wolfie11

The Haines trip is through the ship and only when the salmon are running. I think there are a couple of private vendors for tours in Hoonah.

So realistically this means you still have an 85-90% chance of seeing whales. Juneau has resident whales that are there year round.

The naturalists are on deck and usually happy to talk, but are low-key about it. I once saw a college-age ranger (first year in the park) lecture the naturalist (who was a former GLBA ranger) for answering people’s questions. They tend to be somewhat proprietorial. 😁

Most Princess naturalists are very experienced and have been in Glacier Bay dozens of times. They will know the timings and when to be on deck. However you should find your naturalist and talk to them before Glacier Bay. The rangers run the show while in the park and the naturalist gets the day off so to speak. A few of the places are the park entrance and Icy Strait (whales and sea otters), South Marble Island (sea lion haulout), Gloomy Knob (mountain goats), and from Russell Island up to the glacier (bears on the beach). If you don’t have binoculars, don’t bother, as you will only see dots.

Try Coastal.

“This is from the NCL Shore Excursions lists. Right now I'm only seeing it on the April 28, 2025 southbound from Whittier, but it should also be available on the April 3rd cruise eventually.” April 3 is out of season. I don’t think the buses start up until late April.

If you are cruising from Seattle you will be well out to sea going around Vancouver Island and in Queen Charlotte Sound, so you won’t have any really good views of land. Same with going across the Gulf of Alaska into or out of Seward.

One thing to think about with scooters is the ability to get around with a scooter on a large crowded ship. Ships are sailing full and venues are packed. Lots of kids onboard, long waits for elevators, inability to see events while sitting on a scooter because of large crowds in the atrium, etc. Not a dealbreaker, but I think people underestimate how “busy” a full ship can be.

Yes. The fee is for the visitors center. You can park and walk around exempt areas all you want. Passes are $5 each and you get in free with a National Park or America The Beautiful pass. I would recommend buying the pass as it allows access to Photo Point and Steep Creek.

The land tour and the cruise lines are two separate entities that don’t talk to each other. I would be really surprised if you could find anyone at the cruise line who could accomplish the switch. Once you’re on the tour, it’s relatively easy.

On Princess you go thru your TA or wait for the tour to begin. I don’t know about RCI.

I will be there around that tim as well.

Layers according to your need. One person’s high 50’s is hat and gloves weather and another person’s shorts and t-shirt weather

The visitor center is set up in a large indoor area depending on the ship. The explorer’s lounge, covered pool deck, or other area where people can see out but can stay warm and dry.

Yes you can upgrade.