EastBay Cruisers

kmorg seems like a really nice, kindly person, who just wants to family to cruise together and to have a fun and relaxing vacation. She has not done anything to have to put up with the stress and worry about a passport expiration. I wish her the very best, and I do hope she enjoys the cruise and has a great holiday. :) EBC

Actually, when the Emerald arrived in Juneau, everyone was required to remain in the cabins until the F.B.I. and police investigation was completed. So, no one was allowed to disembark in Juneau until 4 or 5 PM that afternoon. Therefore, all of the shore excursions -- sled dog rides, fishing raft trips, Mendenhall glacier excursion,salmon hatchery etc., were cancelled.

So -- the Emerald actually has five stops:

1. Ketchikan

2. Tracy Arm Fjord glaciers - cancelled

3. Juneau - excursions cancelled

4. Skagway

5. Victoria B.C.

So, two out of five of those stops were affected, or 40%. Even though that emergency was not the fault of Princess, just like the stabbing was not the fault of Carnival, it seems that Emerald passengers were hoping for some extra compensation, especially after the Princess announced that 25% of the cruise fare would be given as OBC for another cruise. Princess must have changed their minds about the portion of the cruise fare given as OBC towards a future cruise. ( just my opinion JMO). - EBC.

Sorry for this double post. Think I'm getting excited about going to Alaska........ EBC

anyone on the Emerald (Seattle to Seattle) can report on weather you have experienced this week ......or anyone who has heard from family or friends on the Emerald to know how the weather has been this week. rain all week or pretty fair weather for this time of year?

thanks.....

Just in case you don't receive a reply from anyone on the Emerald at this moment, I'll try to provide some info:

We're scheduled to depart on the Emerald a week from Sunday, so I've been watching the weather pretty closely. I found a weather service on the internet which forecasts the weather for the next 10 days. Here's a link to the weather site, where you can look at the forecast for each port in Alaska. Right now, the site is showing weather in Ketchikan, for which rain is predicted each day. ( I think Ketchikan is in that coastal rainforest). Or, just copy and paste this link into your browser:

https://www.wunderground.com/weather/us/ak/ketchikan/99901

You can also look at the live bridge camera on board the Emerald, as was posted above in this thread.

A few weeks ago, I asked the same question as you did about weather in Alaska. It seems as if it is very changeable, and although there are some sunny days at this time of the year, the chance of rain increases as September approaches. Someone said that at the end of August, sometimes you just get fortunate, and there's a week of weather with high clouds, no sun, but no rain and fog either. -- EBC

Sounds like they're going to pay for that wall in ways they never thought of.

As the U.S.State Dept. notes, since most of the heroin trade in Mexico is bound for the northern borders and the increased demand in the U.S.A., perhaps Mexico should be sending us the bill for their large expenditures to keep tourists safe... :o

Thank you so much to EVERYONE who replied to my question about gratuities and beverages. We are always so grateful to have our questions answered and to receive all this helpful information.:p

We're getting out our suitcases tomorrow and working on our packing lists. I think this is going to be a really fun adventure ! :)-EBC

We are brand new to cruising and are sailing on the Emerald to Alaska in about 10 days.

My question is: If we do not purchase the AIBP and buy drinks individually, how do we pay the gratuities??

Do we tip the bartender or barista at the time the drink is served to us? Or, is it automatically added to our bill at the end of the cruise?

Thank you in advance, and I apologize if this question has already been asked. - EBC

Fiesta deck (6). You'll most likely board on deck 7. Just go down the nearest stairs and look around for the 2 shops on either side of the Atrium. Guest Services is between them and in front of the casino.

Boarding usually starts around 11 or 11:30. If you arrive at the port around 10:30ish, you'll be in one of the first groups after all the priority passengers.

Be sure to leave lots of room in your suitcases. The robes alone weight 2+ pounds each.

JF Retired RRT thank you so much for this valuable information ! :)We are going to try to get to the embarkation point at about 10:00 A.M. and hope for a chance at boarding before 2:30 PM. As soon as we get on board, we are going to go as fast as we can directly to Guest Services on Deck 6, in front of the Casino.

AMS, Thank you again for a great write-up and for replying to everyone's messages.:) - EBC

Thank you for your reply ! All the passengers assigned to our deck are scheduled to board at 2:30 PM. That seems way too late. We are going to try to board as early as possible, so we can go straight to Guest Services and sign up for the U.S.T.

