jk04

@Cayman Turtle Just caught up on your live review, thanks for sharing. Love the door signs and the ducks!! I hope they can be found on the Oasis in January. My Granddaughter will enjoying finding them

Really, were you showing your passports? We did Oasis in December, granted lower passenger count, but facial recognition was so quick, we were out the door in no time. Will be on Oasis again in January and March.

Thanks appreciate the info. That probably does help parking quite a bit. We plan on parking in the garage this trip and would prefer covered.

We will be on her next month. How was boarding? Saw a video with Harmony a couple of months ago and it looked very disorganized with long lines outside. Seemed to be a bottleneck checking paperwork before entering the terminal.

Too red?

I was putting together some options for a group cruise with some fun facts on the different ships. For Oasis I found that she is about the length of 3.3 football fields, as wide as 4.1 tractor trailers and the same height as a 16 story building. Don't know if that helps with a visual.

Ohhh, that is probably a good idea. We sail late September, all the kinks may not yet be worked out.

Royal has updated their protocols in the Healthy Sail section. Click on the Updated Testing link in the left-hand corner to access the Healthy Sail Center page. In the Starting with August 8th Departures, the bullet point about testing standard has another link Learn More, click that. Scroll down to the section for Required Testing for Guests from US Starting August 8th. Gives the requirements for kids. They will now accept the proctored Antigen test. REQUIRED TESTING FOR GUESTS SAILING FROM U.S. HOMEPORTS STARTING AUGUST 8, 2022 For All Sailings from U.S. Homeports with no Stops in Bermuda or Canada If your cruise sets sail August 8 or later, you’ll have the revised test protocol below, as long as your cruise does not visit Bermuda or Canada (if it does, you need to look at the section above). Revised test protocol: Guests 2 to 11 years of age who are not fully vaccinated must bring a negative test result for a COVID-19 antigen or PCR test taken within the 3 days before boarding day, regardless of the duration of their cruise. These guests will no longer be required to take a second test at the terminal. Fully vaccinated guests must bring a negative test result for a COVID-19 antigen or PCR test taken within the 3 days before boarding day on sailings that are 6 nights or longer only. Testing is not required for fully vaccinated guests on shorter itineraries. Required testing for all guests, regardless of vaccination status, must be completed using a PCR or antigen test that is supervised by a healthcare professional or a home test kit that is conducted under live video supervision. Tests must be arranged on your own and are at your own expense.

The way I get there is click on the person icon at the top then Select a different sailing link. For me that brings up all our booked cruises. At the bottom of that is a link that says Get more details on the ships we support, click that. That lists all the ships for Royal. Pick a ship, then pick a sail date. There you go. 😄

On Boarding day most of these venues will have staff at the desk to make reservations. I know I head straight to one to make all my reservations for the week. Last December on Oasis the Specialties open for lunch were Giovanni’s, where we ate. And pretty sure Playmakers and Johnny Rocket’s. But, as Biker said, it can vary by sailing.

I am about fed up with having to call companies to ask them to do their job. Isn't it their job to do their job? I would be fired if someone had to ask me repeatedly to do something. My cell phone company and where I get my specialty medication are two of the worst. I hope everything was straightened out for you.

As JeffT237 mentioned, it seems Crown may be working out the issues, so our notifications may not be relevant. We were on the June 11th and found out about 30 days out that Ketchikan was being subbed for Icy Point. We never received any notice when the time in Juneau was changed from 1200 to 1430, then 1630, then 1730. It just showed up in the Cruise Planner. Then about 2 weeks out we got an email about the time in Juneau and dropping Icy Point that would affect the next four cruises, which were May 28th, June 4th, 11th (ours), and 18th. Our tour provider in Juneau notified us before Princess did of the change.

Really? It wouldn't be considered an a la carte restaurant where you get $20 credit? That is disappointing.

Maybe some rebranding going on? Nellies Cabanas still don't show for our sailing for comparison and that verbiage is not on the Barefoot Beach Cabanas.

It was offered on the Crown last month. Love the frangipani oil but I requested without this time. My hair is thin but soaks up the oil. Takes a bit to wash out so just got the scalp massage part. My massage therapist was very good at it, would have been happy with 90 minutes of that! 😁

If it’s who I think it is, he was posting on the Princess board last month. I can lookup his Id if needed.

Same here and the Barefoot Beach Cabana's are the only thing available in our Cruise Planner for Labadee in January. But, they just added the port to the Cruise Planner the other day so I didn't expect too much to be available yet. I thought those Cabanas were displayed since we are in a suite. Wonder if they are trying to make it more like Coco Beach Club, if you are willing to pay, you can stay.

There is also one next to Sorrento's Pizza on Deck 5 and one in Windjammer on Deck 16.

