cruisequeen4ever

Such an informative and fun review; thank you! Did you blog your Namibia trip? Was it a family vacation, too?

It’s really unfortunate you weren’t able to tour the Church of the Spilled Blood. We went 3 weeks after you and were able to (on a different cruise line and using TJ Tours). There was some scaffolding outside, but all was normal inside.

Congrats on the free cruise!! Yes, Princess will store your luggage for you at the airport. They’ll take you to the Egan Center downtown to explore during the day, and you pick the shuttle time you want to take to the airport, keeping in mind hat the last shuttle usually leaves at 5 or 6 PM. You then pick up your luggage at the airport, close to where you’re dropped off. Easy peasy. 👍 Some recommenced ideas for your day in Anchorage...lunch at Glacier Brewhouse or a Tia’s reindeer dog at her stand on 4th Ave, take a one hour trolley tour around several areas of Anchorage, take the free shuttle to the zoo to see some Alaskan animals, take the free shuttle to the Alaska Native Heritage Center, shop at the multitude of gift shops, or tour the Museum downtown. Have fun!

That sucks you lost your bonus credits, but I’m glad you at least received your regular credits and were able to rebook.

The Baltic’s have been consistently sold out and offering moveovers this summer. We received one for our June cruise but didn’t take it because we were eager to take the cruise and could see that no other sailings that would work for us had any balconies remaining. That’s wonderful you at least got a move down and almost free cruise!

Hope you get an awesome upgrade, and like you said, worst case, you end up with your chosen category!

It’s just like a regular cruise, full of fun, just packed into less than 24 hours. There are a few less options like sometimes the Casino is closed, one time the comedian didn’t show up, the Elite benefits are inconsistent, and the drink packages are not usually offered. It can be a fun getaway between regular, longer cruises.

I think the most touring options would come with the Dublin overnight. Second pick would be Cobh. We did the Dublin overnight one and loved it.

If there are teens or young adults, I’d go Princess because there will be more entertainment for them and a younger overall demographic.

I still don’t see any evidence of a caste system noted by the OP. I believe that Princess treats all pax with equal care and respect. Celebrity is far more of a caste system with separate dining areas, better food quality, and special areas just for suites and elites.

Fun to read, and it was helpful hearing a comparison of the IC and Hilton.

You can find out where Uber is by looking up a fake route from any of those cities on your app. It’ll tell you if Uber is not available. I know it’s not in Barcelona and probably not in the others. Favorite Excursions/Foods/Pro tips: Barcelona- HOHO the whole city- beautiful architecture La Sagrada Familia Parc Guell Tablao Cordobes- Flamenco dinner show La Boqueria tapas and churros w/ chocolate sauce Use a travel wallet under your shirt as pickpocketing is prevalent in Barcelona. Naples- Cruise line excursion to Pompeii, Sorrento, and Capri- only do the cruise line excursion as it’s a very full day with little margin for error if delays occur Canneloni hard lemon candy in Sorrento and Capri Lemon Granita drinks Rome- Cruise line excursion to Colosseum, Vatican, and city tour- only do the cruise lines excursion as you’ll have longer in Rome and no risk of missing the ship- Rome is quite a distance from the port, and we did experience delays that would have caused us to miss the ship had we not taken a cruise line excursion Cacio e Pepe Carbonara Pizza Gelato Wear a travel wallet under your shirt as pickpocketing is prevalent in Rome. You’ll also be bombarded by tons of people pushing products into your hands; keep your hands occupied and avoid. Be aware of the current scams of thieves. They often operate in groups. Florence- Cruise line Florence/Pisa excursion to see the Leaning Tower and explore Florence. Florence is far away, so going with the cruise line eliminates the risk of missing the ship. We explored Florence on our own easily. If you want to visit the Uffizi museum, book tickets in advance. Gelato Florence is known for their leather goods. I hacent been tk the other ports. I love all the ports I just commented on; you’ll have a blast! Don’t be scared by the pickpocketing; just be vigilant.

At first glance, the 2021 itineraries weren’t of particular interest to me, but I do need to take a closer look to be sure. Summer Europe is a highlight of the year for me, so I hope there’s something that will be interesting to DH and I, or we may need to move on to Asia that year.

I’ve only used my GCs for onboard purchases to be safe, so I don’t know. Did you keep your GCs? I would think they would put the money back onto them automatically. Maybe if you notify them that they’re gone, they could issue you a new GC, though.

I would ask for a refund of the Princess transfer, pay to store your luggage at the port, and then explore Vancouver on your own. There are HOHO buses that start right at the port, Gastown is easily walkable from the port, and there’s a mall a few blocks away. Vancouver is a great city. Steamworks Brewery has yummmmmmmo food and is about a 5 min walk from the port. At the end of the day, collect your luggage, and either catch a taxi from the Pan Pacific above the port, or walk and take the Sky train to the airport.