catgirl411

One our favourite cruise experiences was the day we spent in Glacier Bay. We were on Royal Princess in an aft facing suite and we had breakfast served to us out on the very large balcony. It was magical!

A word on Scenic dress code. A number of years ago, we did the 14 day Amsterdam to Budapest route. It was a wonderful trip. There were almost 100 Aussies on board, about 20 Canadians, 6 Americans and a scattered number of others. The Aussies were so much fun, such lovely people. We got to know one couple quite well. He was a retired senior civil servant . When it came to dress though he came to dinner barefoot almost every night and he wasn’t the only one. For those of us from North America , “no shirt, no shoes, no service” is ingrained in us so it was very strange to see.

We did it on Princess over Christmas and New Year’s December 2022. It was awesome!

Ok that helps clarify. It isn’t the walking around with a drink that you object to…it’s how the drink was paid for. I guess I’ve gotten used to drink packages where it doesn’t matter when/where you acquire the drink,

I still don’t understand the problem with someone ordering a glass of wine just before getting up from dinner and walking away with it. One of the cool things imho about being on a ship is the freedom to walk around with a drink if I want to…something I sure can’t do on land. What if I want to stand out on the deck after dinner and watch the ocean with a glass of wine in hand? Who am I hurting?

Wow, I’m not really understanding the problem with this? Sometimes you haven’t finished your drink when it is time to go to the show. It doesn’t mean the drink came from your own stock. It could have been from dinner or from one of the bars. It’s not unusual to see this on other cruise lines (Princess, Celebrity for example).

Completely agree with this philosophy. In the old days, before packages, I used to dread the bill slipped under the door on the last day with all of the charges. It was depressing to be reminded of another $1500 or so of charges at the end of a lovely vacation.

Loved Japanese toilets especially the heated seats! I was in a public washroom at a museum in Tokyo where in addition to the “standard” features, it also played music to cover the sounds!

So excited to follow another of your wonderful Lives! I was thinking of you the other day when I received my new DB backpack…purchased on your recommendation. I got it on an excellent sale. Can’t wait to try it out on our May British Isles cruise.

Completely disagree with OP. We did the land tour to Denali and Mt McKinley Lodge. Loved everything about it. The train was wonderful. Yes, the accommodation isn’t luxury but it was good and we had a couple of lovely meals. Also love the Captain Cook in Anchorage…great hotel with wonderful dining.

Thanks! Good to know about the rooms…after some debate we decided that they would book two Oceanview cabins and our adult stepdaughter booked an interior. DH and I have a balcony. They are doing 7 days and we are doing B2B so that we can enjoy whatever doesn’t work for them in our second week.

So thankful that you have provided this very balanced view of your experience on Sun Princess. We recently booked for a Caribbean cruise next February. We are experienced cruisers but this is the first cruise for some of our family group which includes our 13 year old granddaughter and 15 year old grandson. Have you seen many teenagers onboard and are they allowed in Princess Live for trivia etc? The other thing they will love is Umai for teppanaki. I can’t recall if you tried that.

I love this philosophy. We’ve booked our first ever family cruise for next February and I am really going to try to relax and let everyone enjoy it in their own way. And as an additional way of coping, we will be doing it B2B while the others are only doing the first 7 days. That should allow us to do anything we missed in the second week.

A few years ago we were in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur in July. It felt hotter than the surface of the sun (lol). I don’t think I’ve ever been so hot, even in summer in the Caribbean. Loved that trip, hated the heat and humidity. We were originally scheduled to do a Viet Nam, Thailand, Singapore ocean cruise in February 2021 but it was cancelled and we never got around to rescheduling for a variety of reasons. Looking forward to travelling along with you!

Really enjoying your posts. This is a bucket list trip for me so I will be following along. How do you find the heat?

So sorry to hear about Bella. It is so hard to lose a fur baby. We have a 17 1/2 year old cat who I worry about every time we are planning a trip.

It was awesome…loved the entertainment particularly Jayne Curry. Great Halloween party too! We were lucky enough to be in the Retreat (we got a wonderful price).

Completely agree! We had Dave and Angela on our TA in October, they were a major highlight!

I see that Dave Clark is your cruise director. We were on a TA on Reflection in October. His wife Angela was CD and he was assistant. They were so much fun. We just loved them. It was an awesome cruise with great entertainment. It didn’t hurt that it was our first experience in the Retreat ( we got an awesome deal..sigh…may not ever be able to repeat …loved those pistachio danish in Luminae). As always I am loving your posts…keep up the great work!

Seems like for her to have the “real” experience, it would have to be like the TV show Undercover Boss!

Thanks again! I love seeing your future plans. My DH thinks I’m crazy because we have three future cruises booked now. (Regal Princess British Isles May 2024, Apex Canaries, Spain and Portugal October 2024 and Ascent Greece, Croatia and Italy October 2024 with out daughter). I want to be more like you, booked out far into the future! Look forward to your next live.

I love your yellow backpack. I’m looking for a new packable one. What kind is that one? Do you like it?

I will miss reading your wonderful reports with my breakfast each morning. Do you have your next trip planned? Thanks again for taking us along!

Oh I really miss those pistachio danish…sooooo good. The dulche du leche croissants are wonderful too (but messy). And the peach French toast …yum.

So ugly! They fired the OC Dorsey this morning.