SoloAlaska

Alaskan cruises are generally a little more casual. Think ll bean or patagonia style . You’ll want a range of clothing from shorts to warm sweaters and don’t forget a rain jacket for July in Alaska. Lots of info on what to pack on the Alaska board mentioned. My first cruise was to Alaska and I was hooked.

All depends on where you’re cruising from. MCT I hear does but I avoid Caribbean cruises as much as possible.

I also recommend RCI for this. The only reason I am cruising RCI is for a family trip but it really is the one that is best for multi generational cruising like this.

We did this for our March 2025 cruise. Put my friends name down and just waiting to figure out who that extra person would be. We booked almost 2 years out and 3 of us were single. The question is which one will have a SO 3 months before the cruise.

So one thing people don’t realize is there are infants who are potty trained. My niece has only had a handful of dirty diapers since she was a few weeks old. Finding clothes that fit was not easy because everything was meant for diapers. She also has a pool at home and will ask for someone to take her to the washroom while she’s swimming because she has to go pee.

Have yet to see one of these boarding numbers when starting a cruise. Only time I saw one was when we went to port early in NYC and needed to reach zero before everyone could go back on.

I start watching at 10 months but try to buy before 6 months for international. In that period I try to wait for a seat sale or bonus points deal. Flights have just gotten insanely expensive lately. For North America I start at 8 months and try to buy before 4 months.

I just got an Air Canada Amex. Typically I fly with them and the card gives lounge access in NA and first piece of luggage free up to 9 people on the same reservation. Plus the travel insurance is perfectly adequate for me so the savings will be quite high.

Make sure you give yourself extra time in case the train runs late. I haven’t taken that particular section in many years but via rail does not run as smoothly as European trains. Plan to arrive in Quebec City a few hours earlier than required just in case.

Crossing fingers over here as well. Hopefully it was an outlier.

Ok now that sounds absolutely incredible. Great option 3. Enjoy Iceland.

Azores is the one port that made me want to go there for a few weeks. Frequently it is missed due to weather though. I find it very entertaining when people ask if there enough on these massive ships to do to not be bored. I did my first TA on a ship much smaller and never felt bored. Bring a book, pack a portable hobby, enjoy the quiet days at sea. That’s what makes a TA so special. The cruise direct and their team works very hard to constantly hold a range of events on sea days. Barcelona is a really cool city as well. I wish I had had more time to spend there but for me it was just another port stop.

Maybe new but it wasn’t the case in December on the TA of Gem. Bingo would sometimes run past 5pm in the spinnaker but there was no deal or no deal after dinner time.

It’s one of the most hiked trails in Skagway from what I’ve been told. I hike solo in Alaska, just follow normal precautions for bears and general safety. Talk or sing to make sure bears know your around, don’t wear headphones, tell someone where your going etc. I added a screenshot of the trail map from AllTrails, love that app for finding trails and getting detailed information.

@Heidi13 thank you for sharing so much technical info on here. Usually I just enjoy the view if it’s there but now you have me going back to my good old days and wanting to research ride schedules again. I use to work on some of the highest tides in the world so it brings back memories.