dockman

Looks like the old double the price and then give a small discount and say see how nice we are to give you such a big discount. I guess I am lucky that i did all the main alaska excursions years ago....a few excursions now can cost more than the price of the basic cruise fare. Of course as long as passengers are willing to pay these prices no doubt the cruise lines will continue to push prices to see what the ceiling may be. And for many an alaska maybe is once in lifetime trip so passengers hold their nose at the prices and just do it. I am quite happy having done alaska cruise many times to get off and do a few hours hike/walk around the ports which fortunately is still free. There are some good trails in skagway, juneau and ketchikan and a few other ports that can be found via online search. Not everyone's cup of tea but i enjoy walking along a salmon stream or through a forest type area.

Yes obviously have to be fit enough to handle a carry on..i am no spring chicken and sometimes i even check the carry on rather than haul it around airports too much or foolling with overstuffed overhead bins on board ...i also do a lot of asia travel where almost everyone is willing to help old people as it is part of their culture...i get called papa and get helped a lot by all sorts of young asians which is appreciated...the roller carry on bags these days are pretty easy to handle and way way better than a dozen or so years ago.. anyway yes travel light does not work for everyone but in my experience it does seem to me that a lot of people do complicate their travel by taking too much stuff on most trips. I have done around the world trips with less luggage than some take on a 7 day caribbean cruise....having been a long ago hippie round the world backpacker where you had to carry it all yourself taught me some valuable lessons in traveling light... (and many many other things)

Rule one for me over dozens of cruises all over the world is travel light. If you don't have massive luggage to deal with then the skytrain and short walks are good options and getting on and off ship and airport/plane options are expanded.. Do you really really need to bring a different outfit for every day and 10 pairs of shoes? No thanks. Keep it simple and use the laundry service is some very very good advice for most. Think layers of clothing instead of one giant coat etc. I travel with a rolling carryon and a small computer bag....not one time have i ever thought gee i wish i had brought more stuff to deal with. Travel size toiletres are fine and no worries over airport security rules. I do not care if i wear the same outfits over and over as i do not go on cruises to impress people with my wardrobe. I do have free laundry which helps but even if have to pay for laundry it beats hauling big suitcases around. Take a look at the size and amount of luggage that many passengers will bring on even a 7 day cruise...how much is hauled around and never even worn or used once? My guess is a lot and have to say a lot of the over luggage bunch looks pretty darn miserable trying to move all their stuff around.

I have been fortunate to be on cruises that had some really good enrichment speakers that would do several presentations over a week or so....word would quickly get out as the best ones and it was then standing room only. I have also had some enrichment speakers who had lots of fancy degrees from Harvard or wherever that were more boring than watching paint dry...they certainly knew their subject but some would stand and read a prepared text and had the charisma of a bucket of mud. There are so very many subjects that would likely interest a lot of cruisers especially on longer cruises with sea days.. Seems there used to be lot more good ones on various cruises who would educate you to the history of places on the itineraries and make it much more interesting for all the passengers who cared to attend. It does seem to me that holland america generally had better speakers than Princess over the years.

But if guest entertainers cabins are given to a priest what about the non religious that don't care about priests or religion but prefer more entertainers? I personally prefer to have an extra enrichment speaker than a priest. Impossible to please everyone for sure.

Crystal is a wonderful experience if you can justify the cost. It is a very different world than a typical mass market cruise. The clientele and level of staff training and overall quality of food and most everything is obviously different. Like trying to compare four seasons with a holiday Inn.... If $$ were no concern I would be on Crystal right now....staying at four seasons pre and post cruise.

yep i did the quarantine deck in british isles on emerald few years back...sat on balcony port aftter port ....felt ok and ate way too much food for 4 days

Do they still isolate covid positive folks in separate areas?

with the cruise lines all pushing the drink packages more than ever i would suspect that very few of the drink package bunch would even bother to bring booze in checked luggage ....maybe a few special bottles that they are willing to pay corkage......but geez if you have the package it seems that just maybe u would be allowed to bring a couple of your own special wines without extra charge? bean counter heaven...get pax to buy expensive drink package and then they bring their own booze to drink rather than the included package drinks??

Well i guess the "good news" is 10 more years on this passport and I hope to be around to renew it again ....i just did not want to be a semi nervous wreck with a cruise all booked and paid along with flights etc and then be sitting and hoping passport would arrive in time....so overall i guess the $60 was worth it to avoid all that...also renewed my global entry pass online...they said 3 to 4 months...i got it in 3 weeks...no extra fees, in fact credit card paid the $100 renewal completely with zero hassles.

....so u got yours non expedited in ONE week? seems i wasted $60 on expeditied version which took two weeks...interesting

i sure miss those wide teak prom decks with full size chairs to sit and enjoy the scenery....IMO darn shame that so many of the new ships either have no real prom deck or so narrow that no room for real chairs...

i do not not know but IP has 1100 rooms so 1700 dbl occupancy pax would be 850 rooms still leaving 250 empty rooms...could be lot of singles but also could be some trips and quads..something doesn't add up

Passenger above says only 1700 pax onboard so strange that op was not just moved to another room?

so for someone onboard,,,is everything working normally now for those boarding jun 14? and is it coming and going from brooklyn? thanks for a live update..

somehow i doubt that they are going to be real happy to have to pay a fine to leave on top of all the other problems and good luck getting princess to reimburse a fine...

