Robinsoncruiseso

My first cruise was on the Crown Princess last April, and I had an amazing time! A few disappointments here and there, but nothing egregious. I'm planning April 2016's cruise, and I've narrowed my choices down between two -- one on Carnival, and one on Princess.

 

Princess: Caribbean Princess, 7-day W. Caribbean itinerary out of Houston, $1159 for OV (minus gov't fees). Estimated plane ticket: $290 for an estimated total of $1449.

 

Carnival: Carnival Elation, 11-day Caribbean/Bahamas itinerary out of New Orleans, $1098 for OV (minus gov't fees). Estimated planet ticket: $540 for an estimated total of $1598.

 

So, the price difference is only ~$150, for an extra four days. :D

 

However, I'm not sure about the difference between Carnival and Princess. Princess had a great atmosphere to me -- laidback, not really a party place, a good mixture of ages (though I was one of the youngest by far, which I didn't mind), outstanding service. Food and entertainment were great (with one food exception, but that was just one meal). Also not a lot of kids, which is important to me.

 

I know Carnival has more of a reputation for being a "party" ship, but is it a super-noticeable difference? Are there a lot more kids onboard Carnival? Other potential differences I haven't listed?

My vote would be Princess...but I would look for a better rate. Just did a quick look and found a balcony for less with oodles of obc. Can't mention travel agents names but please look around for a better rate. TA'S usually can discount on Princess. Just got off the Ruby Princess today. Almost stopped for a $1.50 hot dog and drink at a big box store for lunch...

Thanks, just set the DVR..airs in 30 minutes.

I have absolutely no objection to drinking...but if you can spread them out you might make it to midnight, then you can say you used all of your first day...then day two...drink away!!!

I am a huge lightweight. Day one is the box voyage fufu drink, then one after dinner. Any more and I would be out by eight! Hope you have a super duper fun time.

Thank you so much! You are right! Layering is the way to go, as this is my first cruise I am worried I am taking too much of the wrong clothes.

Many cruises under my belt and I return every time with several articles of cloting and pairs of shoes I didn't wear. So if that happens..you are not alone. Enjoy

We just celebrated our 25th with kids being 20 and 23...so I am guessing we are in the same age bracket. We have cruised HAL, Carnival, NCL and RCCL, but our heart belongs to Princess. We took a quick 4 day up to Ketchican, Alaska and had a great time with on board activities. We played fun games, watched shows, and danced at "skywalkers" until well after midnight. The late night crowd was mostly in the 45 to 60 year range which generally meant a less roudy crowd, but upbeat and energetic none the less.

I am eagerly awaiting the 2017 Alaska schedules to come out, but I have definitely decided on a 7 day northbound or southbound in order to get the best views of the glaciers.

Hope you have a great time whatever you choose...and congratulations on a kid free vacation!!! I am sure you both deserve it.

We take the train from Bellingham (last stop on the US side) frequently to board in Vancouver. We have never had any issues. Taking the train to Seattle next weekend to board in Seattle. I have found the morning train to be quite reliable.

If there is a substancial delay, Amtrak will usually send a bus. It will take about 15 minutes after you clear customs at the Vancouver station to reach Canada Place if you take the skytrain.

Boltbus also goes from Seattle to Vancouver (train st. to train st.)

A car rental may be the easiest. You could drive about north after you land and stop before the border (Burlington, Bellingham, Ferndale) then cross the border in the morning and you should have no issues.

Good luck and enjoy Alaska!!

Thanks for the info. Bremerton sounds like too much risk. This is supposed to be enjoyable, not rushing to get to the ship. We'll stay at a Vancouver hotel for the first night then a few nights in Bremerton after the cruise.

Great decision. I think you made all of us in the Pacific NW breath a little easier. We hope you enjoy your visit to our neck of the woods. You will find us very friendly on both sides of the border. Hope this is the first of many visits for you. We first visited from California in the 90's and moved up here just a short time later.

