Taer al Saefer

Sometimes I ask for a little plate of nuts and dried fruit to snack on!  Always fresh and satisfying.

Not only just the chair, but I really wish that the balcony rooms had a sofa.  I prefer Princess to other lines, but some inside cabins on others even have a small sofa or couch.  Not only is it a great place to sit, relax, and maybe eat a little, but it also can store things on top. 

On 2/22/2019 at 3:19 PM, Ep010835 said:

 

Me too. August 9th. 🤞

Umm, August 10th, not 9th...right?

Otherwise I just messed up my travel plans 😂

On topic - so excited for the WiFi! When I was on the Ruby to Mexico, my work was freaking out trying to reach me.  One of our new employees quit unexpectedly and they didn’t know what to do...luckily I was on an excursion that included unlimited booze when they finally got ahold of me!

3 hours ago, BIG POOCH said:

This is the one thing i'm not looking forward to on our upcoming trip on the epic.  What executive in his/her right mind thought a show about drag queens was going to be a good thing?  

???

These Queens are beautiful and the show is magnificent.  Why wouldn’t it be a good thing?

Could be worse.

Our Golden Princess Cruise to Alaska last summer didn’t HAVE any 😂

Was onboard in June - small leaks and odors here and there, nothing to be concerned or upset about. The ship is dated but very clean and inviting. It’s very warm feeling! My aunt and mom loved it, as they really enjoy the old timey elegance of Princess.

Skywalkers was a hot mess though, at least in early June. They were doing some work there and parts of the people mover were everywhere.

I’ve been told that there are no fresh crab legs in Alaska, it’s all frozen just like you get at home.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone while I probably should be working.

This is actually true. All crab legs and parts are flash frozen on the boats or on the dock and then shipped. For actual fresh crab, I would recommend going into any Cantonese restaurant in Vancouver, where they will kill a crab then and there and cook it three ways - steamed legs with garlic, salt and pepper battered fried knuckles, and the tomalley and meat of the crab used to make a crab fried rice served in the shell of the crab.

My death row meal - both because of the deliciousness of it all, but also because supply and demand has lifted the price per pound of the crab in Vancouver to $62 a pound and the smallest sizes usually average out at 8.

Tracy’s crab quality has come the closest to fresh crab that I have ever had, and we eat a lot of king crab, coming from Seattle.

The sizing and type of the crab legs are far different. The ship also steals them to death, and they are about as quality as the $15.99 ones I get from Safeway on discount here. The fresh legs at Tracy’s are sweet - not salty, very tender, and absolutely incredible. The diameter of a leg is over an inch.

John Loney was amazing! He will definitely show you guys a good time. We also loved Master and Commander, Lorenzo, and Slava for musical performances. If you have Anytime Dining, find Marcin and Roderick in Donatello and tell him that the 3 ladies from Seattle sent you!

I’m a big fan of the character ones, since my family all enjoys that type of activity and so the smiles are genuine and happy. It’s the crap ones in front of the freaking ship background from 1987 that drive me nuts.

My mom and aunt are both the type of people where if you didn’t take a photo of it, it didn’t happen. I’m more the type to take a photo here and there for Instagram, but I enjoy experiencing the item more than posing for a photo. That being said, we did purchase the photo package which ended up being a great deal...because those two walked away with 107 pictures. I’m not kidding.

I took a few too, but my issue is with the photographers and the posing. Every place we went they told us how to pose - clasping hands, back to back, hand on hips, folding arms back to back...if I posted these anywhere on reddit or Facebook we would become a meme. They’re AWFUL, it looks like a bad JCPenneys advertisement from 1992. Is this on all the ships or were our photogs just overzealous? The non posed photos were greatand casual, but its these posed portraits that are just dreadful. My aunt literally has one of her making a “thoughtful” pose with her fist balled up under her chin looking into the distance.

