chirpy12345

Hi njkruzer - what pier did you sale from in San Juan?

3 hours ago, HuliHuli said:

Just like OrcaGirl, we are on the March 22nd cruise to the Southern Caribbean.  For us, seeing A & C was  important, but this change is not so bad as our prior cruise with NCL where all of our ports were changed from the Eastern Caribbean to the Western Caribbean.  We confirmed with NCL today that no compensation is being offered for the change, as is normal under the cruise contract terms.  We zullen missen Curaçao en Sint Maarten. ☹️

Oh wow. That would have been extremely disappointing!

24 minutes ago, chirpy12345 said:

Has anyone received this for sailings in December this year?  I haven’t made my final payment and will be canceling if Bonaire is dropped. I booked specifically for Bonaire. 

Just spoke with NCL and Bonaire has been dropped from the 12/8 sailing.  It’s such a first world problem, but I’m crushed. I missed Bonaire in April because I got a bad infection so I booked this one specifically to snorkel in Bonaire. I’ll be canceling. 

Has anyone received this for sailings in December this year?  I haven’t made my final payment and will be canceling if Bonaire is dropped. I booked specifically for Bonaire. 

I like the itinerary listed for Javin’s My Islands Tours, but it requires a minimum of 6 people. I’ve posed the question in my role call to ask other cruisers but wanted to see if there are alternatives to his tour that include both hiking in the rainforest, as well as snorkel and beach time.  I have spent a bit of time looking and wasn’t successful locating one.  Do you have any recommendations?

My husband and I will be sailing out of San Juan in December and since they were offering reduced airfare prices I thought I’d try it. My husband is hesitant because he doesn’t want to be leaving on a red eye (or some crazy hour) or have a lot of layovers. If you’ve used this program from Colorado to San Juan, how was your experience?  I was surprised to see that it appears we are flying in the day the ship sails because the weather could be iffy.  I’d love to hear your experiences!

And a few more bear pictures because, really, are there too many? ;)

Day 5 – Ketchikan

We booked a tour through the ship for this port. We flew to the salmon hatchery on Neet’s Bay in hopes of seeing bears. I have not booked excursions through the ship before, but I wanted to make sure we had “insurance” since we were flying to a different location. I was also a little bit nervous about not seeing bears because this was a very expensive excursion and I can’t imagine how disappointing that would be not to see them.

We were off the ship right at 7. Our excursion was scheduled from 9-12, and we had to be back onboard by 12:30, so we had to see the town early. We walked up to Creek Street. It’s a very pretty shopping location, but it was too early for the shops to be open. We watched an eagle eating a salmon for a bit. It was comical watching him try to take off with his breakfast. Eventually he gave up and left without it. I wanted to go down Married Man’s Trail but I wasn’t sure we’d have enough time. I think we probably would have, but I also needed to pick up a few souvenirs.

About 7:45 we were back down by the ship area and many of the shops were open. Before we left I was a bit worried that we wouldn’t be able to do any shopping, but this was not the case at all.

At 9, we were picked up by bus and headed to the floatplane dock. Within 15 minutes we were onboard the plane. I had read on other reviews that sometimes you can in the co-pilot’s seat, so I wanted to make sure we were one of the first to board in case that was an option. We boarded and took our seats, and then the pilot said he would need someone to move up front. There was some jostling from behind, but my husband was up front like a flash. I’m so glad he had the opportunity. He said flying up there was the highlight of his trip.

The flight itself was very smooth. We had very clear skies. There was a bit of a fuel smell, but nothing too overwhelming. After a 20-25 minute flight, we landed. I guess I expected the landing to be like a regular airplane where you hit the runway and get thrust forward. It was so smooth when we landed I wasn’t even sure when we touched down.

