Alaska0799

If anyone else finds themselves without a confirmed whale watching reservation, whether because the operator had to cancel or they're still in the planning phase, we highly recommend Captain Steve.  See previous post for details:

Captain Steve, of Alaska Humpback Adventures (https://www.alaskahumpbackadventures.com/), in our opinion, is unparalleled!  Check out the reviews on TripAdvisor https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g31020-d14070218-Reviews-Alaska_Humpback_Adventures-Juneau_Alaska.html.  We've booked them for both days in Juneau--always the first excursion we book as soon as we confirm our annual Alaska cruise dates (this will be our 13th!).  Cannot recommend them enough for an intimate whale watching experience (6-passenger boat).  A longtime Juneau resident, Captain Steve was the #1 captain for Harv & Marv's whale watching operation for years (which is where we "discovered" him) before he started his own company.  He's the brother-in-law of one of the founders (and Jayleen's uncle!).  The waters around Juneau are teeming with life so even if you don't luck out with a sighting of bubble-net feeding humpbacks, Captain Steve will make sure you've had a wildlife adventure by the time you return to the dock!  This year there are two calves in the area so there should be plenty of breaching and frolicking to observe!

We, too, have sailed on the Island both before and after the aft reconfiguration and have noticed no appreciable difference, except for having to walk through inside the ship to complete the aft circuit of the Promenade deck (or simply turn around and walk the other direction!).  Have encountered no longer lines or wait times for the MDR or Horizon Court since the reconfiguration.  

Thank you to HaveDogWillTravel for posting those pics of the Promenade deck!  Just looking at the pics was an instant stress relief!  Hubby and I enjoy the Promenade so much, we've not been able to bring ourselves to sail on a ship without one, even though it limits our options.

geoherb--kudos for your persistence in getting your flight conundrum resolved so beautifully!  May that be the only hiccup you experience in your solo adventure!

Thank you for taking time to report on your cruise!   We'll be watching for the updates, as we board the Island for the 14-day cruise the day you disembark.  We did the same cruise last year and loved it!  Going to Glacier Bay twice was a dream and whale watching in Juneau twice with our favorite captain was such a treat!  If you're considering whale watching in Juneau, it's hard to beat Captain Steve (www.alaskahumpbackadventures.com)!  In our opinion (after over a dozen whale watching trips with various operators over the years), he provides the most rewarding wildlife experience in the waters around Juneau!  His 6-person boat offers the perfect intimate whale watching experience and the open decks are fantastic vantage points for shooting videos.  Last year we had orcas swimming along so close to us we could have touched them.  If you're fortunate to observe bubble-net feeding behavior, Captain Steve will turn on the hydrophone so you can hear the whales signaling before they explode to the surface with their huge mouths open--an unforgettable experience!

Congratulations on your cabin upgrade and great location!  If you enjoy spending time on the open decks, check out the forward "secret" decks on 10 and 11.  Even when we have a balcony room, that's where we spend most of our time, spotting whales, birds and other wildlife.

If you think about it, we'd love to know what nights they serve king crab legs in the MDR.

Looking forward to reading more as you have time to report along the way!

Never stayed at the Pan Pacific but recently saw they have an Alaska Cruise Package that includes breakfast for two and complimentary luggage transfer to Canada Place Pier.  Might be worth a look!

We've used Comfort Inn Ship Creek several times.  They have airport shuttle and you can see the train depot from the hotel!  (Of course, that also means you may hear a late night or early morning train!)  Being a Comfort Inn, it's nothing fancy, but it's clean and comfortable and backs up to Ship Creek where you can watch people fish and walk a nice paved trail. Certainly more laid back and quiet than hotels downtown. It's also next door to the Ulu Factory, which is a great place to pick up some Alaska gifts.

Have a great trip!

Captain Steve, of Alaska Humpback Adventures (https://www.alaskahumpbackadventures.com/), in our opinion, is unparalleled!  Check out the reviews on TripAdvisor https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g31020-d14070218-Reviews-Alaska_Humpback_Adventures-Juneau_Alaska.html.  We've booked them for both days in Juneau--always the first excursion we book as soon as we confirm our annual Alaska cruise dates (this will be our 13th!).  Cannot recommend them enough for an intimate whale watching experience (6-passenger boat).  A longtime Juneau resident, Captain Steve was the #1 captain for Harv & Marv's whale watching operation for years (which is where we "discovered" him) before he started his own company.  He's the brother-in-law of one of the founders (and Jayleen's uncle!).  The waters around Juneau are teeming with life so even if you don't luck out with a sighting of bubble-net feeding humpbacks, Captain Steve will make sure you've had a wildlife adventure by the time you return to the dock!  This year there are two calves in the area so there should be plenty of breaching and frolicking to observe!

We'll jump on the Glacier Wind bandwagon!  Our whale watching trip with them last July would be hard to beat.  A large group of humpbacks were bubble-net feeding near the cruise ship dock all day!  Shawn and Theresa are real pros and genuinely nice folks.  

Excellent information to have! Thank you all!

We're disembarking in Vancouver and will be using taxi service to our hotel. Does anyone know if Princess offers the option of placing one's bags outside their door for the luggage to be removed from the ship and held in the secure area for passengers who are not going directly to YVR but do not wish to carry all their luggage off the ship?

Many thanks, fellow members, for the quick replies and good information!

Does anyone know if there are phones in common areas of the ship that passengers can use to call cabins, etc.? If so, are they spread throughout the ship?

Thanks to any observant cruisers who have information to share!

All of the things you want to see may be visible from your cruise ship. The question is, will you know when they are visible and will you see them.

