sherryf

2 hours ago, wcook said:

You can’t leave us hanging like that 🙂 What would you recommend for first timers? 

It really depends on your interests.  Totem Bight and Saxman are both good for learning about native culture, but very different experiences.  Float plane over Misty Fjords was absolutely spectacular.  We've gone hiking on our own couple of times. I went kayaking with my (adult) kids several years ago, and my daughter and I plan to go kayaking again in a couple of weeks.

On 5/15/2024 at 10:13 AM, karatemom2 said:

It was a fun one and done experience for us on a recent trip after many visits to Ketchikan, just to say we did it and try something new. I wouldn't put a high priority on it compared to other activities, but we found it entertaining and enjoyed a nice fresh seafood meal at the restaurant nearby on the docks afterwards.

Same for us.  We did it on about our tenth trip to Alaska.  We'd done many other better things on previous trips, so decided to check it out.  I certainly would not recommend it for anyone's first/only trip to Ketchikan.  

I drank Painkillers on Nieuw Amsterdam last summer and they were good.  Looking forward to trying them again at the end of the month on Westerdam.  I'm just mad that they raised the price so that they now are no longer fully covered by HIA.

You don't pass the Shrine when traveling from Mendenhall and ship. The Shrine is way north of Mendenhall.  Renting a car is probably your best option.  Have you priced taxi/uber for what you are planning?  A car rental is likely cheaper.

20 hours ago, HotRoot said:

The water made on the ship has sodium added to it.  If you have a problem with swelling, you do not want to drink this water.  I agree it tastes good, but, it makes me swell to the point where I have to take drugs to offset the swelling.  Bottled water does not do this.

I've done a lot of reading about this online.  Most sources say that it's the salt in the FOOD, not the water, that is the culprit. I have never read that they ADD salt to the water.  The reverse osmosis system removes the salt.  I always drink the ship water and have never had trouble with swelling.

You can look up average temperatures for the areas you will visit at the time you will be visiting to get an idea.  Once you get closer to your sailing (1-2 weeks) you can check forecasts for more current information.  It will be cooler when sailing near glaciers.

The best way to dress in Alaska is LAYERS.  No bulky coats.  A waterproof rain jacket with a hood.  I tend to take short and long sleeved shirts, a light jacket, a fleece/sweatshirt, and my rain jacket, which doubles as a windbreaker.  I can wear any one or all at once, depending on the weather, and can add or remove as necessary if the weather changes throughout the day.

Or you can just drink the water from your tap. It's quite good, and no plastic waste! 😁

20 hours ago, Teechur said:

The Discovery apparently only has a two-hour window.

3 hours.  We are scheduled to be there 9 pm to midnight.  I never bother to get off the ship there anyway.

22 hours ago, No Sea Legs! said:

be a little over whelming. At the time of writing, I do not know what time we embark, we may not have the luxury of having masses of time to 'physically' explore all of the options and then picking the right time before they are snapped up by others who are more organised than us.

I've never found the MDR to be overwhelming on embarkation day.  We never reserve anything, just walk into a dining room when we want to eat and get seated relatively quickly.  I few times we've been handed a pager, but even so I don't think we ever waited more than 15-20 minutes.

19 hours ago, BeachBum47 said:

Also, Holland America is the BEST line to experience Glacier Bay with. Not all the ships get to go so close. Holland America has preferential treatment because they’re the original. Last July, on our Glacier Bay day, we were told that Holland America reserved our spot that day 7 years earlier! 

I've been to Glacier Bay on Holland America and Princess, and the experience has been pretty much identical.  I would not say that HAL does it any better than Princess... but not any worse either.

Skagway Brewing is our favorite!

4 hours ago, Mary229 said:

The point is there are glaciers everywhere not just the ones the ship pulls up to.  One simply needs to open their eyes and look

Yes, there are glaciers around that you can see, but the ship does't necessarily "visit" them in a way that they are close enough to see.  The glacier in Juneau (Mendenhall) is nowhere near the port and can't be seen from the ship.  You have to take an excursion or find other transportation to get there.  There are hanging glaciers that can be seen from the port in Skagway, but not all HAL ships go to Skagway.  Some go to Sitka instead.

When cruise lines talk about "visiting" glaciers, that should mean that they have a glacier sailing on their schedule and that they actually go there and get close enough to see it.  It doesn't mean that they briefly passed by a distant hanging glacier that people might happen to see if they are looking.  It doesn't mean that the ship stopped in a place where glaciers can be seen if you take excursions, but cannot be seen from the ship. "Visiting" a glacier should refer to actual scheduled glacier viewing, at Hubbard, College Fjord, Glacier Bay, Endicott Arm/Dawes Glacier, etc.  My question is, what do they consider a "successful" glacier visit? If they sail into Endicott Arm but don't get in far enough to see the glacier, or barely get far enough to get a tiny distant glimpse, does it count?

