LeeW

I've looked at this a couple of times and still don't think the price is worth it. You are going to spend up to 90 minutes each way by small boat on potentially rough water. The tour is around $85 if booked locally and $190 if booked through Celebrity. You get a welcome drink and lunch with non-alcoholic drink. Would rather do an AI that is much closer to the ship in a different port. In this extremely hot port we normally take the shuttle from ship to the port building, visit the emerald store and free zoo area and then take the shuttle back to the ship. We have visited downtown and fort areas on past trips.

Agree with posters that trains require early rise. For example, our northbound interior train tour left the ship at 6 AM. You also spend a lot of time waiting around for the train to show up in Talkeetna and Denali. But Princess, at least, is very well organized for this. May is VERY early for an interior trip. Roads into Denali are not open yet (and the main road will still be closed for another couple of years due to landslide). I would do a back-to-back from Vancouver at that time of year. There will be lots of ice in the fjords and you may not get all the way to the end. Any time of year weather can be an issue. On our last northbound Hubbard Glacier stop in September (Radiance of the Seas) we never got close the the glacier - solid fog and rain. A few days later we did get to see the glacier southbound, although still lots of rain. On a different September B2B our stops in Glacier Bay (Island Princess) were three days apart. Massive changes in Margerie Glacier in just 3 days. Another advantage of B2B on Princess is the Phillips 26 glacier cruise you can do on turnaround day in Whittier. Lots of wildlife, good food and closeup viewing of glaciers on a small boat. Gets back around dinner time on the ship. Book direct with them.

Old post, but the train stops adjacent to the pier in Whittier (if it went any farther it would be on a barge). Luggage dropoff is right there. Walk about 100 yards and you are on the ship. Sit on right side of train for best views.

Everybody says that about visibility. Our two trips in September had tiny clouds near Denali both times, although it was clouding up when we came back the second time - later tours did NOT see the mountain (moral: take first tour in the morning). Both of these were before the road closure. Two stops at McKinley Lodge in Talkeetna and one had zero visibility of mountain. Not a great place to stay since it is a 45 minute ride into town for activities.

Whale watch smaller boat (independent) in Icy Straights and Juneau. Eagle preserve raft in Skagway (ferry to Haines). Helicopter to glacier with dogsled in Juneau. Miner's camp in Skagway has puppies and dog sled rides on wheels. Floatplane to Neets Bay to see bears in Ketchikan. Kayak or canoe at Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau. There is a zipline in Skagway but we haven't been yet - scheduled for next summer.

As I recall around 3.5 miles, mostly along a dirt road. Not really scenic but could be done. Mileage better spent in the totem park.

Some cruises will do an independent boat when they cruise Tracy Arm. This costs similar to the one at Hubbard Glacier ($350-400US pp). This boat departs directly from the ship. Boat and floatplane tours also leave from Juneau. These are cheaper. Helicopter glacier landings with dog sled are usually out of Juneau. Lots of operators and can be $500 or more. Your May trip is early season, so assuming the weather cooperates you have a good chance of flying up to the glaciers. We've been fogged out later. We actually prefer to go whale watching out of Juneau. This can also be done from Icy Straights if your ship goes there. For Skagway we often do a float down the river at the eagle preserve (requires a long stop in Skagway since you take a ferry over to Haines).

Note that independent booking opened yesterday (my other post). When I talked to them in July they said that there really isn't an issue in getting seats as long as you don't wait until next spring. Best part of Anchorage to Fairbanks trip is just north of Denali park - the canyon there can't be seen from the road. But it is all scenic mountain views. There is a low pass south of Denali that we had snow in September, with 72 degree weather in Denali and Fairbanks. Southern part between Anchorage and either Whittier or Seward is along the coast. Lots of tidal flats with huge tides. Different kind of scenic.

We have been trying to book independent Anchorage to Seward for next summer and bookings opened yesterday 11/2. Not real enthused about the 6:45 departure but better than using the cruise line charter that gets in late.

We usually book 18 months or so out. Depends on when we book a cruise. And since restart the local vendors have had problems getting staff to man the tours. Many of the operators are running fewer tours and it is fairly common to see the owner of the business and spouse either running the tour or the bus to get you to the tour.

A few weeks ago on Ovation the greeter was letting blocks of reservation times through in order. So 7:00 got in around 6:50. However the only time he did this was on formal night where the line was long. Most nights if you showed up early for a reservation you just went up to the podium. Might have a delay if the table you wanted was still occupied, but generally the host just put us at a different table in the same waiters' area.

If you cancel 5 days before cruise it goes back to your credit card. Later and you get onboard credit. General policy is 48 hours before a tour departs but there are a very few excursions that can't be cancelled. These will be noted in the description.

On one booking a few years ago one of us was listed as "open seating" and the other Mytime. I wasn't able to make dining reservations until our travel agent fixed this. So if you try to make reservations in the cruise planner and can't, have whoever made your booking fix the problem.

Note that adults in a room all have to buy the alcohol package if anyone wants it. And Royal will add 18% gratuity when you check out (assuming they haven't rolled that into UK pricing you quoted). You would see added gratuities when you actually purchase the drink packages.