 

The small boats and tours are more likely to say "Look over there - it's a bear" or a whale, or whatever. Not as likely to get that on the ship. In fact, a well-run tour will go out of its way to show you things. This past June, our tour from the Bliss up Endicott Arm actually stopped to view a bear that sure looked like a big rock, until the crew stopped the boat and told us it was a bear (and with binoculars, it sure was a bear). The cruise ship sometime after us went by the same spot and if the bear was still out, I doubt anyone pointed him/her out to the passengers.

 

If wildlife is important, do your research and pick a tour that will get you to what you want to see.

When we took the Sea Otter & Wildlife excursion in Sitka a few years ago, we saw a huge group (raft? colony?) of sea otters, humpback whales and a huge brown bear walking along the shoreline. Our ship's track never got close to the group of sea otters so I doubt we'd have seen them.

As you're entering Glacier Bay, and for the first couple of hours after entering, keep your eyes open for sea otters and sea lions, as well as whales. It's also not uncommon to see puffins flying swiftly just above the water's surface. Deeper into the Bay, we've seen bears and mountain goats on the sides of the mountains. And bald eagles are common, as well. Stay out on deck and keep your binoculars with you! Then, of course, there are the magnificent glaciers!

Unfortunately this is something I didn't have experience with, as the Viator tour we were on handled the luggage drop-off. We stayed on the bus while they offloaded everything, and it turned up in front of our stateroom door after we set sail. My understanding is that there's a place where you drop off luggage, but you need to make sure you have your luggage tagged correctly. There were some people on our tour who didn't have theirs tagged right. We had printed our tags and purchased plastic tag holders designed for them on Amazon, so we were all set.

Thanks for the reply. Sounds like a great trip!

Thank you so much for taking time to share this information and the great photos! We're on the July 11 NB Island Princess.

Question re: luggage drop-off on Embarkation in Vancouver--What was your experience? Would you know if it was possible to hand over luggage to handlers that were designated for your ship?

We are getting conflicting information from Princess and passengers regarding details on the current embarkation process.

Question for anyone who has used the Princess transfer from YVR to the pier THIS SEASON: Upon arrival at the pier, what happened to your luggage after it was removed from the bus? Did you have to take it through "Security" with you at that time, as Princess told us last night? (The embarkation information in the Cruise Personalizer has still not been posted.)

If Princess does not handle the luggage for passengers who use their airport transfer service from YVR to Canada Place, we will gladly handle our own transfer. Just need to know the facts

Thank you to anyone who can share their recent personal experience in this situation!

6/18 Received upsell offer to upgrade from Oceanview to Balcony for $259pp on SB Island Princess. Since we'd been refunded $1200 after refare on the NB leg of our B2B, decided it was worth the extra $$ to have the balcony (just a short walk from one of the forward "secret" decks)

Feeling very fortunate with the fare drops and upsell offers this year! So ready to be back in Alaska :D

OP - you will probably get more replies if you post this on the Princess board: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=197.

DONE! Thank you.

We are getting conflicting information from Princess and passengers regarding details on the current embarkation process.

Question for anyone who has used the Princess transfer from YVR to the pier THIS SEASON: Upon arrival at the pier, what happened to your luggage after it was removed from the bus? Did you have to take it through "Security" with you at that time, as Princess told us last night? (The embarkation information in the Cruise Personalizer has still not been posted.)

If Princess does not handle the luggage for passengers who use their airport transfer service from YVR to Canada Place, we will gladly handle our own transfer. Just need to know the facts

Thank you to anyone who can share their recent personal experience in this situation!

We are getting conflicting information from Princess and passengers regarding details on the current embarkation process.

Question for anyone who has used the Princess transfer from YVR to the pier THIS SEASON: Upon arrival at the pier, what happened to your luggage after it was removed from the bus? Did you have to take it through "Security" with you at that time, as Princess told us last night? (The embarkation information in the Cruise Personalizer has still not been posted.)

If Princess does not handle the luggage for passengers who use their airport transfer service from YVR to Canada Place, we will gladly handle our own transfer. Just need to know the facts :D

Thank you to anyone who can share their recent personal experience in this situation!

Yes' date=' they are open while in port. On our last cruise, the posted hours were 8am - 10pm. If you decide to do them on the turn around day, put a note on the machine to alert the crew that you are on a B2B. Otherwise your things may end up in the lost and found as they may believe that someone forgot their laundry![/quote']

 

Thanks so much for the information--and the helpful suggestion for alerting the crew!

We enjoy the Hangar at Juneau harbor (site of the Juneau Harbor Webcam), where you can watch the float planes and ship/boat activity while you eat. Food was good, but we did wait about 15 minutes for a table at the peak of lunch time.

Will be on our first b2b next month and have decided to do our own laundry about halfway through the 2 weeks. Do the Laundromats operate while in port? Is there a published schedule for the Laundromat hours?

Any input will be appreciated!

I was going to suggest looking at my NB Patters to give you an idea of the activities onboard. But then I realized you were talking about me. ;) Hope someone has SB for you!

Indeed, I was! So enjoyed your daily reports and photos. Appreciated the Patters and the Log. We have coordinates for areas we've found to be good for spotting whales and it's helpful to know approx. times we'll be cruising through those areas. Don't want to miss anything! Thank you for sharing all the good information!

Good luck!

Right! Doesn't hurt to ask, though ;) One nice person on the NB (which we're doing on July 11) in May posted them on her blog so at least we'll have the information for that voyage!

Hello! We're booked on the July 18 departure and would love to have the Log of the Cruise as well as Patters from the SB Voyage of the Glaciers. Also wouldn't mind having menus!

Many thanks in advance :D