I would not recommend staying in Bremerton and heading up to Vancouver the day of the cruise...there are too many unknowns. Ferry being full, traffic at the boarder, etc. I would recommend picking up the rental car when you arrive in Seattle and heading North. You could stay in one of the boarder towns (US or Canada), such as Bellingham (US) or Surrey (Canada). We live in Bellingham and cruise out of Vancouver often and take the train at 8:30 am to arrive at Canada Place for a lunch time boarding. Depending on how many ships are in port, boarding could take a while. There is only one security line for all cruise lines, then you have to go through US immigration prior to dividing off into the cruise line specific lines.

You could get hotel for under $100 in either city. Then you can enjoy the Seattle and Olympic Peninsula after your cruise without worring about missing the ship.

If you do choose to take the Ferry..I would shoot for the one which leaves around 6:30 am and make a reservation if you can. It is a two hour drive from Seattle to the border, and from the boarder it is a one hour drive to the airport...and this does not include border wait times. Then it is 30 minutes from Vancouver aiport to the port (times are conservative).

Hope you have a great time on your cruise and enjoy the Pacific NW.

ps. there are some awesome day trips in the area. You can take the ferry from Anacortes over to San Juan Island and see some Bald Eagels and perhaps a pod of Orcas! Or drive up Mount Baker highway..or both...snow to sea in about 90 minutes.

DH and I have water shoes vs water socks. They run about $30 and have regular soles so they can double as tennis shoes for walking in port or jogging on deck.

We have her ion the West coast and are happy to keep her. Voyage three and four planned for Sept and December. I believe we will be on the first sailing after drydock. Anxious to see what they do.

In October we will be going to Roatan, Costa May, and Cozumel. I am wanting to save cost by planning our own excursions vs buying the excursions from the cruise line. I have 2 teenagers that will be going. We like spending time in the water and at the beaches. The girls would also like to do a dolphin encounter. Can anyone give me advise on where the best island/place is to do each of these items. Is there anything else that we should see or do while we are at these islands? We do have past experience in doing our own excursions, just not on these islands. I might add that this is an all girls trip so I am also concerned about our safety. Any comments on what to do or not do would greatly be appreciated!

We are doing two of the same ports in February. I first checked to see which other ships were in port at the same time and which excursions were offered by the cruise lines, then I looked for private excursions to different locations. There are so many beach clubs..why go to one which is overcrowded, unless you might hope to run into new friends from the ship.

Because I have not been on the tours, I cannot recommend one, but I do believe I booked a couple good ones using the advice found in these forums.

Personnaly, I did a dolphin encounter in Florida and it was the highlight of my trip. As long as they are cared for, they appear very happy ( no negative blasts please as I respect others opinion and I expect mine to be respected as well) and were never forced to interact. So have fun. It might be a once in a lifetime experience.

Last cruise, i would unplug mine after use and leave it kn the table. My wonderful cabin stewardess would always wrap up the cord and place it nicely in a designated spot on the table. In fact she organized everything for me. Wish i could have brought her home.

If they offer a cooking demonstration and a galley tour...don't miss. The demonstration is great. They are funny and the smells are.......well awesome. Galley tour is just that. Nothing spectacular, but it was fun.

Ruby is a beautiful ship.

We use our US credit cards. One thing we have run into is that if you do not clear your cards for international travel, ours trigger a fraud alert when we use them at sky train stations. They work once then decline. Solution...let your card issuer know. Sometimes our visits north are spontaneous..it's Saturday, let's run up to Vancouver..lol

Does the safe use a combination, or magnetic strip card?

 

I still cruise for Warm Chocolate Melting Cake (with 2 sugar-free vanilla ice-creams)

Safes usually are the set your own code type of safes.

I usually like to get there by 11:00 at Canada Place. Once you are at the top of the ramp, it takes a while to walk down and through the terminal, then you have the security line, then onto US Customs and Immigration. Then you get to go to the Princess embarkation area. If you get there and they are not ready for you, there will be chairs. When you get through security make sure you go into the correct line. There are usually a couple of sections..those with US or Canadian passports (or Nexus, or Pass cards, etc) and one for all others.

