Live From Royal Princess 6/24/23 Alaska Glacier Bay Seattle R/T

[iamaqt2]

Hi all.  I've previously done a couple live froms.  This will be the first where there has been NO roll call.  I booked rather late, and when looking for a roll call to join there was NOTHING.  I've been on cruises with slow roll calls, low roll calls, and 2-4 participant roll calls.  But this will be my first cruise where there has been no roll call.  To be fair, Alaska cruises have always been low participation anyway because they draw so many first time cruisers, but this is my first time experiencing this.   
I was initially doing this cruise solo, but have convinced a friend to join me.  She is not a first time cruiser, but she IS a first time cruiser on more than a one night repo cruise.
Seattle has been great for the 1 night repo cruises between the Alaska and Mexico cruise seasons and we've always taken advantage of those for Girls Nights Out.  
So this will be a fun trip to introduce her to what an actual cruise looks like. 
I'll be posting dailies, menus, and pics of the activities we do onboard and off the ship.  
If you have any questions ask away and I'll do my best to answer.

[ChristiCruising]

We’re cruising inside passage with Glacier Bay RT from Seattle on Royal Princess in September and would love to see any patters/daily activity calendars and menus plus any excursion photos you can share! 

[iamaqt2]

38 minutes ago, ChristiCruising said:

We’re cruising inside passage with Glacier Bay RT from Seattle on Royal Princess in September and would love to see any patters/daily activity calendars and menus plus any excursion photos you can share! 

I'll post all the dailies, menus, and as many activities as we do on the ship.  I haven't decided on our excursions yet, but will definitely post pictures as we go.

[vampiress]

i'm 60 days out from my cruise, same one you are one.  excited to hear about it 🙂

 

i'm pondering getting internet or just seeing how i fare without since phone will work in ports.

interested to hear about your port times and how it works out. specifically the e3 hours in victoria, assuming you have the same wacky port times i have 9pm-midnight.

Edited June 20, 2023 by vampiress

[SuzieQ521]

Enjoy your trip! The Royal was a great ship for us...I did the same cruise exactly one month ago😀. Hopefully you get the same nice weather we did!

[Buckeye10640]

Enjoy! Just did this cruise last month on  5/13 sailing. Hope your weather is as good as ours was!

[ckylec]

I’ll be on the Royal Princess with you. I, too, kept checking the roll call to see if anyone started one up. This will be my first cruise.

I’m currently in Forks, WA finishing up our time in Olympic NP. Today we head to Paradise in Rainier NP for a few days before heading back to Seattle to board on Saturday. 

[CruzeQueen2]

@iamaqt2 Thanks for doing this. Please post the officer board if you have a chance. Have fun!

[Italy52]

Just returned from the Royal to Alaska out of Seattle.  Embarkation was very quick for us.  If Elite, Room Service would not switch out mini bar -- told us to have our room steward do that, which he gladly did.  Had a wonderful room steward.  Toilet vacuum did not work on two occasions as the ship was having some plumbing issues.  However, kudos to Princess for getting it fixed shortly after our requests and did a follow-up call to ensure all was OK. 

 

Cruise Director was wonderful.  The ship was very crowded and quite a few kids were running around -- we adjusted as this was not our first cruise and we know how things go. 

 

There seems to be a shortage of staff still in the bar service areas and the buffet so be patient.  We noticed on our cruise at least, there must have been a lot of early risers and people who preferred to use the buffet as it was always crowded.  We have done 20 cruises with Princess and always eat in the buffet because we are light eaters --- we were amazed to see a crowded breakfast buffet at 7 AM.

 

International Cafe had two lines:  one for coffee and one for food service.  LOVED this as it took away the confusion as to what line one should be in or people cutting in lines.

 

The Casino was also great with wonderful Casino Hosts that were friendly and ready to help whenever necessary.  AND, there was no strong smell from smoke like other Princess ship casinos.

 

Our port times were adjusted a couple of times:  once in Juneau (due to mechanical problem that was fixed while the ship was sailing) and the other was Victoria.  Victoria was a wasted port as we only had a couple of hours and not enough time to go anywhere or do anything.  In Skagway we tendered due to the rock slide -- tender service was well organized and quick. 

 

Disembarkation was quick and fast.  Our documentation said walk off would be at 8 AM but the ship cleared a little earlier so that was a nice plus.

 

We didn't attend any shows or eat in the dining room.  I also didn't save any of my Patters.

