Live from the Grand, May 10 - 20 SF to Alaska

[MTJSR]

I'm curious too about the sea motion from San Francisco up. .

 

 

Current conditions can be better shared by the author, but having sailed north from San Francisco, it often earns it's nickname "The Potato Patch" These big ships however, handle it well.

[MilliesMom]

Current conditions can be better shared by the author, but having sailed north from San Francisco, it often earns it's nickname "The Potato Patch" These big ships however, handle it well.

 

I've never heard the expression before. Can you tell me a bit more of what it means? I think it might mean we are in for a bumpy ride. I know I have read that going North is rougher than coming south because of the currents.

[Travelrd]

tom...thanks for the reviews. so far, so good! what type of dining plans do you have? anytime? fixed? have you met interesting people at dinner? is the pizza as great as ever?

 

cheers

[FritzG]

Are there still issues with the toilets and plumbing in zones 6 & 7 on all passenger decks? That would be cabins from the upper 600's to aft. There were major issues on the April 10th Hawaii cruise, and one night there was no flushing during the night for a few hours. We had problems in our cabin a couple of days on Baja deck, and it seemed like they were constantly working in the hallways on Baja starboard. Ceiling panels were down and "snaking" was going on.

[Drews_Cruise]

Thanks for doing the "live from" I was on the Grand before the reconfigure. The ship was showing its wear back then but I hear its in great shape now. My one experience on the Pacific Ocean from Vancouver was very rough (very big potatoes) for 4 days straight but that was on the old Royal and it was a much smaller ship. I too want to know how the waters were while heading up the coast. I just checked out the Ketchikan web cam and it looks foggy there too. Hope your enjoying the cruise.

[MilliesMom]

We've cruise to Alaska twice before roundtrip out of Seattle. Each trip we have had one day of rough seas. I remember our first cruise on the Pacific Princess (smaller ship) we were walking down the stairs and the stair came up to meet your foot. We held railings walking down the hallways. Again, this was a smaller ship. This happened after we left Vancouver BC and in Queen Charlotte's Sound (?) This was the worst we ever experienced.

 

Last time our first or second night out we had rough waters.

 

Both times a number of people seasick, but we never had problems and didn't take any meds or bio-bands etc.

 

I agree the larger ships really do much better in the rough seas than the smaller ones.

[Duck Duck Cruise]

My husband and I will be going on June 9 to Alaska on the Princess Grand for our anniversary. We have been on two cruises out of Galveston,which we drove to from San Antonio. We will be flying out to San Francisco,any tips or pointers for us as we have never flown to take a cruise before...and yes very excited and a little worried too!

 

 

We always fly in the day before and spend the night. With the possibility of missed flight we just don't want to take the chance on missing the ship. Travel insurance is a must for us also.

 

If you can book a hotel near the dock you can walk down in the early morning to see it come in. We are always so excited we can't usually sleep. We get coffee and breakfast and have a leisurely morning before we board. Sometimes even taking a dip in the hotel hot tub or pool in the morning.

 

Enjoy

[weseacruzin]

DuckDuckCruise,

We will fly out of Texas at 6:02am and arrive in San Francisco at I believe around 7:45am. Our travel agent booked cruise and flight together saying that would give us plenty of time and we also paid extra for the transfers, so I hope everything turns out ok.:/

[bdjam]

You can follow their journey on the Grand Princess Webcam: http://www.princess.com/bridgecams/ap/grand_bridgecam.html

Also found a site, that has live port cams of the places they will be:

Juneau:

http://www.kroooz-cams.com/portcams/us/juneau.php

Skagway:

http://kroooz-cams.com/portcams/us/skagway.php

Ketchikan:

http://www.kroooz-cams.com/portcams/us/ketchikan.php

Victoria – Royal BC Museum Webcam (altho not the port, you can at least see weather conditions etc)

http://royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/web-cam/

 

 

http://www.webmarin.com/

This is the webcam for San Francisco …. If it is NOT foggy, you will be able to see the ship when they come back to San Francisco and again later that day when we board and leave San Francisco.

