Walt fan

Hey there Norris; just following along and enjoying every minute. Love the pics of GB, and since we were there in June we didn't get to see the Hopkins glacier, what a treat. Can't wait to see College Fjord coming up through your lens, so gorgeous.

We love Skagway. I googled and could not find any information about Kirmse's going out of business as seen through your photos. I hope it isn't true. Kirmse's is one of those family owned businesses that I absolutely loved. Beautiful jewelry, and love the Christmas stuff toward the back. Our guide had told us about them and I visited and bought stuff both times. We loved the Skagway brewery/restaurant as well. Best mac and cheese ever.

Having been on 5 RC cruises and 1 Princess, I think RC wins in the Main Dining Room category for food, but Princess wins in the Specialty restaurants. Thinking back, I also liked the Windjammer (food court) better. But, RC was a good pick back when we had our kids and friends of kids tagging along, its great for families. Lots of kiddos on board in the Summer time. Now that our kids are all grown, I would like to try RC again in a more "off" season.

I will be curious to see what you decide about HAL.

Are you going to Houston in a couple of years for opera? I was born and raised there, and my son and his wife live there now.

Can't wait to see more pics and take in all of Alaska's beauty! Thank you Norris!

All caught up on your review Norris; most excellent reading and photos. We had a wonderful vacation along the PCH and redwoods and everything in between. Never enough time though as we both have jobs and animals to get back to. Every stop and city it seems like we say "when we come back".

I would really like to return to Alaska; I will have to dwell. So many places to see so little time. But i would love to do the Misty Fjords tour. That is right up my alley. We love nature and quiet; no rowdy party boats for us. Your eagle pic is truly stunning.

I am such an animal lover. The dogs at the dog camp look happy and that is their job. I am with you Norris; why do people with big/active dogs have them in an apartment? We have 5 acres where we live; plenty of room to roam. And our kitties inside are most spoiled.

Reading along Norris and totally enjoying every moment! Thank you again for all your time and work!

Carol

Norris - always a day late and a dollar short - but I am here and cannot wait to read your review, as always. I am the crazy cat lady that asked about your kitties in your Celebrity review. Good to hear Little Snowy is doing well.

I won't be able to read much until we get back from our road trip. Leaving Friday for a week to go to Crater Lake and along the PCH.

Our one and only Princess cruise was June 2016; we are on the Star same itinerary as you. All other cruises were on RC. Hoping to shove DH on a Celebrity cruise next year. We will see.

I am another huge fan of your reviews and cannot wait to follow along. Your pics and writing and take on life are priceless. Take care Norris! I will be probably chiming in at the end!

Carol

Chicago Paul - just coming out of lurkdom and thanking you for an excellent review - I have seen your reviews here and there and was really interested in your first TA voyage - I am sorry if I missed this, but from where to where did you sail?

You have given me more reason to buy the drink package when I do decide to sail X - I have cruised RC the most, but I like the thought of not having to worry about keeping tabs on my bar bill.

You and Edward seem to have a such a good time cruising; thanks for giving us cruisers more carrots to try a TA!

And all of you cruisers out there - enlighten me on some examples of what you mean when you think going west is better than east on a TA?

Thanks again!

Norris: We love our road trips as well as cruising, but still have every day jobs to work which get in the way. So it looks like we have to settle for once a year for right now. This year we are flying into Oregon and driving from Crater Lake on down to the Pacific Coast Highway, driving through the Redwoods, San Francisco, Monterrey, Carmel, etc. We haven't done this particular route yet. A couple of years ago we drove from San Fran to Hoover Dam then on to several National Parks in Utah and on down to Sedona (a favorite).

I will let you know if I decide on a X cruise. Much discussion will have to ensue with DH.

Reading along and cannot wait for your Alaska adventure!

Carol

Still following along this wonderful review Norris. Somehow I missed that you were sailing on the Star to Alaska soon. The Star was our first and only Princess sailing June 2015, Vancouver to Whittier. Cannot wait to see you on board!

I am still dwelling on a Celebrity cruise next year. We are doing one of our road trips this September; there were a lot of expenses for my oldest son's wedding in May; so just a road trip this year; which I am trying to use as leverage next year for both a cruise and road trip:) We shall see. I really want to try out Celebrity. Do you find their web site as frustrating as I do?

Hope all is well on your end Norris. How is Snowy?

Take care, Carol

Thank you for sharing your kitties Norris; they are all so beautiful; and yes, all of my cats have been shelter kitties or rescue kitties; we have had rescue Labs as well but it was so hard losing them we said we will stick with cats; I lost my first love, a kitty abandoned at an apartment complex, after 12 years with her, brought her into my marriage and my husband fell in love with cats; the cat we lost in January we had had for 10 years; she was around 3 when we got her; I have a very soft heart and love my cats; they are all unique and just make life better; the tree looks awesome! Thanks again for sharing.

Little Snowy is a real calendar kitty - she is adorable. Did you use to have 2 kitties? My oldest diva kitty we lost to cancer in January; so sad. I have one other kitty who is spoiled rotten, and a grandkitty who has lived with us about 2 years and will be moving out in June. I have a wonderful pet sitter a/k/a sister-in-law when we go on vacation. It's hard to find someone you trust with your animals. Thanks for sharing Little Snowy with us.

Have a great week Norris.

Carol

Good Monday morning to you Norris. So, I had a fairly lazy (for me) weekend this past weekend. Thanks to reading a lot from you, Librarylady and Miaminice, I started to get the itch really bad to look into a Celebrity cruise next year. They have one I am interested in the first week of April (on the Silhouette). We have been to all of the ports but I mainly want to be on this ship! I think what stopped me is my quandary over booking Aqua Class or just on a good old regular balcony, and MDR vs Blu, and other small perks that go along with this. I will have to dwell a lot more, but if I get an enticing email or snail mail from Celebrity it might sway me. I will be heading over to read your Emerald review soon. Have a wonderful week Norris!

