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3 hours ago, DaveinCharlotte said:

ACL does provide these details, but only after you've booked, and even then not until 60 days before the cruise starts.

This is a problem to me. I would like to be able to see the excursions and prices so I can make an informed decision at 60 days. I am also traveling with 3 other people and some of the things we would like to do together. But not knowing what is available or what the price is until the day you need to book it is not a great idea. I understand some of the excursions sell out quite quickly as they are very limited in capacity.

I wish they would consider changing their policy.

I posted this information a few weeks ago. We are booked for May 2025, Portland to Clarkston.

"Just received my pre cruise information for our Columbia/Snake River cruise in May 2025. This is the information provided.

Shuttles are only at the end of the cruise.

The shuttle to the Lewiston airport is free. It leaves approxiamately 8:30 am.

The shuttle to the Spokane airport is $120. It is scheduled to arrive at the airport around 9:00 am, which would mean it leaves the port around 7:00 am.'

If the excursion is included, it will say that. If not, there is a price. Other than searching these boards the only option for finding out the price is to book and wait. From my understanding, 60 days out they provide an excursion and price list.

Sitka has a small ship port a few miles outside of town. That could be the one you will use. 

Just received my pre cruise information for our Columbia/Snake River cruise in May 2025. This is the information provided.

Shuttles are only at the end of the cruise.

The shuttle to the Lewiston airport is free. It leaves approxiamately 8:30 am.

The shuttle to the Spokane airport is $120. It is scheduled to arrive at the airport around 9:00 am, which would mean it leaves the port around 7:00 am.

This is the kind of information people are looking for before they book.

I live just north of San Francisco. I am considering this cruise and looking mostly at westbound. My thought is that I want the shorter easier flight home after my vacation. (Portland is an easier jump than 

Spokane)

1 hour ago, mj_holiday said:

I am thinking about booking a Columbia/Snake River cruise.  Looking at American Cruise Lines and would like info like pictures of the cabins especially info/pictures of bathroom.  The literature I find doesn't say if the bathrooms have a tub/shower or just a shower.  Thanks for any info.

Different ships may be different. Which ship/s are you looking at?

Years ago we were warned to get at least 100 feet away from the ship while in port before using the cell phone. That way you would connect to a land cell tower rather than the ship. Sounds like this may not be true anymore (maybe).

1 hour ago, LDVinNC said:

This sounds good but it does not specifically mention that beverages are included.  It only says that top shelf beverages are extra - so are "bottom shelf" drinks included?

Yes they are. We sailed on the American Queen and the Ocean Victory and drinks are included on both.

Thanks for taking the time to post this review. I have copied and saved it to use in the future. I plan on taking this cruise possibly in 2024.

15 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

Is this the normal price for a bag of laundry onboard or is this a pre-cruise discount price? 

 

I am only 'select' so no free bag for me. 

Where exactly did you find this offer? I'm not finding anything like that and would love to buy it.

I can see dining, excursions, flights but nothing like laundry. Please tell me where to find it.

13 hours ago, ericosmith said:

Airport transfers are free on the revised itineraries.

Good to hear as they soaked us for $49 each for a 20 minute ride to the airport at a port where there were no taxis or ride shares.

You might get better information in the HAL forum. You posted in Celebrity forum.

Friends have been waiting over 3 months for a full refund for a cruise not taken. Fully insured through Arch Insurance purchased through AQV. They recently received an email offering to pay them through an existing or new Chase Bank account. There was even a "button" on the email to open a new Chase account if they didn't have one. If you scrolled almost to the bottom of the email it says that if you don't accept this then (in another 30 days or so) they will send you a check (by snail mail).

I told her it sounds a little fishy to me. Luckily she is more than willing to wait another month to get her money back. In the mean time she is going to attempt to call them to get the check issued earlier.

Has anyone else had this happen? Just wondering if it is legit.

8 minutes ago, travellingnana said:

The bathroom light did not have to be on on the Royal for the night light to work. However, every time you approach the bathroom the darn overhead light by the closet comes on and you’re blinded by that!

We now take painters tape or something similar to cover the sensor. The sensor for that light is facing the bathroom. Just cover it and it won't come on during the night.

We also put the extra bed pillows against the bottom of the nightstands so we are not blinded by that light coming on. 

I know these lights are for safety but they wake me up too much and make it harder to go back to sleep.

3 hours ago, dmcfad2 said:

Thank you. I will re-submit today.