6 hours ago, Mary229 said:

They didn’t define “visit”😉

I don't think you can count it as a "visit" if you are 50+ miles away and cannot see it. 🙄

10 hours ago, Mary229 said:

There is also a Glacier in the Seattle area.

LOL!  There are glaciers on Mt Rainier, but you can hardly say that the ship "visited a glacier" because it was in Seattle.  You can't even see Mt Rainier from Seattle a large percentage of the time.

I live in the Seattle area and I don't think I even own an umbrella.  Even working outside (recess duty, etc.) for about 1.5 hours every day, I don't use an umbrella.  I mainly sail to Alaska, where it also rains a lot, and don't use an umbrella.  I have good, waterproof rain jackets with hoods, and wear a ball cap under the hood to keep the rain off my glasses and keep the hood from drooping over my eyes.  

Umbrellas are a hazard in crowded ports, and they don't work well in windy places, and especially don't work on moving ships.  I've seen people try and it's hilarious! 

I wonder what their definition is of not visiting a glacier.  I would think that this would never happen on cruises visiting Glacier Bay, unless the whole day got cancelled due to bad weather or other emergency.  Glaciers are more likely to be missed on the Endicott Arm/Dawes Glacier sailings.  I've never been to Endicott Arm, but I've been to Tracy Arm a few times, and sometimes they barely get close enough to see a very slight, distant view of the glacier.  So if they get close enough that you can barely see it in the distance, does that count as "visiting a glacier"?  

In all of my cruises to Alaska (13, with 2 more booked this summer) we have only completely missed our glacier once, and that was due to a very unfortunate major emergency.  

On 4/30/2024 at 12:26 AM, sharon_pei said:

I will give up # 3 on the list, but really want to bring fresh ginger to help with seasickness -- chewing on a piece of ginger really helps! is this not allowed?

There are plenty of other forms of ginger that work just fine.  Candied ginger, ginger chews, ginger ale, ginger snaps, etc.

9 hours ago, ChinaShrek said:

I actually thought you were supposed to just show up and not make reservations with Anytime Dining. Why would I want to make reservations ahead of time? I have no idea when I am hungry.

Exactly!  I certainly don't know when I'll be hungry months in advance!

10 hours ago, C 2 C said:

So you're the reason everyone else has to wait half an hour.🙃

I don't get your logic. 🤔 Maybe it's just the time we choose to go, but there's never been a long line.  We aren't causing anyone else to wait, and I've never seen a line that would cause anyone to wait half an hour.

1 hour ago, acctgtogo said:

We have Anytime Dining.  Are we able to make reservations once onboard?  On Celebrity we can make reservation before boarding but it is not available on HAL.  Hoping it is available on board so we don't have to stand in line too long.  Thanks.

We have never bothered to make reservations in the MDR, and have never waited more than about 5 minutes.

On 4/25/2024 at 2:55 PM, YourWorldWithBill said:

We take ginger tablets, and she will take Bonine (Meclizine). 

Ginger is a great preventative.  I take ginger chews/candy from Trader Joe's, but also just drink ginger ale if I'm feeling a little "off".  If you have HIA, it's easy to stop by a bar and ask for a can of ginger ale or two, and keep them in your fridge in case you need them later.  

I also bring generic meclazine, but only use it if I really need it.  Luckily I'm not very prone to seasickness, just feel a little "off" on the first sea day.  The rest of the week I'm fine.

Vancouver is a lovely city.  If I had a choice of which city to visit, I'd choose Vancouver over Ft. Lauderdale any day!

9 hours ago, jean-lynd said:

No plans for it to be fixed this year per the Mayor of Skagway.

Thanks, it's good to know in advanced so we know what to expect.  We are scheduled to be at RR Foreward.

23 hours ago, jean-lynd said:

Be aware in Skagway if you are at RRF you will be tendered to shore and if you are at RRA you will ride a shuttle. This is because of the land slide there a couple of years ago. This is still in place fir the 2024 season but it may be corrected in future seasons.

Does anyone have an update on this?  I thought it was supposed to be fixed for this season.  We don't go until mid-August, so I'm hoping things are back to normal by then.

11 hours ago, SightCRR said:

I would think the Sitka bus ride back to the ship would not be great with salt water wet clothes. 

I don't imagine that he'd be going in fully clothed. If he strips down to swim trunks, the rest of his clothes will be dry.  Depending on the weather that day, his trunks might dry long before he heads back to the bus.  There might even be a public restroom where he could change afterwards and put his wet suit into a plastic bag to take back to the ship.