pklein9747

We were on this cruise also and knew the risks when we booked BusyBus in Wales. On that morning, we would NEVER have gotten off the ship and into a tender. Granted, we were far from shore, but the weather has horrendous. Busy bus has already issued a credit for 50% to our credit card and I am going to attempt to recoup the rest through out trip insurance.

However, I was very taken back by the email that this company owner sent. it was truly unprofessional and actually made us feel like the we were being duped by Princess and not by him. I hope many people read this thread and do not use this company in the future (they also operate out of Liverpool).

Minor hijack: I just printed our boarding passes and luggage tags for our June Alaska cruisetour. It's the first day they have been available. Sorry... I'm just a bit on the "excited" side.

 

On topic: We haven't figured out what we are packing yet. 6 day land tour followed by the 7 day southbound. A bit different than packing for a regular cruise. It will be kind of odd not having any "night" while we are there.

Yes, bring a sleep mask. I was surprised that the curtains in the lodges didn't go all the way to the floor and let in quite a bit of light, especially at 2 AM in the morning!!!

For a week I've been getting the message that my email or password cannot be found. I've tried requesting my password but get the same message. Guess I'll have to call :( Thank goodness I can access my bookings by going to Booked Guests and Personalizer Login

We will only be there for the day next Saturday. Does anyone remember if any of the stores, restaurants had free wi-fi?

We did the 13-day (6 day land-7 day cruise) Connoisseur from Fairbanks to Vancouver last May/June. It was 91 degrees when we landed in Fairbanks on May 23 :eek: We thought we had never left Florida!! So, yes, it is necessary to pack a little bit of everything. We were certainly glad we had packed a pair of shorts.

Alaska is very casual and it is OK to not be very dressy at dinner on the ship. I packed a pair of black slacks and a few nice tops. Hubby wore nice khakis and a button down shirt or polo shirt. We never felt out of place. And yes, bring a little bit of everything. It was freezing the days we cruised Glacier Bay and the other glaciers. Otherwise, the weather was temperate...in the 60's...and we did get a little bit of rain in Ketchikan and it poured in Juneau. So glad we had purchased waterproof windbreakers and pants online from Sierra Trading. They were inexpensive and quality. We're using them again for our transatlantic to the British isles.

Alaska was amazing! You will have a wonderful time :)

I can highly recommend Rome In Limo. I personally booked them for three different tours for ourselves and others on our roll call and they were amazing. They went above and beyond. If you check the Ports of Call boards for Italy, you will see that they have thousands of great reviews. I wouldn't hesitate to use them again.

Not sure what you mean about changing the layout, but on the Grand Class ships, the balconies on Caribe deck are larger with half-covered and half-open to the decks above. There are two adjustable back chairs, two footstools and a large table on each balcony.

We did a land/cruise tour in May/June last year and I just went back and checked my statement from May. Yes, you get double the points at the Princess lodges. We stayed an extra day at the Fairbanks Lodge prior to beginning our tour where we ate and purchased items in the gift shop. Same thing at Denali Princess and Princess Mt. McKinley and for every instance where we used our Princess Visa we received double the points. Nice :) :)

Lots to see & do in St George just depends on your interests

http://www.gotobermuda.com/St__George/

 

http://www.gotobermuda.com/21-Free-Things-To-Do/

Thanks so much for the links! I was searching for info on the HoHo bus in St. George!

As to the interpreter, I worked with a woman who was a certified ASL interpreter and she cruised often to provide her services. Here is a CC post from a few years ago: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=752960. Looks like you need to fax a formal request for an interpreter.

We have the AIBP for our April TA British Isles cruise. I will be keeping on eye on this post, and our booking, to determine if we have a problem once we apply for our Shareholder Credit.

Thanks for bringing this to everyone's attention.

Pat

Last year at this time, I came down with an upper respiratory infection that resulted in an extremely consistent and hacking cough that seemed to last forever. We cruised in mid-January and, when I completed the health form at the terminal, I indicated that I had a bad cough. When I showed it to one of the employees there, he asked what the problem was. When I told him it was lingering cough, he ripped up the form and told me to fill out a new one and not indicate the cough. His reasoning: it wasn't contagious and it wasn't worth the time out of my 5-day cruise to get it sorted out.

Was on the Royal in November and did a load of laundry. You use your cabin card to get a token for the washer and a token for the dryer. Both are $3 per load.

It was available two weeks ago on the Royal as one of the pasta choices. Unfortunately, no one at our table ordered it so I don't know if it was good or not. However, we think Princess always does pasta right, so I'm sure it was probably delicious :)

Wanted to add that if you search for JnJ tours on TripAdvisor, for some reason it comes up under Dominica and not Grenada. He comes highly recommended on TripAdvisor too!

Do you have any contact information, and information on cost of the tour, length of tour, etc?

 

Thanks in advance!

He has a website: folkestours.com The cost was $30pp and lasted 3 1/2 - 4 hours.

Absolutely one of the best tours ever! Stan met us at the pier and we knew right away that he was going to be awesome! He is so personable and knowledgeable about his island. Very easy to understand and fun to be with!

Stan was quick to advise us about which vendors to avoid and which to purchase from. And he was right! We got very good buys and very, very fresh spice necklaces. Our tour included Annandale Falls, Grand Etang National Park/Rain Forest, a spice shop (which was so interesting as Stan told us all about the different spices on the island and allowed us to hold/view/smell them and demonstrated how they are used), a stop at Fort Frederick and and a long stop at Grand Anse Beach for lunch and some swimming. There were vendors on the beach who rented loungers for $5 each. No need to rent umbrellas...there were enough trees with shade. One bad spot...ordered a chicken sandwich from one of the vendors and it was not cook through. They did refund our money.

