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I have done cruises on both lines and much prefer Major Marine. Customer service just seems better with them! Also, I think the food is better on Major Marine. I like the deli sandwich lunch over the Caesar chicken wrap. We were assigned tables on both lines. We’ve also been on the Fox Island lunch cruise. I’d save the money and spend more time on the water! The lunch is just a buffet and then you spend time waiting afterwards to get back on the boat. (We stayed a couple of nights on Fox Island and would watch the folks wander aimlessly on the beach until it was departure time. The beach is roped off so you only get limited access on 5he island.) I always recommend folks to take the longest cruise that they can. The more time on the water = more wildlife sightings possibilities.

Just contacted by a dining manager on the Volendam (not sure of his title?). Assured me that HAL never charges for regular coffee or tea at any of their restaurants. He did ask me which social media is posting this misinformation.

Currently on the Volendam. I just checked with Guest Services. No charge for regular coffee, tea (hot or iced). Dining at the Pinnacle Grill tonight—we’ll see if that is true!

I laughed out loud on reading this! That was my biggest complaint when we would eat out as a family when our kids were young! I don’t think I enjoyed a hot meal for 10 years! 🤣🤣. By the time I took care of the kids’ needs, my food was always lukewarm! Yes, I can see why you would complain!

I’m fully aware of what it takes to go on an Anan bear tour —haven’t gone as much as you but we’ve gone twice before! I think we should be okay. Viator didn’t confirm the tour until the tour provider confirmed our spots. I called the tour provider afterwards to make sure we were booked. They say they have us confirmed on our date. We used this provider previously so am pretty confident they’ll get the permits/slots to visit.

Short answer to your question is that I don’t have much experience with Viator in Alaska—I’m using them in Alaska for the first time next summer. I usually book directly or DIY. My experience with Viator in other parts of the world (3x) have been positive—-Costa Rica, Roatan, Mexico When I do use Viator, I use ‘book now, pay later.’ I like not having to put a chunk of change down on an expensive excursion a year or more in advance. Sometimes my hubby or traveling companions will change their minds about going on an excursion. For example, we have an Anan bear tour booked for August 2024. I called the vendor—they required payment in full when booking with no refund. The same tour was offered on Viator—I booked the day/time I wanted with no money down. Cost for four (hubby and kids) is about $2000. (One of my daughters is not sure if she’ll be comfortable with flying in the small plane. She’s a bit of a nervous flyer so I don’t want to commit $500 if she ends up not going.)

Are you on the Volendam on the 27th? If so, we’ll see you on board!

One of my favorite "non-water" excursion in Puerto Vallarta was a trip to the small village of San Sebastian. It was a day-long tour that went up into the hills. We visited an organic coffee farm, a tequila distillery, and a colonial town for lunch.

We loved our time in Homer. We were there two years ago for a couple of days. In addition to seeing all the shops on the Spit, I highly recommend at trip across Kachemak Bay to visit the Grewingk Glacier. We took a boat across the bay and got dropped off at one end of the park, hiked to the glacier, had a packed lunch and then hiked to the pickup point. Absolutely beautiful! The hike isn't too difficult. The ride to and from is like a wildlife cruise--saw otters, seals, puffins, etc. We did not get to go to Seldovia due to weather. This summer we hope to take the boat over to Seldovia and spend the day. Haven't been to Dutch Harbor or Kodiak yet--we're scheduled to visit them this summer.

Ouch! On our 2024 June cruise on HAL, the Hubbard Glacier excursion costs $299.99 pp. (I know since I just booked it on Monday!)

I would not wait on booking a 2024 Alaskan cruise. We have 3 cruises (including a 28-day HAL cruise) already booked for a total of 49 days and are thinking about squeezing in another one! Just this past week we've started planning our 2025 summer.... July is also a pretty popular month to cruise in Alaska. If you really want a balcony, I would look at "shoulder' cruises--May/September. There may be more balcony availability. We love to cruise in Alaska in May--we've have the best weather on those cruises. I don't have too much experience with September cruises (I teach at a university--our semester starts late August every year!) but just take a look at some current trip reports to get an idea of weather and what still might be open this late in the season.

Nice that one can do Goldleaf through Princess. We weren’t able to do it this past summer. Yes, we’ll be doing the Whistler to Jasper route this time and Gold leaf cars are the only ones available (but we would be fine with Silverleaf again). Route is called Rainforest to Gold Rush. We’re pairing the train ride with a tour through Rocky Mountaineer. Only been to Whistler once and am looking forward to going back. I enjoyed your trip review of your visit there this past summer. Helped us decide to start the trip there! (Sorry OP for the tangent discussion!)

Yes, we took the Rocky Mountaineer from Jasper to Vancouver. Princess cruise tour only offered the Silverleaf. We enjoyed the experience! Yep, pricey but OMG, the scenery and experiences! We’d do it again in a heartbeat!

