Golden Princess Quickie Cruise

If you've read the blog during my Grand Princess cruises over the past year, you know we kept going back and back because it was the ship where our favorite bartender was year after year. I recently mentioned that as soon as he moved on from the Grand, so would we.

Well, he did. He's on the Golden Princess now, but the ship will be spending the entire winter cruising season in Australia. And since we won't be going to Australia anytime soon, we had to do the next best thing.

A short Boise to Seattle flight yesterday.

A relaxing evening in an airport hotel.

A morning Amtrak ride to Vancouver, the only way one should travel between Seattle and Vancouver. Believe me, I know! Sit back and enjoy these kinds of views all morning.

Jump on the Golden Princess for the three last days before it heads to Australia.

Find your favorite bartender and spend every moment you can with him. 

Sort through all your first day paperwork where you find some important stuff. First, since this is a short cruise, there is no Captain's Circle Party for repeat guests so we each received a free drink voucher.

There also is no Most Traveled Guest Party for the top 40 passengers. Instead the top 20 passengers received a specialty dining voucher. We made the cut, so I guess we're getting up there in days! We'll be trying out the new Sabatini's on the last night of the cruise.

Because there are over 1,000 Elites on board right now, the Platinum/Elite/Suite guest evening event has been moved from Skywalkers down to Vista Lounge.

But boy, did that event cause a stir. We typically don't go to these things, but our bartender was working the event which turned into a cocktail time where no cocktails were allowed to be served. Not long after the bar opened, Canadian officials showed up and shut it down. Made them remove all the alcohol and the officials used zip ties (with numbers on them) and zip tied all the cabinets shut (and recorded those numbers). It was a big deal.

Did you know, according to Canadian regulations, a ship can only have one bar open per deck when docked in a Canadian port? And the ship has to notify the officials at the beginning of the season exactly which bars will be open for every single stop in Vancouver? Since one bar on deck 7 was already opened, and then they opened the bar for the P/E/S event, they got themselves in trouble. Big trouble. If you know me, I always like knowing the whole story and I ask lots of questions. Lots and lots of questions. Not only did I talk to the bar stewards and bartenders, I talked to the bar manager, the hotel general manager, and even the Canadian officials. Princess may be paying a $15,000 fine for their actions. Ouch! 

I think that's it for today. Thanks to our favorite bartender, this rheumatoid-arthritis gal has pain-free joints for the first time since, well, the last time we saw him.

Tomorrow we're in Victoria and I'll show off the $155 per person cabin we're staying in this time. (That's not a per night cost - it is a per voyage cost. And nope, it's not a broom closet.)

The Royal Princess in Alaska - Another Cruiser's Perspective

Before we head back onto yet another ship (the Golden Princess coming up tomorrow!) followed immediately by another three weeks on the Royal (in Mexico!), I'd like to share another cruise passenger's perspective on the Royal Princess-in-Alaska experience. If you remember, earlier this month I did an interview with first time cruisers Chelsea and her daughter Emily. Today I have yet another viewpoint.

Joyce, a Deb's Days blog reader, was cruising with her husband on the Royal last week. I got the opportunity to visit with Joyce and she was kind enough to share some of her thoughts on the cruise. She even did a bit of a comparison between Princess and other lines she's been on. Read on to find out what she thought...

