LIVE FROM - Royal Princess - Sept 3-10 2022, Vancouver BC to Anchorage Alaska

[CruzeQueen2]

@_rusty_shacklefordHi there! Thanks for contributing to this thread. Wondering if you can capture a picture of the officer board please, and thank you! It's usually on deck 7 in the atrium area.

Wondering if the maitre'd (director of restaurant ops) is Claudio Guiliani. Enjoy your cruise! Have you tried out Alfredos? I highly recommend the tiramisu there.

20 hours ago, _rusty_shackleford said:

Yes, screenshot from the app. I'm on the ship at the moment. I definitely remember seeing a lamb dish on the physical menus they hand you as well last night. 95% sure it was chops but might also have been leg of lamb or something like that.

[rheathslc]

We're in Ketchikan today so I finally have cell signal and can post! I was writing up all my thoughts last night and Preston asked me if I was finished writing my dissertation yet. Haha! So brace yourselves for the forthcoming missives.

 

Day 1 - Late Morning - Afternoon

 

Shuttle transfer to Vancouver:

Thank goodness we got on shuttle A from SeaTac to Vancouver. We pulled out of the shuttle bay at 9:30am and made it to within a quarter mile of the border crossing by 11:15. We ended up having a 40 minute wait at the border because a long line of cars were blocking the truck/bus lane. Some of the truckers and our bus driver decided to take matters into their own hands and went off-roading on the unpaved shoulder to get around the cars. After that we made quick progress to the crossing and it only took about 15 minutes to clear customs. Then it was a quick ride into Vancouver. We were dropped off at Canada Place at 1:15pm. Just under 4 hours total from SeaTac to the pier. Not bad even with the border traffic. Shuttle B was scheduled to leave SeaTac no later than 10:30. With the Labor Day traffic at the border I don’t know how they could possibly have made it to Vancouver in time but I really hope they did.

 

Check-in:

Check in was a dream! Everything was well labeled and orderly and there were tons of helpful staff pointing us where to go. As Suite passengers we got to bypass the main line and checked in with no wait at all. And thank goodness for that because even though the check in process was quick and painless the line we had to get in after that (which for some reason I was completely unprepared for) to clear U.S. customs was HORRENDOUS! 

 

Customs: 

At this point I REALLY wish we had paid the money to fly in the night before and stay at a hotel close by the pier. If we had been among the first in line like we normally are, we likely would have had a much smoother experience. As it was, it took us almost two hours to wind slowly through the serpentine labyrinth that was the line to clear customs. I have NEVER experienced anything quite like it. And the line behind us just kept getting longer and longer. I honestly don’t know how or indeed even IF the people behind us in line made it onboard in time. We finally stepped on board at about 3pm. An hour and 45 minutes after arriving at Canada Place. All told between the wait at the border to cross INTO Canada and then the wait to clear U.S. customs to LEAVE Canada we spent almost 3 hours of our day waiting in line to cross into Canada then almost immediately leave again. Upon reflection I realized that most of my cruises have been round trip and thus avoided the border crossing situation we encountered in leaving from Vancouver. Now that I know what is involved I think I will most likely NOT cruise one-way from Vancouver ever again if I can help it. 🙂

[rheathslc]

Day 1 - Late Afternoon

 

Boarding:

Once we cleared customs we walked on right at 3pm. We went straight to the spa to reserve the Thermal Suite and then to the Sanctuary to reserve loungers. They would only let us reserve for Glacier Bay. I asked about reserving for the whole cruise but they said the weather is too unpredictable and that each day IF the weather is nice they would open around 10 am and at that point you could reserve a lounger for a half day. This is a stark difference from my experience on the Crown in May. I reserved for the whole cruise and even though it was cold and there were a few times it rained a little bit, I used the Sanctuary every day and LOVED it. It was also open from 8am-5pm each day. To be fair I was the only one there most of the time so I understand not opening if there is only going to be a single guest.

 

After that we went to check out our suite and see if the luggage had arrived.

 

The Suite (R730) is beautiful! The balcony is huge. The weather has been so beautiful so we’ve gotten a lot of use out of it already in just the first two days. I will post pictures and a full review of the cabin later.

