sirclean

" It will be in interesting to see what happens to our 9 existing bookings currently scheduled to set sail after September 12, 2023 through 2025 where both our military and shareholder benefits OBC have already been applied."

I was under the impression (maybe by reading an old form) that the shareholder benefit would only be applied within 90 days.  I do remember one of my early attempts to apply shareholder benefits outside of that was denied (though that was pre covid)

               "Oh, I forgot, the stock is worthless at this time.   "

Actually, it is near 52 week highs, closing over $16 on Friday (6/15/2023)

Just got off the Sapphire on a 2 week Alaska Run (Vancouver-Whittier-Back).  On the way up, we docked, and the way back we had to use the water shuttle.  I was delayed more on the way up when they had to redo the ramps getting to the dock than people were taking using the water shuttle the following week.   The repositioning of the ramps also delayed excursions (including one we booked). 

People using the water shuttle were using tickets for less than 2 hours.  Everything seemed to be flowing well.  When I went to the balcony that afternoon, only 2 shuttles were running, but, as I noted, there was no line up by then.

The Crab Shack was on the Sea Days. The first was on Day 2  which would have been the Hubbard glacier (which was later in the day- IF i remember my glacier names).  and the other was Day 6 (the day after Ketchican).

You can sign up with the roving people that come by, or call the Dine Line.

We made reservations at Sabatini's the night before.  However, something went wrong and we didnt get the reservation done. But as it was the first time they did it, the word wasnt out, and there was plenty of room.

"Small" is relative.  The Sphere class ships have 'only' 4000 something passengers. That is 'small' compared to the ships Royal Caribbean is building!

Still, I agree with what you are saying. I preferred the old Star to most of the others (though it was sold off).  The Discovery and its sisters dont have the deck spaces I like to use when visiting Alaska, my favorite cruise.  (I really like the space above the bridge).

We are on a 2 week, round trip to Vancouver on the Glacier Bay, Alaska run! 

I scored FIVE ducks on this trip!!

How many have you found on one trip??

Did you keep them (I am, as my 3 year old niece will add them to her toy collection) or release them back in the wild?

They are not yet doing a good job marketing it.  I suggested that they put it on The Wake Show, but they didnt.  They had some people walk around and try to sign people up, but as it hasnt been out for a while, and the vast majority of the ship are first time cruisers (and even some gold and red may not have had experience with a Crab Shack), I just dont think that people know what it is. 

I m glad that I got in on the first seating!  Bibs right out of the package!  The next round will have to use laundered bibs (which are cloth, and large!)

Another Followup.

I reported initially that they were on formal nights, but I find that they are on Sea Days. (I was thinking that formal nights were on sea days, but I find that is not always the case).

We are in Juneau today.  The line outside Tracy's  Crab Shack is LONG!! 

They are charging about $70 a pound for King or Golden Crab, but the line is long, so it must be a fair price!

after looking at crab pictures, they are Not snow crabs, but dungeoness (spelling).

the price was $30 each, with another $10 if you got a second pot.

There is a pot with lobster, but you have to share it with someone, and I didnt see one.

The initial soups (in bread bowls) were, as I noted very similar, but the one with the crab claw and shrimp was better (though the bases were the same).

I think that it is on Formal Nights. 

There was hush puppies and "popcorn shrimp", but the latter was similar to hush puppies, but they would have shrimp pieces in them.

They also had a basket of garlic bread, which was well cooked and crunchy.  (And very good).

There were 2 kinds of soup, but they were very similar. The Clam Chowder was the base, and the Alaska Seafood soup had the same base, but included a crab claw and a big shrimp.  Both kinds were served in a bread bowl, which was nice.

The crab bowls were similar. They had a 1/2 crab set of legs with the claw.  Im sorry I dont know my crabs well enough to know what kind it was.  One was heavier on shrimp and clams, and he other had muscles and clams with the crab. They also had very nice potatoes.  (I think that one should have had corn on the cob, but I dont remember seeing it). 

