karatemom2

Princess does a fabulous job with their Alaska interpretive program. They have a terrific program for kids on the Alaska cruises as well.

I still find our Elite benefits very worthwhile. Yes, there have been some adjustments like the wifi, but overall we still enjoy the value. Yes, it would be nice if the wifi was still free, but I'll take half price wifi that actually works well like it did on our most recent cruise. Very reliable! We love the laundry service - used it everyday on our recent 14 day Med cruise and if we sent our laundry out in the morning, we always got it back within two days, often just one. I haven't noticed any change at all in the mini bar set up since we first became Elite nearly 10 years ago. It is basically the same assortment. We always switch ours out for Diet Coke and water and we are still getting 10 each. We enjoy the free wine tasting every cruise and also the nightly cocktail hour with reduced drink prices and predinner snacks. And we really, really appreciate the priority tender services. It has made such a difference for us as we generally prefer to do our own tours and we always are able to get off the ship at tender ports quickly and easily while others spend a long time waiting for their group. And certainly, it's not a huge deal, but the 10 percent off at the shops, spa and shore excursions is nice too as well as the nice afternoon tea delivered to our room. These perks, as well as DH casino benefits, are two big things that keep us coming back to Princess.

The Plus package may be a good deal for some who are able to fully take advantage of all the aspects, but my DH and I did the math and it just doesn't make sense for us, especially on port intensive cruises. We aren't big drinkers, so no way we would get our value through cocktails. We drink soda, but it's easy enough to purchase by the can. We generally have a number of cans to start with our Elite mini bar set up and they aren't that much to buy as we go. My DH is a casino player and we generally get at least one or two meals comped at specialty restaurants, so we don't need it for that . Thanks to our Elite benefits we enjoy reduced cocktail prices at the daily evening cocktail hour which we take advantage of, and we get half price internet. We aren't interested in the ridiculous desserts, juice bar or pizza restaurant. We just finished a 14 day Med cruise on the Sky Princess and our end of cruise tab was nowhere near what the price would have been had we paid for Plus everyday - we for sure would have left money on the table!

We generally swap out for Diet Coke and Water and are provided with 10 of each.

There are outdoor activities like mini golf, ping pong, pickleball. There are also usually other fun shipboard games like the Egg Drop, Paper Airplane challenge, Mini Olympics, Piazza games. Often these types of things depend on the entertainment staff onboard. They often do demonstrations like fruit carving, cocktail making, napkin folding and there are sometimes arts/crafts classes as well. The spa also offers some activities like Ladies Pampering Party, Neck and Shoulder massage, etc. and there are usually a couple of wine tastings each cruise. Just check your daily activity guide and choose the things that appeal to you - there is usually plenty of options.

Wow. Looks like you got great instruction. Your photos are wonderful!

In our recent experience, yes, still twice a day unless you instruct your steward otherwise.

It says right on the Shareholder Credit Application form - "Shares certificate and brokerage statement should be dated no earlier than 3 months prior to cruise departure date." Are you sure they even ever applied the credit? If they did, maybe somebody realized it was far too early. They have this rule in place so people have to demonstrate recent ownership before the cruise. You submitted far too early which is likely why it was never really applied or applied and removed. Too bad you didn't hold on to your stock.

I can share a little from our experience when our kids were younger. We did the LA to Hawaii Cruise four years in a row for our Christmas holiday - first one on Diamond Princess and subsequent three on the Golden, which is a sister ship of Grand. We loved these cruises and my kids who were ages 8 to 12 and 13 to 17 when we cruised really enjoyed them. Now, keep in mind these were holiday cruises so there were MANY other kids onboard. It is likely on a January itinerary this won't be the case and it will skew older. However, if your teen is more on the quiet side and enjoys your more low key activities, she will likely not be bored. Given she may be one of the few young people on board, you may find she gets a lot of extra attention. My son is sort of an old soul and even when he was little, he was very content on our sea days to go read a book, play games, go to trivia or other ship activities. They usually have a pretty robust roster of cultural activities like hula dancing and ukulele on these cruises that she might really enjoy. We love the Grand class ships, but Ruby is newer. I have been on both the Grand and Ruby and they are great, but I imagine even with dry docks, Grand is likely showing her age and I have never liked the closet set up on that ship, so I would probably go with the Ruby. Crossing the Pacific out of LA, especially in January, could be a little bit of a rough ride. We sort of love that because it really reminds you that you are at sea. But if either of you have any issues with sea sickness, just come prepared. It's a fabulous cruise - super relaxing and full of Aloha spirit. I can't imagine anyone not loving it and it will be a wonderful time for you to spend with your teen. We are actually thinking of going back again with our adult kids next year. I'm sure you will enjoy it!

