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Be sure to eat dinner or bring food. You’ll find very little food options at that time. Two years ago, we also took the train to Anchorage, Ubered to the airport and waited for a 3 am flight home. Thought we could just hang out in the Alaska Air lounge but it closed at midnight. Long night but lots of other folks were there as well. Uber was about $10 including tip.

Our beverage cards were waiting for us in our cabin. You hand the card to staff to purchase your beverage and then receive a receipt showing you how much you have left on the card. Any left over amount was credited back to our credit card after the cruise.

HAL also sells a non-alcoholic beverage card. We got that for a teen that was in our party. It was great since she was able to buy soda, mocktails, specialty coffees on her own.

I was asked in a post cruise survey how much I thought 360 should cost and how much I’d be willing to pay for the experience. I said that the price should be what people pay for the Chef’s Table. As much as I enjoyed the experience, I wouldn’t pay more than $150 pp.

We’ve taken a bus to/from Vancouver and Seattle a number of times—twice this past summer (2022). We’ve been a HAL transfer, QuickShuttle and Amtrak Thruway bus. Based on my experiences, there are no assigned seats on the bus. First come, first seated. There have been restrooms on each bus but there are facilities at the customs building. At the border, everyone on the bus has to get off with ALL of their belongings and go through customs. On the cruise ship transfer we didn’t have to take off our suitcases (stored below) but on the QuickShuttle and Thruway we did. You cannot reboard the bus until it (and the passengers) have cleared customs. Bathrooms are available but not a lot of seating. There were a couple of instances where people ‘took’ different seats than where they had originally been seated once back on board. Led to some tense discussions! I view the bus option as a necessary evil. We will spend an extra night in Seattle or Vancouver to avoid taking the bus! But, unfortunately we do sometimes have to take it. It was unavoidable last summer due to Amtrak’s suspension of the train service. On the plus side, we’ve always had very good, professional drivers who were great about loading and unloading luggage.

Not last week on the Discovery. It was by invite only. You did have to pay for the photo.

Currently on the Discovery Princess, the 360 is a complementary experience. You have to be invited to attend so not sure how you’re ‘triple’ tipping? I took a picture of my wait staff’s name tag. She told me that the best thing to do was to mention the service and her in the post-cruise survey which I did. I also gave a shut out to her and the other staff in the Crew Chat (violinist, wait staff, chef, MC). Didn’t have any money on me at the time of the dinner but was able to slip a tip to her the next night.

Yes, we had purchased the transfer but chose not to use it. The times were not convenient for us—Princess had us going to the airport earlier than we wanted and with a group of people. We decided to enjoyed one last leisurely meal in Anchorage (Glacier Brewhouse) and then Ubered. Cost was inexpensive—$10 including tip.

We enjoy taking the train from Vancouver to Seattle. Previous poster was correct—you should schedule an overnight either in Vancouver (for the 6 am train the following day) or in Seattle (after the afternoon train). Try to book business class (go through customs first) and sit on the right hand side of the train. We have booked the train this June after a cruise. Train leaves late in the afternoon so will leave our baggage with a company at Canada Place and go do something in Vancouver (Stanley Park, rent bikes?). Train arrives in Seattle at 10 pm. We’re staying at the Embassy Suites Pioneer Square which is next door to the train station. Boarding the Coast Starlight the next morning. On previous trips, we’ve taken the light rail from the Amtrak station to the airport.

We flew out of Anchorage last summer on a 1 am flight on Alaskan Air. No problems getting to the airport from the Captain Cook though we took an Uber. Eat ahead of time—not much is open at that time! The AA lounge even closed and kicked us out!

Amtrak is my first choice when we have to travel between Seattle and Vancouver. We love the train ride and it’s a pretty quick cab/Uber ride to the port. As noted in a previous post, going through customs is quick and straightforward. We took bus shuttles between these two ports in the last couple of years due to the suspension of the Cascade train. We used the cruise line shuttle (HAL) which was fine as well as QuickShuttle (Princess didn’t have a shuttle from Seattle to Vancouver). What I did not enjoy about the QuickShuttle is that we had to get off the bus with all of our luggage (suitcases, carryons, etc), stand in line at customs and then reboard the bus. What a pain! On the cruise line bus shuttle, we were able to leave our suitcases on the bus and only carry our carryons while waiting to go through customs.

