paylady

We have two free perks for an upcoming sailing in two months. Is it possible to switch our free perk choices after final payment but before sailing?

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Thanks for a great review. We leave on the next voyage. I, too, would love to see the Patters. Especially days 1 and 3 if you have the time.

Yes, the DR will be open at 5:30, maybe even 5. Dining room times are on the back page of the Princess Patter. ATD worked well for us on a Baltic cruise on the Royal, as passengers were spread throughout the evening. Believe Club Class Dining is in the Deck 6 mid ship DR. This DR also has very early traditional dining and opens for ATD at 7:30. If you like to dine early you will be in the deck 5 mid ship DR, so Club Class should not be a factor. We have been using ATD since it was introduced in the early 2,000's. We generally find it hectic on the first evening, and dine in another location. The Regal has a great buffet, Alfredo's is also very nice. International Cafe & Trident Grill are also places we have dined on the first night. Most ships the maitre'd allow reservations for ATD. Reservation times are fixed for example 5:30, 5:45, 7:30, 7:45. You can call the dine line if you want a table for a group and make a reservation.

When you say "You can call the dine line...", is that pre-cruise or once on the ship? I took it to mean once we board.

Thanks everyone for your quick responses! :)

We will be traveling on Regal Princess this summer (Baltic). This will be a port intensive cruise and I can't imagine traditional dining working for us this time. I haven't experienced anytime dining since the new Club Class was implemented and was wondering how this has affected the Regal. I am wondering what to expect. When do the anytime dining rooms seem busier?

I was wondering if I'm foolish to attempt a group dinner with folks we're traveling with on Day 1. Muster will most likely be scheduled for 5 pm, so I'm hoping the DR will open around 5:30. Do you think it will be crowded when it first opens? On other nights we can wing it and eat when it's not so crowded.

Paylady...just checking to see if you received my email.?

We're all set. I forwarded an email to you.

The 5K price was a JS on Brilliance going Westbound.

I believe you booked Eastbound??

 

The westbound Brilliance GSs were much more than a JS.

 

You got a fantastic deal!!

 

See you on Jewel....

 

 

 

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Don't ask me how it happened, but I did get the westbound price for $5014.52. It was the last GS. I jumped on it!

Cabin 1100

It was $5014 with C&A Diamond+ discount. $800 higher than cabin 9256

 

9256 was available 20 mins ago

 

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The weird thing about this cruise is that the GS cabins were listed as the same price as the JS. I paid the same as you quoted for the JS as for the last GS. Go figure. I wonder if the JS prices will go down in the future.

In any case, I'm satisfied.

Thanks for the review. We are Diamond Plus on RCL and have been slowly trying other lines.

The Star was our first Princess ship and I wouldn't hesitate to cruise her again. We were in Alaska on Star Princess and I have to say it was our best Alaska cruise after six previous ones on RCL. Princess does a superior job in Alaska. Aside from going to Glacier Bay, they bring Libby Riddles aboard, have puppies in the piazza, a guest lecturer that's actually decent and the cruise director staff dresses as lumberjacks. They really immerse the cruise in the Alaska experience.

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The Anchorage to Vancouver journey is far superior to a Seattle round trip journey IMHO. For instance, Seattle round trip cruises go west of Vancouver Island in open sea. You see more of Canada's inside passage with a cruise to/from Vancouver.

Some ideas for you to consider ...

First decide what your priorities are before committing yourself to an excursion and go from there. First a little generalization. Many like visiting Pompeii and consider this number one on their list while others consider the drive along the Amalfi Coast as their number one priority for the scenery. Determine which category you fall under. Do you care anything for roaming the towns and perhaps shopping. Think about what interests you.

As you've already mentioned, ship excursions are always an option. After that, determine whether someone on your particular voyage has an opening on a shared independent tour that match your interests. Eight person vans can ride along the scenic coasts a lot easier than buses. These independent tours can be found posted on your ship's roll call. You can also check romeinlimotoursharing or italytoursharing dot com.

Lovely photos and trip report.

Hi there! From the visitors center, how far would the Burger Queen/fishing restaurant be walking distance?

 

Also, can we rent bikes while in town?

 

Thank you!

Maybe 5 minutes distance between the two.

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They had a similar uninspiring menu on Serenade for the Canada/NE sailing. It certainly jumped out as cost reduction to me.

Very disappointing.

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By the time we reached Ravenna we knew we wouldn't be interested in more churches so we planned a nice lunch. I researched restaurants on Tripadvisor and mapped it. We took the cruise bus and walked to the restaurant from there. We had a great lunch and relaxing day.

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Rome in Limo recommended them to me when they didn't have any more drivers for Livorno to Florence so we booked with them. It was a rainy morning and we waited and waited. We gave up after more than 40 mins. Our driver finally got a hold of us after 90 mins. He was at the wrong ship. I will never use Italy Privat Excursions again.

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For my part, they can skip the one port in Turkey on our next cruise.

So sad what's happening there and throughout the globe.

Hi Karen!

We took the Star Southbound in June and loved it BTW. Princess ships really immerse themselves in the Alaska experience. As for Whittier, there is nothing there. It's nothing like Seward. Use the time to relax until your excursion.

You really can't go wrong with either line.

Is cash needed or do you use room card? After 5 cruises on Princess we've never used the self laundries.

You use your room card to get tokens from a machine in the laundry room. Very convenient.

Save yourself the effort and do your laundry on the Coral Princess. Much more convenient than looking for a laundromat in Anchorage. We used the ship's laundry the day we boarded and it was empty. Very convenient.

Washers and dryers cost $3 each on Princess.

Bring lots of money. Prices in Alaska are higher than the lower 48.

Not a critism, just a fact.

Last year when we sailed in a GS (14730) we met in the CL on the last day to be escorted off the ship at the posted time.

 

I know Star class gets escorted out by their genies.

 

Do Sky still have this service of meeting and be escorted down as a group?

 

Thanks

I've personally experienced a lot of inconsistency on this practice not only among ships, but among different concierge personnel. If you have same ship/same concierge on your sailing, you may have better luck with a consistent result. :)

I'm on the Oasis in a Sky level suite. I'm happy to answer any questions about the new suite benefits or the Oasis.

 

So far I have not seen many changes from the old suite program at the Sky level aside from the seapass card and VOOM.

 

The seapass card for sky suite is now purple vs gold card. I also saw a dark blue seapass card. I do not know which suite level gets the blue card. A piece of paper with an access code for VOOM was attached to the seapass card at checkin.

 

There is a 50% discount on a specialty restaurant if you My Time dining. I guess they are trying to keep the lines shorter on the first day.

 

I saw a couple in the elevator with their suitcase. They had a pair of handcuffs inside. In case you were thinking of bringing some, don't. Handcuffs are not allowed.

 

There is a Tiffany store onboard now. I'm not sure when it was added. Tiffany and Co. wasn't here in 2014 when I sailed after dry dock.

I just wanted to offer a big THANK YOU for starting this post and taking time out of your vacation to help the rest of us understand the new process.

Do they always seat you at a table by yourselves, or is it possible to share a table on occasion?

How does ViaRail work with luggage?

I see the website refers to carry on luggage. Does that mean we take our large luggage on the train car with us?