cruisingrob21

Probably the most straight forward assessment I have heard yet. In most instances, the RRF/RRA docks handle the largest ships (Royal Class, Quantum Class, Breakaway Plus class and and Solstice class). On days when there are just one large ship, on the RR docks, it might be possible to do the tender operation from the aft dock, but on days with two, I'd expect some ships will get sent to Haines/ISP/Sitka. It could be decided on whomever will be their earlier, or the town may decide based on an allotment of slots that attempts to allow equal access for the different cruise lines. Unfortunately, there may not be alternatives. For instance, on Aug 10th, the Discovery Princess and Quantum of the Seas are supposed to be at RRF and RRA respectively along with the Disney Wonder and Noordam at the other docks. Should the Discovery or Quantum be diverted to an alternative port, Haines has the Crown Princess scheduled, ISP has the Norwegian Sun scheduled, and Sitka has the Westerdam scheduled. While Sitka could accommodate another ship, it may not work to fit in the Discovery or Quantum's schedule. And I'm not sure both ships could use tenders simultaneously - does anyone know how much room there is at the tender pier in Skagway? Could it accommodate two large ships and 4 to 5 tenders each during morning and evening peak times?

Not directly, but you could buy the drink package, buy wifi, pay for gratuities, pay for exercise classes, and pay for the specialty deserts. Kind of all the same although the cost will be variable based on the last 2 items and the overall cost will probably be more.

There isn't that much variety on the ports visited on Alaska voyages or Mexican Riviera voyages either. But, this is still disappointing, although not unexpected. I half expect Santa Barbara to follow suit. There was a time when HAL (and maybe other lines) visited Eureka which is probably too far north for most California Coastal from LA/SD. On the north side of the coast, Astoria is usually pretty welcoming but sometimes the timing from San Francisco can be challenging as well as the entry across the columbia river bar. I think HAL also once stopped in Port Angeles, WA. In the summer months, the Pacific northwest has typically excellent weather. A long time ago, the original Princess Carla ship did scenic cruising around some mexican islands west of Ensenada. I also heard that 5 or so years ago Carnival LLC was in talks with the Mexican Government to acquire a portion of an island half way down Baja and turn it into a private island. Not sure if that will ever happen, but since it was/is a partially functioning military base it seemed the most likely candidate location for such a venture in Baja.

I think I saw that as another alternative - so perhaps? But last year they just sent ships elsewhere instead of tendering.

It's a nice walk into town - Buschart garden tours will be offered in the evening and they will have lights up. If you are going between late may and mid august, twilight isn't until 930 or 10

Has anyone heard anything new about the skagway pier reconstruction/mitigation plan? I had heard work was progressing on protecting the railroad dock but then things stalled out. Plan B is to only allow 1 or 2 smaller ships to dock in the southern half of the pier and provide shuttles through the hazard zone. Plan C is to expand one of the other docks. Plan B could be implemented this next season, but it sounds like this wasn't preferred. Plan C is unlikely to be completed for next season. So on a busy day, I'm wondering if the larger ships (Princess Royal Class variants) will be sent to Sitka, ISP, or Haines.

Most of the J, some of K and I category insides on Vista/Signature class ships were larger. The J's were square with a sectional couch! Now it seems that the I's on the Pinnacle class ships are slightly bigger, and feature a couch that might actually hinder movement more than it provides a benefit. It's all a tradeoff - in some ways Vista class are superior ships, in other ways, Signature class are better, and in other ways Pinnacle class are better. We keep trying to book obstructed view on Vista/Signature class to have the floor to ceiling window, and then we get upgraded. Not complaining, but it would be nice to try it out. I tried booking a J cabin on a 4 day coastal on the Eurodam a few years back and instead got an F oceanview. Since it was just me solo, I didn't need the extra room and appreciated the upgrade.

Note that depending on which of the "inside cabins with a window" you have, you may have a stairway blocking some of the light. The port side room (I forget which number) has slightly more light.

