jeromep

Oh, forgot to mention, as a suite passenger you have access to the Reserve Collection (used to be called Club Class) section of the main dining room. Just look for the separate entrance to one of the mid-ships dining rooms off the Piazza on deck 5 or deck 6. If my memory serves, on the Grand class ships the Reserve dining room entry is on deck 5, starboard side. But I could be wrong on both the deck and side. Just look for a sign at the entry that says Reserve... something. It is possible for it to vary from ship to ship and from ship class to class. No need to reserve a time to eat, just walk up and you'l be seated quite shortly. You also won't be offered to sit at a larger table with others, you can dine on your own every night. There are three main dining rooms on board. Two off the Piazza, one on deck 5 and one right above on deck 6. There is a third dining room hiding aft on deck 6. The only way to get to it is to go up to deck 7, go all the way to the rear stairway/elevator lobby, go down a level, and you are there. But since you have a suite, no need for you to find the "hidden" dining room. Also need to add that you'll have plenty of extra documentation on the desk in your cabin when you get on board telling you about a lot of these offerings. You'll get an invite for the suite/elite passenger reception that will tell you the time and location of the reception each evening, and even the type of snacks they will offer. It is a great way to spoil your appetite for dinner.

I hope you are in a full suite, the Concierge Lounge is a very nice suite perk, probably the best one they currently have on the Royal class ships. Especially since the Enclave isn't a suite perk, like the thermal suites used to be,... but it should be. The Concierge Lounge is on Rivera deck mid-aft on all Royal class ships. It is attached to a wedding chapel or small meeting room, depending on the country the ship is registered in. UK flagged ships do not have wedding chapels, but the Bermudian ships do, or rather UK maritime law does not allow a ships captain to perform marriages, so on UK flagged vessels, the location of the wedding chappel is just a cozy meeting room. The lounge sits central on the ships center line, flanked by the Starboard and Port passageways, with access doors on port and starboard. On either side are the Riviera deck suites. I think they are S4 suites. And there are public restrooms also located at the entry to the lounge on port and starboard. It is pretty easy to find on a ship's deck map. I believe that the aft wall of the Concierge Lounge is shared with the laundromat for Rivera deck. We would pop into the lounge a couple of times a day to see what was up, take a look at the snacks and beverages that were available and partake. They also host a suite reception in the evenings. There will be a bartender and server there tending to the food and offering beverages. It is a nice place to meet other passengers, socialize, maybe play a board game or read. The concierge holds office hours, and can handle booking shore excursions, specialty dining reservations, spa reservations, etc. Suite passengers have 24 hour access to the lounge with the card key located in their cabin.

Your travel agent has no bearing on the cabin or packages that you purchase with Princess. No need to mention them. The travel agent is... well... an agent, reselling what Princess offers. I am glad you used an agent for your first cruise as they can be helpful if you have any needs between now, when you booked the cruise, and when you embark. I'd rather deal with an agent who I know their name and number and have some relationship with them than trying to deal with Princess' call center. Princess' call center is a nightmare. That said... Since you have booked a full suite (not a mini-suite... bad naming and marketing, mini-suites are not suites), you are comped one specialty dining meal on embarkation evening. All you have to do is to call the Dine Line when you get on board and get a reservation for the venue of your choice. That would either be the Crown Grill or Sabatini's, in the case of the Grand Princess. I like Italian, and on our cruise last year Sabatini's was on fire. Loved the menu and the dishes. We did Sabatini's 3 times when on board. That is a record for us. If you aren't into Italian, then the Crown grill is also excellent. It is modeled after higher end steakhouses with typical steakhouse fare. The two "free" speciality dining meals are part of your Princess Premier package. Those you'd want to use on the remainder of the evenings on board. In total, you have 3 comped specialty dining meals, one that is part of your suite and only good on embarkation night, and two more for any remaining night on board. Room service breakfast, from the main dining room menu, is a full suite benefit. Just ask your cabin steward for the daily MDR menus and then you'd call the dine line to order room service. This is only available when the MDR is open and serving that meal. This applies to lunch and dinner. As a full suite passenger you have a special breakfast venue only for you, which is held either in Crown Grill or Sabatini's. It is usually in Sabatini's if the ship has that venue. You will receive documentation on board letting you know of some or all of the additional benefits you get as a suite passenger, including where suite breakfast is served. The menu is slightly different for suite breakfast compared to MDR breakfast. Plus they do short order cooking for suite breakfast. Feel like an omelet, they can do that. Want a whole mess of bacon and toast, they can do that. LOX, on bagel, no problem. Fruit and oatmeal, no problem. French toast, pancakes, waffle, no problem. Plus they do mimosas, espresso based coffee drinks, and so on. So you had better check out suite breakfast. No dress code either. Just throw on any old thing after you get up and head down. The Grand Princess does not have the Concierge Lounge, that is only a space on the newer Royal Class ships... and the new Sun Class ships. However, there is a separate service line at Passenger Services in the Piazza on all ships, and if you are calling passenger services they know you are calling from a suite and you tend to get prioritized. My goal is to have as little to do with passenger services as possible, and so far, I've been successful. Best way to avoid any lines with passenger services is to frequently check your on-board folio during your cruise to ensure that all charges that show up make sense and if you see something that you didn't do on your folio, report it as soon as possible. You can check your folio through the Princess app very easily. It appears that you have Princess Premier as your all-inclusive package, so you should have few on board expenses. Your gratuity is covered in Premier, along with two of your specialty dining meals, along with any casual dining venue meals, specialty deserts, juices and just about all beverages (up to $20/each). If you use the spa, that will be additional cost, along with shore excursions purchased through Princess. You are on a Grand class ship, which has the older thermal suites. Thermal suites should still be complimentary to suite passengers. Hope this helps a little.

