new_cruiser

What I read says it is the same as using an EDL - it can be used at a land border crossing so it doesn't need a birth certificate. https://www.cbp.gov/travel/us-citizens/western-hemisphere-travel-initiative

BTW, if you would rather travel with a passport, there is an urgent passport process can be used if travel is within 14 days. It requires calling to make an appointment and then visiting a State Department Passport Office in person. How convenient that is depends on how close you live to one of the offices. When I used the process in May, the appointment I could get was a few days before the start of travel so it can be a bit of a nail biter with a paid-in-full cruise depending on the process succeeding.

Actually, according to the following site, a Global Entry card works for crossing at a US-Canada land border: https://www.us-passport-service-guide.com/canada-travel-requirements.html I know in the past I've found the same info on a US .gov site but I'm having trouble finding it ATM.

Mostly true - there are some alternative items that could be used. One alternative is an Enhanced Driver's License or ID can be used instead of a passport. Presently, only some states on the Canadian border issue Enhanced Driver's Licenses/IDs. Another is a trusted traveler card (e.g. Nexus, Global Entry). Full list is here: https://www.us-passport-service-guide.com/canada-travel-requirements.html

I have always booked on the first day of the segment. I have no experience with whether it sometimes books full. Cuadro 44 is pretty small so bookings might run out if the ship occupancy is high - especially on a 7-night sailing. One night all the restaurants will be closed because of the deck BBQ, so there are at most 6 nights of bookings available on a 7-night sailing. It can be nice to book Candles for a night when you have a late-ish sail-away so you can watch the sail-away while eating. Then pick a sea day or a shortish port day for Cuadro. Also, since you haven't been to Cuadro before, you might book the first time early in the first cruise so you know if you want to try for a second night later in the segment.

If it's a 21-night cruise, it is probably a cruise collector (2 or more consecutive segments booked with one fare). They only take reservations for the current segment and you can reserve one night in each specialty restaurant for the segment. So you can pick two nights in the first segment to make reservations for Candles and Cuadro 44 when you board. Then do that again at the start of each segment. As minidonuts mentions, later in the cruise, you may be able to schedule a second night in a specialty reservation if space is available. Since most segments are 7 or 8 days, I usually find that once for each restaurant is what I want. I have asked for and gotten a second time on a longer segment (13 day ocean crossing). You could also just show up and ask if you can get in, but on the few occasions I've done it, I've asked in advance. The Star Grill is open for dinner on itineraries depending on weather. That doesn't need or take reservations. If the daily schedule says it's open, you just show up if you want.

Passport cards don't need to be created. The US already issues them. Like Enhanced Driver's Licenses, they are only usable at land and sea border crossings. Making them more broadly useful would require getting the rest of the world to accept a card instead of a book. I'd love to see that but doubt change will happen any time soon. Maybe that will happen in a decade or two. For now, border agents in some countries still look through to see where else the passport has been stamped. But some countries aren't stamping it. When flying back to the US, the Global Entry kiosk pulls up my info from facial scanning and doesn't use the passport book. Many visas are electronic now and that's another thing that used to require the book format.

If you both have enhanced driver's licenses, that works for taking Skagway train and Skagway road trips that cross the border into Canada. It also means that it is sufficient by itself to board the cruise. You don't need to bring a birth certificate because the Enhanced License covers showing that you are a US citizen as well as being a picture ID. Enhanced IDs would also work for taking a cruise from Vancouver if one crossed into Canada at a land border (e.g. train or bus). Enhanced ID just wouldn't let enter or leave Canada by air.

Does your ship stop in Skagway and, if so, would you want to take the train or a driving excursion into the Yukon there? That crosses the border into Canada and requires a passport (or enhanced ID - license would have a flag instead of a star). If you decide to get a passport, you might consider choosing a round trip cruise from Vancouver or a one way between Vancouver and Seward or Whittier instead of a round trip from Seattle. These sailings usually have better itineraries - better time in ports and usually an additional Alaska port instead of a stop in Victoria that is often too brief and too late to do much.

Real ID is not Enhanced ID. Enhanced ID is currently only offered by some states on the Canadian border. An Enhanced ID is proof of citizenship and can be used instead of a passport at US land and sea border crossings (but not air crossings). It has pretty much the same abilities as a passport card. A Real ID requires better proof of identity than older state IDs but doesn't prove or require citizenship.

I'd suggest you ask the moderator to delete or close this thread. Start a new thread with the right title

There are many other things to do in Sitka and it's not as good for whale watching as Juneau (and Icy Straight). So, with your itinerary I'd recommend doing yhe whale watching from Juneau. Mendenhall is, IMO, more about a nice hike that gives a view of a glacier and a nice waterfall. Also depending on the time of year, a possibility of seeing bears. Sitka National Historic Park provides a pleasant easy forest hike with totem poles. Depending on the length of your port stop in Juneau, it is possible to combine whale watching and a visit to Mendenhall there.

