Royal Princess in Whittier, Alaska

We got in early to Whittier last night.

Last night's 11:30 pm bridge cam view.

While the sun was out for a little bit this morning, the rain started not soon afterwards. We weren't planning on doing much today so it was fine with us.

Want to find out about Whittier? Check out my 5 Things to Know about Whittier, Alaska here.

We did spend some time here this morning:

Just like airlines have loyalty programs, so do cruise lines. The more days with the same line, the better the benefits. But people assume the benefits are unbelievable amazing. Like free cruises and being put up in suites. Nope. Other than some onboard credit, those of us with 70+ cruises on the same line aren't being treated any differently than those with 16 cruises. Or even six cruises. (Sail as a single in a suite on Princess, even if they are only one day cruises? You'll be Elite.)

Those who aren't yet Elite think one of the best benefits is the free laundry. Here's the thing on that - if there are a lot of Elites onboard it could be three days before you get the laundry back. That's half a cruise before you see your clothes again. Send it out more than a few times and the harsh chemicals will have your clothes coming back with little holes in them. Which is why we spend turnaround days, today included, in the laundry room. 

Others think the cruise line will give you free cabin upgrades like you might get with the airline. Heck, no. In fact, while we tried to get moved from our cabin with the bunk bed protrusions so hubby could get in and out of bed easier, we couldn't even get moved to a cabin in the same category even though there was one available. 

Bunk beds sticking out + handicapped hubby = problem

We've asked the cabin steward to put our beds into a twin set up. It won't be ideal, but at least we're not celebrating our wedding anniversary on this trip! After dinner we came back and found our new setup.

Presto, chango. New beds.

Others have told us they thought we got a special Elite rates or free Elite cruise. That we are treated like royalty because we're Elite passengers. We don't get special treatment just because we're Elite. We are treated like we're a valued guest, just like the 3,000 other valued guests onboard. The only time you may get additional benefits is for milestone cruises, like this particular cruise for us. 500 days with Princess. First extra benefit for this cruise, flowers and strawberries and champagne.

We've had a couple weird things happen today and it's not even dinnertime yet. 

1. We received a car seat in our cabin. It was delivered like luggage was and had a tag with meet me on the ship like the people who were on a land tour had. And it had our cabin number on it. Never had that happen before. Hope it has now made it to the proper cabin.

2. Our mailbox, this one right here that we've been using since last August on the Caribbean Princess, was stolen.

It seems a supervisor took it while WE WERE IN THE CABIN, thinking it belonged to someone else. How does that happen? A passenger is in a cabin and a ship employee takes something off that passenger's door without asking? Hubby caught up to him and he said he took it and would be right back with it. And that's been a few hours ago and we haven't seen it since. All these months of cruises where I've been worried another passenger or some kid might take it and here we have someone who works on the ship stealing it? I gotta be honest on this one - I'm a pretty easy going person but I'm pretty ticked that it was taken and still hasn't been returned.
Update: Still no return despite yet another visit with another supervisor. Grrr. I am getting more than ticked. 
Update to the update: Our new cabin steward has gotten involved as our advocate and guess what has been returned to our door? Yep, the mailbox is back!

On a more pleasant note, our mini bar (a nice Elite benefit) switch happened super-quick and tomorrow we're headed to Hubbard Glacier. I'm looking forward to getting some good pictures.

Want to know more about cruising Alaska? You can search using key words and come up with a slew of posts, but you can also check out my Cruising Alaska resources section here where you'll find the most recent posts.

Royal Princess in College Fjord, Alaska

Hello from the last day of the Royal Princess' Inaugural cruise to Alaska. I can't believe just how fast this week has flown by. I am so happy we are on for another one.

We just got our cabin assignment last night and it's going to be a bit problematic. We knew we'd have to change cabins but they've put us in a quad cabin. That means the bunk beds (even when closed) will be protruding out of the wall. When we're in those kinds of cabins, hubby isn't able to get out of bed. He uses a bed cane to help get out of bed at home so even without the bunk beds sticking out, getting out of bed on the ship is tough. Since the ship isn't sailing full we're hoping we can get switched to a cabin without the bunk beds. Crossing my fingers hubby can get something workable for him. Celebrating 500 days with a cruise line and your hubby can't get out bed? Might be a bit problematic.