Everyone got off the plan and could see a bear on the shore, but he was several hundred yards away. It was exciting to know there was a real possibility of seeing them up close! We walked up a quarter mile trail with our guide telling us about bears and the hatchery. Everyone was walking at a pretty fast pace, except for one lady. This was an easy walk, but it’s a little bit uphill and it’s not paved. She was struggling to keep up. I’m not sure if she has mobility or other health issues, but I wouldn’t recommend this tour if you can’t walk on an uneven and slightly uphill surface for about 10 minutes. There was a lot of information given during this walk but I think most of it was lost due to the excitement of possibly seeing bears and some anxiety about not getting to see them.

We arrived at the viewing platform and my anxiety was immediately gone as we saw one having a tasty salmon breakfast. He continued to eat one for awhile, and then went fishing for his next. He caught one and took it to the shore to eat. Shortly thereafter, another bear came out of the woods. He surveyed the area and saw the other bear. The first bear was on high alert and had stopped eating. Bear 2 started heading towards bear 1 until he got close enough that bear 1 ran off. Bear 1 didn’t go too far after he realized bear 2 had stopped to sniff his fish. Bear 2 took his fish and went back into the woods. Bear 1 didn’t seem too thrilled about losing his breakfast, but he went back to fishing. It wasn’t long before he had another one.

At some point bear 2 returned, as did a third one. The third one seemed bigger than the others, but he wasn’t very visible. There are some big boulders in the stream and he sat below one of them for most of the time. Bear 2, however, made his way upstream and started climbing up the concrete to some metal rails where the stream is funneled. Most of our group had flocked to that location, and it was interesting to see him look up, scan the crowd, and then go back to minding his own business.

There were 2 covered platforms for sitting if you wanted to, but the majority of people stood while watching. I don’t think anyone wanted to leave, but our time was over after about an hour. We flew back to Ketchikan and were bussed to the ship, arriving at about 12:10. There was a Q&A being offered with the Captain at 3, so my plan was to get some lunch, watch the sail away, take a quick nap, and then go to the talk. Instead, we got some lunch and ended up sitting with some very funny people from California. We ended up sitting with them until about 2. I did attend the Captain’s talk at 3 and really enjoyed it. He was very personable and told some funny and interesting stories. He seemed more people oriented than the Captains of our other cruise ships.

I went back to the room after the talk and took a nap. It was the second formal night and we wanted to eat in the main dining room, but our dinner seating time was 7:45. We were hungry at 5, so we got dressed and went to the open seating to see if we could eat. They made sure to remind us that our dinner time was at 7:45, but they did accommodate us. This was my favorite meal on the ship. That night there was a show that seemed interesting. I believe it was called ‘Ever After’ and it was supposed to be a modern take on 3 fairy tales. I went to the theater about 10 minutes early and it was pretty packed. The stage was beautiful, but I really did not enjoy the show. The performers were all talented, but I just couldn’t get into it so I left after about 15 minutes.

I didn’t have anything planned in Victoria, and I anticipated that we would remain on the ship. Because of that, this was to be our last day of ports. I normally feel a bit of sadness when that day comes, but I was content. I felt so lucky to see the whales, sea otters, and bears, and I was so impressed by how beautiful Alaska is. I was basking on cloud 9 as my day concluded.

Day 4 – Sitka continued

After leaving the whales, I would honestly have felt like I had gotten my money’s worth on this tour, but we still had another 2 ½ hours to go. I really wanted to see the sea otters so we headed away from the whales to find them. Before finding the raft of them, we saw seals swimming and several eagles. Shortly thereafter, we saw the sea otters. Seeing them is what made me realize how large the whales are. I have seen them before close up in aquariums and in the wild, so I have a sense of their size. They were small compared to the whale tales we were seeing. And to think we were seeing just the tip of the tales. The entire body of the whale was underneath the surface. It was simply incredible to fathom.

At this point, we were in calm water. We went to one cove where we saw thousands of salmon coming out of the water. High above us were tree covered mountains with the occasional waterfall. It was truly one of the most beautiful places I’ve visited.

We got back to the dock at around 11:45. I wanted to visit Totem Park but was nervous about how much time we had left. The last tender was around 2:45 and we were starving. So instead of visiting the Park, we walked around downtown and had some lunch at Little Tokyo. I purchased 2 watercolor paintings of sea otters by a local artist. We tendered back to the Westerdam at around 2. The tender was pretty packed, but we didn’t have to wait long.

