INFO shared by Karen!

It seems two heads are better than one? I may not be the only one who has conflicting information from time to time. Fellow Cruiser, Karen has pointed out to me that in her cruise information with Princess, there are two different set of conflicting times.  Below is the information Karen shared with me. My recommendation is to allow the maximum of time so at least you can be sure not to miss any scheduled departure time whether it be the ship or your plane ride home. Remember, the distance between the ship’s port  and the airport is quite a lot....

Bangkok City Center to Port - 2 hours driving time
Bangkok Airport to Laem Chabang Port - 1/1/2 hours drive
Princess’ recommendation for airport to port - 3.5 hrs
Tianijin to Beijing Airport - 150 miles
Whittier to Anchorage Alaska Airport - 65 miles 

Comment below from Karen: 
“This is what I was talking about when I said Princess might have 2 different sets of times that people can arrive and depart at the embarkation and disembarkation ports. It's on the EZAir portion of the Cruise Personalizer, in the same spot you can book excursions and other services. If someone is using the EZAir option this is what they see when they click that link.

It appears that Princess shows 2 different sets of times because I see the Notification information you are quoting as well. I'm not sure they know this, but it maybe something Alex will want to verify it with them.

Or it's highly possible I'm not understanding their information correctly. Sometimes I'm a putz, as Roger would say.

One other item that I'm not sure how important it is, but Princess likes people to provide their independent flight information. I think they use that to be sure people are disembarked at the best time for them to get to their flights and that determines the color of the luggage tags they give you at the end. It may not be essential, but they do have a place to fill that out on the Cruise Personalizer as well. Following are the timelines Karen has on her Princess EZAir portion of the Cruise Personalizer."

Embarkation Bangkok Thailand

You must arrive no later than 11:59 PM on April 12, 2013 for embarkation

Disembarkation Whittier Alaska

You must depart no earlier than 03:30 PM on May 18, 2013 for disembarkation

Did You Know...PRINCESS CRUISE AIR FLIGHT GUIDELINES

Although Alex is on top of this information as a professional travel agent. Not all of us (myself included) may cross out “t” and dot our “i”. With the website at our access some of you may choose to make arrangements on your own and NOT seek Alex’s professional assistance.  

There MAY be more information regarding our preparation to our cruise. And though I will do my best to share this information, I can’t guarantee that I can do this for you as I am by no means a professional like Alex. Which is why my personal choice and recommendation is to book with her!. So for those who are still working on flight arrangements,  fellow independent cruisers, “Buyer Beware”!  

I came across this important note on the Princess Cruise website.  It was under 
MY PRINCESS > Cruise Personalizer > Travel Summary > Notification.

AIR FLIGHT GUIDELINES
If you have purchased independent air arrangements, please ensure your air
schedule falls within these guidelines as Princess is not responsible for
making any alternate arrangements or for any out of pocket expenses that may
arise should you miss your cruise or cruise tour and/or return flight. The times
listed below are subject to change.

Embarkation:
Bangkok - Latest flight arrivals: 2:30 pm domestic/1:30 pm international

Disembarkation:
Anchorage - Earliest flight departures: 1:30 pm domestic and international

Photo provided by: all-free-download.com

FLYIN' TO & FRO...Asia or Alaska

On our continuous effort to plan our 2013 Asia-Alaska Cruise, Alex is ready and waiting for your next step which is to plan your flight transportation. But, before you do this there are some things you will need to have ready for her in order to proceed.

1. Decide how many days you would like to spend in both your pre & post cruise 

    destination port.

2. Do you want to flight to be coach, business or first class?

3. Aisle, window seat?

4. Do you need her to book your hotel as well?

5. Do you want the Princess Package or would you like to go an alternate?

6. Did you need a King or Double room?

7. Do you have alternate plans, such as going to another destination? 

8. Are you wanting to be with a specific member of the group? Who?

9. Do you have specific needs or requests? What are they?
10. Have your credit card handy for payment.


Also there are two other blog articles I have posted with this article that might assist you in getting your informations and questions organized and ready for Alex's assistance.

Okay, now you're ready with all your information, give Alex a call --- Monday through Friday, 9am to 5pm.... 949-756-3223 or make your initial contact by email, bookit1@earthlink.net

Welcome Aboard...it’s becoming a reality!

Photo Provided By: Flickr: The Andy

DIANA’s TOP FIVE TRIP THOUGHTS FOR NOW

Embarkation for boarding the Princess Diamond may seem a far distant day in the future. But in reality, your successful vacation getaway begins today, in the preparation and planning. I wanted to get you thinking, excited and most of all prepared so you won’t get caught off guard  So here are my TOP FIVE TRIP THOUGHTS to think about to get you planning and prepared about your upcoming journey!

No 1. PRE-CRUISE & POST CRUISE PLANS

As you are aware, our destination begins in Bangkok Thailand and ends in Beijing, China if you are 16day cruiser or Anchorage, Alaska if you continue on with Roger and I on the 32 day cruise. Either cruise options will have you reflecting on how many additional days you will need in add to your booked cruise. As you try to figure this out, keep in mind that you will be crossing the International Date Line which may make a significant “day” difference. As you journey across the sea to this exotic world,  think about the must see sights, places and things of this area. So this is a good time to think of your bucket list and see if there are places or things that you must do and see while you are there. If you can spare the time my recommendation is to go and do it! 

No. 2. PAPERWORK

If you haven’t found your passport or your birth certificate.....this might be the time to do it. Alex will be asking you for your passport information as we get closer and we will also be needing Visas in some of the countries we will be visiting. So know where these important documents are and nows a great time to check the expiration date on your passport!

No. 3. SHORE EXCURSIONS

In addition to the sailing days of the cruise, Princess Diamond will be visiting a number of Ports O’ Call and you can count on Princess Cruise will be offering a number of shore excursions for you to consider. So become familiar with the visiting ports, know what you would like to see and do, consider your activity level and ability, budget your costs and yes there is a time limit so pick wisely as unfortunately we can’t have it all. 

FYI...Princess Cruise on-line has shore excursions posted for your viewing. Alex is also working on some Pre-Cruise and Post Cruise Excursions that she hopes to offer us after her research, so stay tuned. 

No. 4. STUDY GROUP

Roger and I will be hosting a Study Group for those that might be interested. We did this for the Mediterranean Cruise and it was a great success as well as a good reason to get together. I understand that since our guests are not all located in the Southern California area you all won’t easily be able to join our particular group. So may I offer up a recommendation that you think about who your travel companions are and start your own group either face to face or use today’s technology and share, share, share via the internet. We will look at starting our study group come this Fall 2012, so more information will be forthcoming.

No. 5. AIR TRAVEL

Yes come April 2013, we will all meet and embark on the Princess Diamond in Thailand. Specifically, Laem Chabang, Thailand. This is the port where we will board the Diamond Princess. Some of you may choose to book your own air flights, others will look at using Princess Cruise Line Air and still others will be looking at me and saying what are you doing? One of the joys for me in working with Alex is that she truly knows Roger and me! Our choice is to get to our destination safely, make our timeline without worrying and to be as cost effective as possible so that we have more money to spend else where whenever possible. I will be asking Alex once again to help us out on searching for a way to get us to Asia and back with all these criteria. So think about what you would like to do about your flight arrangements as in the upcoming days ahead we will be touching on this topic and yes, inquiry minds will want to know what you would like to do.... so start thinking, preparing, planning and having your decisions and answers ready to go!    

Photo provided by Flickr: Gwen's River City Images