Devinlad

Just in case it might have been overlooked, if you used a travel rewards credit card to book the trip, check your cardholder agreement. My travel points card has a decent annual fee but that comes with insurance coverage that includes trip cancellation insurance for medical reasons.

Hope good health smiles on you all soon.

Hi Susan,

Hope you had a wonderful cruise.

Just curious how you enjoyed your stay in this cabin?

I believe there were several photographers on our Eurodam cruise last year. They were scattered about Decks 1, 2 and 3 on formal night taking portraits for everyone. Then, a couple of them did rounds in the MDR and restaurants for candids during dinner seatings.

I would suggest going to at least 2 or 3 photographers on formal night for some portraits to get a variety. Also, consider the green screen one as they can change up the backdrop if you want a different one.

They will have prints in the gallery by the next evening which cost you nothing to have a look at. If you like them, then you can decide which and how many to buy and whether a package suits you.

We made our picks on the last full day so we knew all our options (note it will probably be busy later on that day as many people will do the same).

Cheers!

We have sailed HAL once about a year ago. It was for my Uncles wedding, and they bought the "all inclusive" or unlimited type package for obvious reasons. I don't remember the cost but I believe it included both professional and casual shots (HAL calls the shots in the MDR and on the gangway casual IIRC).

We bought a package of 5 professional shots (digitals on a CD) for about $150 for ourselves.

Note that you may be charged extra for group shots over a certain number of people (i.e. more than 4 people), though in our experience they waved the surcharge.

Happy anniversary cruise!

The partnerships with AFAR and UTrip for travel planning via HAL's website have gone live for more destinations other than Europe this morning, including Alaska.

Very intuitive and informative tool.

Thought I'd pass it on.

Cheers!

Thanks lmintzer for this update. I think this what we will be doing as well. Seems like the new way to combine everything.

Smooth sailing!

Thanks for the alternate idea lmintzer! We will definitely consider it in making our decision on who to book with.

I also got confirmation from Gastineau today that if we book their 1:30 tour we would finish at Mendenhall and could stay there and find our own way back, which we are also considering.

We will have to look into how late the shuttle runs that day for transportation back.

Cheers!

We stayed in this cabin on the NA's sister, the Eurodam, about a year ago on our first cruise ever. We really liked the layout of this cabin and had booked it on the NA for our upcoming cruise in May, but were offered an upgrade to a VE guarantee and said "yes please".

The cool thing about the layout of the cabin is the door is on the side instead of at the end of the stateroom. This means you open your door into the "bedroom" area and then the bathroom and wardrobe are off to one side. This way there are no issues with the cabin door, bathroom door and closet doors all opening into the same floor area, which is kind of nice. Also gives the dressing area and bathroom a more private, separated feel IMO.

I hope you enjoy the cabin as much as we did.

Thank you everyone for your advice so far.

Budget Queen, Gastineau offers two combo tours that include whale watching and a guided walk at Mendenhall. They are the Photo Safari one mentioned above and the "Alaska's Whales, Glaciers & Rainforest Trails" tour. However, neither tour offers the Nugget Falls trail from what I have been able to find so far.

xlxo, thank you. I ended up emailing the provider and they also suggested we could do this. It may well be our solution. The only difficulty is whether this would get us back to the ship too late to dine in the MDR and have to go to the Lido instead as we arrive in Juneau at 1pm (we're so hard done by).

blueridgemama, I totally agree. Having context specific information from locals who are passionate about the surrounding area is definitely a bonus to the experience. That is why I was trying to figure out how we could go with the guide and also get Nugget Falls in. It looks like such an awesome spot its hard to believe they don't take you there instead. I'm guessing they have their reasons.

Cruise more often, thanks for sharing some of your shots from the excursion. I quite enjoyed your capture of the porcupine.

Again, thanks all for your feedback.

I have been researching companies that offer whale watching tours in Juneau and am really drawn to Gastineau due to the size and setup of their vessels. However, I really would like to take the Nugget Falls trail while at Mendenhall and so far it looks like their tours usually take other trails.

Does anyone have experience with this tour provider doing this trail?

Thanks in advance for your help/advice.

Where will you be staying once in Vancouver?

If staying downtown, consider Granville Island. As an example, the Sandbar is a well know and reputable seafood house. There are other options on Granville Island as well.

Also in Vancouver is the boathouse restaurant. They will definitely be able to satisfy your seafood cravings. Both the above are on the water which also adds to the experience.

