Outerdog

I hate that this is the best answer but it is: sort it out on the ship.

Princess on board has been super great dealing with excursion changes, cancellations and such. One time we were late arriving to the excursion meet up point and missed the excursion. I was tipsy and missed the time change. So they hustled us onto another cheaper excursion (super fun). They automagically credited the difference even though it was totally our fault and we didn't ask for any credit at all.

Princess shoreside, on the other hand, sucks. They can't find their ass with both hands and I never call them for anything unless absolutely necessary.

Just handle it on the ship.

There is a forward structure ahead of the window. You can't access that area. They look like forward balconies, but they are not. The note you're seeing is trying to tell you there is a metal balcony which obstructs your view somewhat.

The medallion doesn't know anything other than a unique identifier that looks something like this:

ff3766fb-c088-4c90-b86f-561800cd414b

The medallion transmits that number whenever it is pinged by the medallion system receivers around the ship, including the white pucks on the ceilings and stateroom door entry devices.

That same number appears in a database on the servers where things like folios and room assignments are stored. Simply stated, Princess crew tell the system that a particular medallion number is permitted to open cabin door R123.

7 hours ago, Elevatorman said:

And carry our passportnfo and account. It’s amazing

They do not "carry" anything other than a unique ID number. All of your information is stored on the servers, not the medallion.

A nifty little coin-sized device which replaces the cruise card. The system is able to locate people (medallions) around the ship, crew use it to see who's who. 

https://www.princess.com/en-us/ships-and-experience/princess-medallionclass

https://www.princess.com/en-us/ships-and-experience/princess-medallionclass/medallion-accessories-customization

Some will tell you it's a curse upon humanity. They think Princess is tracking them all over the place and the Medallions are the gateway to a privacy violating dystopia. Psst, you're already a customer, you're already on the ship having spent hundreds or thousands of dollars to get there, and they were collecting data long before the Medallions.

The shipping notifications and tracking info for Medallions is ironically unreliable. Sometimes I get notified and can track, other times not.

They will show up in the next few days or they won't.

So the cruise "game changer" has noting really to do with the ship or the cruise.

Nice.

If you want tons of bottled water in your room, just order a bunch of the water packages.

It's $7 for 12 x 12oz bottles. It's a great price and a hell of a lot more convenient than dragging cases of bottled water all over the place.

I purchase these even when we have one of the packages. It's cheap.

4 hours ago, Nily D said:

I am going to look into the rafting expedition at Haines.

Bad photo, but gives you an idea of what the raft is like:

The river is shallow, but it's cold out there.

The nests are large -- 2,000 pounds in the extreme cases.

Agree with Lee on Haines/Skagway Eagle Preserve raft trip. Very hands-on experience as you might imagine. Lots of eagles. This isn't a rafting experience. It's a floating experience.

Other must-dos in Skagway are the train (obviously) and those helicopters you'll see there in port. They will fly you up and land you on a glacial ice sheet to get out and explore. Pretty fantastic ride up and over a mountain range. Nat Geo scenes for sure. When I think of all my trips up to Alaska, this is the one that comes to mind the most (and I can't resist sharing a couple pics)...

I really struggle to think what a "game changer" for cruising could actually be. Things like modifying PVSA, return of CTN, truly all-inclusive one-price fare, 4x security/check in staff to eliminate terminal wait altogether?

Giant ass ships with literally everything -- 2 decks interior promenades with animated canopies, roller coasters (!) -- none of those are "game changer" for Florida.

I mean, we're talking about Princess here -- the same Princess who called the Medallion a game changer. I like the Medallion, but let's not pretend it's nothing more than a cruise card on steroids. Hardly a game changer. That's it! Maybe we're getting new Medallions! 

Brought to you by Flava Flav!

$50 OBC for Florida residents. Game changer! 

I just did. Two, in fact. One of those is the same Hubbard Glacier boat thing. That sells out pretty quick.

$1k in excursions for May 2025. 

Hang your door decorations on the INSIDE of your door. 

Everybody wins!

19 minutes ago, cruisepest said:

The main question is what should we do now?

You should file a claim with your travel insurance to recoup the costs of the medical services.

1 hour ago, Thrak said:

This looks better...

This looks even better

4 hours ago, Cruise Raider said:

It is actually for life or death emergencies or immediate travel.   

Doesn't look that way to me. It's life or death AND immediate travel. Not "or".

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/get-fast.html

On 3/20/2024 at 1:38 PM, DCThunder said:

I did see that ravens had killed their hatchlings last year.  Nature is not kind.

Not quite. Jackie and Shadow abandoned the nest after they determined the eggs were dead. The ravens came to the nest and devoured the eggs. They never hatched.

The same thing will eventually happen this year as well.

On 3/20/2024 at 2:37 PM, Polopup said:

I think being in solitary confinement in a prison would be better.

 

All in all it was one of the worst experiences up my life.

Do you expect people to take these comments seriously?

36 minutes ago, memoak said:

I just don’t understand why everyone wants to stand in line to board early. I will wander on at noon or so

Same. DW and I were first and second pax on once. That's a nice story and we don't need to repeat it.

There is no need to notify the State Department regarding an address change after your passport is issued.

See #9:

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/passport-help/faqs.html#:~:text=My address has changed.,after you received your passport.

43 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

I have never been able to reserve a suite dinner via the app.  I gave up. Others have been successful. I just call the fine line when I get on board. 

Same. Just call the Dine Line. They will take care of it.

Single days are available.

You can purchase internet plans through the Princess App once onboard. Connect to the MedallionNet wifi network, log in, then follow the prompts.

I want to say it was like $25 for a single device when paying by the day. Something like that.

For those that may not know: you do not need to reserve the suite complimentary speciality dining ahead of time. Make the reso once you get on board. They hold tables for the suites. You will not have a problem getting a table at whatever restaurant you choose.

The row of two-tops is the correct answer. If you go to dinner around the same time every night, you'll usually wind up in the same table (more or less) each night and sitting amongst the same people. The folks directly next to you may change day to day from one table to another as people arrive or don't arrive at various times. It's definitely a shared experience, and toward the end of the cruise, you end up with at least a familiarity with everyone in the section, and more if folks are talkative and social.

I wouldn't choose the MDR over RC because you want to socialize. RC can be a social experience if that's your jam.

I don't have many good pics of RC dining (it's weird to take pictures of people dining), but this snap is from the Baked Alaska parade they (still) do. You can see these two tops are pretty close and make for good crosstalk between tables. The pic is taken from another row of two-tops that extends along the back wall toward the windows.