 

 

Only 7 more days for us!!!!

 

Thanks for the links to the cams - nice to see Grand Princess in rainy Ketchikan - and I'm jealous that you have only seven more days :)

Regarding sailing north from San Francisco - the Potato Patch is actually outside the Golden Gate and is an area of rough water for ships traveling west. Normally if you sail north, you miss it. But the Pacific current runs from north to south along the North American continent, so sailing north can be a little bumpy, whether it be from Ensenada to San Francisco or San Franciso to Alaska. Be prepared for moderate seas the first day at least, even in good weather.

I've sailed the route before in Regal Princess - who sailed rough seas like a lady - and Sun and Dawn Princesses. All of them have deeper drafts than Grand Princess, so it will be interesting to see how she takes to rough water. That being said, I've also sailed north along the coast on Star and Sapphire Princesses and didn't notice a huge difference.

Good sailing and looking forward to hearing your reports ;)

[MilliesMom]

Thanks for the links to the cams - nice to see Grand Princess in rainy Ketchikan - and I'm jealous that you have only seven more days :)

 

Regarding sailing north from San Francisco - the Potato Patch is actually outside the Golden Gate and is an area of rough water for ships traveling west. Normally if you sail north, you miss it. But the Pacific current runs from north to south along the North American continent, so sailing north can be a little bumpy, whether it be from Ensenada to San Francisco or San Franciso to Alaska. Be prepared for moderate seas the first day at least, even in good weather.

 

I've sailed the route before in Regal Princess - who sailed rough seas like a lady - and Sun and Dawn Princesses. All of them have deeper drafts than Grand Princess, so it will be interesting to see how she takes to rough water. That being said, I've also sailed north along the coast on Star and Sapphire Princesses and didn't notice a huge difference.

 

Good sailing and looking forward to hearing your reports ;)

 

Thank you ... great information. We are always prepared, and knock on wood have never been seasick.

 

I am so excited about our cruise and can't wait to see Glacier Bay for the first time (3rd time to Alaska). I really appreciate Tom doing the live thread here.

 

When we get back (no live thread from me), I will post my review and photo here as well as on my cruising blog: http://cruising.kreateskards.com/ The blog will continue over at least the next year as we are doing LA to Vancouver and Vancouver to San Francisco next year.

[bdjam]

Thank you ... great information. We are always prepared, and knock on wood have never been seasick.

 

You bet - I hope it holds true :o Meantime, as a PS, I've heard the old "R" ships are really poor sailors in rough water. I sailed on Pacific Princess from SF to Alaska and the first two days and nights were pretty bad - like stuff falling off shelfs. Even in rough seas I've never had anything like that on other Princess ships.

[MilliesMom]

You bet - I hope it holds true :o Meantime, as a PS, I've heard the old "R" ships are really poor sailors in rough water. I sailed on Pacific Princess from SF to Alaska and the first two days and nights were pretty bad - like stuff falling off shelfs. Even in rough seas I've never had anything like that on other Princess ships.

 

Smooth sailing for all of us .... don't want to see things flying off the shelves etc. :eek:

[MilliesMom]

http://www.kroooz-cams.com/portcams/us/ketchikan.php

 

Looks like they are pulling away ... couple minutes early. Everyone must of made it back on board.

[ricki]

So glad you are enjoying your cruise! Sorry about the rain in Ketchikan, every time we've been there, it's rained.

 

We have friends on board with you. If you see four guys together, one with a cowboy hat, please ask if one is Beav--and say hello for Ricki. Thanks much and have fun!

 

Ricki

[trbarton]

Grand Princess Alaska...May 10 -20

 

Ketchikan...Monday, May 13, 2013

 

Arrived in Ketchikan with rain. Was told that if there was 7 days of no rain the would say that they had a drought.

 

Temp. was around 58 degree and was comfortable.

 

They made an announcement when the gangway was ready that could be heard over the TV. This was nice. On HAL you had to keep your door propped open to hear any announcements.