Well, I guess I'm a heal. I didn't tip the concierge on our last cruise. I didn't think it was necessary. He was a nice guy, and quite helpful, and we chatted him up on a number of occasions. We didn't bend on him much. I think he booked one specialty dining evening for us, and booked one excursion, but I could tell he only had so much pull to make things happen. If a restaurant was booked up or if an excursion was full he didn't have any magic wand to make space. He was attentive and certainly did take his job seriously, and he ran a lovely venue, but I'm not sure if tipping would have been beneficial. I don't disagree. That is what we have been doing the past few cruises, and we've been booking Plus or Premier, so the gratuities have been bundled. I usually put some remaining "travel cash" into an envelope for our cabin steward, but that is about as out of the way as I go for tipping.

I hate those things. And they are not even leak proof. I pick up my daughter from school most afternoons and I'm in a sea of yoga pants and Stanley mugs. And then there is me in wool-poly slacks and a polo shirt with a company logo on it. I'm not sure if it is me that is out of place or them looking kooky. As for Alaska or the U.S., they explicitly say you cannot bring anything off ship. That will be announced and signs will be posted. We tend to eat hearty before a port visit, and we have some granola or protein bars with us that we brought on board in case the urge comes up. We will eat on shore if we "trust" the port location, but if not, we will wait to eat until we get back on board.

Great review. We've had aft suites on the older Grand Class ships, and they do vibrate when the ship is really hauling the mail. It never bothered me that much, in fact slept like a baby the last time we were on a Grand Class ship in an aft suite. It was the Star Princess and we were on a California Coastal cruise. There were a couple of transits between ports that required them to make speed. We had some nights with vibration, but I found it quite soothing. We were on the Discovery last year in R606. I like the mid-ships suites that are near the Concierge Lounge. Super convenient to pop in and grab a snack, chat with the concierge a bit, and even chat with some of the other passengers. A very friendly space. All the Royal Class ships are conventional screw drive, just like the Grands and the Island Class. A lot of the other cruise lines you have been on have Azipod drive, which can be smoother since each propeller is housed in a pod that swivels 360 degrees for both steering and propulsion, no rudders, and no shafts through the hull. Lots of different things make Azipods run smoother than conventional drive. The new Sun Princess is an Azipod equipped ship, so it may also have better high speed manners than the older ships. However, Azipods can have more maintenance issues which will take a ship out of production without a lot of notice. Either way, I'm glad you could be accommodated to another cabin to sleep in. Glad you liked the food and you had a good experience with services at the pool. I hadn't paid much attention to the lift chairs at the pools when I was on the last cruise, but they were there.

I certainly hope not. That sounds so ominous. But if it is your "last" trip here, make it a good one. Since purchasing a used motorhome a couple of years ago, we have visited the Oregon coast almost annually. We like to camp at Fort Stevens up near Astoria in Oregon, which is at the mouth of the Columbia River. I believe it is the largest state park campground in the U.S. And it is massive. It is also very popular, if you want to camp there during the summer, and have specific campsite in mind, like full hookups, you pretty much have to be on their web site at 7am 6 months to the day in advance of when you want to be there to book at site. There is a museum there, and the fort was a coastal defense platform from 18-something until just after WWII. There are a number of coastal defense positions in the Pacific Northwest. There are 3 at the mouth of the Puget Sound. The three up north in Washington never fired a shot in anger, basically built and never used. They were all abandoned by the military and handed over to the states years ago and have all been converted into State Parks. The concrete battlements, barracks and gun positions are all still in place. Since they are unlit, the are an eire reminder of a past time. Fun to explore, but also rather spooky. U.S. 101 runs close by Fort Stevens, but you have to detour off from it a bit to get there. 101 will take you directly to the edge of Astoria and put you on the Astoria-Megler bridge that crosses the Columbia into Washington. Megler is just a little bend in the road on the Washington Side, and going eastbound along the Columbia. If you wish to continue on the 101, then you'll turn west off the bridge and keep heading north. As a Washington State resident, it is kind of humorous that I've never been to much of the Washington coast. The Washington coast is much more rocky and rough compared to the Oregon coast which has a lot of sandy beaches. There is some sand beach coastline along Long Beach and up a ways form there, but the farther north you get the rockier and rougher it becomes. Be sure to stop in Astoria and go up to the Astoria Column. It is both historical and has the most commanding views of the confluence of the Columbia and Pacific Oceans. Astoria also has some very nice breweries and places to eat. And the Columbia River Maritime Museum there is excellent. A lot of history about the bar pilots that guide ships past the treacherous sand bar and currents that occur between the Columbia and the Pacific, plus plenty of history about shipping on the Columbia. People think of the Portland, OR, as a coastal city, however it is very inland. It is 102 miles by the River from the Pacific to the outermost terminal in Portland. https://www.portofportland.com/Navigation I would suggest visiting Portland on your Southbound journey and stay on 101 at least till Astoria. From there you can cross the river at Astoria and continue up the 101 into Washington and then decide where to cross over to get to Olympia, or you could take U.S. 30 from Astoria to the next bridge over the Columbia and Cross at Longview. Longview will put you on I-5 toward Olympia and large cities in Washington. Tillamook is a great stop. It is rather inland, you don't see much coastline from 101 at Tillamook, especially at the Tillamook Creamery, but the 101 snakes inland and back to the coast as you travel it. If you like cheese and ice cream, this is the place to stop. When I was growing up, Tillamook was just a Pacific Northwest brand, but they now have almost national presence. They are a co-op, a cooperative, so all the farmers sell their milk to the creamery and are basically owners of the creamery operation. They make cheese there and have a gallery where you can see the cheese making in action, along with packaging, and depending on when you arrive you might also see the tanker trucks coming and going. They have a huge cafe area, selling all kinds of stuff made with Tillamook cheese and dairy products. It's good food. And they have all their dairy products for sale along with the typical gift shop stuff. https://www.tillamook.com/visit-us/creamery There are a number of different agricultural co-ops in the northwest. Another one is Tree Top, located where I live, which is a huge apple and fruit food products processor. They are most well known for applesauce and apple juice, but they take apples and turn them into just about any food product you can imagine. Those little pieces of peach in Quaker Peaches and Cream oatmeal, yep, they are really dried apple pieces, from Tree Top, flavored like peaches, using peach juice. Apple can become just about anything you imagine with enough processing. The state Capitol at Olympia is a good looking place to visit, but I'm not sure what your own plans are for Olympia. It isn't a touristy destination for locals, unless you have business with the state. Elementary school kids used to go to the capitol at least once to see the legislature in session, but the place isn't really a huge draw. The capitol campus is attractive enough, but the city isn't anything special. You are going to find a lot of homelessness, people living out of ramshackle RVs and tents and such in the Olympia/Tumwater/Lacey area (Seattle, too). I'd suggest passing on Olympia and booking a room just outside Mt. Rainier NP. Or if you can find one, maybe a room at the Paradise Lodge in the park. National parks in the U.S. are not free, plus this year they are starting timed entry tickets for Rainier because it is so popular. There are numerous cabins and rentals outside the park boundary for rent, many on rivers with spectacular views and relaxing locations. I'd have you do that rather than hang out in a city, especially Olympia. Seattle is very touristy, plenty to do and see. You can blow most of a day at the Seattle Center, Space Needle and Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP). You can take a harbor cruise of Elliot Bay, or you can take a similar cruise that goes up the locks to Lake Union. Downtown Seattle is walkable, but it has lots some of its vibrancy. Not nearly as commercial and a lot less shopping and stores. Depending on where you stay and walk in Seattle, you'll find quite a few unoccupied storefronts. Boeing's Museum of Flight is excellent. The outdoor air park has many historical aircraft under cover and nicely preserved. The Museum of Flight even has a Concord that you can walk through. These are just suggestions and food for thought.