Not problematic? Wanting to stay on this ship for seven more days. Seven days is just not long enough for us, especially on this ship. When I first heard Princess was taking the Royal to Alaska, I swore to hubby we wouldn't go. It was because of some of the same reasons I heard from others:

*The ship is too big. 
As we've learned over the years, a bigger ship = more stability. For someone with balance issue like hubby, bigger is good. Bigger is also better when it comes to the number of activities offered onboard. (Having Matt O, cruise director extraordinaire, helps with passenger engagement there, too.)

*The ship lacks outside viewing areas. 

Most of the time you could find us in the Horizon Terrace. That's the area all the way back of the buffet. We never had a problem finding a place to sit. In fact, many times it was empty.

We enjoyed many meals there and also spent time just watching the world go by.

We also took advantage of what could almost be considered a secret deck. There are doors outside Crooners and the Effy store leading to a seldom used deck with chairs.

Lots of space available on the rail on Glacier Bay Day. See?

Even when the ship was stopped at Margerie Glacier I had no problem finding a spot at the rail. You can also access an additional portion of the deck through doors just in front of the Vista Lounge. You'll find chairs there, too.

Add in those less-busy spots with the other typical areas around the ship, and there are plenty of places to take in the scenery.

*Ports will be overcrowded by the Royal. 

In my Cruising Alaska class a couple weeks back I had a participant ask me when was the best time to go to Alaska to avoid the crowds. My answer was simple - 15 years ago. The number of passengers traveling to Alaska has just exploded in recent years. Unless you are traveling on the Coral Princess and are the only ship in port (let me tell you, those were the days!), crowded ports in Alaska are a given whether you are on a big ship or small ship. 

While I would have liked lines getting on and off the ship to not be so long, I expect the Royal Princess will become more responsive to tide changes and become more efficient in switching gangway decks as the season goes along.

*Alaskan marine pilots raised concerns about navigating the ship, particularly in Ketchikan.

The ship changed course from what we typically would expect on an Alaskan cruise from Vancouver. Taking the green route out of Vancouver instead of the typical "red" route was probably the most disappointing. Coming in from the north in Ketchikan (the brown route instead of the red route) was a bit surprising, but not unexpected based on the marine pilot concerns.

The Royal's Vancouver departure route is in green.

The Royal's Ketchikan approach is in brown.

Would I take another cruise on the Royal to Alaska? You bet. Again, we're so glad we're on for another week.

Tonight in our cabin we were given a letter about the Ketchikan accident. So happy to hear some of the guests involved have been released from the hospital! Not so happy about the media circus about to hit us tomorrow.

Also tonight we had beautiful College Fjord. I'll leave you with some of my best pics.

Want to know more about cruising Alaska? You can search using key words and come up with a slew of posts, but you can also check out my Cruising Alaska resources section here where you'll find the most recent posts.

Cruising Alaska: Royal Princess in Glacier Bay

When I teach my Cruising Alaska classes I always save the Glacier Bay part of the presentation until the end. Like I've said before here on the blog as well, Glacier Bay day is always special. And always spectacular. Rain or fog or sun, there is nothing like it. It is what I consider pretty much the best day of any Alaskan cruise.

How can it not be when you turn on the ship's bridge cam on the TV first thing in the morning and see this?

Pinch me now.

Before I show off Glacier Bay, there are some things you need to know about the day:

• Park rangers join the ship for the day. 
• Since it’s a National Park you'll receive a map in your cabin, just like the maps you receive when you drive to a National Park.
• They have makeshift ranger station set up onboard. You can get your questions answered, buy National Park items, and get a National Park passport stamp. They also have a Junior Ranger program for the kiddos.

Here's today's Park schedule.

• There is a limit on how many ships can be in Glacier Bay on the same day. Today we had Norwegian Bliss leaving as we were heading in.