 

Had a nice tour to the totem park and had a nice tour and afterwards we saw a lumber jack show also very good.

 

A number of stores sailing jackets for under $20 that looked warm and waterproof. Make sure you have a warm and waterproof jacket.

 

Had lunch in a mall and tried some lumpia, delicious.

 

After shopping returned to the ship. Two gangways made it nice to get on and off the ship. There was security at the bottom of the gangway that scanned you room key.

 

Remember since this is a large ship you will be doing a lot of walking especially if your stateroom is in the forward part of the ship and your dinning room is in the aft section.

 

The show in the Princess Theatre tonight was a comedian even tho the show was only 30 minutes long.

 

Tomorrow we arrive in Juneau and I am on a tour of the Glaciers. We'll see what the weather is like.

 

I have enjoyed having the same dinner guests every night and we talk about what we have done during the day.

 

Mary...The reservation sign was one sign inside on the elevator above the number buttons that was lit up only on our sale-away day. When that is lit you only press one floor button at a time. After you have reached one floor than you push the button for the next floor. Otherwise you will be ridding the elevator for awhile.

 

Until I write again and am blessed with Internet connection.

 

Tom

[MilliesMom]

Tom, thanks for the explanation and the update on your cruise.

 

It was fun to watch the webcam today (but will be more fun when we are on the ship!!!). :D

[MilliesMom]

Looks a bit rainy as they come into port today in Juneau. Here's a screen capture I did of their arrival. You can watch the webcam too:

 

http://kroooz-cams.com/portcams/us/juneau1.php

[centralcalicruzer]

Grand Princess Alaska...May 10 -20

 

Ketchikan...Monday, May 13, 2013

 

Arrived in Ketchikan with rain. Was told that if there was 7 days of no rain the would say that they had a drought.

 

Temp. was around 58 degree and was comfortable.

 

They made an announcement when the gangway was ready that could be heard over the TV. This was nice. On HAL you had to keep your door propped open to hear any announcements.

 

Had a nice tour to the totem park and had a nice tour and afterwards we saw a lumber jack show also very good.

 

A number of stores sailing jackets for under $20 that looked warm and waterproof. Make sure you have a warm and waterproof jacket.

 

Had lunch in a mall and tried some lumpia, delicious.

 

After shopping returned to the ship. Two gangways made it nice to get on and off the ship. There was security at the bottom of the gangway that scanned you room key.

 

Remember since this is a large ship you will be doing a lot of walking especially if your stateroom is in the forward part of the ship and your dinning room is in the aft section.

 

The show in the Princess Theatre tonight was a comedian even tho the show was only 30 minutes long.

 

Tomorrow we arrive in Juneau and I am on a tour of the Glaciers. We'll see what the weather is like.

 

I have enjoyed having the same dinner guests every night and we talk about what we have done during the day.

 

Mary...The reservation sign was one sign inside on the elevator above the number buttons that was lit up only on our sale-away day. When that is lit you only press one floor button at a time. After you have reached one floor than you push the button for the next floor. Otherwise you will be ridding the elevator for awhile.

 

Until I write again and am blessed with Internet connection.

 

Tom

 

58 doesn't seem too bad - my stepdaughter is one of the production singers and posted something on Facebook about being FREEZING! LOL, typical California Girl! I asked her before she left San Francisco if she had a warm coat and she said "I have my leather jacket and a hat and scarf, I'll be fine". Having learned one thing through the years, it's sometimes best to let your kids figure out for themselves that you were right - as long as it isn't something life-threatening! Looks rainy in Juneau too, hope you are able to take your glacier tour. Thanks for the "live from" post, I'm still hoping we can take this cruise this summer, although we aren't booked yet.

[synet165]

Good Afternoon

We will be on the Grand on May 30th and are curious to find out who the present Executive Chef is?

