LoisLane0

Wednesday July 1st: Glacier Bay. WOW!! Words can't do this justice. It was a gorgeous day and I saw a glacier calf. Gorgeous.

Yeesh. Should read Glacier calving. :o

Saturday July 4th: We decided to disembark at 9 am. In retrospect, I'd have gotten off earlier.

I forgot to say this was a R/T from Seattle.

I love this thread!!

I'm not a fan of cruising but I always wanted to see Alaska. Some years ago when my kids were younger, my in-laws took their children and families on a four day Family Disney Cruise with a double stop at their Castaway Cay island in the Bahamas. I don't like sitting at the beach at all. I couldn't wait to get off the boat. I never ever wanted to cruise again until my in-laws suggested Alaska.

We just got off the boat July 4th. I loved seeing Alaska. However, I am not a fan of cruising and I did get restless.

That said? I had a great time seeing all the sights. On the sea days, I enjoyed the 2 for 1 happy hour cocktails and sitting on the balcony of our room.

We went on the Skagway White Pass train, not only was the scenery beautiful but the civil engineering involved to design that route was incredible. I'm an Electrical Engineer, but my dad was a Civil Engineer and I was wishing he was alive to go with us because the track ran through some very inhospitable areas. My son and I were talking about the sheer magnitude of effort it took to build it.

We just came back from a multi family trip to Alaska. We went on Princess which cruised Glacier Bay. Some years ago they had taken us all on a Disney Cruise when the kids were much younger. This time around the age range was 8-15. My kids didn't use the teen room but my nephew used the younger kids' room and enjoyed it.

I saw some younger kids on this cruise. I don't think the activities were as varied as what Disney offers but do you think you'll be making use of those activities or spend more time on excursions around Alaska?

Also, I don't think Disney cruises through Glacier Bay.

Link Here.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2230845

Everyone was so helpful in answering my questions I wanted to give back what little I can.

I'm a neophyte cruiser. Before this one I'd only been on a Disney Cruise some years ago. I wasn't a big fan of cruising but when my husband's family suggested a family vacation to Alaska, I was all in.

Here goes:

Saturday June 27th: We arrived at the dock after 12 pm so it was a relatively quick process to embark. We had a group of us with adjoining balconies and we asked the room steward to open it up so we were connected. It was fantastic to have a private corridor between our rooms. We explored the ship and registered the kids at the teen club, which they never used so I don't have any feedback around that. We had early dining and then we just wandered around our balconies catching up with each other. We didn't attend any events that day.

Sunday June 28th: A day at sea. Some in our groups went to the gym to work out, others just wandered around the ship. I had breakfast with some of us in the dining room that day which was nice. My mother in law took a dancing lesson which she enjoyed.

Monday June 29th: We had booked a Harv and Marv's whale watching excursion in Juneau. It was incredible. The whales were out in force and the weather was fantastic. We didn't spend any time in town but we drove through it on the way to our excursion.

Tuesday June 30th: Skagway My family went on the White Pass railroad excursion through Princess. We had fantastic weather yet again and the scenery was breathtaking. Other members of our party went zip lining and had a wonderful time.

Wednesday July 1st: Glacier Bay. WOW!! Words can't do this justice. It was a gorgeous day and I saw a glacier calf. Gorgeous.

Thursday July 2nd : Ketchikan. We didn't go on any excursions. We wandered around the town and visited the Totem Heritage museum. Other members of our party went on a Princess off roading and canoeing excursion and enjoyed it a lot.

Friday July 3rd: Mostly sea with a quick stop in Victoria. We got off briefly to wander around but none in our party took any excursions anywhere.

Saturday July 4th: We decided to disembark at 9 am. In retrospect, I'd have gotten off earlier.

My thoughts:

My favorite excursion by far was Harv and Marv's Whale Watching. We had a child under 13 in our party so we had to reserve a private tour, which was perfect because they tailored it to our interests. The train in Skagway was, I thought, a great one time thing to do. The views are incredible and it's amazing what human ingenuity can do. I was amazed at the inhospitable places these folks were able to lay track.

Early dining worked for us because some of our party was from the East Coast and jet lagged, this included an eight year old so eating early was good. It was also nice to have the same friendly faces in the form of the wait staff. They were incredibly nice people. My birthday fell in the middle of the cruise but I didn't want a fuss made. I asked them not to sing and they didn't, I didn't hand them the card but they had a small cake for me which the table quickly demolished. The food in general was good. I loved the pistachio chocolate desert in the main dining room, it was the best of the cruise. I went to the International Cafe a couple times for lunch. I liked that better than Horizon court.