I understand your frustration. We were on the Shuddering Princess (Crown) last month out of Seattle. Before the cruise started the itinerary changed due to 'scheduled engine maintenance'. Our time in Juneau was shortened by 2 hours and Ketchikan was swapped to Icy Strait Point and reduced by 3 hours. Unfortunately, Crown couldn't keep up and then developed a problem with the diesel generator. So, the time in Juneau was changed two more times which reduced the time in half and Icy Point dropped altogether. We did keep Glacier Bay. So, we had a nice Alaska drive-by. We did get $200 non-refundable OBC as a Goodwill gesture. The crew, on the other hand, was fantastic.

We have the Unlimited Dining Package purchased for Oasis in January. The What's Included is the same as the package for the one we had purchased on Oasis in December. I hope it's not changing. What's Included Unlimited visits to speciality dining restaurants every night of your sailing and lunch on sea days. For restaurants with a la carte pricing, you’ll receive a $35 food credit, with the exception of Port Side BBQ and Playmakers which will be $20. For ships with these venues, Teppanyaki/Izumi Hibachi is included, with a $10 surcharge, Chef's Table is included, with a $49.99 surcharge, and Dadong is included, with a $35 surcharge. These will be charged once onboard.

We were also on the 6/11 Crown sailing with the remainder of our group. Half of the group had to switch to the second sailing in May. Three of us had sailed this itinerary before, the other five their first time to Alaska. So, the reduced time in Juneau plus the missed port was disappointing. But, we had a fabulous whale watching trip in Juneau seeing both Orcas and Humpbacks. Everyone enjoyed their excursions in Skagway or just walking around the town. And, the weather in Glacier Bay was picture perfect with lots of otters and seals. As bittygeorgia said, every single one of the staff was fantastic. We enjoyed time with our family and friends around the Explorers Lounge and caught several shows, a couple hysterical like the Liar's Club (?). We also spent many relaxing hours in various places reading or watching the scenery. If you are interested in Specialty Dining I would suggest making reservations early. Embarkation and Disembarkation was very smooth. My only real issue with the cruise itself was the vibration, grinding, and shudder. We were in an almost aft cabin on Deck 8 and it was pretty bad. Felt like the ship was going to shake herself apart. Plus, paying the price we did when we booked over a year ago and getting 40% less time in Alaska ports. If you are able to get a great price on the cruise and you have knowledge of the issues, this can be a nice relaxing cruise with possibly low passenger counts. It's Alaska and it's still beautiful!

Are they just doing this only for the May cruises?

We were actually wondering if they might give it a try, but they didn't. It would have been nice. Don't know the rhyme or reason as to why some sailings seem to have better speed than others.

The June 11th cruise did not go to Icy Strait Point. We were just fortunate to get in an hour early to Juneau and Victoria.

Just off the June 11th cruise. Crown did make better time into Juneau and Victoria by an extra hour or so. Not sure if it's because they are working on the engines or changed where the ship sails. Some of the issues with the fouled chiller lines after sitting dormant for so long may be working it's way out, but I think the diesel generator might still have a problem. Crown seems like she is going to shake herself to pieces the vibration and shudder is so bad. Crown was the first to leave port and she was passed by two HAL and an NCL ship during the evening/night. By the second day she had picked up enough speed to get into Juneau a bit after 1600 instead of the scheduled 1730. This part of the itinerary is outside of the inside passage. After Glacier Bay, since we did not stop at Icy Strait or have to loop up to Ketchikan, Crown went outside of the Inside Passage again as far as we could tell. So, that allowed her to pick up speed and make it early into Victoria. I don't think she has the get up and go to leave those extra ports and make speed. This is my humble take on the situation. We did get to Glacier Bay, which had fantastic weather. The staff and crew were outstanding and did their best. I think the kids got a little bored since there was so much sea time and not really a lot to do on the ship for them. They did a lot of various scavenger hunts. We had a group for this cruise and switching would have been difficult. So, we made the best of it and enjoyed the time with family and friends. Internet was horrible, even more so than I remember for Alaska. The day in Skagway there seemed to be ship-wide plumbing issues but were resolved quickly. Our toilet had backed up and was fixed after a couple of hours. I had a massage and they were checking the water in the Spa. We were on a cruise, on vacation, and not at work. However, the price we paid for the cruise, which was before all the sale pricing, was too much. The communication from Princess about the itinerary changes, OBC offered, etc. has been poorly handled. And, nothing seems to have been applied consistently between cruises. Yes, I know we signed the Passage Contract and yes I know that Princess has the right to switch ports. But, at some point the cruise doesn't even resemble what was paid for. Our time in Alaskan ports was reduced by over 40%. I don't think Crown is unsafe, just debilitated, like driving on a donut spare tire.