notus

Fly out of LGB....small and easy. Either JetBlue or Southwest (just starting up service there in June) to OAK.

In January it was the regular, old "always available" menu......no curtis stone stuff. salmon, chicken, medallions, burger, etc. were always available! :)

Oh, and the meclizine did start to work but it took awhile (and crackers and green apples!)

YES, meclizine! Many years ago we were on a small ship trying to go around a hurricane in the Pacific off the coast of Mexico (!!). Most of the passengers were sea-sick and the frontdesk was giving out meclizine like candy! They also had huge bowls of crackers and green apples out for folks to pick up. They even instructed people over the PA system to eat something to help. Since then we take meclizine every day of a cruise. Also bring along "ginger chews" , a spicy candy chew that works wonders almost immediately.

I went to the program last month (Jan.) on the Grand (Mexican Riviera cruise). There was a guest lecturer who had helped develop the program and on the 2nd night (and those nights after.... 3 more) had headsets and the lecturer spoke into a microphone. We were told this was the first time they used the headsets....they were great! We were taken each night up to the Sky Deck (?) at the back of the ship and the lights were mostly turned off. Yes, it depends on the weather and the farther south we were the more you could see. He told us information and stories about the consellations and other points of interest. They were training the cruise staff to take over and conduct the program on a regular basis. I went several nights and some stuff was repetitive, but the sky and stars were great! It is a worthwhile program and the lights were off about 30 minutes, so easy for your eyes to adjust.

Taxis and private cars can pull right up to the front of the terminal and the porters are right there for luggage drop off. The entrance doors are right there. There are escalators (probably elevator) and the waiting area is large with lots of seating. You get a number when you check in and wait until the number is called so you can board. Very easy embarkation (and at disembarkation as well).

For the Whitepass RR, Chilkoot uses their own vans (<15 people) and gets their own car on the train. Other cars on the train were filled with folks from the Princess tours (and maybe other tours, too)

Last month on the Statedam the "signature items" were NOT available every night! :mad: The last night it was desperately needed!!

There's likely to be ship excursions in other cars on the train both ways. Our tour was up (to Bennett Lake) by van and back by train. There was thick, thick fog in the morning on the way up. Beautiful on the train back down.

Yep, funny.....We got off the ship in Ketchikan last June and it, too, was SUNNY and (relatively) warm. Right on the dock we were able to book a 1.5 hour float-plane trip to the Misty Fjords...!! WOW! we saw so much and landed on an isolated lake somewhere out there in the beautiful wilderness. Totally incredible!

We were on a round tripper, so were back the next week and took the city bus to Totem Bight Park......very easy and nice, and we walked around town as well.

Glad you enjoyed your cruise. I also have sailed her before and doing so again in April. I want to do the Mayan Ruins in Belize, which one did you do? I'm leaning towards the Lamanai Tour. Jim

We did the Lamanai ruins tour in Belize a year or two ago and loved it! Yes, it was longer but included a river boat trip with monkeys and other wildlife, lunch, and of course the ruins. Lots to see and good ruins to climb! Well worth it!

We purchased the stock less than a week before our cruise. We called Princess and were told to fax the information (booking #, ship, sailing date, etc) and proof of purchase. We called back about an hour later to check and were told OBC was applied and we got an e-mail confirmation. All very quick and easy.....(this time?)

We were there a couple of weeks ago and ended up buying round trip tickets for the white bus. It was very easy and a great way to go. Prompt and no issues. A little sightseeing narration along the way, too. The white bus was running every 20 minutes, so it was actually quicker than the blue.