pbianche

Thank you to all that weighed in on my concern about being Port side balcony on a North bound from Vancouver to Whittier. Was just curious and know we will have a great time.

We are 3 couples cruising the inside passage from Vancouver to Whittier in August 2023. We have balcony cabins but we are all on the port side of ship. I did not book the cruise. One of the other couples did and they did not think of how the starboard balconies would get the view on a north bound passage. The starboard side balconies are now all booked . This is our first Alaska cruise and my question is….how much will this affect our enjoyment of the cruise. Will we be having to scramble to the common observation decks just like folks booked in the interior cabins in order to get views of the incredible Alaska scenery? Any tips. We will be on the Grand Princess?

@wolfie11Well I am one of those Princess guest you spoke of and I found CC and am researching how the heck I can experience the park next August when arriving at Princess Denali Wilderness Lodge at 4 pm and leaving the next afternoon at 2 pm! My sister booked that land portion of our cruise way last November 2022 and if we switch our package now then we give up a very attractive price with all kind of freebies/incentives. The sad part is ….Princess, after one night at their Denali Lodge 3 miles from park entrance … then runs you back down the highway to their Mt. McKinley Lodge (too far away from the park and with no transportation). I WILL see the park however on a very limited capacity. I have decided to hook it on over to the park via their 5 pm shuttle (Princess shuttle from their lodge to park), and ride the Savage River shuttle to mile 15 and get off and hike the short trail and then catch the next shuttle passing back to park entrance. I have researched the shuttle times and it is doable. . Am now researching how late the Princess shuttle will come get me from the park as it will be around 9 pm. The next morning I will take Princess earliest shuttle back to the park and ride the East Fork transit out to mile 43 (just hoping to see more of the park and maybe wildlife) OR I may just do a few of the hikes near the park entrance. Yes disappointing but it is what it is and I am not coming to Alaska and not seeing a little of the park! Pardon me if I am not responding correctly to your post in the thread about cruise companies not informing their customers about the current park situation. The way I found out is …. I did not like any of their “excursions” from the lodge so I started doing my own research, research, research. This is my very first post on CC and I need all the help I can get with not just planning but how to post correctly and reply to others correctly. I am not real tech savvy but am a great hiker!