I would highly recommend JnJ Tours and Stan Grainger!!

Just returned from our 10-day Southern Caribbean cruise and used Reyno Tours this past week. We were a group of ten and were met at the pier by Reynold and were handed off to our driver, David. We were originally supposed to have 14 people in our group and I'm a bit glad the four people dropped out. The van was tight with 10 people...it would have been uncomfortable with 14. We did the Screw Spa & Sightseeing Tour.

David was a good guide...though a bit soft-spoken and hard to understand sometimes. We visited Trafalgar Falls first. It is a very difficult climb up uneven and steep stairs. Wish we had known that and had worn more appropriate shoes (rather than flip flops). We then headed through the rain forest (so lush and beautiful) to Titou Gouge. A few of us actually got in the water and swam through the chilly water through the gouge to the waterfall. Do it! It was amazing!! David took a different hot water spa. He, and other locals, are very unhappy with the way the owners of Screw Spa are treating the tourists and he brought us to one he felt was better. It was OK. We visited some other sites and overviews to take pictures. Be prepared...the roads are very steep, winding and very, very narrow!!! If you get carsick...take something...you'll need it.

Our tour was definitely longer than the time stated (3-4 hours) and we got a lot for our dollar. However, there was never any talk about stopping to eat and be the time we left the spa, everyone was hungry. We asked David about stopping at a local restaurant, but by the time we finished at the Botanical Garden and the overlook it was just easier to eat on the ship. Overall, it was a very good tour and I would recommend it.

We just did the afternoon snorkel trip this past week and it included a delicious early dinner (around 4:30 - 5 pm) with dessert. My DH and I have snorkeled in many places and we both agree that this was the absolutely best run trip we have ever been on. The guides are fantastic and incredibly safety conscious. We were in 3 groups of 6 or 7 each with its own guide and drift snorkeling is about as easy as it gets since you are never swimming against the current. The variety of fish and coral was incredible. Woodwind was definitely a highlight of our cruise!

Have to agree with your review...this company is top notch!! Just snorkeled with them this past Wednesday and the staff is amazing. Have never had such an experience on a snorkeling trip. They literally cannot do enough for you...need equipment, no problem...need prescription lenses in your mask, no problem...need something to drink, no problem...need some personal attention in the water, no problem, not sure what type of fish that is, no problem...they explain everything you are seeing. Add to that the fact that they provide a hot meal with dessert on the way back and whatever you want to drink and this excursion is a home run! They even have a photographer on staff who takes pictures while you're in the water. And it's worth the money to buy the pictures! Don't hesitate to book with Woodwind...because if you do, they'll be sold out!

Pat

Just returned from a 10-day Southern Caribbean on the Royal Princess. I had booked a tour with Sonny Binns for myself and 9 others. We were greeted at the pier by Howard Folkes who explained that Sonny had problems with his van and had asked Howard to take the tour. I was a bit skeptical at first, but Howard was absolutely wonderful. He was very knowledgeable and proud of his island, had a great sense of humor and was a joy to spend the day with. His van was exceptionally clean and roomy.

We visited the Casibari Rock Formations, the national park with the natural bridge, the California Lighthouse and the Alta Vista Church. Howard made a point of stopping the van to point out various produce, trees and bushes and to explain the government, housing and topography of the island. He dropped us off at Palm Beach for a few hours and was nice enough to come back and pick us up. We had heard good things about Sonny's tours, but would definitely recommend Howard for a tour of the island. He was a true gentleman and a great tour guide! His website is: folkestours.com You will not be disappointed if you use him :)

Pat

I understood that the app has the added benefit of push/active notifications of messages. I.e. The browser is passive so the only way to know if you have a message is to look at it, whereas the app sends notifications. Is that not correct? Or maybe that's only true for iOS?

 

 

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There is a notification that you have a message; however, it is not "sent" to you. Just got off the Royal and used the messenger a lot with our friends. We all have Apple phones using IOS. The only notification you receive is a number within a red circle within the message area on the home screen of the Princess@Sea to indicate the number of messages that have been received. Unless you look at your Princess@Sea screen, you do not have any idea that you have a message waiting. This was the only downfall of the app...it really came in handy!

Just got off a 10-day Southern Caribbean on the Royal. Hubby and friend played Texas Hold'Em but only $1/$2 games. Casino staff told them they no longer offer tournaments. Don't know why.

So, what about cabins on Dolphin deck? I booked a guarantee balcony on the Royal for Feb 8, and was assigned D622. Looks like a pretty good location to me, but I'm not too fussy about that.

Just got off the Royal yesterday. We were in D317 and our friends were in D517. No noise problems. Easy to walk down the stairs to Promenade Deck. You're closer to the back of the ship and can take the aft elevators right up to the buffet!!

Are signature margaritas included in drink package?

Kim...doesn't look like this available on the Regal. I know you're already planning for next year!

Agree with taking the train. We did that last June after our Alaska cruise on the Grand. We did spend a few days in Vancouver...and fell in love with the city. Then took the train from Vancouver to Seattle. It was wonderful and well worth paying the bit extra for business seats. You get to board first and the seats are wonderful. We also spent a few days in Seattle and enjoyed that also.