CruzeQueen2

Looking forward to your reports once again. Thank you for taking us along. 

Just now, deltahog said:

What does IC stand for.

 

It's going to be interesting the number of people who have booked but don't keep up with cruise critic or other updates and will get on board in the next few months, only to not get what they thought they bought.

IC stands for International cafe. Usually located on deck 5, midship. Same place you would go to order specialty coffees. @deltahog

53 minutes ago, roxievegas said:

the grill and pizza on the upper deck

IC food items are included without an extra  charge

1 minute ago, voljeep said:

what was included in the 'tapas'?

@voljeep There was an assortment - can't recall what they were exactly. I do remember warm spring rolls, a skewer of something, some olives - not a lot of food, just a few nibbles. 

31 minutes ago, PacnGoNow said:

Used to be complimentary tapas at Vines. Haven’t seen or asked for them since the restart.  Maybe they will offer them again?

 

 

We had tapas on Majestic at Vines, in May 2023

3 minutes ago, Jeter02 said:

Correct. New few for Standard starting Aug 12th

I'll be sailing, in the middle of a cruise on Aug 12th. Guess I will enjoy my "complimentary" room service for one more cruise...and I have purchased the Plus package for this one. So no charges - as before (and going forward).

I've never seen any $5 charge for room service delivery before.  So this is new. A new charge for those who don't purchase the Plus or Premiere packages? Asking for a friend...

Jover was on Royal last year. Nice guy!

On Majestic this year you could ask for a tray in the IC as you ordered your food. It was the first time I have seen them. Very handy! They were available for the duration of the 8 days I was on board. Steward took it away when the room was service. 

@geepmaley I highly recommend you try The Catch. We were there the very first night in May, official opening night. Loved it soooo much we booked it for our last night as well. We're not disappointed. Cover charge $39 per person. You won't regret it. Replaces Sur le Mer. Enjoy! Every morsel... I did!

@PurpleTraveller Thanks again! Thanks to you, I see a new event that I am going to check out. I have never seen an Alaska salmon /wine tasting event at Sabatini before. I'm going to look for this when I board in less than two weeks.

Thanks for posting these patters. You just keep giving and giving such great information.

Back in the days of SHARE - on Ruby Princess, I attended a wine pairing event there. It was one of my favourite wine presentations; lovely setting on deck 16 as well. Thanks for the patters. Appreciate it!

13 hours ago, AZjohn said:

Thank you very much @PurpleTraveller for your review!

 

You rekindled some of our own memories we had on several Alaska cruises. Our next cruise is on the Crown (for the first time) so I was happy to hear she is still in great condition (excluding the mattresses which is a big issue to me).

 

Cheers,

John

 

@AZjohn I am concerned about the mattresses as well. I will soon find out - for myself. My countdown is on. Hoping that I get 'lucky". The trip itself - for 11 days- will be great. 

@PurpleTraveller To be sure - I not only enjoyed all of your photos, I enjoyed all the details of what you did on the cruise, and in BC as well. 

Living in Vancouver, I have sailed to AK many times, and never tire of the scenery that you see. I have my fingers crossed for a bed that is not too lumpy, nor uncomfortable on the Crown sailing coming up! Other than that, I am looking forward to returning to some of my favourite places in AK and finding some of the new places that you visited while in AK.

I hope you get to cruise to AK again, going through the inside passage. The last day before returning to Vancouver is the BEST one. As long as the ship is not stopping in Victoria first, nor too big to take that route. My last time to AK in May was onboard the Majestic. We missed the scenic route on that sailing as well. Royal class ships do not take the inside passage, either.

As you say - I try to do the right research...but then, sometimes, there are unexpected turns! Oh well, a cruise is a cruise. Can't complain too loudly.

Thanks again, for all your reporting. Well done!

@PurpleTraveller I love seeing my city through your eyes. You not only covered a lot of ground to see the best sights, you walked all over the place. Good job on getting to so many wonderful sights in this province. I will be on the Crown very soon, following the same itinerary as you did. 

Thank you for telling us about missing the inside passage. That is really one of my favourite parts of the coast to cruise through...but sadly, now I know that I will be missing that section this time. As lovely as Victoria is as a port stop, the inside passage is really spectacular.

Oh well, next time, I will be sure to find an itinerary that does not head home via sailing on the western side of the island on the way to Victoria.

I appreciate all the time that you have taken to share your trip with us. Loved your photos and your adventures.

Thank you @LACruiser88 Would you order the branzino again? I see the photo of it from @travelin.sisters...

I was looking forward to a dish I had last year on Royal which is no longer there. Thanks so much! 

