Cruise Raider

I checked with a good friend of mine that is currently on the Discovery and no, they are not available at this time. However, he did tell me that the sommelier is the one to choose wines that go into the package and when to sell it. Sounds like when they have an abundance of certain wines, they sell the packages to lower the inventory of those particular bottles.

I love those cabins as well! Totally unrelated but seeing the photo of the Bay Bridge being lit up brought up this thought. The light show has been shut down due to lack of funding but there are efforts being made to restart the dancing lights on the bridge! So exciting!

We’ve cruised up in Alaska nearly every month of the year and early September is our favorite month to go although, I would easily go at any time in the spring, summer or fall months. The absolute best weather we had was in late July but early Sept has come in as a close second. It’s always beautiful up north. No matter what you pick, I don’t see you being disappointed.

Especially if it is a special occasion that you know you are going to want to celebrate with a special meal. We got skunked out of a nice dinner for our 25th anniversary on the Grand several years ago. Not only could we not get a specialty restaurant but not even a private table in the MDR. To top it off, the pizza ovens at Alfredo’s were broken .. guess where we had to eat? Yes, the buffet! I was so sad. We made up for it when we got home by cooking our own nice dinner. If only we’d planned ahead.

You’d be surprised at quickly these specialty restaurants book if you wait until you board. We’ve gone to the desk on the first day a they didn’t have an opening at any specialty dining the entire cruise. They had to refund us for our included dinners that we missed. I think they are now setting some tables aside for those that booked the premier package to book while they are onboard. But, those restaurants do book up quickly!

No, there aren’t any Princess transfers to Bellingham .. I think there is only the QuickCoach transfers. And too bad that there are not any nonstop flights to your home airport, as that is an important factor,

We have been in that same room on the Ruby and heard the same noise, as a matter of fact, but think your request for your money back is rather quite unreasonable. Just for the sake of sleep, we asked to be moved to another cabin, inside was ok with us and they did so, we were very happy after that in a nice quiet room. It happens! But, even if we were not relocated, ships move, moving ships make noise, We didn’t ask for any compensation as we realize the above comments and we were the ones that chose that cabin. I really think a full refund is an unreasonble request. I would just move on! If you don’t like Princess, that’s ok! If you don’t like cruising, that’s ok, too!

For Bellingham, I would say 2:00 PM to be on the very safe side and for SeaTac, I would probably say 6:00 PM .. only because that is a very busy airport. On our last cruise do Vancouver with a flight out of Bellingham, we left Canada Place at 9:30 AM on the bus and made it to Bellingham around 11:30 AM. There was no real traffic and just a slight back up at the border. So a flight around 2 PM wasn’t a stretch by any means. Now, with that being said, the passengers that are going all the way down to SeaTac are always quite perturbed that they have to stop in Bellingham but it’s on the schedule so if some needs to be dropped off there, they will do so. I don’t really think it is that far out of the way but it probably adds 15 minutes onto the ride for those going further. The busses are comfortable and equipped with clean bathrooms. The drivers are courteous, as well. It’s door to door service and we’ve used them several times with absolutely no complaints. For full disclosure, my sister lives in Bellingham so I visit with her to go to lunch and a nice visit and book a 6 PM flight to fly home, but, even if I wasn’t to stop there for a visit, I far prefer it over SeaTac just because it is so easy and there is absolutely no stress. Full disclosure, you do have to carry whatever luggage you have onto the plane via the tarmac. I pack light so that doesn’t really bother me.

Eagles in the wild are absolutely everywhere up in Alaska, as others have said. But, if you stop in Sitka, they have a Birds of Prey Sanctuary where you will see all sorts of birds, as well as Eagles, up close. Not all are caged but they wouldn’t be able to survive in the wild .. you can learn so much about them there and even look into their most beautiful eyes. Up the road a bit further is the Fortress of the Bear .. again, it is a sanctuary for bears that would otherwise be euthanized and you are the visitors up on platforms to their home so again, they are not in cages. Such gorgeous sites!

You are correct. The crew is now paid a salary and what we, as passengers, pay out in ‘crew appreciation’ is actually distributed fleet wide, not even just ship wide. Anything extra that is given to them in person is theirs to keep.

