Paula_MacFan

It must be hit or miss because we were on the Island last September/October and our bed was amazing! We had the best sleep ever on a cruise. Meanwhile on our January Regal cruise the bed was awful with horrible sagging areas. To the OP -- I applaud your ingenuity and am sorry you had to resort to this solution.

Interesting that the article attached by the OP states ships will be capped at 5 per day in 2024, but according to the CLAA schedule there are many days this year with 6 ships. Granted, they are staggered in port times, but that's not the way the article reads. We will be in Juneau the first week of June so I've been keeping an eye on the schedule. We have our excursion booked for early in the morning to hopefully avoid some of the port congestion. https://claalaska.com/?page_id=1551

We've done a New England cruise from NYC and it was great! When I do a search with NY as a start/end port I get 24 results.

If you've booked directly with Princess you can also book your own transfers. Log into the Personalizer, click on the 'flights' tab, and you'll see transfer options at the bottom of the page. If you booked with a TA then they have to book the transfers for you. Or as the others have said, if you're looking for post-cruise transfers you can book them onboard the ship.

On all of our recent cruises the schedule wasn't updated until much closer to sailing. The app should reflect the daily schedule as you get closer. Even then we had schedule changes day by day during the cruise. On our last cruise in January they reprinted the paper daily schedule due to so many changes. Rest assured there will be many entertainment options 😀

I noticed that too! 🙂 Get the (younger) party started! LOL

Our Off the Beaten Path tour doesn't go to Copper River -- ours is Fairbanks, Denali, McKinley, and Kenai. Our longest travel day shows 7.5 hours and that includes a 2 hour stop in Anchorage for lunch on our own. I thought about doing the one that stopped at Copper River but decided it was a little 'too' off the beaten path for us 🙂 We've been to Alaska on a cruise before too, but really wanted to see more of the interior and go to Kenai Fjords National Park. We're very independent travelers but after pricing everything out, the cruisetour seemed reasonable when we factored in the convenience.

I don't live in Florida so I'm not invested in this news, but I just noticed the demographic they are apparently marketing to. Looks like a much younger crowd 🙂

My Travel Summary lists all the transportation details. If you've already booked log into the Princess site and download your Travel Summary PDF document. If you haven't booked yet I believe you can see sample itineraries on the Princess website.

You're welcome! We are also doing the Off the Beaten Path next month (last week of May/first week of June) and also plan to pay as we go. We aren't big breakfast eaters, and lunch is included in a few of our activities, so we decided to pay for evening meals as we go.

Here's the Princess PDF with all suite benefits. PrincessSuite_eFlyer.pdf

Here's the CC Alaska forum. There's no separate forum just for Princess Alaska. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/33-alaska/ Breakfast is included in the Connoisseur land cruisetour, not the other tours. You can purchase a meal plan separately if you want. Here's more information from the Princess website. https://www.princess.com/en-us/faq/cruisetours Here's the info on the separate meal plan if you don't book the Connoisseur option. 2024-alaska-meal-plan-flyer.pdf.coredownload.inline.pdf

We saw a brown bear on the shore when we were in Glacier Bay last time. That was so exciting for us 🙂 The ranger did a great job of pointing things out and we had a fabulous day. Can't wait to go back in a couple months!

Here's more info from the National Park website, specifically for cruise ship guests: https://www.nps.gov/glba/planyourvisit/cruise.htm https://www.nps.gov/media/video/view.htm?id=C3DE800C-1DD8-B71C-0770772C503276A4 I really like this cruise ship map, also available on the NP website: https://www.nps.gov/glba/planyourvisit/typical-cruise-ship-route-in-glacier-bay.htm We're on the Sapphire the week prior to the OP, and our Glacier Bay schedule is 9am to 7:30pm. Glad we don't have to get up at 6am! 🙂

Yes, my Travel Summary looks exactly like that when I log into the Princess site. I'd advise you to log into the Princess site and save your docs, regardless of how you booked (TA or direct).

Google Princess suite benefits: PrincessSuite_eFlyer.pdf

They rent them at Princess Cays, but I can't imagine paying more to rent them for an afternoon than they cost to buy 🙂

Our Alaska May/June cruise has shown sold out for months. Right after bidding opened up one cabin in each category opened up for a few days, but now shows sold out again. I chalked the brief window up to the final payment date thinning the herd, and bidding adjustments being made. But all the online anecdotal evidence I've seen points to very strong seasonal bookings, at least for Alaska.

I can't answer your question specifically about noodles but we've taken these to Princess Cays with no problems. They pack absolutely flat, only the ends inflate when you want to use it. We use them with our own snorkel gear. Didn't try to use them in the ship pools as we generally avoid them (have a pool at home so there's little appeal on a ship for us). We also saw other people with their own gear on the tender to PC, so they must not outright ban all swim accessories.

Princess Alaska dining: https://www.princess.com/learn/cruise-destinations/alaska-cruises/alaska-cruise-tips/alaska-food-drink/best-dishes-to-try-on-alaska-cruise.html

Princess suite benefits https://www.princess.com/en-us/ships-and-experience/ships/staterooms/suites Premier Package https://www.princess.com/en-us/cruise-deals-promotions/plus-premier-cruise-packages Princess Reserve Collection mini suite amenities https://www.princess.com/en-us/ships-and-experience/ships/staterooms/reserve-collection

Is this what you're referring to? I saw it yesterday but didn't share it here since it doesn't appear to have anything to do with Florida. I'm indifferent either way so it didn't really register as a big deal.

According to the CLAA 2024 schedule it looks to be a very busy Alaska season, with as many as 6 ships in port at Juneau this summer. https://claalaska.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/JNU-Juneau-2024.pdf Accordingly, this notice has been shared on the Alaska CC board, giving cruisers a heads up on planning. https://www.traveljuneau.com/plan-your-trip/

Princess suite benefits: https://www.princess.com/en-us/ships-and-experience/ships/staterooms/suites Princess Premier package: https://www.princess.com/en-us/cruise-deals-promotions/plus-premier-cruise-packages

Note the 'Royal Class Ships Route' as illustrated on the map.