As for the on board entertainment, I went to two shows, a disco one and the motor city one. It was fun but then I'm in my early 50s so this was the music I grew up with.

My father in law wanted to do the scavenger hunt but got no takers. The teens were not interested and the 8 year old didn't want to be the only one doing it.

As mentioned before we had balconies, I've read a lot of debate on whether a balcony is necessary or not. I think it's very subjective and depends on your personality. I'm more of a loner. I *need* alone time so spending most of the time on deck wouldn't have worked for me. I used my balcony a lot. I didn't do many on board activities, but instead spent a lot of time on the balcony with my tablet reading and enjoying the stunning scenery. The exception was Glacier Bay when I spent a good amount of time roaming the ship to see the glaciers with no obstructions.

However, people who enjoy mixing might find they are only in their rooms to sleep which would make a balcony not as important to have.

Prior to the ship I had asked questions how the finances worked on board as my Father in Law was giving this trip to his kids and their family as a gift. I was worried about taking advantage of his generosity. It turned out to be a moot point. I had pre paid for our Princess train excursion before boarding, and we had surprised my in-laws with the Harv and Marv's excursion. My family didn't do any other excursions so our non refundable room credit ($200 per room) was more than sufficient. At the end of the cruise I owed $36 but my daughter, whom I shared the room with, had $66 credit. All the rooms were under one credit card, so it turned out we left room credit on the table which was fine because we all did what we wanted to do. :)

We all used the on board Princess @ Sea messenger system to keep in contact. That was helpful, though I'd suggest they build in audio/vibrate notification. We all had to keep an eye on it to see if anybody was trying to get in touch.

I'm still not a fan of cruising, however, and this is a HUGE however, I think cruising in Alaska offered opportunities I wouldn't have had. Especially seeing Glacier Bay. I'd love to go back to Alaska but I'd explore other methods of travel, maybe fly in and then investigate how to visit these scenic sights.

That said, I was very impressed with the professional operation Princess runs. They move a lot of people through a lot of places and the amount of work everyone does to provide such a memorable experience is something I greatly appreciate.

My ambivalent feelings towards cruising is a reflection on me and my personality, not the line or the experience. If ever I go on another cruise, it would be to get to Antarctica.

Thanks again for all the great information provided on this board. If anybody has any questions, I'll do my very best to answer what I can.

--I prefer R/T on the train and forget the bus. Best to go on to Fraser Meadows but they only do that Monday, Thursday and Friday. I would take the morning departure and tour Skagway myself in the afternoon. Be sure and do their museum. Tour Duration: 4 Hours on the train.

I'm not the OP but this is good to know. Thanks. I booked the 8 am cruise ship R/T train excursion because we have non refundable OBC. I was thinking on similar lines, get back to the ship by noon, eat and then walk around the town with our trusty map.

 

I hope you have a wonderful time and truly enjoy Alaska and your family time. :D

Thanks.

At the end of your cruise your FIL will receive a final net invoice and attached to it will be his folio and the the 4 others he is paying for. All accounts will be netted to a final amount. If one account does happen to have a credit balance then that credit will be subtracted from any amounts due. It will be a simple addition of credits and debits for all five of you. Nothing to worry about. No need to figure out who has balances remaining.

 

A few days into your cruise your FIL should visit the passenger service desk or one of the kiosks and print out all of his linked accounts and he will see the net amounts as of that day.

Great! Thanks! This is exactly what I was wondering and that is if the OBC was one big pot, even though it shows up as smaller chunks of individual room credit, because it's under one person's account.

That's not the way it works.

 

If putting a spending limit was possible (I know it is for kids, not sure about adults), once the limit is reached, nothing can be charged to the account, no matter who is paying for it. If the limit is reached on day 3, forget about buying even a bottle of water for the rest of the cruise.

Not only that, this isn't something that fits our family dynamic. We wouldn't put limits on the kids' even because they don't over charge. I gave my son my paypal account info and he's super responsible. He asks before he puts in $5 on a gaming account, same with my daughter. They are super conscious and responsible people. I was bracing for teenage insanity but it hasn't been the case in my house. These two are the best teenagers. Sure, they talk back and the like but that is normal. They are good people.

It's not about the money. My in-laws know we won't go crazy on their account.

