no1racefan1

I don't see why not--I'm a major introvert and I've survived all 4 of my cruises 😆 We almost never go to the buffet, preferring to get a table for 2 in the MDR for breakfasts and dinners. We've only used the pools when there were very few other people in them--one time we got back early on a port day and had the pool to ourselves. We can usually find loungers in less populated areas and just lay there reading or sunbathing in peace (except one time there was a loud family group that kind of ruined it) We mostly do our own thing and participate in activities that sound fun, but mostly just as observers. The cabin is great for de-peopling.

You should be able to use it to cover wifi and crew appreciation once onboard.

Major Marine Tours on sale now!

Not that this will make you feel any better, but you wouldn't be able to use it for Wifi, crew appreciation, etc. anyways. You can only use gift cards for shore excursions. Once boarded you can use it for anything purchased onboard, including those other things. But yes, when I had OBC it only took it to pay for my excursions and I had to still pay out of pocket for DH. Sorry this has happened.

Not too early. Keep trying. The website is sooooo annoyingly glitchy.

I'm confused by some of these answers. Why would I buy wifi if I can't use my phone to communicate? I thought that was the whole point.

Hey everyone! Haven't had too much to report on lately, but I decided to check excursions this morning and to my surprise, the Hubbard Glacier small boat excursion has gone up in price from $299 to $359pp. That is a huge price increase for those of you planning to take this excursion! It still shows at least 20 spots available. This is just another reason to book excursions as soon as you know what you want. Of course this made me curious so I started checking out some other excursions. The lumberjack show has gone up from $39.95 to $43.00. The fishing excursion I booked for DH has gone up from $369.95 to $419.95. Yikes! The interesting thing about that is it still shows 11 spots available, meaning DH is the only person booked. Our other two excursions have not changed in price since we purchased.

This excursion has gone up from $299pp to $359pp in the last couple of weeks. This is on Sapphire Princess next May. Interesting.

Well, I think most schools in the US start by the end of August, so the July cruises probably have higher demand from families. Also, people want to go in the height of summer when they think it will be the warmest--although there's no guarantee of that. Out of your two choices, I would definitely choose end of August.

Their website says the 2024 coupon list will be updated by 10/24, but it doesn't appear to have been updated yet.... There was only one offer in the book that I was confident we would use (Major Marine) so I'm opting not to get the coupon book--unless there's something new and exciting for 2024!

We usually do a combination of ship excursions and DIY, but I'm going to play devil's advocate for ship excursions for now since most people will say the latter. Here's why I like ship excursions: -Easy to book and not have to plan any logistics as far as where to meet the tour, time to meet the tour, etc. Just do whatever the tickets say to do. And the tickets will be placed in your stateroom. -Book online using OBC, if available. So easy! -No concern if ship docks late or gets off schedule--I don't have to make any alternative arrangements because it will be done for me. -Not all ship excursions are 'big bus tours' that people refer to all the time. In fact, I have never taken an excursion on a bus (other than just a short mode of transportation to a site). The key is to RESEARCH ship excursions to see if the experience sounds like what you are looking for. Princess provides detailed excursion descriptions with times, mode of transportation, and reviews. -SOME, but not all, ship excursions are more expensive than booking independently. Again, do your research. For our Alaska trip, all our excursions are booked through Princess and they were within $5-10 of the price listed for the individual vendors. -Every ship excursion I have been on has actually been with a local, independent vendor. They have contracts/deals with the cruise line, but they are still local tour companies. -No worry about being left behind. To be honest, this is mentioned as the biggest perk of ship excursions and I have never worried about it much. I know that local reputable vendors are going to make every effort to stay within the ship's schedule because that's what's best for business. I'm more interested in ship excursions for all the other reasons I listed.

We are flying United from WY to Denver, and then Alaska Air from Denver to Anchorage. And then United on the way home. United is the only airline that our home airport uses so it's our default as long as it's not too expensive. I have a United credit card so we get free checked bags. I got an Alaska Airlines credit card and used the companion fare to book Denver to Anchorage. It also came with a lot of points as a sign up bonus, which I'm going to use for a future trip--but those points could also be used to book rental cars or hotel rooms.

I am weirdly fascinated to hear how this plays out...

It can be added online. I have both my birthday and our anniversary listed for our upcoming cruise.

Well in today's air travel environment, I booked my Alaska flights as soon as they were available to book, so about 11 months in advance. They have gradually increased in price since then. Maybe they'll get cheaper at some point but I didn't want to risk watching them just go up and up having not purchased.

Agreed.

Only 208 days until we're touching down in AK!

I am the OP and will definitely be continuing this thread through my cruise in May. Probably not live, but maybe live-ish? Haha. Anyways, planning is kind of slow at the moment so I haven't had a lot of updates! I usually check Princess.com for price changes and excursion changes a couple times a week. I check the airlines and hotels a couple times a week to see if point redemptions or costs have changed and if there's any room to save a little bit by rebooking those things.

We always take ours if we're in a foreign country. This is usually a hotly debated topic so I'll just say do whatever you are comfortable with 😁

We have sailed on Norwegian, Carnival, and Princess, and our favorite out of those three has been Carnival--for food, service, and just general vibe. I hardly doubt anybody would name Carnival the 'best' cruise company though. I'm not loyal to any line as I choose based on itinerary/price. 'Best' for me would be defined by: -Going to cool places that I want to visit -In my budget -Good food (at least as good as going out to eat at a decent restaurant) -Clean accommodations and public spaces -Comfortable beds -Easily navigable website and booking engine so I can book on my own -Not having to spend hours of my life figuring out which items are included and whether or not I need some kind of package -Self service laundry available -Cares about environmental impact

We were booked on a 4-day cruise to the Bahamas as part of a large group in April 2020--of course that didn't happen. I was more bummed about the whole trip rather than just the cruise; DH and I are trying to see a game at every MLB ballpark AND we are also visiting as many national parks as possible. So on this same trip I had bought baseball tickets in Miami and Tampa, and booked tours in the Everglades and Biscayne. It was going to be such an epic trip! We got all our money refunded from Carnival (although it took FOREVER) and we got vouchers from United, which we were able to use before they expired. Miami Marlins also refunded all the baseball tickets automatically. However, Tampa Bay Rays NEVER refunded the tickets and we ended up filing a claim with our credit card company to get our money back. Just haven't had the heart/excitement to re-plan this trip yet, although we've done a few small land trips and we're going on our first major post-COVID trip/cruise next year, to Alaska. Fingers crossed!

@TopofWorld I think you have already tried this, but just in case it's a slightly different way of getting in, this is what I do: -Log in to princess.com -Click on My Account in top right corner, which should land you on the Summary page. Don't go to the dining page. -Scroll down to middle of Summary page and you should see this: -Click on Try our web version hyperlink. That takes you to your Dashboard. -Scroll down until you see Dine My Way

Other people have reported having issues (or their TA having issues) applying a large number of GCs all at once. So make sure to have your TA apply a handful at a time, then maybe wait an hour or so before applying more. I haven't ever applied more than 1-2 GCs at a time so I haven't had this experience, but have read it several times on the boards.

Interesting. I don't know, although I suspect, that means there is high demand, i.e. a lot of bids, and they are going to try to capture higher bidders. Thus you likely wouldn't win your bids if enough people are also bidding in the same category. Depends if you really want the upgrade--bid higher. If you're happy either way, wait and see what happens so you can tell the rest of us 😄

Thanks for sharing this website. 5 ships in Juneau on May 22nd. Eek!