roadster08

Stayed at Hampton Inn for 277 usd May 30th. Good location downtown but took taxi to port. Traffic was horrible getting into port, but everything smooth once we stopped at porter luggage dropoff.

It includes breakfast. 

Weather may not be an issue, but sailing at the beginning of the season may be spotty for customer service in port. Much of the Alaskan help is seasonal and they are just learning their jobs. Some positions may yet to be filled. I waited until late May and by then port restaurant and excursion people were mostly comfortable in their roles. 

For the love of God, can we stop calling chicken parmigiana Italian food? It is Italian American food  and yes it is delicious when prepared properly but you will only find it in Italy in very touristy places if at all. Same with shrimp scampi and spaghetti with red clam sauce. All wonderful but originated in America. I can imagine the frustration of a trained Italian chef capable of preparing many fine Italian dishes who is told over and over again just make the chicken parm. 

It's like an American who is invited to a football game in Europe only to find out it is a soccer match. It may be a great experience but it is not what was originally expected. 

I had 50 plus package on Sapphire in June and do not remember being charged for a slice of specialty cake. It was not there often. 

It appears that not only would the cruise require a stop at a foreign port, but also that you would have to rejoin in that foreign port for it to be legal.

Something for pier runners to also consider and why taking a ship excursion is less risky than third party on US only cruises. The ship waits as long as possible for ship excursions to return. 

7 hours ago, ldubs said:

I find this is all confusing.  Is there a cost for the premier package learner's permit?  😀    

I heard the Princess Marketing VP got the pop up restaurant idea watching a 3 card Monte game.

I don't understand the double standard with caps.

Should any of these cap wearer be denied entry to the MDR?

Maybe as they are fortified wines, Princess would allow them to be taken on board under the wine rule? 

17 minutes ago, Tedferg said:

We like Alfredo's Pizza too - bu never considered mozzarella to have flavor 🙂

 

Agree it's not a bold flavor, but a little saltiness from brine that we like.

On my Sapphire Princess Alaskan cruise prior to the changes, Alfredo's was  usually empty as well.  We went multiple times and found the pizza to be to our liking, fresh sauce, flavorful mozzarella and tasty crust that was crispy outside and slightly chewy inside. Pretty confident the crust is made with 00 flour and the sauce with San Marzano tomatoes. 

Many cruisers don't get very good pizza back home so they avoid it on board assuming it will be nothing special. Some just don't see pizza fitting in with the upscale dining experience they are expecting. They think any food eaten with hands is for barbarians. Yes,  we know who you are. 

Unless they research before the cruise they have no way of knowing how good Alfredo's really is. And Alfredo's even has forks and knives! 

On our Alaskan cruise we had some issues with getting our smartphones, both Android and Apple, to update to the correct time zone when connected to the Princess WIFI.

It frequently took switching to the local cellular service to get the correct time. 

Second response from Princess....

I personally never book an international flight earlier than 4 hours after scheduled disembarkation. Assume something will not go as planned and don't need the added stress of rushing to catch an international flight home. 

I don't want to appear like I am disagreeing with the majority but I want to offer a different point of view.

On our 13 day Alaskan cruisetour in June we did cruise first and land second, which I would do again. 

We had 3 port days in a row on the cruise and did active excursions in each -- ziplining, glacier dogsledding, river rafting. The land portion was a chill time for just relaxing, enjoying leisurely hikes, amazing views  etc. We didn't add land excursions beyond what was included because we were only going to do those if we needed to replace a missed cruise excursion. Fortunately, those all went as planned, so no need to repeat anything at the lodges.

Not saying those who prefer land first are wrong, just that cruise first worked well at least for us. 

Do the connoisseur. You will appreciate having the concierge do all the rescheduling when things don't go according to plan. Alaska is big, but service and options are quite limited. When things go awry, everyone tends to want the same rescheduling option. The concierge knows how to navigate the rescheduling process while you continue to enjoy you vacation.

1 hour ago, memoak said:

And many of my grocery items have also increased a lot. I am now paying $6 for a quart of half and half

That is only because you refuse to milk your own cow. 

Why carry it when you can just wear it onboard.

17 minutes ago, PacnGoNow said:

Yes, definitely book, put on a deposit and recheck it periodically for sales.  You have plenty of time before final payment. 

Yes  book now and watch what's included shrink, even after you board the ship.,😉

Did it in June. We thought it was worth it.

They give you a rustic, Alaska experience. I could tell that many tourists areas offer a more rustic, primitive Alaska experience. I would not have been happy paying that amount of money for a primitive experience.

It's convenient to have a full-time concierge that is taking care of all the details. That is especially helpful when things don't go as planned and reservations need to be modified. I could enjoy my day while the concierge spent hers on the phone.

Alaskans have a high level of self-sufficiency so at times I found customer service there to be a little wanting compared to what I am used to. The concierge buffered me from having to deal with most of it.

For those annoyed with others complaining about the changes, consider this.

The cost of cruising is going up for everyone and some people are being priced out of the ability to cruise. Some of them could barely afford their cruise before the changes and with the changes they are now in a situation where taking a cruise is a poor financial decision.  They could  even be stuck because they've already paid non-refundable money.

If you have no empathy for their predicament, maybe you should ask why are you engaging  in social media? The whole point is to help others. 

Princess IT

15 hours ago, cruzsnooze said:

Based on the more inclusive cruises they compared Princess to I would agree with the ranking. Compared to other large mass market lines I think Princess falls in the middle. Lately with their horrible tech and nickel and diming I find them to be slipping below other mass market lines like Celebrity and RCL. 

Thanks for not just giving your opinion but for also providing the context for your opinion. It is so much more helpful than posts that only say I love it or I hate it. 

2 hours ago, cruisequeen4ever said:

Have your hotel call you a taxi. That’s the easiest and least expensive option.

We did that in Barcelona but the taxi driver misunderstood and started out taking us to the airport instead of the cruise port. The hotel made the arrangement and the driver spoke no English.

We eventually got him to understand and he was very apologetic. I think if I remember right he even comped the fare. 

Let's try to keep this fun to see how long we can keep it going before it gets deleted.