flip side of fifty

Wonderful Review.

Still out of work? Maybe write a book.:)

Well.........Good Points.

I think I will look into this some more.

One question...

How would I know if rooms that appear to be unsold are actually "unassigned guarantees"? Maybe the cruises are not as empty as they appear.

 

Would a TA have this information?

Thank you all for your wisdom. I will wait for the final payment date (plus 2-3 weeks as suggested). At that point I'll have my TA check where we stand, I can still check the costs of a b2b to see if its worth it...but I will have some options in hand.

 

Thanks Again for your advice!!!

At the risk of sounding crass, my 83 year old mother insist on asking the question. If we are looking at 2 cruises (repeat b2b) that are for end of November and the beginning of December, and have a lot of vacant rooms at this point; would I be wasting my time or embarrassing myself, if I was to request my TA to "make a deal" to book a B2B?

 

Mother seems to think that there might be a reduction in the price of each if a b2b was offered. I thought that the price was what it was, but I may not know how things work.

 

I do not want to suggest this to the TA without backup from the forum. Maybe the correct path to take is wait it out for a "sale" (which was my suggestion to my mother).

 

I tried a search and came up with nothing. So I posted this as a new thread.

Before I make a fool of myself, please inform.:rolleyes:

As another mentioned above, Chico's has great travel clothes that do not wrinkle. On many trips (cruise or not) I have had black "Chico's Travelers" as my base. Then dressed up or down depending on the night with jewelry, a scarf or wrap. I felt comfortable and fit in with the evening attire.

With suitcase space a premium nowadays, you need to prioritize.;)

I too have spent over an hour on your review - Great Job!! :D I will be going southbound (after land portion) on the Star in June of 2016, just thought of your review as in reverse.

 

If you get a chance, I would love to buy the map you highlighted from Amazon. Do you have the link?

 

And Thanks again for all your pictures! Great Job.

Thank you all for your comments (and yes mom is already Platinum)

I know this will be our trip of a lifetime!

I am so excited - now just have to wait for 10 months!:D

Thank you for your replies

Yes, when I went with my mother she always showed her card to pay for the drinks.

I would pay for any drinks with "my Platinum Card", and could show at the door. We would not go if I didn't achieve the Platinum level prior to cruising. Don't know if I will ever reach Elite...

 

Thanks for the info.... If I do reach Platinum prior to sailing I will go , show my card and at least plan that it will be OK.

Thanks again!!

Thank you for the information - good to know about the land portion.

 

Wondering now ... if I wasn't suppose to be able to attend the " Platinum Happy Hour" with my mother (never had a problem and just assumed that as a couple we were OK) will they "kick my husband out of the bar"???:eek:

My husband has never been on a cruise, his first will be a 15 day Connoisseur Escorted Alaska tour in May 2016. I really want everything to be great for him (and maybe he will decide to take more :D)! I am currently at Ruby Level with one more cruise to go before reaching Platinum, but because I have always cruised with my mother (Platinum), I have experienced those little extras that level provides already. (Those little things like check in, drinks before dinner, etc. , they can make that first cruise a little more special.)

 

Mother and I are considering taking a cruise together before the May 2016 cruise with my husband. Its between 2, one being Princess and one being another cruise line. The second one is a little cheaper but not much.

 

My question: Should the Princess Cruise weigh heavier in our evaluation - Because it will put me into the Platinum Level for our Alaska Connoisseur trip???

And, Are there any extras provided for the Platinum Level on the land cruise portion of the trip, or are they exclusive of the cruise portion???

 

A lot of you have been on these Alaska Connoisseur trips before, and any recommendations, comments or opinions are welcome!!

 

Thank you in advance for your comments.

I know the website has been messed up here in the states over the weekend. I tried saving 2016 Alaskan Cruises that showed available dates and amounts to my Princess page, and it indicated that the cruises had been saved - but when I went to my Saved Cruises - the site "listed them" but dates were wrong (the name of the cruise didn't even sail on that day!) and the amounts were wrong, it was quite a mess. Hopefully once they get it right your cruise tour will be properly shown.

