USCcruisecrazy

I think they will maintain the vaccination requirement, but not sure the testing will be a requirement once the virus is under control...which seems to be heading that way.  I also think that the mask requirement will not last more than a few months into 2022 if I had to guess.  We already have 2 million people on every Saturday gathering in football stadiums and the numbers the last 4 weeks have steadily fallen.  Like most places, I think they will be encouraged if in a crowd but not required. 

21 minutes ago, Purple Gallinule said:

We just stopped by Guest Services and they took our cabin number for a wake-up call if the Northern Lights are showing. We told them to call at any hour!! We would be so happy to see them. Our waiter this morning had photos on his phone from one of this year's sailings. They were spectacular.

 

Fingers crossed, everyone.

Good Luck!!

2 minutes ago, nini said:

We saw the Northern Lights on August 28, 2001. This was our very first Alaska cruise.

That's awesome you were able to see them then...very rare indeed...especially as you go more north.  Nothing like seeing them in mid January when the temps are 5 below zero and crystal clear skies except for the blue and purple and green lights dancing across the sky!  I have a pic from 1997 with Mt. McKinley, the Hale-bop comet and the Northern lights all in the same frame.

On 9/20/2021 at 8:50 PM, pspatti said:

I love the picture of the hail.  I wonder if Princess will continue to sail in Alaska in late September?

I also wonder if there is any chance you will see the Northern Lights.  I know you will be fairly far south for that, but being this late in the year ...  maybe ???

 

There's always a small chance to see the Northern Lights in late September, but it's pretty unlikely.  In our 4 years living in Alaska we normally saw the Northern lights most often in December thru February.  It's all about the right conditions in the atmosphere...and of course the darkness.

On 9/19/2021 at 1:37 AM, caribill said:

 

Before Princess started offering the PrincessPlus package which a great many passengers book, many people did not have a beverage package and paid for each drink.

 

In that case, every drink served was additional revenue to Princess. Even for those who did purchase a beverage package, the price was high enough that Princess made $$$ from it.

 

But with so many people now having Princess Plus, each drink served is a cost to Princess, not a source of revenue. There is no incentive to deliver drinks quickly as the slower drinks reach the passengers, the demand for drinks may go down and thus save Princess $$$.

That's an excellent point.  We never did the Drink Package because we didn't find it was worth the cost, especially on Port days.  However, with the new Princess Plus Package, we are doing that.  Seems cost effective when adding the Wi-Fi and gratuities as well.  I'm hoping drinks will become more available as the bars perhaps get more crew members.  We shall see!  Thanks for the input.

On 9/11/2021 at 10:14 PM, Buckeye10640 said:

Not a world problem to be sure but I agree 100% with the poster that this is very inefficient for the cruise staff and very inconvenient for the cruisers. So its in the best interest for all involved if Princess can find a better way. I have many times in the past walked up to a  bar with both my and my husbands cards to get us each a drink. If we are cruising together with linked accounts we should be able to do the same with the app.  Its a 'real' shortcoming.....

You're right...they just need a more efficient way to process the orders.  I'll Disney as an example...I can link 6 tickets in "My Disney Experience" (their planning app) and that allows me to make reservations for all or some of the party.  If Princess would allow those in a room or group to link together you then specify who is getting a drink on the order...up to however many people are linked together.  If I'm with a party of 4 we all want our drinks at the same time.  Not rocket science and think Princess should have some computer geeks able to figure it out!

Fettuccini Alfredo in the Main Dining rooms...Crooners for a great Martini...Champagne Fountain assuming they will do that on a 4 day (never did a 4 day)...spicy Bloody Mary out by the pool...these are a few of our favorite things!!

Nice review.  I would only caution with one piece of advice:  it appears you are comparing pre-COVID cruises on other lines with a current COVID restricted cruise on the Sky.  The Sky Princess was the last ship we cruised on before COVID stopped the fleet from sailing and it was a great experience...not close to the issues you discussed.  Timely drinks (of course you could order from the bar or the App), good entertainment, and fabulous food.  Hopefully Princess returns to those standards as this virus gets put into the rearview mirror.

1 hour ago, Tedferg said:

A related topic, Eggs ! I noticed in Europe on Princess the eggs have lovely deep colored yolks. We only get that in US with local farm eggs. Store bought are insipid, pale yellow.