Only one problem --- it's our first cruise, and we have no idea where to find the Guest Services desk. ;) On the Emerald, it must be in the same location as it is on the Ruby. Do you happen to recall which deck and location the Guest Services is?? We really need to get there as soon as possible. Thanks so much, from EBC. :)

Oh my goodness, AMS, your report and photos are outstanding !!:halo: We are sailing on the Emerald on Sept. 3. The Emerald always sails one day later than the Ruby and follows the same itinerary. We are really hoping to do the ship's tour. Thank you so very much for all this useful information. By the way, you had fantastic weather ! - EBC.

Oh my goodness, AMS, your report and photos are outstanding !!:halo: We are sailing on the Emerald on Sept. 3. The Emerald always sails one day later than the Ruby and follows the same itinerary. We are really hoping to do the ship's tour. Thank you so very much for all this useful information. - EBC.

Thanks very much ! We are new to cruising and headed for Alaska on the Emerald in a couple of weeks, so we're looking forward to reading more about your journey. Best wishes, from EBC.

I feel so sorry for you kmorg1234. Just go ahead, get the permission to take your son and IMO forget about taking SO with you. If he gets through be prepared for the "I told you so's", but don't bank on it. And yes, keep us all posted on this!

I'm so sorry for you........and yes, you're right. It is a control issue with him.

I don't see how you can send in a passport renewal request for him without his knowledge. Doesn't he need to sign the application? I don't see any way to secretly get his passport renewed for him.

I hope he will sign the letter so that you can travel w/ your son. Very best wishes to you, and please keep us posted. - EBC

Thanks for all the great replies -- and the humor !!:p Much appreciated.

In California, public schools generally start up either the day after Labor Day, or the week before Labor Day. So, we figured that even kids who are still out of school the first week of Sept., will still want to stay home and get ready for school -- i.e., buy school supplies, new clothes, register for classes, go to orientation, etc.

We're not too worried about younger kids on board who ( theoretically) are under the supervision of an adult family member. What we are worried about is what DH encountered on Carnival -- which was college kids, plyed with lots and lots of alcohol, running in and out of cabins, partying with loud music on their balconies 24/7, ( sounds of kids getting sick and throwing up over the balconies), creating kind of a frat party raucous "kegger" atmosphere. Kind of like, if you've ever been to one of those chain restaurants like Senor Frog's or Carlos 'n Charlies, etc., which are in Mexican ports. :rolleyes:

I suppose I used to think those were fun, but now, I just like the peace and quiet at night. :rolleyes:

Someone here described a Princess ship as a "floating nursing home":p, but that actually sounds better to us now, rather than a "bottoms up" frat party scene. I guess time marches on......

Many thanks to everyone for the helpful replies. :)

On the day you board, you will meet with your cabin Steward most likely after muster drill, or even before. In 17 Princess cruises, we have always met our cabin steward on the first day. At that initial meeting you would request your top sheet, bathrobes, extra glasses or towels, or whatever you desire. We always have a set list of things, two extra glasses in the bathroom, robes, top sheet, get rid of feather pillows substitute with foam

As far as the fridge, we've only ever had an empty fridge which holds nothing but an ice bucket until we reached Elite status, where they do fill our fridge with goodies, but they are complimentary. Otherwise you will have an empty fridge with ice bucket.

Don't stress over your first cruise. Just go and ENJOY!

Heck, in the olden days, nobody had a cruise board to go to to even learn about anything, hence, nothing to worry about.

Just go a relax. You will get a million different opinions on CC.

Everyone has different preferences.

Thank you for the valuable help !!:D Greatly appreciated ! As newbies, we need all the help we can get. :)

:confused:P.S. I just found it - -- this happens on Carnival w/ the college kids and teens. There's a You Tube video where the room steward makes towel animals. It's like doing origami with cotton terry cloth.

I heard that on Princess, room stewards are each assigned 20 cabins to take care of and maintain. That's a lot of cabins, and a lot of personal requests from those guests.

I suppose that room stewards on Carnival do not have as many cabins to take care of; therefore they have time for towel animals.

As we will never be able to sail in a suite I guess we will never have towel animals. I think we'll manage to suffer through anyway. We are still pretty amazed that we can cruise at all and suites are definitely out of the question!

Then, someone else said to look for the room steward and ask him to clean out the refrigerator. :confused: I guess it is loaded with expensive snack items like those mini-bars in hotel rooms, where a bag of chocolate chip cookies costs $12.00 ??

So, right now, "towel animals" ( is that like balloon animals that the waiters make for kids in restaurants??) are kind of far down on my list of items to request.......:confused:

"DH (unknowingly) booked a cruise line that catered to college-age and 20 somethings."