It is not that one is more impressive than the other (although many will debate which is best), it is that the schedule going each direction dictates which one can be seen at times passengers would want to be awake.

 

good point!

The problem w/early May cruisetours is that the shuttle bus in Denali doesn't run far enough into the park (Eielson Visitor's Center) until the first week of June. How many nights are you staying in Denali, and what have they offered for your stay there? If it is only the Natural History Tour, which is basically worthless - getting less than the drivable distance into the park and not much chance of seeing wildlife - then I'd reconsider the date of your land portion of the trip.

 

Thank you for that information - didn't know about that!

Just reviewed the 2016 schedule and would like assistance from anyone who has prior experience. Please!

I am looking at two Island Princess May 2016 departures ( I know its going to be cold but we are OK with that).

Northbound and the Southbound, both 15 days Cruise/Tour. Between the two there is a $1300 difference for the same cabin. Southbound is cheaper and that's a big difference in price, but here the difference in the itinerary:

1. Northbound leaves mid May / Southbound leaves the end of May

 

2. Northbound goes to College Fjord / Southbound goes to Hubbard Glacier

 

3. Northbound has the Alaska train from Whittier to Talkeetna and then the motor coach for the remainder / and Southbound has the Alaska train from Fairbanks to Denali and the remaining trip is by motor coach.

 

 

Is the Glacier that much more impressive than the Fjord, especially if you are spending another week in Alaska? and is that portion on the train more impressive than the other?

 

Any other comments regarding North or South is very much appreciated and Thank you in advance for your assistance

The Pacific currents run North to South, so one will normally have a smoother ride on the Southbound cruise. I think it's nicer to do the tour portion first, then be able to relax on the cruise afterwards. In our case, it's a shorter flight home too.

 

WOW!

didn't know that :eek:- husband is very motion sickness prone - so Southbound for sure!

My husband and I are looking to do an Alaska Cruise in 2016, the schedule does not come out until Mar-April timeframe but I have been told there is not a great deal of difference. This means I have Not been on an Alaska Cruise yet... but have done some research. Perhaps someone better suited can correct me, but this is what I have found out:

We are planning on doing the Cruise tour first, flying into Fairbanks and taking the 14 or 15 cruise tour (2015 tour # PB7, QB8 or RB8); then the Southbound cruise ending in Vancouver. Any comments on these choices?

 

The inside passage probably does provide viewing all around, but the recommendation was to get on the Port Side for southbound. As you pointed out the southbound goes to the Hubbard Glacier and the northbound goes to the Fjord. Personal preference, we just thought we would prefer the Hubbard Glacier for our first trip. Everything else appears to be identical for both 7 day cruises.

March or April 2015. TAs will have the information a week or two ahead of release.

 

I am also waiting for the 2016 Alaska schedule to come out and have my $100 pre book cruise credit waiting to go as my deposit as soon as it does. I want to book the longest land portion with a southbound cruise back to Vancouver. This will be my husbands first cruise and he is very worried about being sea sick so, having the cruise portion After the land might be better if he does have problems.

 

We have been reviewing the 2015 schedule. Question to those with Alaska experience:

Other than the dates on a calendar, do the cruise and cruise land tours change that much from year to year? If we plan out our trip using the current 2015 schedule, would there really be much of a change in 2016?

I thank you in advance for any assistance.

My preferred cabin location is towards the aft and like it much better than mid-ship. I never get seasick so I can't help you there but I think aft is a comparatively stable location. Of greater importance is deck. You'll feel less motion on a lower deck.

 

With a husband that suffers motion sickness in every mode of transportation available, he has agreed to cruise Alaska. My hope is through planning I can minimize the possible effects of sea sickness with a good choice of a cabin. A balcony cabin allows fresh air (which he thinks will help).

 

My question is, between the two, which would be best:

 

The lowest deck balcony cabin is on 7, and it's location is the first cabin from the middle - but in the Aft section (just misses being considered Mid-Aft).

