bullbythehorns

We'll be on the Regal for Holloween, we are bringing easy packing costumes, a little more than head bands. While I hope we're not the only ones, we plan on having a fun evening!

Happy sailing! Sharon

How fun! We thoughly enjoyed our 1st Platinum embarkation. In our experiences, once we fill out the medical survey's (we usually arrive to the pier around 10 ish) we are guided to the priority line and checked right in. Then we enjoy the Platinum/Elite pastries and beverages. We do board in groups there.

Have a great cruise, Sharon

Welcome Sharon, small portions don’t hold back make sure it’s worth it, take the stairs tried to get your 10,000 steps in...on my last cruise I would try to walk around the ship 5 times.

 

 

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Thank you for that reminder! Portion contol is a hard one for myself and DH. I'll work to be more watchful of that, especially on our upcoming cruise.

Sharon

Oh my gosh, you all are doing great! Very excited for everybody's successes, small or large. DH & I started WW June 1st, as of today we've both lost 28#'s. This will be the lowest scale number I've started a cruise with in, well, a very long time! (Oct 26th we leave for the Regal New England cruise).

We are loving WW, the app makes tracking so simple and I've found that is a most helpful function for me. Do you all have any stratigies for eating on the cruise? So far I'm not getting a coffee card this trip so will not indulge much with the foo-foo coffee's. While I'm not planning on holding back from the goodies at the IC, I do hope to make 0 point choices through out the day to off set my sweet tooth. Of course walking, taking the stairs etc for activity. Would love to hear of other stratigies.

Sharon

DH & I took our first Christmas cruise last year (we wanted to escape family drama), we loved it so much we booked again for this year! The ship was decorated beautifully, Santa visited by tender and gave all the kiddos a gift. There was a snow machine and carolers in the piazza when we embarked, pretty neat. We didn't have any kiddos with us, we enjoyed watching others have fun with all the activities. Cookie decorating, face painting, it looked like the younger set didn't lack for things to do!

This was on the Grand just out of drydock to Mexio (this year same ship, going to Hawaii this time). The trip wasn't without issues, we rolled with them and had a great time. I'm sure you will too!

Sharon

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Our 1st trip to Alaska was a 10 day, my parents as well as DH & I booked insides. My dad became ill and was quarentined for 2 days, happened to be the 2 glacier days. So yes, balcony or even OV would've made the trip worthwhile. We still book insides when finances dictate and we spend a bit of time worrying about getting sick and missing the sea go by.

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I've told this before and a few people seemed to think it was cool like I do. In Ketchikan I bought a puzzle that's made from real wood. The pieces are not like normal puzzle pieces - they are in the shape of things like a man carrying a rifle, a bear, coyote, eagle, etc. The puzzles aren't square/rectangle either - the outline is irregular. I found them on Creek Street at a store called Fish Creek Company. They aren't cheap but are well made and worth the price - around $100 or so each. They had several different animals to pick from - I got the grizzly bear like this one - it took me a LOT of hours to put it together - the hardest puzzle I've ever done. It's my favorite sovereign from the trip.

 

 

The back side so - you can see the odd shaped pieces:

 

Thank you for this. DH loves puzzles and this is great. It gives us time to budget for our May trip to Alaska and not pass out at the cost!

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Although the Grand is our favorite ship to sail on and we would do so again in a heartbeat, some issues did arise. When we returned to our cabin later on our 1st evening, the bed wasn’t turned down, the chocolates seemed tossed onto the bed. Oh the horrors! I might sound a little nit-picky here, I just love the experience of being pampered on a cruise…so checking with our very perky steward, we found that with the new bedding arrangement, turning down the bedding isn’t required. So then I realized that I prefer to have things just straightened up abit, like taking a few minutes to remove the foot cover and straighten the bedding. Which after the first night, our steward Rey did and it was all good. The laundry machines were malfunctioning per Rey which is why our towels were often times delivered late. There were a couple of other malfunctions, things happen so we just rolled with it and had a great time anyway.

There were many areas where the carpet was new and the padding was very cushy. Sabatini’s and the ice cream bar had major makeovers. Upon disembarking we noticed a lot of chairs where being removed to the dock, maybe the lounges will be getting upgraded chairs for the new year. The ship was decorated beautifully for the holidays, Dan the CD was a hoot, Crown Grill was great, Sabatini’s was not. Horizon Buffet was a miss, the MDR was a hit. As alwI ays, the IC was terrific as was Alfreado’s. The aft pool was a pleasure to use (warm, YAY), the entertainment was pretty good that we saw, lots going on in the Piazza.

Tons of kiddos, duh…it was fun watching most of them enjoy the magic of Christmas that Princess did pretty well IMHO. Except for a couple of non-21 yr olds in the aft pool once in awhile, we didn’t notice an unruly bunch.

I apologize that if in answering your question I have hijacked this thread. In regards to the casino, my DH enjoys it better than I, he won a few hundred on the slots. I contributed to the financial gain of the fine establishment a meager amount. I wish you the best there bcccattle! Have a great cruise!

Sharon

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We just got off the Grand's Mexican Christmas cruise, they no longer had the quarter bull dozer machine. They did have the machine where you stop the key to hopefully hit the area to release wads of bills. Several times I saw folks trying their luck there.

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would love feedback from you after you get back! we are planning on taking a water taxi to the arch to see the sea lions, and wandering after that.

