Donwoods123

Thank you so much.  Very thorough!

Has anyone use the London Hop On Hop Off Bus.  How was the experience? There appears to be several, which one is best?

8 minutes ago, TheArtfulPenguin said:

We are doing the South Bound at the end of next month. What I decided: We treat Anchorage as another port instead of thinking of it what a lot express with: GET THERE AND GET TO THE SHIP.

We get into Anchorage the 24th, have the 25th to do an excursion and explore. Then the 26 is a relaxing transfer to the ship.  It's a vacation why not relax as much as you can and get an extra port out of it. 

 

Part of your "relaxing" could be the 26 Glacier cruise in Whittier b4 boarding.  We did it a few years ago and it was great.

On 5/14/2024 at 10:55 AM, DavidDSimon said:

Looking to do Alaska in Summer of 25 (me, wife and 15 year old twins).  Definitely want Glacier Bay so mostly coming down to two itineraries - one NB and one SB.  Here are the big differences:

 

NB College Fjord vs. SB Hubbard

NB Juneau from 8am-9pm vs SB 6:30 am - 4pm

NB Ketchikan from 6am - 2pm vs. SB 10am - 6pm

NB Glacier Bay 6am - 3pm vs SB 9:15 am - 7:30 pm

Skagway time is same on both

 

My instinct is that I prefer SB for Hubbard and better times in Ketchican/Glacier Bay but like the NB times in Juneau better.

 

We do want to do a few days on land I think I'd prefer to do before the cruise if that impacts whether NB and SB would be preferrable.

And both itineraries are on either Coral or Sapphire if anyone wants to throw in any recommendations between the two.

 

Thoughts????

We have been to all 3 glaciers.  Glacier Bay is the amazing.  So is College Fjord, but it is somewhat similar to Glacier Bay.  For that reason, I would choose sb with Hubbard.  If you do, you should consider the tour in which a boat comes to the ship and take you really close to the glacier.  It is the best.

I have had success resolving customer service issues by emailing Collin Steinke.  His information is:

8 hours ago, sadiwest said:

I guess my issue is I'm not sure what control I have.  There exists maybe ONE nonstop flight between EWR and Vancouver.  I'd like to be on it.   Otherwise I do 100% prefer Princess to be in charge so we minimize our risks of being late/missing the ship. 

 

 

This is where I'm seeking the information....   thank you. I didn't know I had ANY say in the flights at all. 

We always use EZ Air. You get to pick your exact flights when you reserve it.  We have not had any problems.  We fly out of LAX with direct flights.  We like the security of knowing that if we somehow are late, Princess will make arrangements for us to get to the ship at their expense.

I would not hesitate to use them again.

Usually, the lectures about what to expect at Glacier Bay are a day or 2 b4 going to Glacier Bay.  Princess also delivers to your cabin a paper handout that describes the main points about Glacier Bay. The ranger talks while the ship is at Glacier Bay are broadcast live on the stateroom tv.   If you have a balcony, you can hear them from the tv.

Glacier Bay is amazing.  I am confident you will have a great time.

I have had success in the past when I emailed Collin Steinke.  His info is:

Collin Steinke
Director, Customer Relations
24305 Town Center Drive
Santa Clarita, CA 91355
csteinke@princesscruises.com

1 hour ago, Nily D said:

Thanks!! I did book through Princess, and it was $264 pps vs. $219 pps if booking directly. How does it work if I cancel the excursion on Princess? Do I get a refund to my credit card? Or does it turn into onboard credit?

In the past, when we canceled a shore excursion before we sailed, we received a refund to our credit card.

The Deadliest Catch shore excursion is amazing.  One of the best things they did was to sail close to an island and feed the eagles.  They flew really close to the boat to get the food.

I am confident that you will have a great time.

The tram is a good option if it is a clear day.  The views are pretty amazing.  If it is not clear, I would skip it.  

On 3/22/2024 at 2:12 PM, sharon_pei said:

I do believe there will be other opportunities of seeing glaciers, like in glacier bay. so i plan to skip Mendenhall.

 

Now, the question arises: what activities should we pursue in this port? Based on our research, the popular options are as follows:

1. Tram ride: We're thinking about it, but it depends on the weather and might not take up the whole day.

2. Strolling around town: Not really our thing, to be honest.

3. Whale watching: We've done this so many times before, it's not high on our list this time.

4. Helicopter glacier landing: Sounds cool, but it's a bit out of our budget since we're already splurging on the Skagway train/bus tour and Matanuska trek.

5. Salmon bake or gold panning: not really our cup of tea.

6. Renting a car to explore outside of downtown: This seems like our best bet, but we're not sure if it's more suited for people who've been to Juneau a bunch of times and have seen it all.

