luv2cruise668

We did the Misty Fjords with Island Wings last year and I highly recommend it.  

There is so much more to Alaska than the train in Skagway.  IMO, i wouldn't cancel my entire cruise just because my ship may not visit Skagway.  Yes the train is nice but to be honest, Skagway was my least favorite port of our cruise last year.  

On 3/21/2023 at 10:45 AM, rdcmadden said:

Thanks for the information. For the Royal Chartered train, seems like I read you drop your bags at the civic center? Do they bus you to the train depot from there?

We did this train last year and are doing again this August.  You check in for the train and leave your luggage at the Egan Center.  You will then board a bus which takes you to the train terminal at the airport.  The train leaves at 1pm. It arrives about 5:30 directly at the cruise terminal.  You will get off the train and walk about 500 yards to the cruise terminal to check in and board the ship.  Our luggage was already in our cabin by the time we boarded the ship.  It is the best way to go in my opinion and the train ride is beautiful!  One of the highlights of our trip.

We went on the Misty Fjords tour with Island Wings last May and it was wonderful.  I highly recommend this tour.

We cruised this exact time this year and it was unseasonably warm.  The only day it rained was when we arrived in Vancouver.   I was not prepared for high 70s to low 80’s. All I can say is be prepared for anything. Next time I will bring at least one pair of shorts and more short sleeve shirts. 

We did a flight seeing tour over the Misty Fjords with Island Wings and it was incredible this past May. The flight was so smooth and the air is the best way to see Alaska.  I highly recommend 

I accidently left my airpods behind in my cabin and i was notified 6 weeks ago that they were found and I am still waiting for them to be shipped to me.  It is a ridiculously SLOW process.  

I accidently left my airpods on the ship (Radiance of the Seas).  I knew they were on the ship thanks to the "Find My" app.  I completed the form for chargerback and crossed my fingers.  I was honestly thinking I would never see them again.  It was my fault and I know that.  I was ecstatic to get an email that my airpods were found.  Hooray!  I paid my $40 to have them shipped to me.  Two weeks ago I received the email that the Fed Ex label was created.  Has anyone had any experience with this company?  I know Radiance is in one of its "home ports" every Friday.    I would have thought I would have received them by now but the Fed Ex tracking system just says pending.   I was wondering what the normal turn around time is.  TIA

I also highly recommend Glacier Wind.  They are the absolute best.  

2 hours ago, ABQrobin said:

In fact... last week we just booked for Alaska again.  So much to see and do at every port.  Don't miss out because you think its expensive.  Just do it.  You won't regret it.

I completely agree.   We recently got back from our first Alaska cruise.  We enjoyed it so much and there was so much we didn't get to do or see.  And believe me, we saw a lot!!   We are seriously considering going again next year on the same ship and same cruise.  

We were on the 5/27 sailing of Radiance.  It was about 50% full.  It was nice, as it wasn't real crowded.  There wasn't much big entertainment on board but that didn't bother us too much.  Other than less crowds, we didn't really see any difference.  Staff was great!

On 6/12/2022 at 9:59 AM, Elaine5715 said:

Another vote for Harv and Marv

We are another vote for Harv and Marv.  Let me tell you why.  We were on RCL Radiance two weeks ago.  We had originally booked the Whale watching and lighthouse tour with Harv and Marv.  I called them first thing the morning of our tour as I wasn't sure where we were supposed to met them as I had emails listing two different locations.  The girl that answered the phone was confused too and said she would call me right back.  A few minutes later, we received a call from Louis Juergens who is one of the co-owners of Harv and Marvs.  He was extremely apologetic as the tour we scheduled had been cancelled due to the pier not being finished and somehow our reservation slipped through the cracks.  He worked some magic and got us on a whale watching tour but there was no room on the bus for us to take us to the marina where the boat was.  He arranged for a taxi to pick us up and take us directly to the marina.  This was amazing as our taxi driver was giving us a tour of Juneau along the way.  By the time we got to the marina, Louis had refunded us the difference of price of the two tours and reimbursed us for the cost of the taxi.  When we met with Captain Mickey who was doing the whale watching tour, I asked her if we could at least go by a lighthouse along the way.  She knew our situation and was more than happy to accommodate this small request.  My DH loves lighthouses and was really looking forward to this particular excursion.  The small boat and the knowledge and Captain Mickey and the Naturalist Annie was truly amazing.   After the tour, we ran into Louis at the marina and again he was apologetic and thanked us for being flexible.  In this day and age, when no one seems to care about customer service any longer, we feel that Harv and Marv's went beyond the call of duty and made a disappointment into an unforgettable day in Juneau!!!

On 6/1/2022 at 8:04 PM, Dancing Shoes said:

Stick to something warmer.  I don't think they show outside movies on the ships that sail Alaska.  I know Celebrity and HAl don't.  I get chilly easily and always dress for it, especially out on the water.

They do show outdoor movies on Radiance of the Seas.  I was just on her a couple weeks ago.  

1 minute ago, Eddie Wilson said:

DW and I used Air 2 Sea many moons ago, but have personally booked our air transportation for the better part of 15 years.

 

We stopped using Air 2 Sea when our flight times, well, they were just stinky.  Personally I could book non stop flights at good times, for about the same price Air 2 Sea would put us on non-direct flights with lousy times....i.e. on disembark day landing at Cincy airport after midnight.

 

Now the airlines are giving me serious reservations with all the cancellations, and I am curious if it would be better at this point to rejoin Air 2 Sea.

