jules_goldcoaster

Not the actual original question - but a suggestion for the day you arrive and feeling jetlagged.  After dropping off your bags at the hotel, grab a ferry from Circular Quay to Watsons Bay - nice ferry ride with beautiful views of the harbour.  Then grab fish and chips (a definite Aussie must - also need to do a meat pie sometime) from Doyles right off the pier and sit on the sand and people watch.  There's beautiful walks too.  Low key, minimal stress and then hop back on the ferry for hotel check in later in the day.  Enjoy your visit - you will LOVE Sydney.  

Hi all.  With NYE upon us I was just thinking about my NZ cruise this time next year.  I was wondering if anyone who has sailed with Sun Princess (ex Brisbane to NZ) could let me know what usually happens on the New Year's Eve.  We were considering booking speciality dining but if there is a lot going on that evening we could save that for another evening.  Does the dining room do anything special for dinner? What type of entertainment happens? Would you book a specialty restaurant for dinner (Curtis Stone) or will that interfere with other planned events?  We are not huge party people but certainly want to enjoy the evening and take advantage of a special NYE while cruising.  

hi. Just a quick post prior to our flight out on Wednesday. We received an email from Holland saying our deck must check in at 11.30, not prior. Does this mean that we can still 'drop off' our bags prior to this time and then check in at 11.30? We just want to off-load our luggage asap after dropping off our hire car. If not, if we have to wait til 11.30 we might change our hire car booking time. If so, what is the earliest we can drop off luggage?

Wow …. thank you for such a detailed reply. So you don't think we need to drop off the bags directly? I found some instructions on the Port of Vancouver website. I assume this is what was meant.

• Enter Canada Place cruise terminal vehicle ramp, accessed from the foot of Howe Street, and proceed to a Port of Vancouver traffic attendant.
  
• Receive passenger drop-off instructions from traffic attendant.
  
• Proceed to the designated drop-off location and work with the traffic attendant to back your vehicle into a designated drop-off space. At that time, your baggage will then be collected by baggage collection staff.
  
• When checking your baggage, please clearly indicate which vessel you are sailing on and ensure that your passports and medication are not packed in your checked baggage.
  

Or is there another 'spot' just to pull in and off-load the bags.

We will just have a deadline to get the car back by 10 and I wasn't sure we'd be too early for them to let us in. I really don't want to hire the car any later than 10 the previous day so we have as much time in Whistler as possible. If we just wheeled our bags it would be less stress on the driver to get the car back. But maybe there is some 'grace' time given?? Thanks so much to you all for such great advice, especially the driving details.

Just as a note, how do you find out about the number of ships in port which you guys 'look up'?;p

It will be Pacific Rim - although I haven't booked yet!.

Ideally we would like to drop the car off, then drop luggage off and be on board ASAP to relax! We will arrive on the Wednesday before and I think the Wed and Thurs will give us enough time to explore the downtown area.

I had read that you can't drop off luggage before 9.30, so 9.30 for the car return sounds like a good idea - We will set off for Whistler at 10am the previous day (would have preferred to leave closer to 9 but no biggie), that will give us til 10am to return the car and also give us a window if we are running late. We are staying near Venables/Kaslo St in East Van. Google maps has it a 10 - 20ish minute drive on a Sunday morning.

Just to add to this post - as I will be doing the same thing on Sept 23rd to Hertz. We will be hiring a car for a trip to Whistler. Thinking of doing this the day prior to our cruise so that we have transport to Canada Place from East Vancouver. If we drop it off at 9 will the traffic be ok and is there somewhere we can park ourselves with luggage, prior to being able to drop it off?

Wow! Fantastic video and very informative. Thanks for sharing!

We’ve done them all. My favorite is the bus up to Emerald Lake, lunch at Caribou Crossing Trading Post, looking around the museum and the Husky puppies are always cute. Then down to Fraser to catch the train back to Skagway. We’ve done this trip many times. Sometimes we go up with Dyea Dave, Dyea Dave puts on a really good trip, if you see something and want to stop they'll stop when you say you want to stop, we really have enjoyed going with him. Sometimes we'll rent a car and drive up ourselves. If you decide to take the bus take the bus in the morning, it can be foggy in the valley and sit on the right side of the bus for the best views, same with the train coming down sit on the right side. We like to alternate from one operator to another. I think this year we are going to do the Bennett Lake excursion from the ship.

I'm trying to choose between the 2. I'm booking from Australia and when I go to the train website the date I want is blocked out (26th September). Not sure how to book without phoning, which is expensive from here! Did you book prior to the trip or just get your ticket at Fraser when you went with Dyea Dave? Which husky experience was the best as I have read they go to different camps? Was lunch included with both tour companies? How did the food compare? I've leaning towards Chilkoot for the ease of booking, but could easily change. I want to do a dog cart if possible but also want to play with the puppies as I will be missing my 2 dogs by this time!

I did the Chilkoot 7.5 hour Yukon Rail & Bus tour last July. W

 

After lunch, we caught the train to return to Skagway and the ride was under 2 hours which was just right to me. Our driver met us back in Skagway and offered to drop us off downtown or back at the ship. I chose downtown and took my time walking back to the ship.

 

 

 

Patti

Was the lunch included in the price with Chilkoot? It says on the website that 'lunch is waiting for you' which I assumed means included but in my emails with Dyea Dave to compare the 2 companies you have to buy your own (email says under $15).

I wasn't under the impression that you get to choose whether you do the bus first or the train first. Where is that option?

 

This post may have been entered by voice recognition. Please excuse any typographical errors.

https://chilkootcharters.com/reservations/ this is the link for my date of travel. If you look in the details it says bus first at 8.30 and train 7.30. Not sure if this is available on all dates though. Based on what I've been reading and for the slight delay to all the disembarking craziness that I've experienced cruising in the South Pacific I'm planning on doing the bus first.

If you choose this route, sit on the right side of the van going up and on the right side of the train returning. That will give you the best views. Our train car had plenty of open seats so it wouldn't be a problem to switch around.

 

Enjoy Alaska!

 

Patti

Thanks for your seating suggestion. I was just wondering about that!

We did the Bus / Train combo tour to Emerald Lake with Chilkoot and enjoyed it. It was not too long for us and we still had time to spend in town when we returned, but our ship did not depart until 8:00 PM.

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JT Was there are reason you chose to do the bus first vs the train? I am considering the exact same tour with Chilkoot. My thoughts is that it would be less frantic getting off the ship in time (with the bus leaving at 8.30) but my real deciding factor would be based on the best choice for seeing the sights. And did you get enough time playing with the puppies?! I am travelling in the USA/Canada for 2 months and will be missing my beagles so I will need a dog fix by then.