 

When we were in Juneau one time, we went on a Princess excursion that was a canoe ride to the base of the Mendenhall Glacier and we got to walk in the glacier.  We really enjoyed it.  

Princess does a really good job in Alaska.  We have been there many times.  They have many Alaska specfic activities such as ranger talks, bringing "sled dog puppies" on board, and a presentation by Libby Reynolds.

Glacier Bay and College Fiord are amazing.  If you go to Endicott Arm, you take the risk of the ship not being able to  get close enough to even see the glacier if there is considerable ice in the water. This happened to us last August.  They do offer an excursion where a small boat takes passengers from the ship and goes really close to the glacier.  It is expensive, but worth it.

On 3/27/2024 at 5:55 PM, martincath said:

Agree that since this will be dark o'clock, the only interior spaces to visit are pubs - every ticketed attraction, except possibly the IMAX theater at the museum, will be long closed and even the Fairmont's egregiously overpriced 'Afternoon' Tea (which notoriously takes bookings as late as 9pm in peak summer) is unlikely to be on offer beyond 5pm once Labour Day has rolled around.

 

Wander into town by going left or straight ahead instead of right toward the park; enjoy looking at parliament and other buildings around the inner harbour all lit up nice, visit a pub (personally it's always Swans for us, up next to Chinatown) and then wander back to the pier.

 

In terms of actual excursions I wouldn't bother personally, but there will almost certainly be some options available both indy and through NCL - if you're horsey people and want to blow a wodge of cash rent a carriage (don't take the trolley, they have rows of bench seats with poor sightlines unless you sit on the outside, anything costing less than $75pp is almost certainly a trolley!); if you're small boat fans, then there's a chance the pickleboats might be running for tours of the harbour from the water for a much more modest price; NCL might package a coach tour pub crawl - much cheaper to just take a cab between pubs yourself if you don't want to walk. 

 

If your visit is in the first half of Sep, NCL will almost certainly sell you a far-too-short and overpriced visit to Butchart Gardens. If they are selling one that means the gardens are open, so you could split a cab with a couple of friends each way will give you more time at the gardens than the cruise bus will and also save a pretty hefty chunk of cash (assume about $120 for a cab that seats at least 4 and $40 per adult ticket, all in CAD - compare that to price of NCL excursion to see what the saving is). Butchart is a great garden, but I'm not a fan of doing it all in the dark even though they do light it up - even early in Sep you're unlikely to arrive with much in the way of daylight!

I agree that the Garden is underwhelming at night, although when we were there they had fireworks.  They were ok, not great.

Last time we were there, we just took a walk to the harbor.  It took about 15 minutes to get there.

New Zealand is amazing.  We sailed on the Royal last month around New Zealand.  It is so clean and safe.  It reminds me of how California used to be 40 years ago.

Ours rarely gets back to us.  Very frustrating.  We are elite and for the next cruise, we will use a TA for that reason.

On the Royal in February (rt Sydney)  a gentleman was refused entrance to the mdr one evening because he was wearing shorts.  I was surprised,  but thought it was the right call.

Last August, we had a short time there.  We just took a walk to the harbor.  It took about 15 minutes to get there.  It was ok, not great.

7 hours ago, MudderBear said:

I learned a good lesson on my upcoming Barcelona to Rome cruise this year.  Book your excursions early.  I was lucky as I grabbed two in Italy months ago, and now had a hard time booking for Gibralter and Marsailles.

 

Anyway, with that in mind, we are sailing Princess in Alaska summer of 2025.  This will be a repeat cruise.  I'd like to book that special boat in Hubbards' Glacier ($299 pp YIKES!!!) now before we get locked out of that.  Its the boat that takes you as far as it can go right up close.  And yes, I've done the cruise before, but stayed on our ship and envied those that did the excursion.

 

Am I crazy to book over a year in advance?  My full payment isn't even due until next March 2025.  What do ya'll think?

 

Thanks.

 

 

We always book our Princess excursions as soon as we book the cruise.  The price seems to increase as you get closer to sailing and they are generally even more if you book while on the ship.

The Hubbard glacier excursion is great.  We were able to get really close to see and hear the calfing up close.  Much better than remaining on the ship.  They even offered us drinks made from glacier ice.

As noted above.  This excursion tends to sell out quickly.  

I recommend that you book this now.  It can always be canceled if you change your mind.

We have been to Alaska many times in Princess, including in May and September.  Two years ago we went at the end of September and the weather was good (but pretty windy) except in Glacier Bay where it was so foggy that we could barely see Marjorie Glacier.  We went back the following May and the weather was glorious.  As noted above, there are no guarantees on the weather any time of the year.

