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I’ve done this experience twice—once with the hubby, once on a girls’ cruise. Both times we were comped (not in suites nor casino players)—not sure why we were offered but certainly took advantage of it! Both times I was able to have my dietary issues addressed (am a celiac); the second time I requested no octopus. I enjoyed the first time much more than the second—it was new, exciting and fun! The second time with the hubby, I really enjoyed watching him experience the meal. The food and wine were great. The service was exceptional. I was sent a survey afterwards (both times) asking about our experience as well as how much would I pay for a 360 experience. I equated it to a Chef’s Table meal. We will not pay to do this but to be fair, we’ve already experienced it! We’ve done the WMD, the Chef’s Table and other fine dining experiences on Princess and other lines. We consider them a ‘one and done’ experience and move on to try the next! I do recommend people experience the dinner at least once—it was fabulous. Enjoy!

We were on this cruise as well. It was a family trip— we spent time playing cards on board part of the time because we love to play games and there wasn’t anything else to do as a family! Our family members traveling with us are late 20 year olds. They mentioned numerous times throughout the cruise that there was nothing for them to do! Most of the games (Mario Kart, Cornhole, etc) were listed for teens or kids. No karaoke, no DJ and dancing, etc. They had brought their Nintendo Switch with them (even though I had told them they’d be too busy! Boy, was I wrong!) and would set up in the Crow’s Nest late at night and play games! They had just been on a Princess Alaskan cruise this past summer. Both of our kids commented on how much fun it had been and that there was so much to do! This was their first HAL cruise— we’ve booked for next Thanksgiving on the Koningsdam but we are exploring other options! I do agree about the quality of music—we would be in Billboard enjoying drinks and talking. The woman who was part of the piano duo was not very good—out of tune and flat—as soon as she started we had to leave!

We’ve done Option 1 a couple of times. The train depot in Seward is close to where you get on the Kenai Fjords cruise. It’s a quick 10-15 minute walk, the company will store your luggage for you (we like to use Major Marine) until you get back. Lunch is available on the cruise—make a dinner reservation for that night. With one full day in Seward, you can do a number of things: there are shuttles to Exit Glacier (I think it’s about $20 pp), visit the Sea Life Center, kayak on Resurrection Bay, visit an Iditarod dog kennel. (I would not stress about making the Kenai Fjord cruise—there will be numerous folks who will also be going. The tour companies know and in fact work with Alaska Railroad in providing these tours. They will wait.)

Yes. We did that this past week on the Koningsdam. We were also able to order Tamarind food a la carte as well.

Just got off the Koningsdam yesterday. On embarkation day, Ubers and taxis were allowed to enter the gate and drop off passengers who then went directly into the terminal building even though there was a huge line. Port employees told me that passengers were suppose to go to the back of the line but they had no way to enforce it. It was annoying to see that—folks behind us actually called an Uber and got in before us. They were so proud when we ran across them later at the Ocean Bar. Two ships that day as well. We showed up at our boarding time (1:30 pm). Line surprisingly moved quickly—we were on board within 45 minutes.

Cruise and travel a lot in Alaska (not on RCL though), and yes it can still be light late at night. It doesn’t bother me but hubby prefers a completely dark room! We carry clips to put on the drapes in a hotel room or ship cabin. I’ll also use hangers with pant clips to make sure there is no light! Most cruise cabins do have blackout curtains but sometimes you do get gaps that let in light.

I had a pdf where I blacked out information. Used the work around mentioned in an earlier post—picked Fidelity and just uploaded my pdf.

And yet, Holland America is not on Stock Perks app. We cruise both lines—I uploaded stock info for our upcoming Princess cruises on Stock Perks. Easy peasy and a quick confirmation that OBC has been applied. HAL is not listed so looks like we will be continuing to send our info in via email.

Another option that is not as nice as those posted above is the Ship Creek Comfort inn and Suites. It is near the train depot—they have a shuttle (which is nice for a late night arrival) or you can walk. Same in the morning—take their shuttle back to the train. They offer a breakfast (which we don’t use). Not too much to do around the hotel so it’s good for a late night travel arrival followed by a morning train departing. Rooms are okay for one night.

