1stTIMECRUZER

Sounds like a good plan! Thanks!

Our reservation says "Please note, this tour does not stop at Mendenhall Glacier. We stop at Brotherhood Bridge photo view point for 15 minutes." Anyone have any experience with this? Thanks!

Thanks so much!

Wow, thanks for the great help. All advice welcome and so much appreciated!

We are in Juneau from 11 am to 9 pm. We are booked for the Harv & Marv's whale watch from 12-3 pm. When we return, what's the best way to travel to Mendenhall Glacier to view the glacier, hike to the falls, etc. I've done some research. Just want to get some opinions. Thanks!

We are taking the Amtrak from Seattle King St Station on a Sunday night at 7 pm to Vancouver. It arrives at 11 pm. Have you taken this train before and if so, how early can you check your luggage for the trip at King Street Station? We are staying at a Seattle airport hotel the night before so are hoping to store our luggage at the train station while we sight see during the day on Sunday. We'll be in Seattle a couple days. What are the best ways to get around (2 adults) for sight seeing for things like the Space Needle, Museum of Pop Culture, the Glass Museum and Pike Street Market? No mobility issues. We don't plan to rent a car but it's not out of the question.

I understand the Amtrak train arrives in Vancouver at the Pacific Central Station. We are staying at the Ramada Limited Vancouver Downtown. From my research, this seems to be about 8 min from Pacific Central Station. Is this walk-able and safe at 11 pm?

We won't have long to tour Vancouver before boarding a cruise the following day. What is your favorite thing to do in Vancouver? We have to board the ship by 2 pm.

Can we spend the US dollar in Vancouver? We have a VISA with no foreign transaction fees. Just wondering about the use of cash.

If you have input and feel like sharing, thanks!:)

Thanks for the help. Went with the Hilton Doubletree near SEA-TAC and the Ramada (free with points) in Vancouver. Glad that's done. I can't believe how many hours I spent pouring over the options for two hotels! :)

Enjoying your review as I did a prior Alaska review. We are doing the same Alaska itinerary you have booked for 2018 but our trip is in late July 2018. Maybe your review of that one will be done before we go! :)

We loved the Getaway. Sailed her a couple years ago. Had a great time.

We are looking for a Seattle hotel near King Street Station for July 2018. We are leaving for Vancouver via Amtrak at 7pm. We'll arrive the morning before so would like a hotel not far from King Street Station where we can spend one night and then store our luggage while we sight see the next day before taking the train at 7pm. My thought is this is the best option with a 7pm train departure but would appreciate any ideas you would like to share. Would like to keep it under $200 if possible.

Also need a hotel near Vancouver Pacific Central Station for one night...arriving after 11 pm and then leaving on a cruise the next day.

Have Choice Privileges and Wyndham points as well as some others but will consider all options.

I can't thank you all enough for the help. All of this will take me a bit to digest and then might ask some follow up questions. We made a decision on Ketchikan so have that reservation taken care of. Thank you again!

:confused: I've been reading posts and trip reviews for months but would like some help from anyone willing.

I will cross post this on the Alaska board as well. Hopefully that's ok. :D

This will be our 3rd Norwegian cruise. 5th cruise overall. Two of us traveling.

Norwegian Jewel - Chose the Norwegian small ship option in hopes of getting as close to glaciers as possible.

7/21 Flying into Seattle to take in the sights. Should arrive around 10 am if all goes as planned. What's your favorite hotel accessible via the Link close to things such as the Space Needle, glass museum, Pikes Market? We are able to walk several blocks or Uber. We don't plan to rent a car. We will spend at least one night or two in Seattle. Is it easy to find the Link at SEA-TAC? I'm assuming we just follow the signs? This is not a train you need to make reservations for, right? Cost? Just buy a ticket and hop on?

7/22 or 7/23 We cruise out of Vancouver on the 23rd. We are planning to take the train between Seattle and Vancouver. I'm assuming there's only one train option? Amtrak Cascades - 4hr route - Choices either 7-11 pm or 7:45 to 11:45 am. Has anyone done this recently? What's the cost? I'm assuming reservations are recommended? Safe to take the morning train the day we cruise or better to go the day before? I think I read some reviews that indicate it's generally always on time....but if it wasn't, yikes!

7/23 4pm Cruise out of Vancouver British Columbia - Is the port called Canada Place? Does the train arrive near the port? If we plan to stay a night in Vancouver, what's the best option for a hotel that's near the port? If we have time to sight see in Vancouver, what do you recommend?

