Live from Royal Princess sailing May 2, 2022 for 12 nights rountrip from Vancouver to Alaska

[lks]

Hello all! This is my first review that I have ever done, and a live one at that. I really enjoy reading reviews and comments on cruise critic but I thought it was about time I stepped up to the plate and contributed. I appreciate the experiences that other members have taken there time to share.

 

I will be doing this in tandem with my lovely wife Linda, who I call MG (Most Gorgeous of course!) I am Lyle and this trip is for our 41^st wedding anniversary. It was our 40^th last year but due to covid and travel restrictions we are going to roll them both into one on May 9^th . Yes this is the official day of our marriage, 9 weeks after our first date!

 

We are both in our early 60’s and we live in Parksville, Canada. It is on Vancouver island in British Columbia, a 2 hour drive north of Victoria, our provincial capital. We will be stopping at Victoria on this cruise, please get off and visit, we have a full day here. We come here for weekends all the time as it is so beautiful!

 

The following is our 12 day itinerary on the Royal Princess. We splurged and booked a Club class mini suite. It comes with some extra perks: priority boarding and disembarkation, our own section of the restaurant with no waits and upgraded menu’s and a wine setup in our room among other things. If you are interested in booking this in the future we will share our experiences with you the best we can.

May 02
May 02
Vancouver Check In Begins At 12:30		4:00PM
May 03
At Sea
May 04
Juneau		1:30PM		10:00PM
May 05
Skagway		6:00AM		8:30PM
May 06
Icy Strait Point		7:00AM		6:00PM
May 07
Sitka		7:00AM		5:00PM
May 08
Hubbard Glacier Scenic Cruising		11:00AM		5:00PM
May 09
Glacier Bay Scenic Cruising		6:00AM		3:30PM
May 10
Endicott Arm And Daw Scenic Cruising		7:00AM		12:00PM
May 11
Ketchikan		7:00AM		6:00PM
May 12
At Sea
May 13
Victoria		7:00AM		5:00PM
May 14
Vancouver		1:45AM
May 14

MG (her CC handle is MrsSkyhook) is the computer tech between us so she will probably do most of the posting of pictures and adding in her comments of course. We hope to meet many new friends on this cruise. Anyone else who is also on this cruise please don’t hesitate to add or contribute to this thread and your experience. MG and I will be back to you soon!    - Lyle   

[lks]

Well today is cruise day! This is our first cruise since covid and we are very excited!! We stayed over night at the Sutton Place in downtown Vancouver and we will take the short drive to Canada Place around 9:30. We have prepaid parking underneath Canada Place. When you enter the parkade you scan your code and then drive down to the parking area where there are porters to take your bags. You then park and take the elevator up to check in. We did this in 2019 and it went super smooth!

[Munsterguy]

Hi there!

 

We are doing the same cruise but just northbound so will miss beautiful Victoria, Will be reading all your comments, good and the not so good. Enjoy the cruise !!!

[mrsskyhook]

Good morning!,

 

Royal Princess is alongside the East Berth at Canada Place, and Norwegian Jewel is on the West berth this morning.  

 

Lyle and I are so glad to be cruising today. First one since Jan of 2020.  And of course the crew is no doubt excited to be back to work!

[Munsterguy]

By the way, we were upgraded to a min suite FOC, might ask when we board what would be the cost to upgrade again to club class assuming there is availability of course. You might let me know if the upgrade is worth it, thanks !

[Italy52]

Congratulations on your wedding anniversary!  Thank you both for taking the time to post your journey; looking forward to hearing all about it.  We will be on the 14-day Alaska cruise on the Majestic leaving out of Vancouver in June. 

[mrsskyhook]

 

[cruisingrob21]

thanks for sharing.  I'd be curios to know how embarkation at Canada Place goes if you have time to post about that.  Thanks!

[mrsskyhook]

Currently waiting in line for security, checking and US customs. 

[mrsskyhook]

Just now, mrsskyhook said:

Currently waiting in line for security, checking and US customs. 

Looks like it is just opening up for processing now

[cpcanuck]

Thank you for doing this live review! As a fellow Vancouver Islander I look forward to hearing of your experience on this ship and itinerary. I’m looking at this or the Majestic for next season. Bon voyage! Hope you have a wonderful time and happy anniversary!

Edited May 2, 2022 by cpcanuck

[cr8tiv1]

Mahalo for taking time during your cruise to do a live report.  I will be missing Alaska this year, but have a few friends on board with you as well as a friend cruising this summer.  The Royal has a very nice itinerary.  Round trip Vancouver is so much better than a one way cruise.  

 

Congratulations on your 41 years.  That is a monumental occasion.  

[mrsskyhook]

13 minutes ago, mrsskyhook said:

Looks like it is just opening up for processing now

Looks like I spoke too soon. Our prediction is 10:30

[mrsskyhook]

Have not seen even one child

[cruisingrob21]

22 minutes ago, mrsskyhook said:

Looks like I spoke too soon. Our prediction is 10:30

Thank you for sharing.  I'm curious how well princess is "sticking" to its arrival times.  On the Majestic in December in LA it was very quick, but they were only allowing passengers with boarding times listed on the app in.  I imagine its a bit crazy at Canada Place with 2 ships today as well.

[Cruising Divers]

Thank you for doing this! My wife and I will be on the sailing after yours; we depart on the 14th. Very much looking forward to your insights - have a great cruise! 🛳️

[cruisingrob21]

Well, yes, I think google maps crowd prediction algorithm will be learning a lot of the next week or two about the waves of people to Canada place on a turnaround day.

[PescadoAmarillo]

Congratulations on your anniversary and enjoy your cruise!  Thank you for taking us along. 

[XBGuy]

Thank you for posting this "Live from."  Our last AK cruise was on the Royal Princess in September 2019.  Like all AK cruises (heck, like all cruises) it was great.  As we were pulling away from the dock in Ketchikan I spotted this outside our cabin.  I'd heard of it, but I'd never seen it before.

 

 

A bubble feeding whale

 

By the time he popped up, we were well passed,

 

[beg3yrs]

1 hour ago, mrsskyhook said:

Have not seen even one child

It's still early in May. Just wait until June when most schools are on summer break.

[rogueknits]

I'll be following along eagerly! We will be on the Royal Princess in August!

[cnd crsr]

Congratulations on your 41st anniversary!

Thanks for inviting us along. We are anxious to hear all about the ship as we will be cruising on the Royal later this year.

 

[lks]

Well we are on the ship but it wasn't as smooth as in past. We arrived inside the terminal around 10am to a long line at security. I believe security was delayed opening due to waiting for customs to open. It took approximately 1 1/2 hours from when we arrived till we got on the ship but we're here now and all is good! We had lunch at Concerto and we are now at crooners having a martini. Our mini suite seemed smaller than we expected but we are unpacked and settled in. Not much time to explore the ship yet but I am sure MG will flood you with pictures soon.

[Marlster]

HAPPY ANNIVERSAY, I am sure you will have a wonderful time, sit back and enjoy.  We will be on the Royal In Sept. to Alaska.  Waiting for more updates as you travel.

 

Marlster

[cheese please]

Happy Anniversary. We will be on the Grand May 11th. So will be following along until we leave. Glad you mentioned U.S. customs I forgot we had to go through them to get on ship. Why you ask. I have dual citizenship and I need to show my U.S. passport so now I know I need to have it ready for viewing.