You can book directly with the bus company: https://alaskacruisetransfer.com/schedule/. There are several departures from Seward directly to Anchorage during the day. One can spend the day in Seward (dog sled, Kenai Fjord Wildlife cruise, Alaska Sealife Center, Exit Galcier) and go to Anchorage (5:30 pm bus). Or go early to Anchorage and spend the day there. It just depends on what you’d like to do. There are places to store luggage in Seward and Anchorage so you can go places. Another option is to take the longer bus trip that stops at the Alaska Wildlife Center and Girdwood. I priced out a couple of options for you as well and it does appear that the cheapest is to take the bus. Edited to add that while it is not my preferred mode of transportation, the ACT bus is nice and drivers are very professional.

Depending on the time of year, I would highly recommend Cabo! I like to use Whale Watch Cabo (https://whalewatchcabo.com/) though many just find a boat right at the marina. This company always has a marine biologist on board which adds to our enjoyment of the tour. (I went alone on our last visit to Cabo. Back on the ship, I was raving to my hubby about how great the whale watching was. He then showed me pictures he took from our balcony while the ship was tendered—breaching whales, whales flapping the water, etc. During sail away, we saw numerous whales from our balcony.)

In addition to the 26 Glacier cruise, we’ve also taken the shorter Glacier Quest cruise. I really enjoyed the shorter cruise this past summer. Still saw a number of glaciers and wildlife. It was nice getting back to Whittier in time to have dinner before getting back on the ship for the southbound journey.

My advice is to take a ship’s excursion to somewhere you might be interested in—you’ll get priority in getting transferred from Ward Cove! On our visit, we didn’t have priority and had to wait a bit to go into town. We have been to Ketchikan numerous times but it was annoying that by the time we got to town we had less than an hour to wander! (It was such a mess on our last NCL Alaskan cruise that we swore we’d never cruise NCL again—like you, we were using up FCC from cancelled cruises.) Another vote for Annabelle’s. We also like Fat Stan’s. If you’re looking for breakfast, the Alaska Crepe Company makes great crepes!

Yes. We did this last summer. Dropped off bags at the Alaska Railroad depot with NCL luggage tags. Rode the train to Seward, walked to Major Marine, went on the 6-hr wildlife cruise tour and then walked over to board the ship. We were eating dinner at Cagney’s by 6:30 pm. Only hiccup in our plan was that we arrived at the same time as the cruise line train transfer—lots of folks getting on and it took along time to board! If we ever do this again, we would just eat a nice meal in town before boarding.

LOL! My hubby also requests no matching tees on family cruises! For our upcoming family Thanksgiving cruise, I have purchased personalized tumblers for everyone—navy for male, light blue for female. Each tumbler says “Oh Ship! It’s a D____ Family Trip!” Name is on the other side I also got each cabin a personalized magnets—Large Thanksgiving Turkey with smaller personalized turkeys. I really enjoy planning little things to enhance our cruises. One a recent girls’ trip, I got everyone personalized Captain hats for sail away. Each cruiser on their first cruise also gets a Bon Voyage bag— magnetized wall hooks, Downey wrinkle release, ear plugs, eye masks, sea sickness pills, etc. I get the personalized material on Etsy.

Our favorite restaurant is Bencotto’s. Glad you got the hotel figured out. We prefer staying the Springhill—especially since we like to arrive in San Diego via Amtrak. We’re cruising out of San Diego during Thanksgiving week as well (Nov 19 on the Koningsdam) but will be coming down that morning from Orange County after staying with family.

This is what I did on our summer Alaskan cruise. I purchased a number of bottles of vodka and gin from a local distillery in Haines for Christmas gifts. I got onboard and left them with the gentleman manning the drink table. On the last night of the cruise, they were delivered to our stateroom. Just a cautionary tale--I took a picture of what I had purchased. Of the six bottles, two were of a smaller size and brand. My room steward took my picture and went away for an hour. My two bottles had been delivered to a different guest! I did finally get my purchases back but I'm glad I had photographic proof (yes, even though the receipt tag I received did indicate the correct number, size and brand!).

