naturelovergirl

We have a night flight after our Alaska voyage on Cunard, so we will have the day free to explore some more. (We have no desire just to sit at the airport for hours until the evening.) Typically on a cruise we choose to do a mixture of independent excursions and cruise sponsored excursions, depending on what they are offering. We have, however, never chosen a POST-CRUISE excursion through any cruise line before. I’ve researched, if we want to be independent, where we can pay to store our luggage after our cruise if we wanted to wander around. But I wondered if anyone had any insight on how a post cruise excursion purchased through Cunard works. What happens for debarkation if you are going on a Cunard post-cruise excursion? Do they (or the excursion company) store your luggage at the port until you return from the excursion? I would be grateful for any insight. Thanks!

@david,Mississauga Was this your article you were referring to? https://skagwaynews.com/2023/02/10/landslide-mitigation-tests-anticipated-by-april/ @thistledoo Until the tests are done, it’s all a guessing game

Here are the berth codes for Skagway

We took a 3 week land trip (with backpacks) via trains, rental car, and Norwegian ferries in Norway in 2017- we did so so so much in those three weeks- wow And We traveled to Norway via Cunard in 2019 where we went above the Arctic Circle to the Lofotens and to Tromsø as well as the fjords… the sail into and out of Olden was gorgeous Both trips were some of the best of my life for different reasons The two trips together are like lovely bookends for me and my memories The land trip took massive amounts of planning and preparation. We are very savvy travelers, and it took that (and more) to make the kind of trip we took successful The Cunard voyage was much “easier”- but I was glad it was my second trip to Norway and that I got the chance to go higher north than the first trip I would go back to Norway in a heartbeat It is stunning That said, I think you do have to be realistic about Norway and do lots of research That late August sailing on QM2 has ports which should not be problematic for you As I said, Olden is gorgeous (I would suggest visiting Loen and Lovatnet Lake on an excursion from Olden if you go)

The new prices are definitely on my online planner in for my August cruise- I followed the instructions @bluemarble gave on an earlier post about how to find it.

The Hubbard Glacier excursion is definitely being offered for the August sailing in MyCunard. You are, perhaps, missing seeing it for your cruise @LB_NJ because Hubbard does not have its own little bubble header in the excursions section. The smaller boat Hubbard excursion can be found in the complete list of all of the excursions for the entire trip.

We have the 3 hour “SEA OTTER & WILDLIFE QUEST” booked for August. Looking very much forward to it. The company who runs that excursion for the cruise lines is Allen Marine.

All is well in Central Florida. The weather is warm and American major league baseball is in its final games of Spring Training. Opening Day is right around the corner! For baseball fans in the US, that is exciting. We are up to our final payment this week on our Cunard Alaska voyage, so it is really starting to feel real that we will be returning to our beloved Cunard. After waiting on this trip since our cancelled Alaska voyage in 2020, we feel like this is a welcome friend coming for a long awaited visit.

Does anyone know if there is transportation to the National Historic Park? Or just walk?

Yes There will be a continuous shuttle service from the dock into Sitka for anyone who wants to go into town. That is how Sitka works for all of the cruise ships.

Up to final payment customers in the US can make changes fairly easily if they have a refundable deposit. But After final payment it is more tricky… and there can be financial cost to changes. I say call and see what it will cost. Weigh your options.

3- On Board Credit is not able to be used in casino 8- All of the Cunard sponsored excursions we have done have been excellent. We tend to do a mix of independent excursions and Cunard ones. It just depends on what we want to do in that particular port. (I find Cunard’s pricing to be fair and competitive, honestly, for Alaska.) If you have any tender ports I suggest getting a Cunard excursion on those. Cunard is beautiful. Enjoy!!!

Here is the Commodore Club menu online right now Quite excellent drinks https://www.cunard.com/content/dam/cunard/my-voyage/pdfs/qm/qm_commodore_club_menu_aug_2022a.pdf

Yes- If you google "Cunard Wine Collections" a pdf should pop up for you. Basically you can choose 6 or 12 bottles from either the "Captain's Collection" or the "Commodore's Collection" for your voyage.

I'll start by saying that we purchase our drinks and do not do the drinks package. It is much better for us to pay as we go. It goes on our account. Easy peasy. Know that unlike some other lines which allow you to pay the "difference" between drinks if your drink is of a higher cost, Cunard is not that way. You will pay the full price (on top of the drinks package you have already purchased) minus a small percentage off. Some people like it because the gratuity is included in the package. Other people are just fine staying under the $12 limit. If you like wine, you will definitely be limited to what you are drinking, for sure. Some people instead prefer to get a wine collection of bottles for their meals. Again for us, I would rather just order what I want.

We are renting e-bikes from Klondike Electric Bicycles in Skagway- we plan to ride places and also hike.

@tcdcruiser Sooooo agree on the Muir Woods!!!! Absolutely wonderful.

One of my favorite things to do in San Francisco is to walk the Golden Gate Bridge! A wonderful experience! The Cable Cars are also always fun.

I received a survey today. Most of it dealt with Hawaii cruises.

Increases are certainly not unexpected Many cruise lines have increased their auto-gratuities during this time since the restart

Agree

I love Cunard. But They will have an issue going forward in differentiating themselves from other lines if they keep eroding the dress code. There is plenty of competition out there between the cruiseline brands. Competition in price. Competition in amenities. Competition in technological advancements. That wording is WAY too ambiguous. Wow.

If you are on a Princess Excursion, then I am sure that they will give you directions of what they want you to do. The cruise will have that organized. Anybody on cruise sponsored excursions should be just fine. The cruise should communicate. People who book independent excursions will want to be aware of where their ship is docked and pay attention to what the protocols are.

Narrow down your choices with your itinerary preferences first… choose your line/ship after 😊

All is well in Central Florida. The weather is cool and breezy with a warm sun. I’ve been enjoying planning our Queen Elizabeth voyage to Alaska- coming up in August! Can’t wait! We actually just finished listening to James A. Michener’s ALASKA in anticipation of our sailing. It was quite a long audiobook, of course being Michener, but the book was absolutely worth the journey. We especially enjoyed the chapters dealing with the Alaska Gold Rush, salmon, and Tlingit history. Listening to the book has made us even more excited about our upcoming trip to Alaska on QE.