It may not be our ship, but it makes for a pretty picture.

• Shops are closed for most of the day and the casino is closed until after the rangers leave the ship.
• Limited activities are happening around the ship during the day – the focus is on the park.
• No paper cups, straws, or napkins are allowed in any of the venues.
• The ship sends out a smaller boat to take photos.

Just like almost every single day I've ever been in Glacier Bay National Park, the day didn't disappoint. I'll just leave you with pictures of the beauty surrounding us today. There are just not enough words to describe it.

Want to know more about Glacier Bay and more scenic cruising? You can search using key words and come up with a slew of posts, but you can also check out my Cruising Alaska resources section here where you'll find the most recent posts.

Tomorrow we're off to a semi-sea day as we have some sea day time and some scenic cruising time in College Fjord.

May 16 Royal Princess Accident Update

I thought I'd update you on what's been happening on the Royal Princess these last few days since the tragic float plane accident in Ketchikan. If you missed my previous update, you can find it here.

• We've now finished all three ports of Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway. We have Glacier Bay coming up today, College Fjord tomorrow, and then the cruise will end in Whittier on Saturday.
• Most guests have now returned to enjoying their time aboard and ashore. The mood of the ship has lightened as people are going about their vacation. 
• This incident has made many stop and think about the fragility of life. For the first day or two we overheard comments reflecting those internal struggles. As our cruise has progressed, those types of conversations have diminished. As passengers continue to learn more about the latest crash findings we're finding more people shifting their conversations to highly speculative talk about the details of the accident itself.
• I continue to avoid the news, read anything online about the accident, or engage anyone in any conversation about it. We've had to pick up and leave an area more than once to distance ourselves from inappropriate comments. I understand people grieve in different ways, but in some cases I'm seeing it as more gossip and less grieving. One of the Encouraging Words Project notes I left yesterday said spread love everywhere you go. I found those words to be difficult to live by when a lady in the elevator shared some unsolicited and insensitive comments with me about the victims. While we no longer have family members of the victims onboard, I still find some of these comments and conversations to be disrespectful to them.
• I have received many emails from people around the world expressing kind and supportive words. I do so appreciate them. I've also heard from people who have flown with the pilots and planes involved in the accidents. While they might not be currently aboard the ship, there are many people out there whose hearts are breaking over this incident.
• So you know, I have been contacted by the media about the accident after they discovered my blog updates. I certainly don't want to be part of any perceived hysteria or drama over another cruise ship "disaster" so I told them all basically the same thing -  I'd be more than happy to answer any questions they may have via email and they were welcome to share blog update information for their reporting, but I was not interested in being on TV or having my voice part of a newscast. That ended any interest they had in my participation. While I'm more than happy to share a factual account, if they want someone looking for their 15 minutes of fame they are looking in the wrong place.
• And most important of all...Personnel on this ship have gone above and beyond to make guests feel safe, validated, and supported. It has been extremely difficult for ship personnel. They too are wrestling with fragility of life thoughts, yet every day they put on a brave face to make sure guest needs are met first. Kudos to their professionalism, words of wisdom, and authenticity. Please keep them in your thoughts, too. While passengers will go home and resume their regular lives, this incident will imprint on the souls of the cruise staff. 

On a side note, thank you for allowing me to share my experiences with the tragic events aboard the Royal Princess. I will continue to blog throughout my trips, but hope I won't ever have to report on something so devastating again. I do apologize for getting a bit more opinionated in this update. As much as I like to be encouraging and supportive and think you should spread love everywhere you go, I sometimes find it hard when some of those around me seem to be doing quite the opposite. 

Stay safe, stay healthy, and take care of yourselves and each other,

Deb

Cruising Alaska: Royal Princess in Skagway

Welcome to Skagway, Alaska, one of our favorite towns in Alaska. We love the old west kind of feel and we love that we feel like a local when we're here.

