cruisequeen4ever

That really sucks to get a last minute cancellation. Of course, it is better than them skimping on mechanical repairs and potentially having a ruined cruise while at sea!

Good to know and especially of interest, since you are a Princess cruiser.

Wow, what an experience! HAL really stepped up to ensure they had the best possible experience despite the extenuating circumstances. I do wonder, though, how the 2 mile walk could go for those with limited mobility. I understand it was an active excursion, but still.

Not crazy at all! I was 8 years old when I sailed Holland America, and that cruise gave me my lifelong cruise bug! The kids programs are sometimes better on cruise lines that cater more to older people because there is a better ratio of childrens staff to children and more quality over quantity. Yes, the pool is fun, too! They should totally do it!

Thank you for sharing! I wish they had included the Christmas and New Year’s Eve menus though, too.

Exciting! Have a great cruise!

I do hope they put something into place that would be at least nice as a replacement. To me, offering milestone cruisers breakfast at Sabatini‘s/Crown Grill would be so easy and inexpensive on their part yet so special and appreciated by us as passengers.

I would think you will be able to cancel your transfer. The baggage storage is really helpful, however you can see that the price could add up really fast. My advice would be to book an independent Disembarkation tour where the van would hold your luggage all day for you and then ultimately drop you off at the airport. That would cover baggage storage, transportation to the airport, and your entertainment for the day.

The shoppies should prepare potential buyers or at the very least, buyers after they make the purchase that they are going to be stopped by customs and need to prepare to pay the tax when they disembark. On Princess, they’re very clear about that with buying alcohol beyond the limit. It’s only right to prepare customers for such a situation. I’m sorry your son went through that.

That’s really helpful because it’s not something you wanna get wrong.

My heart breaks for you; God bless you as you grieve, and I hope you can find him on every future cruise you take, on every ocean you sail, and in every memory you treasure. Thank you for sharing your story with us, and kudos to the wonderfully caring and competent staff of the Discovery.

Welcome to Princess; I always enjoy your blogs and look forward to your Princess one! Crown Grill is a fantastic steak specialty restaurant. We like to celebrate Christmas and/or NYE there. Sabatinis is the Italian specialty restaurant and is good, too. I find Princess’s drinks to be much more flavorful than those on Celebrity. I recommend the 24K margarita frozen; we look forward to it on each cruise. You can get stunning views from the aft decks. Enjoy your cruise!

I’m sorry you caught Covid! Many have reported the same thing. You’re right that a packet should be at the ready to be distributed to anyone who tests positive, and it is shocking that one has not been created by corporate in this long period of time. Stay in top of it as you should receive an FCC for your isolation days.

They don’t start disembarkation until around 7:00 AM the next morning. They offload the luggage throughout the night in preparation. Your assigned time could be anywhere from about 7:00-9:30, based on your flight time. If the time they assign you isn’t good, let Guest Services know.

We’ll see you onboard! 😀 No, I’ve never seen those items on the NYE menu. They do NYE splendidly, though!

I’m happy at the continued progress toward normalcy. Am I nervous? Yes. I think there will be some bumps in the sea, but I think once we get past those, things will be better.

I can picture exactly what you’re describing at AMS. We experienced something very similar years ago. There should be better planning by the airlines so the poor pax don’t experience such stress.

Outstanding info; hope you come back and finish!

My husband got me to try the frog legs years ago; one and DONE! I have no idea how well or not well Princess technically prepared them; they were just awful.

I’m so glad you decided on that! I would chime in that Princess and Holland America are the original Alaska cruise specialists, and they really do it right. In addition, as others have said, Glacier Bay is a must do.

I got my five this week, too. Now done with the Alaska one and look forward to those points!

If you were sailing Princess, I’d 100% say yes because they have the most experience and the greatest presence here in AK. They own their own lodges, and they’re lodges are definitely the best. Royal contracts out their land tours to a company called Premier Alaska Tours. They are a good tour company here, but they don’t own lodges, so they contract independent lodges. It’s still good, just not as seamless as Princess. As some have said, if you’re so inclined, you can simply rent a car, explore on your own, book your own hotels, and book your own activities. Denali is definitely worth seeing. If you decide to explore independently, just make sure you book early as places sell out far in advance.

Definitely! Our last cruise pre-pandemic was on their oldest ship, the Pacific, and everything was great except for abysmal internet. We’ve also sailed on the other old ship, the Grand, and had a blast, except for my in-laws had a leak in their suite, and the sofas and chairs in the Explorers Lounge were bottomed out. The Grand class ships are gems!

I love Bingo and wish they’d have both Bingo and Deal or no Deal instead of replacing one with the other.

Nope