• “First, we are not real fond of cruising. We like that it can get us to places we have never been and provides bed and meals and entertainment. We kind of get tired of eating and sometimes want our comfort foods from home. 
• The Royal did have a lot of choices and was better food than Carnival for the most part. Carnival does a better job of food around the pool area (but then we were in the Caribbean) and their omelet stations were great. It wasn't made that clear you could get one at the buffet on the Royal. We liked Norwegian's food and with their specialty dining we enjoyed the Teppanyaki restaurant.
• The Royal was well organized (sometimes the Magic didn't seem to be) and the dining rooms well managed.
• The Royal had great entertainment and stuff to do all day. Carnival is very lacking here but we did go on a warm-weather cruise so people left the ship a lot for the beaches. 
• It may seem silly, but I rather missed the towel animals left on our bed as the other two lines did. It just seemed like a little special touch from your steward.
• Cabin: Royal was nice and I enjoyed the large closet and comfy bed and large TV. Carnival and NCL both had bigger cabins with sitting areas. Carnival had more desktop/dresser - type space because it was across from the couch.
• Our specific cabin M504 wasn't bad. For Alaska, the overhang (the Seawalk) didn't bother us. I also was not bothered about being below the Horizon Bistro. We couldn't hear any sounds of chairs on the floors like some people had reviewed they had. They might have been on a different ship, though. We liked being one floor below where we ate most of the time and closer to the upper decks for viewing during the cruise when we weren't enjoying watching glaciers from our balcony!
• For the most part, we liked the Medallion. Most of the time it didn't work coming up to our cabin. We would have to take it out and touch the screen. Not a big deal. Embarkation was easy and having workers know who we were was nice. It made it a friendlier atmosphere. The APP needs some work! We kept getting logged out even while on the ship. We did like the big screens to look at the happenings around the ship when our phone app wasn't working.
• Overall we thought the Royal was a beautiful ship with great workers, but I might not recommend her for Alaska mostly because of her size and cruise restrictions. Her size did not seem to be a problem for eating and entertainment (maybe because of the early hour we ate breakfast and the number of repeat cruisers onboard). It also didn't feel like there were more than 3700 cruisers on the ship, for the most part. We didn't even explore every area of the ship! We did miss being able to go around the front of the ship like on Carnival. But it would be colder on an Alaska cruise anyway. Being on the top with the barriers helped with the cold during cruising and trying to find those elusive whales!
• We liked the Rangers coming onboard. We liked the itinerary. We would have liked more time in Ketchikan.”

Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us, Joyce!

5 Weeks of Cruising Alaska on the Royal Princess: Trip Wrap-Up

Today I'm sharing the summary of the five weeks I spent this summer cruising the Royal Princess in Alaska. I made a video of the wrap-up right here:

I started writing a blog post for those who prefer reading about it, but I realized it was going to be A LOT of text with no visuals. So to get the complete picture (literally!) of the experience, a video it will have to be.

I do have some links of things mentioned in the video.:

• Transportation options for getting between Anchorage and the Whittier cruise terminal
• Cruising Alaska resources
• How to find the Royal's somewhat-secret Promenade deck doors 
• Handicapped accessible balcony cabin photos
• First-time cruiser interview 
• Cruising with Confidence: How to be a First-Time Cruiser without Looking like One eBook 
• Cruising with Confidence: How to be a First-Time Cruiser without Looking like One paperback
• May episode of Wake Show with Encouraging Words Project 
• August episode of Wake Show with Encouraging Words Project
• Follow Cruise Director Matt O' on Instagram
• Interview with 11 year old Emily about Kid's Club
• Alfredo's menu
• Sabatini's photos and menu
• Crooners bar menu
• How MedallionNet works
• All About the Ocean Medallion
• Concierge Lounge tour
• Royal + Regal = Alaska? Yep, according to Captain Nick Nash both the Royal Princess and Regal Princess will be doing the Alaska season in 2021. One ship will be doing the northbound/southbound voyages out of Vancouver and the other will be based in Seattle. Stay tuned for more on that breaking news. (No link yet.)

Cruise Port Presentations by Vickie Bowne

If you are a cruiser and haven't checked out vickieandbernietravel.blogspot.com, you need to! Vickie blogs all about Princess Cruises but also has a TON of port information for cruisers. She was also the South America destination expert for the Royal Princess, will be a Port Lecturer for a South American sailing on the Celebrity Eclipse, and then a Port Lecturer on a Mediterranean sailing on the Island Princess. She is a busy lady! 

Vickie has also started adding her ship lectures to her blog and YouTube. Check them out!

Antigua: http://vickieandbernietravel.blogspot.com/2019/09/antigua-port-lecture_11.html

Barbados: http://vickieandbernietravel.blogspot.com/2019/09/barbados-port-lecture.html

Trinidad and Tobago: http://vickieandbernietravel.blogspot.com/2019/09/trinidad-and-tobago-port-lecture.html

Thanks for sharing your talents with the world, Vickie!

How to Get to the Promenade Deck on the Royal Princess

If you're considering a cruise on the Royal Princess but are concerned there is no Promenade Deck, don't worry. There is! You'll find six doors leading to outside seating. But those doors are a bit hidden. Take a look at my video where I'll show you how to find those somewhat-secret doors!