I agree, flights from Seattle are oftentimes much more reasonable than out of Vancouver and the bus takes you door to door, which is so convenient. It is about a 4-4.5 hour drive and you will have that stop at the border, which takes about 45 minutes but could be longer if there is a big back up there. Just of note, we have taken the bus down to the Bellingham airport from Canada Place. It’s not a Princess transfer but if they have flights available to your destination, that’s possibly is another option. That bus ride is about 2.0 - 2.5 hours including the stop at the border. QuickCoach dot com is the shuttle service and is quite reasonable and the bus ride is more manageable. Plus, the Bellingham airport is so quaint with no long lines as you oftentimes find in Seattle.

No, we actually had a midship inside cabin on the Infinity. It was one of my favorite rooms ever because of that reading lounge area.

One time we cruised on Celebrity and they had a little reading nook by the elevator vestibules with two really comfy chairs set into the alcove. Our cabin was just opposite of that space and we had four people in our party. I asked one morning if it was possible for grab two extra chairs from the deck above. I’m not sure guest services knew what we ere talking about but she more or less gave us permission. So, early the next morning, it was like 6 AM, we pushed those two extra chairs in the elevator and down one deck. Bingo! We also brought out little coffee table out … it was our spot the entire cruise. We gathered there for coffee, cocktails, music, appetizers, etc. What a set up! and yes, we returned the chairs on the last evening of the cruise! Soooo much fun!

Usually, it is done before final payment but there is no guarantee.

All four of my April cruises (one technically starts in March) are sold out. Of these 4, I would accept a move over on two of them. 🤞 I’m actually hoping for those emails to hit my inbox! Both of the ones I would give up are out of my home port, so no airfare changes needed.

I have actually seen it happen on Celebrity in the past but never heard of it happening on Princess. I don’t follow every other cruise line but know that Princess sends out Move Over Offers that are quite attractive and usually have more takers than needed. It would have to be a bucket list cruise for me to turn one of those offers down.

We have cruised extensively since the restart and all of those cruises using the medallion app. Sure, we’ve seen some minor glitches but overall, we feel like it works very well. We went on a celebrity cruise and I think the medallion technology is what we missed the most.

I so understand that! At least we have prop 13 and no state taxes on social security. If those go away, so do we. 😞

But, but .. the weather! Can’t beat that, especially the last few days! And isn’t it so nice to live this close to a cruise ship embarkation port. Those are both important factors in why we choose to pay the big bucks to live here.

We usually try to stick with a travel budget so book an obstructed OV room on deck 8. We then go to deck 7 and pop in an out the entire morning .. can go from side to side depending on where the scenery is the best at the time. If we get a balcony, we tend to hang out there. It’s kind of an all morning site seeing adventure so, we get something hot or drink. Be aware, there will be no paper coffee cups, paper napkins or anything disposable that day so an insulated mug is a great idea. We tend to like the port side and the Caribe deck balconies are great for a family. But either way, you will see what Peter you don’t see on the way up and the captain will make a full turn quite slowly when you get to Majorie Glacier. You will also see the Grand Pacific Glacier in the way up and back but closer on the way back out of the fjord. The whole day is amazing! I would probably plan the early morning hours on the balcony and deck 7 after you’ve left the Majorie Glacier. For photographs of the Grand Pacific Glacier, which is spectacular, I would try to be on deck 7 unless you have a starboard side balcony. You can pop in an out on deck 7 in between.

Single days are available but it is pricey. But, you’ll still save overall if you’re only going to use it for a few days.

But the Lobster on the sea and shore is 4 oz instead of 12 oz. And I really hope this isn’t fleet wide .. that lobster appetizer is gone as is the concerto seafood pasta. We don’t eat tons of food but would like to see those things that made us book at The Catch back on the menu.

Yes, but be sure to go to guest services as soon as you buy the upgrade. You should get it back as refundable OBC, if they are still processing it the same way.

While chances are very low, there are most likely cases of last minute cancellations on many cruises that are sold out. One cancellation on a better cabin category can set off a domino effect for upgrades.

I would love to know as well.