allesonwonderland

7 minutes ago, no1racefan1 said:

You might remember I was worried about our Budget rental car but it worked out perfectly! They gave us a free upgrade to a brand new 4-runner, for a minute I felt like we weren't on a budget 😆

 

It's 52 and sunny in Anchorage. Sitting outside in light jackets and we're perfectly cozy. YMMV.

Great to hear! We have Budget as well. When I originally booked it, I chose a later time. We're scheduled to arrive earlier now, we'll see if we can pick up early (at our booked price) or if we'll just have to wait it out. 

I'd be interested in hearing more on the dock construction myself. I read on another thread that some ships scheduled to dock at the Broadway dock missed port due to high winds and a construction barge next to the dock reducing the maneuvering capacity of ships.

Enjoy! I hope all goes well with your sailing. I'll be watching for your posts once you get back since we follow a few weeks after you. I've been on a cruise with propulsion issues before, I think your 'go with the flow' attitude is a good one to have. 

51 minutes ago, terrybc said:

Looks like this propulsion issue is not going to get fixed anytime soon? I'm looking at the Pacific Pilotage Authority Pilot Schedule for her & she will be arriving 1 day late into Vancouver on the return sailings resulting in the next 2 departures out of Vancouver being delayed by 1 day. 

Can you share where to find this info? I wonder how it will affect the south bound sailings.

5 minutes ago, no1racefan1 said:

I haven't seen any of the same kind of feedback about this year, so maybe they figured out the issues!

I'll hope for the best. Logged in to their site and my reservation is still there. 

Thanks for all the details you've shared! Our cruise is an anniversary trip as well!

On 5/20/2023 at 9:42 AM, no1racefan1 said:

 

Budget was significantly cheaper. HOWEVER--I read a lot of stories about last summer when Budget cancelled people's rental cars for a period of time because supposedly their pricing was wrong on their website. Those people ended up having to rebook at a much higher price last minute. So, I am choosing not to trust the cheap prices!!

 

Just now reading through your thread, and--Oh no! I booked Budget this summer for an AMAZING rate next May. Now I'm nervous.

On 9/26/2023 at 6:58 AM, no1racefan1 said:

Wow. Mine still shows $299 for May 2024, but it also still shows at least 20 spots available, so I guess it hasn't filled up yet. I didn't realize the prices would change! Now I'm even more happy I booked all my excursions a year in advance, lol.

I totally could've (should've) done that. Hindsight. I wanted to do more research. I guess this is one of those times that you book right away, knowing you can always cancel, but at least you snagged a spot and the good price?

On 9/20/2023 at 9:32 PM, no1racefan1 said:

Yikes! Princess is $299.

 

For my June 2024 cruise it was $299 at first, but is now $339. Doh!

1) I wish I would've bought more than 100 shares when it was cheap. Hindsight.

2) Does anyone know if Princess counts days on a cruisetour towards the 'cruise' total? It would be nice to bump up to that next obc tier.

On 1/25/2023 at 7:58 AM, kayehall said:

Chilikoot has informed me that the 2024 excursions come out in October 2023. 

Thanks for the heads up--I'll mark my calendar!

23 hours ago, Mary229 said:

One outlier that made me change my plan are the flights.  From DFW I can fly non-stop to Anchorage in 7+ hours however to fly back from Anchorage requires a layover with a minimum total flight time of 10 hours.  Vancouver and Seattle to DFW are usually nonstop. 

Yes! Flights aren't available for my dates yet, but just using dates this summer to gather some ideas, it could be a long haul for us. (A couple include a super-long layover in Dallas. Like, we could drive ourselves to Dallas in less time than the layover. Lol) 

Planning a 2024 Alaska cruise and I *thought* doing a Princess cruisetour would make everything easier. Even though I'm a good DIYer on our travels. But, there are a bazillion options, and the more searching I do on the boards, the more other options I come up with. And I guess you can't book the cruise and add the land on later, so now I'm getting nervous the stateroom I want may disappear before I make the decisions. Sorry--rambling already--I'll blame it on the brain overload.

I (believe) I've settled on the Princess Sapphire southbound sailing leaving Whittier June 1. I know it's a little early in the season, but like I said, more stateroom availability. Also, it may allow for more traveling/touring days on the front end utilizing the long Memorial Day weekend. (Only so much vacation time.) So, that allows for up to a 12 day Princess Cruisetour, or a smidge shorter one paired with a bit of 'on our own' since we'll probably get to AK a couple days ahead of time, just in case.

I was thinking we'd need to focus on the ones leaving from Anchorage, because airfare to Fairbanks, while not released for our travel dates yet, looked like it could be pricey. But then through my research using similar dates this summer it looked like we could fly to Anchorage, then take a cheap, direct flight to Fairbanks if we decided to do one of the cruise tours up there.  Or, I read about separate Princess land tours, which would at least help with my worry of staterooms booking up because I could book the cruise and continue to plan the land portion. And, of course, there's the completely DIY route. See why I feel like my head may explode? Ha!

Obviously, we've never been to Alaska. And I know we can't fit it all in during this one trip. And that the Denali Park Road won't be open yet when we go. But I still want it to be good. 😃 We're in our 50s, active, I love birds and wildlife, my hubby's a history buff. We both enjoy hiking and scenery.

Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

Congrats! I'm planning a similar trip in Summer 2024 for our 30th Anniversary! I thought I had it narrowed down to the Princess Sapphire and just needed to figure out which land part to do (and for how long), but some of these comments make me think I should do some more research.

