Btimmer

We've done the double and triple Denali in each of the last two years and are doing another one later this summer which will be a northbound out of Vancouver on the Koningsdam for 3 days and then a land trip through the gold country to Fairbanks and then down to Denali.  After Denali, we're taking the train to Anchorage, spending a few nights, and then catching the Grand Princess out of Whittier back to Vancouver.

In prior years, from Denali to Anchorage we traveled on the train with the dome cars which we really like.  The train does leave relatively early in the day.As shared above, the detailed information you are requesting will be provided at appropriate times during your trip.

Re: the Tundra tour, there are multiple departure times that are assigned and some of them leave fairly early. A box lunch and water is provided. The buses are a bit spartan (a little bit more deluxe than a school bus) but not like an over the road coach used between Denali & Fairbanks.

While we have always stayed at HAL's lodging in Denali, we really liked eating at the Princess facility which can be reached by walking or taking a free shuttle.  At the HAL site, the dinner theatre is worth doing for a light hearted look at local history. We've also eaten at the strip mall across the highway from the lodging in Denali.

In Fairbanks, we've always stayed at the Westmark and it was okay.  In Anchorage, we've stayed at the Captain Cook which is quite nice.

This summer is our 3rd year in a row that we are doing the land/sea tour in Alaska.  I'm also not a morning person, but I've made it work as Alaska is such a wonderful place to visit.  For this year's trip, we're doing the extended land portion which includes the train from Skagway and bus/airplane/train and bus transportation between the train ending point in Canada and our return trip from Whittier to Vancouver.  I should note that we are going north on HAL and south on Princess.

Thanks for posting.  I, too, saw several people I recognized from our month on the Zuiderdam a couple years ago.

We've done multiple trans Atlantics and Pacifics on HAL but just finished a trans Pacific on the Majestic Princess. The sheer number of daily activities on the Majestic was stunning.  And one didn't have to do a single one of them, although I did a few.  However, we are doing the FLL to Egypt RT in November on HAL and that one has lots of sea days both directions.  We're looking forward to it.

4 hours ago, Lido deck main said:

Wasn’t that on the Zaandam the Fall 2023 Grand South America

Correct, my error.  I totally associate the Hotel GM with the Volendam as we sailed so much with him on it.  We like both of those ships.

We loved the Grand South America last fall.  It was grand on the Volendam.

Here's the reality of the last day of a cruise.

We're seeing the Northern Lights leaving Victoria at 11pm.

It's been a gorgeous day in Victoria which is our last port of call. We spent the day in The Buchart Gardens.  They were beautiful.

Tonight we were joined by the Bliss and the Eurodam.  They will dock in Seattle tomorrow while will go out to sea for a sea day.

Here's hoping we can see the northern lights tonight.

We've entered the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and have spotted a few whales.  Here's one I saw from our balcony just minutes ago.

Today for lunch we tried Rudy's for sushi.  The food and ocean views were excellent but the noise from the Piazza was terribly distracting .

Yesterday, Sunday, in the Voice of the Ocean competition, our new friend, Martin,
won it with 50% of the vote.  There were 6 very good karaoke singers in the competition.

3 finalists and their coaches being interviewed by Olivia, Cruise Director

Martin & his wife. Jackie

Welcome to the Platinum Medallion Club!

We've made it to Honolulu at 6am and are currently waiting for our immigration inspection which is running behind Princesses' schedule. We have a long day in port and we are turtle snorkeling in the afternoon.

Cruise terminal 1 where the tower is on the right.  We've berthed there previously.

Somebody didn't make it. . .

We're now on Day 3 (Half way there) of our journey to Honolulu.  Every day has a full range of activities and great evening entertainment.  We're totally enjoying on time on the Majestic Princess.  Last night and again today at 1 & three, Rob Watkins, ventriloquist, performed and he's been a delight.

The comedy shows have been performed to packed audiences in the Vista Lounge.  So much so, that Andrew Grose will do a repeat matinee show tomorrow in the main Princess theater.  

1 hour ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

We know many people who sail on inside cabins exclusively without an issue.   Insides vary in size and certain ones can be pretty roomy.   @sandiego1 gives a great answer above.    I think if you are happy with insides on two week cruises you will be ok on longer cruises.   

We've sailed for months in inside cabins and find them quite nice.  That being said, we also enjoy having light in the morning.  Currently we're on a 33 day cruise on the Majestic Princess about 3 days away from reaching Hawaii.  We're in a balcony cabin and it's been nice.  For our upcoming 44 day cruise on the Volendam FLL to Alexandria and return, we're booked in an inside cabin.

Here's the picture of the day from Moorea.  More snorkeling pictures to come.

17 minutes ago, milolii said:

While on a tour to Rotorua from last month, our tour guide gave us a little local history. She stated that Peter Jackson found the area which belong to a local sheep farmer, arriving by helicopter. The farmer knew nothing about the story even after the first film was shot.  His daughter educated him.  The land and set still belong to the farmer. He’s considered the luckiest farmer in New Zealand. But still attends to his sheep.   It’s a beautiful country, 

We also learned similar information.  One brother tends the sheep and one runs the movie set business.

38 minutes ago, charliedalrymple said:

 

I will admit complete ignorance of and a total lack of interest in all things Lord of the Rings / Hobbit.  I'm just curious--were the movies actually filmed at Hobbiton?  I would imagine that would make it quite exciting for fans.

Yes.  The set was originally built, used, and then destroyed. For subsequent movies,  it was rebuilt and this time with more durable materials.  I, too, had no interest and before we were there the first time 2 years ago, I had never seen the movies or read the books.

Here's a tip for future cruisers.  If you dock at the main pier, turn left and head towards the ferry terminal.  There will be lots of vendors selling excursions (land and snorkeling) for both Papeete and Moorea.  Costs are in the $50-$70US range.

we ended up cancelling our Princess day 2 snorkeling trip as it was a copy of day 1.  We booked a $50 4 hour tour of the island at one of the above booths.

We received those roller bags on the Grand South America and one was utterly destroyed by ship or dock personnel when transferring it to shore upon disembarkation.

Our disembarkation was delayed 50 minutes because of clearance issues.

7 minutes ago, CPs4591 said:

If you’re going to Moorea in the morning, it’s worth getting up early on deck and watching sunrise with some coffee as you make the very short trip over.  

Yup, we've been there before.  We also saw it on our way in today.

After 5 days at sea, we are arriving at Papeete, French Polynesia. The ship has rotated and is backing into the berth as we are overnighting and will be departing in the dark tomorrow.

It's over 80°f at 7:40am. We're doing a snorkeling trip this morning.

We're a couple of days from Papeete and the outside temperatures are getting much warmer.  Sunbathing was in full force today.  Here's a 170° stern view.

Tonight is formal night, but we continued our dining in the Lido Marketplace where there is a wonderful grill station.

We've finally cleared the wait lists for snorkeling excursions in Papeete, Moorea, and Honolulu.