Need to go with Eggland's Best Organic eggs!  Much healthier than generic brands.

On 9/11/2021 at 8:32 PM, NSWP said:

Re Turkey bacon, in Asia, well Singapore, Hong Kong, you will mostly get turkey bacon in the hotel breakfast buffets. Not mad about about it, but better than no bacon at all !!  Also some hotels in Sydney, Australia have turkey bacon at breakfast as well as the normal pork bacon.

 

I am not too keen on the American style nuked/cremated bacon either, although will eat it if no English style available.

 

You know, the odd thing is that turkey bacon is a bit lower in calories (not much difference though), pork bacon has more protein, turkey bacon less fat overall, but not much different in saturated fat, pork bacon much lower in sodium (huge for those with high blood pressure), and pork bacon has more vitamins and minerals, especially selenium which helps prohibit cancer.  So, I prefer pork bacon for the flavor and the look, since the healthier bacon depends on your overall health...do you need to avoid the sodium or the fat.

Do you sign up for Chef's Table after boarding or can you do that in advance?

On 8/23/2021 at 6:57 PM, Belle said:

Remember these are Guidelines only. Not rules. Everyone makes their own decision on cruising.

 

One thing that gets me, these guidelines are for cruises only. The CDC seems to have a dislike

for cruise lines.

 

Why don't they have guides for airlines (packed together, can't move) sport events, concerts ect.

More people getting the virus on land then ships. On ships we know people have had their shots

and have been tested. On land we don't know.  

 

I know on ships we can still catch it but to me very low compared to on land. My opinion only.

I'm still going on my cruises.

 

You make a very good point.  This past weekend there were dozens of college stadiums packed with anywhere between 60K and 80K or more folks.  No masks required...no proof of vaccination required (at most).  Walt Disney World has loosened their requirements for Social Distancing or wearing masks outside and they are packing in the crowds.  I would say getting on a ship with vaccinated persons that have tested negative within a few days of the trip is about as safe a spot as you can get...besides sitting in your living room for the rest of your days.

37 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

Hey!! I thought it was called Canadian Bacon by the US!!  (UP here they call it Back Bacon).

There are actually three separate bacons:  Canadian bacon is cut from the loin on the back, American bacon is cut from the belly side, and English bacon is actually a combination of the two.  Canadian bacon always seemed closer to American ham.  I prefer good old American bacon cooked up crispy and served on toast with lettuce, tomato, and mayo!!

17 hours ago, The Greater Fool said:

I've booked a cruise as late as 2am.

 

 

 

🙂

 

But since it was 2am wouldn't that be pretty early and not pretty late?  LOL!  🙂 

Only been upgraded one time but it was a doozy!  We had 4 balcony cabins beside each other and were upgraded to 4 mini-suites beside each other.  Of course, the downside to that was for follow-on cruises we prefer the mini-suites now.  Princess was smart enough to coax us into paying more for a cabin on future cruises.  Those sly dogs!!

14 hours ago, pms4104 said:

The Majestic will be in Ketchikan Friday/tomorrow?

 

Pls be aware that a flightseeing plane went down today in or near Misty Fiords ... no survivors.  Pilot plus 5 pax off HALs Nieuw Amsterdam.

 

Likely impact mood in town and maybe some shore ex.

 

There is info on HAL board as well as via Google.

 

 

That's so sad.  Unfortunately, my 4 years in Alaska saw many small planes go down.  The winds around the mountains and glaciers can be very unpredictable.  Prayers for the family and the passengers on the ship!

10 minutes ago, Snaxmuppet said:

No cruising for you then for quite sometime I expect.

Which is fine with me...many other wonderful places to see and things to do.  Our next scheduled cruise is January of 2023...10 day Southern so I expect it to be "normal" by then.

4 minutes ago, CruiseChick33 said:

Good morning from just outside Glacier Bay!  This morning we are up early to catch Glacier Bay and all the wildlife it holds!!  Last night we finished the day in the dining room and the in the Ocean Terrace Bar.  We had the Prosciutto and Melon appetizer, the Caesar salad and iced peach bellini soup, the shrimp with shrimp bisque special, the veal scaloppini, and we each had the Chocolate Journeys Trio for desert.  Dinner was incredible and our servers were again fantastic! After dinner, our server was able to snag us some peach puree and we took it to the Ocean Terrace bar where they were able to turn it into 2 amazing cocktails.  They were so good that both of us had 2 of them!