On 10/3/2022 at 6:41 AM, blue_water said:

You’ve also read here of the North Shore/Historical tour the drivers offer, and that is something we’d recommend. After, you can get dropped at one of the less-frequented beaches, or near a hiking trail to a beach, or back in Cruz Bay.

Any specific hiking trails you'd recommend?

On 12/16/2022 at 3:10 PM, Coral said:

 

I haven't kept up with Denali and if it will be partially closed again this next year but overall, you can't get far into the park until after June 1. Not sure if that matters when making a decision.

I did just read on the nps website that the closure of the Denali Park Road at Mile 43 is expected to remain in place through summer 2024. 

Thanks for the tips. Good to know you can't get too far into Denali until after June 1. One of my scenarios would have us there the week prior to that. Right now, both ships are the same price. I probably need to figure out the land portion. I'm usually a big DIY'er when it comes to cruise excursions, but doing the Princess land tour does seem easy...

On 3/13/2022 at 7:07 PM, Aquaticdreams said:

Thanks everyone! Your feedback was helpful and I booked the tour starting in Fairbanks. I’m still hesitant about taking the cruise at all due to the closure in Denali but Princess had a really good promo so I booked it. This will give me a little more time to decide for sure. 

Did you take your trip, or is it next year? Starting research myself and have similar questions about the Anchorage vs Fairbanks land portions.

Am I splitting hairs here since these are sister ships and just a difference of a few weeks? Researching to book an anniversary trip in June 2024. I was set on Grand because it sailed over our actual anniversary, but then searching the boards I saw many who preferred the Sapphire over the Grand. Started looking at Sapphire sailings and we could do June 1 or 15. Itineraries are the same for both ships--Southbound from Whittier to Vancouver. Looking at adding some land time pre-cruise, so that's more where the end of May travels would come into play. (We might even be able to take advantage of the Memorial Day holiday and have more 'free' time off vs using a bunch of vacation.)

First time to Alaska, so I want to make the most of it in case we don't make it back.  Thanks in advance for your insight!

16 hours ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

Well, that's incorrect.  If it's before final payment, you should keep checking prices since you can take advantage of them.  If it's after final payment, only look IF you are interested in moving up in category. 

Thanks, it's after final payment. My TA did reach out to Royal and they offered an upgrade, but it would've been an additional cost. I guess I'm not sure what the mystery obc that was added to my account is for, but I'm not going to argue!

I got a little obc for a small price drop last week, but there was a bigger drop today! Dang it--should've waited. I didn't realize they had done away with it altogether. I guess I now need to treat cruises like I do airline tickets--once you buy, never check the price again!

After our January 2020 Horizon cruise we rented a car and went to the Shark Valley entrance to the Everglades and rented bikes for the day. Saw so much wildlife and interesting scenery. Got back to MIA with plenty of time to spare.

On 10/17/2022 at 6:09 PM, PrincessArlena'sDad said:

 

Now to pick a FLL hotel with airport shuttle, walking distance restaurants for dinner, breakfast, and walking distance to Publix, etc. for wine. And bonus points for a good view!

Did you find a hotel? We're sailing out of POM and have a hotel booked up there, but now I'm seeing better flight deals to FLL so it's back to the drawing board. We'll get in late the night before our cruise, so I want to run out in the morning to grab our bottles of wine.

I love that whenever I think of a question, it's already been asked and answered on here!

Saw an 'on you own' St John excursion listed on our upcoming cruise as well, It's around $50/pp and gets you a 'roundtrip private ferry transfer direct from the ship to Cruz Bay'. But, only 2 hours to explore on your own. Sound like with the ferry schedule, even if we're somehow delayed getting off the ship and/or play it safe by taking an earlier ferry back it sounds like we're better off actually doing it on our own. (In port 8a-6p)

But, we also haven't been to St. Thomas, so we could definitely stay put and explore there as well...decisions, decisions...

Just booked a January cruise out of Miami and while I haven't booked our airfare yet, it's looking like we may get in after midnight. Any hotels have late night shuttles anymore? Looks like a lot of changes post-covid. Our last cruise out of MIA was pre-covid, and we got there early enough in the day to take the people mover down to Brickell for our stay at the Hampton Inn. (Already looked it up and it appears the people mover shuts down between midnight and 5a, so shuttle or uber it is.)

Debating whether it's better to stay closer to the airport since we'll get in so late. or go ahead and head down closer to the port. Of course our pre-boarding routine will require some sort of grocery or liquor store visit to get our wine and sodas.

Thanks in advance for any insight!

1 hour ago, alex_drew said:

Love the large ocean views (bottom left photo) in the center of the ship on 7 and 8.  Pretty much the size of a Jr. suite but without the balcony and a great location!  If you are someone who goes to sleep early, if possible, don't book the "edge" cabins as you will hear some of the music from the Centrum.  The middle cabins are very quiet on Deck 7.  On 8, as with any cabin on deck 8, you will hear noise from the pool deck above. Still worth booking these beauties...and they will have a small fridge/cooler in these cabins, just like the balcony and above cabins do.

I got all excited about this for a minute, until I realized there aren't any of these left for the sailing I'm eyeing. I'm much better at my old style of booking cruises 2 years in advance than I am at this booking a few months out I've done our last sailing and this one I'm thinking about for January 23. Don't know that I'm brave enough to book a guarantee OV. I may just have to pick an inside and hope for an upgrade opportunity.