uababs

Thanks for this thread! Hubby and I are considering the March 14 sailing; Northern Lights is a serious bucket list item for him! We did Viking River's Rhine Getaway last month and loved it, but prefer ocean cruises.

Just got a catalog from Viking which shows this itinerary in January, February and March, but the US website only shows the March sailings. No worries for me, I have no interest in going that far north before March! Not sure I really want to go before July, actually, but the Lights won't cooperate! I'll be following this thread, and showing hubby the photos from jimgri as incentive

We were just there with a 2 and 4 year old. Hired Bernard's Tours for a private tour, and it was perfect for us. Four adults and the two kiddos.

We wanted the private tour so that the littles weren't antsy waiting for others, and others weren't inconvenienced by the littles! A little more expensive than their group tours, but perfect for us! Plenty of room in the van for six people and all the stuff that goes with kids! Cold water, soda, beer, juice and rum punch were on board for us! We requested a car seat for the two-year-old, and it was provided, at extra cost.

Our tour was their regular route around the island, but we got to specify the beach and how long we wanted to stay at any given stop. Chose Le Galion beach because it is so kid friendly, had lunch in Marigot at Enoch's (I recommend it!). David was our driver, and he was great! Has lived in the island for many years and is very knowledgable of history and the sights!

At Le Galion beach, restrooms are availabe. Four chairs and two umbrellas were $28 total (USD, at par), for a half day. Stops also included the sea urchin guy, the iguana guy, time in Marigot to stroll thru the market, and Maho Beach to watch the planes come in. David even stopped at a local liquor store so we could by rum and cigars!

Would definitely use Bernard's Tours again!

I've been on both ships, prefer Miracle. Sailed her in Alaska last year. Loved Alaska so much we are going again next year on Legend, another Spirit class ship.

Miracle in AK this year may be cheaper because of some propulsion problems she is having. Carnival has eliminated one port for most of the season. Still, the scenery is so beautiful you will have a wonderful cruise!

You may want to compare this year's prices to the same period next year. If there is a substantial difference, take that into your planning!

Happy cruising!

That's total BS. I have never been on a cruise ship that does that, and I have sailed on several cruise lines. And if I did, I would remove the name as soon as I discovered it. It is nobody's business who I am unless I volunteer that information. To me it is an invasion of privacy if the cruise line stoops to that tactic. It is a failure to respect the privacy of their passengers.

Not BS at all. Princess does indeed put pax names on cabin "mailboxes." Easily removed if you wish. Oddly, on our 15 day cruise in March, our cabin steward didn't once refer to us by name, even tho we left our name tags on the mailbox.

As for roll calls, I joined my first one last year which turned out to be a large and very fun group. Had three social get togethers on board, one at a portside tavern, one shared excursion. Thought it was fun to run into "familiar" faces around the ship or in ports.

I'll continue to check out roll calls and decide just how involved I want to be, once we figure out where we are going next!

On my last cruise I had to go to GS on disembark day to get my SnS card replaced! Seems I left it in my pants pocket the night before, and packed those pants in my checked luggage!!

But I was awake very early, and only one other person in line. He had also packed his card!!

Of course, I was tempted to not replace the card, since you can't get off the ship without it :p

Yes, the points can be used for any travel. You won't earn double points like you would charging a CCL trip, but the points can be used for your NCL cruise, or for airfare or hotels. Happy travels!

On Island Princess last month DH and I were in a mini, friends were in a regular balcony. Checked out their cabin - no way would I book one of those for two of us, let alone for three!

The bathroom was impossibly small, too. DH called it an airplane bathroom! I would definitely recommend a mini suite.

Happy travels!

It's the Coral Princess and the Island Princess that have the aft decks, correct? Which decks are they on? Do they have good bow space too? Were there nearly always loungers available?

 

Which HAL ships had the good bow space? Were there loungers there? Did they have aft space too?

 

Thanks so much!

On Coral and Island Princess aft decks 10 and 11 have loungers. These decks also have great forward decks (spent hours on deck 10's forward deck on Island thru the Panama Canal last month), but no loungers.

Those aft decks are also good for hanging out while doing laundry!

We had an aft wrap balcony on Carnival Miracle last year in Alaska. Spent lots of time there, sometimes with just a light jacket, other times with coat, hat, gloves and famous carnival bathrobe over all!

Whatever you chose, you will have an incredible experience. I'm already bugging DH for a return trip!

Just a note about Reflextions. If your cab driver doesn't know the name, tell him/her Nikki Beach. The name has recently changed, and our cabbie seemed not to know the new name.

We were there in March. They have a deal for cruisers, $10 for chair and umbrella, with a free drink. Included use of showers, restrooms and their pool. Beach area is small and uncrowded. Enjoyed it!

Yep, that's me! I can't count the number of times I've started a sentence with "So I was reading on CruiseCritic today and ...." My ever-so-patient husband rolls his eyes and pretends to listen!

But he has never complained when something I have learned here benefits us! Like saving $5 bills to cover onboard spending (adds up much faster than saving loose change), or finding a great independent excursion, or a fun group of new friends on a roll call.

Yes, I'm obsessed. And not one bit apologetic!

On our recent Island Princess cruise I saw a young woman (mid 20s maybe) enter the MDR in fairly short shorts and matching top.

However, OP, I can't imagine you will need another suitcase for one pair of dress pants! Take out one pair of shorts, or a pair of shoes, add the pants! On our 15 day trip I could have managed with only one pair of black pants, although I did pack two pair. And I usually changed out of the pants soon after dinner, so they didn't get much wear!