The easiest way to get a taxi is to have the front desk at your hotel call to get one. To be honest, I'm not sure your hesitance at using Uber or Lyft. I find their drivers more personable than taxi drivers and their vehicles are cleaner and less run down. I also find that a number of taxi drivers still want to be paid in cash and reluctantly accept plastic... unless their company prohibits them from that game, but you never know. The beauty of Uber and Lyft is I don't have to take out my wallet to pay, it is all done through the app, plus any tip. On top of that the app shows you were your vehicle is while you are waiting, shows you the vehicle type and license plate that is coming for you, and a photo and name of the driver. While on your ride the apps shows where you are, the route that the driver is supposed to be taking and how soon it will be until you get to your drop off point. Pricing for all ground transportation in and out of the airport is regulated, so there is little price difference between services. Pricing from the SeaTac hotels into the city is not, but all the cabs basically charge the same minute/mile rate, but comes out to be about $45/55 with a regular cab or Uber/Lyft. If you need a larger vehicle due to party size or luggage quantity, then the price goes up reflecting the cost of the larger vehicle. Last year we stayed at the Ceaderbrook Lodge, near SeaTac and sailed out of Pier 91. I highly recommend the Ceaderbrook. Anyway, the front desk knew we were doing a park and cruise and offered to hail us a black SUV to the port. I accepted. Including tip it was $100 and the driver wanted to be paid in cash. Lucky for me I had my pre-cruise wad on me, but a request to pay in cash was unexpected. We returned to the Ceaderbrook after the cruise with UberXL and the total price was $76 including the tip and the driver was both friendly and very helpful with our luggage and his SUV was spic and span.

