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1 hour ago, geocruiser said:

I have sailed on Princes many time since they had the  Medallion.  At the pier I always got a cruise card and told them to keep the Medallion.  I did not like some of the features of it.  Like opening my door as I get in so many feet of my cabin, I was told that is what it would so.  Maybe some one else who used it can tell me, did it show your picture and name on the screen by your cabin door when used?

 

 

Picture yes, name no.  And the picture you upload for that purpose can be anything you want.

Alaska is anticipating a big year for people flying in: https://ancairport.com/pr/ak-airports-respond-to-can-cruise-restrictions/

Spring of 2019 I took an Alaska cruise on the Royal Princess.  I had a good time, but had a lot more fun on my 2 ferry voyages in October of that year: 1 day and night on the MV Columbia from Sitka to Ketchikan and 2 days and nights on the MV Kennicott from Ketchikan to Bellingham.

No, they're not cheap, but they are crewed by US citizens making a living wage.

Part of the fun is being on a little ship that can wind along narrow passages seeing everything close up, like you could never hope to on gigantic cruise ships.  For me the best part is the feel of being on a working ship, not in a resort hotel.

All I've gotten this morning is an email offering to sell me more add-ons.

8 hours ago, LB_NJ said:

This all assumes that the cruise lines can survive this long before going bankrupt.

All of the major U.S. legacy airlines went through bankruptcy not too many years ago, and they're still flying.  Bankruptcy just allows them to shed debts.  Of course the cruise lines aren't all U.S. companies, so I don't know how it would work for them.  I'm rather surprised that it hasn't already been tried by at least some of them.

I know we had them on the Mardi Gras in '83 and the Song of America in '84.

9 hours ago, marco said:

When we sailed to Italy on the Italian Line, we always went Cabin Class.  My mother thought 1st was a little to stuffy and tourist a bit to austere (the cabins, anyway).  Men mostly in suits, but a few tuxedos and lot of women in gowns or very dressy cocktail length dresses. 

We went Tourist Class on the Raffaello, and I'll never forget the Italian guy who thought that a tank top style undershirt was appropriate attire for the dining room.

On 9/22/2020 at 6:51 AM, CGTNORMANDIE said:

FORMAL NIGHTS ON THE CLASSIC LINERS.

 

Does anyone remember what it was like on a classic liner on formal nights?  When the gentlemen wore tuxedos and the ladies wore gowns?  How the MDR put on an extra effort and the entertainment was special on those nights?  

In Tourist Class or Cabin Class on a classic liner?  I doubt very many of the passengers owned a tuxedo.

5 hours ago, wowzz said:

Spending 4 days in an interior cabin going through the BoB in a force 10 is not my idea of fun.

Let's see; in a Force 10 storm, would I rather be in an outside cabin, or in an inside cabin with less motion?

2 hours ago, Philly Steve said:

Back on topic, it could be said the Song of America Viking Crown design was inspired by older sisters including Nordic Prince.  We cruised NP in her incarceration as MS Carousel but to my disappointment the funnel lounge had been removed.

 

 

SOA had the first wrap-around lounge, and it was the first where they let an eventual purchaser keep it.

With year first sailed on them:

1969: SS France
1969: SS Nieuw Amsterdam (II)
1974: MS Mikhail Lermontov
1974: SS Raffaello
1981: SS Emerald Seas
1981: MV Adzhariya
1983: SS Mardi Gras
1984: MS Mikhail Kalinen
1984: MS Nieuw Amsterdam (III)
1987: MS The Victoria
1988: SS Regent Sun
1994: SS Pacific Princess
1999: SS Island Breeze

Also Queen Elizabeth 2 (1986); not exactly gone but not sailing any more.

Also a couple of little ones, which are hard to find info on: HS Tut (1981, Sheraton Nile Cruises), MV Santa Cruz (2006, Metropolitan Touring).

Interesting to think about, but kind of sad, too; I hadn't realized that the Marella Spirit (Nieuw Amsterdam III) had been scrapped.  With the current situation, can't help but think that others will follow.

Ones that I can think of, with first year I sailed on them:

1984: Song of America -> Celestyal Olympia
1985: Noordam -> Marella Celibration (?)
1991: Royal Princess -> Artania
1992: Royal Majesty -> Crown Iris
1996: Norwegian Crown -> Balmoral
1999: Norwegian Sea -> SuperStar Libra
1999: R Three -> Pacific Princess
2000: Crown Princess -> Karnika
2001: Legend of the Seas -> Marella Discovery 2
2002: Zenith -> Peace Boat (?)
2007: Pride of Aloha -> Norwegian Sky
2007: Tahitian Princess -> Sirena
2015: Rotterdam -> ?
2020: Veendam -> ?

50 minutes ago, yogimax said:

Do you know the real reason so much extra was spent on Empress when they received her from Pullmantur?

On the ship they said that she turned out to be in much worse condition than expected when they got her back.

