Starlaker

The upgraded 8 hour tour at Denali is definitely worth it. You go much further back into the park and see much more wildlife. In Talketna we did a float trip (with Princess) that was very nice. Your boys would enjoy it. There is plenty of time to see the town after the White Pass Railroad trip in Skagway. That is a great trip, you will enjoy it. Ketchikan is easy to do on your own. Walk up to Creek Street for a taste of old time Alaska. The lumberjack show is kinda fun too. We did that with our boys when they were 5 and 10 and they got a kick out of it. You will have a wonderful trip. Relax, enjoy and let the beauty of Alaska envelope you.

We have only cruised Alaska with Princess so I can't answer your comparison questions. As far as a portal room versus inside room without portal, I would have to say it depends on your level of comfort in closed spaces. I would be very claustrophobic without being able to at least see out, but only you can say how you would feel about it. Personally, I think that a balcony to Alaska is worth every penny. We love to sit on our balcony and watch the beautiful scenery go by.

If at all possible, get an itinerary with Glacier Bay. It is not to be missed. Whatever you choose, you will love Alaska. We have done the inside passage on the state ferry and will be taking our third cruise to Alaska in September. It is beautiful and a very relaxing cruise. Enjoy!

Love your attitude! I am looking forward to your trip report.

We love Alaska in September! We will soon be doing our third AK September cruise this year. On the first one, we had sunburn weather in all ports. We had fabulous weather last year, as well.

 

Same for us. We had great weather for our previous two September cruises and will be going back on the 6 September Golden Princess cruise this year. Rainy weather really wouldn't bother us much though. We live in the Pacific Northest and have web feet. :-)

Both times we have been there in Sept. The fall colors were very nice. Not the rich reds and oranges of the Northeast and Midwest, but the yellows made a very nice contrast to all the green. We are going again this Sept as that is our favorite time of year to travel.

I heard, a few years ago that trays have been confiscated on entering H.C., regardless if who owns said tray.

 

 

Why would they do that?

I know that the OP can't go during the school year, but FYI for others, we have gone twice in September and the weather has been wonderful both times. Just to show how unpredictable Alaska weather can be. We like Sept. As there are fewer crowds, fewer children, and usually good bargains.

Just got a nice price drop on our September Alaska cruise. Happy day!

I, too, am happy to read your positive review. The ones from the 5/14 cruise were not good. We were able to snag E731 with the big balcony on the starboard side for our Sept cruise and we are really looking forward to it. We had the corresponding balcony on the port side for our Panama Canal cruise and it was wonderful.

The travelers line of clothes from Chicos is great for traveling. They roll up in a corner of your suitcase and never come out wrinkled. The black slacks don't show dirt and can be worn with different tops. Very comfortable too. Since I got them it has cut way back on my packing.

We had one cruise with Oceania and wish that we could afford to cruise with them more. The food and service were exceptional. We were on a 28 day cruise to the Amazon and loved it. It was an older age group than most cruises we have done, but that may have had partly to do with the length and timing (Dec.) of the cruise. We found that Oceania was very port intensive so we didn't mind the lack of entertainment. After full days of touring, and very few sea days to recuperate, we were ready to go back to our cabin and get ready for the next day. We thought that the passengers were very nice and with a small ship (around 800 passengers) and so many days together we got to know many of them. Much more so than we do on the big ships. We hope to sail with Oceania again one day.

Our experience was the same as your Morriscats. There were no lines and it was total chaos with people trying to push to the front to get on a shuttle. Once we got to the airport, renting the car was a snap. It was just the disorganization at the dock thAt was crazy.

We are looking at the Sept 6 Golden cruise to Alaska. Really like that we can sail from Seattle and not have to fly. Flying used to be fun - not anymore.

Yes, please get back on topic. We have friends on this cruise and I was looking forward to hearing how the cruise is going, not back and forth jibber jabber.

Oceania does the Amazon. We did a round trip with them from Miami in 2010 and it was wonderful. It was in the month of December and there weren't any problems with getting stuck. It was a smaller ship though. We weren't able to get back to a village on a private tour because the water levels were too low.

Must be an optional cruise tour.

This is the best thread I have seen in a long time. Love it!

If for no other reason, the short line for embarkation makes Platinum well worth it! Love that perk.

On the Grand Hawaii cruise in Dec. they never checked cards.

Yes, just ask your room steward and he or she will give you two copies of the patter and an extra bag.

I heartily agree about standards of dress on the MDR, but I do have to take issue with the post that feels that formal night needs to be adhered to all over the ship. Do you really think that those who don't participate in formal night need to hide out in their rooms on formal nights? That is taking it just a bit too far.

Yes, Justin Lawes is the current captain. He stopped by the Platinum/ elite lounge last night and chatted with us for a bit. Very personable. For those who said that they didn't need to give us a reason, I never meant to imply that they did. I was just curious and wanted to lay a certain rumor to rest.

Does anyone know why we changed Captains in Honolulu on the

Nov 25 round trip to Hawaii from San Francisco? We are on board now and there was no explanation to the change, just lots of rumors.

We are on the Grand now. Yes, she is showing her age and can use a bit of makeup. she is still a nice ship and we love the One 5 that replaced Skywalkers. Had some minor plumbing issues, but they fixed it right away. Plus some leaks in the hallways the first few days. Those seem to have been taken care of. The crew has been great and we are having a great time - rust, leaks and all!

Sorry, I missed that. Thanks!