You will be very busy and likley exhausted by the end of your cruise. That is fine. And since you have already put in 2 weeks in Alaska on your own, you may be disappointed at the port stops. the time in port can be very limited and you may be getting back on the ship at the end of the port day thinking, "if I just had one more hour." That is the biggest complaint I hear about cruising Alaska... or just cruising in general. We sailed on the Ruby many years ago when she was home ported in Ft. Lauderdale. It was my favorite of the Grand class ships, although I have a warm spot in my heart for Golden and Star Princess with their shopping cart handle location of the Skywalkers lounge (since transferred to P&O Australia and having water slides grafted onto their top decks). That said, you do have Skywalkers on board. It is not up in the shopping cart handle, but down behind the stack. It is by far the best observation platform on board. This may be the best place for you to be on Glacier Bay day. You have nearly 360 degree views and it is all warm and cozy and they are usually running the bar, too. Some folks really like being up in the Sanctuary for Glacier bay, but bookings for Sanctuary for Glacier bay book up fast on embarkation day. The Sanctuary is semi-open air, so it will not necessarily be very warm, but it is fairly secluded and on the Grand class ships, the location is excellent. It also has access to the Lotus Spa pool, which is generally a very subdued place nestled down on the first level of the spa. The Sanctuary is just a relax and hang out space with some Sanctuary only dining options, snack-like, and they have their own stewards to wait on you. It has never been a draw for me, but we've done more cooler weather cruising than warm weather cruising, so that impacts how much I want to lay around outside. Live music is all over the ship at night, and in many places during the day. Check the daily schedule to see where different groups are playing and what their music type is like. Ruby has a Crooners Lounge, think piano bar. The piano singers are generally very good. Production shows are also generally very good. Some folks think they need to be Broadway caliber, however, this is a cruise ship, there are physical limitations on what you can do on a cruise ship stage, and the shows are meant to be glitzy, and sparkly. Sometimes there is a good story line behind the show, sometimes there is no story line behind the show and it is just a series of song/dance/acrobatic routines. But they are worth going and seeing, and if you don't like one, well, you didn't pay extra for it. Generally 2 per evening. I don't recall the exact times. Ideally, you could go to the early show and eat late, or eat early and go to the later show. Sometimes a show is a comedian or musician or soloist. You'll want to be looking at the daily schedule for specifics. I covered that above, but you could hang on your balcony, I think that is the best possible place. After that I recommend Skywalkers as it is enclosed and warm. The top deck will have a lot of people hanging out on the railing, and of course if you pay for time in the Sanctuary, there is good viewing from there. Some folks will camp out on the railing on the promenade deck. You will get good views anyplace because in Glacier bay the ship swings around about halfway through the time it is at the the glacier face, before returning to the mouth of the bay and sailing on. The NPS puts Rangers aboard for the day and they do many presentations and interpretation, so look for their presentations on the schedule. Also, they will do narration when they are at the glacier face, that will be broadcast on the bridge cam channel on TV. Generally 2 formal nights, usually sea days. It is supposed to be fancy dress, suit and tie, black tie, but that is relaxed quite a bit over the years. Princess calls the casual nights Resort Casual, but business casual is an ok interpretation. You'll find it much more casual than that on most sailings. What you wear to fine dining at home will be just fine on all nights, to be honest. If you haven't read more of the boards, you'll find that "dress code" is a hot button issue. Buffet is open for all meals. The MDR is open for Breakfast all days and lunch on sea days. If you happen to be aboard for lunch on port days, you'll be limited to the buffet, along with the grill and pizza on the Lido deck (which is always a good choice), food from the International Cafe (also a good choice). But you aren't really limited even on port days. You will never starve on board and you never need to visit the buffet for any meal, even on port days, since there are other options. If you have Plus or Premier you can also order room service at no extra charge. I'm not a big buffet fan, however there are times they do put up some things that look good and taste just as good. You'll find MDR menu selections in the buffet most nights, although the buffet also has theme nights for dinner. In all our cruises we have only had dinner in the buffet once, and that was after a long port day and we were just exhausted. We had no desire to get even slightly dressed up for a long dinner in the MDR, so we put on casual stuff, and had a fast meal in the buffet, and then went back to the cabin to chill. All of your questions are very good. You are going to get a million different opinions... on everything.

Having studied marketing research, and worked in organizations that have used marketing research for decision making, a survey doesn't necessarily mean that something is coming. And if something is coming, it doesn't mean soon. Marketing research is about answering questions. Questions usually posed by management in which there is no other way to get a meaningful answer, but to find a sample of consumers and ask them what they think. Sometimes marketing research tells you valuable things you didn't know before, sometimes it tells you, what you want to hear, and sometimes it leaves you exactly where you started, with unanswered questions. A skilled company knows how much to rely on marketing research and focus groups and when to not follow the information that comes out of research. It is an art and skill. Princess does have to be careful, putting more comped dining into Plus and Premier means more difficulty getting reservations in specialty restaurants and those newly minted "casual dining" venues. It also ads complexity to the on board experience.

My wife has to go to Seattle for work about quarterly and often stays at the Mediterranean. It is nice and the neighborhood is decent. There are a fair amount of dining options within walking distance, including the "famous" Dick's burgers. Dicks is about the only affordable place to eat in Seattle, anymore. You are on the edge of the Queen Anne neighborhood, which is very pleasant. And you are walking distance to the Seattle Center, Space Needle, Museum of Pop Culture. Belltown Inn is fine. It isn't going to be a head turner, but the neighborhood is also nice enough. Belltown does have less dining options than some other neighborhoods. I remember when Belltown had a lot more dining options, but the economic pressures of operating in Seattle have really shrunk the options. The Mayflower Park is high market. Nice property. It feels more "downtown" in that area. You are close to the Westlake Center, but like all Malls, this one isn't as vibrant as it used to be. The mall is home to the southern terminus of the monorail. The monorail serves two stops, the Seattle Center and Westlake Center. It is a fun piece of history to ride, but not a mass transit option. Bang for your buck, I think the Mediterranean is the best bet. Nice location, walking distance to food and some touristy things. Probably the farthest away from any sketchy neighborhoods. Has a really nice roof deck with excellent views of the surrounding area.

Flying out of SeaTac, no matter if your schedule is relaxed or tight, be sure to use the SpotSaver tool to reserve a time through security. https://www.portseattle.org/SEAspotsaver As others have said, a 9ish AM departure immediately after your cruise is not going to happen. The 11am flight is a better choice, however, I'm not sure I would chance that. I'd recommend booking a hotel room and stay overnight and then fly out in the morning on that early flight (assuming daily flights). Visit some of the sights, enjoy a bit of Seattle, and fly out on your own schedule.

