cattman
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Posts posted by cattman
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Yep, hashed to death, it is what it is... so here's how we enjoy the Regal:
Book E402 thru E412(Cat DV, deluxe) or E420 thru E437(Cat BV, Balcony). Both listed as obstructed, but not really. Less expensive, larg(er) balcony, and midship.
We sail the Regal in one of these cabins and always enjoy our balcony.
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As a young female Australian currently living in South East Asia, and where the Zika virus is currently prevalent, I'm hardly not paying attention.
I am well aware that the Zika virus has the potential to be sexually transmitted, in addition to suggestions that it causes the incurable inflammatory Guillain-Barré syndrome.
Unfortunately I, and anyone who travels to high risk areas are at risk. I am also at risk of getting hit by a car each morning on my way to work. As I similarly have the potential to be caught up in terrorist bombings within the country. While being attentive is a must, none of these things, including Zika virus, can ultimately be prevented unless you lock yourself up in your own home.
No one should let mosquitos, or your outrageous scare tactics stop them from enjoying a well deserved cruise.
Amen.
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Since our first cruise to Alaska in the late eighties we have logged over thirty three cruises, everywhere from the Panama Canal to the Norwegian Fjords. But we keep returning to Alaska, usually on Princess. We now have logged 15 cruises to the Great Land and will probably be back next season.
Living on the West Coast makes it very convenient and, as 4cats4me has already stated, it just never gets old. The glacial landscape is constantly changing making the always awesome Glacier Bay a new experience each time we are there.
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We have visited the zoo during port days on three different cruises and cannot recommend it highly enough. Don't know of any zoo stateside that includes a bag of food with admission allowing you to hand feed numerous animals - including a giraffe, hippo, and wolves.
Easily accessed by bus from downtown and easy walk from Mismaloya stop. Definitely bring bug spray and use it.
After our zoo visit we usually cool off with a beer on the sand of Mismaloya beach before catching the bus back to PV. Lovely day.
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The difference is that it's not special anymore.
The cruiselines used to send you a little leather-like travel folder
with your tickets and boarding passes. You felt like it was a little
something special, out of the ordinary.
Oh yeah... reminded me of when as a kid, I'd order from the back of a comic book and was sooo excited to get that package in the mail... and cruise docs(the blue Princess "coupon book" in the plastic folder) are so much better than xray specs...
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We always tip the cabin steward $10s shortly after our first meeting and again at the end of the cruise. You'd be amazed at how well they take care of you.
Howard
Same here. A tenner and a sincere " We are looking forward to your great service for the next week" has always brought - or bought - us better service than the times a tip was not offered at first meeting.
To each his own of course, but who couldn't use a little extra cash on their first port day off?
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I was on last week's Coral cruise and escargot was offered on the second formal night. It was pretty good, too.
Thanks! Hope you had a great cruise!
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Escargot was available on the Coral when we cruised in July. YUM -- enjoy :)
Thanks... that's good news... I am going to request it on multiple nights!
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Food is subjective. We have had both and Princess escargot is far superior. ;)
I agree. It was great having it available every night on out last Celebrity cruise, but we both preferred the escargot from Princess.
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We are sailing N/B Alaska on the Coral in September and are looking forward to escargot in the dining room... it was not offered on our last cruise to the Mexican Riviera.
Can anyone who has sailed the Coral confirm that it is on the menu this Summer? We would like to request it from the HW for multiple nights... anyone had luck with this lately on this ship?
Thanks a bunch!
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Read all the posts and applaud all the great advice. Just like to add a couple things:
After twelve cruises to Alaska on Princess, RCL, X, and HAL, with visits to Glacier Bay, Hubbard, College and Tracy Arm fjords I would have to give the edge to Princess.
While I agree with some others that the shipboard experience can be a better one on the other lines, we have found Princess to just do a better job all around when it comes to what matters most - presenting the best of the Inside Passage. Their naturalist program is the best, and they offer added enrichment programs such as a presentation by Libby Riddle(an iditarod winner) and daily naturalist presentations.
As Host Jazzbeau pointed out, they also offer the best of the larger cruise ships for outdoor viewing in Alaska - Coral Princess, a medium sized ship with front and back viewing platforms, a wrap-around Promenade and the highest passenger-to-space ratio in Alaska. Sailed with Celebrity last year and while we enjoyed the shipboard experience, we were very disappointed with the lack of open deck areas for scenic viewing, resulting in way too crowded decks. Not to mention the almost non-existent natural history element. And isn't this what's important on a cruise to Alaska?
