wallyworld583

14 minutes ago, rp23g7 said:

HI, Just off the Discovery Princess, May 11 to May 18th Inside Passage cruise, Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, Ketchican, Victoria, my little review.

 

We are from Seattle, never done Alaska before, but when we talk to people on a Carribean cruise or Mexican Riviera who have been on 50 or so cruises, everyone says Alaska was their favorite.  so it was time to try, NO AIRFARE, YIPPEEE.  Had not been on a cruise for 7 yrs due to other pursuits.

 

I have been a avid hiker, boy scout so i have been all over the Cascades and Olympics, my dad flew his whole life so i have flown over the mountains too, and skied my whole life so there is that.

 

First, we have been to most of the Florida departure ports, Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, Port Canaveral, been to Galvaston, LA, and San Fransisco.

Pier 91 Smith Cove was the most unorganized Embarkation ever, no one knew anything, not sure where to go, etc, oh well, not a big deal.

 

Discovery Princess was awsome, unfortunatly we book a inside cabin, A431, not a bad cabin, i like the reverse layout it had, the door opened into the room itself rather than the little hallway on older Princess Ships.

 

i also liked that they have quit pushing drinks all the time, nobody ever asked if i wanted a drink in any theater etc.

 

Seattle Departure, 80 degrees in Seattle, saw Killer Whales right off the stern as we were leaving, Never seen that perspective of Seattle before.

 

Day at sea, just regular stuff going on

 

Juneau, raining in the morning, 40 degrees brrrr.  neat little town, seems so isolated though, having to fly or sail somewhere just to fly or sail somewhere.  We walked around went to the Red Dog Saloon, big line, so i went around the corner and had a shot at the Quack Shack Shot Bar.

 

I had made a reservation with Shore Excursions.com, to go to the Mendenhall glacier, $134 for 2 people.  We took their tour bus up to the visitor center and walked around, it had stopped raining so it was pretty nice.  

 

Skagway.   Woke up and went outside, WOW, What a neat little place.  It was cloudy, but not raining, i looked up and there was a killer view of a snowy mountain peak showing through the opening in the clouds.  I had also made a reservation with Shore Exursions.com, for the White Pass Summit, also about $134 for 2 people.  I thought it was for the train ride, but it turned out it was the city tour/summit on the tour bus.  Which turned out ok, since i dont think the train made all the cool stops for pictures.

 

White Pass Summit, what a beautiful place, got some great shots.

 

Glacier Bay, What can i say, never seen anything like that anywhere in my life.  Speechless.  Saw Otters and Bald Eagles, but no whales or glacier calving.

 

Ketchikan, another neat little town, we didnt have anything planned, so we walked around, found the Elliott St steps and climbed up and got some great shots.  

 

Victoria, Been there a few times, but getting there at 9pm at night?  What the heck, feel sorry for people that have never been there and wanted to see more.

 

Disembarking, gotta say, that was the fastest i had ever gone from Deck 7 to the baggage area and into a Lyft and home on any cruise ever.  Ship to shore in 20 to 30 min.  

 

What do alaskan people do in the Winter?  Those cruise ships must support the October to May economy.  

 

next cruise, Europe in 2026, YAY

 

 

 

Alaska has been a favorite place for us.  Glacier Bay is special.  Talked to some locals in Skagway about winter and basically they drink at the bar (got the impression it was THE bar) and go south to the lower 48. What was the pier like in Skagway?  I understand part of the cliff behind the pier collapsed a while back and took our part of the pier.

Getting ready for our 5th TA and Europe/ Med.  You will love it.

On 1/3/2023 at 10:23 AM, PaperSniper4 said:

We often buy the cruise line insurance, mainly for something like CFAR, like Princess has. However, as you pointed out, most medical, evacuation, trip delay, etc coverage with PVP is very poor. For that reason we always purchase insurance coverage from another company more appropriate to our needs (retired, 70+ couple).

 

Good point above about Medicare. If you are a USA citizen and you have TriCare or TriCare for life it's a bit different, compared to Medicare. Insurance is very complicated for us mortals. 😉

 

Doug

What is different if you have Tricare for Life? Having filed several claims, if Medicare rejects then Tricare doesn't even bother to review .  If you have had a different experience I would be interested in hearing about it.  

Be careful what the steward brings if you ask for distilled water.  I had to find a supervisor to get something besides mineral water for our cpap.  Also, might I suggest taking an 8 or 10 foot extension cord from home?  I used the ship supplied cord once.  It was heavy enough to power a rock concert and about 25 feet long so no place to get it out of the way,  The cord I take does not have a circuit breaker and I have never had a problem bringing it on board.

Huh.  We cancelled our Jan cruise right after Christmas and had FCC posted in less than a week.  Strange.

Had this phone call also.  Person did not seem to have any answers as she had to constantly ask her supervisor.  When all was said and done it really didn't seem like all that much of a bargain so politely declined.  Caller id said Princess but that can be spoofed.  

Even though the ship system is shut down in port, if you are inside the ship you may not be able to connect because of the mass of metal around you.