@LACruiser88 Good to hear that you enjoyed it. What did you order for your secondi main dish? I'll be eating there in two weeks, on Crown. I'm thinking of trying the calamari and lobster tortelloni...and then...? Haven't tried this new menu yet. TIA

@Plato123 I was thinking of re-using my clip. I will take it with me on the next cruise in August. Don't know if the clip is an indicator of whether you have the Premium package over the Plus, though. I will soon find out...

@Tinknock50 My experience with this procedure is that once you send the completed form to the Princess email address, the agent that I named on the form was able to proceed with my booking. That usually happens right away- i.e., within 24 hours. In my case, almost immediately.

Perhaps you can check in with your agent now, with your booking number and go ahead with it. 

Good luck!

@deltahog Prior to sailing, you can order "flats" of bottled water (still-type) that will be delivered to your cabin. Very reasonable way to have bottled water ready and waiting for you. A package to order usually has 12 bottles and costs about $9.00 US. Order via the Cruise Personalizer, in the beverage options.

Coffee and tea in the dining room are no extra charge. Your waiter usually asks what kind of tea you would like - e.g., Earl Grey, English Breakfast, etc.

Enjoy your cruise! Bon Voyage!!

Just now, 34TigerLily said:

On our December cruise on Caribbean Princess they no longer had the evening cheese selection in the International Cafe

Thank you for that info.

18 minutes ago, Fishbone said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Great photos - with spaces between each one, too! Awesome job. So glad you enjoyed your time in my home port. Well done. @Fishbone

8 minutes ago, Fishbone said:

Thank you so much for your kind words @luvteaching! I too am in love with Homer! 

 

I didn’t think anyone was still following along & I didn’t want to be that annoying poster that revived an old post! Here’s how our vacation ended …

 

Day 16 – Thu Jun 22

 

Ketchikan, Alaska! Our port call was from 10:00AM to 6:00PM.

 

We awoke as tired as can be. We pulled ourselves together & made our way off the ship. Ketchikan was very awake! There were people everywhere. We slowly made our way to the Lumberjack Show. My husband has fond memories of going to a lumberjack show as a kid up in Hayward, Wisconsin, so I figured the guys would love it … and they did! But surprisingly, so did I! Yes, it was super goofy, but totally fun! My son was one of the lucky audience members to receive an autographed postcard of the cast from one of the Jacks! I’m sure he’ll treasure it forever! LOL!

 

Afterwards, we had intended to take a nice long self-guided walking tour of Ketchikan, but everyone was just too tired. Thus, we meandered back to the ship, stopping at various stores along the way. My husband laughed out loud when he passed a display of matching “bear” pajamas and noted that it must have been setup just for me. It was so cute! Papa Bear, Mama Bear, Baby Bear. Alas, I didn’t buy them. Not sure why. Sure wish I had!

 

Back on board, we got all gussied up & enjoyed our last formal night. I got a little teary eyed watching my husband help Colt with his tie. My little guy is turning into a handsome young man! Colt ditched us after dinner & headed to the Beach Club. I think he’s having the most fun out of all of us!

 

 

Day 17 – Fri Jun 23

 

North Pacific Ocean! Our final day at sea!

 

We made the most of our last day at sea! We explored the ship, relaxed in the many different venues, & ate lots of food! The guys entered a basketball competition. Colt also participated in soccer & dodgeball competitions.

 

 

Day 18 – Sat Jun 24

 

Vancouver, British Columbia!

 

We woke up super late. So late that they started cleaning our balcony while we were still in the room. We frantically washed our faces, brushed our teeth, & threw on our clothes.

 

We said goodbye to our room steward, who was so gracious and kind. We tipped him extra & then headed on our way. Apparently, our “departure letter” (E) had already been called, so we proceeded to just walk off the ship. And we kept on waking without any waits along the way. There was a guy who collected our declaration forms, but when we stopped, he told us we were good to go. There was a guy who looked at our passports, but when we stopped, he told us to have a nice day. It all went so smoothly that I thought surely something must be wrong!

 

I had pre-paid for baggage storage with Gray Line West Coast Sightseeing inside Canada Place. At the time I arranged it, I was not aware that we’d end up with another suitcase filled with fishing waders and such. I tried to explain to the representative that what I paid for did not match what I needed to store. She simply smiled at me and said that it was all good. She took all of our bags and wished us a wonderful day. I was so grateful. 

 

Upon departing Canada Place, we grabbed a few chocolate croissants at a local eatery.

 

Coal Harbour! We walked the length of the seawall, taking in the sites along the way. We enjoyed fabulous views; plane spotted at the water airport; admired the boats in the marinas; photographed public art displays/memorials & relaxed at several parks/green spaces.