This is exactly what we did last year and we loved it! Very easy to get a taxi, they'll be right there waiting for you, lots of them. We paid I think $20. for the 2 of us, afterwards I noticed folks getting them for $15. so you can negotiate. The boats have a window on the bottom, nice boat ride to the arch, sea lions close by, they feed the fish so you see alot of action through the window. Afterwards we walked through though the market & made our way to Cabo Wabofor tacos and beer. On the way back we paid $25.00 for massages along the roadside (noticed a small sign), we really enjoyed them. Very enjoyable time, I'm sure you'll have a great time!

Sharon

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Hi Sandra,

We did this tour last year, it was fun. Anyway, the description says you need to be 18 to take the tour, then it says guests under 18 will not be permitted in the tasting room. Kind of confusing so you may just have to wait till you board to find out for sure.

See you on board, Sharon

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I agree Vicjac, looks like he's having a FUN time!

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And at t least you will all be safe.

I can't see a fiberglass tender damaging a heavy steel platform. I would think is was the seas. There is a major storm(almost hurricane) going thru Hawaii this week end.

Swells can hit the platform from the bottom with significant force.

If the platform was midway through closing or even partially up as they closed it, it may have been damaged then.

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We love balconys, insides are wonderful too (after all your onboard!). However for Alaska, we would go with OV at minimium.

Went to Alaska w/ my parents booking insides. Dad became ill the 1st day and was quarenteened while we cruised the glaciers. He missed the main attraction! At least w/ an OV you would get a view in case you couldn't leave your cabin.

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Ok, I hear ya. Goodness, I was only passing on what I was informed. We are flexible, we compromise, we do what we can when we can and we intend to roll with whatever Alaska brings our way....sometimes reschedling trips isn't in the cards. Happy Crusing!

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We have also booked this early, we will be at Deneli Lodge on the 12. Our TA tried to book for us the Trunda Wilderness Tour, as mentioned in earlier posts, it is too early....dissappointed to be sure. The shorter tour MAY be available, that will be known as the spring season unfolds.

So we booked the ATV ride w/ dinner. May cancel and book directly w/ the vender, save $50.00. The new Price Guarentee doesn't work for land tours. Ladytainn, I'm sorry that it doesn't look promising for your visit to see the inner park, comming so far is a real bummer. You can still have an AWESOME visit to Alaska, so much to see and experience, you'll have a wonderful time!

Happy Planning, Sharon

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You are correct, I already admited that I erred in thinking we were on the same ship. Very sorry that I spoke out of turn. Have a great cruise & congrats on your upgrade.

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You know Siora, your comment had me thinking we are on 2 different ships, Alaskan Joe may be leaving from LA on a different ship....I'm leaving from San Fransisco on the Grand, that's the ship we sailed on the CA Coastal. I believe the Grand is one of the Grand class ships that those few Premium OV's haven't been transformed to Balconys. That's why they're so much roomier than other cabins.

Thanks for reminding me about "assumming" anything! Sharon

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We are on the same Holiday cruise, very anxious to get started! We also were upgraded on a CA Coastal to that very cabin, we LOVED it. Premium OV, picture window, large cabin, close to pizza & grill, LOVED IT.

I am confused though, L234 is a balcony, so wouldn't L308 be a downgrade? Even though it is awesome, it is an OV, not balcony. Or is it an upgrade by location only?

At any rate, it will be a great 10 days at sea, Sharon

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Our 1st experience w/ GTY was great. Booked lowest grade obstructed OV. About 2 months out we got our cabin assignment...Premium OV on Lido deck! This was on the Grand, we LOVED it! Large floor to ceiling window right next to the Trident Grill and all the action on Lido. We booked our 2nd GTY for our next cruise on the Grand to Mexico in Dec. We're anxiously awaiting news of our cabin.

Have a great cruise RubySlippers, let us know what you end up getting.

Happy Planning, Sharon

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Oh, this is one that surprised me, I wouldn't have EVER thought of it. While booking a family cruise w/ our TA, my aunt mentioned how she wished she could have a handicapped cabin because the commode would be higher. No problem says our TA, they have risers and she promptly notified Princess! My Aunt is over the moon happy!

Happy Planning, Sharon

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The app is not working on my android phone nor my tablet. Have to use my browser, like the rest of you, not sure what the issue is :eek:

We rented from Avis which is located at the Rivergold Hotel in Juneau. We were docked at the furthest dock from town and ended up walking because we couldn't seem to find a taxi willing to take us such a short distance when we got off the ship. It was a long walk, but very doable - about 15 minutes. When we dropped the car off that evening the front desk at the hotel was nice enough to call a taxi for my daughter and I as we were tired from a long day and really not wanting to make the long walk back. It all worked out very well.

Thank you for the info! Very helpful.

Karatemom2, can you share more about renting your car in Juneau? Are they walking distance from the pier? If not, how did you get there, taxi or ?? We will be there May 2017 and want to rent a car. Sounds like a great time you had, love those 10 days out of San Fransico!

We were upgraded last April to a Premium OV cabin on the Lido deck on the Grand. Can't think of the number, it was on the port side, behind and closest to the Trident Grill. The window was LARGE, the size of a sliding glass door. Cabin was a bit larger, it was wonderful. Perfect location for us. There are only 6 of them, wish they had them on other ships.