Kitty Ellas Mom

disneyochem, what brand of gloves do you use? I got some that were supposed to allow me to use my phone but they didn't work. Yours sound great.

I am on Majestic in mid June to Alaska, so I'm expecting it to be packed. I want to distance as much as possible from the crowds. What are the least popular times to do things? I can guess things like early / very late dining would be less popular, but it is my first cruise so I don't really know how things are. My TA put our small group into 5 pm MDR dining but I'm not locked into that, although I do want to eat with them at least a couple of times (I am traveling solo and will engage with the group sometimes but not all the time). I was also thinking about trying Crown Grill to try out a SD. If I go to the 2nd of two shows is it probably going to be sold out or might there be seats in the back without many people near? I will probably not spend much time at the casino but did want to at least check it out. When would there be less people on the Sea Walk? Those are the things I want to do that I could think of off the top of my head.

Hmmm....this particular person has so many preexisting conditions that I tend to think whatever is involved would probably be considered that. But, who knows. Thank you all for giving me a lot of perspective I didn't have on this issue. I had no idea about a fine for not going to a Canadian port for example.

What is the earliest you would recommend to be there when it's not crowded? I'm going on my 1st ever cruise on Majestic to Alaska in mid June, departing from Whittier. The earliest I can get to Whittier port is around 1 pm.

Not to get too off topic, but when does Emerald Lake unfreeze? I know that at the beginning of the Alaska season it's often frozen. Would it be thawed by mid June?

Thanks all. I'm on Princess. I tend to think I would not leave the trip, just wanted to see. I will read through my trip insurance document more closely.

Sad to bring up, but I really don't know the answer to this: an elderly relative of mine has just taken quite ill and nobody knows what will happen. If she were to pass this would be a devastating blow and, if I were in town, we would immediately make a long journey there for the funeral (days' drive). If I were to be on my Alaska cruise Whittier to Vancouver, with Skagway, Juneau and Ketchican, is there any getting off the ship at these ports in order to get back home quickly? I am guessing not except maybe Juneau. Thanks for any info. DH said that he's ok taking this risk that I might not get home but I'm not sure I am. This is a solo trip for me and is in one month, everything is paid for already. I have insurance but wouldn't kick in unless she actually passed, I think. It's my MIL.

People have been talking about old vs new ships. Is the Majestic considered old or new at this point? That's the one I'm going on in June, for my 1st (ever) cruise, to Alaska.

Wow, thanks for all the responses! I'm starting to wonder if the person in Whittier who tried to steer me to the dining at Alyeska resort for one more meal before boarding was maybe trying to drum up more business for the local establishments rather than being honest with me about what people say about Princess.

Alfredo's is actually my plan for embarkation day lunch if I can get on board early enough. 🙂

I forgot to say that I'm on the. Majestic.

I've read tons of things here about Princess food being bad but now I'm more worried. Someone I booked tranportation for in Alaska has recommended to me to eat lunch at my hotel before getting on the cruise because then I will have bad food for a week. She's been hearing how it's bad except in the specialty restaurants. Hmmm.....I am not in the least bit picky but I want food that is at least decent. What are my best bets if I want to stick to the "free" foods? I am planning to eat dinner in the MDR at least sometimes b/c of my group which is booked together but I don't have to eat with them all the time. I am thinking of trying Crown Grill.

Dyea Dave tours mentioned earlier in this thread is not offering tours for 2022 due to the uncertainty of being able to go into Canada. This was on their facebook page.

I agree with the person who said to watch you tube videos. There are lots of great ones and they show you the places and glaciers. Some of my favorite channels are Don's Family Vacations and Tips for Travelers. These are popular channels with a lot of viewers and the people who run them have cruised all over the world. I got interested in cruising because of these.

Do you think I will need it for the Totem Bight park in Ketchican?

Following this thread as I need to do this too in Vancouver.

I thought the issue is that nobody can board a train at Fraser (or other points?) in Canada. It then wouldn't make a difference if they boarded near the cruise ship or close by within Alaska---the issue is passports into Canada. From my reading it seems that the Canadian government doesn't think it can process people quickly enough with the volume of people and the new stuff they have to check for re: covid. So bus only tours are ok and train only (within Alaska) are ok but anything where you would switch from bus to train within Canada isn't going to happen. I thought the train trip alone is still at least close to its "full run" because it still goes to the "White Pass Summit." There are other train options that go into Canada but I think the issue last year was a greatly reduced White Pass Summit train due to a rock slide, or something like that, and the damage to the track has been corrected. Please feel free to correct me, as I am still trying to figure this all out myself. Here is one example of an article I found about this issue: https://www.yukon-news.com/news/white-pass-railroad-wont-return-to-canada-in-2022/#:~:text=WPYR executive director Tyler Rose,and restrictions at the border.

I haven't been on my cruise yet but I booked this excursion through Princess. They had 2 available and for the longest time I couldn't figure out the difference. It turned out to be that one goes to Mendenhall glacier and the other to Norris (I think?). So, then I asked on CC about these and people said they are pretty much the same sort of thing.

If you are booked with a specific cruise line you can look at the thread for that line and will surely see a lot of mention of these things.

I was actually just reading about Alaska's mosquito problem and wondering too, although the article I read said that they don't hang out in the cruise ship coastal type areas. But, I have yet to take my trip so others that have been there are a better source than I am.

Unfortunately the Alaska Railroad on my travel day is sold out for Girdwood to Whittier. I had actually looked into that months ago and it was already sold out. Too bad, it sounds like a good option if I'd have known early enough.

That is the excursion I was booked on. I am sad that it won't happen, although I wasn't sure about being on a bus for 8 hrs.

I had this same situation as I was booked on a Princess excursion with bus up, train down and switched when I heard about the problem to the train only. For me, as a first time Alaska visitor, the train has a romantic appeal--train through mountains was one of the things that sold me on Alaska as a place to visit-- although I will miss the opportunity to get out and take pictures without moving. I am still contemplating a booking for the bus later in the day but am thinking to pass b/c that is a lot of hours stuck with others when I could be walking around Skagway seeing things on my own.

I will be staying at Alyeska resort in Girdwood for 2 days prior to my cruise so I will need a transfer to Whittier. I am aware that Girdwood is 45 min to an hour outside of Anchorage but am wondering if it would make more sense to get a taxi to Anchorage and then some sort of public transport to Whittier from there. Easiest would of course be someone who could drive me the full distance but I wonder about cost. When I try to passively research this I get a lot of things going the opposite way--as in, to Girdwood in the AM and then back to Anchorage in the PM, which wouldn't work for me, as I need to head to Whittier in the AM. I am going to ask Alyeska resort but I want to be educated on the possible options first. I also have a TA and wonder if I should have them book this; so far, they have only booked the actual cruise cabin for me, and I've done everything else.

I'd really like to see the Gold Rush Cemetery when I am in Skagway (and the waterfall nearby too....) but I am not on a tour that goes there. I've booked myself into the train from 8 to 11 and then am free, and my boat doesn't leave until 8:30 PM so there is plenty of time. What is a good way to see these things? I am physically ok but don't want to walk miles and miles b/c the next day I might do that in Juneau. I'm considering booking a 2nd excursion in Skagway but so far the offerings don't seem to add much to my day (at least the Princess ones, I'm on Majestic Princess in early June), so I'll probably go around the town alone and see things like the cemetery.