cruisequeen4ever

I second the Take 5 idea! Alternate idea would be the Vista Lounge if it’s not in use.

First of all, you’re doing it right by doing a one way voyage of the glaciers! 
 

Specifically on Alaska cruises, I like to hang out in my room and watch the stunning scenery through the balcony doors, go to Puppies in the Piazza, eat local crab and other seafood, go out on deck to view the glaciers, and play cards in the buffet along the window to watch the scenery while playing. 
 

On any cruise, it’s fun to go to the comedy shows, production shows, guest entertainer shows, lounges with live music, dancing in the Piazza late at night, get spa treatments, swim, watch or participate in game shows, and just relax around the ship.

We have used BlackBerry Cars, and London Airport Pickups, both successfully and happily. It costs a little bit more to have private transport, but barely more, and it’s on your own timeframe. I highly recommend it!

Uber and Lyft both operate here smoothly. After you claim your luggage, take the escalator or elevator back up to the check encounter level, and exit. There will be signs telling you where to wait, and then when you order your Uber or Lyft, you tell them which of the places you selected for waiting. You will save a fortune getting to your hotel this way instead of with Princess transportation. 

It’s quite a ways into the port. Just tell your taxi or private transport driver to take you to the “______ Princess”. They’ll know which terminal that ship is using. Chances are, they’ve already picked up disembarking pax from your ship that day. 

After experiencing multiple canceled ports in the Med by Princess over the years due to “operational reasons”, my husband has long stated that the bigger ships are more problematic for these ports. 

It’s definitely cool for those who live and transfer between those cities, but is it earth shattering? IMHO, no. I don’t think it warrants as much hype as they gave it.

We too were on the Sky last month for its transatlantic, and I have to say the internet was faster than aboard any other ship we’ve sailed on. It was about 3.5 MBPS in the middle of the Atlantic. 

You really need a handicap accessible stateroom with a scooter. I saw several who had booked regular width door staterooms and couldn’t get their scooters through as a result. I know it’s tough to get an accessible stateroom, since they’re so limited. 

The Bering Sea Crab Fisherman Tour you’re doing in Ketchikan is fantastic! 

I don’t know how this type of situation is being handled post-Covid, but on an overnight we did years ago in Europe, the tenders ran til something like 11 PM or 1 AM and then stopped til early morning. You were allowed to stay off ship all night, but you had no way of getting back on til they started running again the next morning. 

Having just been on the Sky, which is mainly self-serve but does have a rotating action station, this was the best of both worlds. I would go to the action station, place my order, and then I would go gather up all of the self-serve food, and by the time I was done, the action item was usually ready.
 

That alone shows you how much faster self-serve is that I could fill one or two plates of food on my own in the time it takes for one item to be prepped for me. Yes, I know that the Sun has already available items that they just hand to you, but it still begs the issue of how do you carry all of those little bowls and plates to your table at once?? I had this issue with a few grab and go small plates on the Sky. It would have been much easier for me to put two deviled eggs onto my plate than have two small plates with one on each of them in addition to my regular plate.

My stance is that the hybrid is ideal. Have mainly self-serve, and offer a daily rotating action station like the Sky does.

I was excited about the concept of the cabana staterooms. Having now seen the reality, I’m not interested. I want to be right at the sea when I go out on my balcony. I want privacy on that balcony. I don’t want everyone staring down at me while I read. I don’t want people walking by my stateroom looking in; nor do I want to have to close my curtains to prevent that. The TV “room” with an uncomfortable looking patio loveseat seems worthless. 
 

If they had just made each person’s area jut fully out to the outer railing, all of the issues would be solved. 

I always emphasize a small amount, and it never happens. It’s so much better and faster for me to use tongs or a spoon to grab one tiny amount for a few bites and move on to the next item in the blink of an eye. 
 

I have been cruising for 34 years; I know crew aim to serve. They just can’t imagine one wanting “that” small of an amount with the stereotype of cruisers.
 

The point is that a buffet allows one to choose his/her exact amounts and in a quick timeframe. The new design on the Sun accomplishes neither IMO.

I am extremely germ conscious, but I do love buffets. I wash my hands before dishing and then again before eating. Yes, I am absolutely disgusted and horrified by the unhygienic behavior of others, so this new concept helps with that, but it really does detract from the buffet concept.

On the Enchanted, they had a gourmet salad bar concept like what the Sun appears to be doing. I had to wait every time, either for the server to return or for the people in front of me to tell the server ingredient by ingredient, which was a painfully long and slow process. In addition, I’d say just a little of each item, and what would result was a gigantic salad, way more than I could eat for a side salad. 
 

Ok, so some have reported shorter lines. I am almost never in a line on any of Princess’s newer ships to get food. In the pics shared today, people are standing in lines. 

Am I seeing this correctly that the buffet on the Sun is not self-serve?? So you could end up with 10 small bowls and plates to somehow transport to your table?? And have a long line to get food at each themed station?? 
 

I really hope I’m wrong!

I’m thrilled to hear of your victory over cancer and your return to the wonderful world of cruising! If you ever need one in the future, electric mobility scooters provide such wonderful freedom to be able to be independent and enjoy life despite limited mobility. I can’t wait to read your live from! 

Thank you all!

Does the new app allow you to chat with your cabin mate onboard? My friend just sailed and said it didn’t look like you can anymore. 

That was a really helpful comparison and account of your experience; thank you for sharing. I’d try it if they offered longer itineraries.

Wonderful review; thank you for sharing!

Since you have plenty of time, I’d take the Alaska Railroad. Yes, Princess does offer bus transport to/from, but the train is the most relaxing and scenic. If Princess offers the train, you can book it through them, but a lot of times they don’t. In that case, you can book directly through the Alaska Railroad. It has an ideal departure time for going to Whittier, but going from Whittier doesn’t happen til evening. In that case, it’s best to either just take the Princess bus to Anchorage and take the train back to Whittier, or do the 26 Glacier Cruise after disembarking, and then the train departs right after you return from that. 

1 hour ago, n6uqqq said:

On Carnival dot com once you get past the number of guests you would see this next. You should be able to book from here and find what you need if it is available.

That’s exactly what I need! I’ve tried and can’t get that to show up. The first day I searched, I found it and haven’t gotten it to show back up ever since. It’s weird. 

I need an accessible stateroom, and I’m not seeing any available in the many many sailings I’ve searched for next year. Do I have to call the Access Dept to be able to choose one? Or is there a way I can choose one myself online to book right away? They’re closed for the weekend, so I’d really like to be able to book it myself online.