 

Thanks

 

:)syner165

[BLJBLJ]

Looks a bit rainy as they come into port today in Juneau. Here's a screen capture I did of their arrival. You can watch the webcam too:

 

http://kroooz-cams.com/portcams/us/juneau1.php

I should get my Queasy Beads this week. I know you got yours and are they tight enough to do the job. Brenda

[MilliesMom]

I should get my Queasy Beads this week. I know you got yours and are they tight enough to do the job. Brenda

 

Funny you should mention them. I've been wearing them all day. They are comfortable and I even forget that I have them on. I have had them slip down only a couple of times. Not sure if I accidentally hit them or not. I may have has I have been working on the computer, doing videos for my blogs etc. Walking around tonight at the mall, they were fine, so I feel either I didn't roll them up high enough or I hit them.

 

I think they look very nice. The bands aren't as stretchy as I expected, but I was thinking elastic bead thread and this is something different. I slide them over my hand and then rolled them up to my wrist 3 finger mark.

 

I read an article in a magazine the other day that said motion sickness bands also help with insomnia. Carol (the store owner of Queasy Beads) said she has found that they help with stress too.

[BLJBLJ]

Funny you should mention them. I've been wearing them all day. They are comfortable and I even forget that I have them on. I have had them slip down only a couple of times. Not sure if I accidentally hit them or not. I may have has I have been working on the computer, doing videos for my blogs etc. Walking around tonight at the mall, they were fine, so I feel either I didn't roll them up high enough or I hit them.

 

I think they look very nice. The bands aren't as stretchy as I expected, but I was thinking elastic bead thread and this is something different. I slide them over my hand and then rolled them up to my wrist 3 finger mark.

 

I read an article in a magazine the other day that said motion sickness bands also help with insomnia. Carol (the store owner of Queasy Beads) said she has found that they help with stress too.

Can't wait to get mine.... Bj

[MilliesMom]

Can't wait to get mine.... Bj

 

I think you will like them.

[trbarton]

Grand Princess Alaska...May 10 - 20, 2013

 

Juneau...Tuesday, May 14, 2013

 

Weather has been light rain or mist.

 

I went to the Mendenhall Glacier. An excellent tour and something I recommend. The trip from the ship is short, about 20 minutes, and our driver spoke about 90 words a minute. We were there for 2 hrs. and I suggest that you take the trail out to the base of the big falls.

 

I was dropped in town and went to Red Dog Saloon for a beer and just to take in the atmosphere. I didn't eat there but went to the Twisted Fish and had some excellent Salmon Tacos and of course another beer, a Summertime Ale. Lots of shops but the best place for warm jackets was in Ketchikan with prices under $20.

 

I tried to use my Verizon I Phone but could not get a signal. Check with your cellar service to find out what service you will get. I was told no Verizon towers in Juneau.

 

Tonight's show is with the lady that is the first woman to win the Iditarod race this year.

 

Still no rough waters yet. Perhaps we have been blessed.

 

There is a company, Del Sole, in many ports that sells sunglasses, tote bags and tee shirts where the design or frames changes color in the outside light or sun. I have all of these and my tote bag from Mexico has lost it's bright colors. I went to their store here to ask about my tote bag and the manager offered to give me a new bag at no charge even tho I didn't have the old bag. What service and I ask if I could give her a hug and told her that she made my day.

 

Returning to the ship I ran into the ships video photographer a nice young gentleman. I discussed my problem in trying to view a cruise DVD that was given me and only getting the photos and no sound. I have viewed the DVD elsewhere with no problems. After discussion about my problem he mentioned that my DVD player, which is about 15 years old, might not work correctly with new DVD's so when I return I'll see what I can find out. I'll try the Princess DVD and see what happens.

 

Well we leave for Skagway and more tours. A train trip and later a city tour.

 

Until tomorrow and Wi Fy connection.

 

Tom

[MilliesMom]

Tom ... we found the best deals in Skagway at the Alaska T-shirt Company (just down from the train office/depot in town).

 

Thanks for the info on the phone.

 

We have the Del Sol items too.

 

Glad you are having calm waters ... fingers crossed we will too.