karatemom2

I can share a little from our experience when our kids were younger. We did the LA to Hawaii Cruise four years in a row for our Christmas holiday - first one on Diamond Princess and subsequent three on the Golden, which is a sister ship of Grand. We loved these cruises and my kids who were ages 8 to 12 and 13 to 17 when we cruised really enjoyed them. Now, keep in mind these were holiday cruises so there were MANY other kids onboard. It is likely on a January itinerary this won't be the case and it will skew older. However, if your teen is more on the quiet side and enjoys your more low key activities, she will likely not be bored. Given she may be one of the few young people on board, you may find she gets a lot of extra attention. My son is sort of an old soul and even when he was little, he was very content on our sea days to go read a book, play games, go to trivia or other ship activities. They usually have a pretty robust roster of cultural activities like hula dancing and ukulele on these cruises that she might really enjoy. We love the Grand class ships, but Ruby is newer. I have been on both the Grand and Ruby and they are great, but I imagine even with dry docks, Grand is likely showing her age and I have never liked the closet set up on that ship, so I would probably go with the Ruby. Crossing the Pacific out of LA, especially in January, could be a little bit of a rough ride. We sort of love that because it really reminds you that you are at sea. But if either of you have any issues with sea sickness, just come prepared. It's a fabulous cruise - super relaxing and full of Aloha spirit. I can't imagine anyone not loving it and it will be a wonderful time for you to spend with your teen. We are actually thinking of going back again with our adult kids next year. I'm sure you will enjoy it!

Yes, that's an amazing excursion. Have done it twice in Tracy Arm Fjord. If you have the chance to do that on the half day Juneau itinerary you are considering, it would be well worth it. The ship goes there as well, but the small boats get much more up close and personal and the ship is somewhat limited often on how far it can in due to the ice levels. So if you do book that itinerary, I would encourage you to sign up for that excursion and do it early. There are limited spaces and it fills up quickly!

We have cruised on NCL, HAL and Princess in Alaska and in my opinion Princess definitely provided the best overall experience and itineraries. Be sure to look at port times and whether Glacier Bay is included when doing your comparisons.

Does the itinerary that goes to Juneau 7 am to 7 pm have a scenic cruising day or Glacier Bay? If it does not, I would choose the itinerary with Endicott so you have at least some opportunity to experience cruising through a fjord and view a tidewater glacier. Your time, though limited, in Juneau would still also allow you to visit Mendenhall glacier as well - it is not as impressive as it once was but still offers a beautiful area for hiking and also Nugget Falls which is an impressive site.

Yes, it looks amazing. We had L102 and L104 side by side, with our kids traveling with us in the other cabin. We were able to open up the balconies and it was amazing having those two large spaces side by side. All of those forward cabins on L and M are great options.

The best Alaska cabin we ever had was on the Royal - it was one of the forward cabins on the Lido deck. Huge balcony and we could see everything on both sides. Thankfully once we were in the inside passage we experienced very little wind even when moving between ports. I would totally book that again - and we are thinking about an aft for upcoming cruises as well. Everyone seems to love them and your point about seeing both sides is a good one. We loved that wide open view when we had our forward facing cabin. The nice thing about the forward facing cabin is that pricing is pretty good since they are considered obstructed view.

Generally while you are at the glacier for scenic viewing the ship will turn completely around so all sides get an equal viewing opportunity. In general, on our trips from San Francisco, Seattle or Vancouver to Alaska we have opted for the starboard side as it is the closer to land side most of the time which we prefer, but regardless you will get great views from either side and good opportunities for wildlife viewing. We just find starboard provides a bit more scenic viewing in our experience.

In our experience, you can make changes to the passengers in a cabin as long as one of the two original people on the booking remains on the reservation. Right before COVID, my husband and I were scheduled for a brief trip on the Royal but something came up with his business and he couldn't get away. We ended up replacing him with my son who went with me. It was actually within a couple weeks of the cruise, but we were still early enough to make the change as the manifest hadn't been submitted and it was pretty easy as my son was a previous Princess cruiser so they were able to quickly make the swap. We have also substituted third/fourth passenger as well on other trips. But I don't believe you can transfer entire reservation to other people - that would just be a cancelation and rebooking.

