Paula_MacFan

We book directly with Princess and have been able to book our own transfers online, including Southampton/LHR in October 2023, so it's been fairly recently. I notice you are in the UK so maybe your options are different, but in the US I can see transfers under the 'Flights' tab. When I click on the 'Flights' icon, it opens up the 'Flights and Transfers' tab, and at the bottom I am able to select my own transfers. I cut off the bottom of the screen as it contains our names which I don't want to post on this forum 🙂

Thanks! That is what I assumed but figured someone here would know for sure 🙂

When will clocks be turned forward an hour on this Princess southbound itinerary? Whittier Hubbard Glacier Glacier Bay NP Skagway Juneau Ketchikan At sea Vancouver I'm thinking between Ketchikan and Vancouver we'll move clocks forward an hour, but didn't know if it would be the night we leave Ketchikan or the day at sea. Thanks for anyone who has experienced this on a prior cruise. I did a search but didn't find the specific answer.

My Personalizer airfare options have a button to request early ticketing.

We booked a suite for an upcoming Panama Canal cruise under the $99 promotion and had to pay a total deposit of $1,600 for two passengers. I was a little surprised during the booking process but paid the deposit anyway as we really want to take this cruise and we didn't have any FCD left to apply.

We were on the Regal in January and there was a section in the 'buffet' for kids, with chicken fingers, French fries, and other kid-friendly foods. Maybe that's part of what they are referring to? 'Something for everyone' in an easy to access venue..... Edit to add -- here's the same notice we got on the Regal that I posted in my semi-live from thread. Same terminology as the one posted by the OP for Sapphire.

We were on the Regal in January and saw many doors completely covered top to bottom with decorations. I'm talking life-sized Elvis with records, streamers, etc. Also others covered with birthday and anniversary decorations. Some extended out from the door to include the area around the cabin number and passenger names. I almost took a couple pictures but didn't, thinking that might be an invasion of privacy. Anyway I'm guessing it's these types of displays that are driving the new policy, not a simple sign or magnet. The Dollar Store sells so much of this stuff cheap that some people may be going overboard, so to speak 🙂

I found the old (large!) thread where the new service charge was discussed. Post #236 refers to a TA site that specifies if you prepaid for specialty dining prior to December 1, 2023 then you wouldn't be charged the 18% fee. Reservations made and paid after December 1, 2023 would be assessed the 18% fee. We prepaid well before that date and when we sailed in January 2024 we weren't charged. I just wanted to report our experience.

Yes I'm aware. Maybe you misunderstood my post. The 18% was in effect when we cruised in January on the Regal but because we had prepaid prior to the announcement of the 18% charge, we were not charged the fee on our meal. As I said it was discussed here when the announcement was made.

We were on Regal in January and the 18% charge was not applied to our Crown Grill meal because we had prepaid prior to the announced change. There was a thread here on CC where it was discussed if you had prepaid then the 18% didn't apply. Someone can search it if they want but if memory serves the cutoff date was sometime in December 2023?

We only have 2 cruises booked -- one a cruise tour in May/June 2024 and another in 2026. They both went up in price since yesterday.

I just checked our 2 upcoming cruises and they both went up in price since yesterday.

They are right next to each other but people might want to know for parking reasons, especially if they have mobility issues. We parked across the street in a covered garage and had no problems walking from a different terminal than we left from originally. But we also do self disembark and can handle our luggage with no issues.

We were on Regal last month and sailed from terminal 25. While most of the time it's 28, you might double check just in case 🙂 I see at least one upcoming instance where she's back at 25 again before the season's done. https://www.portofgalveston.com/DocumentCenter/View/3308/2024-Monthly-UPDATED-192024

Maybe depends on the itinerary? I've had a 2026 Panama Canal cruise booked since mid-December.

Does the IGA grocery have a deli counter or pre-made sandwiches? I couldn't tell from their FB page or website. The last time we rented a Jeep in Skagway they provided a boxed lunch, but for our upcoming trip it doesn't appear this is an option. We'll be looking for picnic options as well.

If I'm reading the facts correctly the cruise leaves in about 5 weeks, and he doesn't have flights booked yet for an international trip? Maybe I'm misinterpreting 🙂

Is this what you're talking about? If so it looks to be a new program so you may not get many answers. https://www.princess.com/en-us/news/news-releases/2023/05/princess-cruises-debuts-first-ever-summer-colonial-heritage-voyages-featuring-yorktown-va-plus-new-departures-from-boston-as-part-of-expanded-2024-canada-new-england-season

I agree with all your statements. We use a mixture of Princess, independent, and DIY depending on port. In Europe we had several 12 - 14 hour port days with excursions miles from port. We chose Princess for those due to logistics and had wonderful trips. None of them were 'packed' as frequently stated, the buses were new and modern, and most were about half full, with excellent guides. To your first point, for our upcoming Alaska cruisetour most Princess excursions are within $19 of the vendor price, but also include transportation which I figure is worth the small difference. Couple that with being able to easily cancel and automatic refunds if we miss port seems like a no-brainer. We were on the Regal 3 weeks ago and missed Costa Maya due to wind. We received our refund check in the mail within 2 weeks of getting home.

How long is the show?

I took the comment to refer to National Express Coach since they referenced the ticket price of $15 and getting a cab to pier. Maybe I misinterpreted.

We stayed in a hotel within walking distance of Victoria Coach Station but decided to use International Friends instead of the Princess transfer. International Friends picked us up from the hotel lobby right on time, we did a nice stop at Stonehenge, and were delivered to the ship mid-afternoon. They offer several types of transfers and we highly recommend their services. Very easy to book online and they provided service exactly as described. The bus was very modern and nice as well. Side note we did use Victoria Coach Station as a meeting point for an independent London tour a few days prior to our cruise, and we found it clean and easy to navigate. I'd read some questionable reviews but we found it satisfactory.

I do the same every day to check for pricing. If you are logged in and see something better you can immediately book it. If you're only doing a quote you run the risk that the new flight will be gone by the time you log in. After you're logged in click 'manage your flights', and then 'change flights' and you can search the options. Nothing will change your existing flight reservations until you've selected new flights and confirmed it. It will ask you a couple times if you want to cancel the old flights and confirm the new one.

We've been on Regal 3x now and she's still ok, we were just surprised how much we enjoyed the Island more in comparison. Seems like people complain about the Island a lot here so our expectations were low, but concerns were unfounded. I'm glad that others are chiming in with positive comments too.

Interesting perspective although we both agree we'd sail again with the right itinerary. We were on Regal 3 weeks ago and found ourselves comparing her to Island which was our last cruise prior. We found the Regal more 'tired' than the Island in general condition, and our bed on Island was excellent compared to the sagging one on Regal. Our cabin in general on Island was in better condition than Regal, which had several things that needed attention. Other things we like better about the Island: Explorers with great live music vs the uncomfortable Princes Live venue with marginal entertainment choices. Full sized Wheelhouse with dedicated musician space vs the smaller one cobbled onto the Crown Grill on Regal with limited musician space up against the walkway. Also lines of people waiting to enter CG blocking the Wheelhouse bar. Lovely nightly music in Crooners on Island vs absolutely no events there all week on Regal. Overall the Regal seemed very crowded compared to Island. Our next 2 cruises are back on Grand class (Sapphire & Caribbean) so we are looking forward to those and are taking a break from Royal class.