PurpleTraveller

Oh my goodness! Your train adventure reminds me of an "adventure" we had a few years ago in England. We had pre-booked train tickets from Birmingham to Haddenham (in Buckinghamshire) via London. All trains to London were cancelled as the train line had buckled. We were told to get on another train headed to Southampton and to not worry about our tickets as all tickets would be honoured to get us to our destination. The train was packed full but I managed to get a seat and DH looked after our luggage at the end of the carriage. Just before the station where we had to get off the train I made my way to him, only for the train to stop for 45 minutes. We had a great time chatting to other passengers during the wait before finally arriving at the station. The station was deserted and we wondered if we were at the correct station. Ten minutes later a train arrived and we got on it to find that we were the only passengers on the entire train. We arrived at Haddenham two hours later than our expected arrival after our unexpected adventure. At no time did anyone check our tickets. Last time we flew into Gatwick we got the National Express coach to Southampton which was easy, comfortable and inexpensive. I hope you "survive" your train adventure and enjoy your cruise! 🛳️

Thank you so much. Really appreciate your information. Unfortunately my cruise isn't until June next year but I'll definitely check out the gelato!

Has anyone been to Tindari when having a port call at Messina? I am looking at doing a Celebrity excursion that goes to the Roman ruins and the cathedral to see the Black Madonna. Interested to see if anyone has been there who can let me know what they thought of Tindari and if it is worthwhile visiting.

Thank you! I'm so pleased that you enjoyed the review and thanks for reading. I hope you have a cruise as wonderful as ours was. Happy Sailing! 🛳️

Thanks for letting us know. We didn't go to the Buffet/Cafe Caribe in the evening during our cruise so didn't see it.

We never went to the Buffet/Cafe Caribe in the evening so wouldn't have seen it. I see that sunviking90 saw it on the June 23 cruise so you might have it on yours.

To be honest I don't know if there was a Crab Shack on my cruise as I didn't look for it as we were so happy with our dining in the Michaelangelo Dining Room. Sorry!

I was told by my PVP that all the OZ category Obstructed Oceanview cabins, as the lowest category, can not be booked but are reserved for Guarantee bookings. Unless there are more guarantee bookings than OZ Obstructed Oceanview cabins you would most likely be allocated one of them. There is a difference to the amount of obstruction so only you know if you are willing to take a chance. Your other option is to book the next category up of OY Obstructed Oceanview cabin and choose your cabin according to the amount of obstruction, however you will pay more. I recently booked OY Obstructed Oceanview E631 on Crown Princess for my Alaska cruise and was very happy with the location and view. I found we spent most of our time either on the Promenade, only one flight of stairs down, or up on the Sun Deck during scenic cruising. This was the view.

Wow, thank you so much for your lovely words! I'll be doing another review in December after my New Zealand cruise so you can look out for that one. Not long at all until your cruise and I'm sure you will enjoy it as it is on a great ship on a great itinerary. We really enjoyed our time in Vancouver so I hope that you also enjoy it. I'm sure it will have changed a lot in 50 years! Happy Sailing! 🛳️

Thank you and you're very welcome! When I write a review not only does it help me relive my cruise but I try to give others the sort of information that I would like to know when planning a cruise and to give ideas of what is possible to do in ports, either DIY or excursions. I hope I've managed to help you a little in your planning of your cruise. The Alaska salmon I ate on my cruise was delicious and I tried to have seafood most nights in at least one of my dishes. The Alaska salmon/wine tasting event sounds interesting and if you go to it I'd love to know how it was. Have a wonderful cruise! 🛳️

And this is the disembarkation information.

And here are the Princess Patters for the rest of the cruise. Juneau - Day 6, June 7 Icy Strait Point - Day 7, June 8 At Sea - Day 8, June 8 Ketchikan - Day 9, June 10 At Sea - Day 10, June 11 Victoria - Day 11, June 12

Here are the Princess Patters for the first five days. Embarkation - Day 1, June 2 Sea Day - Day 2, June 3 Sitka - Day 3, June 4 Yakutat Bay (Hubbard Glacier) - Day 4, June 5 Skagway - Day 5, June 6

I really hope your mattress is one of the good ones! Even though our mattress was terrible we still had a wonderful cruise and I hope you do too! Happy Sailing! 🛳️

Thanks again to those that let me know about the PUP opportunity and the answers. Every point helps!

Thank you! We asked our steward for a bar of soap but he told us that the ship had run out and would not be getting anymore. We will bring our own bar of soap on our next cruise. We didn't think to ask him for a notepad but will remember to ask if we need one on our next cruise. I only mentioned those items as examples of small reductions in what Princess provides. Individually they are small but added together it shows that Princess is reducing the small niceties that used to be provided, I assume as cost saving measures. Thanks for reading the review.

