turquoisesea

Thank you!

I have often re-fared our cruises as prices dropped, but never realized I should be checking our air ticket prices, too.  Can someone tell me how to do this?  I have logged out, brought up the cruise we are taking and selected EZ Air. And low and behold it brings up my reservation!  How can I get to where I can chose flights and see prices?  

6 hours ago, MJSailors said:

      Umbrellas on Celebrity,Concierge class and I would think in the categories above Concierge.   Not offered on Princess.. 

We take small folding umbrellas on vacations. Fit in the carry on and in my tote.

We were in a Concierge Class cabin on the Constellation last summer. There was no umbrella. (In fact not much of anything and the cabin was quite small.) Also, last year we were in a Vista Suite on the Crown. When we docked in one port it was pouring. We called our cabin steward and asked for umbrellas. He said they didn’t have any.  I pointed out to him that it says umbrellas are available for suites. He still insisted he didn’t have any.  As we were walking down the hall he handed us a large umbrella- big enough for two.   Buy a mini umbrella and bring it with you.  They fit perfectly in the outside pocket of my carry-on. 

We picked up our taxi at the port and made arrangements with him to return at 2:00.  Wish we had said a later time!!!  He was there waiting for us when we walked off the beach.  I am pretty sure that the drivers do not have a problem returning for you.  

Thank you. Great suggestions.  I read earlier that someone said they stayed in the Sanctuary for viewing.  But that is very high up.  

We will be on the Ruby at the end of August and the pictures posted here this week have been magnificent.  Where is the best place on board to view Glacier Bay?  Yes, we have a big balcony, but I’d like to have a wider view. 

I can’t wait for your next installment!!!  Thank you for sharing these amazing pictures and great info. 

19 hours ago, Croptop said:

For my cruises, I take one of these:
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00ALSMFO0

and one of these:
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B003E46M2Y

and have never had a problem with them being confiscated. Provides me with plenty of outlets without taking up much space.

 

Also handy to have in the airport where plugs can be at a premium. I can pretty much always find someone who's willing to share their outlet when I pull out the the triple tap plug.

Your second link shows the three plug, however that would not have worked in the CB mini suite cabin we were just on. The ONE double outlet by the desk only allowed for the two prongs.  The round (grounding?) prong would not fit. 

Thank you for this wonderful, detailed info.  I wish we could do the Valet but unfortunately, we can’t.  

This may seem like a silly question but it has been years since we used a cruise line transfer, but I am wondering if this is the easiest thing to do at this pier. Question-  After we disembark and get our luggage I have read we need to pray for a porter. (Not numerous at this port?)  So, in the event we cannot flag down a porter how far away are the buses?  Will someone there handle our luggage?  

We have used taxis or a limo most often, but I read they are located a distance from where we exit the building. Can anyone help?

Week of May 18 (second sailing after refurb)

D422 AC was fine in room. Buffet did get warm at times- mostly because of open doors by pools. 

10 hours ago, jaycruising said:

You are welcome, I hope you enjoy the rest as well and your trip, Alaska is amazing. 

 

I just dug around a little little bit and the taxis can drop you off right at the door. I’m not certain on the way out, other blogs I have seen show that you have to walk out to the taxi’s or Uber/Lyft. But the porters were more readily available at the end, at least for us. 

Thank you, again!   All the ports we have disembarked from have been different but most have had lots of porters to help.  I was thinking maybe we should do the Princess transfer to the Airport but we have avoided doing this in the past.  I can’t wait to read your next installment!

Thank you so much for all your great information and beautiful pictures!  We will be doing this cruise at the end of August!  I can’t wait!

Could you answer a question for me, it you know?  You wrote about getting to the port from your hotel. We are staying at the Marriott waterfront and thought we would just grab a taxi to the pier.  Will taxis not be able to take us up to the ship with our luggage?  Thus might be a problem for me.  Any suggestions?   Again, thank you for sharing!  I can’t wait to see more tomorrow. 