AMHS COVID-19 Protocols: http://dot.alaska.gov/amhs/covid19.shtml

Marco Polo.  Sailed transatlantic on her sister Mikhail Lermontov back in 1974, in rather more primitive conditions (hopefully).  Shared facilities, and the East Germans seemingly didn't know how to make proper plumbing.

Pretty much any classic ship; every time one is scrapped I'm mad at myself for not trying harder to go on it.

It was the reports of service cutback or elimination that inspired me to return to Alaska last fall and find ferries to travel on.  I had been to Alaska on the Royal Princess in the spring, but  I wasn't thrilled with her (too big and too inward-facing, like a lot of the new ships in recent years).

After a few days in Sitka, I spent a day and a night on the MV Columbia, and 2 days and nights on the MV Kennicott.  Had a great time in Sitka and on both ships.  It was refreshing to be on "working" ships that still seem like ships and not like resort hotels, and to be up close to the scenery in a way that you can't on a huge cruise ship.

I was hoping to get back up there this spring to try some other ships and towns.  Oh, well.  Maybe in the fall?

On 1/29/2020 at 3:38 PM, VTcruisenut said:

We are on the Veendam Feburary 5th.   On our Roll Call, others who have Suites or Balcony cabins began receiving them Sunday, Monday- yesterday were the Oceanview Cabins that reported they got an email.  All of these are GUAR booked.  They state the email comes in the evening as HAL Home office is on the West Coast and 2-3 hours later than we are.  I am (im) patiently still awaiting our GUAR Inside cabin assignment!

We're on the Veendam on the 12th, outside guarantee.  Our cabin assignment showed up on the HAL site by Wednesday evening (1/29), and the emails arrived Thursday morning around 8 CT (and then again this morning).

What is late, anyway?  10 seconds after the alarm sounds?  On a number of lines they say something like "wait until you hear the alarm bells sound, then proceed to your cabin and collect...".  What if you're at the opposite end of the ship from your cabin?  Seems to me that 10 minutes after the alarm sounds is a perfectly reasonable time to be showing up.  You could say that the people showing up early are the ones who are disobeying crew instructions.  If they are trying to practice for real emergencies, will everyone be there by the time the alarm sounds?

An added attraction of waiting is that you may get to use crew-only stairs to get to your muster station; that's the way it worked last month on Island Princess.  Nice change of scenery.

It's been years since I called a credit card issuer, but I still enter my travel plans online if there is a mechanism for it.  Citi, Barclays and Bank of America have it, CapitalOne says not to bother.  I've never found a bank that wants me to register an ATM card, though.

27 minutes ago, BritinSoCal said:

Those who want the smaller more intimate experience will migrate to those lines that will cater to them. Us? We've a finite vacation budget and plan on stretching it as far as we can...

109K (Grand) is not intimate.

I was on Ruby and Royal in May; I won't be going on the Royal class again.  Too big, and like others I care a lot about the promenade.  Yes, they still have little bits of the deck left here and there, but on the Royal they had them closed much of the time.

https://flic.kr/p/2gxP12X

None in my Royal Princess balcony cabin last month.

15 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

Incres Lines Victoria was one whose deck plans and itineraries in their brochures found very attractive, but could never match my availability with hers.  Maybe I am mistaken, but the experiences that guests received on some of these early cruise ships exceeded what is now offered in the 21st Century.

That depends on what you value.  No buffet restaurant, just a small selection of lunch items in a bar.  No TV in your cabin, but a nice movie theater.  One of the nicest upper berths I've had, with a regular mattress.  A real promenade deck, but cheap, uncomfortable deck chairs.  Good food and service in the classic liner-style dining room, but (some) wobbly chairs.

One odd thing about this ship (when cruising for Chandris Fantasy Cruises) was her name: The "The" in "The Victoria" was an official part of her name, so she was "MS The Victoria", sometimes referred to as The MS The Victoria.

We sailed on her out of San Juan in March 1987. 

19 minutes ago, voljeep said:

which cabins had shower doors, not curtains ???

That's what I was going to ask.  Just got off, and E625 had a shower curtain.

Anyway she's TOO BIG for me.  I like taking stairs when possible, but ended up on elevators a lot.

A promenade deck is also important for me.  She has the little bits of deck, but they are hard to find and closed more often than not.  Not being under the boats, they also don't have the shade that I need.

Very good food (mostly ate at the buffet) and service.

2 hours ago, trinaM said:

Does anyone have current information on Ruby Princess movies shown on board, musical numbers and other entertainment. Thanks

The email they just sent out about the cruise on 5/5 says:

MUTS:

Mary Poppins Returns

Aquaman

Guest Entertainers:

Carlos Oscar
2011 WINNER OF PRINCESS CRUISES ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR CARLOS OSCAR
Tricia Kelly
A high energy show of music and laughs with tunes from Janis Joplin to Julie Andrews and everything in between!