PEB

You will get a notice in your room a couple days in advance of the change over in cruises. You will get a card that says in Transit so you can leave the ship and go check out Vancouver if you wish and not have to go through the full boarding process. If you do not want to go too the town it will tell you to meet in a specific area and either someone will come check your documents and you can go about your day or they will have you all leave the ship have your documents checked than you will be allowed on the ship. It all depends on customs officers and not the ship. I have done many B2B's on Princess including in Vancouver as well as other ports and other lines.

If you only want a 7 day cruise I would do a one way cruise. Even though the flight might cost you more you will see more of Alaska. If you have enough time I would do either a B2B north then south one way or do one of the longer 10 or 11 day. If you decide to do a land and cruise I would do the land first than the cruise south.

I have cruised Alaska 22 times so far and will be doing so again this year. I have done most every route I could find. I really prefer the longer routes. B2B's are nice because you do not have to rush in every port to see things you can relax more knowing you will be back on the return run.

You can get small bills at guest services.

Do you need a balcony when cruising Alaska? No it is not needed because there are plenty of places on the ship to see Alaska, however it is nice to have. 

Yes it is new. There was a date announced that you had to order before a certain date to still get it free. I don't remember the date.

That depends on what you are used to. I am from Minnesota so yes shorts cruising Alaska in May. For the people from warmer states no they will not be in shorts. Temps can be anywhere from 50's to 70 anywhere on the cruise and all in the same day. Near glaciers it will be 5 to 10 degrees cooler. Most ports are in rain forest areas so even though May is a dry month count on rain.

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15 hours ago, Tedferg said:

In this case the Gty, cabins on deck 15 were less expensive. I think it is a quirk of the system. The cabin price was set and then Gty. only and the fare was not changed.

Perhaps because they are near heavy public traffic areas and may be subject to more noise the price is cheaper.

4 hours ago, Tedferg said:

I agree with you, in this case it is the only cruise out of SFO, so no flight for us, and would be a nice winter break. Short enough so that cabin location is not as important. I was puzzled as to why two different rates would be shown for different decks.

They consider the higher decks as being a better view from the ship even though those decks will feel the ship movement more than the lower decks. The higher decks are also closer to a lot of the pools and popular public areas.

What a guarantee cabin means is you can get any cabin in the same category or better and it can be anywhere on the ship. The biggest downside to a guarantee cabin is that it can be in a bad location even if it is a higher category cabin. Looking at what is available now does not mean anything because someone may book those cabins or if they upgrade others different rooms could become available. If you want a specific room you are better off booking that room. JMHO. Yes I have booked guaranteed rooms in the past but no longer do so.

I have seen some with a sport jacket and tie on formal nights. I have seen some with just a shirt and tie and no jacket.

If we get a package in a deal when we purchase a cruise fine but we will not be buying any of the packages because we just would not get the use out of them.

My favorite Princess cruise was a repositioning cruise from Ft. Lauderdale through the Panama Canal, up the West Coast and then to Alaska. It was on the Coral Princess. 

I don't do land based trips through the cruise lines. 

I have done 17 cruises on Princess

I do have a B2B back to Alaska on the Crown Princess for 21 days booked in 2023

I do book a lot of repositioning cruises which I prefer because I get to see more places and seeing I live nowhere near a cruise port I save on transportation to and from a cruise.

Right now we have a B2B on the Crown Princess in May for 21 days.

I did 60 days on the Ruby Princess in 2022. It was a B2B2B2B doing Hawaii, a full transit of Panama Canal, a return full transit of the Panama Canal and then again to Hawaii.

I have never tipped in advance of my cruise. I do keep the automatic tip but I always treat the crew with respect and have never had trouble with getting good service. If I feel the service was great or better than I expected I do give an extra tip at the end of the cruise to those that I felt deserved it. I have made many friends with crew members and still stay in contact with some of them. The crew will take care of you as long as you treat them right. 

By the way I worked on cruise ships for a couple years and believe me the crew know who treat them right and those that do not treat them right. The crew will know in a very short time who to cater to or who to avoid as much as possible.

I actually prefer older ships. The newer ones are nice but the older the better for me. I want to feel like I am on a  ship not a floating hotel.

3 minutes ago, MsTabbyKats said:

When I sail, I like to think of the ship as "the destination"......different food, entertainment, shops, casino etc.

 

We live in NYC and only sail out of NYC....so I'd like to give Princess a try.

 

We've done NCL (mainly), some weCarnival and some MSC.  My favorite is MSC.  I love "the international flavor", the entertainment and the decor (nothing beats staircases made out of Swarovski crystal!)

 

We are very casual people.... eat in the buffet "almost always".  Even when on NCL, I don't use the platinum benefit for specialty restaurants because the buffet has more options and the food is great.  On MSC...I live on the pizza.  On Carnival, well I can always find something

 

I wake up, put on leggings and a t-shirt....and that's my outfit for the day.  I don't do "dress-up". (For transparency....I wear a lot of jewelry....so a black t-shirt can go from the gym and later in the day look elegant when the perfect pendant is added, if necessary).