 

Four of the five suitcases were at the door when we first arrived. The missing one had ALL of my clothes but I wasn’t worried. I WAS a bit anxious to get it though because while it was cool and rainy when we landed in Seattle, it was clear and in the 70s when we got to Vancouver and I was dressed much too warmly and wanted to change for sailaway. While we waited we ordered cheeseburgers with fries via Dine My Way on our stateroom TV and devoured them. We realized we had breakfast at 5am and nothing else after that other than a bag of pretzels I got from the vending machine before we caught the shuttle. By the time we finished eating there was still no 5th suitcase. I got a little nervous when the captain made the announcement at a little after 4pm that we would be sailing at 5pm and I still didn’t have that suitcase. But it did eventually arrive around 4:30. All was well.

 

Sailaway:

The weather was gorgeous and we spent the sailaway in the Retreat. All of the top deck spaces were packed with people. The is by far the fullest FEELING sailing I've been on since the restart. At the Captain's Circle event they said 2200ish passengers - I can't remember the exact number - which seems low for how busy all the public spaces seem. I guess I just got spoiled in the last year with all the less than half full sailings.

[rheathslc]

Day 1: Evening

 

We had dinner at the Crown Grill and the important parts were great. The lobster cake appetizer was delicious. The Grill Salad however was unappealing and I left it mostly uneaten. The filet was scrumptious as usual but the baked potato was truly puny. It was alright as I really didn’t NEED more food but it was sort of sad looking on the plate. The asparagus was perfect! 

Preston managed to convince them NOT to sing but they did bring me the birthday dessert. It’s just really not my style. I ordered the key lime pie bar but it was disappointing. I took advantage of having access to Club Class dining to get my all-time favorite dessert - soufflé!

[rheathslc]

On 9/3/2022 at 4:22 PM, HaveDogWillTravel said:

I just got the first four books in the Outlander series to read on my upcoming 26 days of sailing. I’m even more excited to dig into them given how many times you’ve reread them. 

It took me a couple tries to get into the first book but then I was hooked. I found the first several chapters of the first book uninteresting and gave up twice. But my mom raved about the books and really wantsd me to read them with her. The third time I stuck to it and once I got to chapter 5 or 6 I think it finally grabbed me. So don't give up. And on subsequent re-reads I realized that the first several chapters end up being very significant. 

[rheathslc]

On 9/3/2022 at 2:50 PM, cr8tiv1 said:

 

Is all of that for a 7 day cruise?  I am sorry to hear of such a strained/sprained start to your birthday cruise.  Nothing that a little Club Class embarkation can not fix.  Hope you will get an escort to your suite.  It's nice to have those extra hands.

Yes. Haha! But we brought a ton of extra things that we normally would not as this is a special trip and a lot of it will not be going back with us.

 

We did not get an escort because after check in we had to clear customs but I usually hand all my luggage off to the porters and walk on with only my tote bag so it was fine. 🙂

[_rusty_shackleford]

47 minutes ago, CruzeQueen2 said:

@_rusty_shacklefordHi there! Thanks for contributing to this thread. Wondering if you can capture a picture of the officer board please, and thank you! It's usually on deck 7 in the atrium area.

Wondering if the maitre'd (director of restaurant ops) is Claudio Guiliani. Enjoy your cruise! Have you tried out Alfredos? I highly recommend the tiramisu there.

Certainly, here you go. We had Alfredo's for lunch at embarkation but neither of us had dessert. Sure sounded good though so we'll be sure not to miss it.

 

Seems like almost everyone on Carnival boards is most concerned with who the cruise director is whereas on Princess boards the interest seems broader. Any special reason?

[rheathslc]

2 hours ago, twprincessfirsties said:

We are on the Royal for the return trip from Whittier on the 10th and am following this closely. We are worried, of course about COVID, especially since on previous cruises from Whittier it looks like there was a significant breakout.

 

Anyway, hope all on the boat is having lots of fun! 

They have been pretty strict about the masks. We're wearing ours indoors as requested but I forgot to put mine on last night when we went to the Captain's Circle event and they wouldn't let me in without one. They were handing them out at the door.

[rheathslc]

27 minutes ago, rheathslc said:

Sailaway:

The weather was gorgeous and we spent the sailaway in the Retreat. All of the top deck spaces were packed with people. The is by far the fullest FEELING sailing I've been on since the restart. At the Captain's Circle event they said 2200ish passengers - I can't remember the exact number - which seems low for how busy all the public spaces seem. I guess I just got spoiled in the last year with all the less than half full sailings.