 

Hope you have good weather and an enjoyable cruise.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[iamaqt2]

2 hours ago, ckylec said:

I’ll be on the Royal Princess with you. I, too, kept checking the roll call to see if anyone started one up. This will be my first cruise.

I’m currently in Forks, WA finishing up our time in Olympic NP. Today we head to Paradise in Rainier NP for a few days before heading back to Seattle to board on Saturday. 

Welcome to your first cruise!  The Royal is a wonderful ship with fantastic staff.  I was just on her in March for a Coastal Cruise.  The Forks area and the rainforest up that way are gorgeous.  Paradise is a fabulous drive but it's still pretty cool this time of year.  You may still see patches of snow up that way.  Look forward to seeing you onboard!

1 hour ago, CruzeQueen2 said:

@iamaqt2 Thanks for doing this. Please post the officer board if you have a chance. Have fun!

Absolutely!

[iamaqt2]

33 minutes ago, Italy52 said:

Just returned from the Royal to Alaska out of Seattle.  Embarkation was very quick for us.  If Elite, Room Service would not switch out mini bar -- told us to have our room steward do that, which he gladly did.  Had a wonderful room steward.  Toilet vacuum did not work on two occasions as the ship was having some plumbing issues.  However, kudos to Princess for getting it fixed shortly after our requests and did a follow-up call to ensure all was OK. 

 

Cruise Director was wonderful.  The ship was very crowded and quite a few kids were running around -- we adjusted as this was not our first cruise and we know how things go. 

 

There seems to be a shortage of staff still in the bar service areas and the buffet so be patient.  We noticed on our cruise at least, there must have been a lot of early risers and people who preferred to use the buffet as it was always crowded.  We have done 20 cruises with Princess and always eat in the buffet because we are light eaters --- we were amazed to see a crowded breakfast buffet at 7 AM.

 

International Cafe had two lines:  one for coffee and one for food service.  LOVED this as it took away the confusion as to what line one should be in or people cutting in lines.

 

The Casino was also great with wonderful Casino Hosts that were friendly and ready to help whenever necessary.  AND, there was no strong smell from smoke like other Princess ship casinos.

 

Our port times were adjusted a couple of times:  once in Juneau (due to mechanical problem that was fixed while the ship was sailing) and the other was Victoria.  Victoria was a wasted port as we only had a couple of hours and not enough time to go anywhere or do anything.  In Skagway we tendered due to the rock slide -- tender service was well organized and quick. 

 

Disembarkation was quick and fast.  Our documentation said walk off would be at 8 AM but the ship cleared a little earlier so that was a nice plus.

 

We didn't attend any shows or eat in the dining room.  I also didn't save any of my Patters.

 

Hope you have good weather and an enjoyable cruise.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was just on Royal in March and I agree about the bar staff and casino staff.  The staffing shortages seem universal as I was also on Majestic last month and it was the same.  Definitely need to have patience.  My favorite place to get coffee in the AM is in the pastry area of the buffet as the IC lines are loooong. 
Agree Victoria is a wasted port, but they just use it as a formality to satisfy the PVSA.  I have no plans to get off the ship.
Interesting about the buffet crowding.  Good thing I'm a late riser so I can miss the crowds LOL.

[Buckeye10640]

7 hours ago, iamaqt2 said:

I was just on Royal in March and I agree about the bar staff and casino staff.  The staffing shortages seem universal as I was also on Majestic last month and it was the same.  Definitely need to have patience.  My favorite place to get coffee in the AM is in the pastry area of the buffet as the IC lines are loooong. 
Agree Victoria is a wasted port, but they just use it as a formality to satisfy the PVSA.  I have no plans to get off the ship.
Interesting about the buffet crowding.  Good thing I'm a late riser so I can miss the crowds LOL.

I was on this cruise last month. I actually found the lines at IC went more smoothly as they were splt between food and drinks. They were shorter than what I have experienced in the past.  I found the line in Horizon Court to be slower. And yes Victoria is pretty much just another sea day. Our arrival  time was pushed back an hour and we did not bother getting off. Its too bad they cant find a way to get the ships in port sooner, its a nice stop if actually given time to visit. 

[caravellov1]

19 hours ago, iamaqt2 said:

I'll post all the dailies, menus, and as many activities as we do on the ship.  I haven't decided on our excursions yet, but will definitely post pictures as we go.

