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About Me
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Location
Alabama
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Interests
Farming and cruising
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Favorite Cruise Line(s)
Princess, HAL, NCL and Celebrity
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Favorite Cruise Destination Or Port of Call
Anywhere there is wildlife
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That's a very good point on the theater seating, especially if you go to the early show. We usually arrive 20-30 minutes early to get the seats we want and play gin while waiting for the show to begin. However, if you happen to arrive only 5-10 minutes early, especially if it's a good show, most of the good seats are usually pretty much gone.
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Nope. Well, they have a separate Reserve Dining area and get to have breakfast in Sabatini’s, and if you optionally purchase their Princess Plus package for $60 pp/day, you get free drinks, gratuities and unlimited internet. But Princess does have awesome Vista Suite cabins, with huge fully-covered aft-facing balconies on their Grand-class ships, with some pretty cool perks, for a lot less than a Sky Suite cabin on a similar itinerary. For example, with the Princess Plus package included, the Alaska cruise we’re getting ready to go on runs around $425 pp/day (with the Plus package) whereas a similar cruise in an S2 Sky Suite costs around $645 pp/day with a refundable deposit.. And best of all, you don’t have to pay extra for butler service! 😁
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Understand. The comments on this thread just reminded me of this unusual moment in time. Funny thing was, there were still slots available to book a ship transfer to the airport when we arrived that day in Reykjavik. I'm sure there are plenty of private means of getting to the Seattle airport at a reasonable price.
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This is not meant to sway you in either direction. The above examples of taking a taxi or Uber to the airport reminded me of when we arrived at Reykjavik, Iceland back in August 2022 on transition day of our B2B. As we were headed out on a ship excursion, this was the line of folks disembarking the ship that we’re waiting for a taxi or any other private means of transportation to the airport. Unfortunately, there were two other ships in port that day disembarking passengers as well.
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Here's a fun Alaska memory to look back on. While I was stationed there in the early 70s, a small amount of marijuana in your home became legalized through the court system because in Alaska "your home is considered your castle", which includes your personal space such as the clothes you are wearing, and you can pretty much do what you want in "your castle". What triggered it was a lawyer purposely got pulled over for speeding with an ounce of MJ on his person and wouldn't sign the ticket causing him to be searched and subsequently arrested. Like I said, the memories have come rushing back, especially when we tested that law in my barracks room! 🤣 Ravin v. State - Wikipedia
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OTOH we are low stress cruisers. We usually book the ship-to-airport transfer in advance and then just head to the bus after disembarking the ship, have the driver stow our luggage, find a seat in the back of the bus, and kick back and enjoy the ride. Now, if there is enough time for an excursion on the way to the airport, we will usually book one of their enhanced transfers as the cost is usually pretty reasonable. Princess Cruises - Port - Seattle, Washington
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Thanks! FWIW I was stationed at Elmendorf AFB back in the early 70s when there was only around 100,000 people living in Anchorage. Now there is almost 300,000 and homes are starting to be built on the nearby mountain sides. But I still remember seeing the underbelly of a moose walking along the streetside as I was "slowly" driving by in my VW minivan. Ah yes, Alaska can definitely leave some lasting impressions, that's for sure! 😊
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Thanks! We like both Princess and Celebrity, but for different reasons. It also helps that we’re now Elite on Princess, Elite+ on Celebrity, and 4-star on HAL, as we love free laundry! In the case of Alaska cruises like the one we're getting ready to embark on, Princess was our number one choice not only for the variety of cruising destinations, but also because of the reasonable fare we paid for one of their aft-facing Vista Suites. However, HAL has a new Alaska 28-day “single-itinerary” cruise that includes going up the Bering Strait to Nome as well as a bunch of other stops at ports off the normal beaten path! But I will say our first Alaska cruise back in 2013 was on the Celebrity Solstice, and we had an awesome time on their 7-day RT cruise out of Seattle. We’ve also been on Disney and HAL cruises to Alaska, and had a great time on their 7-day cruises as well. But this time we’ll be cruising around up there for 22 days and are super excited, even though it’s forecasted to be a little chilly on embarkation day in Vancouver as well as for most of the cruise! 🥶
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It appears the closest we will come to seeing a “pigeon” might be if we are lucky enough to see a Rock Dove. However, it appears there are plenty of other birds flying around up there to keep us entertained! 😂 https://www.alaska.org/expert-advice/birds We will be in an aft-facing VS on this cruise, so our breakfasts will be in Sabatini's. But I have no doubt the service as well as the menu options in both dining areas will be awesome as usual! But if that’s not the case, I’ll let you know. But as with my other blogs, don’t expect any food or drink pictures! 😁
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It’s time to start getting super excited about our upcoming cruise to Alaska on the Grand Princess! We have cruised to this part of the world a few times before and are looking forward to visiting this awesome place for the first time with Princess. We have booked some pretty cool wildlife excursions and will be visiting Glacier Bay National Park three times! 8-Day Inside Passage 14-Day Voyage of the Glaciers Date Destination Arrive Depart Date Destination Arrive Depart 4/29 Fly to Vancouver BC 10:30 PM 5/8 Port of Vancouver 7:30 AM 4:00 PM Fairmont Hotel 5/9 Inside Passage 4/30 Port of Vancouver 9:30 AM 4:00 PM 5/10 Ketchikan AK 6:00 AM 2:00 PM 5/1 Johnstone Strait 5/11 Juneau AK 8:00 AM 9:00 PM 5/2 Sitka AK 10:00 AM 6:00 PM 5/12 Skagway AK 7:00 AM 8:30 PM 5/3 Juneau AK 8:00 AM 9:00 PM 5/13 Glacier Bay NP 6:00 AM 3:00 PM 5/4 Skagway AK 7:00 AM 8:30 PM 5/14 College Fjord 6:00 PM 8:30 PM 5/5 Glacier Bay NP 6:00 AM 3:00 PM 5/15 Whittier AK 12:30 AM 8:30 PM 5/6 Ketchikan AK 9:00 AM 6:00 PM 5/16 Hubbard Glacier 3:00 PM 8:00 PM 5/7 Inside Passage 5/17 Glacier Bay NP 9:15 AM 7:30 PM 5/8 Port of Vancouver 7:30 AM 4:00 PM 5/18 Skagway AK 7:00 AM 8:30 PM 5/19 Juneau AK 6:30 AM 4:00 PM 5/20 Ketchikan AK 10:00 AM 6:00 PM 5/21 Inside Passage 5/22 Port of Vancouver 7:30 AM Fairmont Hotel 3:00 PM 5/23 Fly Home 9:15 AM Some of the wildlife we are hoping to see along the way includes migrating Gray and Humpback whales & resident Orcas, various seals & sea lions, a wide variety of birds to include Bald Eagles, and if we’re lucky maybe even a bear or moose, all the while surrounded by awesome scenery everywhere! Reference links: - Grand Princess Current Location - Alaska Current Weather Forecast - Northern Lights 2 Day Forecast - Northern Lights 30-90 Minute Forecast As always, please feel free to follow along and if you have any questions, let me know and we will try to find the answer.
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Is it worth getting Medallion Mailed?
Ken the cruiser replied to artvlay's topic in Princess Cruises
We have always picked up our medallions at the cruise terminal as part of the check-in process and have never had to wait any noticeable extra time because of it. For us it’s just one less thing to worry about when we’re getting ready to go on a cruise.