 

[rheathslc]

Duplicate post

Edited September 5, 2022 by rheathslc

[cr8tiv1]

I love the tiara!  Congratulations on making it on the ship.  I can't imagine the stress of a very long day (flight + bus ride + US CBP + no 5th luggage).  Thanks for the very thoughtful "missive".  

[CruzeQueen2]

40 minutes ago, _rusty_shackleford said:

Certainly, here you go. We had Alfredo's for lunch at embarkation but neither of us had dessert. Sure sounded good though so we'll be sure not to miss it.

 

Seems like almost everyone on Carnival boards is most concerned with who the cruise director is whereas on Princess boards the interest seems broader. Any special reason?

After sailing on the Royal in May, and other ships more than once, you get to know a staff member  here and there. When you have a positive experience with someone, it's nice to know ahead of time if they will be onboard for your next sailing. I like to bring them a personal treat when I know they will be there! Thank you for the information.

[CruzeQueen2]

1 hour ago, rheathslc said:

We're in Ketchikan today so I finally have cell signal and can post! I was writing up all my thoughts last night and Preston asked me if I was finished writing my dissertation yet. Haha! So brace yourselves for the forthcoming missives.

 

Day 1 - Late Morning - Afternoon

 

Shuttle transfer to Vancouver:

Thank goodness we got on shuttle A from SeaTac to Vancouver. We pulled out of the shuttle bay at 9:30am and made it to within a quarter mile of the border crossing by 11:15. We ended up having a 40 minute wait at the border because a long line of cars were blocking the truck/bus lane. Some of the truckers and our bus driver decided to take matters into their own hands and went off-roading on the unpaved shoulder to get around the cars. After that we made quick progress to the crossing and it only took about 15 minutes to clear customs. Then it was a quick ride into Vancouver. We were dropped off at Canada Place at 1:15pm. Just under 4 hours total from SeaTac to the pier. Not bad even with the border traffic. Shuttle B was scheduled to leave SeaTac no later than 10:30. With the Labor Day traffic at the border I don’t know how they could possibly have made it to Vancouver in time but I really hope they did.

 

Check-in:

Check in was a dream! Everything was well labeled and orderly and there were tons of helpful staff pointing us where to go. As Suite passengers we got to bypass the main line and checked in with no wait at all. And thank goodness for that because even though the check in process was quick and painless the line we had to get in after that (which for some reason I was completely unprepared for) to clear U.S. customs was HORRENDOUS! 

 

Customs: 

At this point I REALLY wish we had paid the money to fly in the night before and stay at a hotel close by the pier. If we had been among the first in line like we normally are, we likely would have had a much smoother experience. As it was, it took us almost two hours to wind slowly through the serpentine labyrinth that was the line to clear customs. I have NEVER experienced anything quite like it. And the line behind us just kept getting longer and longer. I honestly don’t know how or indeed even IF the people behind us in line made it onboard in time. We finally stepped on board at about 3pm. An hour and 45 minutes after arriving at Canada Place. All told between the wait at the border to cross INTO Canada and then the wait to clear U.S. customs to LEAVE Canada we spent almost 3 hours of our day waiting in line to cross into Canada then almost immediately leave again. Upon reflection I realized that most of my cruises have been round trip and thus avoided the border crossing situation we encountered in leaving from Vancouver. Now that I know what is involved I think I will most likely NOT cruise one-way from Vancouver ever again if I can help it. 🙂

Thanks for all the information. Enjoy your suite and the special breakfasts. I consider that to be my favourite part of the suite experience. 

[lolo11]

I would love to know about the white wine selection in Vines, if anyone on board happens to go there. Also, what are the generic white wine offerings (brand) in any other bars? Thanks. 

[HaveDogWillTravel]

15 minutes ago, lolo11 said:

I would love to know about the white wine selection in Vines, if anyone on board happens to go there. Also, what are the generic white wine offerings (brand) in any other bars? Thanks. 

Plus one

[ceilidh1]

I can only assume wifi is pretty much non-existant since @rheathslc needed to wait until Ketchikan to post. I have done Alaska so many times and never really had any issue with wifi (I mean, it wasn't lightning fast but it was good enough to use) but this season I've heard lots of complaints about it. Is this due to the volume of passengers that use it now (with most having it included with their Plus package) or has something else changed?

[Yehootu]

14 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

I can only assume wifi is pretty much non-existant since @rheathslc needed to wait until Ketchikan to post. I have done Alaska so many times and never really had any issue with wifi (I mean, it wasn't lightning fast but it was good enough to use) but this season I've heard lots of complaints about it. Is this due to the volume of passengers that use it now (with most having it included with their Plus package) or has something else changed?

