RuthC

If your wife wants to use the Internet, or contact someone off the ship while she is on the ship, she will have to pay for it. I don't know how to be any more clear than that. Just because someone doesn't have a smart phone with them doesn't mean they don't want to connect. The computers are what they use, and HAL is good to provide them.

On my first cruise to Antarctica we had a muster drill when the weather was frigid, like it seems to be today for you. I am usually quite prompt to muster, but held back until the last second before I went out that time. As soon as I got there, and the drill started, the Captain announced 'Thank you for coming. Passengers dismissed'. Loved that captain.

Suggest a HAL transfer---bus or train. The road from Anchorage to Whittier is 2-lane, and long. If there is an accident, then traffic can be tied up for a very long time. At least with a HAL transfer they will get you to the ship somehow. The ship may wait, or HAL will get you to the next port.

Yup! I took my 'one' cruise to Alaska in 1990. I have now cruised 17 weeks there on a combination of 1, 2, 3, and coming up a 4-week cruise there. Plus a HAL land tour, and a couple of weeks independently. The 2019 3-week cruise there may have been the first time the tour at Hubbard Glacier was offered. Mostly I have taken HAL tours, but have also walked around (or scooted on a mobility device), so I have seen a lot. Oh, one more thought for OP: In Skagway, do walk around the town. It is mainly shops, but the facades of the buildings are interesting. Check out the Arctic Brotherhood Lodge, and learn the story of the front of the building. There is also a National Park Ranger building close to the docks; the same area the train leaves from. Great museum inside.

I forgot to mention Denali! Sorry. On my first cruise to Alaska, I was strongly advised to go flight-seeing. I didn't go on that trip, but did on the next one. I went up 11,000 feet in a small plane at Denali. The original advice was so right! Picture-perfect day, sparkling snow and ice. Absolutely breathtaking! If you do only one flight in Alaska, this is the one to take. But there are others that are great, too. Misty Fjords is an excellent tour by plane. You don't have to try to do it all on one trip. You will be back to Alaska.

IMO, Hubbard is the most spectacular of all the glacier viewing opportunities. On a good weather day. On a bad weather day, none of them are great. But weather, at any of the glaciers is not under anyone's control, so my advice is, if an excursion there is offered, it will be on a smaller catamaran. It is a fabulous tour! You will transfer directly from the ship to the catamaran, then head closer to the glacier, and around the bay area. If there is calving (fairly safe bet there will be), you will feel it much more powerfully as the waves pass under your small boat, vs the ship. I took this excursion the last time I was in Alaska (I had never seen it offered before), and plan to take it again on my next cruise there. It's an entirely different perspective than the one you get from the ship. Oh, the sail up Disenchantment Bay is spectacular. Again, on a good day. I agree with oakridger that you should plan your whale watching tour in Juneau. Either a HAL tour, or a tour with Allan Marine would be good. I also agree that the train in Skagway is a good tour. I have done it twice, but have never taken the tour with the train one way and the bus the other. Similar sights, but from a different angle. I would love to take that. Maybe next trip. I think you will get a lot more out of your trip if you take tours, but you could think about 1/2 day tours, and then spending the rest of the day walking around and soaking up the atmosphere.

There are still computers on HAL ships for passenger use. However, your wife would still need to purchase a plan to be able to use the Internet. Navigator has no charge.

Get started unpacking. Could possibly get the carry-ons fully unpacked in 10 minutes. Definitely could in 30.

How I love traveling along with you, Roy! Thank you so much for the blog and the CC posts, not to mention all the pictures. Enjoy the pre-cruise and especially the cruise. I would love to experience the new locks.

It wouldn't violate the Jones Act. The Passenger Vessel Services Act however--- it would violate, unless the passenger disembarked in Mexico on the way back.

You have a little wiggle room, but not a lot of it. Personally, I would never cut it that close; other people (you, perhaps?) are braver than I am. What if your plane is late taking off? What if it can land on time, but there is no open gate to pull up to? (both of these have happened to me). What if the machine delivering luggage breaks down, and all the unloaded luggage has to be put on a different machine? The point is that any---or more!---of these could delay your arrival at the pier in time to meet the CBP regulation to be checked in before the ship is cleared to sail. I don't recall how long before the ship sails that time period is, but the passenger manifest has to be turned in by 2:00 PM, or possibly earlier (1:30?).

