Live! From the Tahitian (end of May)

[jebush]

Greetings, all - last post.

 

Maybe because of the size, but it didn't take long to get off the ship. We were among the last, I think - and that was about 8:45. They DON'T do announcements - just in the two main lounges (Cabaret for most cruisers/Tahitian Lounge for Elite and Platinum). They are in communication with the 'authorities' by walkie-talkie and just yell the color. It actually worked fine. One sour note; we had booked a Vancouver tour (we always do that at the disembarkation site: book a late flight and this gives us transfers AND a way to 'ease' back into life on shore and extend the trip a bit!). 2nd last nite: luggage tags listed us as independent (no arrangements) travellers. So went to pursers: told they'd cancelled our tour w/o telling us (we did get a note later in the day in our cabin). So promptly asked to purchase transfers to the airport. We were told that it was too late for this. So their negligence in letting us know about cancelling our tour meant that we missed their deadline for transfers! The UPSIDE is you can get transfers to the airport for $13 in the terminal (I don't know what Princess charges, but I'm guessing more). Still, left a sour taste in our mouth.

 

As to the question re:Victoria: we didn't have to go through ANY sort of customs or immigration even though it was our first port of entry into Canada. Was nice, but I thought that a little strange. Immigration in Vancouver; we did it after leaving the ship and was VERY quick. For those travelling back to the U.S. - you go through U.S. immigration in the Vancouver airport (which again, didn't take much time). If you're in a hurry, be aware of this little time-consumer (again, for us, it didn't take but about 10 extra minutes, but we weren't in a hurry so that ALWAYS seems to be the case!).

 

Last morning breakfast: 6:30 a.m. in the buffet or 7:00 a.m. in the dining room. Didn't have to vacate the cabin until 8:00, so all was good that way. There weren't that many in the Tahitian lounge (and they had both refreshments and papers in the lounge - very civilized!), so a relaxing disembarkation, in my mind.

 

As to the captain: I don't know. The captain we had was getting off the ship in Vancouver, so someone on this next cruise might be in a better position to fill you in.

 

It was gratifying to hear that my few updates were helpful. To be honest, that made it easier to spend the time writing. If you've read my notes, you'll realize that we LOVED the cruise AND the ship. We wanted to experience a smaller ship and enjoyed that. We're inclined to do bigger ships most of the time, I think - but will DEFINITELY come back to this class periodically.

 

Best wishes to all. I'll anxiously await others doing something similar on this cruise so I can re-live our trip!

 

Signing off,

 

Jeff

[wwinfl91]

Thanks again Jeff for your posts. I think all of us who are going to be on later Tahitian Alaska cruises especially appreciated them. We are on the July 10th cruise and are looking for it all the more thanks to your posts.

 

I have set up a Yahoo group site for our cruise but anyone interest in the Tahitian Princess, Vancouver stays or Alaska may want to have a look. I have over a 100 links for various sites and will be posting some of our pictures there when we return.

 

Here is a link to it if you are interested.

 

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tahitianalaska71008/

 

Have a great next cruise.

[towhee]

I met Jeff and Candice at the Cruise Critic party we had. They are a wonderful couple; so were the rest of the group (about 8 or 10 of us all together).

 

Our captain was Carlo Sevillo and the Cruise Director was John Clelford.

We definitely went on the outside of Vancouver Island from Sitka to Victoria.

 

I used the ship's laundry instead of the laundromats because we were elite class so it was a freebie. It's certainly a lot easier than spending part of the day fighting for a washer and dryer. I've carried sample sizes of detergent (in a baggy), dryer sheets, and a "spotting" pen in years past.

 

Oh, don't forget about OTC medications. We did this time (we usually carry them) and of course both of us came down with colds. Finding a pharmacy or grocery store in Valdez, Seward, or Kodiak was a bit of a challenge and the prices were very high (not as bad as the ship's prices though).

 

The seas were quite calm this year; we've seen them much rougher in year's past. We never did see the "little white bags" by the staircases that we've seen before.

 

The answer to the question about the stablizers.... they extend the stablizers out during the day, but it slows down the ships progress (more drag). At night (usually after second seating and the evening entertainment), they pull them in and can really move quickly. Since most people are in bed, they don't notice the extra rock and roll.

 

The upgrade fairy visited us two days before we sailed and gave us a mini-suite. It was really nice, but the drapes didn't come together as well as we would like (sun rise was about 4 am at Valdez/Seward/Kodiak). A small binder clip (I happened to have one in the toilet case), solved the problem.

 

I hope that all of you have as much fun on your cruise as we did on ours. Of course the folks you meet are part of the equation, but the crew, the weather, and the ports also make a big difference. We really love small-ship sailing and TP is a perfect size.

 

Margaret

[DeepWaterMariner]

Useful information all the way to the end. Thanks for taking the time to let us know!

[whale-watcher]

Useful information all the way to the end. Thanks for taking the time to let us know!

I will second that...this has been a great thread. We are more excited than ever about our upcoming cruise!

[harleysmama]

Thank you so much for the helpful information and just to let us know what to expect. I am now looking forward to our trip much more.

[7seven7]

Thanks so much for taking the time to post. It really was nice to read all the useful information.

 

Janet

[WitaMut]

Jeff,

Thank you so very much!

Bill

 

6/26/08 Sailing

[AKGloryBelle]

Jeff,

Thanks once again for helpful info about your cruise. Sounds like you had a great two weeks! I will add clothespins to my packing list to be sure I can keep our drapes closed to block light.

 

I'm glad the weather wasn't too bad and the seas were smoother than usual. Hopefully we'll have reasaonable weather during our August cruise.

[sanpedrocruiser]

Thanks, Jeff

Sounds like you had a great time. Really appreciated the posts.

[scotty2]

Jeff I can't thank you enough for all your posts. I lived my cruise through you and now I'm eagerly awaiting mine. You were very gracious to take the time and it's appreciated

[Barocl]

Towhee,

 

You were visited by the upgrade fairy. Where were you assigned before the visit. (Cabin number please) Take care.

[jebush]

Jeff I can't thank you enough for all your posts. I lived my cruise through you and now I'm eagerly awaiting mine. You were very gracious to take the time and it's appreciated

 

You're very kind - it was fun to do and to share! Got a deal, though - we'll be going on the Golden at Xmas 2009 and it appears that you'll be going on her a month before. So any help/thoughts after your cruise on the Golden would be appreciated!

 

Jeff

[whale-watcher]

I thought of one more question, if you are still watching this thread...was there an onboard naturalist, and do you recall if they did an evening narration most nights?

thanks!

[jebush]

Hi - yes, there WAS an onboard naturalist. She did several presentations (and in particular, coming into Glacier Bay, as I recall). I DON'T recall her doing any evening presentations: I think most were morning and possibly one or two in the (early) afternoon.

 

Jeff

[ibfern]

Thanks for the info Jeff! I'll be on in 8 days, with lots of free internet! I am glad to hear there are plenty of computers.

Amelia