Sounds like a wonderful trip you've planned for your family! Enjoy.

Then I would still stay near Hatcher Pass for at least one night. The drive to Independence Mine is about two hours each way as is the glacier from Anchorage. Drive to the glacier for your hike, stay the night near Hatcher Pass, visit the Independence Mine and then drive back to Anchorage. How are you getting to Talkeetna? Train from Denali and then train from Talkeetna to Anchorage? BTW, we have done a couple of Matanuska glacier hikes as well as visiting the Independence Mine. Both are fantastic. I rate the glacier hikes as one of the best experiences we’ve had in Alaska.

We do this quite often (cruise north, DIY, cruise south). Last summer we cruised to Whittier, took the cruise transfer to Anchorage airport, rented a car, DIYed for about a week, returned rental, took the train to Seward, stayed a few nights in Seward and then hopped on a southbound cruise. (And the did a B2B out of Vancouve but that’s a different story!) My suggestion is to do that—include a visit to Seward in your itinerary. I would look at Princess or HAL as your cruise line for the northbound voyage. They both do a wonderful job with Alaskan cruises. I would not take a NCL cruise southbound. We’ve cruised quite a bit on NCL but will not do another Alaskan cruise with them. There was a lack of any Alaskan enrichment on the cruise and the stop at Ward Cove in Ketchikan was a waste (port is about 7 miles from downtown). Never again!

Sounds like a great trip. I do have a couple of suggestions but I’m not sure about how you’re getting around Alaska. Are you renting a car for your travels? There’s generally a pretty hefty price tag for one-way rentals but it sounds like that is what you are planning. A Kenai Fjords wildlife cruise is a must in Seward! If you are heading to Anchorage afterwards via car, I would suggest a stop at Exit Glacier as well as the Alaska Wildlife Center. With a car, you can make vista stops along the Turnagain Arm. Another suggestion would be to take the train to Anchorage if you don’t have a car—it’s a very scenic route! I second a previous poster not to make Anchorage a base for four nights. After your visit to the church in Anchorage (?), I would stay near Hatcher Pass for a couple of nights for your Independence Mine visit and Matanuska Glacier. Both places are north of Anchorage and are on your way to Denali. I don’t see much point in driving up and back from Anchorage to the same place. Staying closer would minimize your driving. Then after your stay in Talkeetna, drive back to Anchorage stopping along the way at some spots for lunch/hiking (Thunderbird Falls).

We’ve stayed at the BW Plus Bayfront a couple of times when we couldn’t get a good price at the Springhill (or it was sold out). It’s not bad. I like that it was closer to our favorite restaurant in Little Italy (we walk) and that walking to the port was downhill! Rooms were fine for a short stay and breakfast was just that—bagged. It works for us since hubby doesn’t eat breakfast and I usually can’t eat the breakfasts due to dietary issues. Staff is friendly and helpful. If you do walk to the port, just be aware that you have to cross railroad tracks. We travel lightly so it isn’t an issue with our carry-on rollers but hubby had to stop and assist a woman who was having difficulties with a large, heavy suitcase. I do prefer this hotel compared to the Wyndham. Our first choice is Springhill.

Sometimes yes, sometimes no! SF is our home port so we’ve cruised out of there about 15 times in addition to port visits on California coastal cruises. Our last visit to SF was last week on HAL for a port stop. Very smooth seas coming and going. (If you live in the area, I would suggest you check out Amtrak. We take the train to Emeryville and then Uber to port. Easy peasy and cheaper than driving/parking a vehicle.)

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Not private but certainly small group is Salmon Berry Tours (https://www.salmonberrytours.com/alaska-tours/cruise-transfers/). We have used them not only for cruise transfers but also tours. They are very professional, friendly and efficient. On one of our transfers, there were only 4 of us traveling to Anchorage. The driver was great--he asked us what we wanted to do and see. He took us places that were not generally included in the transfer.