We were sailing back to where we had seen all the whales, so I sat on the veranda as we left Sitka. There were no whales to be seen, but the sky was clear and the sun was shining. I soaked it up for about an hour and a half.

That evening I watched the show Recycled Percussion and enjoyed it. Everyone received drumsticks upon entering the theater and you were encouraged to drum along as the show went on. It was a funny show and I would recommend it if it’s playing on your cruise.

I went to bed at around 10 putting positive thoughts out there about seeing bears the next day on our floatplane to Neet’s Bay tour.

Duplicate post...

Day 4 - Sitka

Sitka was the only port in which we had to tender. That reminds me about disembarking from the ship. At each port except Juneau (which had the computer problem) and Victoria (which was right on time) we were able to disembark early. In Sitka, we headed to the gangway at 6:45am and we were able to tender. We weren't supposed to be docked officially until 7 so I was pretty happy.

We booked an excursion with Sitka Sound Tours. I highly recommend touring with Captain Jim. We tendered to shore and took a short walk to our designated meeting location. It was easy and straight forward. Our tour was supposed to start at 8 and he was right on time. We were there about half an hour early and I wish I had thought to walk down by some of the boats, as there were lots of starfish that I noticed when we were headed to board the boat.

We left and immediately noticed the difference in water from Juneau. Jim said they had torrential rains the night before and the ocean still seemed angry. Our first adventure was to find whales. Because the water was so rough, Jim checked often to make sure we were all doing okay. It was a rough, but quick, ride before we found ourselves surrounded by whales. I’m not talking 3 or 4—there were at least 10. You could clearly hear them taking giant breaths of air and diving for breakfast. It was incredible to see them all around us. Lots of air plumes, followed by the dorsal fin, then tales—all around us. Besides the excitement of the whales, the water was still rough so you had to be cautious and brace yourself against something while taking photos. We were there for about 30 minutes and it was non-stop action. Jim mentioned that it isn’t always like this, and I felt lucky to see so many after not seeing that many in Juneau. Below are some photos. The 4th one is especially interesting to me because it looks like the head of one.

Thanks for doing this. We are going next summer and the information about Yellow Cab at Mendenhall is what I've been looking for. We want to go out and hike and be able to take our time about it and now I'll be restful about it knowing we don't have to be back in time for the shuttle.

I'm glad I could alleviate some some worries. I was worried about it too and it was absolutely painless.

Thanks so much for continuing with your Alaska cruise review. I enjoyed your pictures very much. What type of camera did you use?

You are very welcome! It's fun to re-live it. My camera is a Canon SX600 HS. I bought it new for this trip because of the high speed burst feature which allows you to snap continuous pictures. I'm very happy with it.

Our cruise on HAL recently ended, and we did have someone smoking around us. The smoker wasn't always there, but there were plenty of times I was on the balcony and had to endure it for more than I cared to. It didn't ruin my cruise by any means. I think it's really a gamble, but if the smoke will hinder your vacation to the point of not enjoying it, you are better off not taking that gamble.

Day 3 – Glacier Bay

We were up early again to watch the sail into Glacier Bay. As we sailed in, we could see a few “smaller” glaciers. My plan was to have an easy day watching the scenery from our veranda. However, the park ranger began her talk and almost immediately announced bears had been spotted off the starboard side. I threw my shoes on, grabbed the binoculars and camera, and ran to the front of the ship on deck 6. There was one bear following a stream down and it was clear he was fishing. He splashed around in the water a few times and then continued his journey on the shoreline. There were 2 others higher up on land. In addition, the ranger announced a mountain sheep had been spotted asleep. My husband also located 3 others standing. These aren’t the best photos, but this was zoomed in pretty far.

