mvaughn11

When we were in line to go thru customs, I can't tell you how many were led by porters that kept just going past us...

3 minutes ago, shof515 said:

After you purchase them, in a day or so you will get an email that says Newegg – eGift Card Certificate. In this email, is a link to view/print the gift certificate.  When you view the gift certificate, you will see a card number and pin code. You can use these numbers to make online payment to a cruise, place a depsoit, make funshop orders, etc. If you want to use it on board, print out that whole page and give it to guest services on board to use on the ship 

Thanks so much for the info.!

Thanks! I got 2...

Sorry to ask newbe questions but I have no experience with gift cards and Carnival but have read where others use them...

How does an e-gift card work? I assume I'll get an email with the gift card. Does the email come from Carnival? How do I redeem? Do I just put it on my account before the cruise online, call Carnival ahead of time or redeem when I check in on the cruise?

Thanks in advance!

Your reservation confirmation email will indicate what you will be getting. Mine did. It says free bottle oh house wine or 50% off on wines on the Steakhouse wine list.

Found a nice little store called "Brown Jug" at 5th and I, across from Captain Cook hotel. Nice wine selection.

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After posting, I Googled and found that this same question was answered by AKSusan 5 years ago (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1564809). My apologies for not doing my research before my OP.

Thanks AKSusan and AKStafford for your replies!

So we fly to Anchorage in a few days. We're staying overnight before the cruise at the downtown Hilton. We're cruising southbound on Princess and would like to take on board with use the allowed one bottle of wine. I was wondering if any of you experienced travelers might recommend a place downtown where one could buy a nice bottle of wine?

Thanks in advance!

I'm not sure what I'll be reading on the cruise but I thought some good reading preparing for Alaska was in order so I recently finished James A. Michener's "Alaska". Good read to get historical background on the places we will be visiting...

We were on the Caribbean Princess last week and Bonaire was one of our stops. We were not intrigued by any of the Princess Excursions but decided to go Snorkeling with Woodwind. We were snorkeling all morning. The Catamaran ride to the two snorkeling sites, the included beverages, the snacks, the meal, the included adult beverages, everything was excellent.

We have snorkeled on many occasions and would have to say we really enjoyed Woodwind. The staff is excellent and all very attentive! They had very good equipment for us to use. We saw all kinds of fish while snorkeling and we saw 6 sea turtles, which was the most awesome part of the whole day. I would highly recommend Woodwind!

We've eaten several time at the Crown Grill and highly recommend it. We've also done Sabatini's on a few other ships. We prefer Crown Grill over Sabatini's

Thank you for posting these!

We love Crown Grill.

This video will answer many of questions about Curacao - Enjoy.

https://www.iflymagazine.com/EN_GB/beach/littlesecrets-curacao

Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for the review! We've been on Regal and Caribbean but not Coral. We go on Alaskan cruise on the Coral Princess this summer. Thanks for the info!

Last year on the Regal we watched several playoff games in the smaller auditorium.

Let's hope not! I think we there on the 15th of March also.

That's unfortunate for Southbound cruises. Ketchikan is towards the end of the cruise...

We have a saying here in Alaska; " Alaska is just a short drive from Anchorage" (Think about it)

 

As cities go, I suppose Anchorage isn't too bad. However, you need to spread your wings a bit and explore outside Anchorage. I'd suggest you spend a few of your 3-4 days pre-cruise somewhere other than Anchorage. There is WAY too much here in south-central Alaska to see and do to limit yourself to Anchorage.

 

Things can be pricey here... especially in tourist season. But don't pinch pennies... especially if you are not planning to return. You don't want to be the guy who spends the rest of his life saying "I wish we would have done {insert activity name here} while we were in Alaska". Or, worse yet, spend the rest of your life listening to your wife say, "I wish we would have done {insert activity name here} while we were in Alaska"..... because you know she'll be blaming you! ;)

 

 

Hope this helps,

 

Brian

Lots of good things to take to heart. Thanks for the words of wisdom Brian!

Hey Mark,

 

It kind of depends on what you're looking for...

 

If you want to see whales, get a whale watching trip out of Juno. We have done this twice, and they both rank in my top 10 experiences of my life!

 

If you want to see bears (through an expensive shore excursion) or go fishing, do Ketchikan.

 

If you want to see glaciers, Hubbard is amazing! I've heard good things about Glacier Bay as well, but I haven't been.

 

Tracy Arm Fjord is also great - but that's a trip for the fjord and not the glacier (which is meh) or the wildlife (exceptions). I have also heard lots of cases of people not 'getting into' the fjord (fog?). Pretty neat, but a bit risky and less awe-inspiring than some alternatives.

 

The Inside Passage is neat, but you'll get similar sights bopping around the ports in AK. Not needed.

 

I'm not a fan of Skagway. An area super rich with history, but the town feels like a huge tourist trap. Victoria is also not note-worthy IMO.

 

On that note, I've generally been disappointed with the port towns themselves. Most are pretty redundant with each other, with many of the shops owned by the same people. For me, the value of Alaska is on the water (seeing wild life, glaciers, etc.), and through some shore excursions.

