karatemom2

Yes. The ferry service is very reliable and an easy walk. We have done it a couple of times on port days. Once from Haines to Skagway and once from Skagway to Haines and back. There will likely be other cruise ship passengers onboard with you since the ship sells excursions in Haines.

Agreed. Most tour companies that cater to cruise ship passengers have a full refund policy if the ship misses the port. If you are going with a company that does not offer this guarantee, I would at least try to negotiate a deposit to hold the reservation with full payment due when you actually do the tour so at the worst you lose you deposit. I would be very hesitant to pay in full for a tour with zero refund policy, especially if you are the one holding the financial responsibility for a group of people.

We did a tour to the Chateau D'If. Ferries are located right at the harbor and it was really quite interesting and something a teen might enjoy. We also took the tiny train tour the drops you Notre Dame De La Garde. Both if these things we were able to just do on our own without a tour. There are a lot of restaurants, and shops around the harbor that make for a nice day.

A good, high quality pair of binoculars will greatly enhance your experience on an Alaska cruise. There is so much to see from the ship in terms of scenic viewing and wildlife, and really good binoculars make these opportunities do much better. We also take ours with us on excursions - never know when you might spot wildlife on which you want to get a closer look. We have Fujinon Marine binoculars that my husband uses on his boat that are very good, but there are many models that you can invest in for less money that still would provide much better results then anything the ship would supply.

Most people coordinating private tours on roll calls collect money from their group in advance of the tour via PayPal, Zelle or Venmo to ensure the financial commitment of the participants.

The LA to Hawaii run can be cold and rough, especially in December. We did this cruise for several years out of LA at Christmas time, and the weather crossing the Pacific was fairly cold and windy up until you got close to Hawaiian waters. On a couple of trips it was downright nasty. This can be challenging even in a covered and more protected balcony, but would likely make a completely open balcony less than usable in inhospitable conditions. Once you get to your port days in Hawaii, it will likely be more pleasant. So, if you are ok with potentially getting minimal use on most of the sea days, it would probably be fine. Pro would be that they are bigger and would probably be really nice while cruising among the islands, especially if you want to try a Balcony dinner or breakfast.

We had this issue on our recent Discovery cruise - for some reason when my DH completed our boarding information process, he said it didn't give him the option. However, my daughter and son-in-law who were on the same cruise were able to get it shipped. Neither of us had the package. They were able to literally walk right on the ship. We, however, stood in an packed, hour long, crowded line at San Pedro, to pick up our medallions because Princess no longer offered a Suite/Elite line as we have experienced in past cruises. Never again! I made sure that we got our medallions ordered and paid the $10 for our upcoming cruise this summer. I don't know what the secret sauce was on the app when I did that made it work, but I will not pick up the medallions at port ever again. If you aren't finding it working on the app, go out and try again later, call Princess, call your travel agent, reload the app, or get your teenage child or grandchild to assist. Mailing is still available for non-package passengers at a charge and I would very much recommend you find a way to make it happen because like many of you, I didn't think it would be an issue picking it up at port. But it was a giant pain and did not lend itself to a fun or relaxing beginning to our cruise.

That's great news. I'm glad you got it sorted out and that she was so helpful. But, inquiring minds do have to wonder what she meant when she referenced that there were "a lot of changes coming". Princess seems to be shaking things up lately and it is concerning when hearing this coming from the Loyalty host. Makes one wonder if the loyalty benefits are about to be altered in some way.

We have done this excursion twice on port days in Juneau. We booked through a company called Adventure Bound - here is the link: https://www.adventureboundalaska.com/ The key is that your port hours need to align with their hours for the excursion - on the two occasions we booked with them we had early arrival and a long port day so it worked. It still ranks in my top 5 excursions we have ever done - well worth it!

Wow, these are impressive. We have been considering trying Celebrity. Can you share how many cruises or days they require to reach this level? Also, any insight on their Casino benefits?