I was looking for his name. Thank you. He was terrific. We had him on a Dawes Glacier Endicott Arm cruise last year. I'm not sure what the lineup will be for the one-way Voyage of the Glaciers cruises. In my experience the cruises RT Seattle that visit Glacier Bay have Libby Riddles come aboard at some point, and a contingent of park rangers from Glacier Bay National Park come aboard for the day and do presentations when the ship is at the top of the fjord and observing the glacier face. They will then do more presentations through the day as the ship transits back down the fjord to the entry to the park. We got our National Parks passport stamped for Glacier Bay at the table they park rangers set out on one of the decks where they were hawking their wares and chatting with passengers. If your cruise is RT Seattle with Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier, then you likley have Michael Modzelewski on board. He narrates the passage up toward Dawes Glacier and does various presentations while on board. He has a very interesting speaking delivery and seems very knowledgeable. I could be totally wrong about how these folks are spread about on the various ships and routes that cruise Alaska, but that is a pattern I picked up on. Things to do on board are mostly aligned with relaxing. My daughter would spend an entire cruise in the pool if she could. But she does like the kids clubs... some of the time. I'll look at the daily schedule for the musical acts that are performing and find ones that fit my taste. I like a good jazz quartet and sometimes Princess obliges. If your ship has a Take 5 lounge, you'll have a jazz act in there every night. The Take 5 lounges are also very attractively decorated. There are usually musical performers, activities, and small theatrical events in the Piazza throughout the day. If your ship has a Crooners, they usually have a piano singer there from late afternoon well into the late evening, and they are usually excellent. There are various talk shows and game shows going on in Princess Live, assuming your ship has one. The new Royal class ships do, the older Grand Class ships do not have Princess Live. The Vista Lounge or the Explorers Lounge is where the game show and talk show events take place on the older ships. Movies Under the Stars (MUTS is the typical abbreviation you see around here), up on the main pool deck is a nice diversion. Usually recently run movies. The huge LED (or are they LCD) screens keep getting sharper and sharper, so the movies look pretty good, and the sound system up there is loud but clear. But they cover the pool loungers with covers that have pillows on them, and you can grab a blanket or two to cover up. I've watched my fair share of movies at the pool. If you are really brave you can watch a movie from the pool or hot tub. Staff come around with popcorn and cookies, the bars are open, so you can get a beverage, and the grill and pizza stand are also open, so food is close by. At night on an Alaska cruise, it can get a bit chilly up on deck, but it is still fun. The production shows are quite good. You'll hear the complainers, but this isn't Broadway and the shows are scaled to fit a cruise ship theater stage. I mean, where can you see a live production show every night, even twice a night if you want, and it is all included in what you paid for the cruise? If the production show has a good reputation, the theater will fill up, so you may want to show up early... with a beverage in hand... to get seats. So, there is lots to do on board, some of it you have to go looking for, some activities will be right in front of you.

Have you checked in with the roll call for your sailing? I presume your cruise is this year? I bet the folks in the roll call have similar concerns, and might have some ideas about making the most of the port stop, or just staying aboard. As others have stated, Victoria is a great city to visit. Very charming and pleasant. I'd have to go back into my records, but we had the 6-midnight or 7-midnight port stop and did the ship's excursion to Butchart Gardens. I recall that we had an early dinner in the MDR, and had our excursion tickets and some light jackets with us as we were going directly from dinner to the excursion. The guide on the bus was excellent, narrated about Victoria to and from the Gardens. Butchart Gardens is a bit of a drive outside the city. We walked the gardens and took photos, but it was a bit rushed. If we were just vacationing in Victoria, we would have spent more time there. Looking back at my photos, the time and date stamps show that we were off the bus and at the main gate by 8:30. I think it was a 7:30 meeting at the bus, the Gardens close at 10, and I think we had to be back on the bus by 10:30. We were back on board by 11. Bus tours always have quite a bit of "hurry up and wait", built into them. Knowing how short the port stop is, don't book any excursions until you are on board, and the selection will probably be very limited. The excursion operators already know that the port time has compressed, so they will adjust accordingly.

I have worn khaki and cargo shorts to MDR for dinner on a couple of occasions with no issues. This was combined with a polo shirt. I had a golf day vibe going... and I don't golf, but I know how to wear it. I like my shorts long, so that may also help. It isn't my first choice, but these were warm weather cruises and port days. Breakfast and lunch in the MDR are very casual. No swimwear, but shorts are not an issue. We typically book suites and breakfast in Sabatini's is our favorite. Some cruises we just kind of roll out of bed to get down there for a relaxed breakfast. In that instance its a t-shirt and basketball shorts, but Sabatini's is an out of the way place for suite passengers to have breakfast. I'd plan on just having appropriate pants and shirts and such as Princess recommends in their documentation for MDR dinner. It is still very casual most nights.

