New with questions

[mumom95]

Hi all. My husband and I are going on our first cruise this July, Coral princess to Alaska (we will be doing an independent land trip the week before). Anyway, I have been reading these boards for the past year and have gotten so much great information. But since we are getting closer to sailing, I have a few questions about cruising that I would appreciate help with. I'll ask them one post at a time.

 

My first question is, what will it be like the day we get on the ship? We are taking the princess transfer from Anchorage to Whittier. Does anyone know, we will just stand around the pier with our luggage and wait in line to get on. I realize you can't tell me the wait time, I'm sure that varies greatly. When we are boarding, do we just show a ticket and then take our luggage to our room. Do they give us additional paperwork when we are boarding. I'm one of those people that likes to be prepared, and feel like I know what is going on. So I would like to have some kind of a clue about the process, so I don't stress about it. Oh, and also about boarding day, that evening I understand the dining room is more casual due to luggage not arriving yet and stuff like that. But how casual is casual, can we actually wear jeans that night or are we talking more like slacks (I'm not trying to stir up the jeans debate, I just want to know so that I follow the rules).

 

Anyway, I am so excited about our trip. And this board has been great. Thanks in advance for any and all advice and information given.

[Pam in CA]

Welcome to the board! And great questions:

 

1. Jeans are not acceptable in the dining room, even the first night. Most luggage is delivered before dinner.

 

2. If you're taking the Princess transfer to the ship, your luggage will go directly to your cabin. You will not be allowed to keep it with you. Make sure you keep your carry-on with you. And, make sure you fill out the luggage tags and put them on your luggage before you board the transfer.

 

3. My experience with checking in in Alaska was that we got off the bus, went to the window to check in, got our cruise card, and were on the ship within 15 minutes.

 

All your paperwork will be done ahead of time. The only thing left to do is to sign the voucher in your cruise docs for your credit card. The Princess Rep will take that, check your passport or ID, and get your cruise card. As you board, there will be ship's photographers taking pictures; if you don't want the pictures, you can just walk past them. At the entry to the ship, there will be a "kiosk" where your cruise card will be slipped into the slot and your photo taken for security purposes. (When you disembark or embark the ship from then on, every time your card is slipped into the slot, your photo will be displayed.) Very fast and efficient process.

 

Once you board, you can go directly to your cabin to drop off your carry-on. Then, you are free to wander the ship and look around.

 

The whole process is very quick and easy. Enjoy your cruise!

[mumom95]

Thanks for the reply!!

[ZoeyZoo]

I have only done the transfer with another line so Princess may be a little different with the transfer portion. I have cruised on Princess but is was several years ago.

 

On my cruise they had a clipboard, scratched our name off and told us to wait about 20 minutes. Then you will board a bus. It was here I had to surrender my luggage and it was packed on the bus.

 

Some cruise lines let the buses come into the terminal one by one, other will take you to a holding area until all the flights come in.

 

At the terminal you will check in, get your room key/change card, etc. Most lines have an online check in process. This will save you from having to fill out a lot of forms. You will also have to show you passport/documentation since Princess will take care of a lot of customs paperwork for you.

 

Then you will board the ship and have you first photo taken. They will take as many picutres as possible of you hoping that you will buy a few.

 

Depending on when you arrive, they usually have the buffet and bars open. Sometime the dining room will be open too. Most people get some food, a drink, tour the ship, etc. You are usually not alowed into you room until 2 PM in order to give the crew enough time to clean everything. Luggage will be delivered to your room sometime in the evening. They will scan all the luggage for boms, irons, etc. and will then deliver it to your cabin. You may not get your luggage for a while so it is best to bring a smaller bag with essentials. Some people will bring a change of clothes.

