Plant

We've used Super Shuttle, but we always come in a day ahead of the cruise. Coming in the day of the cruise you might want to take a limo service.

We like the price of Super Shuttle and we get to see some of the area as other people are dropped off :).

Have a wonderful cruise,

Is this a contest.....what's the prize? If I win, do I get a front row seat on the roof of your condo for the fireworks....free beer and pop corn?

 

It would be the Auberge....at the Terminal City Club.

 

 

When do I pick up my tickets?

 

:D:D:D May we join y'all?

We've been using the Barclays Princess Visa card for a long time and have enough built up to redeem a lot of OBC Rewards on our next cruise's.

We're doing a B2B. What I'd like to know (and can't find on the Barclays site), is, if we don't use up all our OBC Rewards on the first week of our cruise, will it transfer to the next week's cruise or will we just lose it?

Is this one of the non-transferable OBC's?

Thanks,

What works for you is always the best option. I am a person who when I arrive in a new city I want to be as close to things as I can be. I am pumped and want to get out early in the morning to explore. The whole idea of spending 30 to 35 mins of my valuable time back tracking or commuting into where I want to be and dealing with luggage, well personally I find quite unappealing. That's why there are different flavours of ice cream.:)

Thanks for understanding! We're not "early" people, so convenience is more important to us than rushing around to see everything ASAP :).

This shuttle service. Which for a couple staying at an airport hotel will actually work out cheaper than a cab - though if there are three or four of you cabs win again, even metered from the hotel rather than inbound-from-the-airport flat rates.

I don't think this makes any sense. You often wait 15 minutes for the shuttle. In just a few more minutes, you could be in a nice downtown hotel near the cruise terminal and wouldn't face any hassle in the morning. That's true, but the downtown hotels are more expensive and we don't want to do anything after 10 PM or the next day before we board the ship.All the hotels in the city centre are close to the cruise port. You can leave your luggage at the hotel while you see a bit of the city. There is no point in trying to board before mid afternoon. We like to get to the port about 11 AM and are usually able to board soon after. We like to be onboard ASAP.If you do decide to stay near the airport, it would be silly to go back to the airport to take the cruise ship transfer. You would have to wait for it and they are usually expensive. We don't find them to be more expensive than a taxi + tip and they're very dependable. You would just take a taxi from the hotel but what would you do to fill in the time during the day? Board the ship :)!

I realize that different thing's are important to different people. Coming into YVR as late as 10 PM just makes me want to sleep and get to the ship as early as possible. Other's may want to tour and board much later.

I'm with ER on this one - even if you're late risers, with no interest in seeing Vancouver before boarding it's frankly ludicrous to go back to the airport even for free to then pay more and waste more time to get downtown. Cruise transfers run $29pp or more depending on line... from airport hotels, even with rush hour traffic you will almost certainly get change back from $40 - I've never seen the meter go over $35 myself.

 

Even for solo travelers who want to take a fixed price per person shuttle, you can go from any airport hotel to the pier for $15 on a 'milk run' shuttle that stops at several hotels then heads for the pier. What shuttle service would that be? If you're willing to spend the time getting back to YVR, cabs are now fixed price - CAN$35 to Canada Place - so for a couple or more they are cheaper, faster, and more convenient than shuttles.

Thanks for that option. I didn't know that cabs were that inexpensive. I'll look into it :).

 

If you're looking to simply do it as cheap as possible, the Skytrain will take up to ten people for CAN$21 total evenings and weekends.

Thanks for your suggestions :),

We are flying into Vancouver for our AK Cruise later in July. We are arriving late (10pm) so would like a hotel close to the port if possible. Assume taxis would be available from hotel to port too? Or would it be better to stay closer to airport? First time there so completely clueless. :confused::confused:Any guidance is greatly appreciated! :):)

I have a totally different suggestion! If we were getting into Vancouver at 10 PM, we'd book an airport hotel (Hampton Inn, i.e.) that has a shuttle to and from the airport. We'd book the cruise line's transfers for the next day (sailing day) and have the hotel take us back to the airport to catch the transfer.

In our case, after travelling all day we'd have no interest in "sightseeing" after 10 PM or the morning of the cruise.

JMHO,

We've done this SO many times! It's a great way to get to the ship. Most airport hotel's know how this works. I do suggest that you tip the hotel shuttle driver.

Have a wonderful cruise,

When you bring a power strip or extension cord be sure that it's relatively new, as they can take away any strip that might be a fire hazard. We keep one in our travel bag just for cruising.

From experience, I'd rather have a power strip on the desk than try to get to the outlet behind the TV.

We have been in cabin's with an outlet under the little shelf just as you enter the cabin (under the mirror), but it's really just for the Room Steward to plug in the vacuum.

Every outlet I've ever seen in the bathroom is labeled "for razors only".

Have a wonderful cruise,

You can also use your annual proxy statement as proof instead of a statement.

This is what we do. That way we don't have to black out all the other investment info on the statement. Luckily, we have a wonderful TA who keeps up with the timing :). I think it's always after the final payment date, no matter if you've paid earlier.

Given your vision level, if you haven't already done so PLEASE look into acquiring ZoomText. A large monitor and ZoomText can open the doors of technology for those with limited vision. Should your vision deteriorate to the point where ZoomText no longer fulfills your needs you can then investigate JAWS which will read the screen. I know people who are 100% blind who are very fast and efficient using JAWS.

 

Note: I work for the Department of Rehabilitation (state of California). I don't work with the consumers (I do administrative IT) but I have worked with a number of totally blind counselors who are amazing with JAWS. I also work with partially sighted counselors who make excellent use of ZoomText. A CCTV unit is also helpful for viewing hard copy documents.

