tanyaewa

Wow. With the right weather that might be absolutely amazing. In my opinion it would be great for a second trip to Alaska / Hubbard. Not at all necessary for your first trip. There is FAR too much to see on your first cruise to Hubbard, Tracy arm and Glacier Bay.

That NCL Epic pricing would sway me for sure....

NCL has some very amazing good points.

I was in the spa/ gym area at 6am. Open and ready to use...

I found the princess check in procedure at the embarkation port the very easiest of any in th3 cruise lines we have travelled. They did not make me redo anything I had already done online. I loved it

We just arrived in Vancouver on Sunday after a 4 night Coastal from LA.

We literally walked off, through the terminal, grabbed our suitcases and were up the escalator to the street.

No customs, no delay

We stayed on board until 10:15

We just did a 4 night Coastal. There were apparently 35 persons between 13-17..out of +3000. My guess is very few at the 18-20 age....

Figured out that if I went into private browsing it defaulted to US pricing

Found my answer

5-For-4 Beer Packages: Choose your favorite beer variety from the list below and receive 5 bottles for the price of 4. Price includes service charge.

Package is not currently offered on selected voyages departing from and returning to Australia and New Zealand.5-for-4 Dos Equis PackageItem #2372$25.305-for-4 Heineken PackageItem #2373$25.305-for-4 Budweiser PackageItem #2374$28.755-for-4 Bud Light PackageItem #2375$26.45

Can anyone tell me what is the cost in US $ for the 4 for 5 buckets?

I have the price in CDN in my cruiseplanner but would like to know if it’s better to buy ahead in CDN or wait and pay onboard in US where my credit card would add the exchange

Heineken and dos equis are $30.36

Budweiser is $34.50

Bud Light is $31.74

TIA!

For a family of 4 it is usually less costly to organize our own private transport than pay $20-30 pp

Jasperdo! You are my kind of cruiser! I looked at your signature....Great variety

Just got off the Emerald on Sunday and head onto the Crown in September. Will be very interesting to compare!

Is there bar service in Sanctuary? As in servers that stroll through?

Just got off the emerald princess. Last cruises have been , Royal, NCL and Carnival. We really enjoyed it. It had great points and less desirable points. I would say if you are curious and have found a good itinerary and price go for it.

No need to worry until there is something to worry about :)

We have done GTY before and enjoyed the savings and the excitement of being somewhere on the ship we may not have chosen.

Our family always finds something positive about the room. Most recently we were assigned deck 2!! Omg so LOW I thought!! I hated the idea until our first port day and we were on and off the ship in flash because the gangway was on deck 2. SO nice to come back hot and sweaty and be in your room without the elevator chaos

And I see I. You last post you realized... it’s always a great cabin because it is on a cruise ship

When we had same situation at FLL we rented a car one way - port to airport and explored the area. No need to pay to store luggage. Plus it covered costs to get to airport. $50 total for the day for 4 pax

Perhaps this is an option in that area?

Nice to hear that Princess does not charge for room service delivery.

I wonder if the pizza charge is due to the fact that it’s coming from a different kitchen area than the rest of the offerings and has different logistics for delivery.

Recently on RCCL Freedom of the Seas and incurred a 7.95 fee for room service but it was a one time fee for whole delivery regardless of how much. On early port mornings we had hot breakfast for 4 - pancakes, omelettes, ham, bacon etc delivered to our room and I felt the $7.95 was good value.

IMO it’s better value than paying more in surcharge dining venues

My home port is Vancouver and we will arriving back on the 13th on the Emerald. I am surprised at the 13500 number quoted above by OP

I will report back how it was....

Canada place was purpose built for cruise traffic. Ballantine pier was the previous docking area prior to that. Both have to go under the Lions Gate bridge

Delta has no rapid transit to get to airport or city so it’s a LONG way off

This is the exact type of pictures I've been seeing lol!

This is definitely a belly flop contest or something in progress

Most of the newer ships are going 5 to even 6.5 feet deep and it's for a reason ..... a good reason. Keeping the pools deeper keeps the drunks out of the pool so they are used for swimming and not for standing in with drinks while people pi$$ in them. Pools are for swimming, not for loud mouth drunks to stand in for 5 hours with 4 buckets of beer next to them. I love this trend. MSC Seaside was all 6 feet and it was used for pool activities and the drunks stayed by the bar. All cruise lines should follow this trend.....

Any trip to Las Vegas underscores the need for deeper pools!!

What about picking it up at your first port of call?

I’m heading out May 9 on Emerald. Family of 4 in a balcony cabin.

Will post some pics when we get back

I believe it’s an airline by airline policy. Not anything to do with EZ Air

Price?

Departure port?

That’s super interesting. I’ve never seen it side by side like that.

Do you think the embarkation port/ country makes a difference?

Exactly. I don't understand the logic of some people. Hell, raise ALL the prices on Princess to 3 times what they normally are! Why not - someone WILL pay it, right?

 

I have been reading and posting on this board since I first bought (and surprised) my Wife at Christmas with our first cruise. After reading hundreds upon hundreds of posts from long time "cruisers" and first time cruisers (like us) - and seeing how Princess is "changing" right before our eyes - this will be our first - and last cruise.

 

We have vacationed all over the world, multiple times but never cruised. After all the cash I laid out for this 7 day trip to Alaska, it's not worth it (at least to me). Much simpler to fly in, rent a car and a hotel and "go for it".

 

I sat down last night and compared pricing for a cruise (Balcony) for 7 days compared to a fly in 7 day vacation. The fly in won hands down. Now, Princess wants to boost prices for bottled water and some on this board think it's fine. Just like the "Princess is getting rid of straws" thread. Some think the idea is great....

 

I've already fired off an Email to Princess - but don't get your hopes up. And, for you longtime cruisers? Get ready to open your wallets and purses more and more often.

I’m sorry you feel this way. Cruising is amazing and Alaska is the best of the best. The ports you visit would never happen if you didn’t access it through cruising. Your day at Glacier Bay or Tracy Arm with be worth a million dollars..

And the absolute delight of the scenery from your waterfront view on your balcony is unmatched.

I think sometimes Cruise Critic ( and other message boards) are populated by very helpful experienced people who can also be very jaded. Somewhat like looking up a medical condition on the internet... too much information can be very detrimental. 80% of cruisers don’t get themselves involved with this sort of negative politics and waltz onboard to experience an amazing vacation.... Step away from cruise critic and start looking at Alaskan scenery YouTube videos