 

That would have to be Carnival (AKA the Walmart of the seas).

:DLOL ! Correct......

Thanks so very much to everyone who took the time to reply:). Your answers are so helpful and appreciated. We actually are not as fuddy-duddy as we sound:D LOL . My husband just didn't want to go through the "teens gone wild" scene he went through on another cruise line. :D Thanks again, all the best from EBC.

I have been on Princess cruises that are 7 days to over 30 days. I have never experienced the cabin area parties that you describe. I have not been on shorter what I call party cruises. Princess cabins are fairly well insulated from adjacent noise. .I have been able to fall asleep anytime of the day or evening. It has been reported on this site that when you have connecting cabins noise can be heard through the connecting doorway area. So avoid these cabins. When cruising if you avoid spring break or short cruises you most likely will avoid the wild ship wide parties. If you mention which ship, date and cruise you have or intend to book you will receive better more focused responses.

Thank you ! :) I added a signature that shows we are booked to Alaska Sept. 3 on the Emerald. We were thinking that most of the college kids/teens/ younger kids would be getting ready for back-to-school, so it would be less noisy in the corridors. :)

We are new to cruising except for an unfortunate experience my husband had a few years back when he took our son on a cruise as a high school graduation gift. ( Sadly, I could not get time off work and had to stay behind).

DH (unknowingly) booked a cruise line that catered to college-age and 20 somethings.

As young people do, they partied in their cabins all night, with music blasting, running in and out of cabins, shouting to each other, playing baseball in the corridor at 3 A.M., etc. DH didn't want to complain as he knew passengers were on vacation, but he got very little sleep and came home ill from the stress and lack of sleep. ( Our son, on the other hand, had a great time meeting all sorts of friends).

My question is: Could you all give me an idea of what time it gets quiet enough in the stateroom areas on board Princess to settle down for the night? DH likes to go to sleep about 10:30 PM, and I usually stay up and read in bed until about 11:30 PM.

Out of respect for others, we do not plan to play any music in our cabin, or out on the balcony; and we plan to converse in a low voice, as the walls must be pretty thin.

Could you all give me an idea of about what time you like to "call it a night on Princess" and what we could expect in terms of quiet hours??

The ship is completely sold out - every cabin full.

Thanks so much in advance. All answers are most helpful :) EBC

Thanks to everyone who responded to my request for an explanation of the DINE line. These explanations are so useful and much appreciated. :) EBC

So it's pretty much in line with all the other journalistic sensationalism garbage we read about everyday.

Yes - sounds like more internet "clickbait". -EBC

Call the DINE line from your cabin phone.

I wouldn't worry so much. Go onboard and show up when you want to eat. If there is a wait grab a drink and relax. It won't be long.

You are on vacation. You will not go hungry.

Thank you! :)

I pick up the cabin phone and dial D-I-N-E, correct?

That would be extension

3-4-6-3 on a regular phone.

This cruise is booked completely full- not a single cabin remaining, and the wait time for meals is going to be long. Especially if the reserved seating traditional diners suddenly switch to AD without telling anyone.

I think that passengers who signed up for TD should stay in traditional dining, unless they relinquish their TD booking ahead of time.

It's not fair for the TD people to ask the crew to hold their place at their regularly assigned table and then ask for a table in ATD. That's what causes the wait, IMO.

Interesting thread -- as a first-time cruiser, I am really worried. When we booked the cruise, we were told that all the TD was full, so we were assigned ATD. I guess ATD starts at 5:30PM.

It's fine for us to have dinner at 5:30 PM.

Question - Sounds as if we need a reservation for 5:30 PM just as soon as we board the first day. How EXACTLY do we make the reservation?? Do we walk over to the ATD room and speak to the MD in person? Is there a phone number to call? If so, does anyone know the phone number??

I am really worried, because when we get on board, there won't be enough time to read the Princess Patter to find out how to make an AD reservation for 5:30 PM.:(

We could go line up at 4:45 PM to wait until 5:30PM, but even then, there's no guarantee of being seated.

My spouse gets too hungry if he's required to wait until 9 PM for dinner.

I feel sad, :(because everyone else knows how to "game" the system to be seated in time. On the first night aboard, I don't have time to figure out how to make the necessary reservation for ATD at 5:30 PM. I don't even know which DR on the Emerald is designated AD. :rolleyes: Does anyone know the answer to these questions? Thanks in advance, from EBC.