Italy52

I booked our 2025, 17-night cruise to Alaska August 3, 2023. 

6 minutes ago, cruzsnooze said:

I read that not all TA's are included in the process to bid for an upgrade. Is there a way to find out who is excluded. I booked with a big box company who gave me different answers. I can't name the TA but would like to know if anyone has some definite information about this caveat in the bidding process. 

I book with a "big box" agency and they do not participate in the bidding process. 

I am Elite and my app shows that.  My app WiFi information shows the same as @pompeii. 

Thank you all for your comments --- this post is no longer an issue.

17 hours ago, Sweetrosie said:

I booked an if guarantee in may 22 to Alaska and received a front balcony right near Salty's.  We loved it! Great treat! This time we were only able to book an if (on casino rate) ...after searching around I see the ship has over 200 cabins still empty (leaving may) so looking forward to an upgrade 

We have a guarantee deluxe balcony booked for our May Alaska 2024 cruise.  I know it has been a few years for you but do you remember when your cabin was assigned?  Was it real close to embarkation or a few weeks out.  Thanks in advance.

Has anyone ever had a Guaranteed DF cabin (Deluxe Balcony)?  If so, where did you end up -- just curious.

29 minutes ago, junglecat said:

I contacted this vendor, and they were the nicest people.  Unfortunately, they are not operating in early May when we cruise.  

So sorry to hear that GW is not available.  What is your ISP date?

OMG, I received my email from stockperks informing me that I could redeem my perk.  Within a matter of a few minutes, it showed up in my booking.  I am very impressed with the whole process. 

Now, the next question is, do I need to submit my information for EVERY cruise I book?  Assuming yes???

I sent in my proof on Friday, got the "Manual Brokerage Statement Submission Acknowledgement" right away and have not received a "next step" email.  Anyone else waited more than 2 working days (as stated in the stockperks email) for a response? If so, how long did you wait?  Thanks in advance.

DISREGUARD this post, I just received my email from stockperks.

We do whale watching in both ports whenever we can --- just a personal preference.

For ISP, we would recommend Glacier Wind.  For Juneau, we would recommend Jayleen's Alaska.  We have gone out with both companies many times and have always had an enjoyable experience.

Deleted  post.

5 hours ago, New2cruise2022 said:

That’s five princesses ready to sail. #princessforaweek

 

Weather in LA is great. Overcast but no rain. 60. Shorts and shirt weather. 

Where did you get the fancy wrist bands? 

@drwbrt, I used to live in Downey many years ago.  Thanks for the pictures -- what a change.

This will be my first time submitting something to Stock Perks.  Can someone tell me where do I find the app, what is the exact name (so I don't download the wrong thing).  Thank you in advance.

47 minutes ago, Luvtennis6060 said:

We are booked on April 7 at 5:00.  Looking forward to a new experience.

@Luvtennis6060, I think you misposted your comment as this thread is all about "Independent Flight Info."

54 minutes ago, Alaska05 said:

How early is your flight?

 

I haven’t provided our independent flight information for YVR yet, but we have a 11:40 am flight from YVR.  We plan to self disembark.  I guess I will probably get the same warning.

Our flight out of Vancouver is 1:25 PM -- that should give us enough time to get to the airport, get through ticketing and processing. We will also be self disembarking.

Port recommendations:

Juneau:  Our favorite independent whale watching tour operator -- https://jayleensalaska.com/

Icy Strait:  Our favorite independent whale watching tour operator -- https://www.g-wind.com/

Hubbard: Hubbard Glacier & Wilderness Exploration is a ship-sponsored tour that is offered by Allen Marine and is the only excursion that I am aware of.  This tour is a couple of hours long and cost varies by cruise line.  Not all ships will offer it and it is only available during certain months --- if interested, check your cruise line excursions for your itinerary to see if it is offered during your sailing. We have gotten lucky and have seen some amazing calving.

This is a first for me:  I entered our independent flight information into my Cruise Personalizer and received the following information from Princess:  "This flight departs too early to reliably make your fight after arrival.:  How can that be, our flight departs 4 hours AFTER we are scheduled to disembark the ship -- we are not using transfers and we will be self-disembarking.  We have flown many times out of YVR and never had a problem.

Does anyone have a direct number for the Players Club?  I have a question for someone in that department.

When in Juneau, we always book with Jayleen's Alaska.  So far, we have gone out with Jayleen 13 times.  We have 4 whale watching tours booked for 2024 and 1 for 2025.  We have never had a bad experience.  Here is the link to her business:  https://jayleensalaska.com/  

 There are a lot of good whale watching companies in Juneau.  I have gone with quite a few, but my preference is Jayleen.  I would suggest that if interested, check out the names of the companies mentioned and then do your homework on the companies to see which one matches your needs.

Coral statement about "private whale watching tours" is correct and one of the reasons we choose them.

@Paula_MacFan.  The big jump in pricing was a surprise.  In the past, Princess had the cheaper pricing on this excursion compared to some of the other lines.  We will be taking this excursion in May and in August of this year.  All I can say is I am glad I booked early.

Shore excursion pricing has definitely gone up.  I just checked my Princess Hubbard Glacier and Wilderness Explorer excursion that off loads from the ship and noticed the higher price.  The excursion went from $299.95 to $409.95 p/p.  So glad I booked the excursion many months ago.  On the other side of the coin, my independent shore excursion vendors have also gone up. 

Many thanks to all for kindly sharing your Kindle tips, I appreciate you taking the time to respond to my post. Have a wonderful weekend.

10 minutes ago, phonejock said:

Just a suggestion. Check out your local library. I have taken my Kindle on our last two cruises.

i was able to borrow books for free using the Libby app. (Your area may use a different one) Just look for the check mark in the corner of each book on your Home page to make sure they are fully downloaded . I am a fast reader so I always like to have several books loaded . 

My husband is a fast reader as well so he always orders his books in sets .

14 minutes ago, MJC said:

I usually open them all when I get them to at least see the first page and  make sure they loaded correctly.

 

I have used port wifi to connect to my local library to download books if it's a longer cruise, since I'm only allowed 3 at a time. 

I always have my husband open up his books to ensure they download.  Thanks for the library tip