MJC

Even though I have a picture in this dress from a prior cruise, we both liked this one the best from this trip. It was toward the end of the cruise, and we were both relaxed and happy.

Laurie, I love all your pictures. I'm especially a fan of that orange botanical-like print dress. Sounds like you had a great cruise and you both look so relaxed and happy. We got home very late last night from our Norway cruise. We are so turned around time-wise, it's going to take a few days to feel normal. We flew United on miles and had Premium Plus seats, which were the most uncomfortable seats for me. It took a lot of pillows and a blanket to get comfortable. Part of it was that the seat was very deep, so it didn't hit the back of my legs in the right place, and it was flat and a bit too hard. Also they have hard sides so there's not a lot of choice about how to sit. I was very disappointed in that part because I got very little sleep. Otherwise all the travel aspects went smoothly. Norway was stunningly beautiful, and we did see the northern lights twice. The first time was from our balcony on the way north. The second time we had an amazing show for a couple of hours up on deck as we were leaving the Lofoten Islands. Everyone was so excited. I did not take outfit pictures. After our four days in London, I came down with a cold, so I didn't look my best. Also it felt like we changed our clothes more often throughout the day. Partly because of the weather... it would be cold in the morning, warm in the afternoon, and cold again at night, so we often changed during the day. We wore different things ashore than on the ship, and sea days we worked out, dressed for lunch, took a nap, dressed for dinner etc. We had two ports with tendering where the ship got so cold from having the tender area open all day. Other days the sun would shine and we'd be in tshirts. Layering was very important, even inside. As I was packing, I thought I was bringing too much, but it turned out there were only 3 or 4 things I never used. I even used my bathing suit for the hot tub at the covered pool on our last sunny day. Here is a taste. This was our driving tour day at the Lofoten Islands. It is so beautiful there.

So sorry for your loss, Melody. What a difficult month for you, so many sad anniversaries.

We have the same ship/same cabin booked for a full transit west to east (some will quibble that it's south to north) next year. Those Vista suites are our favorites and we always ask to mark them "no upgrade." We love the aft location. Those cabins are roomy and comfortable, with a great view. Also quiet, being that they are at the end of the hallway and have no neighbor on one side. The buffet, Terrace Pool and Club Fusion are all easily accessible from the aft elevators. Some of our favorite spots. 🙂 Edited to add that you may read some discussion about the small beam, but with the table and chairs on one side, and the loungers on the other, we don't find it impacts our balcony time in any way.

Can anyone comment on whether there is a decaf Lavazza available? Sadly, some of us can't take hi-test, and Princess has always had terrible decaf, so I usually have to bring my own Via. Would prefer not to.

I took my DSLR and my underwater Canon. If you plan to snorkel an uw is great to have. I have shots of penguins swimming, seals playing, even a couple hammerheads. With the DSLR I got some birds that I wouldn't have without the zoom, like tropicbirds.

We drop our carryon at our cabin and always do MDR lunch. Then we start at the top of the ship and work our way down, taking pictures if we want to. Along the way we stop by specialty dining to make our first night dinner res (perq with our cc). Then back to our cabin to watch the safety video and enjoy our balcony and a cocktail until the bags arrive. Even if we've been on that ship before, we always love our first day walkabout.

Congratulations Laurie on your bank anniversary! I'm happy to hear they spoiled you a bit. What a milestone. I have a master packing list that I tailor for each trip. This time I deleted lots of things since I won't need snorkel gear or shorts. 🙂 Aside from our three formal nights, I plan to pack two dark slacks and cardigans with a selection of easy wash tops for evening. I have a greater selection of outerwear than I normally would pack, with some that I can layer depending on our temps. Folks from England on our RC are saying an Indian summer is predicted for northern Europe, which would be nice, but can't rely on. Will know more about the weather by the end of the month. I need to work on my footwear choices for all the walking we will do. Very exciting! Laurie, you will get back just as we are preparing to leave. I can't wait to hear about your trip and see all your pictures!

