AtlantaCruiser72

Sooooooo THAT’s what they did with all the barrel chairs (grabs popcorn)

Travel agent will get the commission on the plus

@FlorenceItaly please see my correction on lead in pricing for Balcony - My tired fingers inverted some #s 🙂

Opens for bookings for Elites on 8/2, for all other guests on 8/3. Itinerary can be seen here: https://www.princess.com/cruise-search/details/?voyageCode=R515 Pricing for specific categories will not be available until it opens for booking (other than "lead-in fares for each meta given to TA's) IS $2999 OV $4599 BL $4599 MS $7049 RCMS $8199 SU $10999 Fares are Standard and exclude TFPE of $500pp Captains circle Launch savings $50pp For Plus add $60pp/day, for Premier $80pp/day Itinerary Date Day Duration San Francisco, California 06JUN25 FRI DEPART 4:00PM CHECK IN STARTS AT 1230P At Sea 07JUN25 SAT At Sea 08JUN25 SUN Ketchikan, Alaska 09JUN25 MON ARRIVE 9:00AM DEPART 9:00PM Wrangell, Alaska 10JUN25 TUE ARRIVE 7:00AM DEPART 5:00PM Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier (Sce 11JUN25 WED ARRIVE 2:00PM DEPART 8:00PM SCENIC CRUISING Haines, Alaska 12JUN25 THU ARRIVE 7:00AM DEPART 8:30PM Icy Strait Point, Alaska 13JUN25 FRI ARRIVE 7:00AM DEPART 5:00PM Hubbard Glacier (Scenic Cruising), 14JUN25 SAT ARRIVE 7:00AM DEPART 12:00PM SCENIC CRUISING College Fjord (Scenic Cruising), Al 15JUN25 SUN ARRIVE 3:00PM DEPART 6:00PM SCENIC CRUISING Valdez, Alaska 16JUN25 MON ARRIVE 7:00AM DEPART 5:00PM Anchorage (Seward), Alaska 17JUN25 TUE ARRIVE 7:00AM DEPART 5:00PM At Sea 18JUN25 WED At Sea 19JUN25 THU Sitka, Alaska 20JUN25 FRI ARRIVE 8:00AM DEPART 5:00PM Juneau, Alaska 21JUN25 SAT ARRIVE 8:00AM DEPART 9:00PM Skagway, Alaska 22JUN25 SUN ARRIVE 7:00AM DEPART 8:30PM Glacier Bay National Park (Scenic C 23JUN25 MON ARRIVE 6:00AM DEPART 3:00PM SCENIC CRUISING At Sea 24JUN25 TUE Victoria, Canada 25JUN25 WED ARRIVE 3:00PM DEPART 11:59PM At Sea 26JUN25 THU At Sea 27JUN25 FRI San Francisco, California 28JUN25 SAT ARRIVE 7:00AM

As someone who always books with Plus the ability to dine at Ocean Terrace and/or O’Malleys on my upcoming cruise on Enchanted, with no extra fees, is a win as these were both a’la carte previously. In essence it feels that Princess are adding dining charges in formerly complimentary venues, and for room service, for those who choose not to Plus. This makes Plus that much more attractive a value.

@Thrak I appreciate your feedback and that it was not your cuppa. Each of us is different. I like and can appreciate homespun amateur theatrics with a heavy dose of velveeta poured on top. Bad acting, cheesy scripts and hokey sets are fully expected by this guy here.

@WVHillbilly did you have the option to trade out dinner the second night at King Salmon for the Music of Denali dinner theater, or was that an optional extra cost item (effectively negating the included dinner)?

@CherylFlorida below are three itineraries. #1 is Princess Glacier Bay itinerary on Discovery Princess r/t Seattle which has 4 ports but cuts Ketchikan short to be able to meet the US government required stop in Victoria. It also does not sail the lower portion of the inside passage. #2 is Ruby Princess r/t Vancouver w Glacier Bay - note some dates call on Haines instead of Skagway #3 is HAL Konigsdam or Zaandam r/t Vancouver - itinerary does not vary between the two ships. #2 & 3 are arguably better than #1 as they sail the lower portion of the inside passage. The evening call in Victoria is a throwaway. Better to have more time in Ketchikan. HAL has better docking positions in Juneau and Ketchikan compared to Princess. All sailings to Glacier bay have onboard US park rangers. Both HAL and Princess will have their own resident naturalist to give additional commentary and enrichment lectures.

@snoozecrooze I avoided suggesting the Ruby or Zaandam due to age. The op seemed to have a preference for a newer ship. I’d personally take the Zaandam any day over the Konigsdam, but she lacks reasonably priced balcony rooms, and does have some bumps and worts due to age that I can live with, but her benefits to me outweigh those.

@CherylFlorida have you considered the Konigsdam round trip from Vancouver at all? Relatively new ship, beautifully decorated, good Alaska centric programming, excellent dining options and hits all your desired ports. Only downside is lack of wraparound promenade deck, but the Princess Royal class ships have that same issue. Konigsdam makes up for it with expansive top decks, including forward facing viewing sports that many Princess ships lack, both indoors (Crows nest) and open decks. She is ideally suited to Alaska, and weather permitting the bow is open on Glacier Bay day. Just a suggestion if Princess is not ticking all the boxes.