 

I glanced at the Princess website, and if you can live without the fjord, I would suggest the SB from Anchorage to Vancouver.

Your advise is spot on!

Because of our schedules I booked the Southbound from Anchorage. We will plan on doing 3 to 4 days in Anchorage area and then hop on the ship. When booking the cruise, I noticed that most people booked staterooms on the coastal side of the ship (Port in this case). Makes since after thinking on it for a second

So luckily I jumped on the bandwagon b/c I noticed only about 5 balconies on the Port side left.

It's hard to believe this cruise is almost as expensive as our 2 week Mediterranean cruise on the Royal Princess last summer!

Thanks again for the tips and advise!

"There are four cruises we’re considering. Most go to several of the same places but it seems everyone has a slightly different itinerary. So the opinion/advice we seek is this: if we are only going on an Alaskan cruise once, what place(s) are a must see and which ones you could take it or leave it. The options are: Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay National Park, College Fjord, Victoria, Tracy Arm Fjord, Inside Passage, Hubbard Glacier.

 

Also, for us, the ship experience is always important. Which of these ships do you like or dislike and why: Ruby Princess, coral Princess, Star Princess, and Emerald Princess."

 

* I would select the Coral or Star. Both have an indoor pool. Both have an aft show lounge. The Coral has less passengers and lots of public space. The Star has more passengers but still has lots of public space as well as Skywalker's Lounge a great viewing area.

* If you can go to Glacier Bay it is a good choice.

* You didn't ask, but if you are only going to Alaska once then book a Cruisetour that visits inland Alaska either pre or post cruise. The land tour is really nice. There are lots of selections, but work quickly the cruisetours sell out.

Thanks for the advice on the Cruisetour. I had not considered that and will definitely look into it!

Hi Mark-

 

The inside passage is the passage that All Alaska cruises use. Skagway, Ketchikan and Juneau are the usual ports in the Inside Passage with different itineraries of those same ports. The Northbound/Southbound cruises usually Start or Stop in Vancouver. If you are taking a Northbound or Southbound cruise you probably won't stop in Victoria because that is your required "foreign" port of cruises traveling Round trip from Seattle.

 

In my book, any Alaska cruise that includes Glacier Bay is the best especially if you are planning on only going once.

 

Alaska is ever changing and is addictive. We've been 3 times. One roundtrip from Seattle to Tracy's Arm, One cruise tour that followed a Northbound cruise from Vancouver and one Round Trip from Seattle that sailed to Glacier Bay. We are booked again on the Ruby for 2017 that includes Glacier Bay. The Star, Ruby and Emerald are all Grand Class ships, although the Star is older and and an older configuration. The Coral is a smaller ship that was designed to traverse the panama canal. It is not my favorite ship, but she has a strong following of fans.

 

Patty

Thanks Patty! This is all very helpful!

It might help to do some research on the Alaska board, here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=55

 

so you can understand what each of those locations offer. You would also see the high priority placed on Glacier Bay.

Thanks CruiserBruce for the reference! I'll check it out.

This is my first post to start a thread so please be gentle…

Traditionally, we are warm weather cruisers who loves topical, exotic locales. This Summer, we're taking an Alaskan Cruise that DW has been wanting to go on for a long time. We'll probably only go once, since we do love the warmer weather so much, so I want to make sure that we make this one special and see and experience the best.

So, decisions, decisions... Princess offers a lot of options. It’s a little overwhelming; so, I seek your opinions and advice.

There are four cruises we’re considering. Most go to several of the same places but it seems everyone has a slightly different itinerary. So the opinion/advice we seek is this: if we are only going on an Alaskan cruise once, what place(s) are a must see and which ones you could take it or leave it. The options are: Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay National Park, College Fjord, Victoria, Tracy Arm Fjord, Inside Passage, Hubbard Glacier.

Also, for us, the ship experience is always important. Which of these ships do you like or dislike and why: Ruby Princess, coral Princess, Star Princess, and Emerald Princess.

Thanks in advance for help in making this big decision easier!

-Mark

We will be on the Princess Regal in a few weeks. Does anyone have any pictures of the Shooting Simulator and Putting green, bocce ball, and croquet area? Or know where to find them? (not on the Princess web site.)

 

Also Is there alot of outside space? We like sitting on the promenade deck and with the deck not going around, I am concern about getting a place to sit.

 

Thanks!

I don't have pictures of the putting green but definitely spent about 30 minutes on it puttering around waiting for a gorgeous sunset. It is not like some ships who have miniature golf. This is definitely a putting green, like you see at the country club (with indoor/outdoor carpet). Never saw bocce ball or croquet.

On a side note; it truly is a spectacular ship and you should really enjoy it.

Open mouth insert foot. I answered the wrong question. Before our recent cruise I looked for UBD and only found what they now refer to as "Deluxe Balcony Breakfast for Two". You can find that under Onboard Reservations \ Culinary Delights. Sorry for my confusion... Cheers!