XBGuy

I am a walker and love to just take laps around the promenade deck. It is a good way to see wildlife. Some years ago we took the Grand Princess on a 10-day AK cruise out of San Francisco, On the first sea day while on my promenade walk I found some birders at the very bow of the ship. There were probably a dozen, or so, with their equipment mounted on tri-pods. They were there every day, and some of those days were quite cold--September cruise. In Skagway, there are hiking trails that are free that are quite close to the docks. Free is good and no appointment is necessary, I have circled the trailheads that are closest to the docks on this map. The trail at the bottom of the map is fairly steep. This septuagenarian was huffing and puffing on that one. However, I just stopped occasionally to catch my breath and was able to make it up to the lake. The trail at the top of the map (across the Skagway River) is much easier. Wishing you a happy anniversary. We also cruised on our 40th anniversary. Give some thought to ordering the Ultimate Balcony Dinner for your anniversary evening. I am sure that regular readers tire of me saying this repeatedly, but the UBD is the finest dining experience on Princess. The meal is excellent, but the thing I love is the service level. Two servers are dedicated to you. That may sound intimidating, but they are professionals and know how to disappear when they are not needed.

They can push tables together? I am surprised that they can do that on a ship. I would have thought that the tables would be fixed to the decks. On the other hand, I guess that many of the chairs are not fixed. Learn something every day.

We did this once. It was on the Royal Princess, and the Suite Concierge was able to accommodate our request to move our complimentary specialty dinner to Day 2.

I'll be darned. Thanks.

Yeah, that is one thing on which @CanadianBurger has not reported in his very comprehensive "Live from" thread on the Sun Princess. That being said, I have never been in a cabin on any cruise ship that did not have one of these retractable lines in the shower. Maybe they exist, and I haven't encountered them.

As somebody has already suggested you can probably get bet ter Viking specific information over on the Viking board. Some years ago on an AK cruise on the Grand Princess we tendered at Juneau. We were anchored very close to the tender pier. I would say that it was the shortest tender trip (if that is the correct terminology) that I have ever taken. The total travel time between the ship and the pier could not have been more than about 10 minutes.

Daniel's warning to passengers with pacemakers is prudent. Don't wear the medallion on a lanyard (or a decorative chain) around your neck if you have a pacemaker. On the positive side, there have been multiple reports, here on Cruise Critic, from passengers with pacemakers, and they have encountered not problems associated with the medallion device.

@Ajg601, welcome to Cruise Critic. Let me start by saying that you are going to have a great cruise. We have taken six Alaska cruises on five different ships. Every cruise was wonderful, and we never thought that one ship was better than any other. There are ship differences, but we think that is a good thing. One of our AK cruises was on the Royal Princess. It was wonderful. While we have sailed on the Sapphire Princess, it was not to Alaska. On two occasions we have sailed on the Grand Princess, which is pretty similar to the Sapphire Princess, to Alaska. Both those cruises were wonderful. Personally, I don't see much difference between the Aug. 31 and the Sep. 7 departure dates. At this point nobody can predict that the weather in the first or second week of September. Then again, what kind of weather are you looking for? When was go on a cruise, Mrs. XBGuy is always hoping for storms. 😗 Oh, and I guarantee that you will see wildlife. Bon voyage. I am envious.

Mrs. XBGuy loaded a picture of Zorro the Cat.

'74 Martha's. VERY impressive. I notice that there is no sticker on that one. Did you drink it in your cabin? That would be excellent with the UBD. Alternatively, it would turn a Roast Beef Sandwich from Room Service into a special meal. 😁

@nho9504 I have never had a problem carrying on a corkscrew similar to what you are describing past the port security personnel. It is only the TSA personnel at the airport that will disallow a bladed corkscrew in your carry-on baggage. So, you are OK since you will not be flying. Also, putting a corkscrew in you checked baggage is absolutely fine, TSA and ship's personnel are not concerned with blades in checked baggage--only in things that are being carried onto the cabin. I have never asked the room steward to provide a corkscrew, but numerous posters have commented that they have done so, I cannot say that it is a "sure thing," Sometimes people forget. I have to believe that it is quite rare, but I have to believe that it happens. Also, and this is the part that bothers me, he is going to do it on his schedule, not mine. If I want to open a bottle during sailaway, will he be back with a corkscrew in that time frame?

WHOA!!! Is that Cardinale CS in the wrapper next to the Caymus? Was this on the Majestic Princess? What was the tariff for that?