We get casino comps and those days are still added to our total number of cruising days, so that should not make any difference. And traveling solo should also not be an issue - most solos are paying a premium for traveling alone. Number of cruises or number of days is all that should be required to assess loyalty level. I would suggest you double check and make sure your booking was done correctly as a B2B. I know in some cases they do book B2B cruises as a single cruise (ie. 14 day instead of two 7 day). My daughter and her husband did a 21 day Med cruise this past summer and it was booked as a single cruise, although each segment was also sold as a 7 day.

If you want to visit Glacier Bay in Alaska and have better port times, you might want to compare some alternate lines. But if you are fine with more limited port hours and less scenic glacier viewing, then it looks like a fine option if sticking with Carnival is a priority. You will still see Alaska, just not quite as much.

Whale watching is an excellent choice for Juneau - you are guaranteed to see whales and it is a much better opportunity to see them from a smaller vessel then the passing glances you might get from your ship. Small companies do offer great options, and the two you mention are both well reviewed here. However, I would really hesitate book an excursion that ends at 3:15 when your ship departure time is 4 p.m. I believe any reputable vendor would discourage you from that tight of timeframe. Your all aboard time will be 3:30 p.m., and depending on where your tour departs, which in general for these trips is Auke Bay, it is bit of drive from the port, so you have to allow adequate transit time. I would suggest you look for a tour that gets you back earlier.

For those who can disconnect completely, I salute you. However, many of us have family members with whom we need to keep connected like elderly parents or college students, and others like me who are still among the working and unable to be off the grid. I love my job and get lots of vacation time, but have a position that minimally requires me to monitor my emails daily. Princess knows this and is edging into grifter territory with these WiFi rates in my estimation.

As a long time and frequent Princess cruiser I can assure you that you do not need the Plus package. Unless you are heavily invested in the alcoholic beverage part of the package, you can easily save money by not purchasing it and just buying what you actually consume alacarte onboard. Your main dining, water, lemonade, iced tea and coffee are all included. If you want to pay for sodas or cocktails on an as wanted basis it will end up costing you a lot less most likely. You could even just pay for one specialty meal if you want and be money ahead. Bottom line is seeing Alaska, and Princess is a great choice for that as well as the onboard entertainment you enjoy like piano bars, trivia, karaoke, etc.

Grateful that I saw this discussion. I just went on my app and purchased in advance with our Elite discount for our upcoming summer cruise. I feel like Princess is trying to bully those of us who opt out of the packages - at some point we will just give in and decide it is the most affordable option. Maybe instead you will just bully me over to another line once my Elite benefits aren't as attractive as they once were. Already looking at some Celebrity and NCL cruise options this year. They have some nice casino offers as well.

Yes, no problem. Princess all aboard times are 30 minutes to departure when you are docked and an hour in advance when tendering. Your all aboard time will be 3;30 pm.

We did the British Isles cruise on the Emerald Princes in 2022 and it still ranks as one of our top 5 cruises in my estimation. They are port intensive, so you need to be prepared for an energetic vacation as there is so much to see and do and each destination. Here is an itinerary of what we did on our 4 day stay pre-cruise in London, and then at each port on our cruise: London: Buckingham Palace Westminster Abbey Tower of London Churchill War Rooms Shakespeare's Old Globe Theatre St. Paul's Cathedral Maritime Museum at Greenwich Southampton Departure - transfer and tour vis International Friends: Windsor Castle Guernsey - Private Tour: Castle Cornet WWII Sites and Museum Cobh - Princess Tour: Rock of Cashel Dublin - Princess Tour: Glendalough Monastic City Christchurch Cathedral Belfast - Odyssey Tours: Giants Causeway Dunluce Castle Titanic Museum Liverpool - Wales Tour via Busy Bus: Conwy Castle Snowdonia Park Pontcysyllte Aqueduct Invergordon - Private Tour: Dunrobin Castle Cairn Liath Falls of Shin Dornoch Cathedral Glasgow - Discover Scotland: Sterling Castle Doune Castle Village of Luss Loch Lomond Trossachs National Park Edinburgh - used local taxi: Edinburgh Castle Royal Mile St. Giles Cathedral Royal Yacht Brittania Le Havre - Normandy via Overlord Tours: Omaha Beach American Cemetery Bayeux - for Cathedral and Bayeux Tapestry Honfleur Southampton Departure - transfer and tour via EC Minibus: Stonehenge It was a busy and action packed cruise vacation, but one I highly recommend!