If you want to know anything else about the Royal Princess or have any questions about cruising or Princess Cruises, just ask. 

How to Get from Anchorage, Alaska to the Whittier, Alaska Cruise Port

Looking for your transportation options when cruising Alaska with Princess Cruises? If you are doing a northbound or southbound Alaskan cruise with Princess, take a look at this video of how to get to and from the Whittier, Alaska cruise port.

Handicap Accessible Balcony Cruise Ship Cabin on the Royal Princess

We recently stayed in a handicap accessible balcony cabin on the Royal Princess. For those wanting to know what these cabins look like, I've got plenty of photos for you. This particular cabin is A303 on the starboard side of the ship and is designated as a BB cabin. We've also stayed in A302 on the port side and the cabin set up is exactly the same. These cabins can accommodate up to four passengers with upper berths. The bunk beds are fully recessed into the ceiling and cause no obstruction at all.

I've added a couple notes about some of the features of the cabin with corresponding pictures.

 Both sides of the bed have double drawers so there is plenty of storage within reach.

 Two chairs and a table are in the cabin but can be moved out of the way, if needed.

There is a nice sized enclosed closet. In one of our cabins we found the ladder to the bunk bed in the closet. The ladder kept falling towards our clothes quite often. In our other cabin, the steward had removed the ladder so it didn't get in our way.

Next to the enclosed closet is a cabinet with shelves and the safe. As we had plenty of drawer storage easily accessible next to the bed we found we rarely used these shelves.

  Just like with all Princess cabins, the small refrigerator was within a cabinet.

The bathroom was spacious and having plenty of grab bars was a big plus.

The sink was a bit smaller than what we've come to expect on the Royal Princess and the storage space wasn't ideal as the shelves were high and smaller.

The bar separating the toilet from the shower could be lowered and raised as needed.

The shower had a bench that could be raised or lowered as well. 

Even the shower head height was adjustable.

The back of the bathroom door had a grab bar and there were knobs for hanging clothes at two different heights.

As this was a balcony cabin they had made adjustments to make it accessible.

 First, the carpeted area just inside the cabin had a gradual slope to it.

 With a ramp to the balcony.

The ramp is only down when the door is completely opened. There is a piece at the bottom of the balcony door that, when closed, moves the ramp up.

 When the balcony door is completely closed, the ramp's edge is folded up against the door.

While narrow like the other balconies on Royal Class ships, the balcony for this accessible BB cabin is longer than most.

The railing has a second railing attached to it. This closer railing was narrower and made it much easier to grab when trying to get up out of the balcony chairs.

The balcony is completely covered but you can see the Skywalk and the Bridge from the edge.

We were happy with the accommodations this cabin provided. Remember, if you are booking an accessible cabin with Princess you will be required to fill out paperwork to show your need for such a cabin.

Because of hubby's cerebral palsy and difficulty with mobility and the steps into the bathroom and shower in the standard cabins, we probably could have been requesting accessible cabins for all our past cruises. We never once have, wanting to leave them for someone who needs them more than he does. Even these accessible cabins in the photos were not requested by us. (We booked guarantee cabins at the very last minute and these were the cabins we were assigned to us.) However, for the first time ever we have asked for an accessible cabin for an upcoming mini suite booking. (As an FYI on minisuites - they have a tub/shower combo. As hubby's unable to climb over a tub to get into a shower, an accessible cabin was our only option.) I will be posting photos of that cabin next month.

An Interview with First-Time Cruisers on Princess Cruises

Looking for advice for (and from) first-time cruisers? Join me for another interview with 11 year old Emily and her mom as they share what they've learned after taking their first Princess cruise.

Click on the icon below to have a listen:

Onboard Activities for Princess Cruises Kid's Clubs

Here is where you'll find the onboard activities provided for kids aged 3-17 on Princess Cruises. While these are specific to Alaska, they should give you an idea of the variety of activities and experiences provided for kids on Princess Cruises.

If you haven't had a chance to hear my interview with a parent and child as they shared their experiences with the kids club on Princess, take a listen by clicking on the description below:

• In Part 1 you hear from Emily herself.
• In Part 2 we continue the conversation and also hear the parent's perspective.

Camp Discovery - The Tree House, ages 3-7.

Camp Discovery - The Lodge for ages 8-12.

The Beach House for ages 13-17.