beg3yrs

The Jones Act is NEVER an issue for passengers. The Jones Act has to do with cargo. It's the PVSA that's a concern for us cruisers.

Unless you were booked round-trip back to Vancouver it's very unlikely you'd have been allowed to board in Juneau as that would be a violation of the Passenger Vessel Services Acts (PVSA for short).

That happened to us on the Royal on her June 4 sailing. It was only the previous day being repeated though. Chose not to watch it again...

I agree. It will not handle a WaterPik type appliance though. We have a travel size one and even that small one is too much for the bathroom socket. For this we have a long extension cord that we bring out only when using the WaterPik. Also, IIRC, the socket in the bathroom will not handle polarized plugs. These are the plugs where one blade is slightly wider than the other.

You can speak for yourself and probably some others but not for everyone on this one. We absolutely love the free laundry perk and that's what's keeping us on Princess. Lose that and we'll be checking elsewhere.

We found that all the worry was unnecessary, afterwards. It was not really hard, you just had to get it done. All Princess wanted was your ArriveCan code. They provided it to the Canadians and that's the last we heard of it. Hey at least you don't have to test to fly back to the US any more. We were on one of the last flights that had to do so.

OP needs ArriveCan to enter Canada via the ship. The App asks where you'll be staying and OP leaves the same day as arriving Vancouver so OP doesn't know how to answer that question since they're leaving the same day. OP: For our June 11 Royal Princess arrival into Canada, leaving the same day, Princess told us to use the address of Canada Place, the cruise terminal. So, no worries, whatever address you're told to use should be just fine.

I try to book AA codeshares. Also read head ahead to your next post. I forgot to mention that we always book business class for the long overseas flights (usually a great bargain if you book early BTW). Business class lets generally you pick seats before ticketing after you've given BA all your information. I too hold EZ-Air bookings FCO-LHR-LAX-TUS. Had similar experience getting BA seats. Could get the FCO-LHR (BA) but not LHR-LAX (BA). That's when inputting the passport info solved the problem.

There's a lot to unravel here but I'd like to add the following: 1) I've had similar issues with BA seat selection, i.e. not being able to select seats unless I call. 2) I once called and it turns out BA somehow doesn't get all your document information like passport numbers. It won't allow seat selection until they've got that info. 3) Subsequently I found that getting BA's separate record locator number (it is often different from the EZAir number) and going to the BA website to manage your booking will allow you to enter the missing information and voila! You can now select seats.

A word of warning, there is a quarter shortage in Alaska. We were warned by the McKinley Lodge that this was the case (McKinley was our mid-point lodge so we planned on laundry there). When we got there last week that was exactly the situation. Members of our tour group were searching from building to building to find change machines that had some left. Good thing we knew in advance and brought two rolls of quarters with us.

Shore excursions missing, cabins missing and now EZAir will only show economy class fares. If you ask for anything else you still get only economy fares. So ... First Class, Business Class and Premium Economy are missing as well.

Kind of agree. One could make a facetious argument based on evidence that it's the masks causing Covid ... yeah yeah I know, correlation does not mean causation. Seriously in this case I suspect there's very little correlation anyway.

Well said. Was just on a ten-day Cruisetour. 38 people on the same bus or train car with masks optional. Most people didn't wear masks but some did. Toward the end of the land segment we were tested to meet the boarding requirements for the Royal Princess. Guess who tested positive? The only couple who religiously wore masks. Very sad to see them go as they were quite nice. Edit: Kind of caused us a scare too as we ate lunch with them during a stopover in Palmer. This was the same day we were all tested to board the ship. We tested negative and seven days later still tested negative as we needed yet another test to fly back to the USA.

Just got off the Royal Princess yesterday. Bars are open. Seats at the bar are not. Seats in the lounges are open and most people there do not sip and cover but leave masks off. Nobody says anything. As you observed anywhere indoors, masking is required. No masks required on open decks but again, even on the open decks, bar stools are closed. I participated in table games at the casino and everyone wore masks there and did sip and cover. People at slot machines also remained masked. I noted that on the Royal their written documentation recommended KN-95 (or is it just N-95, I don't really care) masks and said they would be supplied. They were not supplied, just the standard multi-layer cloth masks.

