goodie2shoes

For many people, and I am one of them, Alaska isn't about the cities visited. It is about the scenery and wildlife. When you sail from Seattle and spend a day out of sight of land, you are losing a day of wonderful sights and exciting wildlife sightings. There are times when I cruise for the ship, but Alaska is not one of them.

The answer is yes. If you are prone to sea sickness you will definitely feel the motion more if the seas are choppy.

 

The buffet does close down early on the small ships. I do remember some cold items left out like salad items, jello, and there might have been some cookies. Everything else is put away.

I have to say that I disagree with this statement. My husband is also prone to seasickness, but he had no problems on either the Ocean or Pacific - both times in Alaska, and one time in such a storm that we were unable to cross the gulf of Alaska to get to Kodiak (we were very disappointed to miss that port). He has been seasick on the Island and Golden before he finally found what worked best for him to avoid it. Don't judge the ship by it's size when considering whether or not you will get seasick. Take whatever meds work for you, starting before you board and continuing even when you feel fine, and you will have the time of your life.

This came off the Princess website.

 

Suites include a separate seating area with a sofa or sofabed

That is true. I did not say there was no sofa. I said it was no sofabed.

Princess has a cruise coming up that goes to Loreto, so I'm pretty sure he is posting to the right place. I can't answer his question because I did not do that excursion when we were there, but I do know it exists.

Thank you. You sound like another of the "good ones." Keep up the good work for your clients, and the best of success to you in the future. If I didn't have a "gem" myself I would be asking you for your email.

We almost always sail in suites, and have never been refused the Chef's Table. Like others, I call the DINE line and put our name in first thing when we board. Later on we are contacted with a time to meet and get all the info on it.

Another benefit of switching to a TA is that a good TA will be your advocate for solving any problems that arise with Princess.

This is my number 1 reason for transferring a booking to my TA. There are times when I discover a cabin that I want available on a cruise I was considering, but my TA is not available for some reason. I grab the cabin and then transfer the booking to him right away. If a problem comes up, and they do, he has spent hours on the phone with Princess getting it straightened out. When I thank him, or say I am sorry for all the inconvenience he tells me that is his job, and he appreciates me trusting him to do it right.

A good TA is worth his or her weight in gold!

I hope we can meet sometime. I drive the white Rav 4 that has "WOULD RATHER BE ON A CRUISE" on my back window, If you see me honk and we can meet. We are going to Alaska in May out of San Francisco, love that cruise.

We did that one in May 2012. It was our big splurge. We got the Grand Suite. It rained every day, and we didn't care. We never left the ship. In Juneau I think it was, we took pictures from our cabin of a pair of bald eagles that were sitting on posts nearby. They hung around for nearly an hour. Now tell me, why would anyone want to pay for a tour in the rain to see them when you can do it from the comfort of a sofa and easy chair in your own cabin, warm and dry, with room service to bring you whatever you wanted from the dining room menus during lunch and dinner time? Having been in all the ports a number of times, we didn't miss slopping through the rain at all.

We drive a silver Odyssey. Nothing on the windows to identify us, but it's a newer one (2013). It's seen at the PO several times a week, and of course markets when needed. It would be great to meet. I'll keep watch for you, and maybe we can find each other. It's not that large a town.

LOL love playing credit card games. I see you are going on the same cruise we are this Saturday, will see you at the meet and greet.... Love it here in Tehachapi, nice clean air. See we have rain and a chance of snow coming. Yeah... we sure need it.

Oops! No, we are not going on that cruise on Saturday after all. I guess I forgot to tell anyone we had cancelled. We opted for a similar itinerary on a smaller ship and had a fantastic time. I hope your cruise is as good as ours. Our next cruise is Alaska out of Vancouver on June 17. But now that we know each other exists, we might end up meeting some day anyway.

I think this is a rather funny coincidence, mrsihopes. We play that same game with the credit card, and you and I both live in Tehachapi. Wonder if it's something in the water?? Anyway, it's nice to know there is someone else up here in the clear air that cruises Princess as well.

Nancy

I know that the suites are different. On the Ocean there are only two in the back that will accomodate 3-4 people (both on deck 7) while on the Pacific I believe they all do.

I have been in a suite (7119) on both the Pacific and the Ocean before the name change. Neither suite would accommodate 3 or 4 people. There is no sofa bed in either, and no additional bed in the ceiling or wall. In addition, the only bed must be a queen configuration. It cannot be changed to twins.

On the Pacific, the lounge on Deck 10 forward is the Pacific Lounge. On the Ocean Princess it is the Tahitian Lounge. :)

That makes perfect sense when you consider that the Pacific Princess has the Pacific Lounge, and the Ocean Princess (formerly Tahitian Princess) has the Tahitian Lounge. I think they were wise to not change the name to the Ocean Lounge. Doesn't sound as romantic as the Tahitian Lounge.