Shortly afterwards, I could see they were serving their split pea soup. I read another review where the she missed the soup and it was only about 10:30, so I headed down to the bow of the ship to get some. Delicious! About an hour later we arrived at Marjorie Glacier and the captain began slowly turning the ship so the glacier was on the starboard side. At that point, we grabbed our binoculars and cameras and headed to the bow of the ship on deck 6. Literally 30 seconds after we gathered in our viewing spot, she calved. I caught the motion and was a little excited to have seen it, but I was unprepared for the sound. Shortly after the ice hit the water, it sounded like a thunderbolt. I had the feeling similar to that I had when I saw the whale breach. Nature is amazingly beautiful and unexpected. We continued to watch but it was getting crowded and we wanted a different viewpoint, so we headed to deck 3. It was a ghost town. We saw a few more calves and could hear her cracking, but we did not hear the same thunder as we did the first time. The first photos are Marjorie Glacier. The last one is not, but I don’t recall which one it is.

We went to lunch around 1:30 and found the Lido VERY busy. Seating was a challenge but we managed to grab a few spots sharing a table with another group. I don’t recall very much of the rest of the day. I think we were in bed early because my sleep patterns had gotten very messed up on this trip. I was finding it hard to stay asleep at night because I was so excited about what we were going to see the next day!

Our ride was waiting for us when we returned and we were dropped at Mendenhall Glacier promptly at 5:15. I was somewhat nervous about the next part, because I had planned to call a taxi to return us to town after we walked to Nugget Falls and took pictures. I shouldn’t have been.

I read many comments stating it would be about 45 minutes to walk to Nuggets Falls, take pictures, and return. We are slow walkers and I stopped often to take pictures. We ended up spending about an hour and a half total at Nuggets Fall and Mendenhall Glacier. In the last picture, you can get some perspective of the size of the glacier. See the people in the water below it?

When we returned to the visitor center it was about 6:45. I called Yellow Cab and our ride was there in about 10 minutes. It was a quick ride back to the ship and dinner at Tracy’s Crab Shack. We got there at 7:15, and I was happy to see they were still open to 8:30. We shared a sampler of crab cakes, crab bisque, and a crab cake. My husband is still raving about the bisque. I really enjoyed our meal there. It was fun to sit in with other tourists all in good spirits and having a good meal.

We browsed the shops before boarding the ship at about 9pm. It was a thoroughly enjoyable day in Juneau. I sat on our veranda for about an hour watching the activity. It was interesting to watch the clouds cover the lighting from the tramway so it was not visible and then move out so you could see it again. I wanted to watch our sail away, but it was late and we still hadn’t left, so sleep won out.

Day 2 - Juneau

The Captain made an announcement that the ship often encounters whales around 8:30 - 9:00 on Monday. I was dozing but asked my husband to keep his eyes open for whale activity. About 8:40 he said he saw some spouts. So, I jumped up and headed to the veranda. We were both out there watching, and there were quite a lot of them in front of us. We were both staring in front and there was action that caught both of our attention. A whale breached! He (because they are all he whales when I describe them) was quite a ways off, but it was absolutely incredible to see. The people standing outside above us cheered and clapped. I felt like I had been given a gift by seeing that and I was so excited I was shaking.

We didn't get a picture of the whale breach, but we did capture some tail shots. I hoped to get better ones when we were on our whale watch in Juneau, but I felt lucky to have these.

When we arrived in Juneau, it was lightly raining and there was low hanging clouds. I was amazed at a few things. It was incredibly beautiful. The number of trees coming down the side of the mountains blew my mind, and they all looked so lush and healthy. I was also happy to how close everything I had read about was to the dock. In this picture, you can see the Mt Roberts Tramway and Tracy’s Crab Shack. This picture shows all of those things. (Tracy’s is the tent covered area in the lower left of the photo and the green trees and tramway should be obvious, hopefully :D)

We had scheduled a Harv and Marv whale watching tour and were told to meet them at 1:20. As soon as we were docked, we headed to deck 2 to disembark. There was a LONG line and it wasn’t moving. I’m a worrier, and I was starting to get worried that we would not be able to meet them on time. Apparently there was a glitch in the computer system that was not allowing them to scan our cards. We stepped off the ship at about 1:18. We found our Harv and Marv greeter and then had to wait for a few minutes, which was a relief to me that we weren’t late. This was the day I was most thankful for my new raincoat.

