JoJo1973

I had a medium weight parka, hat, and good gloves.  Other than that I had lounging clothes underneath - yoga pants and t-shirts.  You don't have to spend loads on stuff - the weather is fairly mild (around freezing but not much colder than that).

It's super easy to drive around Alaska.  There's very little traffic.  You will need to book a tour into Denali if you want to go further than 15 miles in (book the shuttle bus, the shuttle bus drivers stop for wildlife and views).  Heck, for the amount you're saving, you could splurge and do a flight over denali and still save several hundred dollars per person.  

I highly recommend a car rental if you can get one and you have extra time.   It should be light out quite long.  The drive up over the pass to Caracross is one of the best in the state!   There are lots of tarns and fantastic lake views.    When are you cruising?  In august you can find wild blueberries.  Caracross town is also worth a stop.  There's lots of artisans near the train station and visitor's center.  Don't miss a chance to drive a few miles north of town to visit the world's smallest desert!  So beautiful and the sand is amazing!  You can see some pictures here...  https://thehotflashpacker.com/driving-from-whitehorse-to-skagway-worlds-smallest-desert/

Here's a DIY walking tour of Ensenada. https://thehotflashpacker.com/things-to-do-in-ensenada-while-on-cruise/

There's a really cheap boat trip you can take around the harbor - will take you close to your cruiseship and up close to the local seals, and make sure you check out the fish market.  

If you're up to renting a car, there are 3 great national parks within a few hours of seattle - North Cascades, Rainier, and Olympics.  They are all different directions so you probably need a minimum of 5 days to do all 3.  

If you want to do your own walking tour, it's about 1 hour of walking + stops that can include the historic hotel, shopping, cantina, fish market, and a harbor cruise (super cheap if you know where to look for it and a blast).  Details can be found at https://thehotflashpacker.com/things-to-do-in-ensenada-while-on-cruise/

KYBOB, any updates?  Not sure when you were going to Kauai.

On 3/12/2019 at 9:36 AM, cruise47 said:

I understand that cruise ships must stop at Ensenada, Mexico before returning to a US port. What  can passengers look forward doing for. 4.5 hours. 

I took this cruise but we had much more time than 4.5 hours in Ensenada.  We did a cheap tour from Princess that took us to an old casino, drive around town, and a winery (in town) for tasting.  Then they gave you a choice to drop off in town or go back to the ship.  I got off in town and visited some shops and the fish market.  I had fish tacos and a beer at the fish market, then did a boat ride on the harbor... I got on a boat full of Mexican people and it cost me $2 for an hour ride, we rode around, drove next to the cruiseship (honking and waving) and drove by the seals on platforms in the bay.

As for the original question, pink845 summarized pretty good.  I wish I had done the Ukelele... there weren't enough at the start of the cruise but a bunch of the passengers bought one in Hawaii.  I played lots of trivia, but there were some teams that one everytime.  I think they recycle the questions so frequent cruisers win a lot.  Sometimes I'd have several hours that there was nothing interesting to do and then two events would overlap which was disappointing.  The naturalist speaker was very good, the other "enrichment" speakers were boring.

Definitely take your own gear.  Renting quality gear can cost a bunch (was $19 on Maui) and you have to spend precious time going to get it.  If you're taking a suitcase, the gear doesn't take up so much space.  On Maui, I really enjoyed the snorkeling off of a wayside park on the west side.  Turtles just a few yards off the coast and the currents not strong at all.   I didn't have a car so I walked 45 minutes each way (the walk was pleasant, not a lot of traffic and and ocean views most of the way if you take the right route).  But if you have a car, there was plenty of free parking at the park too.    This is the park...  https://thehotflashpacker.com/where-to-see-turtles-in-maui-wahikuli-wayside-park/

We had regular sedans on Hawaii, Oahu, and Kauai.  I was happy to have the A/C.  No need for SUV, all roads were quite good.  Also, the easier the size to park the better, some of the towns were really busy!

I'm going with Quark in November.  I did a HAL trip to Antarctica so super excited to get off the ship and get to South Georgia!

The drive up to Waimea and beyond is really great.  There's plenty of time to do it and be back by mid afternoon.  Here's a guide of things to see along that drive... https://thehotflashpacker.com/what-to-see-in-kauai-in-one-day/

Thanks all for well wishes. Yes, I am quite happy with what I got. Mom and Dad are already thinking where they want to take their next cruise. We are only out the $650 in flights + $200 for mom's insurance that isn't refundable.

I don't have any more info from the TA except she said it was oversold and since we had previously inquired about cancelling (we did a week earlier about making a claim or me going solo when sister had her surgery), that we were on the top of the list to make some form of offer. I don't think she has a reason to lie.

So since I had asked for a bunch of time off work, I'm going to road trip down to Oregon for the next 11 days to do some hot springs and bird watching. I'm getting a new boss in a couple weeks (didn't know the timing when booked the cruise in December) so I'll be able to be back for her starting, so that's good too. Then in May I'm going home to visit family for awhile.

Thanks all for the advice, it has helped.

On my "move over offers" - I receive a free cruise plus OBC on the next cruise which equals the cost of my last cruise. What I don't spend, is refundable.