I'm overwhelmed and needs some help narrowing down excursions in the ports. Whale watching is very high on my list. I think hubby might love the Deadliest Catch excursion. He's watched that show for years so would probably enjoy that. Have you done it and did you think it was worthwhile? We can hike and that's neither high or low on our list of things to do. We have a bit of OBC that would probably cover one excursion through Norwegian so if you have an idea of the "best" one to do through Norwegian, I'm all ears. The dining and beverage packages came with our cruise so won't need the $$ for that.

7/24 Inside Passage

7/25 Ketchikan 7am to 4 pm - Favorite things to do and with what tour company? I have several things on my list for this port including the Deadliest Catch tour.

7/26 Juneau 11 am to 9 pm - Is this the best port for whale watching tours? As mentioned above, I really want to see whales but would also like to make it to Mendenhall Glacier. Have you used Juneau tours for the combined excursion and how did it go? Other recommendations? Does our time in port allow for it plus a bit of sight seeing in town? Looks like NCL has a whale watch/Mendenhall Glacier tour so maybe this is the one we need to do through NCL??

7/27 Skagway 8 am to 8 pm - White Pass Railroad or Chilkoot? Your thoughts? If you can share contact information, great! What else in Skagway? Emerald Lake? We've hiked miles and seen some beautiful lakes in the Rockies. Is Emerald Lake a must see? Does Chilkoot go there?

7/28 Cruise Glacier Bay - Time frame says overnight....will it be light? Just wondering what we'll see if anything. We do have a balcony cabin.

7/29 Cruise Hubbard Glacier - Praying for good weather! :)

7/30 Seward 5 am - Ok, this is where I really need some help. The tentative plan is a DIY land tour from here and fly home from Fairbanks on Friday 8/3 or Saturday 8/4. We want to go to Denali but hit some sights along the way. What is "must see" in Seward before we head north? Can we rent a car out of Seward or is the best option for car rental in Anchorage? I know there's a train to Anchorage but haven't looked at the times yet. Or, would you do it all via train vs rental car. I'm open to ideas although I think we'll want to stop here and there which makes me think we'll want a car. It doesn't appear there are many roads so getting lost shouldn't be a big issue. Right? Seems that flying home from Fairbanks is about the same cost as flying home from Anchorage so thinking of going that route versus backtracking.

What are some of your favorite places to stop between Anchorage and Denali?

How about between Denali and Fairbanks?

Are there lots of choices for touring Denali or only one?

We are going to have four or five nights on the road, where would you stay?

I understand that preference plays into this but I value your opinons. We've never done this before so all of my ideas thus far have come from research on Cruise Critic & Google searches. The only reservations I've made so far are our flight to Seattle and the cruise. The rest is still fluid and changes minute by minute the more I read. I know it's time to start getting some of this nailed down. Those that would like to share, thank you!

:confused: I've been reading posts and trip reviews for months but would like some help from anyone willing.

I will cross post this on the Alaska board as well. Hopefully that's ok. :D

This will be our 3rd Norwegian cruise. 5th cruise overall. Two of us traveling.

Norwegian Jewel - Chose the Norwegian small ship option in hopes of getting as close to glaciers as possible.

7/21 Flying into Seattle to take in the sights. Should arrive around 10 am if all goes as planned. What's your favorite hotel accessible via the Link close to things such as the Space Needle, glass museum, Pikes Market? We are able to walk several blocks or Uber. We don't plan to rent a car. We will spend at least one night or two in Seattle. Is it easy to find the Link at SEA-TAC? I'm assuming we just follow the signs? This is not a train you need to make reservations for, right? Cost? Just buy a ticket and hop on?

7/22 or 7/23 We cruise out of Vancouver on the 23rd. We are planning to take the train between Seattle and Vancouver. I'm assuming there's only one train option? Amtrak Cascades - 4hr route - Choices either 7-11 pm or 7:45 to 11:45 am. Has anyone done this recently? What's the cost? I'm assuming reservations are recommended? Safe to take the morning train the day we cruise or better to go the day before? I think I read some reviews that indicate it's generally always on time....but if it wasn't, yikes!

7/23 4pm Cruise out of Vancouver British Columbia - Is the port called Canada Place? Does the train arrive near the port? If we plan to stay a night in Vancouver, what's the best option for a hotel that's near the port? If we have time to sight see in Vancouver, what do you recommend?

