karatemom2

It's not everyday. In our experience it will be every sea day at 3 or 3:30 p.m.

We have done this cruise a number of times, and even in June you can expect the weather heading out of San Francisco and up the Pacific Northwest Coast can be cool. I would never classify it on any of our trips as warm - even in the nicest weather conditions. There have been some trips where that passage has been downright cold and windy - definitely not pool weather. There is an old joke attributed to Mark Twain, who apparently said: "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco". This unfortunately has some truth in that it can be quite cold and foggy. Just prepare for it to be cool and be pleasantly surprised if it is warm!

Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. What a terrible disappointment this must be. My daughter and her new husband did a honeymoon cruise in the Med on Enchanted last August and I can only imagine how stressed and upset they would have been in similar circumstances. It sounds like you are already in Europe, so I hope you are able to come up with some alternate plans and make the most of your time there together and salvage the trip. No matter what, I hope that you are able to come up with a Plan B make some wonderful memories and not let this unfortunate turn of events detract from starting your lives together. Congratulations on your marriage!!

You do not need the package to buy WiFi. It can be purchased separately, either for a single device or multiple devices. There is a place in the app to purchase that in advance or once you board.

Are you seriously implying that people who don't buy a package are "stiffing the crew"? Last I checked at $44 more per day than gratuity for Plus, or $64 more per day for Premier, there are many, like myself who don't find it cost effective and that has nothing to do with not paying gratuities, something I and most other non-package partakers would never consider and it is quite presumptuous to assume otherwise. In fact, with the money I save by not throwing extra money away on package perks I don't use or want, I'm happy to tip extra! I have at most one glass of wine per day - maybe an occasional $8 cocktail in the Elite lounge. DH gets complimentary drinks in the casino, and usually for him that is a bottled water. We buy WiFi at half price as Elite for one device. We have significant onboard credit with casino perks and stockholder benefits, and always get comped at least one, usually two meals in specialty restaurants, again thanks to our casino host. Why on earth would I pay MORE for a package then I use to increase my onboard charges over what I would pay just buying what I want as I go because Princess is aching to get more money in the coffers up front and take advantage of those who really don't end up using all the "benefits". I am the first to say that the packages are great for those who are able to fully enjoy the benefits and I hope you drink as much top shelf liquor as you can get your hands on to stick it to Princess and make up for those poor folks who are getting shafted. But please do not assume that those of us who don't fall for this particular money making scheme are somehow stiffing the hard working crew that most of us appreciate so much!

There is no one way to cruise Alaska - no one size fits all. My advice would be to take whatever opportunity works best for your budget and abilities. If that means an inside cabin on a roundtrip Seattle itinerary - do that. Any chance to go to Alaska and experience it, do it however you can best manage and make the most of whatever you choose. That is likely to look a little different for everyone. The only thing that I would encourage anyone to do once they narrow down what they can afford to do in terms of time, travel and budget, is to compare the options available within that window and try to pick the itinerary with the longest port days and if possible with Glacier Bay, especially for a first time cruiser. If a one way way works for you, great. If you can add in a land tour, wonderful! But if you can't, do not let that deter you from going at all. In many cases, your first cruise to Alaska will not be your last. That certainly proved true for us and we have been many times now. Try to find the best fit for you that offers the maximum chance to spend time in Alaska and don't delay until you can make it the "perfect" trip.

It is frankly amazing how tone deaf Princess is being on the impact of this last minute disruption. I happened to look at the Princess Instagram page that features the "exciting" announcement of delivery of the new ship. Of course, many people are commenting on their disappointment about their cruise being canceled. Crickets in terms of any response to these comments. But anyone responding with excitement is getting a gushing reply from the Princess content moderator. It's quite a stunning way to manage your social media presence in the face of crisis. Like the people who have been severely disenfranchised and inconvenienced simply do not exist!

Well that might actually get my attention! 😂 Although given our overall lack of consumption of alcoholic or coffee beverages and the great casino perks DH gets I doubt even that would make them worthwhile for us. For others, that might be enough to make it more attractive. I do believe the statistics Princess is throwing out though in terms of the percentage of people buying in - clearly they are very successful in selling the packages and it obviously is profitable for them so the push will continue. I will note that it seemed to result in my getting a number of freebies on our recent cruise as I think the crew assumption when they are busy is that “everyone” has the package. I often like to pick up a bottle of water or can of Diet Coke on the way back to my room. I just assumed I was being charged - but looking at my folio on the last day it was clear in most of those instances they just handed me the beverage and didn’t even check to see if I was a package participant!