😀😀. Thank You!

Would this exchange also apply to guests in suites?  We are not Elite but they provided us with that complete mini bar on a previous cruise and we didn’t use any of it. We’ll be in a penthouse suite in August. Can we ask for an exchange, too?

We were on the CB the week of May 18 and reserved our Sanctuary lounges for the entire week.  As mentioned, the loungers were not as soft and cushy as the old ones, but it was fine. But the one problem was the lack of a table. The attendants had to bring a plate to sit any drink on as the side “board” that runs along the side of the lounger is a woven rope. Very unstable for a drink.  We asked about that and we were told tables were coming. Apparently, that hasn’t happened.  

We also found the Sanctuary to be sparsely used. Many empty lounges and I only saw one cabana used for one day the entire week.  Having the Sanctuary to quietly relax for the day is our favorite thing.  We will continue to take advantage of this special place, but I hope someone at Princess will take note of the many posts complaining about the changes introduced on the CB.  

On 7/2/2019 at 3:25 PM, FloaterBoat said:

We're on the CB in a couple months, mid-ship club class mini suite.  I hope we won't have to deal with that noise and feeling 😕

We were just on the CB on the May 18-25 cruise. (Eastern Itinerary)  We were in a mid ship Club Class cabin. (D422).  I must be crazy but we did not feel any vibrations anywhere on the ship. Our cabin and the CC dining room were  quiet.  We ate breakfast and lunch most days in the World Market buffet.  We spent our sea days in the Sanctuary.  I am so surprised to read these posts. I must have been on a different ship!  

Enjoy your cruise!  You will find your wait-staff in the CC dining room to be top notch!

9 hours ago, Pierlesscruisers said:

 

One thing I would highly recommend is not to travel to your embarkation point (Seattle in this case) on the day of your departure. The reason I say that is because there is always a possibility of being delayed for some reason (aircraft maintenance problem, weather delay enroute,  any other problem that may cause you to arrive late to your destination) that might cause you to miss your cruise. Even if you are delayed and still make it to the port on time, is it worth going through the stress and strain of possibly missing your cruise? Arrive a day early and get a good night's sleep and begin your cruise relaxed and refreshed. 

 

The second thing is to get travel insurance so that even if something goes wrong and you have to cancel your cruise at the last minute or you do miss your cruise you will at least be able to recover most, if not all, of the cost of your lost cruise. 

 

The last thing is one "never" and two "always" things. NEVER put your travel documents in checked baggage!  ALWAYS keep your travel documents with you on your person or in your carry-on luggage. And, lastly, ALWAYS read very carefully your travel documents to make sure that you've got all the things that you are required to have for your trip (any visa's, shots, etc.) For Alaska you'll need a valid passport, passport card, or enhanced drivers license (MUST have the word Enhanced on it!),  or a birth certificate and government issued photo ID (e.g. driver's license.)

 

Hope you have a safe trip to/from Seattle and a great cruise!  See you at the pier!

.

Tom

These are excellent tips!  Especially the one about not flying to your port city on the day the cruise leaves.  It only took one “almost missed the ship” experience many years ago and we never did that again. Besides, going the day before gives you a day to relax and go smoothly to the ship the next morning. Believe me, it is no fun worrying if your plane is going to take off on time!  

Have a wonderful cruise! I’ll be on the Ruby in August and I can’t wait!

Thank you for the wonderful review and fabulous pictures!!  We will be on that cruise at the end of August, and now I can’t wait!  The Alaskan “heat wave” has been in the news.  I guess no mittens, hats, or  warm coats were needed for your week!  

No one has mentioned this but both times we traveled between the port and downtown Rome is was less than an hour. The key was we were doing the commute on a weekend day. Both times we used Rome in Limo and they were great for both tours and straight transportation between the ship/hotel/airport. 

