EMS8

Don't waste your money. Only 3rd run Cuban cigars are sent to Mexico and the Caribbean.

John,

Yes, plenty of restroom stops. I know what you mean!

A 1:41 p.m. flight should be an easy one to make. IMO, a cab will be the easiest way to get to YVR. It should run about 30-40 CDN and all cabs will take credit cards.

You will be charged in USA currency by your credit card company. Depending on the exchange rate, your actual fare might be 5-10 dollars cheaper. The ride from Canada Place to YVR via cab takes about 30 minutes. An alternative would be the rail. Cheaper than a cab, but not necessarily easier.

Thank-you Andy, for all that you've done for us here at Cruise Critic. Best wishes for success in your new job.

We've done whale watching with Glacier Wind. Shawn and Theresa are really great to work with. The boat is limited to six or eight people.

OP,

You probably don't want to waste your money on Cuban cigars in Mexico or anywhere in the Caribbean. First run Cuban cigars go to Europe and Asia where the money is. Second run Cuban cigars go to Canada. The third run Cuban cigars go to Mexico and the Caribbean. You could purchase much better Dominican, Honduran or Costa Rican cigars than poorly made third run Cuban cigars.

To those of you who will need to renew your passport sometime within the next 6 months or so, I can tell you first hand that it won't take very long to get your new passport.

My DW and I needed to renew our passport. We mailed the "packet" to Philadelphia Pa on July 6 2016 via USPS, requesting normal processing time. Since our next cruise is not until January 2017, there wasn't any need for expedited processing.

We received our new passports today!! A total of 16 calendar days. Now that is fast processing. I think the last time we renewed our passports it took about three to four weeks to get them.

Just thought I would let all of you know how quickly they are processing passport renewal currently.

If you are talking about an S1 sky suite on a Solstice class Celebrity ship, verses a mini suite on Princess, there is no comparison. Hands down the sky suite wins, especially if it is one of the aft corner sky suites. You will find far more similarities than differences between Celebrity and Princess.

We've sailed Celebrity for twenty years and have been on every class of ship in the fleet. We took our first Princess cruise in March of this year on Royal Princess. We liked it so much, we will be back on Royal in January.

Most of the balconies on the "hump" are at least sixty square feet. We were in D424 on Royal and it is more than 65 square feet. Four to six people could easily sit on that balcony. We are in R429 on Royal this coming January, and I expect the balcony to be at least 65 square feet or greater.

We have been as close as 1/2 to 1 mile away, and as far as 5 miles away. It all depends on the amount of ice in the bay.

Thank-you for a great report and balanced review. We board Royal on the 23rd. Hope we have as good as cruise as you did.

What a great start to a "live from." Hope you have a fantastic cruise. We will be boarding Royal on March 23rd for our first Princess cruise. Here's wishing you warm sun and cool breezes.

We are on our first Princess cruise in March, and we had the pre-cruise e-mails until a week or so ago. Suddenly they disappeared from our cruise personalizer.

Lois,

Have a great river cruise. I hope you enjoy it as much as the Celebrity cruises you've taken. After nearly 20 years with only sailing Celebrity, we've decided it's time for a change. Celebrity doesn't seem to value the long time customers anymore, and since Michel Roux left, the food has declined to not much better than cafeteria food.

Steelers36

I will be anxiously awaiting for your wine selection report from your sailing on Regal. We will be sailing on Royal in March (our first Princess cruise) and we like good wine. We have been used to the wine selection on Celebrity ships.

Hughdm

We just did the five night Celebrity pre-cruise cruise tour in July 2015. We started in Anchorage at the downtown Marriott. The hotel was just fine, in a good location for dining and coffee.

Took the Alaska railroad to Talkeetna. The train ride was fun, a great host and lots of great scenery. Saw moose and our first look at Denali as we were getting close to Talkeetna. We were lucky to be in the 30% club as Denali was in full glory. The Talkeetna Alaskan lodge was a nice place to stay. Just remember, food prices in Alaska will be 30-50% higher than what you probably pay at home.

We stayed in Denali Park Village 2 nights and that was a very decent place to stay. We were in the cabins. We booked our own Denali park tour to Eliesen visitors center. About an 8 to 8 1/2 hour trip. Saw lots of wildlife.

Hotel Alyeska was our last place to stay. It is a VERY nice hotel.

Lots of bus riding time which seemed to go by quickly. We had a good bus driver and tour director.

I can probably answer any other cruise tour questions you might have.

I can speak from recent experience. We stayed at Denali Park Village last month on our Celebrity cruise tour. The village is a fine place to stay with good service and good food. Just remember, nearly every thing in Alaska is expensive. They also provide free transportation to Denali Park. They leave every hour on the hour to Denali, and return to the village on the half hour. I believe this goes late into the evening. You would need other transportation if you wanted to go to "glitter gulch."

Please at least consider booking a Mini-Suite. Worth it for the larger bathroom and extra space with a full couch.

 

LuLu

Thanks for the info. Maybe a mini-suite on our 2nd Princess cruise. I think the hump stateroom will work for our first Princess cruise.

Thank you all for the information you've given me. We booked our first Princess cruise today. Sailing on Royal and have one of the hump cabins on deck 9. Looking forward to seeing some cruising friends we sailed with 2 years ago.

Thanks again.

Thank you all for the info you've provided. Even though I said we like the aft balconies on Celebrity M-class, we just like a decent sized balcony that might be partially covered. A place to sit comfortably and enjoy the scenery with some shade/sun.

Can any of you recommend a regular, deluxe or premium balcony stateroom that you have stayed in and really liked? One of those staterooms you always try to book on Royal?

Hello all. My DW and I have been loyal Celebrity cruisers for almost twenty years and have sailed in every class of ship, some of those ships more than once. We are now looking to try Princess and we need your help. We really like the aft staterooms on the M-class ships for their huge balconies. Are there any comparable staterooms on Princess ships?

Cruising friends have said that Caribe deck has the largest balconies. Is this true?

We are looking at a 10 day cruise on Royal. Is this a nice ship?

We see on the Princess web site there are deluxe balcony staterooms and premium balcony staterooms. What is the difference between those staterooms, other than price?

Any help with information would be appreciated.

Thanks

Hi Nancy,

Looks like you had a great time. We begin our 12 night cruise tour/cruise on Celebrity Millennium on July 5th. Did you stay a Denali Park Village on your tour? If so, how did you like it and do they provide transportation to the Wilderness Access Center?

Thank you for the information. I'm glad you and your DH had a great trip.

So it appears that Denali Park Village does not provide complimentary transportation to "glitter gulch" or even to the Wilderness Access Center?

What would you suggest be used for transportation to the WAC at 6:30 a.m.?

Lovetotraveltx,

Thanks for the cruise tour info. Why did you not like Denali Park village?

How did you like the cruise and how is Millennium?

Hope you and your DH had a great 30th anniversary celebration.

Lovetotraveltx,

Welcome home.

Just need a few answers about the cruise tour since we will be on your same tour on July 5th.

How does the handling of luggage work? Any problems?

How much did you have to pay for the TWT and did you have a good time?

What did you think was the best part of your cruise tour?

Thanks