Well, I think we got not a great deal but you can't look a gift horse in the mouth.

First of all, I hope your sister starts feeling better soon.

Second, you may need to look for a new TA if they let only one of you buy insurance without telling you the pitfalls of that. Further, I have heard that usually in the case of overbooking, you are offered a move-over cruise plus money or credit back for current cruise. Did they suggest that you may minimize your airfare loss by paying to change it for use to go home? (Or a future cruise)

I think you mentioned MN somewhere so I hope you didn’t use the TA I use here in the famous medical city.

They will pay $150 towards change fees, but the problem is I bought 2 one-way tickets at $98 and $93 each. So it will cost $250 to apply $191 towards a flight and then I'm locked into the airline I use.

And we did use a TA in a famous medical city.

Best wishes to all of you. This sounds like an amazing solution. So they are giving it to you as a refund' date=' not refundable OBC on another cruise? Either way it is great...but typically they give a "move over" offer which includes not only the money back for this cruise, but also another cruise at no cost.[/quote']

 

 

No move over... I think they knew they had us because the TA had inquired about canceling last week. Anyways, I believe it's credit towards a new cruise. They are only refunding our port fees and not reimbursing us for airfare. (they offered $150 change fee but I bought 2 one way fares at $100 apiece with $125 change fees). Wish I could change these, i need to fly to LA for an event in September.

Sleep well! Glad something worked out!

 

You may want to read the fine print. You may actually have another cruise to pick out.

I understand it's credit towards booking a new cruise. They let me move the credit into my Dad's name as they love to do Princess. Hopefully their TA will work with them to plan something fun for later in the year or next winter.

Yes, indeed He did. It was my observation that they had trouble filling the ship up. I am so happy for you. When things settle, look at the Holland America, 51 day Tales of the South Pacific, RT San Diego, October 28, 2019....lots of time to plan and save. We are booked. The itinerary is fantastic. Take care.

Wow! This looks awesome!

Well, God may have shone on us and offered up something that makes us as close to whole as we are going to get. TA called today and said the cruise is overbooked, they offered us a refund in the form of exactly what we paid towards a future cruise, minus what my mom paid for the insurance. But, we don't get anything for our airfares so mom is out $450 and I'm out $200 but that's a heck of a lot better than the close to $7000 we were out yesterday.

This has been one of the most stressful things ever. I think I will go spend a little time with family towards the end of April.

A substitute is likely impossible - it's a 4 week cruise and it leaves on Friday.

Since you are going through Chase I expect that you are dealing with the same group and forms that I have used. The form for the Doctor that I received had a cover letter from Card Benefit Services and then 2 pages including section 1 that you complete, and section 2 and 3 for the Doctor. If you received the same thing in the cover letter is says to please provide all supporting documentation within 90 days or as soon as reasonably possible. So that means at least in your case that you have some time.

 

Don't know about the others.

 

As far as your brother in law is concerned all he needs to do is to sign a release such that medical information can be sent to you and the insurance company (in most states a spouse can also sign a release for medical info). Once that is done then you should be able to deal directly with the doctors office and not have to burden your brother in law or sister. If you have the Doctors name and office info you can contact the office directly and talk to someone that does admin for them and they can make sure the proper release is prepared and help you through the process.

Thanks for this info. I'm hoping this will all work out. As of yesterday B-I-L refused to even give the phone number for the doctor. I don't know how my parents are communicating this but in general the B-I-L pretty much dislikes our whole family so is being a jerk about this. I'm hoping my sister will grant consent.

I'm still on the fence if neither of them will sign should I just go because without that signature, we won't get any of our money back. I cancelled the pre-night hotel and all of my tours already so it would be a pretty miserable time.

Well, i thought we'd have the doctor forms today but my brother in law says they're confusing and refused to get them done because it was stressing out my sister. I am at a lost of what to do now. My mom has a bad cold so she can't, won't go to the hospital.

Have you gotten the forms from Card Benefit Services yet for the coverage from your Chase CC? Be sure and get a print out of your Princess Itinerary and the page showing the fare fully paid before canceling. Some of the data might not available on line after you cancel. You will also need your CC statements that show your CC payments to Princess as well as a copy of the Princess refund policy. (I just went through this with A Celebrity cruise after my wife broke her wrist).

Yes, downloaded these today to get to doctor in Minnesota by tomorrow. I will likely have a busy monday morning.

Well' date=' this is definitely reason to set the clock ticking as of today.

 

Print out all documents that you haven't saved--Princess invoices showing full payment made some time ago, etc. ALL documents that may be from TA or from Princess. Be sure that the doc dates the forms today or later. And then contact your TA about cancelation.

 

Best to your sister![/quote']

 

I sent all of the claim forms (unfortunately 3 - hers, mine, and her airfare) to my mom to hand deliver to brother in law to get signed by the doctor tomorrow. Nothing is open and my mom doesn't know how to scan anything and can't bother their TA until Monday.

Latest update: she was readmitted to the hospital today, so mom definitely not going. They're going to take the papers to the hospital to get doctor to fill . fingers crossed we get some money back. I have 4 weeks off work so going to probably go home for a visit.