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

[Wulfwyn]

7 minutes ago, Yehootu said:

It was previously posted that before your cruise people were moved due to the Covid quarantine deck was Dolphin deck. On our cruise in 2 weeks, deck 9 rooms never showed up in any search. Now it looks just by open rooms we will be at 60% without open Carib deck rooms. Any idea how much of that deck is held. Have they said what % you are sailing at.

We have 1650 passengers onboard 

[mrsskyhook]

 

To repeat about testing for passengers leaving the ship and heading to the airport for a US bound flight after this voyage.... please be in touch with guest services. They are doing complimentary covid 19 testing for guests flying out of Canada on May 14 only. 

 

Edited May 11, 2022 by mrsskyhook

[lks]

Update on entertainment, Anthem and Aria, we walked out. First time ever we have done this. They call themselves comedy and mentalists, but they were none of this. They advertise that they were on America's got talent. We looked it up and they were not actually on the show. They auditioned but they were buzzed off in about a minute. At that time they called themselves comedians. Others might have enjoyed this but we thought they were very fake.

 

Last night we saw an encore of Michael Misco, the magician, again he was very good. The instrumentalist, David Meyer, was there as well and he was excellent! 

 

The food, we continue to enjoy it in Concerto. I do question the portions though. I had the cod and chips and mg had the roast beef dinner with yorkshire pudding. Hers was a real meal, 3 pieces of roast beef, peas, carrots and yorkshire. Mine was 1 small piece of Cod and 12 French fries. I did order another piece of cod. It would have been nice to have got this with my meal to begin with.

 

[TBfrPH]

@lks, thanks for your report on entertainment.  What is your take on the musicians playing in Piazza, Vista Lounge, and Wheelhouse Bar? Do you see many people dancing when they're playing?

[lks]

Entertainment tonight, Don Friesen, comedian, excellent. We laughed our faces off

[Analise]

COVID TESTING INFORMATION

Just spoke to a Princess rep who, at my request, confirmed the following information with her supervisor:

 

1) The email sent informing travelers Princess will no longer give Covid tests to disembarking passengers did not mention reimbursement; however, the website does. Princess has left passengers to fend for themselves regarding how to get tested but they are trying to help as much as possible. To be reimbursed for Covid testing needed to fly back to USA, go to princess.com/refund-request  You will need to upload a pdf or jpeg of the receipt. (Take a photo of receipt with your phone and send as jpeg or save emailed receipt as pdf)

 

2) It has been frequently reported that Internet is slow or not working on the Royal Princess. So, if you have brought with you the Covid tests that need to be observed online, make an appointment at the ship's Health Center and a medical employee will be the "observer" and will give you written proof needed to board your flight to USA.

 

We will be on the June 11-25 voyage, RT from Vancouver so I needed to get clear information. I appreciate the insights and details of the challenges and highlights from fellow cruisers.

[AstoriaPreppy]

11 hours ago, TBfrPH said:

@lks, thanks for your report on entertainment.  What is your take on the musicians playing in Piazza, Vista Lounge, and Wheelhouse Bar? Do you see many people dancing when they're playing?

The two bands on the ship are The Sound (party band) and the Prestige Trio (latin trio). Both are excellent, but the Sound is actually surprisingly cool for a Princess party band, backed by an amazing guitarist named Katie. I’ve noticed the most dancing to performances by the Prestige Trio in the piazza, since they play Latin beats.
 

Kory the Crooners pianist is a bit grating at time, but is talented. He tends to have a surprisingly limited repertoire (if I hear “Oh What a Beautiful Morning” one more time I’m going to throw myself into the sea).

 

The solo pianist (backed by muzak tracks) is a little Lawrence Welk for my taste. Others have mentioned the singing quality of the solo guitarist/vocalist (Jumari) who often performs at the Wheelhouse, but suffice it to say we through he was passenger karaoke when walking back up from dinner the other night. That said, he seems to draw a following of passengers when performing. 
 

One note about the mentalists. They were billed as “mentalists in love,” (???) not a comedy act. It seemed like they hadn’t actually figured out the hook for their act, as “liking the person you work with” isn’t that compelling. The actual tricks were impressive, but their patter was just awful, like grade school magic show banter. Hopefully they improve their shtick with time. 

[PhotoGal07]

2 hours ago, Analise said:

COVID TESTING INFORMATION

Just spoke to a Princess rep who, at my request, confirmed the following information with her supervisor:

 

1) The email sent informing travelers Princess will no longer give Covid tests to disembarking passengers did not mention reimbursement; however, the website does. Princess has left passengers to fend for themselves regarding how to get tested but they are trying to help as much as possible. To be reimbursed for Covid testing needed to fly back to USA, go to princess.com/refund-request  You will need to upload a pdf or jpeg of the receipt. (Take a photo of receipt with your phone and send as jpeg or save emailed receipt as pdf)

 

2) It has been frequently reported that Internet is slow or not working on the Royal Princess. So, if you have brought with you the Covid tests that need to be observed online, make an appointment at the ship's Health Center and a medical employee will be the "observer" and will give you written proof needed to board your flight to USA.