 

This morning we had our coffee delivered early.  We have found that room service is hit or miss.  They lost our last coffee order, and the ones before took over an hour to arrive, so this time we decided to place the order the night before on the breakfast form.  Bring a pen!!! They no longer provide them, or pads of paper, and I had to go down to Guest Services to get one. 

 

Speaking of paper, new for this cruise is the photography is fully digitized!  Gone are the days of people milling about in the hallway trying to find their pictures!  You now go to the computers on deck 6 and look up your room.  If all your pictures don't pop up, you can take a picture of yourself and it will utilize facial recognition to find all your other pics.  

 

Enjoying the write-ups.  Well Done!

Just an FYI:  when we sailed on the Sky in December of 2019, the photos were all done that way.  View on a computer and buy what you like.

Have a great day in Glacier Bay!!

10 hours ago, geoherb said:

 

Actually it does make sense because people could test negative and then catch the virus on the way to the port. Just ask N.C. State's baseball team, where the unvaccinated players all tested negative on a Sunday (following two previous negative tests since the beginning of the tournament). One player, though, started feeling ill that day. They isolated him. Two days later he tested positive. Three days after that, seven additional people tested positive. Four of them had been vaccinated. 

Yeah, I felt sorry for the NC State guys...was pulling for them.  But it wasn't even the guys that tested positive that stopped them in their tracks.  It was contact tracing and not letting the guys that tested negative play.  But I digress.  From your example I would then conclude that testing is useless unless they require the PCR and then isolate people after the results until they board.  I would guess most people would say forget cruising then.  We aren't supposed to talk percentages and validity of things like masks so I will refrain from supporting my argument and suffice to say if me being vaccinated and not showing any symptoms is not good enough to board and go mask less on the ship then I'll spend my cash somewhere else. 

37 minutes ago, TinaLee said:

Even if you test negative 72 hours before you board, you could still pick it up in the meantime and be asymptomatic. There are no guarantees. I actually understand the masking more than the testing. If they want testing they should do it at boarding and on their dime. 72 hours in advance makes no sense to me - since I'll be flying in and much more likely to be exposed in the airport or on the plane. But we'll jump through the hoops and spend the week on our balcony if that's what it takes. I guarantee if we have to be masked we'll be spending a LOT less time out and about on the ship. 

I agree 100%...no sense in doing both.  Do the quick test before boarding and if you're negative, GTG!  Then if you go on excursions off the boat, test again...negative...GTG!  That way no masks on board for any reason.  

3 minutes ago, dreams_of_travel said:

Asymptomatic spread.  That is what they are trying to avoid. 

But if everyone tests before boarding and are negative, there are no asymptomatic people on board.  It makes no sense! 

On 8/2/2021 at 7:13 PM, Syracusefan44 said:

They replied to me with a list of mini suites and we took the same offer to upgrade from an obstructed balcony to a mini suite. It’s our first time in a mini suite!! Thanks again. 

Once you go Mini-suite it's tough to go back down!  🙂 

17 minutes ago, JRWLOBO said:

I guess it is a good thing Princess canceled our cruise, as we would be cancelling under these new mask mandates.  I personally do not want to go a vacation where I must mask up everywhere.  We will wait it out.

I'm not sure why they would require masks anywhere on the ship if all the passengers have to be vaccinated...and now showing proof of a negative test...and the crew is masked.  Makes no sense to this simple minded man!

1 hour ago, Kay S said:

You will have me beat by two!  I love the Liddy talks.  I mostly love Puppies in the Piazza.  I guess they aren't doing that this time?  Were there any dog sled excursions offered?

If you ever get the chance, head to Anchorage for the Iditarod "Ceremonial Start" along C Street.  They let you pay a fee and take a ride on a dog sled with one of the mushers.  It's quite awesome! 

10 hours ago, Thrak said:

Lots of wines that are way out of our price range. Apparently we are the "poor folk" on Princess. Ah well, they got rid of our favorite a couple of years ago. Maybe they will still have it by the bottle in MDR. We always find something at Vines.

Exactly why we carry on bottles and pay the corkage fee.  I can get a $15-$20 bottle through my wine club that they charge $50-$60 on board...so still get away with a good deal by paying that $15 fee while drinking premium wine.