 

Stanley Park! Once we got to the end of the Coal Harbour seawall, we kept walking to Stanley Park, admiring numerous memorials/fountains/art displays/landmarks along the way.

 

Vancouver Aquarium! We purchased tickets online in advance with an 11:00AM time slot. $125.85/3=41.95 per person. The aquarium was nice, but packed to the limit.

 

Around 1:30PM, we started our walk back to Canada Place.

 

We made our way back inside Canada Place, where we quickly retrieved our luggage and proceeded to the train station. We purchased tickets via an automated machine & then headed to the platform. Our train arrived quickly thereafter & we enjoyed a short trip to the airport, where we checked in, dropped off our bags, & made our way through security with no issues. The airport was very clean, was not busy at all, & had ample seating. Just prior to boarding, I bought my son a hot chocolate and little box of Timbits from Tim Hortons. Oh Canada! 

 

Our flight from Vancouver to Seattle was ridiculous. Within minutes of wheels up, the captain said he was preparing to land in Seattle. But our seats in the very back of the plane were super comfy & roomy! We weren’t ready to land! We hadn’t even gotten situated! Why do the best seats have to be on the shortest flight? Sigh.

 

As we made our approach, I looked out the window & the tears started falling. There she was in all of her glory. Mt Rainier was gleaming in the afternoon sunlight. The Seattle skyline … the Space Needle. I lived in Tacoma for a couple of years when I was little & would have loved to introduce the guys to Seattle! Next time!

 

Our arrival gate at SEA-TAC was literally next door to our departure gate. We desperately sought out a spot to relax in for the next five hours, but every single inch of the airport was filthy. We finally found a spot to sit, but were joined shortly thereafter by a guy who must have been starving … or drunk. Or starving & drunk? Not sure, but half of what he stuffed in his mouth, or attempted to stuff in his mouth, landed on the floor and/or the chairs around him. Pizza slices, pizza crusts, cookies. After about a half-hour, we had had enough & searched for a new group of seats.

 

Minutes after sitting down in our new seats, a guy behind us let out the most massive fart I have ever heard. Growing up, I was never allowed to use the word “fart” because my super old German mom thought it was “unrefined”, but in this case, there’s no other way to say it. It was a fart. Pure and unadulterated. I looked at my husband and started to laugh. But he wasn’t laughing with me. His normally very blank expression had morphed into one of pure disgust. That made me laugh even more and once I started, I couldn’t stop. This obviously irritated my husband, because he got up & started to walk away. “Where are you going?”, I asked through bouts of laughter. “That guy just blasted out a burrito and you’re laughing like it’s funny!”, he said with a totally straight face. And then I really started laughing. Sigh.

 

We eventually found a row of seats at our gate. We settled in for a wait that never ended. Our flight was delayed. And delayed. And delayed. I wanted to lay down on the floor and sleep, but there was trash everywhere. So we sat. And waited. There was a family of 11 that waited with us. They were mad. Very mad. They didn’t have seats together. They pestered the gate attendants for a solid three hours. Just prior to boarding, they were informed that 9 of the seats were now “together”. Hooray! Now they will finally shut up about not being able to sit together. Wait … they’re still mad? What? Oh my goodness.

 

We finally boarded the plane sometime after 1AM. Everyone was moving so slow. They made numerous announcements … sit down … buckle up … let’s go. But half of us were still standing … waiting to get to our seats. Why were we waiting? Because there were two people in a party of eleven that weren't sitting together. They must all sit together or the world will end. “They told us that you were going to make people switch seats so that we could all sit together!” the lady shouted at the flight attendant (which was a complete lie). “It’s 1AM and all you’re going to do is sit down and buckle up so that we can take off,” the flight attendant calmly and very politely responded. I wanted to hug his neck and shake his hand and tell him that I loved him, but then the party of eleven started screaming & crying & cursing & … . Sigh. We pushed our way through their theatrics, sat down, buckled up, and promptly passed out. I have no idea what happened, but I wish they had all been kicked off the flight. Every one of them.

 

I woke up once & thought I was back at the Lumberjack Show, but it was just the guy behind me snoring. We eventually made it to Orlando. We grabbed our bags & attempted to pick up our rental, but the car was cancelled because of our numerous flight delays. Avis quickly re-established our ride & off we went. We didn’t make it far. Once we hit the turnpike, we pulled into a rest area & slept for a few hours before continuing on our way. Why are we so tired?

 

We finally made it home, where we discovered that my super old dad had mowed our lawn & stocked up our fridge with essentials. My super old German mom had washed our sheets, made our bed, & left us a dinner worthy of an Iron Chef win: Schnitzel mit Kartoffelsalat. A German mainstay. She even baked cookies in the shape of a moose in celebration of our return from Alaska! What is love? A super old German mom!