It was one of the best trips we’ve ever done! The land tour consisted of a dedicated tour host and driver, only 26 people, the majority of meals, and staying only at Fairmont hotels. The Canadian Rockies were spectacular. We enjoyed it so much that we’re going back next with the same tour company Princess used. Our view of Lake Louise from our hotel…

Good advice from previous posters. I’m celiac and HAL is great accommodating my dietary needs. But, one still needs to be a strong advocate once on board. Even though I fill out the special needs form every sailing, I don’t assume that all staff know about my needs. On the first day, I meet with the restaurant manager ( not quite such of the title) and find out what to do/who to talk to on the ship. Getting gf food is pretty consistent in the MDR—just be sure to request the same table and staff for each night. Your hubby and son will be given the MDR menus for the following day and they will select what meals/food they want. HAL will try to accommodate their wishes. Ask to meet with the chef in the buffet. He/she/they will walk you around the buffet and let you know what is safe and where to get the gluten free food. Sometimes there are signs. One can get gf pasta at the buffet, gf pizza and gf buns at the Dive In (the fries are not gf). I also stay away from drink mixes and ask for gf alcohol in my drinks. I ask staff to use clean spoons/scoops/ladles if I notice some cross contamination issues. Just pay attention to what and how the food is served! I also bring on board my own crackers/cookies/snacks. A lot of times the ship runs out of gf snacks or doesn’t provide them! I personally get tired of crème brûlée or ice cream for dessert and like other options! It does take some time and effort to sail safely with celiac but it is doable!

Not sure but I have celiac. All my meals have to be gluten free. There are a number of items offered at Tamarind that are gluten-free (red curry, thai beef salad). The soy sauce on board is not gluten-free. I have been assured by HAL staff that the gf items at the restaurant at gluten- and soy-free. No reactions on my part (a sensitive celiac) so I do believe they are soy-free. In general, HAL does a good job of providing safe food to eat once they are aware of one's dietary issues. However, I would encourage your wife to fill out the special services form prior to your sailing and then to double check with the staff at the restaurant.

It was in an email sent by Princess on September 12.

Which is why I keep all of the AARP gift cards with notes on which cruise they were used on in a separate folder. Knock on wood, but we've haven't had anything canceled yet using the gift cards!

It happened to me once--kept telling me that I had to enter my credit card information. I was using my iPad. I just turned it off and restarted. I was then able to enter gift cards as partial payment on a number of cruise.

For a budget-friendly hotel, we like to stay at the YWCA Hotel. Reasonably priced and close to the Sky Train (we walk to the station and get off down by Canada Place). We also like to stay at the Auberge. Nice rooms, great staff and location! We've stayed at the Pan Pacific and Fairmont Waterfront before--like both of these places but will stay only if I can get a good rate. (We tend to travel lightly--just a medium-sized roller and backpack--and are pretty mobile. So we don't mind taking the Sky Train to the port or walking a bit (less than a mile though). Sometimes we will stay at an airport hotel and then just take the Sky Train in the next morning. We cruise out of Vancouver about 4-5 times a year so we don't always want to sightsee or stay downtown.)

Received an update on our January 2024 Hawaiian Cruise this morning. Glad Princess finally made the announcement. We knew we wouldn’t be stopping at Lahaina but we have friends on board who booked Maui excursions last week!

We really enjoy cruising with the Medallion. The app has always worked well for us but it’s pretty similar to other cruise lines’ apps. What we like about the Medallion is not having to carry a cruise card and having the ability to find ship mates on board. We used similar technology when visiting Disney World and had always said that cruise lines should utilize this. We miss having this technology when cruising on another line. I hate cruise cards and lanyards. I get enough of that at work…. My one pet peeve about the Medallion—I wish Princess would set up a recycling bin after disembarking. We don’t need these 30+ magnets! I do recycle them at home but it would be so much easier to just drop them off on the way off the ship!

Thanks for the heads up! We’ve been waiting to book the 2025 Voyage of the Viking until we had FCC. Didn’t want to put down a $3500 deposit on a cruise in 2025. I was able to select our room, get the Early Bonus HIA, AARP and Educator OBC, and only put $2 down! I also booked a couple of rooms for family members for a 2024 Thanksgiving cruise. My family already has five cabins booked but with the low deposit, a few of the younger college-age students who were on the fence are now booked.

I would definitely do a DIY tour of the Kenai Peninsula and the Matanuska glacier trek. Spend a few days in Seward, take a Kenai Fjords wildlife cruise, kayak Resurrection Bay, visit a dog sled kennel, etc. Homer is also another wonderful place to visit. I’ve done the Matanuska glacier trek a few times. I still consider the glacier trek as one of my all time favorite activities in Alaska.

The MICA that the OP referred to is a company that leads tours on the Matanuska glacier. It’s not a cruise line.