Just got off. First few days were quite leaky, with drips popping up in the same places. A couple in the casino, including one that kept dripping on the tables. A few on the Lido Deck, one right outside E302, but nothing horrible. There WAS an odd sewage smell - currently smelling it right now actually outside of the HC, but I don’t have a strong aversion to smells and it’ll be gone in 2 minutes. Those of us who might be more delicate in the nostrils may have an issue.

The iced coffee they gave me last time was hot coffee poured over iced. Basically water with a hint of coffee flavor. While I would wish they had cold brew, I actually prefer just getting a triple shot over ice and adding a little water.

Mmm the avo and bay shrimp app was delicious last time. Our transfer doesn’t get to Whittier until after lunch so I’m disappointed we will have to skip it!

It's in the name of the site isn't it? Cruise CRITIC.

 

Not to mention the OP did ask the question. As I said, it looks sad, people taking photos of the food, posting it on facebook only for other people to unfriend them....

Meh. If you’re able to get even 10,000 followers on IG, you can start getting ad revenue and endorsements on your photos. At the least, you get invites to food festivals and events. I say, snap away.

Thank you so much!! Looking forward to getting on next Saturday. Would you happen to have the menus?

Thank you, Deb!

I just did this yesterday, and the public bus stop is indeed about 1.5 miles from the Visitor Center. Only the private shuttle buses go close to the Visitor Center. There were lots of people making the 20-30 minute walk from the public bus stop - it's a pleasant walk with a paved trail along the side of the highway.

Is it relatively flat or hilly?

Like I said, it was our first cruise ever. We didn't realize what we were getting into until it was too late. Some people really seem to enjoy them and get some value out of them. I'm sure some just go in the hope they will win whatever jewelry is being given away. I know that the Champagne at Effy things were well attended on recent cruises. Not for me...

I really don’t have much shame in snagging a few glasses of champagne, tbh. But the Effy crap on board...my mom is a BIG fan of Effy. By our last day, the store manager got her item down to a 60% discount. Unfortunately for him, she buys all her Effy at Macy’s and knows the prices by heart. She told him Macy’s would give her 70% off and walked away (me with more booze in tow). She wasn’t wrong.

We do take advantage of the free rides to Diamonds International each time. The key is to sneak away without anybody noticing that you never made it inside. Saved $20 in Puerto Vallarta and we got dropped off way closer to The Malecon than a cab would’ve. Streets were closed that day for a holiday.

I asked the F&B director about this, and he said many people want the upscale entree without paying for the full meal at the Crown

 

 

Sent from my iPhone while I probably should be working.

I actually love this. My mom is someone who wants the value of every dollar fulfilled, and we made the choice of NOT going to Share because she did not feel she could eat six courses, and she is also very picky. She has a very norther chinese palate and can’t handle most cheeses, sugars, or western favorites. Quite frankly, I think she’s just freaking picky but YMMV. We would have loved to have the option to pay for entrees in the MDR while she ate as little as she liked.

Will you have time in Seattle? We have some phenomenal spots here for seafood. Current favorite is AQUA by El Gaucho.

We celebrated my momma’s birthday on our cruise last year, and will be celebrating my aunts in June going to Alaska. The birthday cake coupon went untouched as soon as she discovered the love boat dream because that was all she ate for the rest of the trip!

What exactly do you win for The Voice of the Ocean? I didn’t participate during our Ruby Cruise to MEX last year and regretted it. If time permits, I’d love to do it for our Alaska cruise in june.

Princess now has a "special occasion" pre order in your personalizer, contains birthday and anniversary celebrations for a "nominal" fee

 

Birthday Decorations$49.00

 

• 2 hanging garlands that read "time to celebrate"
  
• Upgraded door sign
  
• Nautical photo hanger
  
• Decorative mirror cling
  
• Balloons
  

Note: Includes decoration of the cabin by your stateroom steward. If embarkation day is selected, the room will be decorated during turn down service that evening. Timing is subject to crew availabil

For $20 I will hand make all of that for you and still manage to turn a profit. If Princess really wants to make money on decorations, they need to hire a millennial Instagrammer.