 

Dinner the first night is always casual unless you are sailing on a holiday. For example, many new years cruises will be formal the first night if you board on 12/31. You will see a lot of jeans, capris, dockers in the dining room the first night since many people were traveling and not everyone will have their luggage in time. This is especially true if you are in the first seating. Jeans aren't technically allowed in the dining room but most ships will turn their head the other way. There is more leeway on the first night because they know people were traveling and not everyone will have their luggage. Shorts are forwned upon in the dining room but OK in the buffet. It is up to your ship as to whether the dress code will be enforced. If you show up in jeans the first night they will probably let you in. The other nights be prepared to change if you attempt it. Since it is against the suggested attire, many cruises frown upon it and some have very strong feeling towards it. You may get a few comments or stares from other passengers. Just do a search on jeans in the dining room and you will see what I mean when I say many are passionate about this. In short, you could get away with it but it is not suggested. My suggestion is just to wear kahkis/dockers the first night. Comfortable as jeans but OK to wear to dinner.

 

At night there are typically meet and mingles, live music, etc. Usually not any impressive shows or activities since they are encouraging everyone to get in a vacation mindset and make friends.

[Pam in CA]

Depending on when you arrive, they usually have the buffet and bars open. Sometime the dining room will be open too. Most people get some food, a drink, tour the ship, etc. You are usually not alowed into you room until 2 PM in order to give the crew enough time to clean everything. Luggage will be delivered to your room sometime in the evening.

 

At night there are typically meet and mingles, live music, etc. Usually not any impressive shows or activities since they are encouraging everyone to get in a vacation mindset and make friends.

Actually, the above is incorrect. On Princess, you can go to your cabin as soon as you board, even if it's as early as 11:30AM. Your luggage will be delivered any time from within 30 minutes to 3 - 4 hours. While true that some luggage isn't delivered until the evening, most luggage is delivered before dinner. There will be entertainment and activities the first night and there will also be movies. Movies are also shown on the cabin TV. The buffet will be open when you arrive and is open 24/7. You will find very few people in jeans in the dining room the first evening since almost all of the luggage is delivered in time for people to change. There will be a Princess Patter in your cabin when you arrive with all of the information about dining choices, dress code, entertainment, activities, etc.

[LonghornKJK]

I have only done the transfer with another line so Princess may be a little different with the transfer portion. I have cruised on Princess but is was several years ago.

 

On my cruise they had a clipboard, scratched our name off and told us to wait about 20 minutes. Then you will board a bus. It was here I had to surrender my luggage and it was packed on the bus.

 

Some cruise lines let the buses come into the terminal one by one, other will take you to a holding area until all the flights come in.

 

At the terminal you will check in, get your room key/change card, etc. Most lines have an online check in process. This will save you from having to fill out a lot of forms. You will also have to show you passport/documentation since Princess will take care of a lot of customs paperwork for you.

 

Then you will board the ship and have you first photo taken. They will take as many picutres as possible of you hoping that you will buy a few.

 

Depending on when you arrive, they usually have the buffet and bars open. Sometime the dining room will be open too. Most people get some food, a drink, tour the ship, etc. You are usually not alowed into you room until 2 PM in order to give the crew enough time to clean everything. Luggage will be delivered to your room sometime in the evening. They will scan all the luggage for boms, irons, etc. and will then deliver it to your cabin. You may not get your luggage for a while so it is best to bring a smaller bag with essentials. Some people will bring a change of clothes.

 

Dinner the first night is always casual unless you are sailing on a holiday. For example, many new years cruises will be formal the first night if you board on 12/31. You will see a lot of jeans, capris, dockers in the dining room the first night since many people were traveling and not everyone will have their luggage in time. This is especially true if you are in the first seating. Jeans aren't technically allowed in the dining room but most ships will turn their head the other way. There is more leeway on the first night because they know people were traveling and not everyone will have their luggage. Shorts are forwned upon in the dining room but OK in the buffet. It is up to your ship as to whether the dress code will be enforced. If you show up in jeans the first night they will probably let you in. The other nights be prepared to change if you attempt it. Since it is against the suggested attire, many cruises frown upon it and some have very strong feeling towards it. You may get a few comments or stares from other passengers. Just do a search on jeans in the dining room and you will see what I mean when I say many are passionate about this. In short, you could get away with it but it is not suggested. My suggestion is just to wear kahkis/dockers the first night. Comfortable as jeans but OK to wear to dinner.