As for Glacier Bay vs Hubbard vs Tracy Arm, you may only get to Alaska once. Yes, Glacier Bay is shrinking, but it and College Fjord offer the highest concentration of tidewater glaciers in Alaska and is a major bucket list item. And while we prefer the glaciers of College over GB, chances are if you are going to see wildlife during the cruise it will be in Glacier Bay. We have witnessed sea lion birthing, brown bears mating, and pods of Orcas. Not so much in Disenchantment Bay(Hubbard).
A southbound Whittier(or Seward) to Vancouver cruise - and most RT Vancouver cruises- have the added bonus of a daylight sailing through the beautiful BC Inside Passage. Cruises out of Seattle stay out to sea and are less scenic and can be a little rough.
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Cardero's for a nice combination of excellent patio views and reasonable(for Coal Harbor water-view dining) prices. Go early or make reservations. Try the wok dishes, a bargain for the location. Lift is just too expensive IMO. Cactus Club Coal Harbour unimpressive and always VERY crowded, with lousy service.
Ok, for real relief for the tapped-out wallet, especially with a family - walk the seawall to Denman to the Great Wall Mongolian BBQ. AYCE for about twelve bucks, not much atmosphere but all is fresh and tasty. Great place to eat upon returning your rental bike after a ride around Stanley Park.
Also many good noodle places on Denman.
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We took the tour one rainy day in Juneau and really enjoyed it. Their shuttle van departs from the ABC store on Franklin(very easy to find, right on the main drag about three or four blocks from the port) and was well worth the $7.50pp... we drank at least three times that in free samples post tour! I too love their beer and this was a great opportunity to try all their different varieties in one place. The guides were hilarious and very informative. Met many nice people.
BTW, we found many reasonably priced souvenirs at their store... check the closeouts.
Would do it again should the weather preempt our outdoor plans during our Juneau stop this September.
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You should have listened to this particular item.
You don't need printed docs to check-in at the port.
You do need:
Proper and valid ID
Method of payment (in your case, cash)
Luggage tags are available from the shoreside baggage handlers.
To supplement...not everyone that cruises has a computer and printer, or wouldn't know how to use them if they did. Those folks get to cruise, too....and you may meet them onboard. Still, they show up and are able to check-in with what we would consider, a minimum of documentation.
Absolutely. No bother... we never carry "cruise documents" and always get our luggage tags at the pier. Figure the less paperwork to have to carry the better. I do keep our confirmation numbers on my phone(Tripit is a godsend), but that's it.
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However, in all other respects the cruise was sub-par. Anytime dining was a disaster this cruise, because of long lines to get in, and the slowest service you could ever imagine once you were seated. The lines waiting for meals (even lunch, in whatever venue) were horrendous. At 5:45 PM, one day, we waited for an hour and a half for a table for the seven of us in the Deck 5 midship dining room! At 7:15 PM we were finally given a table and had the only good service we ever experienced on this cruise at any meal. This was Monday night. We talked to the M.D. and he said if we would come every evening at 7:30, he would guarantee we would have that table for the rest of the cruise. Well, that worked for two nights, and the rest of the nights the table was given away.
With the huge passenger load, including seven or eight hundred children, the shows in the Princess theater were on a twice nightly schedule, instead of the three times that we have found on Princess recently and which the passenger count on this holiday cruise really mandated. This resulted in an impossible situation for many people who wanted to get into the 8:00 show.
There was just a general atmosphere or disorganization and chaos throughout.
I think the reason we had such good luck in the MDR with AD was due to our habit of dining late, between 7:45 and 8:30. We have discovered late is the only time to dine on any ship with this many passengers. Made reservations on a couple of nights, but never had a wait as walk-ups on the others. I realize this may not be realistic for many, and we are a party of two, but there were many tables of all sizes available.
We found the embarkation surprisingly easy... from check-in to boarding, especially considering the late hour. About the same as if it was the usual 11:00am boarding experience... but with no MDR lunch(bummer!). Living in L.A. helps, as we just arrived early, dropped off our bags, parked, rode the trolley to Ports O' Call for a few drinks, then strolled back to the port at 6:00. We expected a long line into the parking lot and this was not the case. We were able to drop off our carry-ons in the room, then went right to the MDR for dinner. Lots of shorts and jeans in the MDR due to the situation, but no problem.
