silly2003

Hopefully armed with maps, I will not have a problem with taxis.

Can someone post a link to a good map of Cozumel which includes the location of the Beach Clubs and the Cruise Pier?

I've read about the taxi situation where I think I need a map to explain where I want to go, not because the taxi driver won't know the location of the club I want to go to, but because he may say "it is closed" or "I don't know where that is" and try to take me to another place where he gets a kickback.

I haven't found a map which has the beach clubs (including Money Bar, which may also be called Monkey Bar).

Thank you.

Klondike National Historic Park is in downtown Skagway. They don't tell you but you can walk to this and it is free. Get on a ranger guided tour and go to the museum. There is also a place that lets kids dress up in old time gear (part of the National Park), but I think it was in a different building. You need to check the Klondike park website for more information. I was with a 7 year old last year, and we did not too expensive stuff. Then we ate lunch at the Red Onion Saloon (get there early). In the afternoon we did some sort of trolley tour of the city, which we really enjoyed. They have costumed tour guides and talk about a famous local Soapy Smith and they do a good job of a little theatrical performance (in the graveyard). I think the trolley tour was thru the cruise ship, but a year later, I can't remember.

Juneau. With 6 people, you really want to rent a large SUV or van and drive to the places you want to get to. We rented a car and went to Mendenhall Glacier, did a little hiking. We saw Salmon running in downtown Juneau. We drove out to Eagle River and looked around and also drove to Shrine of St. Theresa. We got back to our ship just in time. There is lots to do and if you rent a car, you can get to it pretty easily. Of the 3 stops, Juneau was my favorite. We stopped at a local grocery store and got food for a picnic on our day. There was so much to do, no time to stop at a restaurant and eat.

We saw the Lumberjack show in Ketchican, walked around town, shopped and took the tram ride up to the top of the hill. I think all those things is enough for your crowd and pretty good price if you are paying for 6.

We were planning on doing a scenic airplane tour in Canada (Whistler) on the last day of vacation, but the weather did not cooperate. With the exchange rate, it is much cheaper to do a airplane scenic tour in Canada, if you are using US exchange rate.

If I don't sign up for anything in Costa Maya, is there anything to do and can we get a taxi to a beach or something to spend an hour?

I was originally going to sign up for Ya Ya beach club, but really we would probably only like to hang out for an hour before heading back to the pool on the ship (and more shade) and I hate to pay $75 - $90 for such a short time. We are 2 adults and one 8 year old boy.

In Roatan we will be taking a tour and snorkeling, in Belize we are tubing and I'm not sure about Cozumel, but probably a beach thing, so I don't feel a need to spend another entire day on the beach.

When we are in Costa Maya, only our boat (RC) will be in port, if that makes a difference.

So far I've only found a Jeep Tour that includes Punta Sur Eco Park. Is there a way to get there without the jeep tour. I'm looking for lower cost. I can't really figure out how far away Punta Sur is from the cruise ports. Is is reasonable to take a taxi there, or is an excursion or private tour the only way to go.

Thanks for any thoughts. I might have to consider Chanaknaab, as that seems to be pretty easy to get to and there are lots of excursions to it. But with 5 ships in port the day we are I would like to find something that is not overrun with people (if possible).

The sticky says $10 per person. I emailed to get more information. It is now a VIP all inclusive place. Would love it if someone could get updated (2016) information on all the beach clubs. This is NOT what we are looking for, but may be what you are looking for.

My question told him we were NOT looking for an all inclusive beach and were not drinkers, so if they had had anything more closely aligned to our interests, then I expect he would have told me.

Hello,

We offer an All Inclusive VIP Beach Break at Nacional Beach Club.

It includes Transportation to and from Port to our Establishment, Beach Chair & Umbrella Service, Palapa Restaurant, Wi-Fi, Showers and Clean Restrooms along with Fresh Juices, Tropical Cocktails, Top Shelf Liquors such as (Grey Goose, Don Julio, Herradura, Jack Daniels,Tanqueray, Havana Club 7 and many more) Cold Beers & Soft Drinks along with Fresh Salsas, Guacamole, Ceviche, Shrimp/Steak Quesadillas, Grilled Lobster & Fish Fillet! You may also order a Grilled Burger, Chicken or Club Sandwich with fresh cut fries from the kids menu!

We offer a serene environment for those who truly wish to escape the masses.

Sounds like this may not be the Package for your Party.

If you do decide to Book please Send us Exact Date!

We do not have lockers but our Dive Shop GypSea Divers does offer Snorkeling Trips at $30 USD per person.

You may keep your personal belongings locked in their shop while you are out snorkeling.

Rates 2016

$110 USD per Adult 18 years +

$75 USD per Teen 13-17 years

$45 USD per Child 4-12 years

Free for Children 3 and under

You may pay 50% deposit via PayPal if you wish to complete a reservation.

Once you confirm I will send a PayPal Invoice.