We have sailed on both ships and we have sailed from both ports, but in neither case have we taken the Hawaii itinerary. We have taken the Los Angeles-Hawaii itinerary three times on other Princess ships. Like several of the previous posters, living within easy driving distance to the port is very attractive to us. Our Grand Princess experience was on two Alaska cruises--both out of San Francisco. Our Ruby Princess experience includes two Mexico cruises, a California Coastal cruise and an Alaska cruise. All of these cruises were out of Los Angeles. I would not be uncomfortable on either of these ships on Hawaii cruise. I might have a slight preference for the Ruby Princess, but I'm not sure I could tell you why. The Skywalkers Lounge on the Ruby Princess is very nice. It provides a very attractive perspective on the sea days. We have enjoyed the Alfredo's on the Grand Princess. It's been a few years since we have been on the Grand Princess, and at the time the only offerings were pizza. The Alfredo's on other Princess ships also offer things like pasta dishes, calzones and desserts. I do not know if the Alfredo's menu on the Grand Princess has been upgraded to that level. While the passenger capacity of the Ruby Princess is 400 more than that of the Grand Princess, I can't say that I could ever see this difference. My cruising coffee shop buddy insists that he can see additional crowding on the Ruby Princess (and her sister ships Crown Princess and Emerald Princess). The Hawaiian cultural ambassadors can significantly improve your experience. The prevailing Cruise Critic opinion is that Elua (Leialoha and Tiki Dave) are the best. I will agree that Elua are excellent, they are among the hardest working people on the ship, but I do not have any first hand experience with any others. I do recall reading a "Live From" report here on Cruise Critic in which there was a different couple, and the poster continually raved about them. So, in your case, I would not be too concerned about which Hawaiian Cultural Ambassadors will be on your cruise. I am confident that they will do a great job. You mention that you are not interested in Disneyland (and I can certainly understand that), but are you interested in any pre-/post-cruise local sightseeing. If so, I would lean towards San Francisco. Los Angeles is just spread out all over the place, and public transportation is pathetic. Yes, you can do Uber/Lyft, but you have to budget for it, and you have to be ready to spend a lot of time in traffic. San Francisco, in contrast, is much more compact, and the public transportation is much better. If there is nothing compelling in the various recommendations that I and others have made, then I would suggest that you look at air schedules. Which port is the easier and less expensive for you to travel to. Bon voyage. I am envious.

One's choice of a dining venue is quite personal. We have nothing negative to say about the quality of the food that is offered in the dining rooms. However, we just don't care for the production-oriented environment of the dining rooms. We prefer to take our time over our meals and proceed at our own slow pace. I am annoyed when a server sweeps away a barely finished salad plate over one shoulder while almost simultaneously over my other shoulder the next course is put in front of me. I like to sit back, take a breath, and sip some wine between courses. The casual dining venues, the specialty restaurants and, even. room service better fit our wishes. Also, many passengers like the casual dining venues for their lunch. (Again, we are the weird ones because we don't eat lunch.) Alfredo's/Gigi's is often packed on embarkation day. I have often opined here on Cruise Critic that the reason cruising is so great is because every passenger gets to customize his/her experience. If somebody prefers to have their dinner in one of the dining rooms, they can do so. If somebody does not want to attend the show in the theater, they can do so. If somebody wants to buy art on the ship, they can do so. I think the ability for passengers to choose for themselves is awesome. I hope you have a terrific cruise, @mncbabu_yahoo. Actually, I know that you will. Bon voyage.

A few weeks ago NASCAR visited Los Angeles for a race. We have friends on various teams and hosted three of them for a dinner at a pretty nice Downtown Los Angeles restaurant that features seafood. My wife ordered appetizers for the table and asked if our guests were OK with oysters. There were two enthusiastic "Yes" responses and one "Pass," So, she ordered a platter--a selection from Washington and BC. They were, of course, darned good, and the one person who was abstaining grew curious. We urged him to try the last one. He liked it. His comment was, "Now I get it." Apparently, he had tried an oyster once before, in Florida, and found it to be "rubbery." So, we converted one more.

In an attempt to steer this conversation back on topic. I think I prefer most shellfish over "fins and scales" fish. Off hand I guess I would say that steamed mussels are one of my favorites. A few years ago my wife and I visited the seafood bar on the Royal Princess. We both love Oysters on the Half-Shell, and, sure enough, it was on the menu. A waiter made his way over to our table and I ordered a bottle of Albarino. My wife asked, "Where do your oysters come from?" "Texas," came the reply. I tensed, a bit, and thought to myself, "Uh oh. Well, there is an "R" in September. So, maybe. . . ." No good. We did not order oysters. Mrs. XBGuy will only eat cold water oysters.