Happy cruising!

Last year we hired Howard Mallory to take us up to Emerald Lake. http://www.alcanexcursions.com

He picked us up right at the dock and we got out ahead of the tour buses. He is a retired highway engineer for the state of Alaska and is very knowledgeable about the area. He will stop at all the good spots, and whenever you ask him to.

On the return he took us up above Skagway (Dyea Rd, I think), and there was an overlook down to the town and the ship. Once back in Skagway he offered to drop us off in town so we could shop and walk back to the ship, or to drop us at the ship.

A little pricey for just the two of us, but you may be able to find a couple of folks on your roll call to share the ride and the expense.

Enjoy your cruise!

Last year, first week of May, Glacier Bay day was cold, raining and grey the entire day. All of my photos are "fifty shades of grey!" But it was an incredible day nonetheless.

Be sure to take a waterproof jacket, and maybe a rain poncho, too. I stood on deck for a couple of hours until my waterproof jacket leaked at the shoulder seams. Then I moved to my aft-wrap balcony, which paid for itself that day!

Glacier Bay is amazing, regardless of the weather!

Just off Island Princess, Panama Canal full transit. Out of 5 cruises, this is our favorite ship! Love the all-the-way-around true Promenade deck!

Very easy to get around, once you figure out that the forward elevators only go down to deck 7, then you need to walk to midship to walk down or take the glass elevators to 4/5/6.

The ship never felt crowded, unless you were at the theater or Horizon Court at peak times.

"Secret" aft decks on 9 and 10 (maybe others) have loungers and are covered for hanging out while doing laundry! Our cabin was very far forward and the walk back and forth from the laundry felt like 10 miles, so I just chilled on the aft deck with a good book.

And the forward deck on 10 was awesome for viewing our Canal transit (although no loungers).

Already thinking about another trip on this wonderful ship!

The salmon they have in the dining room on the first day is exquisite.

I'm not much of a salmon eater, but I had some for lunch on embakation day, and I agree. It was excellent!

At dinner a couple of times our tablemate had salmon over the pasta alfredo with the parmesan bowl.

This has been mentioned before, but deserves repeating. The best Princess secret is the embarkation day lunch in one of the main dining rooms. We are just off the Island Princess, Panama Canal full transit.

After the hubbub of embarkation, it was a quiet respite to have lunch in the MDR. When we first arrived it seemed that they weren't serving. There was no one at the host stand, no people to be seen. But we walked further in and a host saw us and motioned us in. There were only a handful of folks eating, tucked back into a corner!

Good food, good service. Great start to a great cruise!

Just finished our first Princess cruise! March 2-17, Panama Canal full transit, Ft Lauderdale to LA, Island Princess. What a wonderful ship!

We were in Cabo last week. Took a tour with Whale Watch Cabo. Highly recommend this company! Tour guides are marine biologists with lots of knowledge about whales. We happened to hear a whale singing, stopped the engines and just listened to its song. Soon another whale came along and swam under and around us for at least 15 minutes. Amazing experience! We saw several other whales besides.

The guides are also experienced photographers. They take pictures during the tour, then post them to be downloaded. No charge for the pictures. Their dock is a few minutes' walk from the tender dock.

We sailed out of Vancouver in April. Bags were x-rayed in the cruise terminal. As an earlier poster stated, carryon sized bags will fit thru the scanners.

If you can, spend an extra day or two in Vancouver, it's a wonderful city! Have a great cruise.

With airfare to Europe so expensive, I'm thinking of flying to Switzerland, doing a river cruise - Basel to Amsterdam - then a Norway Fjords cruise, then a Trans-Atlantic home. Rather than three separate trips over three years.

Probably too much logistics, and timing would be crucial, and we probably wouldn't be able to buy groceries for several months, but it sure would shorten my bucket list!!

Dream on.....

Does anyone have an opinion on the Pan Pacific Vancouver? I know it is pricey, but having the cruise terminal right in the same building seems very handy for boarding. We will be arriving early afternoon the day before our cruise. Being right downtown might give us better options of things to walk to for the day. We are too old to be schlepping luggage, carry-ons etc with us to take a train. ;) Taxi would be our option.

Stayed at the Pan Pacific for two nights in April before our Alaska cruise. Got a great deal on Priceline. It's a beautiful property, great views, very convenient to the cruise terminal. Woke up early on embarkation day (I was still on Eastern time!) and watched Crystal Symphony and Carnival Miracle sail in!

We walked along the waterfront to Stanley Park, got to see the Olympic torch lighted during an event, walked to Gastown for lunch.

I highly recommend the Pan Pacific, and would stay there again. Vancouver is a wonderful city!

One of my favorite dishes. Looks like it's gone from the new menu. Along with the cold soups and tablecloths!

We were on the first trip this year. Weather was bad (rain, wind, cold) in Juneau, Harv and Marv canceled all their whale watch trips for the day, although some of the larger boats went out.

However, Ketchikan was in the 60's!

Never saw a shop that was still closed.

The White Pass Railway doesn't go as far this early, but we drove up the Klondike Highway with a guide. The new Carcross visitor center wasn't open yet, still under construction.

But there are advantages - fewer ships in port this early (we were the only ship in all three ports), few children, lower fares!

Next time I want to do it in September. Enjoy!

Looking forward to my first Princess cruise in March, Island westbound Panama Canal. My question about the coffee card - is it passenger specific, or can anyone use it? That is, if I buy a card, can DH also use it?

We enjoy an occasional frou frou coffee, just trying to determine how to use the card!

I got great airfare on Cyber Monday last year!