We live just outside of LA and did the RT Hawaii cruise for Christmas when our kids were younger for several years. Most of those trips were pretty rough going in and out of LA, one in particular when there was a big storm. Once we got closer to Hawaii it was lovely. We hadn't had a lot of winter storms for many years up to last year when we broke records and it is expected we are heading into an El Nino which means we could have some stormy years ahead. Jan - Mar tends to be the height of our rainy season if we are having one but September and October in SoCal tend to be really lovely and less likely to bring rain. So, without benefit of a crystal ball, but just based on being a lifelong resident I would say your best bet for nicer weather would be the Sept - Oct timeframe if you can make it work. March can still have late storms - we saw that last year. But that being said, given our experience cruising end of Dec beginning Jan for our holiday cruises, even when the seas are rough it is a great trip.

We have gone three times in May and it can be a little colder, especially early in the month. But there were days that were very lovely and temperate as well. Best advice is always to consider packing layers - I usually start with jeans, a thin but warm turtleneck shirt and add one of my Patagonia fleece pullovers or vests with a jacket if the weather is extra cold. As it warms up during the day, I can shed the pullover/jacket as needed. If it is particularly cold, I may add hat and gloves, especially if it's raining, when I might also throw on a rain poncho which I carry in my backpack. I like walking boots with good tread for the ports as we like to hike and they keep my feet comfy, warm and dry. That is pretty much my uniform for the port days and it has worked well for me on all of our Alaska adventures.

It was virtually empty most days on our recent Sky Princess cruise. We never saw more than three tables occupied at any one time and much of the time there was no one there. I don't think you will have a problem getting seated.

Here is a link directly from US Customs and Border Protection dated 6/20/23 that addresses this question and seems to indicate that a birth certificate and driver's license are still acceptable for closed loop cruises. https://help.cbp.gov/s/article/Article-74?language=en_US

Thank you for sharing your experience. It was thoughtful of you to provide first hand information as this is something that does come up and it can be hard for people to ask questions here about it. We have a family friend who traveled with us on a cruise to Alaska several years ago for the first time and we had no knowledge of this issue. He had a DUI as a juvenile from a number of years prior - a foolish mistake as a young person that he deeply regrets. He wasn't anywhere near over the legal limit, but because he was under 21 any registered level of alcohol, even very minimal, was a violation. He paid dearly and learned a valuable lesson. Fast forward over 5 years later and he was going to cruise with us and got a call from someone in Canadian immigration advising him of this issue and interviewing him over the phone about the circumstances. He was told at the time it should not prohibit him going on the trip, but it could possibly flag him for not being able to get off the ship in Victoria. However, he was also advised that because it had been over 5 years and his record was otherwise clean, they might overlook it. As it turns out, he had no problem either getting on the ship or going off the ship in Victoria and has traveled on three subsequent Alaska trips without issue. So there does appear to be some leniency if time has passed and your record remains clean as your case also illustrates. It was kind of you to share. I know when we first found out, the first place I came to try to get information was these boards and I so appreciated the people who, first of all, were kind about my inquiry, and second of all, were able to reassure me with their real life experience.

Yes, yes, yes!! We have done the excursion twice through Adventure Bound and would do it again in a heartbeat. It is such a different experience going through Tracy Arm on a small boat and getting up close to the glacier. We still count these trips in our top 5 Alaska excursions. If your port time makes it possible, by all means do it. Worth every cent! Edited to add: It is a long walk from where you will be docked - doable but not optimal. There is likely a shuttle that will be available that might get you closer. If not, a taxi service might be your best option.

We have cruised on the Bliss, Encore and other NCL ships as well as virtually all the Princess ships, including the new Royal class. We enjoy both, but Princess edges NCL by far in Alaska. Their ships are beautiful, food excellent, staterooms and balconies much larger and quality of service and entertainment is on par. We don’t miss outdoor slides and go kart tracks when our focus is the ports. Alaska is a magical destination with so much to see and that means you need time in your ports. It is not a place where a simple walk around town and stop in a shop or two is sufficient. Unfortunately the round trip Seattle itineraries offered by NCL, including Encore, are just truly abysmal in terms of the actual time in these wonderful Alaska ports. We have been to Alaska on both lines and without a doubt Princess offers a superior Alaska experience.

Your post made me curious so I did a Google search and found YouTube videos of them. Here are a couple as well as link to his Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/dima.dakhnovskyi?mibextid=LQQJ4d https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Srfk6AdIj7k https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5v6-4nEmwDA

We were just on a Med cruise out of Southampton on the Sky that started and ended with 2 sea days. Our first port was Cadiz and the clock moved forward an hour on the second sea day at 2 am. On the way back to Southampton the clock went back an hour on the last evening before we docked in Southampton which rather surprised me. But it made it extra easy to get up and off the ship in a timely manner.