 

We immediately dug in, but something wasn’t quite right. Everything tasted … different … awful!  “I don’t want to hurt your feelings,” I texted to my mom, “Did you use new recipes or something?” I guess that was a really stupid question, because she doesn’t use recipes and she’s been cooking the same food for over 50 years and it’s never been anything short of delicious. Long story short, she told me (in very terse German) that I must have completely lost my mind … or … “maybe you finally have ‘The Covid’”. LOL! Yea right. Not me!  

 

So I tested AGAIN and … … … sigh. I have no words. I somehow managed to avoid "The Covid" for 3.4 YEARS despite working in a major health science center where everyone I know and everyone I work with has tested positive … repeatedly … except me! I earned my Covid-free status – I was so careful! I double masked. I Purelled. I wiped. I washed. I distanced. I endured the jokes for 3.4 years! I was probably one of the first people to be vaccinated (mid December 2020) and have had four jabs in total. What the heck! Sigh. Double sigh. Triple sigh.

 

My beloved El Jefe allowed me to work from home while I coughed & snorted &  sneezed & slobbered & slept my way into oblivion. There were days that I slept for 18 hours straight. What a waste of time! I decided that I never ever want to take another cruise for the rest of my life. And definitely not to ice cold Alaska!  

 

Clearly, one side effect that isn’t mentioned is that "The Covid" makes you go crazy! Like CRAZY CRAZY! Totally loco!

 

While I was sleeping my life away, my dear husband unpacked our bags, washed all of the laundry, & cooked & cleaned & all that good stuff. He told me that one of our bags had strange green tags affixed to it and a letter fell out of it … the letter said that our bag had been searched by Canadian Customs because of its suspicious contents. Sigh. The bag that was searched was filled with … you guessed it … fishing stuff! Waders, lures, lines, reels, big hooks, little hooks … quadruple sigh.

 

Fortunately, I woke up on the 4^th of July & decided … that I’m ready to go on another cruise! To Alaska! And I’ve been planning our return ever since! 2024? Late July/August? When the salmon are running? On a different Princess ship? One way w/ a few days in Anchorage/Homer/Seward? I’ve been talking about it daily … much to the dismay of the guys! That’s actually not true – Colt is very anxious to go on another cruise – he said he had the time of his life! He even suggested taking a longer one ... so we can have "more fun"! 

 

And if that wasn’t enough, I’m searching for a cruise to go on this November/December. I found a fantastic voyage on the Norwegian Joy through the Panama Canal, but my husband told me there’s a sports-related conflict. Sigh. I’ll keep looking! No doubt. I need a do-over. I deserve a do-over!

 

Thanks for reading along! Until next time!

 

And in case anyone’s wondering … my husband’s fishing poles arrived today! We mailed them in a tube from a USPS in Juneau. They were shipped on a barge & arrived in pristine condition. He is overjoyed! Happy Husband = Happy Wife = Happy Life!
 

@Fishbone Welcome back...to the land of the living! I have missed you and guessed that maybe...you caught something on your vacation, beside fish.  I had avoided The COVID for all these years and came home with it, same as you!  Well, I tested positive five days AFTER I returned home. Five days AFTER disembarking from the Majestic in May. I did not experience any symptoms while on the ship. I enjoyed my cruise completely.

I was tired three days after getting home, not on the ship, not right away. Tired for many days after that. Couldn't get back to my daily walks - for about a month. Next cruise for me? In less than four weeks.

I have thoroughly enjoyed hearing about your adventures in AK with Colt and his dad. You are a real trooper - best mom ever. So sorry that you felt so cold while you were out there, watching the guys fishing. And Fishing and fishing.

I'm the one who, earlier on, suggested you get yourself a toque, some mitts and several fashionable scarves!!! Or wool. Or any neck covering to wrap around you, really. That's what I do. Every single time I'm in Alaska.

Thanks again for taking us along on your vacation.

Rest up, for the next one. I look forward to reading about your next time!

@Ocean Mouse Be sure to check out the cheese selections at the International Cafe on deck 5 (most ships). I recall that they often have a selection of cheeses in the evenings. Enjoy your first Princess cruise!

Yes, as described above by southwestgal. I sailed on Majestic in May 2023. Easy. Used my OBC.

@Jeter02 Your time on the Sky Princess has been so wonderful, IMHO,  I hope the next ship for you is as pleasing. Your positivity, no doubt, played a part in your receiving such attentive and personalized attention.

With that said, I'm sure you will enjoy you next ship in a similar fashion.

Hope to read about your next adventures here, soon. Wishing you more blue skies and clear sailings. Will I see you on the Crown, or Majestic?