 

Obviously the Florida contingent this will not apply to, but for others using Air 2 Sea, are you happy with flights provided post cruise?  Pre cruise doesn’t bother me as much as we tend to fly in a day early, just like to arrive during the afternoon.

 

Thanks for any thoughts in advance,

 

Eddie

 

 

We used Air2Sea with our last cruise and it was amazing.  We found out 10 minutes before we arrived at the airport that our flights were cancelled.  I called Air2Sea and within 30 minutes they had us rebooked on a direct flight that got us in earlier that our original flight at no additional cost.  It was amazing and I will always use Air2Sea now.

21 hours ago, Gray Lady said:

Thank you. Do you know any other details, such as how many people tested positive? Were people wearing masks? Did they wear masks on the plane flying up to Alaska? Anything that would help us when we leave in a few weeks to avoid that would be appreciated. 

On their particular land cruise, there were 4 people that tested positive and 6 total quarantined.  I know my BFF and her husband wore their masks all the time.  There is no guaranteed way to prevent Covid.  They were both extremely careful, but they caught it anyway.  His symptoms were VERY mild.  He just thought it was allergies or a cold.  She never caught it even though they were in the same room.  

I know there were quite a others on different land cruises that tested positive but I don't have exact numbers.  I had just heard from talking to others on the ship.

My BFF and her husband took the Pre cruise land tour and were planning to meet us on the ship.  Unfortunately, her husband tested positive at the end of the land tour and could not make the cruise.  They were quarantined in a hotel in Anchorage for 5 days and then they flew home.  

We just back from our Alaska cruise on Radiance last week.  We used Harv & Marv in Juneau and Glacier Winds in Icy Straight.  They were both AMAZING!  I highly recommend both companies.  They were both smaller boats with seating capacities of about 16 but neither tour was full so there was plenty of room in the open areas to take pictures without crowding anyone.  

18 hours ago, Northern Aurora said:

In the past those who booked through their cruise line were on the chartered train.  The chartered train was not boarded at the downtown Alaska Railroad Depot but instead boarded at the Anchorage airport.  And this option delivered folks to a siding directly beside the Seward cruise terminal.  There was no option to book this directly with the ARR -- it could only be booked through the cruise line.  

I did book the train through the cruise line but because our flight comes in the day before we have to get ourselves to the train.  The flights to Anchorage on cruise day were not compatible with the train schedule.  The flight they wanted to put us on arrived in Anchorage at 12:08pm and then we would be on the 1:00pm train.  They kept insisting we would make it but it was too close for me.  I didn't want all the stress on the first day of my vacation.  

4 minutes ago, don't-use-real-name said:

Hotel package with cruise line ?

Should show somewhere on the e-docs invoice ? 

Are you being picked up at the hotel the day of the cruise ?

Ship leaving out of Whittier - Seward ?

Bus or Train to port ?

I was never offered a hotel package but it would have been nice.

The e-docs just show that I have booked the transfer but no other information.  I was told I would get more details as the cruise get closer.

We are going to Uber/Lyft or Cab to where ever we need to be to catch the train.

We are leaving out of Seward

We have booked the train.  🙂

I was doing some research and I think we have to go to the airport and check in at the Hospitality Center.  I have sent an email to RCCL instead of calling ( i don't have time to sit on hold for 2-3 hours).  As soon as I receive information, I will post it here.  I am sure I am not the only one with a 1000 questions.  🙂

15 hours ago, don't-use-real-name said:

Do or can you board it at the Anchorage Depot or at the Anchorage Airport only ?

I would imagine that your cruise line would have signage and a representative to

direct you at the airport to where the train is and handle the luggage details

We are arriving a day early and staying at a hotel the night before.  

The address the representative gave me was 555 W. 58th Ave, Anchorage.  When I googled this address it is in the middle of industrial area with NO railroad tracks around.  

I just want to make sure we go to the correct place.  It sounds like I need to call RCCL and spend another 4 hours on hold.  UGH!!

Let me see if I understand all this.  We are taking the 11:30am train from Anchorage ( I am assuming this is the chartered train).  At the train depot, they will take our luggage and it will be boarded on the ship through normal protocol.  We wont need to worry about our luggage other than our carry-ons once we arrive in Seward.  If that is correct, then I am jumping for joy!!!  

Also, where do we board the train in Anchorage?  The person I spoke to RCL to book my flights and transfer was difficult to understand and the address he gave me did not seem correct.

8 hours ago, brillohead said:

No, I would recommend requesting wheelchair assistance for boarding and debarkation instead.  This is a free service that Royal offers, they will wheel you through the entire boarding process and onto the ship.  

Depending on what class ship you'll be traveling on, I'd also recommend looking into a motorized scooter for the trip (special companies rent them and deliver them to the ship for you).  An Oasis class ship, for example, involves a LOT of walking.  

We did end up purchasing The Key since it was on sale, but depending on the lines we may request wheelchair assistance if we need to.  We will be on Radiance of the Seas so it is a smaller ship.  Thanks for the tip on renting a scooter, we may look into that for him.  

My DH is physically disabled.  He is not in a wheel chair but he has a hard time standing for extended periods of time.  He does have a state issued Handicap placard that we are planning on bringing with us.  Would it be worth it to purchase "The Key" for the prior priority boarding and disembarking?  I am aware of all the other benefits with the key as well and they are great but not a huge selling point for us.  We are travelling with another couple and they have no issue purchasing the key as well if we decide it is a benefit to us.  TIA