shutuph

We have done this Princess transfer several times from

Canada Place to Sea-Tac.

Works like a charm and no issues at the border as they use the express lane.

 

Hate the Amtrak. Tried it twice and had nothing but delays and headaches.

 

You can pre book through Princess or book onboard during the cruise. ;)

 

As noted arrival at Sea-Tac around 2pm.

We want to spend a couple of days in Seattle before a cruise. Has anyone ever done a SeaTac to Canada place and flown in a few day early. (I assume we would need to get back to the airport to get the transfer.)Any idea on cost for the transfer?

Thanks

We rented from Green Jeep in skagway. Absolutely loved driving ourselves. We went as far as Robinson Roadhouse. We liked we were able to stop where we wanted to (our highlight was an mine that went down to the water). Also stopped at Caribou Crossings. Only a few dollars to get in. We ended up taking so much time we had to race back to get the Jeep back by the 6 pm deadline.

Answered on your West Coast duplicate question.

Sorry realized that I should have posted on West coast forum.thanks for your help

I have been researching Seattle hotels in anticipation of an Alaska Cruise in 2019. What I found is jaw dropping. Are Seattle hotels always so expensive? Where is a good area to stay? DH has some mobility issues so want to be convenient to restaurants and other attractions.

Thank you!

We booked our hotel a year in advance (direct with the hotel and could cancel) and feel we did ok.(120.00) We stayed at the Roosevelt which was downtown and very walkable to the market and shopping. It was also close to the link station so we took the train in from the station.

Loved seattle and worth spending the time there.

We are thinking of flying into seattle and going on a cruise out of Vancouver. Is it difficult to get from where Amtrak comes into Vancouver to the pier. Would cab be better. If so what would we expect for cost. Does the train generally run on time?

What other suggestions would you have.

We are considering a cruise out of Vancouver but it is cheaper to fly into seattle. (We would also like to see seattle first.) What is the best way to get from seattle to Vancouver cruise port. Rough cost would also be appreciated.

Hi. This will be my first cruise to Alaska. When I booked in May, the original itinerary was Seattle, Sea Day, Tracy Arm Fjord, Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan, Victoria, Seattle. So I checked the website the other day and the itinerary changed. Its now: Seattle, Sea Day, Juneau, Skagway, Cruise Glacier Bay, Ketchikan, Victoria, Seattle. What does this mean? I hear everyone saying we should take the small boat excursion in Tracy Arm Fjord but will we not be able to or should we not do that now because we are cruising Glacier Bay? Sorry I don't know the difference or if one is better than the other. Please help me understand! Thanks!

Which cruise is this? The general consensus for Alaska is that you want Glacier bay over Tracy Arm.

I am looking for a Glacier Bay out of Seattle for 2018.

We too did Endicott arm instead of Tracy arm because of the ice in Tracy Arm.

We also found a 250pp package for the 3 AK ports on line. The tours in SK and KN were more or less Starter tours, but the J day included what watching and a trip the the park with Medenhal glacier.

Can you provide the website that offers tour packages for the ports in Alaska.

Are you allowed to share your coffee card or purchase two coffees at the same time? I love the idea of the coffee card but don't think I will need 15 coffees but if I could share with my husband it would be a nice treat. (as opposed to regular coffee all the time.)

Does anyone have suggestions for where to stay close to Pike Market? We would like to just walk. We are coming in a day before our cruise and would like to explore. Also, is the Space Needle close by? Would love to see that also. I was looking at the Holiday inn downtown. It's about .08 from the Market. Would that be walkable? Thanks for any responses.

 

 

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We stayed at the Roosevelt. Nothing fancy but price was right. I booked almost a year in advance and paid 120.00/night. It is a little walk to market but we did it every day. Nice shopping near by. Not sure how you are getting from the airport but the link station is a block away also from the hotel. We also paid 25.00 for a car to take us from the hotel to pier 91.

Have fun in Seattle.

I was also offered an upsell from OV to balcony which I declined. Had it been $100 or less I would have gladly taken it.

How much was the difference

I wondered if anyone who has been on ruby recently could confirm that you can still go to the observation deck above the bridge. (Lido deck I believe.)

Thanks

No need to pay for the Sanctuary.... it'll be too cold anyway. Inside, you'll have the Adagio's bar, which is nice and quiet during the day. The best place to be, however, is out on deck, especially if you don't have a balcony....

Any suggestions on where? Our last cruise to Alaska we bundled up and went to the serenity (adult area). We are always afraid of missing something in Alaska and spend a lot of time on deck. Where are some quiet areas?

I wondered if the deck area in front of the obstructed ocean view cabins on ruby is well used or if this is a quiet area. Any opinions on these cabins.

thanks

Looking at Ruby princess for an Alaskan cruise and wondered if it is a must to go to the Sanctuary? Is there any places on Ruby Princess that are quieter and thereby avoiding the 30-40 a day cost for the Sanctuary.

We are use to the adult only areas on Carnival and having a hard time thinking of paying to avoid kids.

thanks

Except for next year when the Legend is doing a Glacier Bay run on August 15th (2017). Booked it a couple of months ago. The price at that point was $2000 less than NCL Pearl (which also does GB) which was the next cheapest.

We are hoping that they run a Glacier Bay in 2018. Love seattle and loved Legend. Did you book a balcony? If you just need some daylight we booked a 4k and had a great view between lifeboats.

Have fun...Alaska spoiled the carribean cruises for us....now we want to save our cruising for Alaska!

