cruisequeen4ever

It took us almost the entire week on the Royal to get our spa charges straightened out. I don’t know why that particular ship has more issues this summer.

Sadly, no. 😔

Good to know!

It was so much fun and was definitely the lively, popular place to be each evening. The music was great.

You can do paper or electronic. They offer different packages. Electronic doesn’t have you daub anything; it’s automatic, so paper is way more fun.

There is an official menu for some. I don’t have a pic of it, but if you search Princess mocktail menu, I’m sure you can find it online. In addition to the classics you referenced that don’t even appear on the menu but are my personal favorites, there is a Sunshine Daquiri and a Key West Cooler, both refreshing and yummy. I can’t remember the others.

The Princess site would have the disclaimer for the forward facing balconies that they can only be used in port, but no one has ever experienced them being locked while at sea. Yes, it is very windy while sailing, but you are free to use it as you wish.

Loved this!

Your cruise is made up of 2 7-day cruises, and there are two formal nights on each of the Alaska seven day cruises, so you will have four. I will prepare you though that most people don’t dress up on Alaska cruises. You’ll see jeans and flannel shirts in the dining room.

Does anyone know if the ridiculous new Lara juice is a combination of all of those juices, or if you can get one with only orange? I’m allergic to one of the other ingredients so the juice would have zero incentive for me if you can only get it as a mix of ingredients. I loved going every morning to get my freshly squeezed orange juice at the real juice bar last spring. This is a real downgrade.

Personally, the only allure to me of the new Sun and Star is Park 19. I’m in my 40s and am a diehard fan of Princess, but I adore ziplining and slides.

I was shocked to see that this cruise is doing a Canada New England itinerary. It has no connection to The Love Boat other than being on a Princess ship. To me, the Canada New England cruises are the least romantic cruise itineraries in the entire world, so it really feels like a mismatch to have as The Love Boat themed cruise. As for this new VIP package, I may actually be tempted to pay for it because of the dinner with the cast, but it is a very steep price. When we were on a Med cruise years ago, Jill Whelan was onboard with her family, so we got to see her in her every-day element with her family as they enjoyed a cruise. I didn’t want to interrupt, so I didn’t talk to her or ask her for an autograph, but it was super fun seeing her on board.

Thank you for sharing; I’ll go read your comparison.

This has been an educational thread, and I’m so excited for you about the Business Class!! 👏

We’ve now sailed, and there was no crab other than at Crab Shack. We ate at Tracy’s. We’ve had king, snow, and dungeness over the years, but our fave is king. Tracy’s was good.

We were gonna go independent but then freaked out after receiving advice from a friend who’s been there before and chose the safe route of a Princess excursion. We saw, we ate, we experienced, but goodness it made Istanbul and Mexico look tame. I had live chickens brushed up against me, motorcycles zoomed in and out among the pedestrians, and I saw someone get pickpocketed right in front of me. The drive is very long. Our guide didn’t keep track of his pax, and we heard similar from the other groups. We arrived back at the port after the all aboard time, so I 100% agree with our friend that you should only go with Princess. I’m not trying to dissuade you from going. It was a cultural experience. I just want people to go in with open eyes when deciding whether or not to go.

This is very surprising. We arrived a few weeks ago right after the train did and had almost no security line. Usually Whittier embarkation is synonymous with easy breezy.

We did not have great internet on the Royal 2 weeks ago. I used my AT&T to do Zoom in Juneau and Ketchikan and had to be on the side of the ship facing the port to garner enough reception to use it. In Icy Strait Point, I could hardly send texts.

I can also confirm that this can be done as we didn’t think my hubby could go at first and then added him later.

We absolutely love Take 5, and on both ships that have it, it was full every night of our sailings! I can’t believe they’d remove it. I say this as a slot player who’s never had trouble finding a machine in the existing casinos onboard.

Thank you for sharing your experience! When people say that Princess does Alaska better, I think it really is the ships that come all the way to Whittier because they go to Glacier Bay plus an extra day of glaciers and then offer the land tours at Princess lodges.

They have been popular since they were launched because they’re a semi affordable way to experience a suite. We sailed in one to Alaska years ago and really enjoyed it. There was no noise from Promenade above. We loved having a free embarkation day dinner at Crown Grill, lobster delivered to our room on formal night, breakfast in Sabatini’s (absolute favorite suite perk!), a fantastic bathroom, and lots of space. The location is convenient, too, if you like to gamble. The only downsides to me are having to open a heavy door each time you enter and exit the window suite hallway and not having a balcony.

Yes! Every day at 8:00 AM, if I remember correctly, they aired a video on MUTS, and people spread out across the pool deck to do Tai Chi.

For the train, you can definitely do that, but you need to book it directly through the Alaska Railroad. Princess used to offer it, but it’s been years. I haven’t sailed NCL, but I can say that Princess is one of the original cruise lines to sail Alaska and really knows how to do it. There’s a lot of infrastructure here that other cruise lines (excepting Holland America) don’t have. I know NCL does go to Glacier Bay, so that’s the same. The Sapphire does not have a forward indoor viewing area, but it does have an aft one, Skywalkers Nightclub. That ship is the most beloved of the older ships; it consistently has outstanding crew and has a somewhat unique layout.

The Emerald is my favorite of that class of ship! The afts are fantastic. You may be able to swim. We enjoyed swimming many days in the Med but didn’t much in the British Isles. Cruising Europe is all about it the ports, so watch YouTubes, study the excursions, and book them early. If you’re used to doing lots of onboard activities, you may find you don’t do as many on this cruise because you can be pretty worn out after the long port days. Europe cruises are awesome, happy planning!