Thanks so much for this info! I'm losing my sight :( slowly and may need these options.

See you on the Coral,

Sending good thoughts to you! This is one of the advantages of flying in a day ahead. You have extra time to get "lost" luggage :)!

Hoping for the best,

We are taking our first Alaska cruise next month. We have gone on ~8 Carribean cruises, most with our children who are currently ages 9-13. We are trying to set their expectations for what will be different on this cruise...other than the scenary and the weather! We would love any input from people who have been on both to help us understand key similarities and differences!

 

(And if anyone has packing suggestions, we are looking for those too!)

I think you all will love your Alaska cruise. Things will be different, but "good" different! It's more about the ocean and the scenery, and less about the "party".

Our packing suggestions would be layering. Sometimes you can wear a T-shirt and shorts, another time you need jeans and a sweatshirt. Just be prepared :) !

For those of you who have done the partial on Coral or Island---

 

when you are sitting by outdoor pool areas, is it very hot and humid, or is it the same as any other carribean cruise? We will be going the beginning of January--

The reason why I am asking, is I am trying to decide if I should bother to try to get loungers in the Sanctuary or not. Dh and I spend maybe 2 hours a day on loungers and only in the shade on Carribean cruises. We haven't been on Cartogenia or Limon or Gatun Lake sailings so don't know what to expect.

We loved the indoor pool area on the Saphire when we did an Alaska sailing years ago.

We don't sit by the pool anymore, but we've seen many loungers at the main pool that are in the shade. As other's have said, it's very HOT and HUMID outside, so it really depends on how much you want to pay to be cooler in the Sanctuary:).

Have a wonderful cruise,

We enjoy the art auctions as entertainment and we've bought some print's and a few original's because we loved them. We had no expectations that they'd be worth anything in the future. We generally pass on the "champagne"! Sometimes, if you ask, the auctioneer will buy you a bar drink instead of the champagne :D ! Different strokes... .

what service shuttle company is $17 pp from lax to long beach..that sounds like a steal and I am in nor rush.

I think it's Super Shuttle they're referring to: (http://www.supershuttle.com/Locations/LGBAirportShuttleLongBeach.aspx)

We've used them several times and were very satisfied. You may have to take the "long way 'round", but you'll see parts of LA you wouldn't see otherwise :) ! We paid $17.00 pp from LAX to Long Beach. It took about an hour and a half to two hours.

I have read some of these posts and always hear the princess auctioneer say "financial investment". Of all the

cruises I have been on its true I have seen the

exact "original" paintings on different ships. Love

Their personalities but they are still professional

carsalesmen

We've been cruising and going to the art "auctions" for a long time and I've never heard an auctioneer say that the art was an "investment" or an original when it wasn't. In fact, I think they avoid saying that. We've bought some piece's but not for "investment" purpose's, just because we liked them!

I wrote "auctions" in parentheses because you can buy the art without bidding at auction. Just ask.

The "auction" is really just something to do on sea days :) !

We've used Supershuttle's shared ride and been very happy with them, but we fly in the day before. Since you're flying in the day of the cruise you might want to take the ship's transfers, just to be sure you're there on time.

As SadieN said, you'll get a "tour" of LA with Supershuttle.

Have a wonderful cruise!

Going on the Criwn May 30th and wanted to know if the ship stays on the same time or if they adjust times for each port. On a RT from Seattle.

This is actually up to the Captain of the ship. Sometimes they stay on the time when they sailed, sometimes they change the time to match the port's.

If you are booking a non-cruise ship sponsored shore excursion whomever you're booking with should know the ship time.

We order Room Service quite a bit. When I've asked the Room Steward what to do with the dishes, they've always said to put them outside the door. Once I called Room Service to pick up the dishes and (after about 10 minutes of waiting on the phone) was told the same thing.

We put our tray out by the door (indented) in the hallway, closed and covered by napkins.

Apparently, they do have people who "walk the hall's" to pick up dishes, as our's are usually gone within 20 minutes.

Thanks so much, martincath. I've bookmarked the shuttle service and will probably book with them as we get closer to cruise time. I appreciate your help :)

Thanks, everyone. We found the Hampton Inn Airport and have made a reservation. We're coming in late and don't need anything but a place to sleep and a shuttle to Canada Place the next morning.

We'll be flying into YVR the afternoon before our cruise and really won't want to do anything but relax in a clean hotel room. We usually book the Hilton family of hotel's (mostly Hampton), but don't see one near Canada Place.

I do see Days Inn Downtown Vancouver. It's reasonably priced and offers a free shuttle to the Canada Place port.

I'd appreciate any input on this hotel or any other's you'd recommend.

Thanks so much,

Fern

I am so excited we just booked our next trip on the Magic but the not so exciting part is the wait.....We booked May 2016 so my countdown is only 451 days but who is counting! Is it to early to start packing :D

It's never too early to start packing!! It used to take me a month; now I can do it in a day, but we've cruised a LOT!

Enjoy the anticipation :)!

I agree with LuLu! If Bert is playing you should probably get there at least an hour early :)!

We like Crooner's and have found that we can't get a seat an hour before Bert's doing his thing :eek:!

He's very entertaining, but his show is not something we'd go out of our way to attend, although MANY other people will! JMHO!

Island Princess is our favorite ship and I'd hate to think that anything would be done to ruin the good things about her. For us it's Crooner's Bar with the best, friendliest bartender's, the back decks where we may be the last to see the view, but we're not crowded, and the wonderful Room Steward's.

We like the "small ship" feel, even if it isn't small.

We won't write this ship off until we try it again!