Part of the reason we feel like a local is because many of our visits are spent at one of two places: 

1. Starfire.

I've mentioned Starfire on this blog more than once over the years for being the best Thai food in Alaska. It's a place where the crew hang out and a place that does a quick job of take out. It even made onto my Top 5 Things to do in Skagway list. We frequent the place, well, frequently. Today we made a run to grab some food to bring back to the ship for crew. I gotta tell ya, the smell of the food on the trip back made me want to break open the containers and take a couple bites before turning it over to crew. (Don't worry, I didn't. But when the fried rice box popped open when I got off the shuttle I was close. I could smell it even more and had a visual on it. Restrain yourself, Deb, restrain yourself.)

2. Sweet Tooth Cafe.

I've also mentioned Sweet Tooth on the blog before as having the best patty melt in the world. It also made my Top 5 Things to do in Skagway list. I had another patty melt today and yep, it still is number one. I mean, just look at all those onions on it.

Being able to say, See you next week! or See you next year! to the folks working in those places and knowing we really will see them gives us a nice, comfortable, warm and fuzzy feeling.

Multiple times in the last couple years I've told hubby we need to cut Alaska loose. After next week's cruise we will have been on 17 Alaskan cruises with Princess. Kind of excessive. But here's the problem with saying no more Alaska...I come out of our inside cabin and out onto the Lido deck on my way to wherever and see all this magnificent beauty around me. Water and trees and mountains and clouds and sun and snow and it just takes my breath away every single time. And then I second guess that decision to stop coming to Alaska. 

Our first cruise ever was to Alaska 15 years ago for our 20th wedding anniversary trip. Now here we are, about ready to celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary, and I think I might want to do it in Alaska again. We were considering a cruise to Greenland to celebrate (now that's an expensive trip), but we both agree if we can make it work we want to come back - on this ship even - for a month long Alaskan adventure. Crazy, right? We'll see how it works out but we're both liking the idea.

Now speaking of ideas, Skagway has done something good in theory but dangerous in practice. They've lined up these metal shipping containers along the dock for passengers to walk through as they are leaving the port area. On a rainy day it's nice to have a covered area to walk through. 

It also helps keep the line leaving separated from the line coming back onboard.

But here's the problem. The floor looks to be be painted plywood pieces.

With the rain we're having here, those floors are slippery. For someone with mobility problems like hubby (and so many others on the ship) it is pretty darn dangerous. It's a slow walk for sure. And here is where hubby ran into another problem. When he's walking slowly, trying not to slip and fall, he wants to make sure there is something nearby he can grab if he starts to go down. Naturally it makes sense since he can only use the left side of his body for him to walk close to the left side of the walkway so he could grab the wall if needed. 

But check out the walls with all the windows cut into them. Windows with a caution sign attached to them. 

While hubby made it with no falls (and no cuts from sharp edges) I am a bit worried if we have rain here again next week. For someone without a disability it probably wouldn't be a problem - an able bodied person might not even notice how slick it is - but for us, something like that becomes an anxiety-producing situation. If it's rainy next week we're going to have to talk to the security staff guarding the walkway and tell them our concerns and see if they will let us walk around it. If they don't do something about the slickness of the floor, it's an accident waiting to happen. 

Some other things about today:

*We have Puppies in the Piazza at 5 today.

*Tracy's King Crab Shack didn't have any offerings at the Trident Grill.

*Crab Shack is tonight. (Maybe Tracy's is there? Have not a clue.)

*To celebrate 50 years in Alaska, Princess has now introduced McKinley "Mac" the Moose. You can purchase him in the shops (like Stanley the Bear) and today you could have your picture taken with Mac as you were getting off the ship.

*I left an Encouraging Words Project note and dollar in town at the Sweet Tooth Cafe and another one went into the Wake Show box. Matt has been reading them every day. THANK YOU MATT!!! I'll be coming to find you.

Want to know more about Skagway and other Alaskan ports? You can search using key words and come up with a slew of posts, but you can also check out my Cruising Alaska resources section here where you'll find the most recent posts.

Goodbye from Skagway. Tomorrow we are in magnificent Glacier Bay!