We did the 14day RT out of Vancouver May 28th on the Royal. I was able to stream Youtube every night.

[_rusty_shackleford]

32 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

I can only assume wifi is pretty much non-existant since @rheathslc needed to wait until Ketchikan to post. I have done Alaska so many times and never really had any issue with wifi (I mean, it wasn't lightning fast but it was good enough to use) but this season I've heard lots of complaints about it. Is this due to the volume of passengers that use it now (with most having it included with their Plus package) or has something else changed?

Actually the Wi-Fi has been decent so far. Enough for me to make a few posts here, web browser, and stream (very low quality) YouTube. My expectations were low given how far north we are and this has been better than I thought it would be.

[rheathslc]

53 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

I can only assume wifi is pretty much non-existant since @rheathslc needed to wait until Ketchikan to post. I have done Alaska so many times and never really had any issue with wifi (I mean, it wasn't lightning fast but it was good enough to use) but this season I've heard lots of complaints about it. Is this due to the volume of passengers that use it now (with most having it included with their Plus package) or has something else changed?

Maybe it's just me not knowing the proper settings. Who knows. But I could not get CC to behave. I CAN use Facebook and use Google Meet to video call (I'm an Android user and as such don't have FaceTime much to the chagrin of my iPhone using family)

[rheathslc]

3 hours ago, CruzeQueen2 said:

Thanks for all the information. Enjoy your suite and the special breakfasts. I consider that to be my favourite part of the suite experience. 

The breakfasts have been the highlight so far for sure. We're about to send our first load of laundry as well and I'm thrilled about that as I'm not Elite yet.

[cr8tiv1]

19 minutes ago, rheathslc said:

The breakfasts have been the highlight so far for sure. We're about to send our first load of laundry as well and I'm thrilled about that as I'm not Elite yet.

 

It's amazing how such simple pleasures can really make a cruise (or course, you are paying for this special treatment).  Unfortunately, your days are numbered with such a "short" cruise.  You will have to try this again on a cruise to Hawaii/Panama.  Do not be afraid to ask the Assistant Manager for any special breakfast requests.  I've asked for steak and eggs when there is cowboy steak in the MDR for breakfast.  I've asked for an avocado/crab/pico de gallo/cheese omelette.  That one is a stretch.  I bring my own cinnamon donut to breakfast.  I've requested just watermelon.  You can be as creative as your want.  Your wants will outlast your few days.  

 

Would be interested to know if they will have breakfast on turn around day in Whittier.  

[_rusty_shackleford]

1 hour ago, rheathslc said:

Maybe it's just me not knowing the proper settings. Who knows. But I could not get CC to behave. I CAN use Facebook and use Google Meet to video call (I'm an Android user and as such don't have FaceTime much to the chagrin of my iPhone using family)

I've had issues with CC as well. I would go to quote/reply, it would open the box for me to type, but wouldn't let me post or add pictures. I've had to reload the page 2-3 times sometimes to get that to work properly.

 

Hope you guys had a good day! For those of you keeping score at home it is stupid beautiful outside. We did the Deadliest Catch tour and thought it was neat. Definitely worth doing at least once. Last time we were in Ketchikan it was like 80 degrees and I was convinced everything I knew about Alaska was a lie so this is a downright glorious day. Started out overcast with a little drizzle but right now it's 60 and sunny.

[_rusty_shackleford]

43 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Would be interested to know if they will have breakfast on turn around day in Whittier.  

I'd be happy to let you know as we're doing this sailing roundtrip. Any particular dining room/location you're interested in knowing if it's open or not?

[Princessfan20]

5 hours ago, rheathslc said:

 

Preston managed to convince them NOT to sing but they did bring me the birthday dessert. It’s just really not my style. 

 

Singing draws too much attention but you are wearing a tiara and sash?  Love it!!  Happy Birthday.

[cr8tiv1]

11 minutes ago, _rusty_shackleford said:

I'd be happy to let you know as we're doing this sailing roundtrip. Any particular dining room/location you're interested in knowing if it's open or not?

 

Interested in knowing if the Royal will have suite breakfast available in Sabatini's (or Crown Grill) since turn around day in Whittier is so uneventful.  Most often, they use the venue for special disembarkation groups.  Rarely, someone has posted that it was open for suite passengers.  I've never had that experience (even on turn around days).