Well of course Princess and the others will eventually follow. The question should be more like "How soon will they follow".

Just returned last night from a Cruisetour that started on May 25th. It was the ten-day Connoisseur escorted tour that went to all five lodges (RIP Copper River - for now). For us the weather was unseasonable warm, as low as low 40s in the morning and then up to high 70s in the day. Local residents couldn't believe it either. The streams and rivers were almost overflowing due to the high rate of snow melt. Anyway, many in our group were unprepared for such warm weather and the gift shops did a good business selling some t-shirts. Knowing this and that as other posters have commented, the weather can change fast, we observed: 1) Didn't need three pairs of jeans. Two at the maximum. The lodges have good laundry facilities and there's enough time to do a load or two on the non-travel days. 2) Bringing layers is a good idea. I had a waterproof shell that was almost enough for the coldest mornings and would have been useful if we did have rain. A single sweatshirt, a couple of long sleeve shirts (thin ones with sleeves that can roll up would be good) were sufficient for cooler times. I had only one short-sleeved polo - wish I had at least one more. I never used my nordic jacket with a hood. 3) Yes, a cap of some kind whether it be for sun of shading your eyes would be useful. I had a cheap Costco sun hat and it was perfect, a little goofy-looking but perfect for me. You can even throw it in the wash. 4) Sturdy shoes are a must. Not necessarily full-on hiking boots but a good pair of walking shoes worked great. I didn't need anything else for the land segment. For the ship you can take typical "ship shoes" as you please. 5) You don't dress for dinner on the land segment unless you want to. We didn't typically change unless we were highly active during the day or got muddy (which can happen). 6) The land portion of the tour was much warmer than the sea portion. The cold sea water really kept the temps down while on the ship. We also had some rain during the sea portion whereas the land portion was totally but ... YMMV. 7) Take some mosquito repellent. You can find it at the gift shops but you'll pay more. BTW, did you know that in Alaska, it's against the law to be more than 100 yards from a gift shop? Seems like that anyway... All in all, these are my experiences. I hope they help.

Are there any Alaska cruises that don't go north or south? If so, where do they go? Just askin'?

Would be nice but change fees along with last minute airfares - nope, not gonna do it. Anyway just finished our proctored tests and we're good to go. Kind of a PITA as the ship's Internet is too slow. Had to grab a cell signal from Victoria, Canada and do it that way. Thank goodness we signed up for the International Passport - only cost us $10 for a day's use.

Just my luck. Flying home from Vancouver the day before....

On the Royal southbound right now. Just noticed today the staff stopped wearing masks onstage. Previously they wore them 100% of the time.

AFAIK only the Royal class of ships has a concierge. You won't find one on the Diamond Princess.

Almost all staff we encountered were out-of-state (and country) seasonal workers.

We just finished the10-day land tour and are currently on the Royal Princess' southbound journey. Visited all five lodges and staffing problems were evident at every one, mostly at the restaurants. We were at Copper the day the staff was told about the closing. Surprisingly the staff wasn't disappointed as they are all being transferred to the other lodges, predominantly Denali. At Copper they didn't have much to do on their days off either. Denali IMHO was most in need of extra staff so it seems to me a good decision as the customer experience was definitely off in the F&B area at all the lodges. As an aside, Kenai was by far the nicest lodge. DW and I commented we could simply have stayed a week there before joining they Royal!

I too am currently on the Royal. Yes, you can sit in the bars on chairs but not at the bar on a stool. Yes, there is definitely smoking in the casino, over near the card tables.

Not big gamblers here but somehow we have a bunch of casino freeplay on the June 4th sailing. It that worthless or will the casino at least be open on the last sea day when the Royal is sailing around Victoria Island in international waters?