I love planning. Maybe that is because I am a woman who is maturing (nearing 50 and newly an emty nester). I drive my DH crazy. I have two cruises booked (Sept and Feb), excursions all booked for the Feb cruise, I am ready to put down future cruise deposits on my Dec cruise, booking a cousin reunion cruise next September and sneaking in four one days prior to my 50th Alaska cruise in May 2017. I am going crazy that the 2017 Alaska schedules are not out yet.

So we are all in good company. We even spend time posing on cruise message boards.

So I am nearing 50 and my DH is nearing 60. We love to dance and the crazy trivia games (almost made it through yes/no). I like Princess because I can do the late night disco scene without too much worry of having a drink spilled on me or rammed into and all the stuff that naturally goes on with a younger crowd. Obviously I am a Princess fan, but I have sailed Carnival and at one time was the late night, spill a drink and bump into people group. Nothing wrong with that, but I am just not into smelling like tequilla all night.

Hello,

 

Can anyone tell me if the Ruby arrives in port at 7.00 am, is there enough time for the two of us to get a taxi and catch an Alaskan Air flight from the LAX airport at 1:20 pm?

Also, what is the cruise terminal called at the Los Angeles port? Just in case it matters, we are Canadians, if the Customs takes longer to go through? Thanks so much.

Not sure where you are in Canada (or if you are Canadian's living in US), but I would recommend a NEXUS card. We run across the boarder all the time and take the cruises from Vancouver to the states frequently (will book Dec 15 on Ruby soon). We get through the lines everywhere, especially the airport and customs so much faster. It is worth every penny of the $50...so if you live near the boarder check it out. We were actually looking at the flight just before that.

I drive my DH crazy with my cruise obsesion. Made him watch a 20 min video tour of the Regal tonight. I think it is those who do not obsess that are abnormal. Long Live the Cruise!

Thanks to all the kind and thoughtful and helpful responses.

We ended up booking a flight from Seattle to Austin, TX on Friday late afternoon, staying the night and then Austin to Fort Lauderdale on Saturday morning. We booked on Southwest and got three of the four legs free with our points, plus we get to have dinner with friends in Austin. Thanks again...I really value the opinions of those on cruise critic.

We are also considering a Sept 10th or 17th Northbound or Southbound cruise next year. We live just shy of the Canadian border in Washington. Used to 8 hours of daylight in winter, cold and rain/snow. It seems like Sept in Alaska is October in Washington. Am I at least close in my assessment? note: we are not sun worshipers and take massive amounts of Vitamin D, so we are not looking to sunbathe.

We were in Ketchikan May 1st of this year and loved being the only ship in port.

# 3 looks best. Port intensive cruises can be difficult with a toddler. You need to consider transportation/car seats and even with four adults watching them..it is scary to have a child in a foreign country.

Being on the ship more will give you opportunities for naps, snacks, etc. My two year old (23 yrs now) loved to run back and forth and up and down the decks. Fun for all!

Living just south of the 49th parrallel, we are closer to Vancouver than Seattle. Our local merchants take Canadian dollars without hesitation and I have encountered most if not all merchants in Vancouver and in Victoria all take US dollars as well. However, change will only be given in Canadian coin/dollars.

One word of caution when using US credit cards. I have encountered many merchants who will not take US "reward" cards. Merchants are actually charged a greater rate on these cards. So, be sure to take non-reward cards (no airline cards, or cards with the word "reward, cash back etc). Also, let your credit card company know you are traveling. I have a Target Visa I use and it will work the first time, then declines the second.

In the US, we have merchants which will still exchange "at par". Great for those north of the boarder...you do not want to exchange at par in Canada.

Our city collects around 50% of our local sales tax from Canadian Visitors and I am always happy to travel north and pay it back!

We have cruised twice to Alaska from Seattle. Both were the 2nd week of Sep. We had absolutely beautiful weather for both. Sunshine all the way.

But we did indeed heed the advice of others who have experienced cooler, rainy weather. We brought layers, light jackets, gloves & umbrellas. We were fortunate to not have to use any of it, but had we needed it we would have been so glad to be prepared.

So basically..Sept in Alaska is like October in the Pacific Northwest.