 

At night there are typically meet and mingles, live music, etc. Usually not any impressive shows or activities since they are encouraging everyone to get in a vacation mindset and make friends.

 

This is exactly how it was on our cruise on the Grand Princess for our party of 14. We were told we could not go to our rooms until 2 p.m., though my husband and I dropped by early, just in case, and it was ready. Most of us had our bags by dinner (late seating) but at least two couples in our party were missing some or all of their bags (and had never cruised before so did not have a change of clothes in their carry-ons.) The Patter said the dress code was "casual" and there were several people dressed casually, including jeans.

 

Have a great cruise! :)

[mlmagic]

Hi all. My husband and I are going on our first cruise this July, Coral princess to Alaska (we will be doing an independent land trip the week before). Anyway, I have been reading these boards for the past year and have gotten so much great information. But since we are getting closer to sailing, I have a few questions about cruising that I would appreciate help with. I'll ask them one post at a time.

 

My first question is, what will it be like the day we get on the ship? We are taking the princess transfer from Anchorage to Whittier. Does anyone know, we will just stand around the pier with our luggage and wait in line to get on. I realize you can't tell me the wait time, I'm sure that varies greatly. When we are boarding, do we just show a ticket and then take our luggage to our room. Do they give us additional paperwork when we are boarding. I'm one of those people that likes to be prepared, and feel like I know what is going on. So I would like to have some kind of a clue about the process, so I don't stress about it. Oh, and also about boarding day, that evening I understand the dining room is more casual due to luggage not arriving yet and stuff like that. But how casual is casual, can we actually wear jeans that night or are we talking more like slacks (I'm not trying to stir up the jeans debate, I just want to know so that I follow the rules).

 

Anyway, I am so excited about our trip. And this board has been great. Thanks in advance for any and all advice and information given.

 

Welcome aboard to the wonderful world of cruising! I am still a newbie myself, we just returned from our first cruise to Alaska on the Dawn. One thing I can tell you as a new cruiser, is that I felt much the way you do right now...not knowing what to expect. I WAY overprocessed the whole event, when we got to Seattle to board the ship, it was all so easy, they do everything for you! You don't stand around waiting, unless you are in line to board, they are very organized and professional. Just have your documents in hand/easy to get to, bags marked with name/cabin #. You fill out some simple pre-boarding P. work in the terminal and get your cruise card and you go through a couple of gates, they check your CC, that's it! And board the ship. I recommend carrying on anything with you that will make you comfy for the next few hours, because it can take a bit to get all the luggage out to the cabins. We were so excited that first night, we immediately went to our cabin, settled in a bit, got out our ship map, (inside the cabin's portfolio on desk) which will greatly help you get familiar with the ship those first couple of days, then went to the buffet and ate, that way you can board the ship very casual and eat there, jeans, sweater, etc. The dining room on casual eve, is slacks, nice top, look nice, but not "dressy" I WAYYYYYY over packed. Trust me, keep it simple, during the day in Alaska, you will be living in tennis shoes, jeans/pants, sweater and a light jacket. I did not even wear 1/4 of what I brought!! And then for evening, depending on what you plan to do, you can roam around still casual, or you can change into something a little more "resort" looking and go to dinner and shows. Formal nights are common sense, everything from gowns, to skirts/slacks, heels. You will be amazed how much you probably overprocessed it all:p But hey, for us first timer's, that's 1/2 the fun! It's no different than going to a nice resort for a week, just think of that, you will be fine. bring a small umbrella too, we wish we would have had that on the drizzly days up there, for walking ports. Check out your Princess patter when you get to your cabin, will most likely be in your mailbox, outside your cabin's door. It tells you everything that goes on that first night and connects you to the happenings on the ship. Have a wonderful time, Alaska and Princess are spectacular...

:)