Make sure you are looking for the credit in the right place. Sign on to Princess website. Go to the cruise you are inquiring about. Look on the far right for "payments". Click on this then scroll down to the bottom of the page. Shareholder credits appear here along with military credit.

Since the prepaid excursions were from OBC then it should have returned to OBC. Unfortunately that was something that should have been checked before you got off the ship. If you were credited the wrong amount for the cancellation it would have to be corrected by the Shore Excursion desk. Not really sure if anyone can do anything now.

Folio to folio is just moving one spouse's balance to the other's folio so they are both on one account. "Referred to corporate finance" is the amount you will get in a check. Takes about 8 weeks. Comes in a plain white envelope. Does NOT say Princess anywhere on the envelope. Be careful you don't throw it away with the junk mail.

Should not be a problem. I have seen some pretty interesting outfits on the first day. Be comfortable and enjoy!

17 hours ago, Gumpy1 said:

We are booked for the June 16-27 2023 cruise  Vancouver to Sitka.

I’m looking into flights  now. Can anyone tell me what time you actually disembark in Sitka?

There is an Alaska Air flight at 10:45  Sitka to Seattle and than onto SF. This morning flight is the most convenient.

I was told to book flights after 1:00.The next flight is 7:28 pm with double connections. UGH or stay over night in Sitka and take the 7:00am .

Should I just book the 10:45am flight and hope there will be no delays ?

thanks

Ronni

 

Disembarked 10 days ago in Sitka. There were no early off options.  The earliest options, around 8:30, were tours of Sitka that then dropped you at the airport. Or some dropped at a few local hotels. We took the bus ($49 each) from the port to the (very small) airport. It was scheduled to leave at 9:30 and arrive by 10:00. We were at the airport at 9:25 or so. There are no taxis waiting as in other ports. 

You actually should be fine. Our flight was at 11:56 to Seattle. TSA (very small crew) didn't even open until about 30 minutes before our flight. There were no other flights coming or going before ours. 

The bus transfer is listed in the excursions. I would go ahead and book it. You can always cancel it once on board if you have found another option.

Just remember that this port is way outside of town. I called numerous taxi companies before our trip willing to prepay if they would guarantee they would arrive. Nope! Said there aren't enough of them and they do better in town.

On 8/13/2022 at 5:26 AM, Babcia7 said:

Also, glad you confirmed what Don told us about the laundry, since we will be traveling for 6 days before the cruise!

A question:  Did people change out of their day clothes for evening/dinner? I'm not packing anything fancy, but I thought I'd want to change out of jeans for dinner.

Was the top deck restaurant/bar ever opened during your cruise?

1) Free large-ish bag of laundry done midway thru cruise. They hang your shirts and pants but some of my things were quite wrinkled.

2) Clothes for dinner were all over the place. Shorts and t-shirts with running shoes all the way to some women with very nice almost cocktail outfits. They tell you the first day that you do not need to change. It's not that type of cruise.

3) There is a buffet on deck 8 (top) that is open for breakfast and lunch only. We ate there twice but it was usually too noisy for us. Lots of hard surfaces so the conversations and moving chairs create quite a racket.

There is also a bar on deck 8 forward with wonderful views. Bar opened some time in the afternoon and stayed open in the evening. There were servers who would come around even when the bar wasn't open and take your drink order. I spent lots of down time up there just taking in Alaska in all its glory.

1 hour ago, craftygrandma said:

What hotel was used in Sitka?

 

We chose to fly home when we got off the ship. If you look at the excursions you will see their preferred hotels as they are listed.

In Vancouver the pre cruise hotel was Hyatt Regency Vancouver. Very nice and only a few blocks from Canada Place. Our only complaint was that it is in the financial district so most restaurants were closed. The only ones open were very expensive.

For those who care - no need to change for dinner.  All meals are come as you are (except swimsuits)

Here was our schedule for the first full day.

So far very calm seas and decent weather.  Saw some whales and Dahl dolphins.

I have found that OBC takes at least 8 weeks in the U.S. It will come by check in a white envelope not from Princess. It looks like junk mail so be sure to be on the look out for it.

Leaving home on Friday to join the Ocean Victory group at the Hyatt Regency Vancouver. As of this morning I hadn't heard anything - no travel docs, no luggage tags. Called AQV this morning and they said the emails with the information are going out "starting today". I will check with my travel agent tomorrow if I don't hear from her before then.

Just an FYI for those boarding on Saturday August 20 as I am.

For those who haven't sailed yet (like me) there are some great videos on YouTube. The one I really enjoyed and found very informative is this one. Enjoy!