Thanks for reading the review. Glad that it brought back some memories of your previous cruises. 😊

DH worked for an airline for 42 years and loves anything to do with aircraft so this was a day for him and to be honest I enjoyed the museum too, even if I couldn't wait to sit down on the bus. I drag him around to look at gardens wherever we go so it was good that he could enjoy himself. I would like to go back and look at the WW1 and WW2 gallery in more detail as it was very interesting. Thank you for reading the review. Hopefully you get a decent mattress and have a wonderful cruise!

What a shame the Peak to Peak was closed but now you'll have to go back to go on it! We had such a great day in Whistler going on the gondola. The ticket is valid for the entire day so we actually went back and forth five times. The views were fabulous and we even saw a black bear beneath us on the last ride. We also went for a walk while up there and had lunch at the Roundhouse. Luckily we got down just before an electrical storm that closed down all the lifts and gondolas and the people who were still up there had to be rescued by a convoy of trucks! We had an amazing time in Canada and think the spectacular scenery is some of the best we have ever seen, including in the Alps in Europe. We were so lucky with the great weather we had throughout our entire trip. Thanks for reading the review and following along!

We last went on Royal in 2016 we had a great cruise so it is good to hear that you had a good cruise on her in May. I love Alfredo's and that is probably the only thing I missed on Crown. Thank you for reading the review and hope you have a wonderful cruise in November! 🛳️

Thank you for following along and hope you have a great cruise!

We had a wonderful trip and loved everywhere we went. The scenery in Alaska and Canada is spectacular! Hope you enjoy your cruise as much as we did and get great weather. Thanks for reading the review. 😊

Thanks for reading. I hope you have a wonderful cruise, great weather and enjoy every moment! Happy Sailing! 🛳️

Thank you and thanks for reading the review. I hope our next cruise on Royal Princess is as good as this one on Crown Princess.