I agree that you can get great values in the stores in September as they are trying to sell their remaining inventory.

One thing to consider is that if you are going to visit Endicott Arm, the ship may not be able to get close enough to see the glacier if there is considerable ice in the water.  In that case, September would be better.

One time in Sepember, we were able to see the Northern Lites from our balcony the last night on the way from College Fiord to Whittier (port for Anchorage).

I also agree that May is a little early to see Bears and salmon.

Alaska is amazing any time of the year.

Once I was having an issue with Princess and couldn't get anywhere with cs.  I then sent an email to Collin Stenke and got a prompt  reply from his assistant.  I was able to resolve the issue to my satisfaction.

His info is:

Collin Steinke
Director, Customer Relations
24305 Town Center Drive
Santa Clarita, CA 91355
csteinke@princesscruises.com

2 hours ago, richart said:

NavyVeteran, thanks for your response. This cruise leaves Vancouver on Saturday, at sea on Sunday and is in Juneau on Monday. The Shore Excursion FAQ had no information at all. As you mention there is no way to book a third ticket online. I called Princess and the operator told me I could pay the surcharge when I am onboard. Still sounds a little squirrely to me since you would think that is something the tour operator would want to know up front. I'll wait until I'm onboard on Saturday and visit the shore excursion desk and see if I can get this straightened out. If I can't that will give me time to cancel. I hope everything works out because this is our 50th anniversary trip and my wife really wants to walk on a glacier. So far the communications I have had with Princess are not very satisfactory. I hope the cruise turns out better.

I hope it works out for you. 

When we were in Juneau one time, we took a Princess excursion that was a canoe ride to the Mendenhall glacier and walked on the glacier.  It was a pretty good tour.  It may be a good substitute for you if you have to cancel.

22 hours ago, Shaver John said:

Do you know if the suite bags are the same as these. We used to get a white and blue bag that was different in the suites. We will be traveling to Austrailia on the 13th and getting on the Majestic on the 18th. This was I will not need to pack a bag if they will be providing one. Great news if on all the ships.

We just got off the Royal on Feb 18 rt from Sydney.  No bags

I also recommend that you take the 26 Glacier tour.  As noted above, it gets so much closer to the glaciers.

On 2/10/2024 at 5:35 PM, rockraiders said:

We have cruised many times. Most recently our cruise line of choice has been Celebrity. We have also cruised Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Cunard, and Viking river cruise. We wanted to try Princess so we booked an Alaskan cruise tour.  We are pretty low maintenance but I have been reading some reviews on Royal Princess and they are not good at all. Is Royal Princess that bad?

Just got off Royal Australian/New Zealand cruise today.  Had a great time.  Waiter Emilio and his assistant waiter Sommy in Allegro MDR are the best.  New CD Esther did a fine job.  The officers were around the ship and very approachable. Great meal in Crown Grill.  Entertainment was good, especially tribute to Neil Diamond.  

Sailed on Royal several times, including in Alaska.  I am confident you will have a great time.  Alaska is amazing.

We have been to Alaska many times with Princess.  We love the Royal Princess.  It is one of our favorite ships.  I would not hesitate to sail on the Royal again in Alaska.

As for the viewing areas, you can always go up to the open deck (midship), where you can easily switch from the port to starboard side by just walking across.  As between port and starboard sides, it doesn't matter because, on major viewings, the captain will rotate the ship so all sides can see.  We always get a starboard balcony because we enter Glacier Bay in the early morning and I always get up early to watch the sunrise over the mountains from our balcony.  It is so beautiful and peaceful.

As for adjusting the fare because of later discounts or promotions, Princess used to adjust your fare.  Recently, it has been much harder to get them to do that.  Some on cruise critic have reported that they were able to get them to do that, but I have not been successful lately.  If you are before final payment and have a refundable deposit, you could cancel and rebook at the lower fare.  You would, of course, not protect your cabin or other benefits.  You would need to crunch the numbers to determine if it is worth it for you.

As for wifi, we have not had any problems with it.  However, we use it only for emails and some web searching.

We almost exclusively use Princess excursions.  They are a little more expensive than private excursions, but we  like them to take care of everything.  On the one excursion that we were unhappy with, Princess resolved the matter to my satisfaction.  I was able to resolve it on the ship and I didn't have to deal directly with the tour provider.  Also, if the Princess tour is running late, they will hold the ship for you or pay to get you to the next port.

Princess does a really good job in Alaska.  I am confident you will have a great time.