I am interested in these items also. Thanks for taking the time to post them

 

[iamaqt2]

2 minutes ago, Buckeye10640 said:

I was on this cruise last month. I actually found the lines at IC went more smoothly as they were splt between food and drinks. They were shorter than what I have experienced in the past.  I found the line in Horizon Court to be slower. And yes Victoria is pretty much just another sea day. Our arrival  time was pushed back an hour and we did not bother getting off. Its too bad they cant find a way to get the ships in port sooner, its a nice stop if actually given time to visit. 

That's good to know that it sped things up.  Guess I know where to get my midday pick me up.

[SuzieQ521]

52 minutes ago, iamaqt2 said:

That's good to know that it sped things up.  Guess I know where to get my midday pick me up.

That's also a specialty coffee area with the bar next to Princess Live on Deck 7...I would either go there or IC for the coffee depending on which line was shorter.

[moonjelly]

Thank you for the offer of patters. I am sailing this ship and itinerary Aug 26 and am hoping to see how showtimes fall in order to make dinner reservations.

 

In the past, it seems like it was 7pm and 9pm for shows.

 

🦥

[moonjelly]

Have a GREAT cruise!

[ckylec]

11 hours ago, iamaqt2 said:

Welcome to your first cruise!  The Royal is a wonderful ship with fantastic staff.  I was just on her in March for a Coastal Cruise.  The Forks area and the rainforest up that way are gorgeous.  Paradise is a fabulous drive but it's still pretty cool this time of year.  You may still see patches of snow up that way.  Look forward to seeing you onboard!

Absolutely!

I’m posting this while sitting in the stunning lobby of the Paradise Inn. It’s not cool, it’s cold! 36. There is still PLENTY of snow

[seagunthera]

Enjoy your cruise (I'll be on in a month) and thanks for doing a LIVE Most appreciated!

[iamaqt2]

1 hour ago, ckylec said:

I’m posting this while sitting in the stunning lobby of the Paradise Inn. It’s not cool, it’s cold! 36. There is still PLENTY of snow

Ok.. I shouldn't laugh at this.. I was trying to be diplomatic about the weather.  But yeah, It's effing cold and snowy on our mountain. It's the PNW.

[ckylec]

6 hours ago, iamaqt2 said:

Ok.. I shouldn't laugh at this.. I was trying to be diplomatic about the weather.  But yeah, It's effing cold and snowy on our mountain. It's the PNW.

I wouldn’t have it any other way! I’m from the Deep South, this is refreshing. Back home it’s 90s and humid.

I couldn’t have asked for better weather so far. I hope the good weather vibes follow me on to the ship.

[iamaqt2]

Have just started packing and gathering things.  The beautiful thing about cruising from your homeport is the lack of pressure to not forget to pack something.  Ordered a few last minute things from Amazon, charged up the camera battery, and made some last minute excursion decisions.  Will be booking onboard as I have OBC I want to use.  Now the hardest part of all.  The waiting.  

[2MellowCruisers]

Have fun!  Twenty some odd years ago we lived in Renton for about a year and a half and loved it up there.  Made some great friends that we still visit back and forth with to this day.  Had to move back to CA for work but we are now making decisions about where we will retire.  The decisions being made are based on cruise ports. 😁 Currently we have to either drive a good distance or fly.  Narrowing it down to San Diego, Los Angeles or Seattle areas.  We are on Royal in July.  Looking forward to your posts.

[iamaqt2]

3 minutes ago, 2MellowCruisers said:

Have fun!  Twenty some odd years ago we lived in Renton for about a year and a half and loved it up there.  Made some great friends that we still visit back and forth with to this day.  Had to move back to CA for work but we are now making decisions about where we will retire.  The decisions being made are based on cruise ports. 😁 Currently we have to either drive a good distance or fly.  Narrowing it down to San Diego, Los Angeles or Seattle areas.  We are on Royal in July.  Looking forward to your posts.

It's changed so much from 20 years ago.. it was very much a Boeing blue collar bedroom community.. now it's overdeveloped and overpriced. There is a huge amount of revitilization going on though.   Good luck on your new home search, and Renton would be a great choice to retire.

[2MellowCruisers]

Over the years I have checked on prices to move back.  I agree on the prices.  Much, much more now.  Also, I remember the traffic being bad but it seems like every time we visit it is worse than before.  I guess that is the nature of things.  Each and every time we fly in, I am looking out the window of the plane and thinking how much I miss it.  Great, now the pendulum is swinging back towards Seattle area again!