 

So, my question is:  How is the buffet (3 meals a day available?) as far as quality and choices?  Does one need to dress up on formal nights or be confind to the cabin if not appropriately attired?  Are "casual type" restuarants "included" with the fare?

 

Also...entertainment is a big deal.  Are there "B'way type" productions? Is there music in venues around the ships? No interest in comedy or comedy clubs.

 

TIA

Is Princess for you? I have cruised all the lines you have been on except MSC and Princess would be closer to MSC than NCL or Carnival. Princess does have some elegant decor not extremely elegant. Does it have a buffet so you can eat all your meals there? Yes it does serve breakfast, lunch and dinner meals with quite a wide variety of food. I do eat in the main dining rooms mostly for dinner but I have had dinner in the buffet and been very pleased with the choices. The truth is I have had some better meals in the buffet compared to the main dining room but that is just how I feel. I always eat breakfast and lunch in the buffet.

Do you have to dress up for formal night or hide in your room? Many will dress up however more and more you see people not dressed up. The only place they ask you to be dressed up on formal night is in the main dining room so if you are going to the buffet no problem. You do not have to dress up for the bars, casino or shows.

You mention you go to the gym. I also go to the gym everyday and find the gym has a wide variety of equipment to use. They do not have everything I like to use but more than enough for a good workout. 

Will Princess be good for you? I say give it a try and I think you will find many things on Princess that you will enjoy.

We have just booked a B2B on the Crown Princess for May of 2023. We have not been on the Crown but did 60 days on the Ruby which to me looks a lot like the Crown. I have read quite a few things about engine problems with the Crown this Alaska season and I believe they should be fixed by next year. We will be in room B427 so any information on this room or this ship in general would be greatly appreciated. One place of interest to me is any information on what kind of shape the gym and its equipment is in. I do go to the gym everyday.

I have done many B2B's in fact I am booked on one on the Ruby for a total of 60 days coming up soon. As far as getting off the ship between the different cruises that is up to the ports on whether you have to get off the ship or not. It is not up to the cruise line on ours we will have to get off the ship each time but our port will be San Francisco. You most likely will do a Covid test the day before each change of cruise is my understanding for now and this will be done by Princess at no extra charge and they turn the results over at the port.

The menu will most likely stay the same unless they are having problems with supply problems. The menu has never changed on any of our B2B's with the exception of a change from say the Caribbean to an Alaskan cruise or seasonal change.

Normally 7 night cruises have 2 formal nights and if you are on 3 different 7 night changes that will mean 2 each 7 night cruise.

As far as muster drills in the past if you stayed in the same room for less than 30 days you only had to do one drill at the start of your cruise however if you changed rooms you had to do one for the change of rooms. Seeing I have not done a cruise since they started cruising with the covid changes I am not sure if that is still the same however I understand you just watch the video in your room or on the app and then just check in at your muster station.

I have never had Carnival stock so I am no help at all there. 

I have cruised the Regal but never used the Sanctuary and never watched the movies so no help there either. We had done B2B2B when on the Regal but they didn't show any movies I was interested in.

I have cruised Alaska 22 times and basically have done most routes, once in awhile they do change ports or glaciers. Seeing it will be your first trip to Alaska it will all be worth seeing. Glacier Bay and Marjorie Glacier is one of the best to see, however over the years it has changed and is not as impressive as it once was, it is still beautiful it is also very limited to ships to get permits to see it. 

The Dawes Glacier is still very impressive and worth going to especially for a first trip. The great thing about cruising Alaska is that it is always changing due to the glaciers. It never looks the same twice. You will see wildlife as long as you keep your eyes open. You will see spectacular views each view will change due to snow melt or rain depending on when you go. You will go to some rain forest areas regardless of when you go. The weather can vary in temperature many times a day each day. San Francisco is not my favorite place to cruise Alaska out of due to the fact you do not get as far north as I prefer but it is still a worth while cruise. 

What you will find cruising Alaska for the first time is that you will probably want to go back for more. Not everyone does but most do want to go back.

I have cruised many times on many lines and even worked as crew on some ships. I stay in touch with quite a few people I met as passengers and quite a few I met that were crew. I have not been fortunate to cruise with any of them again but would love to.  I believe I would have run into a few of the same crew members if I always stayed with the same cruise line but I do cruise on different lines to see what they are like or because they may have a route I prefer at the time. There are some passengers I have cruised with that we have met up with on land if we are in the same area as them.

Royal Caribbean has you make reservations for shows due to the size of their ships. Never heard of Princess doing this.

I asked this question with Princess awhile back because I am booked on B2B2B. Princess told me I can get a different medallion for each cruise if I wish otherwise I can just go to the guest services desk and have them reprogram the medallion and keep the same one. It would be my choice.

I had no interest in taking a cruise but my wife and some friends had other ideas. They wanted to go on a total eclipse cruise and they needed help carrying all their telescopes and cameras so I went reluctantly. It was in Hawaii on the SS Independence which already had a lot of years on her, however the second I saw the ship I fell in love with her and I was hooked. We did cruise on her again before she stopped but we have been on many different ships on many cruise lines since then and I even worked on cruise ships for a couple years.