Luv2cruz1000

Any recent experiences with this company? I was excited to use one we had last time (Green Jeep/DIY Jeep tours) but the price went up significantly and not guaranteed a traditional jeep. thanks

On 5/25/2023 at 7:00 AM, misguy said:

The train is amazing.  Renting a car and driving lets you see more.  You can stop and take pictures when you want.  The Carcross desert and Emerald Lake are great to visit, and there is a sled dog adventure the children would probably love, along the highway.

I second this. Renting a car was the same cost as train for 2. Even a quick stop at Caribou crossing let us see the puppies and sleds running. Beautiful drive and able to stop and explore. Second visit to Skagway and going to rent a car again.

Port times are longer (some ports) on the one way as well. I believe there is more inside passage even round trip out of/going to Vancouver. Does the Seattle do Glacier Bay? We have booked our second cruise to Alaska to see Glacier Bay.

Our first was out of Seattle, and yes, airfare rates and  convenience are a plus  then our planning out of Whittier. We are planning a few days to see Anchorage and area.

Seattle is also wonderful city also to see.

Enjoy Alaska however you choose to go, it's amazing!

We are currently booked with Princess for 2024 but we sailed to Alaska pre covid with Carnival. It was a cheap, wonderful cruise. I would not hesitate to sail with them again except I do want to see Glacier bay and Carnival does not do that. 

I would go to Alaska any way you can......just go!!!

9 hours ago, Coral said:

I agree about the 26 Glacier tour but I would just take the bus in in the morning for it.

 

I wonder how the hotel is doing in Whittier. It was in bankruptcy for awhile several years back.  Hopefully it is owned by a solid company now.

Regarding the hotel. I am not sure if you are referring to the "Inn at Whittier". I am hoping they reopen by next year. Their webpage says they have water damage and have been having to cancel some reservations for this year. So unfortunate as this is their busy time. Anyone been in Whittier with any further insight? ( I have called to see when I can reserve and nothing was mentioned about not being open this year or next, so I am hopeful!)

6 hours ago, AKStafford said:

The train stop at Portage is just a large gravel pad. The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center is within walking distance, but the walk is along a very busy highway.

If you looking for a relaxing down day in a scenic location, Whittier is a good spot.

Yes that was the plan. Anyone done it from the train? Am I correct in thinking they provide transportation to the Conservation Center? 

I am rethinking our stay in Whittier but will have to miss seeing any of Whittier and enjoying the cruise ship a bit before departure. 

Thanks for your input. We are flying into Anchorage a few days earlier and our plan was to take the train the day before the cruise, stopping in Portage and then do the round trip back to Whittier to spend the night. I know we can do that the day of the cruise but are afraid we would have no time to see Whittier. We thought we would do the 5 minute tour of the town, hang out at the water and maybe do one of the hikes the day the cruise leaves. I wonder how different the 26 glacier cruise would be from Whale watching in Juneau (on my bucket list to see humpback whales)  or a small boat to the glacier ( previously did Dawes Glacier)? 

Couldn't find a thread for Whittier on Homeports. 

Will we be allowed to board the ship, drop our luggage and leave the ship again. Cruise doesn't leave until 8:30 and wanted to explore Whittier a bit before we leave. (spending the night before in Whittier).

13 hours ago, echoshipmate said:

We successfully upgraded on 2 of 3 legs of our b2b2b with no news of #3. When bidding, you must supply credit card info and believe me the moment Princess accepts your bid, your cc is charged, even before they notify you. The notification arrives very quickly and there is no turning back as you have already paid. For us, it was an ok upgrade from inside to obstructed deluxe balcony. Even better, we were upgraded to the same cabin for both voyages!

Doug

Can I ask, how much was your bid? I imagine that it helped you were on a b2b, but dreaming of the same upgrade!

On 6/10/2023 at 6:07 PM, BamaVol said:

On 6/9/2023 at 10:18 PM, Princess Chatterer said:

On 6/9/2023 at 10:18 PM, Princess Chatterer said:

Currently on the Emerald Princess.  It’s nearly impossible to get a dining room reservation on board on ANY night before 8:40 pm.  
 

As a test I asked Ocean Now if I could get a delivery in the back of Fresh Market/Horizon Court.  The app said I couldn’t place an order because it didn’t know were the medallion fob I was wearing was located.

Hope this is "dining question" enough for this thread! 

Love the idea of ordering room service, where are some really neat spots to have it delivered on the ship? We won't have a balcony so looking for a quiet spot to pretend we do!

We will be on Sapphire.

Currently on the Emerald Princess.  It’s nearly impossible to get a dining room reservation on board on ANY night before 8:40 pm.  
 