The reason I was asking is what IF we *wanted* to go crazy one night, but didn't want to do it on his dime. There are a lot of people going on this. It's not just a couple of us.

The person who went on the Ruby up thread and said he paid cash nightly offered us a window in to a compromise which won't hurt him yet it allows for the contingency that if we're sitting around the bar one night and somebody buys a bottle of Cristal champagne or Dom for a few hundred? We can go to guest services and pay for it, then explain that we all went a little nuts that night and this is why we plunked down some cash. He'd be fine with that especially after the fact. I don't think he'd take cash directly from us because I know I wouldn't if it were my kids. However, if they drank a bottle of Cristal without me and then paid for it, I'd be more upset I wasn't there to partake, and while I'd tell them it was unnecessary to pay it, I'd appreciate the sentiment.

Almost 30 years ago when I graduated college my late dad gave me some money to help me when I relocated before I started my job. After I started it, I sent the check to him for the money. He refused to cash it but he told me he was touched I tried.

I digress, as this thread has!! ;)

The purpose of my question was that I wanted to find out what our options were if we were to splurge on something that we didn't want to put on anybody else's account.

Even so... when you check in you have to present a cc - if it's different than what's on the booking they will ask questions.

We are all checking in together. We meet up the night before and go in as a group. So we will have the card used on the booking.

Keep in mind that even though your booking has been assigned to one credit card.... when you check in, each room will have to have a cc assigned to it for on board purchases (usually with the occupants name on it). Possibly? your in-laws could go with you to check in and present their card.. don't know.

Or, possibly, you could have the in-laws reserve some of your excursions to their room?? You (they) will get a voucher left in the room for the excursion which can easily be given to anyone.

Just thoughts.. Have a great cruise.

Each room has my in-laws credit card assigned to it.

All of us have the same amount of OBC (multiple rooms) per room.

My question was since I used up all my OBC on the excursion, but my brother in law's room has all the OBC because they're not going on anything via Princess, we'd use his key to charge smoothies or wine on?

Some of the current OBC promotions don't allow it to be used for the daily charge. OBC that is per person (as long as one credit card was used) will be combined into one charge.

 

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Understood.

I went to the account and there is the travel agent credit and then the promotion credit. The promotion credit says this:

"Shore Ex/Onboard Spending*"

I'll call Princess later to ask but if I were to place my bets? I'd hypothesize this wouldn't be credited to gratuity, as I'd guess these types of things are to entice people to use on excursions (which I did) and other on board spending.

You might double check that this particular type of OBC can be used for the auto-gratuity. Not all OBC can, at least IIRC.

Will do! Thank You. I had no idea auto-gratuity was such a thing.

Ok I see the problem. I would check the accounts before the cruise is over and make sure that each room account has used the balance of the OBC. Since it is non refundable, there would not be a credit posted to that credit card for a room with a credit balance. Simply use a key card for the different rooms when purchasing anything to use the OBC credit for each room.

Gotcha!! Thanks so much. This is really helpful.

Maybe you should just say upfront' date=' yes, I appreciate you taking care of our expenses but I do feel a bit strange if you're paying for the occasional logo tee shirt or drink and I hope you understand that I want to cover that and please don't feel insulted by the offer.

 

Rather than having post-cruise regrets about what you did without. I'm guessing you're not talking about buying a $3000 watch or consuming the most expensive wine. So why do you feel guilty about a drink or a doodad, because that's how I'm reading it? Just explain to him so you don't feel bad and he doesn't feel bad. Maybe he doesn't realize how you're feeling.[/quote']

 

Actually with this crew, consuming the most expensive wine or single malt isn't a reach. ;)

 

I appreciate all the information about how the fiances work! I understand how it works now.

The good news is that you can easily check your accounts on a daily basis.

 

One other thing. This individual OBC that came as part of a promotion. If there is only one Credit Card on file, all the OBC will be on that account. There will be no separation Per Person.

Indeed! That is going to be very helpful.

Yes, there is only one credit card on file. When I logged in to all the rooms (I have the individual booking numbers for everyone) I see the OBC for each room.

So for simplicity sake, say Room X has $30 left but Room Y is -$100, does that mean $70 will be charged total because it's all on one account?

Thanks!

Not usually , OBC is usually tied to the individual room .

Thanks! This will be very helpful in figuring out who signs for what.

 

I don't know how much OBC you are talking about' date=' but probably all the OBC will be used up by the auto-gratuity of $11.50pp/day. Adds up quickly.[/b'] :)

I had no idea this was even a thing! Thank you. Even with that though there might be some left over on some of the rooms (those who don't go on excursions or use the spa).