Sitka is entirely doable on your own. We have never booked a ship tour on our visits. There are taxis and private tours that will take you to Fortress of the Bear. Most other sites are walkable if you are in good shape. It is an absolutely stunning town - one of our very favorite ports in AK. You might want to do some research via the local tourism website or TripAdvisor for ideas on planning your own day there.

So sorry you were disappointed. Food can be very subjective and we have found it varies from ship to ship in terms of overall quality. We are just off the Sky and the food was exceptionally good for the most part. However, the worst meal I had was the chicken parmigiana. Your description is spot on. It was almost inedible. They definitely need to reimagine that dish. Hope otherwise your time in Alaska was enjoyable - it is one if our favorite destinations!

Usually unless you are a back to back cruise the shows are one and done and don’t repeat.

Yes, you are most definitely charged for any medical treatment you receive on the ship and it isn't inexpensive. Do you have a health plan that will reimburse you for onboard medical expenses should you need them? Just to give you an example - my DH unfortunately got a kidney stone on a cruise earlier this year. He has had it happen twice before, so we knew that was likely the case when the pain hit. He was treated in medical with intravenous drip to help flush his system and also deliver pain medicine. They did a diagnostic work up to rule out anything more severe, but given his history, they felt confident of the diagnosis and after a few hours of treatment in the med center allowed him to go back to our cabin with a prescription pain killer and another med to help encourage the stone to pass. Thankfully it passed quickly and within a day he was feeling better. All in all, it was equivalent to an ER visit. The bill for this was nearly $4000 which was added to our onboard account. I had to submit a claim to our health insurance when we returned home and they did reimburse us within about 6 weeks. So you might want to see if your health plan covers you when you are traveling, and if not, buy some insurance that does.

It was pretty amazing! We were so lucky to get tickets as it happened to be in LA last year and being such big fans of Pat and Neil we decided to see if we could go and it all worked out. But the other inductees were incredible as well - Duran Duran, Lionel Ritchie, Carly Simon, Judas Priest, Eminem and Dolly Parton. To say it was a star studded event is an understatement! The show was over 5 hours long - don't know how they managed to edit it down for the three hour TV version. All I can say is that I felt like I was 21 again and it was one of the best nights of my life!! My DH and I rocked out and didn't even worry if our backs would be sore in the morning! : )

OK, going way off topic here but I have to chime in and defend my girl, because my husband and I are huge fans of Pat Benatar and her husband Neil Giraldo. They are amazing performers. She is still vibrant and sounds and looks amazing. They are not hurting for money and if she wanted to hang it up and retire, she certainly could. Why would she when she still wants to do what she enjoys? If you see them in concert like we have several times over the past few years, you can tell that they LOVE to perform. But of course she is not filling stadiums anymore and they tend to perform in smaller venues. We were thrilled to be in the audience at their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction last year and see them perform there. That honor was way overdue. Pink was also there as a presenter and it was from that interaction that the opportunity for them to join her concert materialized. Why wouldn't they want to be a part of that? I don't think they have any ego around being an opening act - especially for an artist like Pink that they clearly admire. These are huge stadium shows and will expose them to an entirely new audience. It is a great thing and as a super fan I'm thrilled for them. Hardly sad!!

I would encourage you to print them and put them on yourself if possible. We also put them on at our hotel as we were leaving, borrowing a stapler from the front desk. My daughter and her new husband relied on the flimsy tags that the porters put on at the dock and one of them ended up coming off and her bag was delayed because she had to go searching for it with the unidentified bags placed out on embarkation evening by Guest Services. Luckily it was there, but it caused unneeded stress. We have found the folded paper tags to be very sturdy and if stapled on well, very reliable in making sure our bags arrive without problems.

The only time my DH got free drinks in the casino was on one of the special VIP cruises when it was included as one of the special perks. It was only in the casino and you had to be wearing the badge that identified you as one of the VIP casino group members. On our other regular cruises, some of the perks the host has provided include free dinners in the specialty restaurants, free bottles of water, chocolate covered strawberries, box of chocolates, champagne and flowers. They usually arrange some nice things like that while you are onboard. And then of course your come back offer for your next cruise at the end. DH loved to throw those dice and it has come with some nice cruising benefits! 😊