My October cruise lists this as one of the morning activities. Any info on this class would be appreciated. Is it a true fitness class like Zumba? Or more slowly paced like the line dance classes? I do Zumba regularly and it has been one of the things that I have really enjoyed on sea days with Princess. Their instructors have been very good (I am licensed myself). In my experience on other lines, the "latin fitness" or similar class instructors can be really hit or miss in regards to training and choreo compared to the Zumba-licensed ones. I will be really disappointed if there is no true dance aerobics class on Princess anymore. It means I'll have to start skipping dessert!

We've always bought a bottle of scotch for the cabin. It's usually with the other gifts you can send to someone, like flowers or chocolates. Yesterday I was looking for it for our September cruise but couldn't seem to find it on the website. Then again, Mondays are terrible days to do anything on their website.

Wow Laurie that's beautiful.

I agree with Melody. It's fun and unique, not too much nor too little. I am waiting until September to get serious about my packing, what I need to focus on now are our port plans. I started with the difficult ones and have reservations for those, but I still have three walking-around days where my ideas need specifics. Finding out where we dock is important, and making my usual daily plan document with all the info for each one. For London I'm trying not to pack our days too full so we can rest if we need to. Saturday and Sunday are museum days. We don't adjust to time changes as easily as we used to, so naps at the hotel or just strolling around might figure in too. Weather may be a factor. Mark will visit the home office on Monday so I'll have some free time to shop, and we got our Macbeth tix for that night. The next morning we leave for Southampton, and I hope to do the Jane Austen Trail (basically a history walk) in the afternoon. Anita, if you have a restaurant app for London to recommend, please let me know. We use Around Me or Open Table in NYC. Around Me is nice for finding a quick bite nearby. We use Open Table when we want to make reservations.

I know what you mean Laurie. For me it's that I'm so shortwaisted, anything with gathering or detail at the waist makes me look even blocker than I already am in the torso. I have very little space between my ribs and my hips. I need straight lines and minimal fullness to create a look of balanced proportions. I try to take advantage of my long legs but it means a lot of my dresses have a similar silhouette. You always have a nice variety in your outfits even within whatever constraints you have chosen for yourself. It's not obvious at all that you are doing it. You just always look nicely put together.

You look lovely, Melody. Beautiful pictures of you both. Anita I'm enjoying your London report so much since we'll be there for three days in October before our cruise. We are opposite in that we will probably visit a museum each day, but that is because we have specific reasons why for the ones we've chosen. For example the Science Museum has a difference engine (early mechanical computer) and Marconi's telegraph. Yes we are big nerds. Both are things that featured in books we really enjoyed. Also we are not sure the weather will be conducive to strolling, so we have some indoor plans in case of rain. Today we are 60 days from cruising, an exciting milestone! Laurie you are way ahead of me with packing. I really have to focus this month.

Sorry I had to wait until I was home to find the link: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2773684-oct-07-2022-search-for-northern-lights-island-princess/page/31/#comment-64821635 I read from start to finish and took some notes. Yes I'm a travel nerd. 🙂

Nice!! That is very tempting, and we like the Ruby too.

There was a very active roll call from this itinerary in 2022 with lots of good information. We are doing it this year and that thread has been a wonderful resource.

I agree with Grand or Sapphire. Also, if the weather is bad and everyone is indoors, I think they feel less crowded.

The Embassy area in eastern Beijing has a Hard Rock Cafe, would that work? 🤣

We can choose to see Macbeth in the afternoon or in the evening. I want to go at night for a more authentic experience (7:30pm in early October). DH says it will be too hard to see at night and he wants to go to the matinee. I reminded him that we were there for an evening play several years ago and it seemed fine to him back then. Not to mention, they do night performances all the time and plenty of people go. Any advice?