Some tips when booking inside: K11060 and K11057 are cabins that are categorized as "inside" that have a window, but not "oceanview". That is to say, they have windows that face aft across the jogging track and magrodome over the pool. You won't really see anything, but you will get ample light. Just make sure you close the curtains when you are in there or you may have people peeking in to see through the tinted glass. You can see some photos here on the NS https://halfacts.com/pinnacle-class/11058-nieuw-statendam/ The inside cabin breakdown is as follows (roughly) N = 10 L = 69 K = 65 J = 95 I = 33 IQ = 11 Since the least expensive cabins and suites tend to sell out first, booking an N cabin and accepting any upgrade has a pretty good upside of getting an upgrade so HAL can re-sell those N cabins. However, those N cabins are sometimes held back and not released until closer to sailing. In that case, all things being equal, if you are going to book an inside, either book an L category (knowing that you'll probably end up in a J category which will be the same size, just slightly more centered) or book an "I" category as some of those rooms are slightly larger than other insides and you may get an upgrade to an oceanview.

Yes, we made the experience in riding on one of the old Star Princess' tenders (grand class sister to the diamond) into Punta Arenas (Argentina) on the top. It is almost always windy there - and the ship even had to block the wind to hoist the tenders back up. Needless to say, it was a poor call on our part as it was a very cold ride into port. I guess I hadn't noticed the double cable "railing" but I don't recall sitting against it like the folks in the photo above. We probably sat in the middle area and wouldn't lean back anyway because while I'm sure its strong enough, just 2 cables seems pretty easy to fall past especially if there is a decent size wave.

Even if the cabins aren't sold, they may hold some back.

If the weather is calm and clear, you MAY be able to barely see a silhouette of land between about Eureka and Port Orford OR. There's really nothing to see until you turn into the Straight of Juan De Fuca on approach to Victoria and Vancouver. That stretch is quite scenic with the Olympic mountains to the south, and Vancouver Island to the north. If the weather is good, it can be very calm and beautiful as some of the area is in a rain shadow. However, depending on if you have a port call in Victoria arriving in the morning, it will be too dark to see anything. The voyage from Victoria to Vancouver/Seattle is also very scenic, but often the ships sail this portion at night limiting what you can see.

Yes, have done it a few times. Its a bit longer than 2 miles. The old trail access used to be at the east end of 6th street, but I believe it was badly damaged in storms a few years back and is very eroded and overgrown. The new trailhead is off of basin road. This adds probably half a mile or more to the hike. I do a fair amount of hiking and I'll say this is a moderate to strenuous hike to get up to the tram station. Take water and take your time if you plan to go. There are few if any views on the way until you get to the top, so unless you like strictly forest hikes (I do) you may wish to take the tram to the top, and hike up further from there. I plan to do that next time. As an alternative, the gold creek flume trail is quite nice, combined with a walk up basin road. Its much flatter than Mt Roberts, but you'll still get some gain and have a nice walk through part of juneau .

I'm familiar with the graving dock area - there isn't really any place to stage charter buses OR have a Canadian customs stand (this will be the first Canadian port this ship visits). I'd be happy to go to Nanaimo - I was scheduled on a voyage from San Francisco to Vancouver stopping in Astoria and Nanaimo in May of 2020. That voyage obviously was cancelled due to the pandemic. Nanaimo seems like an intriguing place, as does so much of Vancouver Island. This last fall I sailed through the Seymour narrows and the "true" inside passage and that was a real treat.

