Need-a-vacation

Had anyone had any issues using their personal hair dryer in a balcony cabin on Grand Princess?  Most hotel/cruise hair dryers are pretty sad and I have a combo blow dryer/styler that I really like, but I think it's a pretty hefty electrical load.  Is there anywhere that specifies the max load for electrical items?

3 hours ago, ColoRockiesFan said:

Thanks everyone for your experiences. My plane tickets were $1300 cheaper to fly to Seattle. I think I’ll book plane tickets RT for Seattle/Vancouver and avoid the bus & train hassles.  

My initial mental response to your post was "just get on another plane at  SeaTac - it's probably less painful" 😄  There are several direct flights daily from SEA to YVR.  Just give yourself tons of connection time in SEA, especially if you're checking bags.  If you're flying on separate tickets, you'll get no help if connections are missed and you'll have to claim and check bags (which likely means going through security, etc)

Not sure when your trip is, but watch out for the potential air Canada pilots strike that could occur after September 17.

We tried the "fly home from Seattle instead of Vancouver" plan last year.  With hindsight, I'm not sure if it was worth the money we "saved", but some of that was the decisions we made.

We decided to take the Amtrak Cascades from Vancouver to Seattle the day of disembarkation and fly home from Seattle the next day, partially for cheaper flights and partially to get the added benefit of a scenic train ride and to visit Seattle for the first time. No way to make the morning train on the day of disembarkation, so we booked the afternoon train that departed around 5pm. Which meant we (and our luggage) were basically homeless for about 8 hours.   On a rainy day.  

We took an Uber ($) from the Fairmont waterfront to the Amtrak station, where they do hold bags for a fee ($).  We needed to be back at the station no later than 4 to check in for the train. We killed time at science world (more$) since we didn't know where else to go and be dry. And spent a couple hours just sitting at the station (do not recommend this).

Overall, the train ride was a bust for our goals.  The check in process was slow and a lot of line-standing.  The train left over 30 minutes late and was slow getting through town, so we didn't get as much daylight as hoped for seeing scenery. It was delayed multiple times along the way and we arrived in Seattle 2+ hours later than scheduled.  It was after midnight when we finally got to our hotel in Seattle. 

In our case, we probably would have been better served to just suck up the airfare and fly home from Vancouver later that day, or stay in Vancouver overnight and get the morning flight back home (which was a lot cheaper than the same-day afternoon flight).  We probably spent nearly as much money overall getting the cheaper flight in Seattle as we would have flying from yvr,  but we paid for it with a lot of time traveling and being in limbo.

9 minutes ago, KeepCalmBearOn said:

 

Yes, LGB is a very small airport, not many flights so not too bad or confusing.

Thanks. I have a very vague memory of getting off a princess cruise years ago and we had booked the later flight and then got to LGB in time for the early flight without even trying. But we couldn't get on it without paying a big fare difference.

On 8/26/2024 at 10:38 AM, martincath said:

Vancouver City Centre station, the closest to the Y, is slightly downhill along well-populated sidewalks so should feel safe even if you arrive in the evening)

So I took a look and it seems like it's about a half mile from the metro station to the YWCA hotel. Does that seem about right?  That could be a long ways dragging any luggage.   I'll be arriving late morning. 

3 hours ago, KeepCalmBearOn said:

If you actually walk off by 8M, I think you'd be okay, but any hiccups and LGB doesn't have a lot of flights as back-up choices.

Thanks for the info.  I went ahead and booked the 10:50. I checked the backups - there's other later direct flights and lots of 1-stops later in the day.  I think as long as I'm in an Uber by 9a I should be ok?  I wouldn't try the ship transfers in this scenario since they're a bit unpredictable on departure times.

3 hours ago, Truluv said:

Alaska is amazing and I'd definitely recommend trying some of the excursions.  Have a good time!

Thank you for the tip!

I'm not going to Alaska - this is the repo down to LA.  No ports or excursions.  

I have a regular balcony on Grand princess in a couple weeks.

*What is the outlet situation?

*Any USB outlets?

*Will I be able to plug in my phone next to the bed where I can see it as a clock? 

*Does outlet access change based on bed configuration?

Thanks!

@bhsolo @JsMom2

Thank you both for your encouragement. I know I'm mostly letting my imagination get away with me!  I took a nasty spill during my last trip and was very grateful my son was there to help me , but I think that's rattled my confidence about traveling alone quite a bit. 

The last few cruises I've done were with my teen/young adult son who definitely ghosted me during the days on the ship. So I've had a taste of that part and it was nice to just do my own thing. And I think going truly solo will let me relax in a way that I can't when I feel responsible for my son.

I'm booked for my first solo cruise in about a month. I only booked this cruise 10 days ago, just finalized my flights last night.

Now I'm having a case of "what the heck was I thinking?".  I've traveled alone plenty of times, but never for so many days without someone I know with me. I'm suddenly nervous about all the things -managing the airport, keeping myself busy but safe for 2 days in Vancouver, finding my way through embarkation, feeling like an outcast watching all the groups have fun together, feeling self conscious dining alone, what if something happens to me and nobody notices, etc, etc. 