Actually according to Caesars your best odds are black jack assuming you play basic strategy and 3 /2 bj house edge can go to .5%....craps house edge is 1.36%....so blackjack played properly is not for suckers but actually the best odd you will get. https://www.caesars.com/casino-gaming-blog/latest-posts/table-games/blackjack-craps-baccarat-game-best-odds#:~:text=If you're willing to,half a penny on average.)

i think people who play 6 /5 bj tables are more likely to be of the 2 week millionaire types who claim they only do "gaming" for fun....maybe true but i think most would agree it is a lot more fun if you win...casinos like getting an extra edge over what seems a minor idea of dealing 6 to 5 instead of 3 to 2....i wonder how many people even notice. I understand they are now also adding a 3rd zero to roulette which already has horrible odds...casinos do like to win and apparently a lot of people don't much care if they lose by making bad odds even worse. There are a lot of factors that determine the final expected return, but in general, the house increases their edge by roughly 400% when dealing the 6:5 variant. In the 3:2 blackjack game, the house edge, for player playing perfect basic strategy, is in the ~0.5% range. That means for every $100 wagered, they take in, on average, $0.50. With 6:5 blackjack, that edge shoots up to almost 2%! So now you can expect to contribute upwards of $2 per $100 wagered to the house coffers.

They are early so you can get back for lunch and an afternoon nap.

They have likely saved me a lot of $$ by adopting the 6/5 blackjack.....they lose with that as i refuse to play that game. So i end up giving them zero and most of the time not playing is the surest way to be a winner. Despite what a lot of people want you to believe you are not mathmatically likely to win and people who play 6/5 are even less likely not to win over time. Of course casinos love it when people are "gaming" and not gambling so it's just for fun...they like it even more when many people don't know or use the most basic strategy at the tables. No offense to those as it is their money to spend as they want whether it is drinking or eating or gaming. Always remember....a guy in reno once told me.....the longer you play the more likely you will lose...it's simple math.

there are two outside decks down near the water line at the back of the ship that are good spots as not many seem to find or want to sit outside...one side is smokers who puff away but other side was generally smoke free....might be too cold for a feb cruise but frankly like OP i was looking for a nice quiet place which was overall not easy to find on majestic...movies by pool too darn loud, lot of the lounges seem to always be playing some kind of recorded music...library is the size of a closet....main plaza seemed always some kind of noise/music/ sombody babbling on and on over a loudspeaker...some seem to thrive on noise..to me not something i enjoy very much

i did it from usa and paid the extra $60 to expedite as my trip was 2 months away and it said 6 to 8 weeks from receipt and i did not want to worry....got passport back in two weeks...i suspect the 6 to 8 weeks is rare but overall it was worth $60 to not be sweating bullets with no passport when came time to leave....but best case is go ahead and renew well in advance with no trip planned and save the $60...

I can sit for hours on a nice outside deck and just look at the ocean and entertain myself with thinking of all the people and ships that have sailed these waters for centuries and try and imagine what that must have been like. I also like to think about what is likely going on in the ocean depths beneath me. I always thought it would be wonderful if they could have a few lectures from some professionals to provide more insight to the waters we are sailing across with a bit of the history of what peoples, trade routes, ship wrecks etc preceeded our luxury voyage. Details as to what kind of ships, how many crew, how long did it take, what was the diet, what was a typical cargo, what was the pay, etc. I would also like to hear more about how deep it is, what creatures are likely living below us.what creatures migrate through these waters and a bit more about the great mysteries of the big blue oceans and seas. Especially on the longer itineraries like trans atlantic, trans pac, etc. I am willing to bet such a series of lectures would draw a big crowd.

i did 21 days back to back mexico on Majestic...while it was overall ok i really did not like the lack of a real promenade deck and did not like the overall design of the outdoor spaces. Like you I would rather be on an older ship with nice wide prom decks with teak chairs where you can sit and look and hear the ocean a few feet away and not from the 15th floor looking through often dirty plexiglass...the two little oustide areas in the very aft seemed to be an afterthought and one side was often wall to wall cig smokers which sometimes puffed away on both side...so much for fresh clean ocean air..also the "library" on the majestic is a total joke..i have more books in the trunk of my car.

As a solo cruise guy most of the time as well as living alone I have found many ways to entertain myself for decades. On a cruise, princess or others, I do a lot of walking/exercise on whatever version of a promenade deck they have. I get a few good books to sit out on a deck and read. I go to some of the shows and events but will leave after 15 mins if i don't like what's on offer. I like a good afternoon nap and a little TV sometimes. I do not take the internet package as frankly i really enjoy getting away from all the problems of the world and constant bickering and bad news stories that are hard to avoid when at home. Sometimes ignorance is truly bliss and ships are generally a good place to be semi oblivious to lots of irritating news. I can sit for hours on a nice outside deck and just look at the ocean and entertain myself with thinking of all the people and ships that have sailed these waters for centuries and try and imagine what that must have been like. I also like to think about what is likely going on in the ocean depths beneath me. I eat mostly in the buffet where i get to know several staff who will come and chat with me everyday especially since i avoid the busiest times. I prefer not eating in dining room as it just is not my cup of chai overall. I get off at most ports and wander around either walk or take some sort of public transport or local tour. I like long cruises of 14 to 30 days. I do research ports before i get there and rarely if ever buy a ship shore excursion as i just prefer less structure and i am a very good solo traveler that has little to no fear of taking off on my own most anywher. Princess overall offers good value, good selection of rooms, good food, good staff...i prefer the older ships because of better walking decks and libraries. Overall i really can take or leave the activities which are sometimes great and sometimes just silly...IMO. Bottom line is i really don't get bored easily, never have and hope i never will regardless of which cruise or wherever i may be. I consider myself a lucky guy