More and more I'm thinking that Princess (with another 2 ships in port that day on longer voyages) with either put the sapphire to Nanaimo, or force departure around 1800 to accommodate the Discovery Princess

I'm hoping for Nanaimo. I love Victoria, but I'd be curious to see Nanaimo. The voyage ends in Vancouver the next day

The HAL of 10 years ago is not the HAL of today, but that is to say it hasn't changed significantly. We cruise Princess 2/3rds and HAL 1/3rd and we have found, that especially after covid, HAL is more and more like Princess was in the last decade from both their onboard product and entertainment, to even their latest ship class. I've often thought the Pinnacle class is a more likely evolution of the Princess' original Grand class ships - a nice size if a little big. But fortunately many of the HAL halmarks (sorry for the pun) are still there. This is our opinion and others may disagree, but as such, we will probably get closer to flipping that ratio between Princess and HAL as we don't care for the newer Princess. We really like this slightly newer version of HAL as it retains much of what made it great in the past, while at the same time innovating and trying out new things (some are duds). I suppose its inevitable that cruise lines have to change over time. Fortunately, the great service that HAL is known for has not changed that we can tell. HAL still is a really great value with above average to excellent food that is included, nice itineraries, spacious ships with nice nooks and crannies for reading or quiet contemplation, and now with a bit more night life and a better mix of entertainment. Enjoy your cruise for what it is - not so much how it compares to another line, or time.

Regrettably, the Royal and her sister ships weren't built with some of the A+ outdoor and indoor viewing areas that the Grand class and derivatives had. However, the Royal is probably the best of her class in that she has lots of outdoor space on the top deck. Hopefully its not cold. Best areas will likely be on the upper decks like the sport track area or aft of the World Fresh Marketplace. Although the promenade deck has large pockets of areas for viewing, that doesn't help much when everyone is trying to get space against the railing which is less than on other ships. On deck 7, your best bet may be the aft exterior decks. And of course the not-so-secret secret about glacier bay is that the view leaving is just as good entering when most folks have gone back inside. Also, breakfast in the dining room is a great place to watch if you can get a window seat.

Appreciate the sanity check. I'm guessing since the Sapphire is on a short coastal another port will be selected.

End of season HAL voyages often do something like this but you'd have to be careful about PSVA violations. You need to find a 7 day RT Vancouver voyage that then continues to a 3 or 4 day repositioning voyage to San Diego. Usually they only make 1 stop on the west coast however.

This is still a ways out (Spring of 24) but I was looking at other ships that may be in Victoria on May 10th, 2024. I'll be on the Sapphire and I noticed that Victoria will host 4 other ships, concurrently docked, at the same time as the Sapphire. If I recall, Victoria has 4 berths for large ships, and certainly there will be 5 large ships in port, and all overlapping between 7pm and 10pm - so will the Bliss or Eurodam be forced to tender or do you think my voyage on the Sapphire (4 day coastal) will get a port substitution closer to departure? I've seen victoria handle smaller ships in addition to 4 large ships, and I've also seen them handle 2 ships at the same berth, separated by about an hour, but I haven't seen 5 large ships simultaneously. 10 May, 2024 Friday Majestic Princess 11:00 23:00 10 May, 2024 Friday Sapphire Princess 13:00 22:00 10 May, 2024 Friday Discovery Princess 19:00 23:00 10 May, 2024 Friday Norwegian Bliss 20:00 23:00 10 May, 2024 Friday ms Eurodam 20:00 23:00

Not LA, but 3 voyages RT from SF does pretty much what you are looking for https://www.princess.com/cruise-search/details/?voyageCode=1312

this is the current listing of promos: Note the overlap between BSE and the various packages

It's an add on, but commonly bundled with a sale. For instance, "Best Sale Ever' comes with 3 "flavors", standard, plus, or premiere. However, its simple to add after the fact (and obviously encouraged by PCL). So even if you book the best sale ever - standard fare, your TA can add the promo code to add Princess plus - the last time i checked the code for a TA to add it was "PLUS2" - that could have changed. Best to have your TA call princess.

both - the format of the app isn't very useful in my opinion. I like to take the paper with me sometimes, but I also will go to my phone and type in "royal.princess.com" in the browser address bar to get "Ocean Concierge" which shows much easier way to see the daily schedule than what's in the app. This works on any ship as long as you type in the ship name, followed by princess.com. So for instance, on Discovery, it would be discovery.princess.com. On Sapphire, it would be sapphire.princess.com.