Avis has not had their office in downtown Juneau open for a number of years now, at least it hasn't. I would call them to verify, but I believe the only Avis rental location now is at the airport which would be very inconvenient. The service we have used on all of our most recent cruises is Juneau Car Rental Company which had a space at the port until I believe they lost it recently, but as of our last visit they would still deliver and pick up your reserved vehicle at the port. Here is a link to their web site: https://www.juneaucarrentalcompany.com/

The kids on our recent New Year’s cruise were great. I love seeing families sharing special times together. The kid’s club staff did a fantastic job keeping them occupied and entertained, including a family fun fair in the Piazza. I have seen much more bad behavior by adults. Some of the rude, obnoxious, drunken behavior we witnessed on our Super Bowl weekend cruise last year and our recent Nee Year’s cruise have convinced me to avoid certain cruises on certain holidays because of the horrible antics of the adults. I will take a bunch of kids over that any day.

Happy to share some information. For our Windsor Visit, we shared the tour with another couple boarding our cruise and it was with a company called International Friends. They picked us both up at our respective hotels in London and we had about 2 1/2 hours at Windsor Castle. We got there just in time to watch the changing of the guard and had time to go through the whole castle tour and St. George’s Cathedral. I felt it was enough time for a first visit, although the town is so charming it would have been nice to explore there a bit. But I’m glad we didn’t shortchange any of our full London days because we really wanted to make the most of our time there. We got to the port just after 2 pm on walked right on the ship. Our Stonehenge tour was with EC Minibus. They picked us up at the port and we had about 90 minutes at Stonehenge which felt like ample time. We walked the grounds and all around the stones taking photos and explored the museum and exhibits and still had time to grab a quick cup of tea in the cafe. Then he took us right to Heathrow in plenty of time for our 5:30 pm flight home. It all worked out quite well. They were so great we booked with them again leaving our ship at Southampton this past summer when we got back from our Med cruise to visit Hampton Court Palace before heading to the airport.

Do any of the things on your wish list align with a ship excursion? Maybe even something as simple as a water taxi tour to Arch Rock and Land’s End. The nice thing about Mexico is that the ship excursions aren’t quite as overpriced and if you booked one scheduled at or near your arrival time, you can guarantee being in the first groups shuttled off the ship. Otherwise, plan to be in line at the lounge at least 45 minutes to an hour prior to the announced ticketing time with your entire party. If you are toward the front of that line you should get shuttled fairly expediently.

We visited the Royal Yacht on our Edinburgh port day and it was well worth the visit. We spent the morning at Edinburgh Castle and Royal Mile and then Ubered from there to the Yacht. After our visit we headed directly back to the port - also via Uber. It was easy and reasonable in cost - worth it in my estimation when we had limited hours to fit in all we wanted to do and going direct from point A to point B without a bunch of other stops or detours saved a lot of time.

It is confusing. I was experiencing the same thing. But then I figured if I go to the list of dining venues I can pick the one I want. It shows the available dates and times and you can select one and then confirm the booking. I just reserved each night of our June cruise yesterday and ordered our medallions.

First I’d like to say how very sorry I am about your husband. I think it’s wonderful that you are doing this for him to make his Alaska dream come true. My recommendation would be to look for cruises that are round trip out of Vancouver. It will make flying in and out much easier for you. Both Princess and Holland America do a good job in Alaska and the ships they have going on these round trip itineraries will traverse the very scenic true Inside Passage each way. Another great option I noted if you can devote longer than a week is an 11 day cruise on the Queen Elizabeth by Cunard. All of the itineraries include two full days of scenic cruising in places like Glacier Bay and Hubbard Glacier, so you might get more opportunity on a cruise like that to see a great deal from the ship. I would also encourage you to review the shore excursions to see your options for things that might be very low key - mostly on a tour bus. A good travel agent might be the best person to help advise you. Wishing you and your husband the best!