ninka26

On 7/16/2023 at 3:46 PM, cusematt4 said:

Hi,

 

We are doing research on a first time trip to Alaska and are leaning to cruising Alaska with Princess.

 

1) Does anyone know how we can determine if the below ships/itineraies would take the inside passage scenic route on these one way North or South bound routes?  Should it specify this in the itinerary?  Some people have mentioned the Royal Princess may be too big for the Inside Passage route but that the Sapphire may be capable?  These two ships have the same exact stated one way itineraries.  How can I tell if either (or both) would take the scenic inside passage route?

 

 

It is dependent on the class of the ship. Royal Class ships (like the Royal) don't take the actual Inside Passage because (I believe) of their size. The Sapphire is a gem class ship (part of the Grand Class, I think) You can view the actual route on the map provided with the itinerary.  This is the map for the Southbound cruise Whittier to Vancouver. Solid blue is the Sapphire and dotted is the Royal.  Hope this is helpful. 😃

On 7/31/2023 at 4:43 PM, HippieChick02 said:

 

Hey! Did you happen to get pics of your Patters and MDR menus for this trip??

Unfortunately no. This was the trip where the Ruby crashed into the SF pier. We ended up taking the 100% refund and not cruising. 

9 hours ago, Thia6969 said:

Thank you so much.  I upgraded from a mini-suite as a suprise for my husband and just wanted to make sure it will be great trip and good cabin.  I also have the premium package.. Anniversary Gift 😀

Happy Anniversary. C748 is a lovely cabin. It's spacious, well kept and the balcony is fabulous.

Hi all,

I was considering one of the Cruise/Tour options through Princess but thought they were too rushed.

Are these different? If yes, where can I find a listing?

Thanks

Went back and found the link provided above!

1 hour ago, Outerdog said:

 

Can anyone else confirm this? I've been following this closely and this is the first I've heard that Princess advised any departure times, only update times.

 

"Led embarking passengers to believe" are weasel words. Did they *say* 1600 departure throughout the Morning of the incident? Then, did they *say* 1900 departure?

 

I don't think you need to be a maritime expert to know that the likelihood of that ship sailing at 1600 in that condition after an event of that magnitude is near zero.

 

I was on the ship. Captain was very careful with his choice of words. It was plainly stated as anticipated or estimated departure times PENDING clearance by the USCG.

19 minutes ago, trbarton said:

That was a freak accident. I’ve been in San Francisco since 1967 this is the first time we have ever had an accident with a cruise ship like that. Please don’t let this one incident to stop you from coming here again. 
 

Tom😀

I do plan on visiting again just not a cruise.

Just now, SCX22 said:

Princess wasn't exactly forthright from the beginning.  The day of the accident, they led embarking passengers to believe that they would be departing at 16:00.  16:00 came and went and Princess advised of a 19:00 departure.  19:00 came and went and Princess changed their advise to the following day.  The following day came and finally Princess announced a 16:00 Sunday departure.

 

This wasn't like an airline delay where the weather and crew staffing remain fluid up to the last second.  It was between the Coast Guard and Princess.  Was Princess really naïve enough to think that the Coast Guard was going to let them sail the vessel with a gaping hole so close to the water line?  It takes a while to get bids on a contractor and it was great that Princess was able to find a contractor that could stipulate a hastened timeframe for completion of the work.  But they could have handled the situation better rather than keeping the guests captive during the first day and promising false start departures.

100% agree! That is exactly why I'm not "Team Princess" at the moment. 

1 hour ago, minabruuke said:

If I had been on this cruise and the Alaskan ports were indeed my priority (rather than the cruise and ship itself), I'd have worked with Princess to be able to immediately use the FCC they were offering to get on one of the several other 7 night Princess cruises that left on Saturday or Sunday from Vancouver or Anchorage (there were several awesome last minute deals and there were cabins available).  ....

Guest services (really the whole crew) was in complete chaos after the initial announcement.  Unfortunately, not being a seasoned cruiser, I would never have thought that this was an option. Thank you for pointing this out. It just might come in handy in the future so I really appreciate the wisdom.

22 minutes ago, jsglow said:

Let me make a suggestion for you to consider. Try the one-way Glaciers cruise from Vancouver and tack on an Alaskan land tour.  You won't regret it.

My husband and I are actually considering this! 

22 minutes ago, Boatdrill said:

With complete respect for your decision to leave the ship, I truly hope you'll cruise again 

with Princess and use the compensation they'll give you. 

In all likelihood, I will probably give it another go but I think I'll avoid the San Francisco port. Seems those waters are very dangerous in general.  

4 minutes ago, rafinmd said:

Prince RUPERT.

 

Roy

I realized my error shortly after I hit submit 

19 minutes ago, jwcdis said:

I couldn't find it on the earlier replies but what exactly is the revised 7 day itinerary? Are the passengers still going to be able to see Glacier Bay? (Ruby Princess was supposed to be visiting today) since there is a 2 ship limit, I'm guessing they won't be going in?

No Sitka, No Juneau, No Glacier Bay. 😔 Just Ketchikan and Prince Rupert.

5 minutes ago, desertdwellingsailor said:

I am so sorry. That really stinks. I hope that you have a better experience on a future cruise.

Thank you! 

3 minutes ago, lstone19 said:

 

It's unfortunate that the incident happened but these things do happen. IMHO, getting off was a mistake unless you had something else you could do this week other than just going home. The offers returned the same amount whether you got off or not - 150% of what you paid...

We were cruising primarily for the ports, the ship experience was secondary.   