Muchas Gracias,

Jose Pimentel

http://www.nacionalbeachclub.com

Blue Honu, so the snorkeling is 100 yards from shore where you suggest? I'm just trying to get an idea since our child is 8. He can probably snorkel 100 yards, but I don't want to tire him out too much.

Is it hard to find the place to enter, once we get to the beach?

Thanks for your suggestions.

Also sounds like Cozumel is not the place to snorkel, which is good to know, I'll look for something else to do.

We are on a RC cruise and these are 3 of the ports we are going to. We are 2 adults and an 8 year old child. We have our own snorkel gear, so don't need rental. My husband and I have snorkeled a couple of time but our kid has not. (We are going to bring a life vest for our child.)

I'm looking for a good place to snorkel from the beach on Cozumel, Roatan and/or Costa Maya. I'm looking to do this without going on a RC excursion. If that is not possible, I would like to know that too. We are not going to spend that long snorkeling, but we would like to give it a try and then play on the beach.

Thanks for any suggestions.

http://www.shoreexcursioneer.com/

The other person posted the incorrect website, I believe this was the correct one.

I have a pretty high glasses prescription. I understand that you can rent masks which have some generic prescription. We are cruising in the Caribbean (Roatan, Cozumel, Costa Maya, Belize City). Do people rent masks at home or do they carry that kind of stuff at rental places in the Caribbean?

I have snorkeled before with some very old contact lenses, but I'm not willing to put this 20 year old pair of contact lenses in my eyes. I have heard that people remove the arms of glasses and put them in a mask and that is a possibility, but probably not as good as renting some equipment. Other ideas?

Surely I'm not the only person who wears glasses and wants to snorkel.

My cruise does not appear to offer excursions to Little French Key... from what I can tell. Is this a location in Roatan, that is not associated with any cruise lines and you just book on your own?

How does the beach and area compare to the other accessible beaches from the cruise terminals. I see it is the #1 destination in Roatan, so it must be something special? Is it that it is just more beautiful than other beach destinations or the convenience of the activities available there?

Sorry for asking the basic information, but stuff I have read assumes I have already decided to go to LFK vs. someplace else.

Thank you for taking the time to answer. We selected the cruise we are on because it is Royal Caribbean and my MIL loves Royal Caribbean and it is during a school break for my child, so the destination was sort of arbitrary for us to spend time with my child's grandma.

The higher occupancy inside cabins on Princess have two twins (joined to make a large bed) and an upper. The lower beds cannot be joined in some cabins because of the ladder.

Thank you for this SadieN. I think this explains why we can't change from twin beds to joined beds, I just couldn't figure it out online.

Thanks for the replies, the shower curtain was supposed to give privacy when hung in the middle of the room to separate parents and child. We have an inside cabin, so I'm not worried about keeping it dark. I'm not even sure we need the shower curtain because my kid can sleep thru anything. I guess it is only nice so that I don't have to change in the bathroom.

So one of the suggestions was to bring magnetic hooks and a shower curtain. I have bought the stuff, but haven't decided if we really need it. We are 2 adults and an 8 year old on a Princess cruise to AK. Can anyone confirm this is a great thing to have or should I put it in the pile of things to return when I get back?

I'm already bringing an over the door shoe holder and a power strip to charge camera batteries, ipads etc.

So many choices, but shampoo seems to win hands down. thanks for all the suggestions.

OK, I bought some clothes that are easily hand washed, which I plan on doing in the sink. But what detergent to bring. I've been to two stores looking for Woolite, as I remember I used to do hand washables with that. I haven't found it yet. What are people bringing to do some hand washing?

I'm good with generic.

Seems like a small thing, but I'm trying to figure out if shampoo and conditioner are provided on board Princess ships. I am packing now and would prefer to only provide what I needed for my non-cruise part of the trip.

Thank you.

Get a Potette, little potty seat that folds and goes on to the toilet seat. I have brought one on vacation with my child for a couple years (he has a small butt). It works great. You can also us it off the potty with the bags, but I never tried that. Seems like a potential mess.

First off, I have not been on my trip yet, but I'm doing a little research. Someone said there may be snow at Byron Glacier. It is a short hike.

So if you will be in Anchorage. Here is the information about Byron Glacier, it is in Girdwood. http://www.alaska.org/detail/byron-glacier-trail

If you don't have a rental car, I don't know how to get there, but you could ask here.

This is all good information to know before we go. I would rather take some pre-packaged food with us than have a grumpy hungry kid (or adult). Maybe four hours is OK for some people, but for my son, I would like him to eat to keep up his energy if we are going to do some hikes and things.

For StevieWonder1- how to do find out about the non-princess excursions? I have seen one where to make it worth the price, I needed to find 3 more people. It was not worth it to pay the same price for 3 people.

I did just find the Blue Bus to Mendenhall Glacier where it costs $60 for 3 people instead of the princess $120 or so for 3 people.

