KruzeKrazy!

53 minutes ago, HenGypsy said:

The two main production shows (Rock Opera and Spotlight Bar) ran at both 7:30 pm and 9:30 pm, on day 2 and day 6 respectively. We enjoyed them. 

Thank you sooooo much!

What times were the production shows -- 7:30pm and 9:30pm, 8pm and 10pm, or something else? Thanks! 

2 hours ago, arxcards said:

I may be wrong, but read the $55 to talk to a real person as the cost of an international phone call.

 

 

Correct - the $55 was the international call to Australia to try to get some answers (which it didn't).

10 hours ago, Aus Traveller said:

Did you go through the Australian government website or did you go to a third party provider? From the $55 cost you mention, I suspect you went through a private company. It might be worthwhile having a look at the Australian government website and applying there.

Used the AUS government app.

When applying for our Australia ETAs mine was approved very quickly. My wife's, however, was not. She has zero background issues but she did check the box that she has gone by a different name (which was her maiden name 47 years ago).

So then the application process needed "Supplemental Info" (marriage certificate) and "Other Info" (a form she completed) which she then successfully uploaded to the application site.

Then we heard nothing for a few weeks so we called. After being on hold we finally spoke with a real person who told us she couldn't tell us anything about ETA status, processing times, etc. So $55 later we had made no progress. 

Then she withdrew her application and paid to try again - same steps and result as above and no response after a couple weeks.

Anyone else have similar issues? Anyone have any suggestions? 

Thanks!

You don't say what date you are going and that can make a huge difference in recommendations.

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Since you already booked your cruise tour, you may get an idea about the land tour part that I posted on my blog starting here. Happy traveling!

Thank you so much! We will certainly read it.

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Just think of it as a separate anytime dining section of the main dining room with an added tableside item each day.

We found the benefit to be more the convenience factor than any special food.

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Was in Dec on the Ruby.

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Thanks!

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Then I'm confused why you'd do a CruiseTour?

Precisely why we asked for advice as we've never done a land trip in Alaska. We booked the Connoisseur Cruisetour to snag it, get the cabin we like, and be on the Royal (we haven't been on the newer Princess ships yet and want to) but it's not until 2019 so we have plenty of time to change plans.

We also figured since we're so busy and don't have lots of time for research that for our first land-based trip we'd go for something that was pre-planned.

But we are totally open to suggestions from those with more experience/knowledge than we have as we have 0%...

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It's hard to advise without knowing which cruise tour. How many days where?

Thanks! It's 5 days starting in Anchorage. To be specific on our Princess confirmation it's listed as "12 Days Connoisseur Escorted Tour PB5 from Anchorage To Vancouver."

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We done 2 Alaska cruises on 2 different but lines (HAL and Princess) but have now booked our very first Cruisetour (Princess Connoisseur).

Any tips, suggestions, helpful hints, etc. on the land portion would be much appreciated.

We prefer viewing beautiful scenery to shopping, etc. and in pricate or small groups versus large group tours.

Thanks!

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Quick aft suite question: is there any meaningful difference to the aft PS cabins by deck? On the Royal deck plan it appears as if every other deck has a bit more interior than balcony sq footage and the reverse for the other decks...

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I hope you do not like to much entertainment, Hal is boring!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One person's boring is another person's relaxing...

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Jaitip -

And no apologies are necessary for your English! I've been to Thailand (loved it!) and your English is MUCH better than my Thai could ever be.

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We've sailed both Princess and HAL - and done both to Alaska so can compare experiences on the two lines with a similar itinerary.

Here is our opinion only so take it with however many grains if salt you choose...

HAL "feels" like a slightly older clientele but that can vary as much by itinerary, season, ship, etc. as between the two lines so I wouldn't read too much into that. Both are more adult than family/kids but we've seen kids on every cruise on every line we've done - even Seabourn.

HAL feels a bit more refined and elegant. Not over-the-top so - just a tad - so call it comfortably refined, not stuffy nor pretentious. Think Seabourn = tux, HAL = jacket, Princess = long-sleeve shirt, RCCL = polo, Carnival = t-shirt (yes, I'm generalizing to characterize things in an illustrative manner so don't everyone jump on me for being wrong or stereotypical...[emoji6] ).