You've been directed to some good YouTube resources, be sure to check out Cruise Tips TV. Cheri has a lot of good content about cruise packing and preparation. https://cruisetipstv.com/ Do not think you have to do everything in port, or everything on the ship. If so, you'll need a vacation from your vacation when your vacation has ended. If your cruise is port intensive, choose a port day where you only meander a port on foot (assuming that the port is compatible with that, some ports calls, the port itself is very industrial, and you are miles from where the city actually lives). If the port is not, then get passes for the hop on/off bus; find a cafe or little eatery, hang out, get back to the ship early. Do some port research before you go. The on board port guides used to be pretty good, at least for hitting the high points, but since they have done away with most of the paper newsletters and documentation and are pushing communications of all kinds to the Princess app, it is best to already have this information on hand before you cruise. Any port research you do on your own is going to be better than anything the cruise line will provide. Google maps is your friend, both while doing port research and when in port. Don't be afraid to research distances to and from the ship and where you may want to go in port. Not all ports are worth visiting. For example, on some Pacific coast cruises and cruises to Hawaii from the Pacific coast, there is a port stop in Ensenada to make the cruise "legal". I'd have to go into a lot of detail about passenger shipping laws in the U.S., but Ensenada isn't an exceptional port town or experience. The only reason the ship calls there is because it needs to hit a foreign port before returning to the U.S. to make the cruise "legal" and avoid breaking the law and financial penalties associated. On Alaska cruises out of Seattle, Victoria, BC is used as the foreign port to make the sailing "legal". The port stop is so short (4 to maybe 6 hours), and so late in the day (sometimes a late evening stop (7pm to Midnight), that it makes the port difficult to enjoy unless you choose an excursion that whisks you away from the port to some place or event, and then takes you directly back to the port. Unlike Ensenada, Victoria is a great place to visit and deserves a lot more than 4 hours, but the whole reason for the port stop is less about featuring Victoria, and more about being legal with U.S. law and doing some ship provisioning before the ship heads for Seattle. I don't think there are such concerns as what I have detailed above in Europe, but it is always possible that a port on your itinerary isn't really all that wonderful, so do your research and determine if every port is worth an excursion or even getting off the ship. If nothing else, keep your plans flexible and be willing to "sacrifice" a port day for rest and recuperation. I do enjoy being on ship, at least for a couple of hours during a port day. With most of the other pax off, you'll have a lot of venues to yourself, and a certain calm descends upon the ship. It is also a good time to do any travel housekeeping, like dealing with on board billing issues with passenger services, doing laundry, having a spa day. This is where your port research is essential in ranking ports and the things you are most interested in doing in those ports, then plan accordingly. Watch your on board account. It is pretty easy to do this on the Princess app. There isn't a cruise I've done, pre-Medallion or with the Medallion, where there hasn't been a least one mystery charge show up that I had to dispute. I actually think it is easier for bar servers or specialty restaurant hosts to hit the wrong button and charge to an account something you didn't do, that somebody else was doing, than it used to be. These are not intentional errors, they are pressing the wrong button errors. On my last cruise, ever beverage I ordered was covered under Premier, however when I went up to a bar, they would acknowledge me, but then ask me to give them my cabin number. From what I could tell, the various bartenders were being super careful to not attribute a beverage to the wrong passenger. I did have a charge that I had to dispute, it was a cover charge for Crown Grill that was attached to my daughter, 8, and we never dined in the Crown Grill. I did a chat through the app and they indicated they would reverse the charge. It took a few hours to reflect, but they did reverse the charge. You are fortunate to be sailing on Sky Princess. Of the 6 Royal class ships, I think the last 3, Sky, Enchanted, and Discovery have the best execution. They all have wake view "terrace pools", a Princess favorite for many years on older classes of ships, and the central pool on Lido is more pool focused and less deck focused. The first three Royals, Royal, Regal and Majestic, all have the central pool that has the water and light show feature, but that really takes a big bite out of pool space. All of these ships have the Sea Walk, a glass floored walkway over the side of the ship. It was a unique feature when it was new, but you can only get so much marketing mileage and awe out of a glass floored walkway. The last 3 Regals extended the deck out to this walkway, so that it is more enclosed and provides more deck space. It is a neat thing to visit on a sea day, but that is about all it is. Sky, Enchanted and Discovery are also nearly cookie cutter identical. Whereas there are some significant differences between Royal, Regal, and especially Majestic. Also keep in mind that the Royal class ships are very "inward looking" ships. Without a wrap around promenade deck, like the older Grand class, or the Island class, there isn't a lot of deck space on lower decks. You'll find two large "deck" areas on Deck 7, forward and aft, port and starboard, but they are not the same as a promenade deck that goes the full length of the ship, or that even goes around the stern and bow of the ship. I was under the impression that the eateries located near those deck areas were supposed to use them for alfresco dining, but I've been on the wrong cruises as I've not seen that done. If you are looking for fresh air and sun, you'll have to get it up on Lido, or your own balcony. If you want to do some laps, you'll have to go up to the sports deck and use the walking track. Do try to use all your Plus benefits, have the fancy deserts, use the casual meals, drink some beverages, use room service. All of these packages basically benefit Princess more than you and I. Princess Plus does pencil out pretty well for us the cruiser, but it is important to remember that Princess wouldn't offer a package like this if they were loosing money on it. I agree with others, dining room lunch on embarkation day is the best way to slide into your cruise vacation. Don't ask the staff where it is. Once on board, drop off your carryons in your cabin, maybe put some clothing away so you aren't living out of suitcases. Run the safety video on the television while you are unpacking (you have to watch it to satisfy the virtual muster, anyway), and then head down to the Piazza. Look around, the dining room that has its doors open is the one that is serving lunch. In my experience it is the dining room on deck 5 at the bottom of the Piazza that usually is open for lunch on embarkation day. It can change, but my experience is that it has always been deck 5. If not deck 5, then the dining room that is one level up on 6. Operating hours are like 11 to 1:30 or noon to 1:30. It is a very small window. Remain flexible in your travels, and you'll enjoy them more.

Another vote for Airtags in luggage. We place an Airtag in all our bags, those that are being checked and the ones we carry.

@Easyrider949, hey, saw the same post over on the Princess Cruisers group over on FB. Sure glad you are getting published in all the various forum groups. That said, am I supposed to cancel my future cruises with Princess on account of your experience? What is the action I'm supposed to take with all this information? Here is what I do know, paint dries; plus, ships are always being painted from the time they are born until they go to the breakers because the sea is a terrible mistress. Most human endeavors are filled with failure before they reach success. So long as those trying to move forward keep improving, they will find success. This also means that there will be many future cruises on Sun Princess that will be spectacular for those that are lucky to sail on her. Sun Princess and her forthcoming sister will have some hiccups, but they will be worked out and undoubtedly they will sail for many years to come, wet paint and all. As for your flight costs, while I envy nobody, one of the most expensive cruises I've ever booked cost as much as your replacement business class International flight. I think you are very fortunate that you can book, or attempt to book 3 b2b cruises on a brand new ship, flying business class to Europe and back again. I will assume that you worked very hard in life to get to this station, and more power to you, but there are plenty of posters here who are lucky to cruise in an inside cabin once every 5 or maybe 10 years, and the best they can do is a flight on Spirit to Fort Lauderdale to catch the ship. Waving your greenbacks under our noses and expecting sympathy is pretty tone deaf.

