tcdcruiser

You are so correct.

I have cruised Princess to Alaska 6 or 8 times. IMHO Glacier Bay National Park is the crown jewel of Alaskan glacier cruising. Not all cruises visit GBNP, so check the itinerary. Anchorage is our least favorite Alaskan port. However, a day trip to the mendenhall glacier outside of anchorage is quite good. Also, anchorage is a good location if you desire a helicopter glacier tour. The helicopter tour that lands on the glacier for a walk or dog adventure rivals Machu Picchu. I think you can also do the helicopter tour from Skagway. The Vancouver/ Whittier departure advantage is you can sometimes visit College Fjord which is located near Whittier, Alaska. The cruise from San Francisco, my home port, only goes as far north as Glacier Bay. However, cruising under the Golden Gate from SF is maybe the best sail way view in the world. If you visit the Hubbard glacier, consider the one and only excursion. Hubbard Glacier is technically a sea and scenic cruise day, but sometimes they offer a special tour. The Princess ship enters the fjord as far as possible, then a tour will transfer you directly from the ship to a small tour vessel. The Princess ship then leaves. You sail much, much further into the fjord and you later catch up with the ship that is already in port. Quite spectacular. Reserve with Princess as soon as it is made available as it will be sold out soon Lots of short and non stop flights from LV to SF multiple times per day. Flight from LV to Anchorage, as I recall, all require a plane change in Seattle. Check Alaska Airlines for the Anchorage flights. Weather is always like Las Vegas. It is a gamble. We have had 75 degree weather in Anchorage in May and 45 degree weather in May. If you visit SF consider a day trip to Muir Woods National Park about one hour from downtown SF. Reservations are a must.

Have cruised 4 times this year and nobody has asked for our arrival group time slot or QR code. Seems to me, regardless of the requested or not requested, arrival group, everybody just shows up dockside at a time of their choice. Then, the port authority has a single security queue and clears arriving passengers on a first come first serve basis. Then, since the security process dribbles passengers into the check in area, the check in lines are always brief. IHMO if the Medallion App arrival group time slot is not enforced by port authority security (and of course they wouldn’t) then the arrival group app feature it is a pointless exercise.

As mentioned above even with an “In Transit” card you will have to deal with port security to reembark. Plan your return time carefully to avoid long lines.

It was shockingly fast. BTW lots of people did not do the Canada arrive step prior to arrival and were delayed. I had to explain to a fellow passenger that princess told them many times and that it was a Canada govt requirement not a princess requirement.l welcome back to cruising.

September 17 report. Arrived terminal 1030am. Arrived cabin 1115am. Arrived crooners 1130am. Luggage arrived 1pm.

With the Medallion App being used so widely it seems most passengers now carry a smart device all the time while aboard. No surprise PCL must be experiencing a vast increase in broadband usage. Previously passenger might check their email or social media a few times a day, not anymore!

https://www.princess.com/learn/faq/pre-cruise/what-to-pack-for-a-cruise/

Agree with riffatsea. Passenger Service "may" have some non-USD for exchange but they are not a bank and inventory is limited and not guaranteed. Euros are very easily obtained upon arrival. For more exotic currencies, I have previously, ordered via a financial institution that ships via USPS, FedEX, UPS, etc.

FYI. Some international ports ask for the actual, physical card to be in your possession upon disembarkation.

Last month ate at Skagway brewing company. Quite good

Used duct tape. Good idea for safety but 10x brighter than needed. What an annoyance at 3 am.

Record fast disembarkation (not walk off). First independent disembarkation. I was having coffee in the Marin district (with all my luggage) at 830am.

Thank you havedogwilltravel nice job

The local port authority decides the exact berth you will park. Here is the Juneau port authority url for example. https://secureservercdn.net/198.71.233.189/2xl.54d.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/JNU-Juneau-2022.pdf nevertheless, things can and do change at the last minute. Search Google for “port authority city name” then browse their web site for cruise ship information. FYI…some port authorities know but do not publish. 1025cruise is correct. Vendors will find you. Plus have their cell number handy and call them if needed.

We are talking about an existing $1346 equity position. Right?

CCL has in the last couple of years, due to covid, fallen from a high in the mid 60s to the low teens (13.29 today). IMHO , like me, you have already taken the “hit”. In time, maybe even after a recession, CCL will rebound. Plus, if you only own 100 shares like me, $1329 more in your checking account is not going to make you rich.

We have had turn down service every night. We just asked the cabin Stewart. Regarding the missed port, We were late leaving SF and spent the first 24 to 36 hours doing 10 to 12 knots. This is my 39th Princess cruise and can say the seas were very rough and we had 30+ knot headwinds Due to these facts I speculated in this very thread last Sunday, before the bridge announcement, we might not make Icy Point due to weather Please explain the “much snow on top of the mountain” comment, I do not understand how this impacted the Icy Point cancellation. My private Icy Point excursion operator shared they had cruise ship visits on both Saturday and Sunday. Plus, the Celebrity Milenium was at Icy Point today and left a couple hours ago.

Fort Seward, Haines Alaska

Agree. Princess is not a premium line. With new ship builds with 3600 passengers you are by definition not premium. For me, the question is “where is Princess strategically headed?” Targeting the next cruiser generation, 40 to 50 year olds, with tech products makes sense as this demographic grew up on smart phones and tablets. (Aside…I say 40 -50 year olds since Carnival gets the 20-30 crowd). But the 40 - 50 demographic segment is more than tech savy, they are foodies and speciality coffee (with premium bean) drinkers. They fly business class and use the airport lounges. My point is it is going to take more that a RFID that opens your cabin door and comes with a lot of clunky and cranky features. As Princess begins to transition to this new world one has to ask what is the current cash cow demographic group, the 60 -80 crows going to do? My guess is those with money will migrate to Oceania, Azamara, etc. and those without money will totally stop cruising.

Agree. Maybe the many millions invested in the Medallion Class product would have better invested in food and furnishing quality and maintenance.

Nowadays Headwaiter are called restaurant managers. Silly but true My suggestion....ask a restaurant manager (aka Headwaiter) during embarkation lunch in the MDR. Offer to come in late (7pm) and offer that a window table is not necessary and you will increase your odds dramatically. Asking at 5pm dinner on night one is problematic since at that moment with a whole ship of new passengers it is total chaos in the MDR. Not a good time to ask for a favor. If you cruise a LOT you will eventually know a lot of MDR staff and that makes the whole process easier. We frequently have a table arranged prior to embarkation

Havedogwilltravel is correct. We are just north of Portland . We are doing almost 22 knots. Looks like petal to the metal to make up lost time on day one. However MarineTraffic.com forecasts strong 25 knots westerly winds later today That will slow us down again. Hope we make Icy Strait Point . yes the prime rib was good!

My experience was I was unable to book Sabatini’s via app on a closed date. Visited the Sabatini’s desk and asked, but was informed they were closed on my preferred date. That’s when I realised that speciality dining had reduced open days. Sabatini’s offered another date and I accepted.

A Very low tech solution. Photocopy back of vax card. Place original vax card front next to the photocopied vac card rear. Use smartphone to make a new single photo so both sides - side by side.