Yes, that's an amazing excursion. Have done it twice in Tracy Arm Fjord. If you have the chance to do that on the half day Juneau itinerary you are considering, it would be well worth it. The ship goes there as well, but the small boats get much more up close and personal and the ship is somewhat limited often on how far it can in due to the ice levels. So if you do book that itinerary, I would encourage you to sign up for that excursion and do it early. There are limited spaces and it fills up quickly!

We have cruised on NCL, HAL and Princess in Alaska and in my opinion Princess definitely provided the best overall experience and itineraries. Be sure to look at port times and whether Glacier Bay is included when doing your comparisons.

Does the itinerary that goes to Juneau 7 am to 7 pm have a scenic cruising day or Glacier Bay? If it does not, I would choose the itinerary with Endicott so you have at least some opportunity to experience cruising through a fjord and view a tidewater glacier. Your time, though limited, in Juneau would still also allow you to visit Mendenhall glacier as well - it is not as impressive as it once was but still offers a beautiful area for hiking and also Nugget Falls which is an impressive site.

Yes, it looks amazing. We had L102 and L104 side by side, with our kids traveling with us in the other cabin. We were able to open up the balconies and it was amazing having those two large spaces side by side. All of those forward cabins on L and M are great options.

The best Alaska cabin we ever had was on the Royal - it was one of the forward cabins on the Lido deck. Huge balcony and we could see everything on both sides. Thankfully once we were in the inside passage we experienced very little wind even when moving between ports. I would totally book that again - and we are thinking about an aft for upcoming cruises as well. Everyone seems to love them and your point about seeing both sides is a good one. We loved that wide open view when we had our forward facing cabin. The nice thing about the forward facing cabin is that pricing is pretty good since they are considered obstructed view.

Generally while you are at the glacier for scenic viewing the ship will turn completely around so all sides get an equal viewing opportunity. In general, on our trips from San Francisco, Seattle or Vancouver to Alaska we have opted for the starboard side as it is the closer to land side most of the time which we prefer, but regardless you will get great views from either side and good opportunities for wildlife viewing. We just find starboard provides a bit more scenic viewing in our experience.

In our experience, you can make changes to the passengers in a cabin as long as one of the two original people on the booking remains on the reservation. Right before COVID, my husband and I were scheduled for a brief trip on the Royal but something came up with his business and he couldn't get away. We ended up replacing him with my son who went with me. It was actually within a couple weeks of the cruise, but we were still early enough to make the change as the manifest hadn't been submitted and it was pretty easy as my son was a previous Princess cruiser so they were able to quickly make the swap. We have also substituted third/fourth passenger as well on other trips. But I don't believe you can transfer entire reservation to other people - that would just be a cancelation and rebooking.

We live just outside of LA and did the RT Hawaii cruise for Christmas when our kids were younger for several years. Most of those trips were pretty rough going in and out of LA, one in particular when there was a big storm. Once we got closer to Hawaii it was lovely. We hadn't had a lot of winter storms for many years up to last year when we broke records and it is expected we are heading into an El Nino which means we could have some stormy years ahead. Jan - Mar tends to be the height of our rainy season if we are having one but September and October in SoCal tend to be really lovely and less likely to bring rain. So, without benefit of a crystal ball, but just based on being a lifelong resident I would say your best bet for nicer weather would be the Sept - Oct timeframe if you can make it work. March can still have late storms - we saw that last year. But that being said, given our experience cruising end of Dec beginning Jan for our holiday cruises, even when the seas are rough it is a great trip.