We were on our way a few minutes later and shortly thereafter were in the boat to see whales. The boat was very clean and it seemed new. It was comfortable with 7 adults on board and I never felt like I was being squeezed out from being able to see anything. I was first in amazement listening to the whales take deep breaths before diving. There weren’t many in number today—our boat captain said they were doing deep dives. Though I know he was just trying to give us as many opportunities as possible to see them, it seemed like we spent a lot of time racing back and forth to where people on the radio had spotted them. I was slightly disappointed with the whale turnout but I was glad to have captured some of the tales and scenery (see how the day cleared up in the last one?).

Day 2 - At Sea

To be quite honest, I don't really recall much about this day. We got up around 7, and I was immediately on the lookout for whales. I tried to make a mental note on the days and locations other cruisers had mentioned spotting them in their trip reports and I believe I was rewarded for paying attention. I headed to the veranda and started looking for spouts. About 10 minutes later, I called my husband because I thought I saw them. He came over and agreed these were whales, or as he said, "No--those are whales! Water doesn't do that!" We watched for about 40 minutes and saw lots of spouts and a few tales. The number of spouts we were seeing slowed so we headed to breakfast.

My adrenaline was so high because of seeing the whales, and I was glued to the windows while we were at the Lido. There have been several people mentioning what a madhouse the Lido is the first 48 hours because of their no self-serve requirement during the first 48 hours. We didn't experience that.

As we were cruising, there were a few things that I wanted to make sure I pointed out in my trip report because they really made a difference for me.

* Get a veranda if you can. I used it for hours and hours--even more so than I have on our Caribbean cruises. It was so nice to step outside and watch the beautiful scenery (and of course whales) whenever I wanted to.

* If possible, bring binoculars for everyone. We both had a set and it was wonderful not to have to share when we were on the lookout for bears, goats, and whales.

* Have a raincoat. I really struggled with whether or not to bring one because I didn't own one, it would take up extra space, it would be burdensome packing if we didn't use it, etc... I bought us both $30 Columbia rain coats before we left and I was so thankful to have them. Keep in mind you may encounter fog, which leaves everything wet.

It was formal night, so I dressed in my long formal gown and my husband dressed in his suit. But no tie... Before we left, for weeks I asked him if we need to get any additional clothing before we left. He assured me he had everything he needed. I think he left out on purpose the part that his white button up shirt didn't quite fit around the neck anymore. As we were dressing he mentions that he didn't bring a tie because he couldn't have worn it anyway. I kind of wanted to be upset with him, but it was so funny to me that he got out of wearing a tie in such a matter of fact way.

We ate at the Pinnacle Grill and I believe I'm the lone dissenter, but I did not enjoy the atmosphere. There is a piano bar (I think) on the deck below the Grill, but it's open above so the noise traveled. There was a group of people at the bar being so loud that it got to the point of being a distraction in our dinner. I couldn't wait to get out of there because of the noise. I'd say save your money and skip it. The food was good, but the atmosphere would prevent me from returning.

After dinner, we had our pictures taken, walked the ship a bit, and then returned to our room. I spent the evening on the veranda anticipating seeing whales tomorrow, where I promise the photos will start! ;)

I relied on Cruise Critic quite a bit for planning my Alaska adventure and I loved the trip reports, so I thought I'd share mine. On this trip was me and DH. We booked room 6040, which was a port side room with a veranda, on the Westerdam sailing from Seattle. I picked this particular itinerary because it stopped at Sitka on my birthday.

Day 1 - Seattle

We flew from Denver to Seattle ON the day of the cruise. I know this is typically frowned upon but I decided to gamble on the weather and won! No delays in getting there and we were greeted in Seattle with a day full of nothing but blue sky. We arrived at 10:30 and, after getting our luggage, I called Already There towncar service. I heard about them on these boards and I recommend them. Traffic was terrible on Saturday so our driver didn't arrive for about 15 minutes. I had scheduled a trip to Pier 91 and a 10 minute stop at Taco Time. Because the traffic was so bad, the driver had to cancel his 1 o'clock pickup, so he was very gracious and allowed us to go inside to sit down and take our time eating lunch. He was tipped well--we hope enough to make up for the missed pickup at 1.

