cruisequeen4ever

My friend and I had a similar but not as bad experience with our toilet on Solstice. The room steward acted like we had done something wrong with the toilet when it wouldn’t stop running. We had done nothing. We were fortunate he was able to stop it in time before it over flowed at least. They need to better train their crew not to attack their guests for ship issues out of pax control.

That’s the exact same thing I said when I got it! To go from a free cruise in a balcony last year to $50 off this year is a huge drop!

We have been on a Princess excursion to Nevis that was wonderful. we took a big boat to the island. They played lots of music on the boat to make it fun. Then we had an island tour, followed by beach time on the main beach. We would go back.

Yeah, I know. I’d much rather pay and never need it than wish I had it. I have actually had a claim, though, and was so thankful I had the insurance.

It’s wonderful! There’s a thalassotherapy pool that has a water feature raining down in the middle, jets for your back, jets for your body, and then a big metal rung lounging platform with jets. There are heated stone loungers and water bed style loungers. The 3 rooms include various steam rooms and styles. Lastly, there’s a set of showers with a variety of water styles.

Oh I never travel without travel insurance. If I cancel, it’ll be because I need to cancel the whole trip.

I live in Anchorage and have done many cruises to/from Whittier. It’s a 1.25 hr drive and includes a transit through a long tunnel that opens for a window every hour. Timing can change, but in my experience, self-disembarkation usually begins around 7:00 or 7:30 AM. If everything went perfectly, they miiiiight make it. Would I recommend it? Absolutely not! Disembarkation could be running behind schedule. That highway is considered to be one of the most dangerous in the country. There are lots of accidents that can delay traffic for hours. Plus, we call summer “road construction season”, which can also result in lengthy delays. It’s not worth the risk. Saturdays are also extremely busy days at the Anchorage airport in the summer because of tourism. Check-in and security lines can be very long.

Thank you both! That’s such a relief!!

Is Princess Vacation Protection Refundable if it’s BEFORE final payment?

It’s really good to know Carnival handles scooters well. I’m glad your mom had fun!

You booked the right kind of stateroom, and dining room staff will park your scooter for you after you sit down and bring it back to you after dinner. Hiring a private driver works really well when touring with a scooter; we often do that. The Royal class ships are more often able to accommodate scooters on tenders due to the platform setup they have. Be sure to fill out the Access form or ask your Travel Agent to do it for you, so Princess is fully aware of your situation. If there are any excursions you want to do but aren’t sure if the transport will accommodate your scooter, once onboard, go to the Shore Excursion Desk, and they can usually either tell you if the transport has storage for a broken down scooter or they can call the company to find out. Princess handles accessibility well. 😀

Crown Grill is my absolute favorite. I love the steaks with specialty salts and Chilean Sea Bass. I miss their old lemon dessert, but their new desserts are still pretty good. At Sabatini’s, we are usually more impressed by the apps than the mains. I love the Burrata and Calamari.

For me, Princess is a cut above Celebrity in food and entertainment and pretty equal to Celebrity in ships and crew.

Mobility scooters are fantastic. You store it and charge it in your stateroom, though, so it doesn’t affect others.

It has sadly not been offered on my last 2 cruises.

O’Malleys is such a hit concept; they really should put it on every ship.

You’ve clearly done good research because yes, Princess is the best for Alaska, and yes, the one-way cruise is the best! You are correct that for a northbound cruise, the starboard side would give you the land view. An aft view would be the very best, especially when sailing out of Glacier Bay. I have sat on the aft deck on several Alaska cruises while sailing out of Glacier Bay, and it is absolutely magnificent. It allows for much longer viewing opportunities, and you don’t miss out on one side because you get to see both sides. Early June is a good time to go. I live in Alaska, and our weather is generally pretty good at that time of year, though you do need to plan for everything from sunny and warm to windy and rainy and cold. Layers are key. Yes, Princess offers EZ-Air, and it’s fantastic. Always choose the “Flexible” option. You can lock in a rate that you like and not have to pay for it until final payment. That means that if a better rate comes along, or if you change your mind and want to book directly through the airline, you can always cancel the airfare prior to final payment. Technically, you can cancel it up to 45 days before departure, but I just always told myself final payment date is the final time to be safe. The other wonderful thing about this airfare is that if you are going to be late for the cruise or miss the cruise, Princess can reroute you at their cost. The same goes for the end of the cruise. If there were to be a delay, they would change everything for you. Happy planning!

The first time we visit a place, we usually always do a Princess excursion to be safe. If we find that we have done all of the Princess sites that we want to see, the next time we may choose to do an independent tour but allow plenty of time to return to the ship, even if delays occurred. if princess does offer an excursion to a different place, we haven’t been, then we still do a princess excursion again. Basically, our rule of thumb is to stick with Princess as much as possible for peace of mind. We have had wonderful experiences with independent tours, though, except for one out of Naples that had me extremely worried about missing the ship on the way back because the driver had people from three different ships on board and mixed up the departure times, and ours was the earliest and almost got missed.

Well, I have to say, as someone who lives in Anchorage and who has sailed in and out of Whittier, I think you are correct with the available options. I wish I had better news for you. The Avis in Whittier is always extremely expensive and sells out early, but if you want to go straight to Seward, that would be your option, so book early. This would not save you any time, but it could be viewed as a fun idea. You could take the Princess transfer to Anchorage. Spend the day and night in Anchorage exploring. Then the next morning, take the train to Seward for the day, or even for one night, and take the train back to Anchorage. The train to Seward goes through a valley that is inaccessible by cars and it’s beautiful. The train ride does take longer than driving there, but it’s so relaxing and beautiful.

Glad you had a great transatlantic!

We have always been given a bag on Princess when we purchase merchandise, and my experience is as most recent as July of this year.

We did the boat tour to Camogli, Santa Margherita, and Portofino (in that order), and it was truly one of our most favorite excursions ever!

Good to know

I love this! I hope it spreads to other cruise lines! It seems like NCL was first to offer Deal or No Deal, too.

The Princess transfers leave from Egan Center downtown and the airport. For least risk- do the Princess transfer with or without their hotel For best views and legroom- Do the Alaska Railroad independently