historical Museum, the Totem Heritage Center, and Creek Street. You can walk to the lumberjack show and buy your own tickets. You used to e able to go to the hatchery, but it’s not open to the public now. There are seafood restaurants. Ketchikan has an artist community that sells great things in the shops. There’s a lot to do there without taking an excursion. Now, though, you can’t get off the NCL ships downtown. Most of your time will be waiting in line at Ward Cove. 

4 hours ago, Michigan123 said:

Is this an itinerary change for the Bliss?  I am on the Encore in May of 2022 and have not received information about an itinerary change yet. I actually wouldn't mind this new itinerary if the Encore could still go to Glacier Bay.

Yes, Bliss. 

17 minutes ago, jkrislc said:

Is Canada allowing cruise ships to dock? I thought they had suspended large ships from stopping in their ports this year. Maybe I'm just out of the loop!

 

This is Bliss 2022. 

@gregmarty is correct. The ship arrives in Victoria at 7pm. Not much time in Ketchikan when you have to bus in from Ward Cove. 

5 hours ago, hwatsonnia said:

It will also cost you hours waiting in line for the few buses that take 30 mins to turn around. I hope that’s clear. 

Plus you’re standing outdoors, quite possibly in poor weather, waiting for the bus to return. 

5 hours ago, hwatsonnia said:

Yes but the line to this bus is hours long. 

Gosh, what a fun day in Ketchikan! 

10 hours ago, aubreyc1988 said:

Have you ever taken a western med cruise? The ship normally docks SO far away from the towns.  7 miles is nothing.  

Nope. I’ve read others comparing these new changes to Europe. Alaska is not Europe. There’s a reason many people do this cruise every year. It’s an easy little cruise. The reason some people cruise to Alaska is for the convenience. Ketchikan is small and doable. 

Personally I’m not going to wait in line for an hour and a half to take a bus into town. Ketchikan is my favorite port in Alaska. I will think about what cruise line to choose when I‘m booking my next cruise. 

Granted, this was the first port call and, hopefully, NCL will figure this mess out. 

Is everyone wearing masks in public areas now?

This is upsetting. 

5 hours ago, Cruiser021421 said:

There was a video posted on YouTube of the testing done yesterday. It went very smoothly and was done in the conference room/center at the pier. This person’s check in time was 11:30 and they were done and seated in the American Cafe for lunch by 12:50. The ship left Seattle on time at 5:00 p.m.

Thank you for mentioning the video. I was wondering how testing went on the current cruise and the video really helped. It sounds like they fixed some of those issues. 

Where does the shuttle drop off and pick up in Ketchikan?