I have been a wine buff for quite a few years. I, very much, enjoy bringing my own wine on a cruise. I have a lot of wine that I have to drink. The plan is to leave none of it to the estate. As you can imagine, this is my new full-time job. I can't be goofing off just because I'm on a cruise. 🤣

Technically, I can say that we have never requested an off-menu item, but I do have a pretty cute story. About 20 years ago we took a cruise that embarked from Valparaiso, Chile cruised the West Coast of South America through the Panama Canal to Fort Lauderdale. Over the previous 30 years we had cruised five or six times, and, so, we, generally, knew the routine. One thing that was very different about this cruise was that for the first time we were on a ship that had a specialty restaurant. This seemed very intriguing to us and we decided to check it out one evening. Well, we liked it. Over course we ate there several evenings. We found the service staff--many of whom were South American--to be very engaging, and we had a great time bantering with them. On about our fourth visit to the restaurant we were chatting with our server towards the end of the meal, and my wife mentioned that she was surprised that on a South America cruise Ceviche was never on the menu, either in the dining room or in the restaurant. As we were leaving the table that server stopped us. He had spoken to the chef, and he told us if we came back the next even, we could have Ceviche. We met with the headwaiter on the way out and made reservations for the next evening. It wasn't on the menu, but, sure enough, they had Ceviche for us.

Eating too much kale can contribute to kidney stones? How do they know? In the entire history of humankind, has there ever been a case of somebody gorging themselves with kale? I like kale occasionally. A couple three times a year, Mrs. XBGuy will buy kale because she wants to try a recipe. I cannot imagine overeating kale. If I'm going to overeat something, more likely it would be Filet Mignon or Cinnabons. 😁

Every suitcase we own has a corkscrew that just "lives" in it. There is no downside to being overprepared. 😁 When we cruise, I bring a stash of wine in a neat little wheeled tote that Mrs. XBGuy found on Amazon. It is not sturdy enough to check on an airline, but it is great for carrying (OK, dragging) on the ship when boarding. It fits comfortably through the security scanner, and you know that I have a corkscrew stashed in it. The other cool thing about it is that on disembarkation day, since all the wine has been consumed, we can fit all the stuff that did not get packed away and taken the previous evening and drag it off.

As the previous poster has indicated dining room meals are included with your cruise fare. However, the dining room menu does include some items that have a surcharge. For example, some steaks from the Crown Grill specialty restaurant can be ordered in the dining room. The 18% would be added to the surcharge if you ordered one of those steaks. There may be other items that have a surcharge and those will be identified on the menu.

I am one who has never used the medallion for anything than to open my cabin door, charge purchase and walk on/off the ship. So, one might say that I think Princess fouled up by "forcing" this new technology on us. However, in this conversation multiple contributors have reported their appreciation of some additional features that they have used that are results of the deployment of the medallion and the application software that they have loaded onto their telephone or tablet. Every day it seems that there are more reports, here on Cruise Critic, that passengers are using more of these features. I think we have to conclude that the medallion system is becoming successful. Now, in reality, the day the medallion was announced, I was excited and could not wait to try it. Mrs. XBGuy is a late sleeper. I am more the "let's get up and get something to eat" kinda guy. When on a cruise, after I have finished my breakfast--and five or six cups of coffee--I will grab something for her either at the buffet or the International Cafe. It is not unusual for me to have both hands full when I reach our cabin. I immediately knew that I wanted that little gizmo to automatically open my cabin door. I was pretty happy when it worked so well. Quick edit: Let me add that if somebody opts to use a keycard instead of a medallion, that is up to them. The above is just my experience and opinion. The fact that somebody's experience or opinion is different is fine.

Uh oh. Did you just blow the surprise? 🤣

Well, we are starting to dry out here in SoCal. One of the great things about rain in the Los Angeles basin is that the next day the air is crystal clear and the local mountains are beautiful. Here is a pic of the San Gabriels taken from our neighborhood. Yeah, there are still some clouds in the way. Timing is everything. This is as close to snow as I want to be.

WRONG!!!!!!!! This is so embarrassing. Should be 2.718281828459045. I had one of those, "I can't believe I did that" realizations. Mea culpa. Mea culpa. Mea maxima culpa.