Carol

I have been following along on your comparison review as well; just wanted you to know I was thinking of you today and the trial; please let us know how all turns out; hoping justice will be greatly served; was there more than 1 perp who committed the invasions? If so, I hope they are all found and tried. Hope you are doing well.

My dear sir, please take a bow (standing ovation). I have not been reading/posting for quite some time, and when I finally get back to the CC boards I have to catch up on not only one but two amazing cruise reviews by you. I will catch up on the Emerald one soon enough, but I really wanted to read your X review first. I have really wanted to sail this line, but was unsure of what it was really like. Your Princess reviews swayed me to do a Princess last June (first time), as our few prior cruises were all RC (which we really like). Your writing style and pictures are top notch, and all of your hard work is so appreciated. I now have a huge desire to sail 2017 with X. This year is another land vacation, as we love our road trips and National Parks as well. Too much to see and do and so little time. Like you always say, maybe when we retire. Thank you so very much for all of your time and wit and making me smile and laugh, a lot.

I am also a lurker, but I have read all of your reviews, except the Sept, Emerald, but I did read about your ordeal in November. Hope you are doing well and everything is getting back to a more normal.

Take care and thank you a million times over.

Interesting topic that Bimmer09 has presented; something that I have read with interest; I am wondering if you could still feel comfortable on a smaller ship if a vacation to you is not a whole lot of interaction and just sitting on your balcony and letting the world go by; and do you feel compelled you have to dress a certain way on these ships? The Oceania and Azamara itineraries really interest me but I somehow feel intimidated by their label of "premium" ships

Thank you Caribill; in the looking at the floor plan, its hard to avoid the elevators! The BA rooms are all around the elevators; all will be good; thank you for the assurance.

Well, we got our assignment as well today; not very happy with it but oh well; we are right by the elevators; I am a very light sleeper and this isn't going to be fun; can't complain though as I asked for a guarantee.

That's what I told myself when I went with the guarantee - a BA cabin is pretty well situated - and I made sure that was what was being guaranteed - I will let ya'll know how it turns out - it looks like I am going to be one of those who gets the assignment the day before:) Good luck everyone with your cabin assignments!

Regarding cruise addiction - I wish my DH was as addicted to cruising as I am - I am constantly lurking around the boards and seeing places I want to cruise - DH just rolls his eyes and puts up with me.

Thank you RaiderCruiser - I appreciate the information - I think we can make the 9:00 tunnel. Hope you are okay in the Houston flooding. We have friends there who have been okay but flooded in. Take care.

I booked a guarantee room for the first time in my 5 cruises for the simple fact they did not have any balconies available when I booked; I went ahead and booked a more expensive mini-suite when I booked; then switched to a cheaper BA balcony when a small window opened up quite some time after the booking; we are sailing on the Star Princess June 13th; I guess I have to hold my breath for a few more weeks; I really don't like not knowing but I have no choice!

RaiderCruiser: Was the line terribly long at Avis since it doesn't open til 8:00? We are trying to make the 9:00 tunnel, and I anticipate a long line. Avis really charges an arm and a leg for their rentals; but I wanted to have the freedom of travelling to the airport with just the 5 of us. Thanks!

Kamloops50 - thank you; I checked our ticket confirmation - we have the return trip from Frasier at 2:45; makes sense now; I guess we will board along with the bus tours.

Kamloop50 - have you heard anything on how it is different? I just like to have my ducks in a row. Thank you!

What happens when you are doing only a return trip going back to Skagway? How do they board those people? We are doing a private tour til after lunch then catching the train. Was wondering how they seat us.

Thanks!

Good morning all; cruised before but new to Princess; glad to see the IC is on the Star we are sailing on next month. Ya'll are making me very hungry. Quick question, since I am the one who purchased the coffee card when I logged in on my cruise personaliser; I am assuming that I will be the one with the sticker on my cruise card. Am I allowed to purchase 2 coffee drinks at one time and they will take 2 credits off my card? Or am I limited to one at a time?

Also, the 5 beers for price of 4 states they will be delivered to your cabin - has anyone ever done this? Are they cold beers or room temp and you can drink them later after chilling them down?

Thank you!

Thank you again for your wonderful review; I loved the journey; you and your family are what make this world a better place; so glad you got to spend time with each other, share adventures and make memories; and that is what vacation is all about; well done

Still following along and enjoying every minute; been to St. Thomas twice (ferry to St. John to snorkel at the more remote spots) and St. Maarten twice, but did private excursions in St. Maarten so never had the chance to see the "real" city; I have something to look forward to if we happen that way again; I am so glad my lurking for Princess reviews sent me this way; I so enjoy my sons traveling with my husband and I, that will soon be coming to a close as oldest son will be married some time next year, and younger son won't want to go without big brother; it will be so strange not to have them around; it really makes my heart happy to see how much you and your wife enjoy your daughter on your travels; job well done Dad

Cannot wait to see what happens in Nassau - we have been once and honestly could have stayed on the ship and napped and had a better time - but to each its own - if it weren't for the excitement of my youngest son losing his RC card and trying to get back on the ship we would have had to chalk it up to a ho hum day - that was quite a doozy to get him back on the ship; one of those stories you look back on with a lot of amusement

Thanks again for taking the time to post!

Just chiming in - I was looking for reviews of the Star Princess - and stumbled upon your CP review and was completely hooked - love your writing style and details - thanks for the taking the time to post! Cannot wait for more!

We are taking our first Princess cruise in June so your details are reassuring and making me even more excited - we have only cruised RC in the past and I didn't want to set my expectations too high. Thank you again for all the details and helpful hints.