Well they definitely have done that with the WiFi with the recent price increase that all but erased the 50 percent Elite discount when they raised the price by 65 percent. It’s the slow chipping away of perks. Clearly that was an overt effort to push people into packages.

It really depends on the tour. Some types of tours may be able to expand capacity by adding buses or guides - but that is a big if. Other tours that are more niche - like a boat tour in Alaska for example with very specific capacity - can’t just add extra passengers. We have waitlisted three times for Princess tours and never been successful. One was a horseback riding tour, another a boat tour and the other a kayak trip. All of these types of tours clearly have more limited capacity then a tour where you could perhaps just fill up an extra bus. So keep that in mind as all tours are not created equal where adding capacity is concerned. Also, I am finding even with tours that remain open, Princess raises the prices as it gets closer to the sail date. So, if there is an excursion you really want that you can only access through Princess book early.

We are thinking about trying this with our casino benefit. We generally get a free inside and pay to go up to a balcony. But we are considering sticking with the free inside on our next booking and then bidding on an upgrade. How did it work for you?

Mount Robert’s tramway might be a good plan b. There are some nice hiking trails at the top. Generally you can get same day access at the Salmon Bake as well which we enjoy. Food is good and it’s a really pretty area with a waterfall. You can also go to Mendenhall and hike to Nugget Falls.

I see most are discouraging Anchorage but we really enjoyed our time there when we visited Whittier. We rented a car from Avis and drove along Turnagain Arm which was beautiful. We stopped and spotted a couple of Beluga whales. We visited the Earthquake museum and Alaska Native Heritage Center. We grabbed some Reindeer hotdogs for lunch and then took a short hike along the Tony Knowles trail and spotted a moose. On the way back to Whittier we made a brief stop in Girdwood. We parked the car back at Avis around 6:30 pm and left the keys in the drop box and we were back on the ship for dinner by 7 pm. It was a great day!

If people love the packages, more power to them. I'm sure there are many people who find it a great value and get a great benefit. What I am really starting to resent as a long time Princess cruiser is the ever increasing pressure from Princess to make people, especially new cruisers, feel like they HAVE to get the package. This recent raising of the WiFi costs is good example of trying to strong arm people into packages and I'm having none of it. I fully resent that they are further devaluing my hard earned Elite WiFi benefit - the slow chipping away of a benefit I have really enjoyed. I do still need the WiFi for work and family connection, but in the future, my DH and I will probably just share one package and trade off on the device. There is really never a need for us both to be connected at the same time anyway and beyond the cost, I'm just protesting on principle! But back to the package - I think it is sad that some people like the OP feel that their cruise can't be enjoyable and fun without shelling out all that extra money up front for the package which may or may not end up being cost effective. It's all about the way it is being marketed - like you are seriously missing the boat if you don't buy in which is absolutely not the case for lots of people who just don't really fully utilize all the perceived "benefits", especially on a longer, port intensive cruise where there may be a number of days where you spend the majority of the day off the ship. It all is a really personal decision, very much based on how you like to cruise, what benefits you receive for loyalty levels or even casino perks, how much you value the "specialty" dining, alcoholic or coffee beverages, etc. It's hard for people new to cruising to really know so of course they will feel pressured to partake - regardless of whether it really makes sense for them or not. But it appears Princess is going to continue to make it a priority to push these packages as hard as possible - because they are most definitely making a ton of money on them. That says a lot about the "value"!

Honestly, we felt it was worth every penny. I went into it with a completely open mind, determined that I would try every drink and dish placed before me and excited about the experience. I can say without fail, everything served from food to wine was absolutely amazing, even the one dish that was definitely outside of my comfort zone. It was delicious! The story telling, visuals, smells, service and attention to every detail was something truly special. It was a very memorable evening - on New Year's Eve for us, no less - for our family and I'm so glad we did it, as pricey as it was!