Conclusion We had a wonderful cruise and this is my opinion only. Embarkation and Disembarktion As I wrote in the review the embarkation was a mess and took a long time. I would think twice before sailing out of Vancouver again. The disembarkation was quick and easy and a complete contrast to the embarkation. Cabin We were very happy with our cabin. The cost was much less than a Balcony and a good compromise. We were very close to the stairs so had quick access to the Promenade and spent scenic viewing time outside on deck. The cabin was quiet, well located and had a good view with little obstruction. The bed unfortunately was uncomfortable with large sags in each single mattress despite a mattress topper and a large hump in the middle where the two single beds were pushed together to make a queen bed. Every other bed we have had on previous Princess cruises has been very comfortable so this was a disappointment. I found the night lights to be annoying and wish there was an override switch for the light in the wardrobe area so that the light would stay on when getting things out of the cupboard or safe. Food We found the food in the Michaelangelo Dining Room to be very good and of the same if not better quality that we have had on previous cruises. The food in Sabatinis was excellent as always. We found the food in the Horizon Buffet for breakfast and lunch was good and pretty much the same as we have previously had. The food at the Salty Dog Grill and Pizza on deck 16 was also the same as previous cruises. We did not notice any reduction in quality or choice. Packages We did not buy any type of package as we drink little alcohol, I only use internet for a few minutes a day and gratuities are not included in packages for Australians and are still added to our daily on board account unless they have been prepaid. The total for drinks purchased for the two of us during the cruise was USD127.96. I did purchase one day of internet mid way through the cruise to pick up my emails and I thought the price of USD10.00 with my Platinum 50% discount was reasonable. The total of USD137.96 for drinks and one day of internet was a lot less than purchasing a package. Internet I only bought internet for one day during the cruise on the Sea Day between Icy Point Strait and Ketchikan and the internet worked well for my minor needs. Medallion App This was my first Princess cruise using the Medallion App. I really liked the way the cabin door unlocked when approaching the door. I also liked that crew members could call me by name and knew we were at the dining room when we approached. I liked having access to the events information throughout the cruise on the app and also being able to look at our on board account. Otherwise I did not use the app and did not try ordering food or drinks using the app. I saw a number of passengers complaining to crew members that they had ordered drinks that had not arrived, taken a long time to arrive or arrived cold in the case of coffee. I think that it is a lot quicker and easier to just go and get what you want or order a drink from a crew member and that Princess has created a rod for their own back with the ordering of food and drinks on the app. Servive We thought the service we received from all crew we encountered throughout the cruise was excellent (except for the one person in the Botticelli Dining Room). Our team in the Michaelangelo Dining Room were wonderful and Maddela was exceptional and we received the best service we have ever had in a Dining Room on any Princess cruise. It was a pleasure to receive such great service from the crew. Entertainment We didn't actually go to any shows in the theatre which is unusual for us but we preferred to spend our time after dinner enjoying the wonderful scenery we were sailing through. We listened to some of the music in the Piazza which was enjoyable and also enjoyed the band on deck during sail away. The Ship While Crown Princess is an older ship I thought she was in good condition. We like the size and design of Crown class ships with their full Promenade deck and Skywalkers. I spent a lot of time on the Promenade enjoying the scenic cruising. I would happily sail on Crown Princess again. Weather Before the cruise the weather forecast had not been very good. Cool temperatures and rain was forecast for most days. As always we prepared for the worst by bringing rain jackets, waterproof shoes, warm clothes and layers and hoped for the best. We were very pleasantly surprised by the weather we actually got. It was very cool and overcast at the Hubbard Glacier, overcast but mild at Sitka which improved to sunshine in the afternoon, overcast and very cold and windy in Skagway in the morning but warm and sunny in the Yukon on our excursion, overcast but mild in Icy Strait Point and warm and sunny in Juneau, Ketchikan and Victoria. The Sea Days were cool and mostly overcast but we did get to enjoy the sun a few times. The only rain we had during the day was a brief shower when sailing in the Inside Passage. Clothing As we were travelling for six weeks and to a number of different places we brought a range of summer to winter clothing. On the cruise we wore long pants every day and either T'Shirts or long sleeve shirts with a fleecy jacket. Our wind/rain jackets were invaluable for keeping the wind out and we wore them on most days. We only wore our beanies and gloves a few times but we were very glad to have them when we were at the Hubbard Glacier, in Skagway in the morning where it was very windy and cold and at the Suspension Bridge on our excursion to the Yukon where it was also very windy. In Juneau, Ketchikan and Victoria we delayered to T'Shirts throughout the day as it was warm and sunny. Layers are key to being dressed in the appropriate clothing for varying weather conditions. Ports We really enjoyed all of the ports. We had a great day on our excursion to the Yukon from Skagway and also had great days in Juneau, Ketchikan and Victoria obviously helped by the great weather we had. We really enjoyed seeing Sitka and Icy Strait Point. The scenery we experienced throughout the cruise was spectacular and we loved being able to see snow capped mountains as we sailed. Passengers With only a few exceptions all of the passengers we encountered were friendly, polite and a pleasure to cruise with. There was a good mix of ages. Most passengers were from the USA or Canada and there were quite a few passengers from Asian countries such as China, Taiwan and Japan. We did not meet any other Australians though I am sure there were some on board. There were also quite a few multigenerational family groups. Changes We noticed many small changes and reductions since we last cruised before the shutdown. Some such as the loss of free internet minutes, which were sufficient for my needs, were greatly missed. Others such as no nightly chocolates, no bars of soap, no individual tubes of body lotion, no blue bag, no note pad, no cruise summary, no flowers on the dining tables and reduced size of the Princess Patter were noticed and missed but not to the detriment of our cruise. What did affect my cruise was the change of itinerary to not sail southbound in the Inside Passage on the eastern side of Vancouver Island. I understand when an itinerary is changed due to weather or other unforeseen circumstances but to permanently change an itinerary and Princess not to inform their passengers is disappointing. I have had no feedback to my after cruise survey or email I have sent to Princess regarding the change of itinerary. Overall We had a wonderful cruise and would not hesitate to sail on Crown Princess again. I was a bit apprehensive after reading the complaints of changes, reduced service and lesser quality of food but need not have worried. We received the best service we have ever had in a Dining Room on any Princess cruise in the Michaelangelo Dining Room and thought the food was as good as we have ever had. It was never difficult to order a drink or find a crew member. We found all crew (with one notable exception) to be friendly, cheerful and willing to help. Yes, there have been many small changes and while they were noticed they did not affect our overall pleasure of the cruise. It is now time to wrap up this review. Thank you for reading along. Where will my next adventure be to? We have a 13 day cruise to New Zealand on Royal Princess booked for the beginning of December this year. This will be a "take three" in the hope that we will get into the Sounds which we missed on our previous two New Zealand cruises. We then have a land trip to India booked for the end of February 2024 which is a redo of our trip that was cancelled in 2020. For June and July 2024 we have a four day trip to Istanbul followed by a seven day Greek Islands cruise on Celebrity Infinity and after a couple of days in Rome, a ten day Italy and Croatia cruise on Celebrity Constellation followed by some more time in Italy. So I have plenty to look forward to and I will do a review after each cruise. Once again thank you and Bon Voyage until next time!