What would you do if the Tabago stop had to be missed? I bring this up partly because our recent cruise had a stop in Skagway during the day followed by an evening stop in Haines. I was considering an excursion that took the ferry from Skagway to Haines and wondered if it would be possible after the excursion to stay in Haines and join the ship there. I ended up deciding to stay in Skagway for the day. It turned out too windy to dock in Haines and the ship skipped that stop.

I was on an Alaska cruise with 5 family members a week ago. All vaccinated and boosted. All except me tested positive on the cruise or the day after. All recovered fairly quickly, one was asymptomatic. I had mild symptoms but never tested positive despite testing multiple times. As a senior, I'd had multiple boosters, the last one a few weeks ago and that immunity may have kept the viral count too low to test positive.

I've been on one Pacific crossing (Japan to Alaska), one Atlantic crossing (St. Maarten to Lisbon) and one crossing from New Zealand to Australia (much shorter but known for being rough). All were on Windstar Star class ships - 212 passenger for the Pacific crossing and the others after the ships were stretched to carry 312 passengers. The Pacific and Atlantic crossings were both mosrly pretty smooth - no rougher than typical on a Caribbean cruise. The Atlantic was having some really rough conditions on our course as originally planned, but the captain altered the course and changed our mid Atlantic stop from the Azores to Canary Islands to keep us in calmer waters. The one rough day (but not terrible) was the last one coming into Lisbon. The New Zealand to Australia crossing was rougher, but not that bad. The Tasman Sea is known for rougher conditions.

Whale watching from Juneau or Icy Straight Point stays in the Inside Passage so easier for those less comfortable on smaller craft. Also, it is 2 hours or so instead of the 6 hours to get from Seward to Kenai Fjords and back. Much of that 6 hours is in Resurrection Bay and in the fjord, but in between the boat is out in the Gulf of Alaska which is where it can get rough. I've done the Kenai Fjords trip twice. Once the Gulf was fairly calm and once it was a pretty rough ride.

Credit cards are fine.

I like Sitka more than Ketchikan, but in all other respects, the Princess itinerary seems better. You want to see a Mendenhall Glacier, like hiking and also are interested in dog sledding. All are available in Juneau and a full day would be better there. There are kayak excursions in Ketchikan. I was just on Radiance of the Seas and there aren't a lot of teen activities there. The Alaska enrichment was just a couple of lectures. Food was so-so; I wouldn't hurry to do Royal Caribbean again (though service was great - I blame cost cutting measures, not the ship staff). I do like the boat tour of Kenai Fjords and we had some excellent wildlife spotting from it this spring (including very active groups of humpbacks and orcas). But I don't think that outweighs the advantages of the Princess itinerary. Also, be aware that part of the Kenai Fjords boat trip can be very rough depending on sea conditions.

Juneau and Icy Straight are pretty close to each other. I think the whale watching boats from both go to the same feeding grounds so there shouldn't be any difference in whale watching quality. When visiting both ports, doing whale watching from Icy Straight has the advantage of freeing time for othe things in Juneau since there is more to do there.

I guess they have been in a breaching mood this Spring. We saw similar on 16 June. There were three whales breaching a lot including a juvenile (much smaller than the adults). Then the juvenile kept doing it while one of the adults did some fin slapping.

Right. I booked an ocean view guarantee about a month before sailing. A balcony guarantee either was a lot more than I wanted to spend or bot available. Less than a week later, I saw that a balcony guarantee was veing offered for $200 pp more than my ocean view price. I took too long to decide and the price was gone. Later, the balcony guarantee was back and this time even cost less, just over $100 pp more than my OV fare. I jumped on it. That was lower than the low bid price. In between, there were times when balcony cabins showed as sold out so apparently there is a certain amount of shuffling around due to people upgrading. So decide what price you are willing to pay than keep checking the booking prices. If you see something you like, it may not be available long. When the balcony was assigned, it was one with a smaller funny shaped balcony so I called and asked if I could switch - you can if there is another available in the same category. I was able to change to another balcony cabin.

From the before picture, it looks like all ingredients were pre-cut. I've been working on sushi making skills at home. For me, the hardest part is knife skills, especially getting nice slices of fish for nigiri. Did the class include any of that?

When I asked about that at the blue bus kiosk in June 2023, they said they aren't doing that anymore.

The blue bus and other shuttles all drop quite close to the visitor center. The various bus stops are spread over a couple of hundred feet. Also, you probably want to take a look at Steep Creek which is across that area from the visitor center. When the salmon are running, you have a chance of safely seeing bears there. I like that with the shuttles you can spend as much time as you want at Mendenhall. One time I did the Trail of Time which gives a different picture of the glacier and it's past extent. You may be confusing comments about taking the city bus to the glacier with the shuttle busses. The city bus costs much less (maybe a few bucks) but the bus stop for that is quite a ways from the visitor center (something on the order of a kilometer is what I remember).

Maderia is high on my list too. The gardens are beautiful. The people are friendly. We didn't have any Portuguese speakers, but came upon a tiny wine bar where we had pre-dinner wine and snacks. The other patrons seemed be regulars who knew each other. We asked for dinner recommendations and one of them called in a reservation for us. I'd like to go back for a week and explore more of the island.