Hi, new to princess and anytime dining. This is our first cruise since Covid happened. We are accustomed to fixed time early dining (5:30). Will we not be able to book a table before 8:30? How do you get to the shows. With looking at an Alaska Itinerary I was hoping to book a 6pm dining time. Is this unrealistic. I don't think we will be able to wait until 8:30 to eat!

Thanks

20 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

You are new to Princess.  Therefore, if you intend to purchase internet service (Medallion Net), it will cost you $15/day for a single device.  You might get one package and share the login, or both get it.  Crew Appreciation is $16/pp/day.  Assuming you want the internet, you have $31/pp/day there and if you added on the Zero Alcohol package for $30 (plus another 18%), you are well over $60/pp/day.

Also new to Princess. Do they ever offer deals on the Princess plus? ( either before you cruise or on boarding day)

Not sure that we will use it enough.

On 4/30/2023 at 8:21 AM, surgie said:

Our family of 11 will be on a northbound cruise in July 2024 Vancouver to Seward. My husband and I have previously been the same route and did a paid excursion (booked independently) at each port (Harv and Marv whale watching, Deadliest Catch boat, Dogsled demonstration etc.)

 

This time our kids will decide what they want to do as a family at each port. The cost of excursions have gone way up since 2015 so I'm collecting a list of free or inexpensive things to do at each port and they can decide I they want to go that direction or do a group excursion. We plan to rent vans in Skagway to do our own sightseeing.

 

I don't want to feel like we are "missing out". Kids are 5-11. Has anyone not done paid excursions and felt great about it LOL? 

In more direct answer to the unpaid excursions. We loved just wandering Ketchikan with a self guided walking tour! One of our best days.

On 5/31/2023 at 10:35 PM, pink845 said:

Car rental in Skagway this year is extremely overpriced. Even with a corporate rate, a mid size car from the only national car rental place in town (Hertz, Avis, not sure which one it was) booked 6 months in advance was going to be a crazy $300USD.   Pre pandemic we paid just under $100USD.   So we did not waste our money.  In previous years, when as I said, the rate was much cheaper, we drove all the way to Yukon, Carcass, Emerald Lake, meandering all the way.  Again, beat all the tour buses and the scenery was spectacular.    Juneau, again this year we rented a car from the airport and had a fabulous day.  

We are beginning to plan skagway and have rented from "Green jeep" however this trip we too have been shocked by car rental prices. Anyone have suggestions in Skagway without a car. Looking at the river float trip. Don't want to spend the day shopping and feel we missed out on seeing the area.

Please forgive me if this has been asked before.

What is the benefit to purchasing the cruise protection when I book? They said if I cancelled It would give me a refund? Doesn't everyone get a refund within 90 days of cruising (6 day and more cruise) if you choose to cancel? I also lose the money paid for protection. What am I missing? 

Thanks

Lori

1 hour ago, GTJ said:

 

 

Maybe you can clarify what it is you desire to do. This map of Alaska Railroad passenger trains might help (though it does not show the buses to and from Whittier and Seward).

Alaska Railroad Map and Service 3.pdf 103.32 kB · 4 downloads

Thank you for your answer. I meant that we just wanted to do the Glacier Train and confirm that it does come back to Whittier after it makes it way to Grandview. I see that we can make the cruise even that day but appreciate suggestions for a day in Whittier as we would also like to see that town as well. 

Flying to Anchorage before our cruise out of Whittier. Planning on staying a few nights in Anchorage. If I am looking at the Glacier train correctly, it goes from Anchorage, portage, into Whittier and then on further. On the return it goes back to Whittier. We were wanting to go further south and rather than do the train twice, spend one day to do the transfer. Hoping to get a place to stay then in Whittier, and spend the night before the cruise. ( Cruise departs at 8:30 pm, will we be bored for a whole day in Whittier?) Thought?

Looking at Grand Princess and wondered which cabin has the least obstructed. (412, 410, 408, 406, 404, 402.) If you have any other suggestions I would appreciate it! thanks

22 hours ago, wdw1972 said:

I've had that stateroom on Nieuw Amsterdam, which is the same.  The pro is the huge verandah - deck 4 is deeper and this one is the width of 2 verandahs.  The con is it's so far aft.  I always have a cabana in the Retreat, which is forward, so it's a hike from the stateroom (inconvenient running back & forth during the day).  

 

Sue/WDW1972

Thanks,funny that you brought up 4166. We ended up changing to this cabin! Sounds like it may be a good move. 

Has anyone stayed in this cabin? Any opinions? 

Sorry if this has been asked previously. Does Holland America give on board credit or compensate some other way if you book a cruise and the price drops?

