Nightowl11

We had extra OBC near the end of the cruise and all I did was go to the purser's desk and ask them for it in cash to give as extra tips in person. That way, I knew they would get it instead of being put in the general pool. No problem. I didn't set up a casino account.

Last year, we had a suite and the balcony room next to it. We tipped an extra $20 on the mornings of port days so he would have spending money if he went ashore. The room stewards are allowed to leave the ship in the middle of the day if they finish their morning work and come back in time to start their evening work. We also tipped an extra $20 during the 11 day cruise because we asked if he knew how to make towel animals. I know from reading these boards that Princess is not known for towel animals so it is very rare if you get them. He ended up making some throughout the week for both rooms when he had time. On one day, he made a special one just for my son. It was a penguin which is not a common towel animal. He took the time to ask the other room stewards how to make it when he found out earlier in the week that my son's favorite animal is a penguin. That was awesome. Plus every time he saw us coming down the hall and he was near our room, he would use his key card to open the door for us. He definitely earned the extra tips and the excellent comments we left for him on the surveys.

We were on the Star last June to Alaska in a suite and we did have a difficult time getting reservations at the Crab Shack. There were two Crab Shack days left in the cruise and they wouldn't give us reservations because once they announce the times, it fills up quickly. It wasn't until I told them that I was in a suite and explained that my son who has autism really, really wanted to eat there, did they give us a time at the end of the night so we were almost the last ones seated. It all worked out in the end but I didn't like to have to explain everything. This year, I'm calling on the first day to reserve instead of waiting until they announce it in the Patters.

Does the balcony divider open between these two cabins, E733 and E731, on the Golden?

Is there any noise, music, vibrations that can be heard or felt from the Vista Lounge below?

Looking at the aft of the Golden, is the ventilation system vents (that look like 4 large rolling metal doors) located between E731 and E732? Can you hear anything from the ventilation system in either or both cabins, E731 or E733, when the doors are closed? Is the sound loud when out on the balcony? Is the ventilation system running all day and night?

Do they charge a fee to cash the travelers checks at the purser's desk? I just called Princess and the rep told me that they do. That doesn't sound right to me.

How do you buy casino credit without any fees? Do you just go to the cashier in the casino? Does it get charged as a purchase or a cash advance on your shipboard account? Does your credit card charge the fees then?

My Bank doesn't carry travelers checks anymore so does Princess cash personal checks at the pursers desk? What is the best way to get cash on the ship without incurring any fees?

I called Princess and told them that I do not have access to a fax machine, so the rep gave me an email to send it to instead. They DO take emails for the shareholder benefits. I just blacked out everything on the statement except or items that they needed. The email was revenuesupportdepartment@princesscruises.com

I just explained in the mail that I was given this email address since I do not have a fax. I was credited within 2 days for both cabins.

I called Princess today to find the rest of the OBC that did not show in the Personalizer. It was showing on her screen as "Special Service Order Summary" and therefore would not show up on the Personalizer. It was listed as a Bon Voyage gift from the travel agency. I had her email me a copy of it so I would have proof when I board. She was very helpful.

If the ship is in Code Red for Norovirus or if anyone on the ship has the norovirus, do they close down the self service laundry facilities? I was just wondering if people brought their dirty "norovirus" covered clothing/undies to the laundry facilities, then wouldn't they infect all the washers and dryers because they were touching everything - touching the clothes, then touching the handles and knobs, etc? I'm not sure how washers work, but does all the water from the previous wash get eliminated from the washer, doesn't some stay beneath the basket area therefore getting the virus on the next batch of clothing?

I was just wondering if people not infected with noro should even use the laundry facilities on the ship.

All but 3 of us bought the AIR card and it was great in terms of budgeting. Once the staff learned who had the card they would charge all the drinks to one card and only one had to sign.

What is an AIR card?

I have my booking marked Meta upgrade only but they disregarded this anyways when they tried to move me from a covered balcony to a completely uncovered balcony at the front of the ship which I specifically noted that I did not want! I had my booking marked correctly. I'm happy I was able to get the old cabin back.

Good luck to the OP. Please keep us updated.

I was thinking about making a WildLife checklist/scavenger hunt for our upcoming cruise to Alaska for my kids. What type of animals will we be seeing in mid June in Ketchikan, Skagway, Juneau and Glacier Bay? *Some that I can think of are : Bald Eagles, Puffins, Humpback Whales, Orca Whales, Porpoises, Harbor Seals, Sea Lions, Otters, Mountain Goats, Black Tailed Deer. *What types of birds are in Alaska? *Any other interesting things that could go on a scavenger hunt list?

For the Patters please go to the thread for our cruise at http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showt...php?p=42993768 as someone posted that they will post the Patters. Perhaps someone will have copies of the menu's. I will post more photos soon.

Tom

Tom, why don't you go ahead and post them. We didn't get home until 2:00 am on Wednesday and arrived to over a foot of grass in the yard. I am booked solid the rest of the week. Haven't even begun to download all our pictures from our 21 days of travel, so it will be quite a while before I get to posting the Patters.

