iamaqt2

I was just on Royal in March and I agree about the bar staff and casino staff. The staffing shortages seem universal as I was also on Majestic last month and it was the same. Definitely need to have patience. My favorite place to get coffee in the AM is in the pastry area of the buffet as the IC lines are loooong. Agree Victoria is a wasted port, but they just use it as a formality to satisfy the PVSA. I have no plans to get off the ship. Interesting about the buffet crowding. Good thing I'm a late riser so I can miss the crowds LOL.

Welcome to your first cruise! The Royal is a wonderful ship with fantastic staff. I was just on her in March for a Coastal Cruise. The Forks area and the rainforest up that way are gorgeous. Paradise is a fabulous drive but it's still pretty cool this time of year. You may still see patches of snow up that way. Look forward to seeing you onboard! Absolutely!

I'll post all the dailies, menus, and as many activities as we do on the ship. I haven't decided on our excursions yet, but will definitely post pictures as we go.

Hi all. I've previously done a couple live froms. This will be the first where there has been NO roll call. I booked rather late, and when looking for a roll call to join there was NOTHING. I've been on cruises with slow roll calls, low roll calls, and 2-4 participant roll calls. But this will be my first cruise where there has been no roll call. To be fair, Alaska cruises have always been low participation anyway because they draw so many first time cruisers, but this is my first time experiencing this. I was initially doing this cruise solo, but have convinced a friend to join me. She is not a first time cruiser, but she IS a first time cruiser on more than a one night repo cruise. Seattle has been great for the 1 night repo cruises between the Alaska and Mexico cruise seasons and we've always taken advantage of those for Girls Nights Out. So this will be a fun trip to introduce her to what an actual cruise looks like. I'll be posting dailies, menus, and pics of the activities we do onboard and off the ship. If you have any questions ask away and I'll do my best to answer.

It's an easy walk up and down from the Lido deck. Cons would be that it's harder to get an elevator this close to the lido deck.

You can either choose to request it in the room in the app, or just ask your room steward.

It would be any of the big travel booking sites.. just type into your search bar "book a cruise". I'm sure one of them will pop up.

Having been in there multiple times just to see if it was worth it... don't bother. Go to any lounge, open the Medallion App, and order drinks and snacks. Better outcome and less judgement.

You can also preorder and set a delivery time on the app for the following day.. however, the execution on that was a big miss. I ordered my breakfast at midnight to be delivered at 7 am the following day. I got woken up at 1:15 in the morning by the delivery person. I made sure to let guest services know that was unappreciated.

Thanks. We had the fish and chips menu... and seeing what others were being served, nothing appealed. Wish I had gotten the second menu.

Dreamscaper.. call your PVP and tell them to handle this.. that is their job. And Princess wasn't going to honor the guarantee you booked and paid for when they did place you in a lower category cabin in a less desirable location. Calling Princess customer service is a crap shoot these days on whether you'll get someone with the knowledge to get you where you need to be. Many times I reach a Phillipines call center.

That's a major bait and switch on the part of Princess if they can't deliver on the guarantee. At a VERY minimum OP should get a free upgrade if no midship balconies on the deck they booked open up. Otherwise Princess needs to discontinue selling specific guaranteed cabin types in a very specific location.

You absolutely can book a guarantee for a specific location on the ship, Princess has been doing this for some time now. I've bumped into it multiple times when ships are close to selling out. Here's an example I just pulled up for a cruise I'd been looking at.

I went this month the one day it was offered in the MDR, and wasn't impressed with the menu options. I felt Shepherd's Pie should have been on there at a minimum. I asked to see the kids menu and ended up getting one of the best cruise ship cheeseburgers I've ever had. And I got a banana split for dessert!

You can order it on the app for delivery under food options. I saw it and moved on.

Yep.. that was our predicament. Table for 2 was more like table for 6. Packed in like sardines.

Majestic had these options as well for first cruise back in Alaska. A very Elite passenger next to me was NOT HAPPY with the New York steak. He was sure to tell the server that he could sole his shoe with it. Which was amusing as his wife made sure to point out to us at least 3 times that he couldn't walk anymore, and she had to find excursions she could do solo. And neither one of them could shut up the whole meal and made sure to tell us all about their gazillion cruises. In the meantime, I ordered the chefs recommendation of the blackened corvina and it was delicious. And as we were disembarking, they came flying by us with him pushing hiTs walker at warp speed and telling us we were in their way. That sense of entitlement was beyond next level...

As a paying member of the Murray Guide Club, I'd like to thank you for your service. I know that you did this out of love, and not to get rich. And so many of us have benefitted. I used your guide in the 2010's multiple times and had many amazing experiences. And now I shall use it one more time to introduce a new cruiser to the wonders of the Yukon. I wish you the best and thank you for your amazing guide!

I've looked all over the state department website and the CDC and can't find anything that pertains to cruisers. The verbiage is specifically targeted at people flying into the states. And Alaska says they don't require the vaccine to travel to their state. Your best option would be to contact the state dept. and ask them to clarify for you.

No she won't need to be vaccinated. The US is only requiring that for foreign travelers entering by air. Edit to add: she might need to be if she flies into the states. But cruises from Vancouver would be fine.

This may be helpful for you.

Juneau has a ride free zone on public transit around the downtown area if you want to visit the Capitol building and the museum. And St. Nicholas church is just a short walk away. https://juneaucapitaltransit.org/ride-free-zone-downtown/#:~:text=Capital Transit offers a Ride,the top of the hill.

It's almost like some people have never discovered Google or the internet.

Hence Princess allowing us to bypass all those societal issues by pre-payment with their package offerings.

And you know that how? Because Princess makes sure to tell us that our DSC goes to ALL the crew. Show me one shred of evidence you have that my DSC doesn't go to those employees.