Loved Alaska so much we are looking to book our next cruise.

We loved Legend but are looking to go to Glacier Bay. Anyone done both ships. We are concerned we will be disappointed going with Princess. We had the interior French door on Legend and that was amazing for the price. I know there is nothing like that on Princess.

Can anyone weigh in on whether we are making a mistake.

We have cruised Alaska on Legend in an interior french door on carnival legend. We are looking to go again to Alaska but wondered if other ships have similar jargon rooms. Our cabin was almost thé price of an interior. We have always been spoiled with some kind of window. Any other cruise lines have similar cabins?

Where in Canada are you from? We're just outside of Hamilton

 

 

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Hi

We are from Windsor Ontario....so I know where Hamilton is!

I saw some of your concerns about cost. There are many alternatives to excursions. Yes, you can spend hundreds in port or you can spend little. It is always good to look to book yourself rather than through the cruise line. (However carnival does pricematch if you find the same excursion.) We have been back now for almost two months and Alaska was one of the most amazing trips we have taken. Our favorite thing was renting a green jeep for 200.00 and going back into Canada. (Skagway).

Hope you get to Alaska some time...it is amazing.

We went to Alaska on Legend . We thought it was a once in a lifetime but we will return. There are ways to save some money. I think any trip you decide what you can afford and do it. We had a French door interior -4k and was nice as we had light and fresh air and cost half of what a balcony cost. We spent so much time on deck that we didn't miss it. We did pay for the small boat in Endicott (our ship did not go into tracy arm but Endicott was substituted.) We also rented a jeep in skagway and drove into the Yukon on our own. (this was the cost of booking the train for 2-if there are more than two people this is a cheaper way to go.)

Glacier bay would be nice but Legend does not often go there. We were perfectly happy on Legend especially since they have 4k rooms that, if carefully choosen you can have a view.

I think you have more scenery leaving from Vancouver but Seattle for the ship was nice and really enjoyed our 2 days in Seattle. (We are from Canada and think it was still cheaper to go from Seattle then Canada.)

My vote is to do Alaska as soon as possible and decide your budget. If you need to do all the dog sledding and flight seeing you can spend the cost of a cruise on that. If you go for the scenery and pick and choose what is important you do not have to remortgage your house to see Amazing Alaska.

We were on Legend and love the cruise. Wondered if the ship has made it into Tracy arm as opposed to Endicott Arm?

thanks

Ron the same cruise.it was amazing. I can understand concerns with expensive excursions but there are some ways to save especially for families.We rented a green Jeep in skagway and as I go over my pictures this was a highlight. It is often cheaper to book on your own then through the cruise ship. We did decide to do the small boat in Tracy's arm terror but that was planned. I agree to see Alaska any way you can,figure out your budget and go.another saver could be your cabin. We did a 4k picture window. We choose carefully and we're between life boats. My best picture of the glacier was from our room. ( Had to get ready for the small boat) if you can't t afford a balcony I recommend considering a carefully chosen 4k.

On our trip, we entered the area in the morning, and picked up the two pilots about 9am. We saw lots of humpback whales going into the Tracy Arm Wilderness area. More were seen on the port side as were were going through the different channels, but we’ll see if they are seen more on the starboard side when we come out. During our morning transit, the Naturalist, Michelle would broadcast from the bridge out on the decks, and in the cabins on the same channel as the forward camera. She would report when whale spouts were spotted, and draw your attention where to look. She mentioned that when we actually entered the Endicott Arm Fjord that she would no longer broadcast on the open decks, but would be available on the TV channel. This is done to not disturb the other boats, campers, hikers, and wildlife. We ended up staying on our balcony the entire 3 hours of the transit through Endicott Arm. Michelle did come on and tell us the morning excursion pilots radioed back that there was a brown bear (grizzly) at the waters edge. She was able to determine the location and tell everyone where to look. It was magnificent - hope the pictures DH took with his camera turn out.

 

Finally, we arrived at the Dawes Glacier. Michelle announced that the Capitan had to stop prob about 1.5 miles from the glacier, because of the amount of icebergs in the water. He was going to make a slow turn to port, and line the ship up with the starboard side facing the glacier for about an hour, and then we would leave. We then left our cabin and went up on deck to see the Dawes Glacier and take pictures. During this time, the morning excursion boats would return to the ship, dump their passengers, and load the afternoon passengers. Once that switch happened, we turned the ship further to port and slowly made our way back. The afternoon excursion passengers would get close the glacier for a while, then meet up with us back at the entrance to Endicott Arm around 6pm.

 

We got some misty sprinkles on the way back out of Endicott Arm, and beautiful scenery again. It is quite breathtaking. DH relaxed on the balcony in our hammock.

Would you say you need the small boat if you are in Endicott Arm? Could you see the glacier well enough from the ship?

Thanks

True! It's right up there with "You guys are the best crowd we've had all tour" and "No, that dress doesn't make you look fat." :D

Did anyone happen to see yesterday for Carnival legend?

I just got off the Legend this week. We did not make it into Tracy Arm. We went to Endicott Arm instead. They say this year is very unusual. Several huge ice burgs are continuously breaking off the glacier causing too much congestion to enter, but Endicott Arm is beautiful, so don't be disappointed if you end up going there. Our day was gorgeous, complete sunshine for the entire day! We did the small boat excursion, and I would pay the money to do it again. It was very much worth it.

thanks for the reply!