catugirl

We did Alaska on RCCL, but we cruised on Island Princess through Panama Canal. Loved that ship. The service, food, entertainment and general atmosphere of the ship were great.

As to Alaska, be sure to do whale watching. We did that in Juneau, and saw a humpback breach the water twice, along with seeing Orcas, sea lions and eagles. We did crab catching and a crab feast in Ketchican. We did the White Pass railroad tour in Skagway. We visited Hubbard Glacier; it was eerily beautiful. Loved all we saw and did in Alaska. Such a majestic place.

Is the soot and exhaust problem with aft balconies on all Princess ships? We have booked an aft suite on Crown Princess for Jan., 2014. We usually just book a balcony cabin mid ship. Since we spent the extra money to splurge this time around, we would hate to have our cruise ruined.

Beth

Our first cruise (on another line) to Panama Canal DH and I were traveling with seven other people, and in two Central American countries we opted to stay on the ship in port. We slept in, watched a movie, worked out, read a book, lounged in the Solarium and met some new people onboard. Our traveling companions ridiculed us for not getting off in those ports, but we had unrushed, peaceful, pleasant days onboard. It's nice to avoid the chaos once in a while.

I guess it must be posted somewhere, but I can't find it, so I'd appreciate your input. If I get the Classic, does DH have to get it, too? He likes top shelf liquor, but I'm not picky about liquor. So would it be acceptable for me to get the Classic and DH the Premium?

We did the tour that had the brief stop at Orient Beach, and had the longer stop in Marigot - but it also had the stop at Maho Beach for planes - we were only at Orient Beach for maybe 20 minutes - just long enough to hop out of the bus and look around and get a quick drink - and the stop at Maho was a little over 30 minutes, but he had timed it so that we got to see several big jets land, and saw one take off as well! It was plenty of time for us!

We just did Bernard's Tour on Jan. 9th. We signed up for Tour #2 and spent a little over two hours at Orient Beach. It was wonderful...such a gorgeous beach! We were able to get lunch at La Playa (where Bernard's drops you off), but it was expensive. They wouldn't take our VISA card because their charges were in Euros, so take cash if you want food or drink there. Rented 2 beach chairs and and an umbrella for $20. There are also restrooms at La Playa. We were only at Marigot for 30 minutes; there is a wonderful French pastry shop (Sarafinas) at Marigot. We were at Maho Beach for 30 to 45 minutes and saw multiple planes land...something I've always wanted to do. Along the way we also went to an iguana farm and stopped to see a little guy on the water who let us hold a sea anemone and a live sand dollar; he had multiple conch shells which he would just let people take. Of course, he expected a tip. We had DJ as a tour guide, and he was good. He offered to let us off at downtown Phillpsburg to shop at the end of the tour, but everyone was exhausted and no one took him up on his offer. It was an extensive tour of St. Martin/St. Maarten. We were pleased.

question for you who booked. I booked online and did the $5/person paypal reservation. But besides that I didn't get any sort of confirmation. Did anyone else?

 

I am excited to go on the tour too - just want to make sure I really have reservations - didn't hear anything.

 

THanks!

We're booked wirh Bernard's Tours for next week. I received an email from Bernard right after we booked. You might want to contact him via his website to make sure he has your reservations.

For those of you who ave already taken his tour, when. You visited Orient Beach, do we need to bring our own towels or are towels available there?

Anyone know if there are bathrooms on Kon Tiki or at the beach where they stop?