There is a third choice, for 2 people that includes a whole lobster I think. 

Additional pots of crab are $10.  (The added charge is $30 to participate). 

The menu called for the desert to be Key Lime Pie or Strawberry Shortcake.  However, they didnt have those available today. I think that these are supposed to be served in a glass. 

It was very good!  The seafood was very fresh.  In fact, as I was asked if this was limited to the Alaska ships, the manager said it was to ensure that they had fresh seafood for them!

I was NOT disappointed!  I hope that you find it and partake! 

(I suggested that they ask the Wake Show to talk about it, as today was not a sell out event!)

The Sapphire is in Alaska doing the Glacier Bay runs, so it may be limited to Alaska. 

Today (on Sapphire Princes) we enjoyed "The First Crab Shack Of the Season"! 

We sailed last week as well, and it was not available.

It was not well advertised, and it was not full today.  However, once the word gets out, I m sure that others, who like me were looking forward to it, will fill them up!

So, at least on Sapphire Princess, It is Back!!! 

$30 and nice, and very filling!

It is sad news to me! 

I have a specialty dining credit and I had planned to use it for the crab boil meal. 

I havent given an alternative a thought.  Not sure if the Crown Grill or Sabatinis would be the better choice.

In your experience, is it possible to book a specialty meal with a credit before we board next week (or do they want me to pay for it when booked until on the ship?)

Before Covid, there was a night that they would have a seafood boil/crab pot meal. It was an extra charge, and if I recall it was held in a roped off section of the buffet.  IT would have crab legs, shrimp, potatoes and corn (from what I remember).  Back then, you would sign up on the first day or so for a night, or some servers would walk around with crab leg hats and a sign up sheet. 

Im sure now there is a way to do it on the Ap IF it still exists.  Is anyone seeing anything like this (or remember it from the Olden Days and can better remember the name of it) on the current ships?  (I may have missed the discussion in the current updates)?

You can always USE The FCDs.  They simply dont include the bonus after guests 1 &2. 

Also, if you had, say 3 FCDs, you could use all three to pay for the deposit on the next cruise if you wanted, but you only get the bonus for the first. 

It is my understanding the the FCD is valid only for passengers 1 and 2.

As for the return, it is 'easy money'.  If you have the money to pay off the credit card, then the return, even for a short cruise and and inside cabin, is better than many other investments, and the sooner you can travel (and actually spend the money) the better the return percentage works out to be. 

It is an option.  Options have value. The good news is that if you pay cash, you are only giving up the interest you would have earned. IF you dont use it in a year, they give it back.  (return is 0, opportunity loss is only whatever you would have otherwise earned on the money).  IF you do cruise within the year, then $60 on 400 is 15%.  AND IF you choose to do something else (like go on a longer cruise in a balcony cabin, for instance), you have it.

Finally, often you can use your FCD as the deposit.  This may have changed, but even if the deposit should have been say $300, your $100 FCD will fully satisfy that requirement.  (At least I did that in the past, not sure under the new policy.... reserved a $9000 cruise for 3 of us to Alaska with one FCD for many months, locking in the sale bonuses).

We always try to have 2 available in case there is a Last Minute Deal to lock in (which was easier to do when they lasted for 2 years). 

with Starlink moving across the fleet, has the speed increased from 'unusable' to at least tolerable?

We cruise on the Sapphire in a few weeks, and I hope that the speed has increased.  Anyone have any recent experiences with Sapphire, or any other ship anywhere on the planet?  (IS the  starlink adoption fixing the problem?)

My Bride was Red on our last cruise. My color is Black, and I got the invitation.  We dropped it in the bucket, but walked by all the officers without any issues.  She was quickly served the free drinks.  I have never seen a bouncer at the door limiting admittance strictly to the invitation holder!  Because of the Rah Rah nature of the event, I doubt that they would want to risk alienating anyone, or risk that the invitation holder (and guest) would leave and miss the announcements (which included the new ship name at last month's event).