Any experienced solo cruisers have advice for getting past these jitters? Do others have the same silly thoughts?

42 minutes ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

15 a day. Do not think they really care much how delivered

Interesting.  Other cruise lines do have policies to try to pace people.  Maybe Princess passengers are less inclined to drink themselves stupid? 

On similar note - will the bartenders pour your drink into your container to make it easier to take where you want?  I have no business wandering around with an open-top glass container on a moving ship.

Do I get bonus pours for a historic Princess soda program tumbler?

2 hours ago, Renophi said:

We also keep our old medallions on the fridge. It is fun to look over the past cruises and remember the good times.

Are they magnetic or do you add one? 

This might actually work for me - a magnet is my go-to souvenir and I have a board hanging on the wall specifically for travel magnets that is now out of space.  I'd like to get a bigger board, or find a logical way to break them up into smaller boards.

15 minutes ago, SilkySal said:

f our luggage doesn't make it to Vancouver, I guess I will need to do a lot of shopping! Wonder if Amazon delivers to the ship!

Good thing about your itinerary is there should be lots of ports where it's possible to reunite with luggage or do some light shopping for essentials. For me, the critical things would be stuff I can't easily buy in the ship's shops or even in port -- like underwear or glasses!  I can stand a few days in sweatpants and tees and hoodies , but I'm probably gonna be unhappy if I'm trying to wash scivvies in the sink every night.

@SilkySal You might consider choosing/upgrading your seats on your inbound flight to be as far forward as possible-- getting a little ahead for the YVR immigration/customs queue can't hurt. Same thing if you have a tight connection anywhere  - reduce the risk of a missed connection since you have zero time to make it up. And do carry-on only if possible (a big ask!).   Keep 1-2 days of essentials with you in your carry-on in case your bags miss the connection. (Obviously keep critical items like meds, credit cards, passports, etc on your person for the entire process).  Pretend your checked bag never makes the cruise and pack your carry-on accordingly.

1 minute ago, Sarnia 432 said:

Yes there is a Global Entry (Nexus) line.

Thank you for this insight. Do you know where in the process to look for this line?  I haven't quite figured out the progression of steps. from drop-off to being on board.

We did the same day thing many years ago, but we were flying in from Portland and that was before flying turned into such a mess.  Even with an arrival before noon, it seems like we boarded just in time for muster drill -- customs at YVR was a sea of people and then there was some general hangup with US customs at the pier that was delaying everyone.

Today, I wouldn't do it. *Maybe* from Seattle booked on the earliest flight possible for a fairly inexpensive cruise that wouldn't be a huge financial loss to miss, I'd consider it. I'd definitely be looking at how many recovery flights were available if something went wrong. No connecting flights.

I was shocked that Princess even offered options for me on cruise morning. The one they offered involved a 55-minute connection in Denver.  No way.

I was curious about this too. I'm boarding a Pacific coastal in Vancouver -goes straight from Vancouver to LA.

Any chance my global entry makes boarding any faster? 

I did a similar trip many years ago and I remember the US immigration step at the cruise port being a major headache and delay.

1 hour ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

If I had a premier/plus package, I wouldn't be buying any extra OBC 

That's kind of what I was thinking - that my onboard spending would be pretty limited with the plus package. I don't want to end up with money trapped on a princess gift card if I don't use it all.

Thank you @martincath for all your detailed information on Vancouver. It's been so helpful. 

The cancellation would more likely come into play if I decide to change what day I arrive.

Am I close to estimate between 60-90 minutes from the time my flight lands until I would arrive at hotel?  I'm a US citizen flying in from the US.

I went ahead and booked 2 nights at the YWCA hotel. That will give me one full day in Vancouver to do some sort of sight seeing.  I'm likely to just try one of the HoHo buses.  

The site mentions a 48-hour cancellation policy. I'm guessing that's 48 hours before arrival?

On 3/18/2019 at 8:14 AM, AF-1 said:

no what you are looking at is the medallion encased in the princess case. 

So the whole blue rectangle thing comes with the medallion?

@martincath

On a map, the YWCA looks like it's really close to Chinatown.  Is that a concern at all since Chinatown has been mentioned a couple times as a sketchy area. 

Thank you.

2 hours ago, Ombud said:

I prefer a retractable reel for holding my medallion as its easily accessible, less obvious in port, and it hides my status onboard.

I do like the retractable reel idea. I use that for my office badge. But I still run into issues that some of my pants don't have belt loops to hook it on and I have to shove the whole mess in my front pocket. 🙄

4 minutes ago, arizonaperson said:

@Need-a-vacation not all onboard credit is refundable,check the specifics on what you have.

I'm only thinking of credit that is bought pre-cruise or with a gift card.  I don't have anything given by princess or TA.

Basically, I want to know that if I buy (or receive) gift cards, that I won't be left with princess credits