roadster08

Stayed at Hampton Inn for 277 usd May 30th. Good location downtown but took taxi to port. Traffic was horrible getting into port, but everything smooth once we stopped at porter luggage dropoff. It includes breakfast.

Weather may not be an issue, but sailing at the beginning of the season may be spotty for customer service in port. Much of the Alaskan help is seasonal and they are just learning their jobs. Some positions may yet to be filled. I waited until late May and by then port restaurant and excursion people were mostly comfortable in their roles.

For the love of God, can we stop calling chicken parmigiana Italian food? It is Italian American food and yes it is delicious when prepared properly but you will only find it in Italy in very touristy places if at all. Same with shrimp scampi and spaghetti with red clam sauce. All wonderful but originated in America. I can imagine the frustration of a trained Italian chef capable of preparing many fine Italian dishes who is told over and over again just make the chicken parm. It's like an American who is invited to a football game in Europe only to find out it is a soccer match. It may be a great experience but it is not what was originally expected.

I had 50 plus package on Sapphire in June and do not remember being charged for a slice of specialty cake. It was not there often.

It appears that not only would the cruise require a stop at a foreign port, but also that you would have to rejoin in that foreign port for it to be legal. Something for pier runners to also consider and why taking a ship excursion is less risky than third party on US only cruises. The ship waits as long as possible for ship excursions to return.

I heard the Princess Marketing VP got the pop up restaurant idea watching a 3 card Monte game.

I don't understand the double standard with caps. Should any of these cap wearer be denied entry to the MDR?

Maybe as they are fortified wines, Princess would allow them to be taken on board under the wine rule?

Agree it's not a bold flavor, but a little saltiness from brine that we like.

On my Sapphire Princess Alaskan cruise prior to the changes, Alfredo's was usually empty as well. We went multiple times and found the pizza to be to our liking, fresh sauce, flavorful mozzarella and tasty crust that was crispy outside and slightly chewy inside. Pretty confident the crust is made with 00 flour and the sauce with San Marzano tomatoes. Many cruisers don't get very good pizza back home so they avoid it on board assuming it will be nothing special. Some just don't see pizza fitting in with the upscale dining experience they are expecting. They think any food eaten with hands is for barbarians. Yes, we know who you are. Unless they research before the cruise they have no way of knowing how good Alfredo's really is. And Alfredo's even has forks and knives!

On our Alaskan cruise we had some issues with getting our smartphones, both Android and Apple, to update to the correct time zone when connected to the Princess WIFI. It frequently took switching to the local cellular service to get the correct time.

Second response from Princess....

I personally never book an international flight earlier than 4 hours after scheduled disembarkation. Assume something will not go as planned and don't need the added stress of rushing to catch an international flight home.

I don't want to appear like I am disagreeing with the majority but I want to offer a different point of view. On our 13 day Alaskan cruisetour in June we did cruise first and land second, which I would do again. We had 3 port days in a row on the cruise and did active excursions in each -- ziplining, glacier dogsledding, river rafting. The land portion was a chill time for just relaxing, enjoying leisurely hikes, amazing views etc. We didn't add land excursions beyond what was included because we were only going to do those if we needed to replace a missed cruise excursion. Fortunately, those all went as planned, so no need to repeat anything at the lodges. Not saying those who prefer land first are wrong, just that cruise first worked well at least for us.

Do the connoisseur. You will appreciate having the concierge do all the rescheduling when things don't go according to plan. Alaska is big, but service and options are quite limited. When things go awry, everyone tends to want the same rescheduling option. The concierge knows how to navigate the rescheduling process while you continue to enjoy you vacation.