I am looking into excursions (in Alaska) and I'm wondering about lunch. Many of the excursions are 4.5 hours long or longer. And they are in the middle of nowhere, like a glacier. Does Princess give box lunches? I'm having a hard time figuring out where we are going to get lunch ... and we have a child (8) with us so he is going to be hungry too.

I just don't want to live on granola bars while on shore.

Lots of helpful information from cruisers. Thank you so much. I have junked my first itinerary and replaced it with things recommended here or from a couple of websites that talk about things to do with kids in Anchorage.

This is a trip that will be the last days of June and the first days of July with a just turned 8 year old.

I then created a google map and plotted the location of all the places in and around Anchorage, Palmer, Willow, Seward, Girdwood, Whittier and various other places.

https://www.google.com/maps/@60.8539664,-148.7860871,7z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!6m1!1szU8Su3CzEOPw.kExDr8bYwMmk

Then I decided that some of the most recommended things to do were on the way to Whittier. So I decided to prioritize things that were near each other and I ended up with 2 days in Anchorage and 2 days on the road to Whittier (around Girdwood).

The things on our list in Anchorage to see (some or all) are:

The Alaska Zoo.

The Anchorage Museum

Ship Creek - see salmon running

Alaska Aviation Museum

Alaska Native Heritage Center

Tony Knowles Coastal Trail

We probably can't see all of them, but this is my (current) top list of things to see while in town.

Then I chose 2 days on the road to Whittier and the things on this list are:

Potter Marsh Bird Sanctuary

Aleyska Resort

Ride The Tram.

Byron Glacier. Hike

Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center.

Begich Boggs Visitor Center

Portage Glacier Cruise 1 hour

I have not decided if we want to stay our whole time in Anchorage and commute for 2 days to the Girdwood area or stay in Girdwood for 2 nights.

I'm leaning toward staying in Anchorage the whole time, then we can choose things to do best suited for the weather on the particular day.

I got rid of Seward and dog carts and a 4 hour boat cruise. I'm hoping these things are much more kid friendly. I think from what someone else just posted, that taking the tram across Winner Creek would be a winner. I don't think we would hike it, just do the hand tram, which I suspect an 8 year old would love.

Does anyone know how far the hand tram is from the beginning of the trail?

Any comments on the revised and completely updated 4 day itinerary. We have not decided whether to keep the car and drive to Whittier or get the transfer from the cruise line. Right now I'm keeping that open.

Here is my 4-day itinerary with 8 year old boy.

Our cruise leaves from Whittier, but I could not get a hotel room in Whittier on the night before we leave so I am opting to go to Seward to see Prince William Sound.

Nothing is in stone yet, still in planning stages, but working hard on getting the itinerary. I am doing some things in Anchorage or Seward, that we could do on the cruise for twice the price. Suggestions? Comments?

 

 

Day 1

Arrive @9:30 pm - flying from East Coast

pick up car

stay in Anchorage

 

Day 2

shop for snacks and lunch for 2 days

Ship Creek to see the Salmon

afternoon: Alaska Native Heritage Museum (mom's pick) or

Alaska Aviation Museum (dad's pick)

stay Anchorage

 

Day 3

Hike Flattop Mountain - 3 mile hike 30 minutes outside of Anchorage (giving ourselves about 3 hours for the hike plus travel time

afternoon: Alaska Zoo

stay Anchorage

 

Day 4

Get up early, leave at 8:00 am for Seward

2.5 hour drive to Seward

noon cruise on Resurrection Bay (includes lunch) (12:00 pm - 4:30 pm)

stay night in Seward

 

Day 5

10:00 Dog Sled Tour (on wheels) in Seward

Lunch in Seward

Drive back to Anchorage in the afternoon, arriving Anchorage at about 4:30 pm

stay night in Anchorage

 

Day 6

get rid of car and get on transfer to Whittier for beginning of cruise.

Begin 7 day cruise Whittier, AK to Vancouver, BC

(we have 1 day in Vancouver at the end, but we have already spent a week in Vancouver 4 years ago, so nothing big planned for Vancouver)

 

 

I have left time at the end of each day for a little wandering around.

Date of Anchorage June 29-July 3

Alaska Zoo: I've never found it to be very exceptional. I think the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center at Portage is a better animal option. You could do it on Day 5 on your way back to Anchorage.

 

The Alaska Aviation Museum: When I did it last year, I was there maybe an hour and a half. It's a great spot, but it's pretty small. So you should have time to fit it in somewhere in your schedule.

 

Another spot for seeing salmon (if they are running) is the Potters Marsh boardwalk, just south of Anchorage.

 

The day of your cruise you'd have time for a Prince William Sound glacier cruise out of Whittier before boarding the ship.

Thank you for the advice, I will do more research on the Wildlife Conservation Center. The reason for going to the zoo, knowing it is not a big zoo, is to see the polar bear(s) and caribou, something that we don't see at home. And we were just in NYC at the Central Park Zoo and they used to have a polar bear, but he died of old age about 18 months ago, so we just missed the chance to see him.