cruisingrob21

Just received notice that our Jul 9th voyage on the Eurodam has a 3pm departure from Seattle. Also, Alaskan sampler on the Crown in Sept also has a 3pm departure. I think some of these adjustments must be due to reduce speeds and save fuel when sailing to Juneau because as far as I know the Eurodam has no issues currently and has a higher top speed.

Princess really needs to come clean on this issue - convert the Crown to 10 day voyages so she can reliably make her stops and let any passengers who can't make that work go to the Discovery. It's wishful thinking if Princess thinks they are selling full ships this summer. Alternatively, re-brand the crown to just sail a PNW itinerary with visits in Vancouver, Victoria, Astoria, Nanaimo, and perhaps Prince Rupert. Give passengers who want "ALASKA" the chance to go to the Discovery Aren't the Diamond and Sapphire still crew-only - both are sailing around in the eastern med? They should be getting one of those ships ready very quickly and bringing it over to replace the crown for the remainder of the season. Summer Alaska bookings aren't great this year - and most ships are not sailing full, hence the really impressive last minute drop and go fares we are seeing. There are simply too many ships there this summer with only tepid demand. I feel bad for people who are coming to Alaska for the first time on Princess - they are not getting a "great" experience that Princess normally provides in Alaska.

Seeing has how thats a "coastal" voyage, part of a longer voyage, in years past. HAL usually only sells "GTY" on those voyages. After the covid restart they seemed to be selling specific cabins on those voyages but perhaps that has now changed. It provides them maximum flexibility when selling the longer voyage. In that case, it looks like its a 6 day voyage, an 18 day voyage, and a 17 day voyage.

I think the CDC/cruise lines missed a golden opportunity early last year to get some volunteers on a ship for 7 days with daily testing and observe how the virus transmits itself among a mixed group of vaccinated, partially vaccinated, and unvaccinated passengers. They'd get a good picture of asymptomatic vs symptomatic passengers. As many like the paint cruise ships as "floating petri dishes", we may as well as embrace it and learn from it. It seems like a perfect living laboratory to study.

We had it in a minisuite on the Sky in Feb 2020. The kids slept on it and they didn't complain - I didn't try it for more than a few minutes so I can't comment on if it was comfortable for an adult for a full night. Note that the "pullout" is basically another twin bed - maybe a bit wider? But its not the full couch. You might be better off switching to two obstructed view cabins that connect.

The 4 day voyage I went on last week was pretty cold - except on the SB return to Seattle where we were going about 20 kn and had a 20kn tailwind. I ate most of my meals on the back open deck aft of the buffet, and on that day there were a lot of people back there with legs in the pool. Was it crowded? No, not even close, but it was lively. I can't comment on the dining room vs buffet on this voyage, but on my voyage in December on the Majestic I ate in both venues and found the food comparable. The presentation is always better in the dining room obviously. Princess has regrettably gone back to 80% self serve in the buffet so everyone is sharing the same serving spoons - we really like HAL that serve nearly everything in the buffet. In December, Princess had most everything served like HAL does it other than a very few "grab n go" cups of veggies or chips/crackers for snacking. However, the flip side of this is that the buffet is so large on the Royal class ships, everything moves pretty fast and gone are the lines of the Grand class ships. If you are looking for hottubs don't forget about the ones just aft of the sanctuary on deck 18 - they were hardly used when the others were full.

There is no "change" fee - but if you booked under a promo and that promo is no longer available or its a new promo, to "refare" you they will have to cancel and rebook - which is probably the "change fee" they are referring to. Refunds only happen after final payment if there is a price drop in the current promotion. I'm betting you are seeing "drop and go" pricing which is only offered after the final payment for new bookings. It never hurts to ask however. The older grand class ships had all their mini suites on deck 9, and a few on deck 8. This allowed for large balconies for all mini suites. The newer royal class ships do have them scattered about which means you can score a mini suite on deck 16 (my favorite location since I am more of an upper deck person myself) which is near pools, hottubs, open decks, and lots of food and drink options. The downside is other than a few minisuites on deck 8, the balconies on the minisuites are a fraction of what they were on the grand class ships. The premium deluxe balcony can be decoded as follows: premium = large balcony, potentially with a wake view deluxe = room has a loveseat instead of a small storage unit for the mini fridge (I think its put near the desk in the deluxe cabin). You'll find these similar to most HAL balconies balcony = bed, desk, deskchair

Agreed on all points. I used to put HAL and Princess on a level playing field, but the newer Princess ships have been a disappointment to me whereas the original Vista class ships felt lacking. However the Signature ships have been an improvement and I really enjoyeded a cruise on the Kdam in 2017. If HAL could put the Grand Dutch Cafe on all their ships that would be appreciated because one of my biggest gripes about HAL is that when I want a snack, the Lido always seems to be between meals and is closed and I don't want to go back to my room to wait for room service. It looks like HAL has extended the lido hours since covid, but I'll have to verify that when we sail on the Edam in July. It just seems that overall, HAL is generally making good updates to their fleet through thoughtful drydock upgrades and newbuilds. Princess is heading the wrong way in my opinion. Another thing I like about HAL is that they have pretty good deals on children's fares (compared to Princess anyways) and my kids have really enjoyed ClubHAL. When we sailed on the Amsterdam in summer of 2019 which was on a "one off" 7 day alaskan voyage, there were a lot more kids on board than typical, but the CD and his staff really rolled with the punches - the kids club was well managed and the CD even hosted bingo in the main showlounge for all the kids on the last day. It was a really nice touch as the kids were offered snacks and chocolate milk while they played for an hour or so. The Princess ships have been making minor decor changes between vessels lately, but most of their grand class ships are virtually identical in decor. I appreciate that HAL has at least a few unique pieces on their vista/signature ships to differentiate them and my favorite venue that has been created is the Gallery Bar - what a great way to create a fun space out of the art gallery. I also enjoy that the HAL ships have something akin to a sports bar, on Princess your choices are the smokers lounge, the casino, or the movies under the stars.

As a frequent cruiser on Princess and 2 star Mariner on HAL - I used to always give the edge to PCL from 2018 and before on similar sailings and prices. After sailing on 3 different Royal Class ships with Princess in the past 2 years, (Feb 2020, Dec 2021, May 2022) I think the "tides" have turned for me. The lack of a functional promenade, the "Free for all" buffet with shared utensils in the age of COVID, the constant, top 40 music playing almost at all times in all places (someone called the Discovery princess a 'loud ship' because of the constant soundtrack played), the lack of climate controlled top deck viewing locations, and the medallionclass app has made me really not care for princess anymore. I hope the OP has a nice voyage on the Discovery - it is beautiful and tastefully decorated with a lot of fun activities, but its a BIG noisy ship that gets crowded if the weather isn't nice. For me, similar voyage and cost and I'll be happily choosing HAL. Ironically, I tell other Princess cruisers that lament the Royal Class ships lack of many of the nice features of the Grand class ships that they should try the Pinnacle class ships - in many ways those ships are the next generation of the original Grand class ships in my opinion.