 

We will be on the June 11-25 voyage, RT from Vancouver so I needed to get clear information. I appreciate the insights and details of the challenges and highlights from fellow cruisers.

If anyone does this please let us know how this goes.  I imagine the tests have specialized forms that they deliver upon completion, I'm concerned that the medical personnel on the ship won't be able to produce the same documentation.  A letter that just says "hey this person doesn't have covid, signed ship doctor", doesn't feel like it's going to have the same weight, as something that's coming through Abbot Binax Now system.   

[beg3yrs]

25 minutes ago, PhotoGal07 said:

If anyone does this please let us know how this goes.  I imagine the tests have specialized forms that they deliver upon completion, I'm concerned that the medical personnel on the ship won't be able to produce the same documentation.  A letter that just says "hey this person doesn't have covid, signed ship doctor", doesn't feel like it's going to have the same weight, as something that's coming through Abbot Binax Now system.   

Yes the ship's forms will be fine. How do you think they're doing the onboard testing for the current cruise?

[mrsskyhook]

38 minutes ago, PhotoGal07 said:

If anyone does this please let us know how this goes.  I imagine the tests have specialized forms that they deliver upon completion, I'm concerned that the medical personnel on the ship won't be able to produce the same documentation.  A letter that just says "hey this person doesn't have covid, signed ship doctor", doesn't feel like it's going to have the same weight, as something that's coming through Abbot Binax Now system.   

Princess cruises has had literally 2 and a half years of doing this kind of testing and documentation. I would 100% trust that what they produce would be more than sufficient

[odie1024]

3 hours ago, Analise said:

COVID TESTING INFORMATION

Just spoke to a Princess rep who, at my request, confirmed the following information with her supervisor.

 

2) It has been frequently reported that Internet is slow or not working on the Royal Princess. So, if you have brought with you the Covid tests that need to be observed online, make an appointment at the ship's Health Center and a medical employee will be the "observer" and will give you written proof needed to board your flight to USA.

 

We are on the Royal June 18th-25th but not flying home till the next morning as we are flying back to the east coast, would be nice if we could get it done the day of disembarkation.  If not we will do in hotel room.

[PhotoGal07]

20 minutes ago, beg3yrs said:

Yes the ship's forms will be fine. How do you think they're doing the onboard testing for the current cruise?

My two concerns are A) You can't actually make appointment with the ship's Health Clinic for a proctored covid test because they want you to do it off the ship, so they won't offer that service in the first place. 

And B)  That current onboard testing is going through a specific system (because they are working with large numbers of passengers) which likely generates a standardized set of paperwork.  And thus a random passenger bringing their own covid test might not necessarily be put in that same system that produces the standard paperwork that they have used in the past.

Knowing I could make an appointment with the Health Clinic on the ship if the internet is spotty would make my life MUCH much easier.  But I would like confirmation vs. hearsay.  

[Wulfwyn]

2nd sea day/,formal night menu 

[beg3yrs]

1 hour ago, PhotoGal07 said:

My two concerns are A) You can't actually make appointment with the ship's Health Clinic for a proctored covid test because they want you to do it off the ship, so they won't offer that service in the first place. 

And B)  That current onboard testing is going through a specific system (because they are working with large numbers of passengers) which likely generates a standardized set of paperwork.  And thus a random passenger bringing their own covid test might not necessarily be put in that same system that produces the standard paperwork that they have used in the past.

Knowing I could make an appointment with the Health Clinic on the ship if the internet is spotty would make my life MUCH much easier.  But I would like confirmation vs. hearsay.  

Certainly valid points. It's currently our plan to do the electronically proctored test the day before out disembarkation in Victoria. If the ship's Internet is good that'll be first choice, otherwise we'll use our cell phone since we will have service in port. Given the latest possibilities, we'll also try to make the appointment with the medical staff when we board. If they balk we'll take it up with passenger services and see if it can be escalated.

 

At least I now know how to request the refund for the tests we've just procured...

[Wulfwyn]

Patter Day 11 sea day

[startedwithamouse]

1 hour ago, mrsskyhook said:

Princess cruises has had literally 2 and a half years of doing this kind of testing and documentation. I would 100% trust that what they produce would be more than sufficient

Under a year.  And only a couple months last year in Alaska. Where are you getting 2.5 years of testing from?  They didn't exist then. 