Last July, Alaska, 7 days RT Seattle. Formal nights were a mixed bag. I saw some dress up on Formal nights, but they were in the minority. I dug out some old office attire, from when we wore ties, and did slacks, button up and a tie. I didn't win any best dressed awards, but I wasn't out of place either. My wife wore something sparkly, but subdued. We can always put our daughter into something dressy in about 5 minutes and she looks spectacular. Ah to be that young again. Either way, I wouldn't say that the dress code is heavily enforced. Smart casual nights are really up to interpretation. I was always in nice jeans and a polo and felt very much at home.

@Bedruthen I have to ask, if you are from overseas, will you be renting a vehicle here, or is there some other arrangement wherein you will have access to a vehicle but you can't "dispose" of it while you are on the cruise? I would think that if you were coming to the states and renting a car, that you would want to return the car to the rental agency so you weren't paying for days where you were not going to be using it. There is one large parking lot at Pier 91 that is operated by the Port of Seattle. There is an offsite parking lot that is privately operated. Seattle Cruise Park https://www.seattlecruiseparking.com/ is the privately owned facility. They do mostly valet parking and shuttle you to and from the port. https://www.portseattle.org/page/pier-91-transportation-directions-parking Is the Port of Seattle's site regarding ground transport and parking for Pier 91. The port contracts out parking management to Republic Parking and there is a link on that page to them. If you are trying to book parking online, you are being asked for the Zip code as part of the credit card authorization process. Credit card/debit card fraud is rampant and there are a number of technical tools in use to limit fraud on self-serve booking systems. Asking for the Zip code is one of those processes. It is a quick and easy way for the merchant processor to verify that the card is being used legitimately by the cardholder. You are probably saying to yourself, "wouldn't a pin number eliminate this issue?" The answer would be yes, however we only see widespread use of pin numbers with card transactions when people use debit cards. Credit card transactions remain "signature" transactions. There has been great aversion to pin based credit card transactions, and there is a push, based on how debit card are utilized, to move them toward signature transactions. It may be worth $18/minute to call the parking lots and find out how you book with them without using the online system. May I also suggest booking a hotel park and fly (or cruise) package. Most hotels with parking lots or garages offer park and fly (cruise) options, especially during the summer. Park and fly is offered by all the hotels down at SeaTac on account of their proximity to the airport. Seattle downtown hotels start to offer park and cruise options during the summer specifically for the cruising public. Then you'd just Uber/Lyft to the port on embarkation day from your hotel. A park and fly (cruise) package is quite cost effective, you get a hotel night plus the parking for one reasonable fee. The cost of parking your car at one of the lots near the port is like half of the cost of a hotel package.

It is an exclusive place to hang out and relax. Special loungers. Special staff looking in on your. Some folks really go for it, some don't. It has never been my thing. Plus if you want a whole cruise pass, you have to basically be on board early on embarkation day to even get a whole cruise booked. Lots of people express frustration getting on board early and the whole cruise bookings are all gone. Since this is your first time on a large ship, I'd recommend just picking a day or two or showing up and seeing if they have space and paying just for the day or half day to see if it is really something you like. My family is not really into the buffet. Our first cruises we avoided the buffet like the plague. We would have most, if not all, our meals in the MDR, or we'd eat from the grill or pizza on the Lido. But the changes that Princess has made on the Royal class ships with hand washing stations at the buffet entry has markedly improved sanitation. On our lass cruise the food in the buffet was just as nice in appearance as the food in the MDR on most evenings. I'm not sure if they have retrofitted the hand washing stations on the Coral Princess, but I hope they have. Coral Princess is a smaller ship compared to the Royal Class ships or even the Grand Class ships. You'll have a much more intimate experience on board. By modern standards Island Princess and Coral Princess are not large ships, they are Panamax, so by definition just large enough to fit through the old canals. I think the smaller ship will be something you enjoy.

All good questions. I can't claim to answer all, but I'll take a few of them and do my best. Your cabin location is probably just fine. Don't go through the hassle of doing this. If the cabin is on starboard (right side) and you are doing a Pacific to Atlantic transit, then yes, you will be looking out to the ocean. However, the ships transit in the shipping lanes that our in International waters. You'll be anywhere from 15 miles to maybe 30 miles away from the shore when transiting distances between ports. So, from that distance you won't see any land. Remember, on flat land, the horizon is about 10 miles away, and then the curvature of the earth kicks in and you cannot see anything on land beyond that point. I've always liked "bump out" cabin balconies. There are certain coveted balcony rooms on ships and cabins with bump outs or extended length balconies are usually the ones that people clamor for. Since you have a Reserve Class mini, I'm not surprised that the balcony is just a bit better than a regular mini. A full suite would be nice, but you will have the Reserve dining option in the main dining room (MDR) for all meals. It is a nice touch and you get seated very quickly. I'm aware of the bid upgrade process, but have never used it. It is a bit like doing an eBay auction purchase. You basically commit to Princess a particular maximum additional fare you'd be willing to pay, and if the offer is high enough you'll get a cabin in that category. It is always possible that they show no availability in the suite category, but there may be a few cabins held back for travel agent bookings or contingencies. If you see a suite offered as an upgrade bid, you have nothing to loose really, except the additional expense you bid for the room. I opted on our last cruise to get them at the port. It didn't delay our ability to get on board and I didn't have any concerns about them getting to me before we got to port. On our next cruise we'll have them delivered to the house. I think it streamlines just a little the check-in process. But as others have said, you'll get them about 3 weeks before the cruise if you have already gone through the process of "ordering" them. Yep, that is a phone call to Princess. Not much we can offer here for advice. You can make those reservations in the app. I have mixed experience with this, but it is possible. Just be on the lookout for any charges that the app wants to make to you. My experience is that if you have the Premier package your first two reservations should zero out when you go to check out. It will want to behave as if it is going to charge your card, but then doesn't. It isn't very good interface design. The new Princess app sure looks better than the old one, and I think it runs better, too, but they still have some interface and process bugs in there that need to be ironed out. Yes, you can get reservations to specialty dining on embarkation night. We've done that on most of our cruises. Don't get the reservations you want on the app? Don't see the times you want? Too close to your cruise and they are not allowing reservations? Just use the app once on board and connected to the ship network to make the reservations, or call the dine line from your cabin.