Can we trade for all sodas AND a coffee card or just the two coffee cards?

11 hours ago, wowzz said:

Standard screening procedure. Every airport does it. 

Are you referring to every airport in England?  Because having flown from the US to Heathrow, we were surprised by the way that they handled the process.  Way beyond what we went through at CLT.  In the future I will avoid LHR whenever possible.  

We did this a month ago and it was not pleasant.  It is a long hike in T5.  We landed with over 1.5 hours between flights and with waiting on a wheel chair and the over the top security check we were fortunate that they held the plane for us.  We got on and they closed the doors.  Security wants your cosmetics and small tubes to fit in one of their bags and then they have to put them through a special machine.  We spent almost a half hour just getting through the line and the bag check.  So, if you are transiting between terminals, don't dawdle.  You don't have as much time as you think.  

9 hours ago, Alcairns said:

Unfortunately it is not up to Princess it’s up to the Greek government. I cannot believe that this update is correct. All the Canada sailings have been removed from the list. One of the reasons for the enhanced guidelines was Canada’s insistence in pre arrival testing. I have not heard that Canada has changed its position. Watch this space! 

According to the Embassy in Athens, Greece no longer has testing requirements to enter the country. 

https://gr.usembassy.gov/covid-19-information/

• Entry Restrictions to Greece Relaxed: As of May 1, 2022, travelers entering Greece are no longer required to display a certificate of vaccination or recovery from COVID-19, or evidence of a negative test result from SARS-CoV-2 infection.

So Princess needs to get with the program and update.

Even though mask was not required, when I got on the elevator I just automatically put it on.  No hassle, no fuss.  

I posted in another thread about this.  I'm not sure what the purpose of the arrival group stuff is.  We were in the 1230 group.  Got to the pier about 1030, were ushered into the waiting area for about 15 minutes and then boarded.  Maybe as the ships get more passengers it will matter but not at the end of February.

Had to sign up for the 1230 arrival group on the Medallion App.  Plane got in at 915, arrived at the port about 1030 and boarded at 11.  This was the Sky 26 Feb sailing.  Nobody questioned our arrival group so there we were.  

Just got off the Sky on Saturday.  Masks were recommended most places on board and were required in the theatre and a few other places.  Not a big deal.  Most folks carried a mask and put it on when it seemed prudent, like elevators.  Shops ashore required masks also.  So you might want to pop for a cheapo mask or two,

DW and I both use CPAP.  I bring a 10 ft extension cord (not a power strip or it may get confiscated) with multiple outlets.  The cord on one machine reaches from one side of the bed to the other.  Plug both into extension and then that to the outlet on the desk.  We have used the "high voltage cable" they provide in the past and just no way to not have it in the way.

1 hour ago, SaltwaterDaffy said:

I don't think are are any vaccinated kids right now. Maybe in a month or so.

I may be mistaken but thought this was a 100% vaccinated cruise.  So, no kids under 12 I would think.

So, has anyone had a crab meal in town anywhere?  If so, where and how was it?

Wife and I both use a CPAP.  The only outlet I could ever find was behind the TV on the wall.  I asked for a ship supplied extension cord the first time we took the machines and got an extra long, very heavy duty power cord.  Always in the way and a trip hazard.  Since then we always carry our own cord (either 8 or 10 ft can't remember which).   If you ask the room steward he can get water for you also..  

Think maybe some are jumping the gun.  This is not to allow the restart of cruising as we wish it was but rather, as it says in the very start of the document, to allow cruise lines 

".....to conduct one or more simulated voyages or restricted passenger voyages under a COVID-19 Conditional Sailing Certificate...... "  So this looks like the rules to test how things might work if the cruise lines are allowed to go back to business as usual.  It appears there are a lot of sticking points for the cruise lines and for the ports that are going to have to be negotiated before anything really happens.  

9 hours ago, triple7tahoe said:

Does a nine month Navy deployment count?

Was going to ask the same question!

Or just book another cruise, such as the TA for Nov on the Island Princess.  

Had a cruise set for March that was cancelled two days before sailing. Took option one and fare and "bonus" was deposited in the holding account.  Plus, there was double deposit in my account as fcc.  Second cruise was cancelled before final payment and double deposit into my account as fcc.  Whether this is the way it should have happened, I don't know.  I am ☺ with the outcome. 

Are the funds in the holding account not FCC?  That's where all the money from my first cancelled cruise, which was cancelled after final payment, was placed.  The only "FCC" I received was from the deposits on that cruise and the second cancelled cruise. 

Interesting that it can't be used for port fees and taxes when  the refund I received included port fees and taxes I paid on the cancelled cruise.  Hmmm.  How does that work?

Oh, and one other thing, the bulk of the FCC and bonus refund from selecting option one does not show in the My Account section.  It is in a "hidden account". (this is for me.  I assume it is the same for others but obviously don't know that for sure)   When you book your next cruise the TA just needs your Captain's Circle number and that money can then be accessed.  So just because you don't see it doesn't mean it isn't there.  (Whew, had me worried for a bit when I didn't see it)