I'm overwhelmed and needs some help narrowing down excursions in the ports. Whale watching is very high on my list. I think hubby might love the Deadliest Catch excursion. He's watched that show for years so would probably enjoy that. Have you done it and did you think it was worthwhile? We can hike and that's neither high or low on our list of things to do. We have a bit of OBC that would probably cover one excursion through Norwegian so if you have an idea of the "best" one to do through Norwegian, I'm all ears. The dining and beverage packages came with our cruise so won't need the $$ for that.

7/24 Inside Passage

7/25 Ketchikan 7am to 4 pm - Favorite things to do and with what tour company? I have several things on my list for this port including the Deadliest Catch tour.

7/26 Juneau 11 am to 9 pm - Is this the best port for whale watching tours? As mentioned above, I really want to see whales but would also like to make it to Mendenhall Glacier. Have you used Juneau tours for the combined excursion and how did it go? Other recommendations? Does our time in port allow for it plus a bit of sight seeing in town? Looks like NCL has a whale watch/Mendenhall Glacier tour so maybe this is the one we need to do through NCL??

7/27 Skagway 8 am to 8 pm - White Pass Railroad or Chilkoot? Your thoughts? If you can share contact information, great! What else in Skagway? Emerald Lake? We've hiked miles and seen some beautiful lakes in the Rockies. Is Emerald Lake a must see? Does Chilkoot go there?

7/28 Cruise Glacier Bay - Time frame says overnight....will it be light? Just wondering what we'll see if anything. We do have a balcony cabin.

7/29 Cruise Hubbard Glacier - Praying for good weather! :)

7/30 Seward 5 am - Ok, this is where I really need some help. The tentative plan is a DIY land tour from here and fly home from Fairbanks on Friday 8/3 or Saturday 8/4. We want to go to Denali but hit some sights along the way. What is "must see" in Seward before we head north? Can we rent a car out of Seward or is the best option for car rental in Anchorage? I know there's a train to Anchorage but haven't looked at the times yet. Or, would you do it all via train vs rental car. I'm open to ideas although I think we'll want to stop here and there which makes me think we'll want a car. It doesn't appear there are many roads so getting lost shouldn't be a big issue. Right? Seems that flying home from Fairbanks is about the same cost as flying home from Anchorage so thinking of going that route versus backtracking.

What are some of your favorite places to stop between Anchorage and Denali?

How about between Denali and Fairbanks?

Are there lots of choices for touring Denali or only one?

We are going to have four or five nights on the road, where would you stay?

I understand that preference plays into this but I value your opinons. We've never done this before so all of my ideas thus far have come from research on Cruise Critic & Google searches. The only reservations I've made so far are our flight to Seattle and the cruise. The rest is still fluid and changes minute by minute the more I read. I know it's time to start getting some of this nailed down. Those that would like to share, thank you!

Late July. Thanks for your very detailed reviews!

Doing this cruise in July 2018. Would love to see your review before that....just saying....;p:confused:

• NCL Jewel - June 2018 - Alaska Northbound Vancouver to Seward
  

We've been talking about an Alaskan cruise for a few years. We like NCL so compared the July 2018 cruises and went with the Sun northbound itinerary. I'm happy with the choice. I considered the Bliss briefly but think the smaller ship is the route to go from all of the great advice I've read on the boards the last few years. We plan to tour Seattle and Vancouver pre-cruise and Denali post-cruise. Can't wait!

Will be on the Sky next month and staying pre-cruise at the Best Western Plus. Can't wait to read your review. Thanks!

TSAVONG, Looking forward to hearing about your October Sky cruise and pics!

We will be on the Getaway next month. Thanks for the clarification!

We have the 3 meal SDP and have made reservations at Cagney's, LeBistro and Teppanyaki. Are there items on their menus where we might experience an upcharge? How does that work with the SDP? Thanks!

Thanks for the post OP. I was wondering the same thing myself. We had a similar situation about a year ago but did have insurance thankfully.

Thanks to all that are willing to share their experiences. Much appreciated!!:D

We received the UBP as a promo and paid the gratuities when we paid for our cruise. $68.04 per person.

So on the Getaway, where is the best place to sit to be closest to the boarding area and then what floor do you board on and is guest services on the 6th floor? Thanks for all of the tips!

I had to pay $68.04 in gratuities for each of us. Maybe that is the difference??