[Happiest when cruising]

2 hours ago, beg3yrs said:

Certainly valid points. It's currently our plan to do the electronically proctored test the day before out disembarkation in Victoria. If the ship's Internet is good that'll be first choice, otherwise we'll use our cell phone since we will have service in port. Given the latest possibilities, we'll also try to make the appointment with the medical staff when we board. If they balk we'll take it up with passenger services and see if it can be escalated.

 

At least I now know how to request the refund for the tests we've just procured...

I wonder if they will only refund people flying out on the same day? Please let us know how it works out for you. 

[mrsskyhook]

3 hours ago, startedwithamouse said:

Under a year.  And only a couple months last year in Alaska. Where are you getting 2.5 years of testing from?  They didn't exist then. 

Sorry, I mispoke  slightly. Princess has been dealing with, and diagnosing Covid 19 in passengers and crew since Feb of 2020 (Golden Princess). I have no doubt they know how to document test results in a form acceptable to whomever requires it. 

 

 

[RaeYoung]

On 5/3/2022 at 4:11 PM, phabric said:

I am Canadian.  I have a cruise from Vancouver to Whittier. To start the cruise I will be flying from Toronto to Vancouver.   After the cruise, I will be flying Anchorage to Vancouver, Vancouver to Toronto.

 

Since you mentioned everyone had to fill in ArriveCAN before getting on the ship.

 

I know I have to fill in ArriveCAN when flying from Anchorage to enter Canada at Vancouver.

 

Do I need to fill ArriveCAN when flying to Vancouver to get on the ship?

 

 

Yes, everyone has to fill in the ArriveCan app.

[RaeYoung]

On 5/4/2022 at 1:26 AM, Wulfwyn said:

Princess 

Which ones?

 

[beg3yrs]

1 hour ago, Happiest when cruising said:

I wonder if they will only refund people flying out on the same day? Please let us know how it works out for you. 

That's how I read their policy. Refunds are only for people flying out the same day.

[Analise]

6 hours ago, PhotoGal07 said:

If anyone does this please let us know how this goes.  I imagine the tests have specialized forms that they deliver upon completion, I'm concerned that the medical personnel on the ship won't be able to produce the same documentation.  A letter that just says "hey this person doesn't have covid, signed ship doctor", doesn't feel like it's going to have the same weight, as something that's coming through Abbot Binax Now system.   

I would also appreciate knowing if anyone has success being tested in the Medical Center with the Abbot BinaxNOW Covid test. If you plan to use these tests and have functioning Internet, no need to go through the Medical Center. I simply relayed information given to me by a Princess agent and her supervisor in response to my concerns about sporadic Internet on the Royal and what we could do if we encounter this problem. I was assured  1) we would be able to test in Medical Center and 2) receive appropriate confirmation for boarding our flight to the USA. It would be great if we could just test in our staterooms prior to disembarking... that is our Plan A. Once we are in Vancouver, if the Internet is still spotty, an option is to tether our laptop to one of our phones and that should hopefully work. Just passing along info about options in case it can help someone.

[AstoriaPreppy]

13 minutes ago, Analise said:

I would also appreciate knowing if anyone has success being tested in the Medical Center with the Abbot BinaxNOW Covid test. If you plan to use these tests and have functioning Internet, no need to go through the Medical Center. I simply relayed information given to me by a Princess agent and her supervisor in response to my concerns about sporadic Internet on the Royal and what we could do if we encounter this problem. I was assured  1) we would be able to test in Medical Center and 2) receive appropriate confirmation for boarding our flight to the USA. It would be great if we could just test in our staterooms prior to disembarking... that is our Plan A. Once we are in Vancouver, if the Internet is still spotty, an option is to tether our laptop to one of our phones and that should hopefully work. Just passing along info about options in case it can help someone.

If this is an option, I would 100% not use the proctored Binax now in the health center. If they’re willing to monitor an OTC COVID test, just use one of the free government ones or a less expensive OTC once (which include Binax now). No need wasting the proctored test in the health center. 
 

Side note: the paper we received informing us of testing from Noon to 6 pm tomorrow (Victoria, BC port stop) also mentioned that complimentary testing will be held at disembarkation at the Pan Pacific hotel. They noted shoreside staff would have specifics on this. 

[Italy52]

ArriveCAN app question:  At embarkation, did you have a hard copy of your QR code or did you use the one on your mobile phone?

 

Also, did you have to fill out another ArriveCAN for debarking in Vancouver?

 

Enjoyed reading all your comments, thanks for taking the time to share them.

[lks]

Dinner tonight was awesome! Because of our not so good exprience at the crown grill on our anniversary the restaurant manager at Concerto organized a special meal for us at Concerto, filet mignon with lobster.