*If* there is can that be used on another family's room?

Hi all,

If you read my question on using cash on board, I apologize for some of the repeat information.

Here goes. We're going on a large family cruise to Alaska. There was a promotion where all the rooms have some non refundable room credit. I booked the Skagway railway excursion for myself, my daughter and my son, so my room will have a deficit.

My in-laws are giving us all this trip as a gift, so it's all linked to one account. My question is: Can unused room credit on Family member X's room be used toward Family member y's room?

Or is it, as I suspect and fear, non transferable from room to room even if it's all linked?

Because if it's non transferable we'll sign any drinks or incidentals to the rooms with remaining room credit. Not everyone is going on the same excursions or even going on one at all.

Thanks in advance!

That should be great -- we did that with my 3 siblings and spouses in 2012 and it really was a highlight of a wonderful trip.

That is great to hear. I can't wait!!

as opposed to taking as much

as possible from the FIL.

This!! This is what I'm worried about. I *know* he'll see the expenses and it's not about hiding anything. It's about not taking advantage.

For example, we haven't seen my brother in law and his spouse in ages. Say one afternoon we sit around with some drinks, which lead to more. I don't want anybody else to pay for that. I don't care if he sees the itemized list at the end, because for something like that the four of us will be united and say this was something we didn't want to charge to anybody but ourselves.

I thought about it long and hard and realized excursions are different because it is part of the trip experience. However, frivolous things (single malt scotch, a hat from the gift shop, etc) which might not matter monetarily but do matter to the four of us in terms of not wanting to take advantage, that is something we were trying to understand how to navigate.

It's not about the money as much as it is emotional and making sure we're not taking advantage of those we love.

You do know that at the end of thecruise he will get an itemized bill showing all purchases and payments, don't you?

Yes. I do. I posted about that already up thread. Thanks.

I should clarify. I am extremely appreciative for this gift. I might not be the biggest fan of cruising (albeit I've only done it once before) but I am so excited to go to Alaska and this is going to be a blast with all the grandkids on my husband's side as well as brother in law, etc. We are all friends beyond the family ties.

I don't want to throw the gift in his face, which is why I would never unlink the rooms or take his card off our room. That would hurt him and I don't want to do that.

My concern is the nickle and dime stuff which in the grander scheme of things doesn't really add up to much but can walk the line of taking advantage.

For example, no, you don't really need that frivolous doodad from the gift shop that is going to get lost the minute you get home. And wait, how many drinks did we all sit around drinking that one night after the grandparents and grandkids went to sleep? Those kinds of things are what I'm concerned about.

Not of him finding out or anybody wants to hide anything, we're all over 50, but because I don't feel running up a tab is proper.

The idea of paying off by cash on certain nights is a good one. That way we wouldn't pay off anything like an excursion but just in case we all sat around ordering one more single malt, then there is the option to pay something incidental like that. Sure it's not a big deal really, but we don't want to treat this like a cash cow either.

I am going to assume that you are not trying to hide purchases and that you don't care if your FIL knows what you buy. That being said. If I was you FIL it would wound me greatly if my DIL that I love and cared greatly about would not let me take care of their trip and purchases. This way I get to enjoy spending my money on them rather than letting them spend my money when I am dead and gone. I would not be looking for anything other than being able to spend time with my family and being able to do things for them while I am alive and able to enjoy it with them.

 

Personally I think you should honor his wishes and let him do that for you. You could on a sea day set up a lunch date just you two as a thank you. It is more about his giving than your taking. Let him have the honor of doing it. And yes it is sometimes harder to receive than give.

You're right, I am not trying to hide anything.

I agree with you about honoring his wishes. However, I also feel there is a fine line between taking advantage and accepting such a generous gift.

I don't want to take advantage on his dime. This is an all inclusive gift for the whole family. I'm super conscious of that which is why I asked this question to begin with. I am less likely to buy a frivolous on board purchase knowing that it will get charged to him. My teenagers are too and will be mindful as well. This thread was very valuable for me because now I understand how finances work on board.

Thanks for your thoughts.

You are truly blessed. Maybe you could convince your generous FIL to let you cover a family dinner at one of the specialty restaurants. It's a small gesture but if he's the special person he seems to be, he'll understand and graciously accept.

:D We surprised him with a whale watching excursion (Harv&Marv).