@bundtkate if you decide to plan another river cruise you might want to consider Avalon. They offer a series of itineraries labeled “active and discovery” that are geared to younger, more adventurous clients. The You Tube video reviews I’ve seen seem to support this. They also have larger average room size, even in standard cabins, than Viking and as a result carry fewer passengers. Each ship has an “adventure host” that leads biking/hiking tours in each port and Carrie’s their own bikes. The dining room has quite a few tables for two. These are amongst many of the reasons I chose them over Viking for my 2024 Europe trip and am already scouring their itineraries to get some ideas for 2025. If I like my 2024 trip as much as I anticipate I’ll be ready to rebook in an instant!

Itinerary primarily, and length secondly. Sailing from SFO has the advantage of making flights more cost effective as well. Weighing that against the UB8 Cruisetour on the Coral.

I’m also intrigued by the 22 day sailing of the Ruby for the summer solstice. Sadly I think it will be priced above my budgetary range.

Another vote for Coral. As it has been a few years since she sailed Alaska I predict the cruise tours on her will sell well and preferred cabins will go quickly.

@azbirdmom I’m with you on interest in what will be changing for plus/premiere. I’d like to see either expansion of dining perk on premiere to be trip length based and/or some sort of excursion credit, again based on trip length and whether you have plus vs premiere. Sadly it will probably be something far less exciting and/or beneficial like additional discounts on shop items, spa treatments, free bingo card or something of that ilk.

Another option to consider would be Avalon. Reasonable deposit and payment terms. They often have air promotions that allow you to choose your own flights without onerous fees. Additionally they some very nice itineraries on new, modern ships with quality food and exceptional service. Seems they often get overlooked or eschewed on these boards which makes me scratch my head.

@triple7tahoe were you in a suite? If not was it related to your tier status or being amongst the most travelled guests? Wonderful that you were invited, but sorry the communication was subpar.

The line for the Vatican begins in Luxembourg. The line for the Louie begins in Monaco. It’s somewhere near Strasbourg one must decide which they want to visit. On a serious note - the number of tourists in Europe is up to at or above pre Covid levels in the major tourist areas. Meanwhile, staffing still is below pre Covid levels in almost all hospitality sectors. There have been, and still are, multiple labor disruptions (strikes/work actions) that affect tourism industries. Some facilities still have not (or simply will not) reopened. All this places strain on the entire tourism infrastructure.

Viking Ocean has been including beer/wine/soft drinks with meals, WiFi fo all and one shore excursion (of questionable value) in each port since the word “go”. Not once has a client complained to me about a “lack” of a cruise only option. Their ships sell out relatively far in advance, at higher average fares than Oceania with a far more draconian payment schedule. In my opinion with the introduction of the new pricing structure Oceania is trying to be more on a level playing field with Viking and clawback some of the market share they have lost to them. I think the new Oceania offer superior to Vikings in that they are allocating funds for me to choose what tours I want or not. It may not provide one per port, but at least for what it does cover the consumer has choice. Vikings mediocre “included” tours are use it or lose it with no offset when choosing alternate, for a fee (usually hefty one), tours.

While I can understand the appeal of LCS for many, for me as an individual, I would much rather see HAL bring in a good jazz combo like days of yore, and/or have a band/singer focusing on standards and great American songbook with music from the 1920s-50s. This type of music/entertainment lends itself to a more social environment, where cocktails and conversation and couples/social dancing can flow. LCS is too much of a hush-hush, sit, watch and politely listen, but don’t speak or drink kind of event. I love classical music but I prefer a more social environment. Rolling Stone Rock Room, BB Kings and Billboard are all well and good, but require some creative shouting to thy neighbor to be heard but not bother those around you.

Sometimes the price for something as memorable as this type of experience is worth it. Sure you can go out to dinner several times for the same price, but none of them will have the lasting impact as the “day you caught a 20lb salmon and had it e pertly prepared and beautiful served while sailing the waters of Alaska.” To me that’s something that’s hard to put a price tag on.

I don’t mind the closet all that much, but the floor lights under the night tables are flat out annoying. The slightest movement of anything, even a fleck of dust, seems to trigger them. Last cruise I achieved a modicum of success by rolling bath towels and edging them in. Next cruise small roll of painters tape will be accompanying me. Lawsuit or not this is one of the WORST cabin related decisions Princess have made. It makes the barrel chair debacle pale by comparison!

Princess has a solid brand footing in the UK and Ireland - do not these folks have Children/Grandchildren? Do not North American, Australian and New Zealand customers travelling to Europe often have Children/Grandchildren? Not all families want 7 day Caribbean Sailings or find them convenient. There are plenty of adult focused areas too. Princess will have no issue filling this ship in the Mediterranean at premium pricing.

Many travel agents are no longer booking Carnival Corp (Princess, HAL and CCL) Casino comp offers as they are either non-comissionable or only earn $50 commission per booking (regardless of upgrades). They also no longer count towards annual revenue goals or back-end compensation goals. Given the extreme hassle they represent to book/manage they are a money losing proposition for agencies to handle.

1988 called ... they want their show lounge back .......