The lowest deck cabin that is located right smack in the middle of the ship is on deck 10 - three decks higher.

 

Would the middle of the ship outweigh the higher deck?

:confused:

Great to hear it's going so well and thank you for posting!!! We will be on the EP next week - I hope it goes well for us too! :D

Two things to note -

 

One, large groups can be a problem regardless of the nature of their members, as their tendency is to congregate. So lines should put out notifications of 200+. They do NOT have to specify the nature of the group, there are all kinds of groups that can offend all types of people. (Personally, the dreaded 'Brazilian Tour Group' scares me way more than a lifestyle group). And of course, any group can be good or bad depending on the temperament of their members (shared a ship once with a very religious group, 95 percent of which were great, but 5 percent drove everyone on board crazy until they were literally threatened with being left at a port by the Staff Captain)

 

Two, unless they book space for events, Princess may not always be aware of large groups. Some TAs can book large blocks of rooms on a given ship, advertise it as a package, but Princess only sees the room block, not what it is being used for. So for a group in the 100-200 range especially, Princess may not be able to notify.

 

I must say this thread has taken a turn :(- My 82 year old mother and I will be on the EP next week - and believe me we would BOTH rather have 400 Men rubbing oil on themselves and having a good time than 100 Religious folk trying to sway our views!

[quote name='SLCfirsttimer']Any word on missed ports and if compensation for the delay is being given?[/QUOTE]

I will be sailing out on the EP on the Nov 30th cruise, and had considered doing a B2B for the 7th. :eek: Being at the dock wouldn't be so bad if it was 75 degrees - like south Florida - but we won't go out on the balcony with the cold winds Houston is having now. If there are OBC/ future credits/ or compensation provided by Princess for this current cruise would someone mention it later? Might be good to know (not that they can afford to do it every cruise).
And thanks for the advice about the wine - we will definitely bring some. :D

If you are requesting an upsell, you will pay more than if Princess is initiating it. Normally if you are asking for it, the extra cost is the difference between what you paid for your cabin and the current price for the one you want to change to.

 

I am sailing on a Nov 30 cruise (balcony cabin) and the following Dec 7 date still has balcony's available at a "New Reservations Only" rate that is good - but I had wondered about initiating contact to request what rate I could get to stay on for a b2b. After reading this I think I would be wasting my time. I am not requesting an "Upsell" but, if I am not ready to pay for the advertised sale, then I just don't stay on.

Clicked onto this thread thinking "You have got to be kidding?!". :eek:

However, I do think the poster was completely sincere in their "perceived lost hour".

 

Reading the thread was definitely worth it - I got my laugh for the day with the great responses! :D

When you do get off the bus, you will be led to the terminal. There, the elite/platinum/suite passengers go into one line and the peons into another. All go through security and then into the check-in area like everyone else.

 

The only exception I had was when we were in Vancouver. We stayed in the Pan Pacific hotel, which is right on the pier. We went to the Princess desk in the morning and checked in there around 8 am. We got our cruise cards there. They told us to assembly in the lobby at 10 am, where we were led to security and right to US immigration, and into a line for boarding (bunches of folding chairs actually). We were blue cards at that time and were at the head of the peon line.

 

That was an easy check in.

 

Well, while I am a "Peon" (hoping to change that soon)- my mother is Platinum, and since we are both in the same cabin I understand we can both go through the Boarding Platinum line. Hate to get in the Platinum line only to find out I need to go back and get into the "Peon" line. Am I mistaken?

Sorry, forgot to add this onto last post.....this has been my previous experience.....

 

There should be Princess staff in the hotel when you arrive. If there are a number of buses going to the port from the hotel, you will be given a number or colour, so you'll know what bus you're on.

Last time we did this in LA, we were given a time to be in a conference room in the hotel in the morning, where we waited until our number / colour was called, then we went to be bus. We had about an hour's wait in the room, but it was comfortable enough.

It's all done very smoothly.

 

Happy cruising.

 

Thank you so much!