I just did this yesterday to take advantage of a lower fare' the credit was added back to our account immediately, even though the person on the phone said it could take 10-15 business days. Our cabin was also added back into the inventory before the phone call was over and we were able to keep our same room and use the FCD. 

We have booked a 16-day Hawaiian cruise sailing in January 2025. I would like to start making payments but wasn't sure if I should do this or wait for the final payment date. Is there any disadvantage to starting to prepay before final payment ?

Not on Ruby Princess 4/29-5/10, mask were optional and buffet was self -serve. I did test positive 2nd day home, I had symptoms 1st day home but tested negative.

We're on the Ruby now, 10 day out of San Francisco and docked at all ports. I suppose that could be subject to change depending on how many ships are in port.

That's what I was wondering, not too long ago there was an availability to purchase them and last week I noticed they were gone. I thought possibly because the sailing date was so close , although that didn't make much sense.

I  also seen this yesterday, although I don't think the $1500 limit included the cost of packages that Princess includes in their "Best Fare Package" . I was trying to add $500 worth of Casino credits, those for some reason weren't available so I  just added $500 to my shipboard account, which put me over $2000 if the Best Value package was included. I'm still wondering what happened to the availability to purchase  casino credits.

Maybe to close to sailing date, possibly? We depart 4/30, on the Ruby Princess.

6 hours ago, Torfamm said:

FYI There will be no trips into Canada on the White Pass Railroad this year. https://wpyr.com/updates/

 

Cross Border Tours – Service Suspended for 2022 Operating Season

After months of working towards restoring the Carcross and Fraser Train Service Combination, we unfortunately must announce that we are unable to provide these offerings for the 2022 Season.  We have delayed this difficult decision for several months in the hopes that we could find a workable solution for all involved and provide passenger service on these international routes.  The challenges of logistics, restrictions, and uncertainty around wait times would have made it impossible for us to provide a consistent high quality service without delays and would create significant disruption to the passenger experience.

Well that's disappointing news. We had this booked on our upcoming April 30th cruise. I wonder when Princess plans on letting us know so we have an opportunity to book something else. They also still have the White Pass excursions  available to book on their website.

25 minutes ago, Lady Arwen said:

We have been to Alaska in May and it’s pretty cold.  Great for scenery because still lots of ice and snow.  We sat on our balcony wrapped in blankets and it was perfect, as we could hop back into the cabin to warm up and then back outside again.  Also, there are lots of viewing areas around the ship, but they do get crowded.  I personally would not pay to be in the Sanctuary as I’m sure it will be cold and windy.

24 minutes ago, cruzin4us said:

We had the same experience on a Panama Cruise.   It was so bloody hot we couldn't enjoy it.    When the weather was nice we LOVED it.   

It's a crap shoot....

 

Thanks for the replies. I think we'll also enjoy the views from our balcony, where we can warm up as needed. We have a mini suite (C730) which I believe is a larger covered balcony and should be fine for glacier viewing.

14 minutes ago, cruzin4us said:

We had the same experience on a Panama Cruise.   It was so bloody hot we couldn't enjoy it.    When the weather was nice we LOVED it.   

It's a crap shoot....

 

16 minutes ago, cruzin4us said:

We had the same experience on a Panama Cruise.   It was so bloody hot we couldn't enjoy it.    When the weather was nice we LOVED it.   

It's a crap shoot....

 

We also did the Sanctuary on a Panama Canal cruise aboard the Coral Princess, love that ship and the Sanctuary was amazing. At that time we loved to being in the sun, not so much anymore. You are correct it was blazing hot!

We will be on the Ruby Princess for an Alaskan Cruise and visiting Glacier Bay on 5/5. My question, for those that have done an Alaskan sailing and booked the Sanctuary what where your experiences and would booking it for Glacier Bay be a good time to book it?

Thanks,

Brad

I thought the Ruby recently went through dry dock. I can understand the supply issues but maintenance issues are concerning.

Coral Princess for sure. a great ship to do the Panama Canal. Our favorite ship so far!

Thanks for pointing out the link that allows us to use a computer to fill in our boarding information. Although it's still not accepting the checked boxes under the Passage Contract & COVID-19 Risk Notification or Acceptance tab. I was able to do it on the phone previously and was in the green line, but now it's no longer checked and back to blue line status.

Issue resolved. After restarting computer and clearing cookies and the cache the error message is gone and everything seems to be correct and the original flight seems to be correct.

For all of you that have your panties in a wad let me further explain. We go to the same bar every night after dinner and the same bartender waits on us every night. One evening we were discussing what a great steak we had at the Crown Grill, he stated that he loved their steaks but didn't get a chance to have them often and their steaks were not comparable. We felt bad and told him we had just left a total of one steak sitting at the table. He mentioned that we should have brought it to him. I told him we were going again and if he wanted it we would bring it back. We had it boxed from the kitchen cooked rare so it wouldn't be over cooked when warm and delivered it to him. He was very appreciative and we

still communicate with him and his  wife to this day. I would have never thought that this gesture would have created such an uproar! 

We have on past cruises had our steak boxed and given it to our favorite bar tender or cabin steward. They always seemed to really appreciate it. Just a thought. We really hated to waste a great steak because we just don't eat that much at one time.

We use them to payoff the cruise or add on board credit to our account. Both can be accomplished on line.

I understand binoculars would be more practical on a cruise, unfortunately I don't think I can afford both. We also RV and visit the National Parks frequently,  the spotting scopes seem to do a better job of seeing animals in the distance. It also provides us to take pictures through the scope with an adapter. I'm not sure what the binoculars with stabilization cost but if any.one has any recommendations I'll take a look.

Thanks for the replies,

Brad

I would probably need a tripod of some sort. Hopefully others with experience will chime in.

Has anybody taken there spotting scope on their Alaskan cruise or on any cruise for that matter, if so was it worth hauling it with you? For those that are familiar with spotting scopes do you have any recommendations?

Thanks,

Brad

While looking for a Black Friday gift card special, I noticed you can now redeem gift cards online, is this new, or have I just been oblivious to this option? I've seen nothing on sale today but still holding out hope that something comes up before our final payment is due 1/30/22 for our Alaskan cruise. 

I know mini-suites have the tub shower combinations, not sure if there are other cabins that have them. I'm sure others will chime in to let you know.

Does anyone have any idea what the reasoning is behind this? I used to purchase casino credits $100-$200 at a time, as I had the extra money. Now as I understand it you are limited to a one time purchase not to exceed $1000, is this correct?

1 hour ago, jondfk said:

We're big sanctuary fans, frequently book full cruise (which, by the way EXCLUDES panama canal and glacier bay days).  As noted previously, there is a substantial uncharge for Canal day, double the normal daily rate, nearly triple the full cruise rate.  As also said, they do make it a nice day with much more food than is usual, special drinks, a moment travel mug, maybe a couple other small things.  Whether that makes it worth the premium is debatable.  

 

More important, the sanctuary on Grand class ships, including Ruby has floor to ceiling windows for the most part which doesn't make for the best viewing or picture taking, you'll find yourself leaving the area for best views and photo's.  Perhaps the largest benefit is the certainty of finding a bit of shade on what is often a very hot day - this alone might make the cost worthwhile.  

 

As much as we are fans of sanctuary, we've only paid for it on Canal day once, we just didn't find the benefits worth the greatly increased cost.

jondfk, What was your opinion of the Sanctuary for Glacier Bay, We'll be on the Ruby 4/30/22?