Crown Princess Alaska - June 11th

[Riley_Mon]

On 6/10/2022 at 5:44 PM, BarbinMich said:

IMHO, I wasn't exactly thrilled with my first stop at Icy Point in mid-May (on the Crown).  Mostly offered an amusement park as far as I could tell, which is not what I was expecting! (I'm in my 70s).  They do offer a whale watching trip out of there and I should have booked that.  Probably a good stop for families.

what would be a really bad move is to announce that IPS is now dropped for cruises in July - timing the announcement with that 30 day no cancellation clause. At this point I wouldn't doubt that is the motivation.

[Becky_Mac]

7 minutes ago, Riley_Mon said:

what would be a really bad move is to announce that IPS is now dropped for cruises in July - timing the announcement with that 30 day no cancellation clause. At this point I wouldn't doubt that is the motivation.

We don’t appear to be on the cruise ship schedule for ISP (you can go to ISP website to see the ship schedule), so I have been assuming it will be cancelled. We are still scheduled for 2:30 arrival in Juneau but not sure how the ship will suddenly to get two hours earlier than it is now. So I am trying to not get my hopes up for either. 
 

[JeffT237]

1 hour ago, Riley_Mon said:

what would be a really bad move is to announce that IPS is now dropped for cruises in July - timing the announcement with that 30 day no cancellation clause. At this point I wouldn't doubt that is the motivation.

I was thinking the same thing, it has the appearance that Princess is waiting until passengers are within the 30 day non-cancellation window then making the itinerary changes. If this is true that is really unethical.  Wouldn't that be the classic bait and switch?  It would be interesting to hear what someone who has a legal background thinks. 

[ktcishot]

There was talk on another board that some ships have free laundry. Does this appear to be the case on the crown at this time?

[TheValleyGirl]

In the vein of making the most of onboard time, does anyone know if they include PICKLEBALL hours in the activity schedule?  I will assume it's very weather dependent and at best a portable net, but trying to decide if we should use our prime suitcase space for paddles and a couple of balls.

[jk04]

14 hours ago, TheValleyGirl said:

In the vein of making the most of onboard time, does anyone know if they include PICKLEBALL hours in the activity schedule?  I will assume it's very weather dependent and at best a portable net, but trying to decide if we should use our prime suitcase space for paddles and a couple of balls.

Pretty sure my husband saw Pickleball in the Patter for yesterday. If it actually happened, I’m not sure. 

[SmedonSeas]

19 hours ago, ktcishot said:

There was talk on another board that some ships have free laundry. Does this appear to be the case on the crown at this time?

You may have seen that from a Suite or Elite traveler. Laundry rooms do charge.

[SmedonSeas]

Just curious if anyone on board knows if there is Dinner Balcony Dining.

[jk04]

Sometimes I don’t understand my iPad or CC one. Just typed a sort of long post, hit submit, poof gone. 
 

This one it saved 😒
 

I give up. Will drag out my laptop later. 

Edited June 13, 2022 by jk04

[arizonaperson]

On 6/12/2022 at 4:17 PM, TheValleyGirl said:

In the vein of making the most of onboard time, does anyone know if they include PICKLEBALL hours in the activity schedule?  I will assume it's very weather dependent and at best a portable net, but trying to decide if we should use our prime suitcase space for paddles and a couple of balls.

Hopefully you will find out before you cruise the answer. I know there is a basketball court,but wonder if the can or do set this up on The Crown for pickle Ball? I didn’t see anything in the Patter for a May 2022 cruise.

Try posting on a roll call or a Live from if there is one a few weeks before your cruise and maybe someone will check it out for you.

[Yehootu]

11 minutes ago, arizonaperson said:

Hopefully you will find out before you cruise the answer. I know there is a basketball court,but wonder if the can or do set this up on The Crown for pickle Ball? I didn’t see anything in the Patter for a May 2022 cruise.

Try posting on a roll call or a Live from if there is one a few weeks before your cruise and maybe someone will check it out for you.

Royal had it everyday at 0900.

[Yehootu]

On 6/11/2022 at 8:00 PM, rj59 said:

For those intending to enjoy the view from their balcony, realize that the two sea days going to and from Alaska are usually cold and windy, and even in the inside part of Alaska it gets windy and cold. I was on a Carnival ship a few weeks ago with 70-degree days in Juneau and Ketchikan, and a sunny day and smooth seas on the way back, but it was difficult to spend any time outside when the ship was moving, just because of winds and temperatures. The same is even more true of Glacier Bay, where the ship's speed is slower but the temperatures are colder. I've cruised to Alaska 10 times, but I dress warm and move around from inside windows to following sun and avoiding winds, so my room stays warm and I don't have to deal with winds and cold or rain or being stuck looking out one side of the ship. On my last cruise the people sitting on balconies missed sea otters, Dall's porpoises, whales, and bald eagles on ice floes, whereas those of us out on a low promenade deck or outside upper deck could hear people with binoculars or good eyes announce when they saw some wildlife or things like a huge ice floe breaking apart. 

We did NB/SB on the Royal starting on 05/28. Ist day was cold out of Vancouver. In Ketchikan I had to buy sunscreen and was out by the time we hit Whittier. I was on deck 16 in the hot tub every afternoon. Ride southbound was more Alaska weather and I was back in hot tub 1-2 times. This was only our 4th time but twice we've had very warm trips. YMMV.

[jk04]

Well, I didn't have much luck with internet or attempting to post to CC.  Things with push like email and FB mostly worked alright.  But, trying other sites most would never load.  My iPad has done that at home, not posting a reply.  Let's see if I can remember anything.