Someone in their PR department needs to school Princess executives on public relations basics. It’s some of the first steps you learn when addressing crisis communications and management. Number one rule - BE HONEST. Treat your customers with the respect they deserve and trust them with the truth, no matter how difficult it may be. Number two rule - Be transparent in your communication. Share what you know when you know and be open to questions, even those you may not be prepared to answer yet. Number three rule - Demonstrate you care because you SHOULD care. Go above and beyond to address issues and concerns that are a result of a problem YOUR company has created for people. It’s your job as the company to fix the mess you have made. This is the very basic, minimal approach and Princess is failing at every level. Ultimately you can’t hide from the truth and it never helps your bottom line to hide your head in the sand and take the trust and loyalty of your customers for granted.

Absolutely agree with this assessment. There is no excuse. I have been involved with a number of large building projects in my role and I can say without hesitation that senior management is intimately aware of problems, delays, issues. There is no way that Princess just magically figured out today that a cruise scheduled to launch in 4 days was a no go! They knew when they canceled the first cruise that subsequent cancellations were likely. Many businesses heading into a disastrous scenario will try to hold onto revenue and employ delay tactics as long as possible. This last minute notification shows a serious lack of concern for their customers.

The excursion times are pretty accurate barring an unforeseen problem or delay, but depending on the meeting location for your private tour 30 minutes between may be cutting it quite close.

In Icy Strait Point there aren't really many independent operators. It is a very small port and the cruise lines control most of the tour options. However, we did discover a great local option, run by members of the local native population - Hoonah Travel Adventures. Here is the link: https://hoonahtraveladventures.com/ Another excellent local private option in Hoonah is Glacier Wind Charters: https://www.g-wind.com/ In Skagway, a private tour operator that we have used and gets very good reviews here is Chilkoot Charters: https://chilkootcharters.com/ Skagway is also an easy place to rent a car and explore on your own. The National Park service also has some good programs. We have also rented a car in Juneau through Juneau Car Rentals. You can also take the bus or taxi to Mendenhall Glacier and go on the Mount Roberts Tramway on your own, buying tickets at the office right at the port. Ketchikan also offers car rentals, or for a good private tour check out Ketchikan Taxi Cab Tours. https://ketchikantaxicabtours.com/

Ultimately, regardless of what your preference may be, Princess has made this transition to the medallion for all onboard access and services. If it is something that you feel strongly about to the point where you just don't want to use it, perhaps Princess isn't a good fit. In fairness to the crew and other passengers who have made the adjustment to the new system, is it really fair to expect that an outdated mechanism like the card should be provided just because one doesn't like the new protocols? As someone pointed out, the check in and check out process when coming onto or exiting the ship is all driven by scanning medallions now - a card would potentially slow everyone down, inconveniencing staff and fellow passengers. It creates issues at the stores, bars and other onboard venues where they are either picking up or scanning your medallion and aren't set up to scan a card any longer. At some point, you need to either accept how the service offered by a vendor has evolved or seek out alternate vendors that offer the product that you prefer. But insisting that they continue to provide a square peg while the entire service has moved on to a round hole seems an effort in frustration and hardly conducive to a relaxing vacation.

Already a recent thread running that has all the answers you need:

Depends on where you are going. In the ports on the coast we have rarely had significant issues but when we have ventured further inland we have indeed encountered the “Alaska state bird”! Worst experience was Dyea near Skagway - they were thick. This was in June. You mentioned a cruise tour so my assumption is you will be going to Denali and will likely encounter mosquitoes. It’s easy enough to be prepared with a good topical repellent and you should be fine.

@Wanderfully thank you for taking the time to answer my question with such a thoughtful response. Clearly you have really thought through what is important for you. Our experience with the medallion system has been quite positive, but I certainly appreciate and understand your personal preferences. Hope it works out for you to get a card.

No one is likely to be able to give you a definitive answer to this question. It may be something you will only be able to determine for certain onboard depending on how strictly the club on your specific ship is run. The teen cut off is generally really firm. I will tell you, in our experience Princess is very strict with the age restrictions - not allowing movement up or down. There are potential liability issues for Princess in allowing teens into a younger group and other parents who may take issue with a teen mixing with children as young as 8. It’s not as simple as just letting the older child join the younger group and most likely the answer will be no because they generally really enforce the age requirements. There are a lot of activities outside of the clubs where the kids can hang out together so I wouldn’t let it be a make or break in your decision making.

I’m just wondering why you don’t want the medallion? No judgment - just curious as to your reasons. Have you cruised with Princess using a medallion and had a bad experience?