Woke up this morning to a payment on my Mastercard! I am not sure if it is a coincidence or not, I did file a dispute, but the payment came from Carnival (dated March 18) for the full amount of my cruise. 

I am inclined to think filing might have given them a nudge!

Anyone who has filed through their credit card Canadian? Interested to hear if Canadian credit cards accepted the dispute! Thanks

1 hour ago, TXcruiser13 said:

I cancelled our 3/13/20 cruise a week before the departure date. STILL waiting for our refund of onboard purchases (WiFi and room purchases). We rescheduled our cruise for January of next year, but neither of us is feeling good about things right now. Will Carnival even be in business by then? 

I cancelled the same time and received our on board purchases. Did you receive confirmation that you cancelled. I thought I hadn't and it came back so quick I missed it on my credit card.

2 hours ago, hdmaninmb said:

 

Right, but this is totally different.  First, I'm sure your investment company that handled 401(k) accounts wasn't facing an imminent bankruptcy.  Second, Carnival just acquired huge amounts of cash (Billions, with a "B") by offering more stock shares, issuing bonds, etc.  That isn't even counting the $1.353B in "Cash and Short-Term Investments" they had at the end of the last quarter (11/30/19-02/29/20). They have PLENTY of cash on hand, don't be fooled.  I get it that processing refunds might take more time because of the sheer volume of requests, but it certainly isn't because of a shortage of cash.  Probably more like how they choose to prioritize their cash. 

 

There is a lot of misinformed guidance being posted in here, along the lines of "just wait until they give you your money back". That is a fools errand when you consider the financial position that Carnival is currently in. 

 

Depending on who you ask, or which analyst you believe, Carnival has about 12+/- months of liquidity to stay afloat, with all the boats parked.  What if that number is actually 3 months, 6 months, 9 months?  Do you know what happens when they can't fund their debts?  Bankruptcy, restructuring, etc.  What if they use the nuclear option well before they run out of liquidity? In my cursory research, companies are filing for bankruptcy BEFORE they are actually out of cash (just as Frontier recently did).  I'm no bankruptcy attorney, but in my research, once the bk trigger is pulled, no one is getting paid until the court says who gets what.

 

Do you know who is last in line to get paid if they do file bk?  I don't know, but it is probably either you and me, or the shareholders... but I'm sure the bond holders and other creditors get paid first.  At any rate, once they use the nuclear option, good luck seeing one dollar out of them.  

 

Carnival cancelled our (fully paid for) cruise, and consequently, our fully paid for wedding ceremony.  I'm not mad.  I understand they were essentially forced to cancel cruises (i.e. CDC "no sail order"), and I understand the circumstances of the world right now demand it.  We chose a full refund (not yet received) rather than future credits, e.g. re-read paragraphs 1-4 above.

 

I have yet to initiate a dispute with my CC company, but I plan to call them in the next day or so to inquire about the process, and most likely initiate a dispute.  This is called risk mitigation, not fraud.  It might be tricky for me, because I use my cc's for most of my expenses, and pay them off monthly.  As I see it, I have two options:
 

1)  "Trust" and "Hope" that Carnival will refund our money, despite their financial ruin, because they said they would;
 

2)   Mitigate my risk of loss by getting my money back now, else I'll have no recourse if they file for bankruptcy (unless I hire a lawyer to go after Carnival? Not likely a winning proposition).

 

I have no problems with Carnival, have had a lot of fun on previous cruises, and created lots of good memories.  I am sure Carnival has all intentions of refunding everyone's money ("unearned revenue") who is entitled to it, however, they simply might not be able to do it.  This is a business decision.  Just like if/when Carnival files for bankruptcy, and stiffs a whole lot of people out of money, they aren't doing that as a personal gesture...it is a business decision. 

 

I do hope that this pandemic passes very soon, and we can return to some kind of normalcy, and I do hope that Carnival is able to stay afloat, one way or the other.  

 

It isn't fair to judge anyone who is opting to take the "money now" approach, rather than putting all their chips on the "trust" and "hope" board; especially those people who might be in a financial bind as it is.  Full disclosure, I have no significant financial problems currently, however, potentially losing several thousands of dollars on a bad bet ("trusting" and "believing" that Carnival will give me all my money back, like they said they would) is not a position that I want to be in. 

 

Good luck everyone, but don't judge. 

 

 

Well said! We are all in different positions and different experiences.

Sorry that your wedding was affected...We all have had different losses and experiences during this. I just lost a vacation! 

I have just filed with a credit card dispute and not sure how this will turn out but am skeptical on 90 days as it's been 30 and there seems to be very few saying they got their money.

Good luck everyone,no judgement, here we are in different storms.