[jk04]

We arrived at the terminal a little before 1030.  Porter was right there to take our bags so an easy walk to the door.  Check-in was very quick especially with the Medallion.  I had taken screenshots of our lab results and ArriveCan receipt, which they accepted.  We were at the desk less than 5 minutes and seated in Group 1 for boarding.  I think we were on board a little after 1100.  Rooms were ready as well.

 

Our nephew and now fiancee's room had a backed up toilet with the sewage smell.  Plumber arrived quick to fix.  But, that didn't stop the smell.  Cabin steward told them to go downstairs and request to be moved over one room.  Guest Services refused and sent the plumbers back to the room.  Still didn't resolve the odor problem and steward sent them back downstairs to request a move.  Guest Services still refused so cabin steward went down and got them moved.  I thought that was really nice.

 

Sail-away seemed kind of slow with lots of grinding and shuddering.  Or, maybe I'm just comparing Crown to Oasis class ship with azipods.

 

Other than the issue with GS and the room change, all the Staff and Crew were top-notch.  I think there were new servers (drinks) in Horizon Court.  But, they were very nice and eager to help.

[cr8tiv1]

On 6/13/2022 at 4:02 AM, jk04 said:

Sometimes I don’t understand my iPad or CC one. Just typed a sort of long post, hit submit, poof gone. 
 

This one it saved 😒
 

I give up. Will drag out my laptop later. 

 

It's not the device.  It is Cruise Critic or Princess internet.  Best advice is to either compose it in a word document offline and then cut and paste....

 

Or send it in an email to yourself and cut and paste.

 

 

[Astro Flyer]

29 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

It's not the device.  It is Cruise Critic or Princess internet.  Best advice is to either compose it in a word document offline and then cut and paste....

 

Or send it in an email to yourself and cut and paste.

 

 

Or copy a post before selecting the blue “Submit Reply” button which I try to remember to do particularly with lengthy posts. That way I can paste it again if it gets lost in the CC/Princess sky…it helps to reduce my frustration with lost posts.

 

[jk04]

Shake, rattle, and roll!!

 

Oh my, that first night was a bit tough.  Who ever said 'Magic Fingers' was not kidding.  We were at the back of the ship on Deck 8, last cabin before the aft cabins, port side.  The same grinding and shuddering from sail-away was pretty much there the entire cruise.  After a bit I did become used to it.  We were at Bingo one afternoon in Club Fusion.  The entire area just seem to vibrate and shake.  DH thought that much stress on the ship couldn't be good for it.

 

Although we were passed by all the other ships that left after us, we did pick up speed the following day.  Enough so that we arrived in Juneau an hour+ earlier than expected.  That was great because it gave everyone time to get off the ship and even do a quick wander of the area before excursions. 

 

Ours was a private tour with Harv n Marv and they did a great job with communication and trying to do their best getting us on the water.  The tour was probably cut a little short but this trip was so worth it.  Orcas had been spotted in the area so our Captain quickly drove to that area.  We saw killer whales!!  This was my third trip and the first time I ever have seen Orcas.  Even the crew was excited.  We think there were three in the group but they had spread out a bit. 

 

Saw the seals on the light beacon before making our way over to the humpbacks.  Saw several of those as well.  We had a great time on the tour and our Captain and Naturalist were wonderful.  I have a couple of videos and hopefully they post.  My pics and videos aren't as good as others in our group.  Not used to the iPhone plus the water was a little rough trying to stand straight.  Got a lot of pics of the water or my feet.  

 

This was a pic from another in our group.  I think it's cover worthy!

 

The first video is one of the male orcas and the second is a humpback.  Just in awe seeing these beautiful whales.

 

 

 

 

 

[cr8tiv1]

14 minutes ago, Astro Flyer said:

Or copy a post before selecting the blue “Submit Reply” button which I try to remember to do particularly with lengthy posts. That way I can paste it again if it gets lost in the CC/Princess sky…it helps to reduce my frustration with lost posts.

 

And there lies the problem.  To remember to copy...before sending.  

 

Occasionally, I will be surprised to find my post still there (retrieved) by CC when I accidently do something incorrectly.  But I would not rely on that happening.  

[jk04]

16 minutes ago, Astro Flyer said:

Or copy a post before selecting the blue “Submit Reply” button which I try to remember to do particularly with lengthy posts. That way I can paste it again if it gets lost in the CC/Princess sky…it helps to reduce my frustration with lost posts.

 

This is what I usually do and I completely forgot, pretty mad at myself.  So, I did a short recap and that didn't take either.  That one post was the only one I could get to save.  After that, I could barely get CC to open.  I stopped trying in an effort to keep my sanity. 

[jk04]

The trip to Skagway seemed to be a smoother trip, maybe the ship didn't have to move as fast to make the port.  My only excursion was canceled and I couldn't find anything else I wanted to do.  DH already had another helicopter glacier walk scheduled after our morning excursion.  So, I did a spa day and had a fabulous massage.  The rest of the group had other excursions planned or just walked around the town.  Everyone really enjoyed themselves.

 

Wednesday was Glacier Bay and the day dawned clear, sunny, and warm.  It was a beautiful day to view the Glaciers.  As we got to the start of the park where the snow-covered mountains are all around, our nephew proposed to his girlfriend.  DH had his big camera out and nephew ran down to the room real quick to grab the ring.  DH was able to get some great shots of the proposal with those mountains in the background.  Nephew and girlfriend were up early and snagged the two person seat aft on Deck 15.  Small area with a lounger on either side.  Perfect place to spend a day watching the glaciers.  New fiancee even spotted a goat. 

 

They saw a whale on the way in, there was an eagle sitting on an ice melt, and otters.  Lots and lots of cute little otters.  Especially around Margerie.  At Lamplugh there were seals and we didn't get as close as they sometimes do.  There were seals pupping near the glacier.

 

As always, the day didn't disappoint.  Sad to see how far Margerie has retreated, however...