 

As for the cruise itself, I will be writing reviews, but I can sum up my feelings pretty quickly. Disappointed. We're going back to Celebrity.

 

Mary

It would be greatly appreciated if somebody will post the Patters soon. It will be a great help for me in preparing my son for the trip. Please and Thank you.

We are booked for Grizzly Falls. My sister, 45, did it last year and loved it! They are the only company that lets you do flips, ride upside down and they let you get more adventurous. The difference in price has to do with the amount of ziplines. From my research, Grizzly Falls has 11 zip lines with 750 feet as the longest one and 4 suspension bridges. Some of the lines goes directly over a waterfall. The other company in Skagway, Adventure Park & Ziplines, has only 5 lines with one of them short but they also have a raised balance beam, a suspension bridge and Burma loops to walk across. Grizzly Falls allows "ride-a-longs" for half price. So you would still get the tour to and from their location and the ride on the unimog plus you can take pictures from the ground at the beginning of the course. My sister told me that they are next to one of their other tours, so you can see some of the dogs at the mushers camp. Plus I just read on tripadvisor, that you can stop at a fudge store. Check out the reviews on tripadvisor for more info. Hope this helps.

When I received my "Congratulations" upgrade email, I immediately called and rejected it. They said the same thing to me stating that they will try and get my old room back and it could take up to 48 hours. The Princess rep had to fill out a form and pass it on to another department.

I received another email a few hours later confirming that I got my old room back. I'm not sure, but it depends who you talk to. Usually with upgrades, they give you 48 hours to accept or reject and in the mean time, they leave your original cabin in limbo. I'm hoping that will be the case for you. They shouldn't have already given your cabin away to another passenger yet. Keep calling and hopefully you'll get the to the right person.

Just read this on the Patters from the Golden Princess - May 28th, 2014:

FREE Photo Hour!! - Any of your own Photos with the

Managers Stamp on the back are yours FREE!! (1hr only!).

Photo & Video Gallery

What exactly does this mean? Are these the photos that they normally charge $19.99 and $24.99 for? How many do they really "give" away? Is this just a gimmick to get you to come see the photos that the ships photographers took? Has this been done on other ships?

How does one become a member of the Ocean Player Club? Can you sign up before you go? I read that if people call the number and let them know that you are going on a cruise, they can get a gift.

$24.95 on last cruise. The informal shots $19.95. They make me look good! I scan them later to share but nobody in my family cares. I look forward to the day they have a way to view digitally and not have to waste all the printing.

Disney already does it digitally and has for a few years now. They do print out pictures, but not all of them. They have a room with viewers/screens and you put the ones you want in a cart, just like shopping online. Then they print out what you want. They also have a package deal to purchase all printed pictures along with all digital pictures for about $300. Our family took well over 50 pictures that cruise and had them all printed out too. What also was nice about Disney's photo set up, was that you didn't have to search the walls for your printed photos. Each cabin had a binder on a bookshelf that all your photos were placed into. When they took each picture, they scanned your cruise card to match the cabin number, so when they were printed, they just placed the pictures into your photo binder.

Does Princess have a package deal or do you have to purchase each one separately? I see in the Patters that they usually have a special to buy both embarkation pictures for $39.99. What do they mean by "both"? Do they take one picture of your group and then put it on different backgrounds or do you pose for two pictures on the first day?

Thank you for Posting the games. How many times and which days did they have the Crab Shack and the Fondue meals? Were they at lunch time or dinner time? Did you buy any pictures? If so, how much did they cost and did they have a package deal? Thank you.

Hi. Thank you for posting your review. Since you still have the patters, what activities besides bingo and trivia do they have? Giant Jenga?, The Yes/No game?, 60 Second Frenzy?, Musical Murder Mystery? Any other Game type shows? What times/days did they offer them at? Which scholarship@sea classes do they have? When are they? Thank you.

I read on another post that the boat for this excursion is old and smells musty/mildewy. Has anyone recently gone on this tour? I have a son that is sensitive to weird smells so I'm not sure if we should go on this tour. Any suggestions for similar tours?

I read about the Giant Jenga on the Patters from the May 3rd Golden Princess cruise. (posted by plattwear). I was wondering if they have these games on all ships. Does the Activities Director take requests for the cruise? I have read weekly patters from some of the other cruises and it is mostly just Trivia for their games. Those sometimes get too competative especially when there are B2B cruisers and they already know the answers. I like a variety of different activities to choose from.

My favorite picture was the one with the duckie in front of the elevator. My second favorite was the roulette table photo. Very cute pictures.

What happens if you miss the "all aboard" due to unforseen circumstances, not your fault, and you left your kids on the ship in the Youth center. Will they still leave you at the port? My mom was told by someone on a Disney cruise that they can't leave the port if there is no adult on board for them. Has anyone ever heard of that situation happening?

Has anyone who has travelled in a suite ever been able to get their "free" specialty dinner on another night? Would one be able to talk the the maitre d' into changing it? My family has one suite and one next door balcony for an upcoming cruise and we are doing the traditional dining, therefore only two of us would be able to do the specialty dinner. It would be much nicer to be able to meet our table mates the first night to get aquainted, and do the "free" dinner on another night.