ohmandi

@iamtrustworthy Steve, thank you for reaching out to me here and by phone. I believe the confusion was just a misunderstanding. Your prompt attention and good communication surely helps to maintain the integrity of your business.

@GeezerCouple I meant take my chances on the cost of the trip insurance for the rest of the trip. The woman at TIC said that the total cost of the trip insurance coverage could be higher if I purchased it in parts.

@GeezerCouple I just meant that since the cruise isn't until Fall 2025, I'll only insure its cost now as those payments are non-refundable. I can add the flights/hotels/etc. to the policy as we book them which won't be until next year.

@GeezerCouple Thank you for the reply. Trip Insurance Store is who I called. We've bought many policies through Squaremouth and InsureMyTrip. Given the recommendations in this forum, I thought I'd give Steve's company a try. I'll call again and discuss it further with them. I'm inclined to just insure the cruise since it's so far away and take my chances on the rest.

Hello. We've booked a European cruise for September 2025. We will probably do some pre-cruise and post-cruise land travel as well. We have not yet booked flights or the pre/post travel. I spoke with a trip insurance company to purchase a policy for just the cruise. She said we should estimate the total cost of the trip and buy insurance at that amount. Not knowing where or what we will be doing makes that difficult. I know we can increase the value of the insurance as we add costs but the agent said that purchasing it in parts would probably cost us more money. I wondered that if we estimate at a higher amount and then the trip is less, will they adjust the cost of the insurance? Does anyone have any experience with this? What is your opinion on estimating the costs of the trip? Thank you.

There was absolutely no information given about the gondola/people mover prior to getting off the ship. Everything sounded like the shops were right at the port but they aren't. When you walk off the ship there is one store, an information booth, and the Gondola with a handwritten sign that says "free" stuck in one of the windows. You'll see the line but moves pretty quickly. They also make accommodations for differently-abled people. It's a nice little ride up the hill. Also a nice 1/4 mile nature trail if you like. We took the gondola into the shopping area and walked back.

Hoonah ATV Tours. Joe, a Hoonah native, is great! 2 or 4 seater Polaris with a pre-programmed GPS to guide you. We just took the tour at the end of July. Saw bears, bald eagles, fish jumping, streams, bridges, islands, and drove through the little town of Hoonah. Also, he has several safety features in place since you're off on your own. When you exit the ship in Icy Strait Port, there is a free people mover that takes you to the (cruise line developed) shopping area. There you can catch the shuttle ($5 round trip) into Hoonah. Walk a few blocks from the shuttle stop to Hoonah ATVs. It was a lot of fun and beautiful scenery!

@rebric We just cruised Alaska on the Ruby Princess. We did the same cruise in 2019. In 2019 the weather was 70-75 and sunny! This trip July was in the 50's and we got a bit of rain in each port! You just never know. Keep an eye on a weather reports. In 2019 in Skagway, we rented a car and drove up the Klondike Highway into the Yukon. It was a gorgeous drive. We stopped several times to enjoy the views and went as far as Carcross, ate lunch, and headed back to Skagway. You can get maps/guides to the drive online from Murrays Guides or Bell's Alaska. On our most recent cruise in July 2022, we stopped in Icy Strait Point which frankly was very disappointing. The zip line looks like a blast but it was sold out. Right off the ship, you take a free people mover (or you can walk the 1/4 mile trail) into the cruiseline-developed shopping area. From there, we took the $5.00 shuttle, round trip, for the short ride into Hoonah. I had researched and found Hoonah ATV Tours prior to the cruise. That made the whole port stop! Joe, a Hoonah native, was fabulous! It's a self-guided tour in a 2 or 4-seater Polaris through the rain forest. So fun and beautiful scenery. We saw bears (way too close for me!), bald eagles, watched the fish jumping in the water, drove onto little islands, across great bridges, over streams. It was wonderful. He sets you up with a GPS device and you are off on your own. For safety purposes, he can watch your progress on the GPS and has trackers on the vehicles in case of emergencies. Great time! Completely worth it.

@doktor71 We were just on the Ruby Princess a week ago and also had previously been in Ketchikan so wanted something unusual to do. We went snorkeling! Found a company called Snorkel Alaska. Freddy and Curt were our guides. There were only 4 of us at our time slot. They have 7mm wetsuits with a hood, booties, fins, and mask/snorkel. The visibility was very low that day but would clear once in a while and you could see the fish, star fish, etc. Freddy and Curt would dive down and bring up creatures for us to hold. Definitely recommend. I am not petite and in my 60's and was a little (a lot) worried if I could do it. I had a blast!! Great experience.

You clearly have no idea who I am. I never said anyone was wrong for dressing down. I merely was commenting that it used to be fun to see everyone dressed up. If we could all "just accept that people are different" in all aspects of life, the world would be a much better place.

We love the formal nights and find it sad the people don't dress up anymore. Like you said that is what the "Cruise Experience" is supposed to be. Used to be fun to see people dressed to the 9's in formal dresses and tuxedos or suits/ties. Even the waitstaff wears their tuxedos. My wife has the best suit and bow tie collection right down to matching shoes. People always comment on her outfits. It's fun to pick out the suits before the cruise. We love to dress up and will continue to do so. Maybe on formal nights they should have one dining room for the dressed up and the other dining room for the dressed down!