In the Buffet Area, there is a selection of teas, including decaf.  ON the Ruby last month it was a Lipton decaf and it was not very good.

I prefer Twinnings English Breakfast Decaf.  (They have English Breakfast, but not decaf).  So I bring my own in a ziplock bag, and put a couple in my pocket at the start of the day (and refill if I get back to my cabin before hand). 

DO they still give pins for the different loyalty levels?  I have all of my pins in a rwo an a "photo-journalists jacket" (with a lot of pockets) that I wear when I travel. (it makes going through metal detectors easy as there is nothing in my pockets when I wear it).

Perhaps the pins would be a nice keepsake to replace the card collection.

And for what it is worth, when we still had cards, I would get mine punched in the Casino or Service Desk and put it on a Princess Lanyard.  You needed it to get into your cabin and at the time, they put stickers on the back for your drink package, so you always needed it handy.  If wearing my card was 'bragging', well,... It aint bragging if it's true!  

I could be wrong, but I think that the transfers from Anchorage to Whittier are by bus, not train. In my experience (several years ago) the train was part of the Tour part of a cruise tour, and was used to get us from Talkeetna (however spelled) to Whittier. 

In my experience, there is always someone available to provide the information that you need.  You wont be alone, assuming that there is a train transfer meeting at Captain Cook! 

Did you involve them in the planning of the trip in the first place?  Do they want to go?  IF they were involved with the decision, it should be fine. 

Otherwise, there is plenty of pool access and other things for them to do on the ship, and there will be plenty of beaches to enjoy while off the ship. 

They will recognize the most traveled passengers (the top 3), and will give away a bottle of wine or 2.  I enjoy the breakdown of the number of passengers in each group (the number of blue, gold, red, platinum and black members).

there is music and you can dance if you like.

The last 3 cruises had free drinks, but I dont remember there being snacks at the Captain Circle Event.

When I was a Disney Annual Passholder, I would try to go there after Thanksgiving and it was a good time of year. BUT only when Thanksgiving was Early in November (as the third Thursday in November can be closer to mid month all the way to the last few days of the month.)  When it is early in the month, the week after (to the first few days of December were great, low attendance days.  When it was late, and the next week was already December, there was a short window before classes were out, and the parties and family gatherings were already gearing up.

For what it is worth, as I have changed the discussion to Orlando, I can tell you that airline prices hotel rates, and crowds picked up A Lot after 12/15 for sure!

Relating that back to cruising, I cruised last year over Thanksgiving week on The Discovery. It was over 100% capacity (with many rooms holding more than 'double occupancy').  In MY day, we were lucky to be out of school on Thursday and Friday for Thanksgiving. It seems that these days schools are out the whole week in a lot of places. 

I suspect, that like Disney, the week after Thanksgiving through about 12/15 (more or less) are less busy, certainly than Thanksgiving week or the end of December. 

As someone else noted, though, IF your cruise departs the weekend after Thanksgiving, then even if the Ship is less crowded, the Flights Wont BE!!  If you plant to stay at a hotel, it is likely going to be expensive too! 

The lesson is that the best week in the end of the year will be the weekend before 12/15.

Here is a link to the 'dads guide to WDW' and the Crowd Calendar.  I suspect that the dates for Disney will be very similar to those for cruising.

https://dadsguidetowdw.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/2023-WDW-Crowd-Calendars-scaled.jpg

I hope that this helps!

Conversation Starters:

Blue: "how are you enjoying your first Princess cruise so far?"

Gold:,"Is this your second or third Princess cruise? How does it compare to your first/last Princess cruise?

Platinum: "How many more cruises until you reach the black level?

Black: "with all of the cruises you have been on, how does this one compare? What was your favorite itinerary?"

Usual reply, especially from blue/gold, "How do you know this is my first (or second) Princess cruise?"  But the conversation is started.