No the Passenger Services Act doesn't prevent this - the cruise starts and stops in Canada, so it doesn't apply. And booking from Seward doesn't matter, either - you are returning to the same US port. You CANNOT book from Seward to Vancouver to LA - that would be a violation. By the way, did this on Radiance last year. You have enough time in Seward to take the glacier tour boat there. Recommend this one: https://www.alaskacollection.com/day-tours/kenai-fjords-tours/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Kenai-Fjords-Tours-Booking-Con&utm_source=Envoke-Envoke#openseason=false Note that weather can vary wildly between two sailings. We didn't even see Hubbard Glacier northbound and it was pretty rainy southbound.

According to web site, The Porch has a cover charge but not sure what that is. Menu is here: https://www.celebritycruises.com/content/dam/celebrity/new-images/The-Porch-Menu-Final-Dinner.pdf

Most Amazon products have their medical ingredients listed. Didn't see any for this one. Obviously not FDA approved.

The big advantage in Florida is if you have later flights. Many airlines no longer take luggage earlier than 4 hours before the flight in Miami and Fort Lauderdale. With luggage valet we can process through security and relax in the airline lounge for the wait. An additional benefit is that they don't weigh the luggage. We used to be a couple of pounds over in one bag and had to carry a scale around.

Have done many cruises on balconies that are not glass. And we have one on Beyond booked for next year. The biggest advantage of these cabins is that you are really shielded from the wind. Disadvantage is the glass area is smaller, but we usually find glass has so much salt on it you can't see much through it anyway. Same problem with regular balconies.

On several ships we have been on, one dining room was supposed to be MTD. This room had the very early fixed seating (typically 5:15 for 6:45 MTD). The other two dining rooms were fixed only and had seatings at 6 and 8. You can check this on the app by selecting your profile, select other cruise, go to the bottom where you can select any ship, and then select a current sailing for that ship. In the dining tab on main dining you will see several dining rooms and see the times for each one.

We have always done MTD at around 6:30, but now that they are putting an early fixed seating in the dining room they often don't let you in until 7 or so. Kind of depends on if that ship has moved early dining to 5, and if "your" table has someone eating there at that time. You CAN make a reservation for 10 and might get 7 or so as a time. If you show up around 6:30 with a 7 reservation you may be able to get in. Once you find a table/servers you like just ask at the desk to have that for the rest of the cruise. It really depends on how full the dining room is whether they can accommodate your large group. Once you get in it is easier for the dining staff to keep you in the same spot for the rest of the cruise. And they will put 2 tops together to make room for a larger party (but the two tops have to be adjacent for this to work). All of that said, we just switched our next cruise from MTD to early dining even if it happens to be at 5:15. Eating a 7 tends to interfere with kids programs both for younger kids and teens hanging out. It can be hard to get ready for dinner that early if you are out on an excursion but we try to pick morning excursions to avoid this.

Elite on Princess and Diamond Plus on Royal - we sail both lines a lot. The newer Princess ships have a better layout in the buffet, so more variety. Less options on activities on Princess. Main dining is pretty similar. Would we spend extra to go on either Wonder or Enchanted, no. Pick ships that have been sailing a couple of years. Royal is generally cheaper and has more to do. One exception - Alaska. Princess goes into Glacier Bay and Royal doesn't. Both do Hubbard Glacier. Recommend smaller ships than these two - Coral/Island Princess best but ships like Radiance of the Seas not bad.

During covid they just kept your money on file and then we applied it to our next booking, same as a lot of other businesses we were dealing with. We have used them several times and will do so again. Lots of hotels to choose from (although we normally will pick one with bus going to the ship early). On return you just walk out to the bus area and will find a small stand with a person there. They will put you on the next bus. Buses generally start at the Royal dock, so more of a challenge getting seats together if you are at another pier. Bus drops at airport near where the Disney buses go out. You don't really need to self-disembark, but the reason they list several times is that once all the buses are on the road it will be a while before they return. So try to be out at the kiosk nearer the beginning of a pickup window. During covid they didn't have as many buses running so they took us to the airport in a van driven by the guy running the kiosk (last three couples scheduled that day).

We flew in a day early last trip and stayed in Southampton. It is VERY easy to tour Stonehenge from there. Train to Salisbury (two stops), bus to Stonehenge picks up at the train station on the hour. Buy your Stonehenge tickets in advance and don't book the bus-only option unless you want a really long walk from their visitor center to the stones. About 6 hours round trip.

Haven't seen much mention of ports, but Labadee is just a beach day on a so-so beach. Nassau has a fair number of All Inclusive islands or you could spring for Atlantis if kids are tall enough to use the slides. Note that this is VERY expensive, especially if you add on one of the dolphin encounters. We had a 3 year old touch the dolphin and then freak when she was supposed to hold it. Her younger sister loves every chance she can get to swim with dolphins. Check the boards for Roatan, Cozumel and Costa Maya. So much to do at these (although last is mostly beach bars except for very long ruins tours). The key here is Coco Cay. That is so far above Labadee for kids that the other itinerary is a joke. Plus if Orlando is easier for you, makes far more sense.