We have gone three times in May and it can be a little colder, especially early in the month. But there were days that were very lovely and temperate as well. Best advice is always to consider packing layers - I usually start with jeans, a thin but warm turtleneck shirt and add one of my Patagonia fleece pullovers or vests with a jacket if the weather is extra cold. As it warms up during the day, I can shed the pullover/jacket as needed. If it is particularly cold, I may add hat and gloves, especially if it's raining, when I might also throw on a rain poncho which I carry in my backpack. I like walking boots with good tread for the ports as we like to hike and they keep my feet comfy, warm and dry. That is pretty much my uniform for the port days and it has worked well for me on all of our Alaska adventures.

It was virtually empty most days on our recent Sky Princess cruise. We never saw more than three tables occupied at any one time and much of the time there was no one there. I don't think you will have a problem getting seated.

Here is a link directly from US Customs and Border Protection dated 6/20/23 that addresses this question and seems to indicate that a birth certificate and driver's license are still acceptable for closed loop cruises. https://help.cbp.gov/s/article/Article-74?language=en_US

Thank you for sharing your experience. It was thoughtful of you to provide first hand information as this is something that does come up and it can be hard for people to ask questions here about it. We have a family friend who traveled with us on a cruise to Alaska several years ago for the first time and we had no knowledge of this issue. He had a DUI as a juvenile from a number of years prior - a foolish mistake as a young person that he deeply regrets. He wasn't anywhere near over the legal limit, but because he was under 21 any registered level of alcohol, even very minimal, was a violation. He paid dearly and learned a valuable lesson. Fast forward over 5 years later and he was going to cruise with us and got a call from someone in Canadian immigration advising him of this issue and interviewing him over the phone about the circumstances. He was told at the time it should not prohibit him going on the trip, but it could possibly flag him for not being able to get off the ship in Victoria. However, he was also advised that because it had been over 5 years and his record was otherwise clean, they might overlook it. As it turns out, he had no problem either getting on the ship or going off the ship in Victoria and has traveled on three subsequent Alaska trips without issue. So there does appear to be some leniency if time has passed and your record remains clean as your case also illustrates. It was kind of you to share. I know when we first found out, the first place I came to try to get information was these boards and I so appreciated the people who, first of all, were kind about my inquiry, and second of all, were able to reassure me with their real life experience.

Yes, yes, yes!! We have done the excursion twice through Adventure Bound and would do it again in a heartbeat. It is such a different experience going through Tracy Arm on a small boat and getting up close to the glacier. We still count these trips in our top 5 Alaska excursions. If your port time makes it possible, by all means do it. Worth every cent! Edited to add: It is a long walk from where you will be docked - doable but not optimal. There is likely a shuttle that will be available that might get you closer. If not, a taxi service might be your best option.

We have cruised on the Bliss, Encore and other NCL ships as well as virtually all the Princess ships, including the new Royal class. We enjoy both, but Princess edges NCL by far in Alaska. Their ships are beautiful, food excellent, staterooms and balconies much larger and quality of service and entertainment is on par. We don’t miss outdoor slides and go kart tracks when our focus is the ports. Alaska is a magical destination with so much to see and that means you need time in your ports. It is not a place where a simple walk around town and stop in a shop or two is sufficient. Unfortunately the round trip Seattle itineraries offered by NCL, including Encore, are just truly abysmal in terms of the actual time in these wonderful Alaska ports. We have been to Alaska on both lines and without a doubt Princess offers a superior Alaska experience.

Your post made me curious so I did a Google search and found YouTube videos of them. Here are a couple as well as link to his Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/dima.dakhnovskyi?mibextid=LQQJ4d https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Srfk6AdIj7k https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5v6-4nEmwDA

We were just on a Med cruise out of Southampton on the Sky that started and ended with 2 sea days. Our first port was Cadiz and the clock moved forward an hour on the second sea day at 2 am. On the way back to Southampton the clock went back an hour on the last evening before we docked in Southampton which rather surprised me. But it made it extra easy to get up and off the ship in a timely manner.