Not always. Sometimes it is bunkered from a source ashore. I had some terrible tasting water one time in South America. IIRC, it was in Buenos Aires. That's the only time I remember such bad tasting water, but it is when I learned it wasn't always made on board.

If you don't want the medallions or pins, then there's no reason to take them in the first place. Tossing them only adds to the landfill problem. Just refuse them in the first place, so they can go to someone who does want them.

Gotta luv the HAL website.

Gratuities count. It's one big tab of charges to the account. Anything booked in advance or on the ship, or paid for from that cruise is added up, and both people get full value of one day credit for every $300 charged. Doesn't matter who (or how) the bill is paid. Cash, credit/debit card, refundable or non-refundable credit. If a portion of the next $300 has been charged, that may be credited as another full day. For two people.

I used the same link, and it lead me to a 2025 cruise. Strange. Could you have possibly misread the '5' as a '2'? Or, could the HAL website have been having another one of its temperamental moments??? Why not try again. This truly is a marvelous cruise, which I know because I have been to most of those ports at least once. The scenery is grand! I'm so sad that now that HAL is finally coming up with some of the best itineraries I have ever seen them put out, my ability to cruise is so badly reduced. I'm not sure I can physically do this cruise. Sure long to try, though. It's that good!

This is another example of how the ship is treated like Noah's Ark. If it's a couple, and one person spends $300, each member of the couple gets credit for 1 Mariner day. Enjoy your bonus days, as they add up quickly when you get double (as compared to solo cruisers).

I have used the ship's tap water when I have run out of distilled, and there is none left on board to purchase. By the end of the cruise, the receptacle needed a good cleaning, including scrubbing with a toothbrush, and I also cleaned the nosepiece thoroughly. Couldn't do anything about the hose. But, if I ever run out of distilled again, and it can't be replaced, I would use tap water again. I just prefer to order enough distilled in advance now.

Turn-around day normally has Mass scheduled at 5:00 PM. I can't think of a reason that Easter Sunday would be any different.

The number of days aboard, with the medallion system was the Mariner recognition program prior to the star system. When the star system came in, the medallion system was eliminated. For about 5 minutes. Mariners were up in arms that their program, with the coveted medallions, was out. So, it was rapidly reinstated as a parallel program to the star Mariner program. With the exception of the copper medallion. Eventually, the copper medallion was also reinstated, but was now called 'bronze'. Funny how the colors are exactly the same. Prior to all of that was the former medallion system, which was based on the 'miles' POA referenced. The first medallion in that system was based on average miles, and counted in days. The first medallion was silver, after either 110 or 111 days (I forget which), and was presented on a blue and orange striped ribbon. I still have mine. My husband was so proud of his, which he received on what turned out to be his last cruise, that I buried it with him. Guess he is cruising for eternity!

If it is a true 100 nights on board, without counting any spending or Suite days, then you should receive your copper medallion on that cruise. If you do not, then ask about it at the Front Desk. Even better, ask about it before the cruise gets too far along, so that you won't be left out when the medallions are distributed.

Remember, whatever you charge on your current cruise is deducted from non-refundable OBC before the refundable. If you have leftover refundable, you can get it in cash or a refund on your credit card. Then, pay the credit card bill for the new cruise deposit with that money. A multi-step process, to be sure, but it does the job. Now, if you have no refundable OBC, and still can't find something to purchase, perhaps you could pay for someone else's purchase, and have them pay you in cash. Worth cultivating a new friend for.

No, you can't use it as a deposit on a future cruise. It's a separate transaction from the expenses of the cruise you are on. Sorry.

As someone who travels alone and prefers fixed dining, I think if you plan to dine elsewhere (including Club Orange) most nights, it is unfair to reserve a seat in fixed dining, too. People reserve in fixed so that they will have company every night, and get to know their tablemates over the course of the cruise. To come and go throws off the dynamic of the table and the ambiance of dining.

I did all three of my cruises there in an inside cabin. There is nothing like being outside as much as possible while down there. Things are going on all around you, and you can move from side to side easily. Not only that, on my first cruise down there, there was a very strong wind on port side, making it bitter cold. A chill to the bone cold (I was wearing my heaviest winter jacket, with hood, too). Easy enough to head over to starboard. Can't change your balcony's side! I would rather put the money I would spend on a balcony into upgraded airfare. They are long flights!