Since the Itinerary was so drastically altered and this was to be a bucket list vacation, to say I'm disappointed is an understatement. We opted to get off and return home. What was offered, in MHO, doesn't even come close to being "enough". So much of my heart went into the planning of this cruise just for it to be crushed. This was my first cruise AND first cruise with Princess. The experience has left me with no desire to cruise with Princess ever again. 

On 6/8/2023 at 1:33 PM, C & C Love to Cruise said:

Can I see my reservations I have chosen on my Princess Medallion?  When I go into Ocean ready and push on dining, it wants me to choose my time and place to dine, but I have already done this.  Also is there a way I can find out when my Medallions are going to arrive?  Last time we received them weeks in advance, but getting really close to the cruise and we are leaving a week early.

To view your dining reservations on the app ---

Clicking the DINING Icon on the bottom menu (or Dine My Way option if you scroll about 2/3 of the way down)

Under "Personalize Your Dining Experience" select "View or book individual daily reservations"

Select the day your reservation is on from the top menu bar (you may need to scroll right to left)

Your reservation should show (you may need to scroll down a bit to view)

Hope this is helpful.

On 6/9/2023 at 1:56 AM, Nightowl11 said:

We will be on the Crown next week and my sister has asked me 4 times now if they still do the Ship Tour.  I can't find the answer through the search bar.    Also, on another post, they said that Crab Shack is Back but I can't find any info on it on the Princess website.  If anyone is on the Crown or an Alaskan cruise right now, are they currently having the Crab Shack and if so, which days?  And if anyone remembers from years past, what days did they normally have it for a 10 day with 4 sea days, 1 glacier cruising day and 5 ports?  Thanks.

The Princess website now shows the Crab Shack as a Specialty Dining option.  It is only available on select ships (Discovery is one of them) and only on Alaska cruises. I have not yet figured out if reservations are required OR how to make them if required. I think you'll need to make a reservation onboard via the Dine Line (I found that info a few days ago but now can't find it on their website 😕

The Crab Shack is currently showing as part of the included AND specialty dining on the Princess website. It's only offered on specific ships according to the website. I was able to see it listed for the Ruby when I clicked on Booked Guests, Access Cruise Personalizer, select the Dining icon at the top,  then scroll down.  It's listed in two spots but currently not showing any additional information. 

Heading to Alaska RT from San Francisco 7/6. Based on all the advice and tips here I invested in a pair of waterproof hiking shoes. I went with Columbia because I got an incredible deal. They aren't too bulky or heavy and are super comfortable right out of the box. 

On 6/5/2023 at 7:04 PM, pink845 said:

Been on a couple of cruises now since Jan 2023.  Last one was Majestic, Alaska a few weeks back.  Our procedure with respect to Covid is as follows. We wear our masks in crowds; we wear our masks collecting food at the buffet.  We tell our room steward on day 1, not to enter our room for the entire cruise. We leave our dirty towels at the door and he drops off new ones in a clear plastic bag.  We do not need cabin service at all. We book a mini suite balcony so we have plenty of space to roam. Mini suites have a large sofa bed as well and we let the fresh air enter the cabin upon our arrival and several times during the day.   In the dining room, we have always had no issue getting a table for two in a more far way spot so not to have to interact with other passengers too much in that dining space.  We have found there is more space in the specialty dining rooms, so we ate in those 4 out of the 7 nights...

First cruise ever in 28 days...this is wonderful advice. Thank you very much for sharing. 

On 5/25/2023 at 3:54 PM, HippieChick02 said:

Hi! I just booked my first cruise to Alaska on the Ruby Princess, it's a 10 Day roundtrip out of San Francisco. It's not until September but was hoping someone who's been on this ship and this itinerary recently can post the MDR Menus and the Daily Princess Patters so I can plan and know what to expect. I've gone on 5-6 other cruises before (2 of which were with Princess), but never been on Ruby and never been to Alaska. 

I'll be on the Ruby for a 10 day inside passage RT from San Francisco in early July. I  will try to post Patters and MDR menus during my cruise.  😄

On 5/12/2023 at 3:59 PM, I object 2 said:

I've been trying to connect with Princess customer service via "Live Chat" on their website, but the Live Chat link isn't working.  Anyone else having this problem?  

I experienced this issue as well. Check your browser settings to ensure you are allowing pop up windows. If you are using Chrome, click on the three dots in the upper right corner and select settings. It should be an option under the Security setting option.

2 minutes ago, thesmiths said:

Your welcome!

 

10 Day Alaska Next Monday

Juneau

Skagway

Icy Strait

Tracy Arm

Prince Rupert

after Touristy things over the weekend in San Francisco.

 

 

I'll be heading to Alaska 10 day July 6th! Have a fabulous cruise!

On 5/2/2023 at 6:53 AM, thesmiths said:

Figured I'd throw this out there.

 

After doing some research on how/whom to use for transfers, I booked with WingZ.

Booked online yesterday and was immediately contacted by both drivers, showing vehicles & drivers, neat service. 

We are staying at the Holiday Inn Express Fishermans Wharf

 

To the Hotel was $63.00

Return to SFO was $64.00

 

Started a dialogue with the port driver back to SFO on where to meet already based on his experience.

We have an 11:30 flight which is plenty of time to get to the airport with Priority Disembarkation.

 

I have used Uber/Lyft a bunch and am familiar, Figured I'd try them based on a recommendation.

 

So far Happy!

 

 

 

 

Thank you for sharing this! I'm currently looking for transport to/from SFO. These are great prices! Hope you have a wonderful cruise, where are you going?

12 hours ago, cruzin4us said:

Make sure you get a picture going under the Golden Gate Bridge.   It's usually windy and cold and in what seems like a flash you are under it and then you aren't.   Have your camera ready, I took this with my iPhone.....seriously, an "aim and shoot" picture.

 

Wonderful photo! Thank you for the suggestion!