We arrived at the pier at approximately 12:30. I have cruised twice before and never had a good experience boarding the ship. Both times have concluded with hours of standing outside in the sun before boarding. There was a line and it took about 30 minutes to get through it, but we were inside and it moved quickly. I was relieved not to have another "painful" boarding.

We boarded, took a quick look around our room, explored the ship for a while, and then headed off to dinner at the Lido, where we would eat most of our meals this trip.

I took a Dramamine before dinner because I was a little weary about the rough waters. I think that's what knocked me out at about 8:30. Despite that, the fog horn started at 10:30ish and went on for quite some time. It made me so excited and I still can't stop smiling when I think about it. About midnight, we both realized the other was awake and we couldn't help but step on to the veranda. It was COLD! We giggled (I'm sure his was more of a manly guffaw) and returned inside. We promptly dressed and went to deck 10, LOL! It was so windy, and foggy, and cold. Of course there was no one around but us. It was so dark and it was so exciting because we were really on our way. This was no Caribbean cruise!

Reese's Pieces!:p

Thank you both for the replies! In Ketchikan, we are at dock 2 and we're booked through the ship on this excursion, so I'm not sure what company we're actually with or where we'll meet.

DH and I sail on Holland's Westerdam leaving Seattle on the 23rd and stopping at Juneau, Sitka, and Ketchikan. We are not speed walkers because I like to take lots of pictures and soak it all in. I'd like your thoughts on whether or not my plans are reasonable or overzealous. Also, if these plans are doable, can you give me some insight on whether or not snacks might be available on our route so we aren't ravenous when we return to the ship.

Juneau - port time 1pm - 10pm: Harv and Marv whale watching with a 1:20 meeting time. Drop at Mendenhall at 5:15. Walk to Nugget Falls and have a taxi to pick us up at 6:45. Drop us near port for looking around and shopping.

Sitka - port time 7am - 3pm: Sitka Sound sea otter tour departing from 8-11 Crescent Harbor. Upon return, walk to Totem Park and walk the main trail. Do you think there'd be any time left over to check out some of the shops downtown before heading back to the ship?

Ketchikan - port time 7am - 1pm: Flightplane and bear watch from 9-12. I'd like to browse a few shops and see Creek Street. If we disembark as close to 7 as possible, do you think we'll have enough time for seeing the town? Someone mentioned that at least the Tongass Trading Company would be open. What about any of the other shops?

Thanks for any advice! I'm so exited I can hardly stand it!

We are scheduled in port from 7am-1pm on 8/28. I have booked the Neet's Bay bear watch and the times listed for that excursion are 9am-12pm.

Will there be enough time to check out some of the local shops to get some souvenirs? What time do the tourist shops usually open?

:mad: I'm going to rant here for a good cause. Please be careful if you're going to use fins to swim out from shore to the turtles , fins can hurt the turtles. You can't always see them and they can't always see you. A hard fin to the head or body can do some serious damage. All of the cat excursions I've been on will not allow fins in the water with the turtles. This year I went out with Calabaza and while we were in the water there was a moron in the water either from shore or from one of the boats from shore not only wearing fins but he was chasing and trying to grab the tails of the turtles. This type of behavior scared away the turtles and ruined the experience for a lot of others. If you hire a boat to take you out please don't use fins in the water! And remember turtles can bite! It is always best to let them come to you.

I share your frustration. I was on a Calabaza tour in April of last year and a moron from the tour kicked one of the turtles with his foot. The turtle promptly swam of, so the moron Matt went on to the next turtle. I was so mad. The moral is it's not just the morons with fins, but the morons who can't control themselves because they apparently aren't comfortable in the water.

Thank you for the response audcc77--you've eased my mind. We'll make sure we head over to the taxis with the group.