Yes, it does! I use the Crew Chat feature to dispute charges—no standing in lines and always have had the adjustments to my account.

We like to stay at the Crowne Plaza and park our car there during a cruise. Their cruise parking is underground--I like that my car is out of the sun! There is one spot in particular I always try to get--set between two large concrete pillars so I have no one parking next to me. We pay around $300 for a night's stay plus parking---that varies on when I book. For our April cruise (Discovery Princess 4/1/2023), I'm paying $280 for the park and cruise package. Might be better options but we have enjoyed staying at the CP many times and feel no need to change! The food options are pretty good too--we like the Green Onion and San Pedro Brewing Co.

Yes, last night (January 21) on the Discovery.

It’s one device at a time. You just need to log out of your currently used device and then log on to the next one. I do it all the time (iPhone, iPad, laptop).

We have traveled between Seward and Anchorage on ARR a number of times—both in Adventure Class as well as Gold Star. If money is a concern, you will be fine in Adventure Class. All the cars on the train travel on the same track! The windows are large for viewing, the seats are comfortable, you still get commentary during the journey, and you have access to the dome car. The only thing we missed was the outside viewing platform in Gold Star. You’ll be responsible for your own food but you can bring your own. The food in the cafe car is pretty limited. The journey is spectacular regardless of which class you travel!

Yes, we were surprised how small the room was. Never again.

Princess medals are not just awarded for sports tournaments/events. I won one at a trivia contest for knowing the answer to an ‘impossibly hard question.’ (We no longer want/need these items. Always give them away to others at events. Just more cruise detritus to get rid of…)

I have been able to book shore excursions on a number of upcoming cruises using OBC (both refundable and non refundable). I select the tour, add to cart and then during the payment process the cost is deducted from the OBC. One note though—both my hubby and I will have OBC but one of us will have more based on the shareholders credit. I have been unable to use my excess OBC to pay for hubby’s tour if he has used up his OBC. Doesn’t seem to be a way of transferring OBC to another’s account.

The walk is about 10-15 minutes along the waterfront. Once you get to the waterfront from the hotel, it’s nicely paved and level. We always walk to the pier from the hotel traveling with a backpack and roller suitcase. We eat at a couple of restaurants while staying the the Crowne Plaza—-the Green Onion and the San Pedro Brewing Company. Both good and close to the hotel. http://www.greenonionmexicanrestaurant.com https://sanpedrobrewing.com/ We use Xpress Shuttle for transfers to and from LAX: https://xpressshuttles.com/. Professional and reliable.

Or walk if you’re able. It is just about a 10-15 minute walk from the hotel to the ship. Nice, level walk along the waterfront. We’ve never taken the shuttle but friends who have checked in with the front desk the night before to ensure they had a ride at the time they wanted to leave.

Here’s the phone number for Princess Casino: 888-772-6697. I call it when I’m booking a cruise—both for comped cruises and casino discounts.

I use the app Notability on my iPad. I can add any document/email and, using my Apple Pencil, I can make notes directly on it. I keep folders for each trip (currently have 10 cruises booked as well as three land trips) which are further subdivided into different categories (hotel, dining, shore excursions, travel, etc). The app is great because I don’t need the internet to access the material. As long as I have my phone, I have every single document/email available for a trip. I set reminders for final payments on my calendar as well important dates (call when reservations open up, etc). I also use airline apps in order to check in. I add train tickets, boarding passes, etc to my Apple Wallet. I’m a planner so I love keeping track of all of this info. Drives my hubby crazy though!

We’re booked on this as well! We’ve been on about a dozen Alaskan cruises as well as extended stays on land but there are a number places we haven’t visited yet!

On the Ruby this past year, I had a coffee card and was never charged for brewed coffee at the IC. Only charged for specialty coffees. Also, I was able to get a triple shot cappuccinos counted as just one specialty coffee.