We were also surprised at how well behaved(most of - there are always a few) the 800-or so children were on this cruise, and I know this was due to responsible parenting. We never felt the ship was "overrun", and the adults-only rule was respected at the aft pool.
As for the shows, yes, they were very crowded, as usual on the Crown... but after checking out the first production show, we can honestly say those that couldn't get a seat did not miss anything. The Elton John tribute, however, was very enjoyable, with many seats available.
Real downers - the MUTS screen needs work(where's the HD??), as do the spa facilities, and a lousy Crown Grill experience. No escargot. Needed more time in PV. But no biggies.
Overall we really enjoyed ourselves. Hey, the better you roll with the punches, the better the time you'll have. We almost cancelled(have Platinum vacation protection) the day before but found ourselves saying "so glad we didn't cancel!" more than once during the cruise.
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Boy, sure wish we could echo the accolades for the Crown Grill.
While we feel very fortunate to not have experienced many of the problems others had to deal with on the same cruise(no noro, never had a problem reaching DR reservations or room service, never saw long lines at HC(probably our timing), our night at the CG was much less than optimal. Sad, as this was our first time in an alternative dining venue after 27 cruises on Princess. We did enjoy the peace and quiet in the lovely room, however.
Ironically, we found the food surprisingly good in the MDR - and despite what we had heard about the long waits between courses experienced by others on this board, we found the service there much more efficient and respectful than in the CG. And the lobster in the CG was the same as that offered in the MDR on Thanksgiving night.
Sure miss the escargot and crab legs in the MDR, too..... now, if these were offered in the CG, we might give it another try on our next cruise.
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I wonder what the MDR attire will look like on Sat night? I bet we see lots of casual clothes.
Since no one will have their luggage till close to midnight, I'm sure there will be virtually no dress code... may be my first DR experience in shorts
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Arrival times are set by the port/harbormaster. When a lot of ships are in port at the same times, the order of arrival and dock has to be coordinated. Disembarkation is determined by when Immigration is set to process passengers. This is not necessarily related to arrival time. Chances are Immigration won't be set up an hour earlier. We're talking the government here. :)
On Alaska cruises, ships dock at Whittier at 4:00 or 5:00am, sometimes earlier, yet official disembarkation does not begin until 7:30 - 8:00am
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La Choza de Tono, or Tony's Restaurant across the road from Mismaloya Beach, on the road to the zoo is one of our favorites in PV.
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Unbeknownst to me, she had packed a small travel iron. So they took it. Their "naughty room" is in the bowels of the ship in a "secure" area.
Funny enough, at the end of the cruise, there was a table set up near the luggage area, with all the "contraband"...there must have been 20 irons! Even full sized ones! LOL!
Oh man, we got such a kick out of that RCL 'naughty table'. We ended up there at the end of our Allure cruise to retrieve a confiscated swiss army knife. Could not believe the stuff on that table, all confiscated at the beginning of the cruise: at least three huge rice cookers, countless coffee makers and steam irons(full size), hot plates, a small toaster oven, a machete, a spear gun, even a small crossbow.
Some people really know how to party.
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As has been posted above, your only option for certain boarding would be the Princess transfers. You should be ok as Princess offers transfers for domestic arrivals up to 1:30pm (international arrivals 12:30pm... I assume you're flying in from within the US). I have seen many ships held for late arriving Princess airport transfer buses but never for a cab.
You don't specify your sail date, but Princess' cutoff for flight information(needed on booking before transfers can be booked) is 14 days before sailing. If they confirm your transfer after receiving your flight info you're fine. I suggest you call your TA - or Princess - asap.
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Good resource for current information at TripAdvisor:
I was not aware of any commercial flights leaving the airport at this time, only military.
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See my post right above about the ships the Crab Shack is on. This post has the menu, with thanks to Christine Lee and her thread of menus.
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1887473
Crab Shack menu is on page 12 of her thread and is also attached here.;)
Wow... twenty bucks, huh? I'll pass
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That balcony is what is called a "french balcony" on the river ships... basically a sliding door that opens to the sea..
This and the lack of an open, uncovered dining deck off the Horizon Court are deal breakers for us.
Fix Anytime Dining
in Princess Cruises
Posted
We like to eat late, around 8:00 - 8:30. The only cruises we have waited for a table at this time were on the Oasis and the Allure, average wait 20 - 30 minutes. Reservations were gone days before.
One of the reasons we sail with Princess and ATD - 30+ cruises - is we never have a problem being seated right away at this time, and we have always had our choice of tables.