Amber86

9 hours ago, Budget Queen said:

What does your "out thousands"  involve?      If the cruise-  that likely is just going to take time.    There really haven't been any reports of no refunds for cruises.   

That involves international airfares, cruise fares, car hire (more expensive if you are not a USA citizen) and land based activities booked separately - our entire trip. We have to wait for each company to respond or progress any refunds and our travel insurance has made it clear we need a written response from each vendor in order to make a claim under their terms - some companies are just not replying so I am quite pleased when we do hear from companies. My position is that we just need to be patient (you can’t control this situation) and give companies time to work through this.

Hi

I cancelled with them back in April when my cruise was and initially got the email that they did not have the funds to return my booking fees and they were applying for a small business loan. I believe they also offered a credit for a later time that would not expire but acknowledged that if their business loan came through and we had not taken up the credit they would seek to refund.

After that I had low expectations but I received a refund this week. I was so pleased as it was one of the few companies I have received funds back from and am still out of pocket thousands x3 people. It instantly left me with a very positive view on the company. I hope this sheds some light that they may be trying but are understandably facing a challenging time. I know there is a lot of pain from this situation all round.

Thank you both for your advice. I’m just nervous as it is so early in the season and Island Wings site says Traitors Cove is available from August - perhaps they just haven’t updated it. I will email them to ask them to clarify and if they recommend waiting to see if Anan is available if they think that has better odds. One of my concerns with Anan (besides timing) is how many steps are on the trail as my parents may find that harder. The trail for Traitors Cove appears more level on YouTube.

thanks again

Although bear seaplanes tours are highly dependent on if nature wants to cooperate does anyone know if it is expected to be a really low probability for the 23 July 2020 at Traitors Cove, Ketchikan (via Island Wings). The tour time that suits our cruise ship arrival is from 11am if that makes a difference as to if it’s viable. I’m aware that other vendors don’t offer this until August. 

I don’t know if being in the first few days of the season would mean my family of 3 would be better of saving the money and doing something cheaper or if Neets Bay via Taquan Air would be better for this day.

Anan Creek tends to be the recommendation for July but it is a longer trip and I don’t expect it would easily fit within our time at port. The lottery for vendors won’t come available until about October to be sure.

Thanks for any advice.

9 hours ago, lightink2 said:

 

Unfortunately I’m new to this so am learning but someone else told me to book the Hubbard Glacier small boat now as it sold out early for them. At the time I thought it was strange as it was over a year out but went online to check and they were right as I think Allan Marine will have only 1 small boat. I wasn’t sure with the helicopter / airboat if they would open up another time slot. Princess southbound has all the excursions for Juneau starting at 7am only at this stage (we expect all aboard is 4:30pm at the latest for our itinerary). So after debating about contacting the vendor I just pulled the trigger as it was the only 2 excursions we had as must do at the same price and it would just give us more time at port. I’ve booked the Skagway excursions since but not ketchikan.

All our land land section is yet to be booked and some vendors are taking bookings and others are holding until the fall. I also can’t book the flights or hotels yet but know I have to book the car ASAP to get a cheap price. Fingers crossed we enjoy our first cruises and get the bookings we want!

I’m a first time cruiser and I nearly went into a panic yesterday when I realised that the Hubbard Glacier wilderness exploration boat only had 20 spots left and the helicopter/airboat from Juneau only had 5 spots. I snagged them but it gave me a shock. I will work out the rest of my budget and priorities and then go back and do the rest.

I’m normally an early and detailed planner but it was unexpected for me. I didn’t realise that excursions would be up over a year in advance for our cruise in July 2020.  Particularly when the independent sites haven’t released the online booking systems yet. I’ve had the cruise booked since January - so 1.5 years in advance - and would have been disappointed to have missed out on those main excursions.

1 hour ago, Amber86 said:

I am going to book the helicopter glacier landing with airboat tour of Taki glacier. It’s expensive but you get a glacier landing plus a small boat really close to the glacier. It’s worth considering and checking out the reviews on TripAdvisor either under Airboat Alaska or Coastal Helicopters (they are in partnership to run this).

Correction to the above they are now partnered with North Star.

I am going to book the helicopter glacier landing with airboat tour of Taki glacier. It’s expensive but you get a glacier landing plus a small boat really close to the glacier. It’s worth considering and checking out the reviews on TripAdvisor either under Airboat Alaska or Coastal Helicopters (they are in partnership to run this).

5 hours ago, poidog81 said:

 

The boat is not packed at all, it can hold twice as many people (limited to 150 I’m sure for coast guard reasons). Plenty of room inside and out while underway. When they reach the glacier face they open up an additional top deck. There are also two outdoor viewing decks on either side of the bridge. It was our favorite excursion in all of Alaska, book it you wont regret it. That said it sold out online well in advice of sailing so don’t delay. We got within a 1/4-1/2 mile of the glacier while the ship only got to the point of the end of Haenke island. Well worth the price and a completely different experience on a small vessel near the waterline. 

Thanks for the feedback! That is really helpful and was my only concern so I will go ahead and book it.

I may have to ask Princess when they expect to release the excursions as when I last logged in you couldn’t book yet for July 2020. Given the limited availability it’s one I wouldn’t want to miss out on booking.

Does anyone know how packed the boat feels? I know it takes about 150 people but I don’t know if that means you will be standing several rows behind heads scrambling for a view. We will have a deluxe balcony in 2020 and I’m trying to decide if I would have a better view from our balcony or a small boat. Thanks for any input.

On 6/9/2019 at 9:33 PM, Alsmez said:

 

Yes, I found Mountain Flying and a few others out of Skagway and Haines. Basically every review says it's the most amazing experience they've ever had, so we are going to make time for it no matter what!

Hi

I haven’t found this from Juneau but mainly Skagway and Haines. I built myself a YouTube playlist of different excursions across Alaska and have found a few showing what to expect of Mountain Air Service. My playlist is called Travel - Alaska (username Amber86queenbee) if you are interested in checking out the videos from MAS that were most helpful. 

Amber

Hi

I’ve booked my first visit to Alaska for 2020 and will explain my reasoning behind why I booked a southbound cruise.

Going southbound the times for Glacier Bay are far better - you enter the bay more like 9~9:30am whilst if you are travelling north it was 6:30am. I’m on holiday and I don’t want to rush down breakfast every day to not miss what is really a major draw of any Princess Cruise. Also I compared Hubbard Glacier vs College Fjord extensively and decided I wanted the opportunity to see a glacier with a large face and improved chances of calving. I plan on booking the new Allen Marine excursion meeting the ship to hopefully get a closer view of Hubbard Glacier - depending on positive reviews this year as it’s first year of operation.

In favour of northbound cruises you often get a longer day in Juneau which is a more appealing port, you end in Whittier so could link to Phillip Cruises 26 glacier cruise as a cruise transfer (but can’t with Princess southbound but could weigh up doing this by booking direct and being aware of the timing) and there seems to be a generally consensus that it is a great build up going north. I don’t care about build up - I’m going to be in an overseas country no matter the direction and my flights and hotel check in times work out better flying to Anchorage from Australia.

Also be aware that the itinerary and times may be slightly different for your sailings you are comparing. My cruise will stop in Juneau (still enough time for my preferred excursions), Skagway (I would prefer this over Icy St Point based on the available activities) and Ketchikan.

I think either way you will have a great cruise and it is about weighing up what is important to you.

Amber