I'm grateful that you didn't flame me on that. I've been to and from Seattle since I was a kid in the80s. It used to really be the Emerald City. It is still very beautiful from 1000 or 2000 feet as you approach the airport to land, but when you get on the ground, it isn't nearly as nice as is used to be. That is why when we visit Seattle, for a cruise or just for fun, we stay in south King County, in hotel properties in Kent or Renton, or around SeaTac. We Uber/Lyft or drive in for a few hours, park in a secured facility close to where we want to be, and then go back to the hotel at night. On our last cruise we did take Link home from the stadium. We had the fortune to be able to take in a baseball game the evening before our cruise. We Ubered from the hotel in SeaTac to T-Mobile Park; $55, surge pricing. When the game was over we then walked past Lumen Field to go to 13 Coins for dinner. From there it was a quick walk to the Link station which was just beyond King Street station. That is where things started to go south. Aimless people meandering around. Numerous individual sitting on the ground leaning against buildings. We got our tickets and went down the stairs to the platform going south. More odd people hanging about. Got on the train. One or two folks acting odd in our car. They got off early. We got off when we got to the airport station, but we still had a $8 Uber ride from a hotel near the airport Link station to our hotel a ways beyond the airport. Total cost of the link ride south, $6 for two people and and $8 Uber ride, so $14... and my nerves.

May I ask where you are traveling in from? What kind of hiking are you wanting to do? If it is just being out in the fresh air, there are numerous walk/run/bike paths and greenways that the local governments have installed over the years. A lot of this done to supposedly encourage commuting by bike, but very few employers and fewer employees are located along these paths to make commuting by bike on them realistic for many. Many are located along creeks and minor rivers, some along abandoned railroad right of way. Most are very nice, but be aware of your surroundings. If your goal is to go to Mt. Rainier, that is going to require a car and driving. It is over 2 hours from the SeaTac area to Paradise. They are doing timed entry tickets this year for the first time ever. This regulates entry into the park, so you'll also have to get the recreation.gov app and book your timed entry ticket and then plan your day accordingly to get there while your ticket is good. There are a number of vacation rentals near the park boundary, and you could always stay at the historic Paradise Lodge. There are plenty of hiking paths which start at Paradise Lodge and loop around. Most of these are going to be out and back hikes for day visitors. It is possible to circumnavigate the base of the mountain from these paths, but this is going to be a multi-night backpacking/camping type of hike. You have to be serious, have the gear, know what you are doing in the back country, and probably also have a back country camping permit. Another option is to take the train to Leavenworth. You'd book that on Amtrak. Leavenworth is on the east side of the Cascades. This will be a very scenic trip, it will go through the Cascade Tunnel, both historic and a real engineering feat. Leavenworth is a Bavarian themed town that is on the east side of the Cascades. It sits in a steep river valley and is very picturesque. Plenty of nice hotels there. You'd get on Amtrak at the King Street Station in Seattle. Leavenworth is just a whistle stop or flag stop. There is only a platform and a shack where the train stops, so you'll need to have reserved tickets and the train will be knowing to pick you up for your return to Seattle. The train doesn't stop unless there are scheduled pickups. Sorry, I don't know the time tables but that can all be found on Amtrak's web site. The train platform is over a mile from the center of town. There is limited ground transport. I believe you can get an Uber. The hotel might shuttle you, but ask them about that service before you book a room. The town is totally walkable and you can rent bikes, too. If you go I recommend the Bavarian Lodge or the Enzian Inn. If you want a 5 star experience, the Post Hotel is the newest and most luxurious of them all. Most of the nicer hotel properties in Leavenworth offer complimentary morning breakfast. Make your own waffles, plus sausage, eggs, cereal, breads and pastries. You can really make a meal out of it. So much free hotel breakfast in Leavenworth that there are only a couple of restaurants in town that offer breakfast, so keep that in mind. You can also book some guided activities like floating the Wenatchee River or other guided tours. I agree with @Gardyloo, those are good suggestions. If you are looking for a nice hotel in the SeaTac area, and rent a car to go other places, the Ceaderbrook Lodge near Seatac is a good jumping off point. It is nestled into a residential neighborhood on the hill overlooking the airport. You really can't hear the airport, and can barely see it from their rooms. It is a lovely hotel, easily a 4 or 4.5 star property, also operated by the same folks that operate the Salish Lodge. There are almost infinite options for what you are asking, I could go on and on, but I'll stop here.

Seattle has regulated carshare services to the point that they are basically the same cost as taxis, within a few dollars per ride. I prefer the carshare services, Uber or Lyft, the experience is nearly identical. The vehicles are cleaner, the drivers are more personable, and the experience is cashless. It isn't uncommon for a taxi driver to pick you up and take you someplace then treat you, or your luggage, like dirt when they drop you off because you are paying with plastic. Uber and Lyft eliminate the hassle of paying for the ride at the end of the ride because the app handles it all. All it takes to check rates for any of the car share services is to download the app and then use the map to locate your beginning and ending point, and you'll get a rate albeit for the moment you are looking. A little advice from some recent experience, don't schedule rides rides in advance, like the night before your trip to the port from the hotel; the ride will usually cost you more than if you request the ride when you are ready to head to the port. My experience is that there is a premium charged for scheduled rides.