sunviking90

Hair straighteners are allowed, so we can iron our hair, but not clothes!

My .02 CAD (so it’s worth less, lol): The main reason they are not readily in cabins on cruises out of the US is that it’s just easier not to have them and most of those cruisers will not want or need them. I don’t think it’s any more complicated than that. As mentioned Princess has them in room on cruises out of the UK (and some have said Australia), but they are stored away when the ships leave those itineraries. When requested they have happily provided them to us. I was also offered a kettle by my room steward on Celebrity, when he saw me taking the RS hot water carafe back to the buffet for more hot water. (He was our best ever and knew what we wanted before we did!) This was a Mexico cruise out of LA. He said they have lots “but we put them away after repositioning”. HAL has very little presence in the UK with most North European cruises originating in the Netherlands, so they’re just not as accommodating of the UK cruisers. BTW, we were on one cruise that had multiple rice cookers confiscated!

We don’t gamble, but the one that seemed the largest that we’ve seen was on the Majestic. The ship was designed for the Asian market, and the casino reflects that with more specialized sections from what we could tell.

We had Fred on our Panama Canal cruise in August. He’s a wonderful speaker and so passionate about astronomy. He makes things so interesting and accessible to all.

I would recommend Uber rather than taxis in PV. We were quoted $20 usd for a ride to town, and Uber was $3.00 cad.

So true! HAL “can’t” charge for room service, because even at certain hours in the daytime there is no other food available, save burgers and fries. Situation is a bit better on Koningsdam and her sisters at least. @BermudaBound2014 you do know how to spend a sea day! Enjoy!

We stopped here on the Emerald Princess in fall 2022 and there was a FREE shuttle bus to Soulac sur Mer. It’s a very pretty little beach town. They said the ride would be about 20 minutes, but it was only about 10-15 minutes away.

Thank you @Tigerlily75 for continuing on with your report. I’m glad enjoyed your cruise. Looking forward to reading more about Tokyo. (No pressure).

Last June we were able to buy 2 FCDs and apply them directly to a 50% off cruise booking for the fall. It sounds like they are as consistently inconsistent as Princess!

They used to deliver a printed summary NYT of about 8 pages. It would be left outside. It had a bit of news, some sports and the crossword. They also had a Canadian news one that could be requested. They stopped delivering, and then they were available at guest services. They had a stand with the various “newspapers” on it. The news was current. They likely received the summary edition overnight and printed them up. These days with everyone glued to their phones I guess it was decided to be unnecessary. (Edit) I see Ruth beat me to this answer!

We booked a “sale sheet” cruise last summer while onboard, paid in full and were able to add our ccl OBC when we got home. No issues.

Yes, I miss it too. They still print the crosswords thank goodness!

That’s pretty poor to hear nothing when you agreed to a counter offer. Enjoy your cruise regardless!

Our experience with them was fine. No better or worse than previously when they were Princess agents. Last year they had sale sheets of selected cruises at 50% off, with the packages also at 50% off. There were some great deals. I think I read here they don’t have those anymore though. Aside from that, HAL and Celebrity have better incentives for booking onboard.

Yes, that’s what I meant about convenience (financial and logistical). Those who don’t know better and only look at those considerations are missing out on a superior lower inside passage route to/from Vancouver. Interestingly about 15 years ago or more when many ships pulled out of Vancouver for Seattle the sailings out of Seattle were dirt cheap. We drove down from Vancouver twice for HAL sailings from Seattle as the price was much better than Vancouver. Both sailings were VERY rough going on the west side of Vancouver Island. I know it’s not always that way, but much prefer the Vancouver sailings for calm waters and scenery.

Likely a 14 day? Port fees and taxes are very high on Alaska cruises. They easily double any “deals” I see on the 7 day one way sailings.

I fear you’re right, but I hope not. I love a good soak in a tub.

Ruth is correct as always.

My experience with Princess is that if the ship has sailed in the UK previously, I have asked for a kettle and received one. The last time was on the Emerald Princess Panama Canal. Just asked the steward. It can be hard to get water hot enough for tea otherwise, Room service hot water is not hot enough for a “good” cup of tea by the time it arrives. On the Volendam in December one of the Lido hot water dispensers was out of order, so they had a large plastic one set up…..nowhere near hot enough. The other hot water dispenser was often empty.

Also eagerly awaiting more posts 😊

Another retired gen x-er here who also started cruising on a 20,000 ton beauty (RCCL’s Sun Viking) I enjoyed your intro and I’m looking forward to your reports already!

True. The Seattle ones seem to book up more easily. A lot of first timers especially will pick Seattle for convenience over other considerations.

CTV app has a “flashback” section with the Partridge Family episodes. I haven’t checked yet if they have that episode on it, but will today. There’s also a great Columbo Episode filmed on the original Sun Princess “Troubled Waters”. I don’t think Columbo is available in Canada right now tho.

Interesting article. https://www.cnn.com/travel/how-the-love-boat-transformed-cruising/index.html