mreasier

Good to know - thanks. Seems that the roll calls for Viking Caribbean cruises are minimal. There is none for our cruise, so I guess I'll start one. Those that exist seem to have only one or two responses.

Thanks everyone for suggestions on what we can do while we wait for our flight.

What did you do with your luggage?

Thanks for the response. Unfortunately, we will not be at a hotel but disembarking from the ship. Due to customs, I doubt Viking will hold our luggage on the ship.

First time Viking Ocean cruisers here - Viking Sea West Indies Explorer next February. We just got our flight information from Viking. The outgoing flights are fine. However, the return flight does not leave San Juan until 6:24 pm. I looked at changing flights, but would cost several hundred $s. So disappointed. We have used Viking Air in the past on a couple of river cruises and were very satisfied. Does Viking offer departure tours that end up at the airport? I could not find any on the web site. Does anyone have other suggestions on what we can do over those many hours?

I found it using the deck plans on https://www.cruisedeckplans.com/DP/deckplans/index.php. Click on the ship icon at the top left and then choose a ship. I use it all the time when booking cabins.

Here's a link to a video of D730. Looks very nice. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMFXh8dFOgY&t=44s

It must be so disappointing. Unfortunately, issuing Future Cruise Credits, rather than cash refunds, seems to be the new norm in the cruise industry. Back in 2015, we had a major disruption on a Princess cruise from San Francisco to Hawaii. We we offered a 100% refund plus a 50% Future Cruise Credit. Post COVID, the cruise lines have been much more "frugal". Since you live in California, you might consider using your FCCs on the Snake and Columbia river cruise on the American Empress. We did it last year and loved it.

We are boarding two weeks from tomorrow. Just got the email with the USPS tracking number, but it has not actually shipped yet. I understand that that it is easy to get one, if necessary, at the terminal.

Hi Coral. I believe we cruised with you back in 2018 on a Midnight Sun cruise on the Sapphire back in 2018. Thanks for all the great information. We are going on the Crown in July and have found many great ideas in your posts.

The only negative we had on both cruises is that the walls in the cabins are thin. Hopefully you have quiet neighbors.

We did the opposite cruise last April, Starting in Spokane. We landing about midnight (flight delays) and we just called an Uber. About $30 and quick and easy. You will love the cruise - one of our best ever. We liked it so much we booked an AQV Mississippi cruise for the next July. It was also wonderful. For a river cruise, their entertainment was surprisingly good. The food was excellent, especially the unlimited lobster claws at the grill.

Agree, my favorite, the Pacific, is gone. My ranking of the current fleet: #1 - Coral - Smallest and least crowded ship with almost all the Princess features we like including the International Cafe. Lacks Skywalkers but has the Universe Lounge. #2 - Sapphire - Next smallest ship. Extra wide Promenade deck. All the Princess features we like including the International Cafe and Alfedos. #3 - Grand - All of the features we like except Skywalkers. #4 - Diamond - Sister ship to Sapphire but lacks International Cafe and Alfedos. Next in line would be the "Super Grand" ships - Caribbean, Crown, Emerald and Ruby. They are very similar to the Sapphire and Diamond but they have an extra passenger deck adding about 500 passengers. We do not care for the Royal class ships - Royal, Regal, Majestic, Sky, Enchanted and Discovery. They lack good forward and aft viewing areas, have small balconies and seem more crowded. We do have a cruise booked on the Sky solely due to a unique itinerary. And last would be the Island Princess. It was identical to the Coral until they butchered it by adding about 100 cabins (200 passengers) while removing one of the 2 show lounges and burying the gym in an area with no windows. Also lacks the International Cafe.

We got ,married on the Caribbean and have cruised on the Grand several times. I would choose the Grand. While is is older, it has been kept in good shape. While the plans look similar, the Caribbean has one extra passenger deck, adding about 500 passengers and the resulting crowding. . The Grand has Alfredos, an excellent included indoor pizza restaurant. The Grand also has an indoor pool for cool or rainy days. The one advantage of the Caribbean is that tis has Skywalkers Nightclub, an excellent indoor viewing lounge.

I looked at cruisedeckplans.com. Seems they stopped naming suites with the Crown Princess. All the Royal class ships and the Emerald and Ruby are lacking suite names. All the earlier ships have them. I didn't realize this.

I would avoid any of the Royal Class ships. As Sarnia 432 said, because of their size, they must sail on the open Pacific side of Vancouver Island rather than in the more scenic and calmer inside. Also the Royal class ships lack as many good viewing areas as the smaller ships. For example, there is no place, inside or outside, to get a forward view except for the extra cost Sanctuary.

#1 - Coral - Smallest and least crowded ship with almost all the Princess features we like including the International Cafe. Lacks Skywalkers but has the Universe Lounge. #2 - Sapphire - Next smallest ship. Extra wide Promenade deck. All the Princess features we like including the International Cafe and Alfedos. #3 - Grand - All of the features we like except Skywalkers. #4 - Diamond - Sister ship to Sapphire but lacks International Cafe and Alfedos. Next in line would be the "Super Grand" ships - Caribbean, Crown, Emerald and Ruby. They are very similar to the Sapphire and Diamond but they have an extra passenger deck adding about 500 passengers. We do not care for the Royal class ships - Royal, Regal, Majestic, Sky, Enchanted and Discovery. They lack good forward and aft viewing areas, have small balconies and seem more crowded. We do have a cruise booked on the Sky solely due to a unique itinerary. And last would be the Island Princess. It was identical to the Coral until they butchered it by adding about 100 cabins (200 passengers) while removing one of the 2 show lounges and burying the gym in an area with no windows. Also lacks the International Cafe.

0n Royal class ships, except for the Royal and the Regal (the 1st two), cabins D702 through D710 have huge balconies. They are category BD.

Actually, not a silly question. The new LG TVs on some Princess ships allow Bluetooth connections.

I have been wondering the same thing. Will be interested to see the answers. We took the same trip last April (in the reversed order) and loved it. Really liked the Empress and the cabins are very nice.

Due to a last minute injury, we had to cancel our August 12 Alaska cruise on the Solstice. We filed our Celebrity Insurance claim on August 9. It was very easy, just a form the doctor had to fill out, a claim form and our booking/payment information. We got the approval notification on August 18 which said the check will be mailed within two days. Very impressed.

We just got off the Queen. Loved the calliope.

We cruised last month from New Orleans to Memphis. As others have mentioned, it does go very slowly upstream but we found we had enough time in the ports and enjoyed the extra on board cruise time. The primary reason we chose New Orleans to Memphis was the "free" hotel night in New Orleans rather than in Memphis. They use the Intercontinental which was quite nice and only a few block walk to the French Quarter.

cruisedeckplans.com says it is an S3 Sky Suite. My upcoming booking shows on the web site as an Oceanview even though it is really a Balcony.