HAL would get our nod for the food being just a bit nicer. Not a ton so not "what-am-I-eating" foodie nice but just a bit more "restaurant-like" versus "dining room/catering-like."

Princess would get our nod for activities. It's not that they are better - just more to choose from. Think HAL for a cruise tilted toward relaxing and Princess toward doing things (but at a comfortable, not frenetic, pace)

Princess would also get our nod for a slightly better per person per day price for comparable cabins but that, as with other things, can be very season and itinerary dependent so it's best to directly compare two similar itineraries and dates.

So while based on the above it would appear we'd prefer HAL it is Princess that we have repeated, not HAL. But we would definitely go on HAL again in a heartbeat if it were the right itinerary, ship, price, etc.

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Glad you enjoyed it.

 

I’m not a fan, but accept that not everyone likes everything.

Believe me - we went fully expecting to not like it and still can't believe we did. That said if we never dined there again we wouldn't lament over it (like we would Crown [emoji26] ).

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Good thought. For our first land-based Alaska experience and our problem with having research/planning time forbthis trip we thought having it packaged all as one trip would be a nice convenience.

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Based on the preponderance if reviews we had read we were very skeptical about trying Share on our Ruby Princess cruise - part because while we like food we are not foodies (we like more plain - insert bland [emoji6] - cuisine) and part because we like Sabatini's a lot and thought we'd be tempted to compare and wish it were Sabatini's.

But try it we did and we loved it! On a scale of 1-10 we expected a 3.5 and give it a 9! It didn't get a 10 only because Crown Grill is a 10 and if we could only dine in one of those two we'd do Crown.

The service was, as expected, great but surprised we were how wonderl the food was - fine cuisine but still fully edible to our boring palates! And if a course had something we didn't care for they happily adjusted with no problem at all and with no attitude that shame on us we didn't want what they had prepared.

So if our next Princess ship has Share and not Sabatini's we would be just as happy and gladly go to Share again.

Now wishing Alfredo's was there is another matter... [emoji4]

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Is there any meaningful difference to the aft PS cabins on the Royal? The deck plan makes it look like alternating decks have a bit more interior vs balcony sq footage and the reverse for the other decks...

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so a beautiful vacation, you let 21 dollars upset you?

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We have booked our third Alaska cruise (prior ones on HAL and Princess) but this time our first Cruisetour. We did a full suite cruise several years back and loved it so we now cruise less often so we can afford the suite experience.

So we've booked a Princess Connoisseur Cruisetour since we've read the quality of the experience is quite good. But we do prefer private experiences versus escorted, scripted, everyone-on-the-bus ones.

So should we change to an On Your Own Cruisetour and use the price difference to pay for the activities we'd like to do or stick with the Connoisseur one and let the planning be all done?

P.S. I normally love doing lots of research and planning but with other things we have going on I'm not sure I'll have the time this cruise.

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I believe HAL (Holland Anerica) also does and perhaps others.

Comparing lines - in a nutshell:

- Carnival is younger, drinking, partying, loud music, deck pool activities

- HAL is older, more sophisticated, more relaxing, more cultural oriented

- Princess us in between

There really aren't bad cruise lines - the key is to match the right line for your style and preferences.

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There have been lots of CC discussions about larger versus R-class ships. We've sailed Caribbean Princess as our largest, Pacific Princess as our smallest, and several 2,000+ pax sizes in between.

If you're used to large ships at first the R-class will feel small but once you've been on her for a day or so you'll start to appreciate her comfortable size. Think country club versus mega resort. Plus he often stops at ports the large shios can't, whether she docka or tenders it's easy on/easy off, and never any long lines for anything

You'll get to know staff and other pax better and sooner. To some that may be good - to others not. It really depends on how social you are/want to be.

And while we were in an Owners Suite on the PP the Mini-Suites are in great locations and a bit larger than on other ships.

So unless you fear change or the more intimate cruise experience I'd suggest trying it so you'll know rather than forever wonder. Plus the PP was recently renovated so should be in extra good shape.