If you'll be staying at an airport hotel in Richmond, consider Steveston. The blue canoe or steveston seafood house are both fine choices. Blue canoe is on the water, while steveston seafood house is not.

Local crab season won't have started yet when you're in town, not commercial anyways, while local oysters should be a plenty. Likely you will find most crab selections to be Alaskan king crab, which is tasty to be sure. If you do find dungeness however, it is sweeter meat and much tastier in my opinion.

Happy cruising and hope you enjoy your seafood feast.

Only cruised HAL once but here are our highlights

The filet at the pinnacle is excellent. I ordered a ribeye and DW had the 10oz filet and I was quite jealous of her plate after she offered me a couple bites.

We had jerk chicken and (not your average) pot roast in the MDR which were both very well prepared in our experience.

DW raved about the watermelon pie in the MDR as well.

But hey, everyone has different preferences and you'll have lots to choose from.

Enjoy your cruise and the cuisine too of course.

I will be on the exact same NA itinerary this May, so I should be able to offer more details on that later. For now, here's a bit of why/how we decided on our itinerary for our upcoming Alaska cruise. It is our first to cruise Alaska and second overall cruise.

Firstly, we are taking this trip to celebrate a number of occasions, my girlfriend and I are celebrating our 9th anniversary and her birthday while on the trip as well as my recent completion of my university degree. The NA itinerary allows us to be on board for both dates, which are in the same week, which was a big plus for us. So dates were important to us, which may or may not be the case for you, but thought I'd mention it just in case.

Second, like you we also wanted a RT Vancouver Inside Passage.

Third, we looked at Glacier Bay as a big plus because its a whole day of scenic glacier view cruising (9 hrs vs. Hubbard's 5 hrs) which really appealed to us. Hubbard is supposedly spectacular as well, being a quickly advancing glacier with plenty of calving activity (so I've read). We are still youngsters and plan to return to Alaska at a later point so we will likely look at an itinerary that includes Hubbard then. CC has an article that provides a good comparison of the two.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=1928

Fourth, we have heard from friends and family who have cruised to Alaska before that they really enjoyed the White Pass Rail in Skagway. Therefore, a stop in Skagway was a plus for us, which the NA itinerary has, but the Infinity does not.

Lastly, our first cruise was on the Eurodam last January and we really enjoyed that. The food and service was outstanding for us and we enjoyed the atmosphere very much (we're more the wine and dine type, not the rowdy, late night party type). Being on the sister ship, the NA, we are very much looking forward to some of the excellent cuisine and service we experienced last time in the MDR and the Pinnacle grill. Celebrity surely has some fine chefs of their own, but we haven't tried them yet and our steaks at the Pinnacle (we had the filet) were exceptionally good (probably in our top 5).

All in all, and totally aware of my own bias, there was a lot of pluses for the NA itinerary for us, with the dates being the biggest factor, but also having some past experience to go off with HAL as well. That being said, you would be getting some pretty appealing perks on the infinity, so there's a trade-off that we didn't have to face.

Either way, I'm sure you'll have a wonderful trip no matter what you decide and I hope if nothing else, that article by CC helps (even if I assisted in no other way than helping you find that). Happy cruising.

We are traveling to Alaska in August and have been looking at purchasing a good camera for a year. We have no idea of what to get but know we are willing to spend between around $800 + for a good camera. We are doing 8 days land and 7 days sea, so wanting to capture the beauty the best we can. Does anyone have any suggestions on cameras? We are not experienced photographers, but want to take pics like we are;)

The good news is you budget will give you a good amount of flexibility. You can get a very nice point and shoot or an entry level dslr easily in your price range.

I have been using a canon rebel dslr for several years now and love it. Nikon also makes some entry level dslr cameras that are equally as good. The great thing about dslr cameras is the flexibility they can give you because you can change the lenses for different types of photography. When choosing between canon or Nikon, consider if you know anyone who owns one of the other that could give you some tips on using it or lend you some lenses to try out.

As another poster mentioned, the best camera is the one that you will use. For that reason, no matter what you choose, take some time before your trip to learn the ins and outs of how it works and the various features and what they do. That way, when your trip comes, you'll know what setting to put it on and get the results you want. Then you can spend more time enjoying your holiday and less fussing with your camera, or worse coming home with few photographic memories because you couldn't get the darn thing to work.

If you're serious about a new camera, which I gather you are given your budget, go to a small shop in your local area that specializes in camera gear rather than a big box retailer. They'll take the time to answer your questions and help you pick out the camera that will work best for you.

Happy shopping and I hope you have a wonderful cruise.