On 6/2/2019 at 8:50 AM, Pickels said:

On the Regal Princess, our last 7-day cruise, we spent a total of $420 for the entire cruise.  What a pleasure of not having to worry about chair hogs, nor being concerned that when we went to lunch, or a dip in the pool, that someone would be taking our lounge chair.  And the personal service throughout the cruise was amazing.  Coffee, tea or ice water, a cool washcloth, etc.  It was worth every penny, way to go Princess!

I totally agree. We just got off the Caribbean Princess and “bought” or chairs for the entire week. The price was $210 each.  They also have private cabanas which are very (ridiculously) expensive. The tea service at 3:00 was served by staff, including tea sandwiches, small dessert cakes, and cookies.  They also served coffee and tea.  The staff comes around frequently to offer water and you can order drinks that they will get for you from the bar.   I love that we can come and go and leave our things on our chairs and not have to worry about being a “chair hog.”  

By the way the Sancuary was not full at any time during our week. 

13 hours ago, Noreen411 said:

That sounds like a great option for the day.

 

Do you remember if they had bathrooms?  Changing rooms?  Rinse off shower?

 

we are also trying to decide where to go in St Maarten. 

 

Thank you

Yes there were nice new bathrooms by the restaurant- each stall large enough to change in. I did not see a shower but didn’t look. I think a previous poster did mention a shower.  Enjoy. It was a beautiful day. Do a google search of “ships in port in St Martin” and see how many other ships are there on your date. We were the only ship on our visit last week. 

2 hours ago, BuckeyeMark said:

Forgot to add the bad news: there were some air conditioning problems....

On Thursday the buffet area was warm.  Definitely warm.  

Our room (four decks below the buffet) was warm too that night.  And Friday night it was flat out.  No air.  

 

We called the steward and vacated for cooler climes for a while, came back and it was working.

So .. don't want to alarm anyone but don't think the AC issues are all worked out yet.  Certainly didn't hear anything about massive deck wide outages but we did experience a little trouble.

Interesting, BuckeyeMark.  When we returned to our room on Friday afternoon it was warmer than usual. Everyday when we returned to our cabin we found that the steward had pushed the AC down to its coldest position and it was freezing.  On Friday he did not do that. It was actually set in the “red” range. I didn’t think any thing of it and the room cooled down while we were at dinner. I wonder now  if the AC was down on Friday for everyone?  Whatever, it was short lived and I didn’t give it a second thought until I read your post.

2 hours ago, kywildcatfanone said:

Their inability to get the A/C working reliably is really bothering me.  We were on last summer and it was warm, finally removing the diffuser helped some, and we are booked again the week of July 4th.  I'm going to be really unhappy. 

 

Thanks for your report though.  We found the world market buffet to be a worse setup than the horizon court from previous years, but I know that is subjective for everyone.

We just sailed on the CB this past week (May 18-25) and we experienced no AC  problems.  Our cabin - midship Dolfin deck - was always cold along with our dining room.  Today at the “final” breakfast it was a bit warm in the World Market but the place was packed. 

I did not hear anyone complain about the AC and I would never had guessed that the previous week there were problems. Enjoy your cruise. We had a fantastic time!

We were in St Martin yesterday and spent the day at Bikini Beach at Orient Beach. It was wonderful!  We arrived around 9:30 and were one of the first there. They have tons of beach chairs and umbrellas ($20 for 2 lounge chairs, table and umbrella).

There was a young man there raking up the seaweed to make the beach clean. The water was turquoise blue with nice waves.  We had lunch at the restaurant that is also totally new, and it was very good. They will also serve you on your chair on the beach.

It was a 25 minute drive and cost $25 each way. We had a nice air conditioned (!!) van that we caught at the taxi stand at the end of the pier. Leo, our driver was great and came back to pick us up at our arranged time. Be sure to allow for a longer lunch. They are on “island time.”😂😂

Ours was the only ship in port that day so the beach was not crowded. We did see KonTiki a little further down the beach. It looks like they are still working on it but there were umbrella and chairs on the beach. FYI Bikini Beach umbrellas are green, Kon  Tiki’s are red.