[Princess does still have a limited number of bridge tours.

We received an invitation to take one.

LuLu

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I have heard that recently they only allow bridge tours when the ship is tied up in port. No more touring while the ship is sailing. Is/was your tour in port or when at sea?

We have had some wonderful tours at sea, and though it is interesting in port, nothing beats actually being under way.

We tendered in Juneau in 2008 on the Pacific Princess.

We are going to be on her again in June, and though the schedule shows we do not tender, we are the fourth ship to arrive, and not until 2:00 p.m., so I am keeping an open mind. Hopefully the Norwegian Sun will get out on time and we can slip into their space, as they are scheduled to leave at 1:15 p.m.

It may be just in my mind, but since we have been on the Starboard side on 5 cruises that included Glacier Bay, it seems that the Port side got more viewing time than the Starboard side. I know they always got the first look, and it seemed like they spent longer time than we got. But I know they would be fair, so it's obviously just that I was so anxious to see the glacier that it seemed to take so long for us to get our chance.

But guess what? I'm on the Starboard side again this June. Maybe I'll time it and see if it is true or just my imagination. Probably not - I won't even think of it when approaching such a wonderful sight.

I am not going to offer any guarantees, but from my experience in Los Angeles (and we sail from there often) you will not have to assemble anywhere that morning. When you get off the ship and into the building, you will be separated into a separate line where you will have customs and immigration people for non-US citizens to check you out, while the US citizens use another line and are checked similarly. Then it's off to pick up your luggage and head for your next destination.

We have done this with our adult daughter. Just beware, sometimes the electronics act strangely and you end up locked out of your own room, while the other party can get in with the room key only card. It took several trips to the desk before everyone could access each other's cabin.

I hope you are referring to hot tea, as the iced tea is as bad as the free coffee. Made from a syrup and has a very strange taste that I find unappealing. But there is a selection of various tea bags available, so you should be able to find one you like.

We are just back from a cruise to these ports. La Paz is definitely NOT walking distance. It was about a 20-30 minute bus ride to the town. We were on a different cruise line, but the information for it says that the complimentary shuttle service was provided by the port. I hope that is true for you on Princess, but if not you will probably have to take a taxi.

We have been on the Ocean Princess and the Amsterdam - both for Alaska Cruises. There is no question in my mind about which is best! It's the Ocean Princess all the way!!!

We also just came back from a 12 day cruise on the Azamara Quest, which is another of the "R" ships, exactly like the OP. We were in 8059, which is right below the door to the buffet. We had some noise now and then, but it was not a problem, and we hardly noticed it. It did not interfere with our sleep at any time.

Thanks! I'll check them out. We might not need it by then, but it's better to be prepared early than in a panic at the last minute.

We are sailing our of Vancouver (Canada Place) in June, and it appears we will need to rent a wheelchair or mobility scooter on this trip. I seem to remember seeing a place set up near where we checked in doing this type of business, delivering the item to the cruiser at that point.

Can anyone tell me if there is a business like this still there, and if so, what their name is?

Thanks so much!

Princess Cruise Ships MAITRES D'HOTEL date last reported on ship

Caribbean Princess

Coral Princess

Crown Princess

Dawn Princess

Diamond Princess

Emerald Princess - Generoso Mazzone (1/24/14)

Golden Princess

Grand Princess

Island Princess

Ocean Princess

Pacific Princess - Beppe Castino (February 25, 2014)

Regal Princess

Royal Princess - Fabio Marcotti (February 23, 2014)

Ruby Princess Nicola Furlan (Feb 1/14)

Sapphire Princess - Silvio Zampieri (Jan 9, 2014)

Sea Princess

Star Princess. Federico Arcos Cantos

Sun Princess

We planned to exactly that the last time we sailed out of SFO, so we took our luggage to the boarding area, and a nice Princess rep helped us unload it and give it to a porter. Then, as we were about to leave he said we could go ahead and check in. We parked our car and came right back, and were allowed in the building immediately. I don't know why - maybe because we were nice and smiling or something, but I certainly feel we were extremely lucky. We were among the first to board the ship!

If they say you have to come back later, you are very close to Pier 39 with lots of restaurants.

Good luck!

We got off the Sapphire Princess last Monday, and we had a table for 2 in Traditional Dining. What we got was in the Vivaldi Dining Room, which is reserved for Traditional Early Dining, then becomes anytime later in the evening.

Our table was one of three along a wall in kind of an alcove, with one at the window, one in the center, and one at the other wall. All were two tops.

I found it to be a little stuffy, but not uncomfortable. The service was good.