MileHighAko

I really enjoyed our last September Alaskan cruise, enough that we're going again this September. While the big ships end in September, some smaller ships continue through October and beyond (would love to do one of those sometime). Last time we sailed Alaska in September we were lucky to be able to see the northern lights from our balcony on the aft of the ship in the middle of the night. It was awesome. Another pro and con: Pro: September the kids are back in school so the cruises are not as crowded and on Princess it can be a very relaxing experience. Con: Some excursion companies are starting to shut down for the season so options might be limited.

Our EZAir flights for September were booked as soon as they opened up (about 10 months ago). We have had EIGHT flight changes since then. Most of them I think are due to airline schedule changes. One flight segment was changed back and forth to create a 30 min connection which is unacceptable to us, but acceptable to the airlines. Fortunately for us our flights were finally ticketed last night (we're 56 days out). Funny thing is that we have two flights for the same segment showing on Delta's website - one the unacceptable connection, but our Princess itinerary only shows the acceptable one. I don't think there are humans rebooking flights to save $. I do think there are computer programs that try to improve cost. Our flights if booked now would cost twice what we paid for them.

Our flights were ticketed overnight last night, we're 56 days out. I've had EIGHT flight changes since booking. I assume all of them were driven by the airlines and not Princess/EZAir, and it's been mostly small changes, although one flight segment on our return (three segment return from Vancouver) has changed times drastically a few times and now Delta is showing we have two conflicting flights booked on the return, but I'm not concerned (yet). Our traveling companions who booked same day as us are still not ticketed yet.

Yeah you earned it! You went on way more vacations than those other people. If only they would have vacationed more, they could hang out with you, but they didn't! :p Seriously speaking (that was sarcasm above by the way), I'd personally just hang with them. Life is too short to worry about and extra 30 min of boarding pleasure. :)

Ain't that the truth. At least Princess isn't giving away cruise credits based on credit card spending like the airlines do. This is my biggest gripe with Princess to be honest, with so many Elite passengers, the shared suite benefits don't stand out at all.

Typically I always book my own travel, but with the uncertainty of covid cancellations we booked ezair for our upcoming September cruise. We booked the flights through EZAir the day they came available (about 330 days before sailing) and we've received 7 flight change notifications since booking. All because the airline (Delta) has been moving the flights around, canceling flights and changing times. It hasn't been EZAir making the changes. Unfortunately one of the changes is on the return flight - a 3 segment flight, with the last connection now changed to only 30 minutes. At 10:30 PM. There is no way we'll make that connection. I've already accepted that we'll be in a hotel that night. I'd try to change it but with so many crazy problems with flights these days I'm just going to go with the flow and see what happens. :) We're arriving 2 days early, and returning a day after so we're just going to relax and enjoy the journey. Good luck ya'll.

The larger ships, even the ones that depart out of Vancouver, do not sail through the lower portion of the inside passage (the Seymour Narrows) which is an incredible experience. AND Many smaller ships, even though they depart out of Vancouver, do so in the evening so much of the most beautiful sailing is done in the dark! If you really want to enjoy the lower inside passage, you need to target a sailing itinerary that is compatible. I love sailing Alaska, and I enjoy the port stops, but seems like most of the big lines and bigger ships have optimized their itineraries to maximize port times, thus shortening the enjoyment of sailing through the narrow and beautiful places. :(

If they let it expire then they must do away with the pre-test requirement.

Best time = July (longest daylight, means more sight seeing). But any month is great, and there are pros/cons to each month of the season (July also has more people (kids are out of school), more crowded, and costs more). I prefer early September. Best itinerary = Glacier Bay, and full (includes southern) inside passage. I also like Sitka to be on the port stop. I rarely find these itineraries on Princess. As mentioned, the larger ships don't sail through the southern part. But - any time and any itinerary is excellent for Alaska in my opinion. I'd rather sail anywhere in Alaska anytime of year, than anywhere else. :)

Ships time changes with local time where the ship is at.

Sadly, as pointed out above, full suites are not included and have no reduced deposit. I would have been thrilled with any type of a discount on suite deposits, but nope. Were hoping to book 2024 New Zealand, and still might, but lost some of the excitement to pay $1600 deposit today when the room next door is being had for $1.

I am so sorry OP that you have to deal with this. It is distressing. Unfortunately the entire travel industry is a mess right now, and it isn't going to get better but it will get worse over the short term. All of the airlines and cruise lines and other travel companies are suffering big time. The staffing shortage is getting worse, not better. And the impact of inflation, fuel prices, and materials shortages are causing everyone, from the cruise lines to the passengers, to make major changes in what used to be a stable industry. Airlines are limping along. Each week, hundreds of flights are cancelled because operationally they can't staff the planes, airports, and such properly. Meanwhile, at Princess you have many "new" employees who lack the experience and training to deal with the situation. But it's not just them, unfortunately. I don't see this getting any better any time soon. We only have two sailings scheduled, September and April, and I'm worried that April won't happen, the way things are going now.