Our last Princess cruise was January 2022 and we received the free specialty dining on the first night. You have to call the dine line when you embark, or just go visit the restaurant, to make a reservation. This is kind of buried in the fine print at the bottom when you go to the travel page of the Platinum card section. Cruise Privileges Program Cruise Privileges Program (“CPP”) benefits are valid only for new CPP bookings made with participating cruise lines through American Express Travel. CPP benefits are valid only for eligible U.S. Consumer and Business Platinum and Centurion® Card Members (Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Card Members arenot eligible). CPP bookings must be made using the eligible Card. CPP benefits are non-transferable. Participating cruise lines and program benefits are subject to change. The benefits of an onboard credit and amenity are valid for new CPP bookings of at least five nights and require double occupancy; the eligible Card Member must be traveling on the itinerary booked; the total cost of the CPP booking must be paid using an American Express® Card in the eligible Card Member's name. Onboard credits and amenities cannot be combined with other offers unless indicated; blackout dates, category and fare restrictions may apply. Onboard credits and amenities may not be available to residents outside of the 50 United States. Onboard credits and amenities apply per stateroom, with a three-stateroom limit per eligible Card Member, per cruise. For new CPP bookings with Celebrity Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, and Royal Caribbean International, eligible Card Members receive an onboard credit (in USD) of: $100 for inside and outside staterooms, $200 for balcony, verandah, and mini-suite staterooms, and/or $300 for suites. For new CPP bookings with Cunard, eligible Card Members receive an onboard credit (in USD) of: $300 for all Queen Mary ocean-view staterooms category EF or higher, and/or Queen Victoria or Queen Elizabeth ocean-view staterooms category FA or higher. For new CPP bookings with Ama Waterways, Oceania, Regent, Azamara, Seabourn, Silversea, Uniworld, and Windstar, eligible Card Members receive an onboard credit of US$300 for all stateroom categories. For new CPP bookings, Centurion Members receive an additional US$200 onboard credit on Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Seabourn, and Silversea. Onboard credits will be applied at checkout upon completion of the cruise; credit amounts in local currency may vary due to foreign exchange rates; credits are subject to cruise line terms and policies; credits cannot be used for casino charges, gratuities or other similar charges. Any unused portion of a credit is non-refundable and is not redeemable for cash. Other restrictions may apply. Onboard amenities vary by participating cruise line and are not available on Silver Explorer, Silver Galapagos and Silver Discoverer. Onboard credits and amenities are not available on Celebrity Cruises Galapagos sailings.

We had an astronomy expert (as a passenger) on the QM2 and even she could not get permission to use her laser pointer for a stargazing evening.

I've been squirreling away items for our Norway Northern Lights cruise in October. I finally laid everything out on the bed to see how I'm doing with my planning so far. Fortunately there was a very good roll call on this cruise last year with lots of good info, so I think we'll be well-prepared. I also went back to see what Anita packed for Fairbanks. We will have daytime temps from the low 40's to mid-50's, but we also plan to be out in the middle of the night a few times when we are farthest north, where if we're lucky it will be 30-ish with windchills in the teens, and possibly snow and ice on the ground. We may also have rain or sleet. We'll be tendering at our two coldest ports, so I have my waterproof pants and boots ready. Since its a 15 day cruise, we have three formal nights, and I don't think I'll pick those until just before we go since I hope to be down a few pounds before then. I think the hardest thing is knowing what to pack for days on board, is the ship going to be warm or cold, or drafty? I'm thinking of long-sleeved t's and cardigans for layering. Our ship has a covered pool so I'm trying to decide if I want to bring a swimsuit. I have ideas for all our port stops, I just need to finalize the details on a couple. Plus we'll have 3 days in London before we board, and I have a list of things we want to do, I just need to organize them into each day. So exciting! Only about 10 weeks to go!

Am loving your trip report as Japan is on our radar for 2025. Could you tell me how will we know when a 2025 cruise will be available to book? We have never planned that far in advance before. TY.

We are on the Emerald Princess and there are only guarantees available to book. Insides and Obstructeds. I believe the Discovery is fully booked with a long waitlist.