Casey12

On 2/8/2024 at 10:36 PM, tetleytea said:

Those cruise line buses in Ward Cove are horrible.   The lines to get into town are terrible.  And to get back to the ship, you have to return 1 1/2 hours early--and for a NCL round-trip Seattle cruise, that port stop in Ketchikan is already very short. 

 

Taking the public bus the opposite direction to Totem Bight sounds like a great idea.  Or an excursion, or pretty much anything that lets you not have to take those buses.   We did Ward Cove twice:  one time we did the Zodiac excursion (which was awesome), and the other time we hired a driver who dropped us off at Ward Cove--quite a bit after all the bus passengers had boarded the ship already.  That bought us an extra hour of actually touring stuff.

 

I completely agree with you. The lines for the buses are horrible. You were very wise to do what you did. Totem Bight is great.

On 2/14/2024 at 10:57 AM, julia said:

Thx for the replies.  We'll enjoy seeing snow in May, but hopefully the road surface will be safe and dry.  We've been to Alaska several times, but always in September.

Unless it is raining --- the road surface will be dry. Any snow will be cleared. It is a very safe drive.

Holland America mentions this in their brochure. When sailing Princess -- it is not in the brochure but it is in their daily document that comes out that says it sails Stephen's Passage and when it sails there. Most probably ignore this.

On 2/14/2024 at 10:40 PM, Aquahound said:

 

This is kinda contradictory because some of the largest mega-ships sailing Alaska are Princess ships.  

 

To the Op, my recommendation is Royal Caribbean's Radiance Class ships.  In in my opinion, they are the perfect balance of fun and relaxation.  They're not the mega RCI ships with ziplines, but they do offer a lot of fun activities and great nightly entertainment.  Radiance and Brilliance sail out of Vancouver and, I think, Serenade is sailing out of Seattle.  Pick an itinerary that visits Hubbard Glacier.  

 

I would not sail Princess's megaships. I would stick to their smaller ships. There are more smaller ships sailing one way than megaships. I would not sail Royal Caribbean's Radiance Class ships. I would also pick a line that goes to Glacier Bay and RCCL does not. I think Princess is a line that offers something for everyone that would solve interests for both people.

Whale watching!

Silversea would be very boring for a 13 year old. I found it stuffy when I sailed them and I was 3x that age. They rarely have kids on their ships.

The Blue buses ran out of permits last year and had to stop transporting individuals. We used this company once: https://www.dluxrides.com/ . It was several years ago and I don't remember the price. We found them great and dependable.

I would look into Princess. I would avoid any mega-ship in Alaska. Most main stream lines don't have great dining anymore. Or if they do it is additional.

We went with Glacier Wind last summer and had an amazing time. https://www.g-wind.com/

There are wildlife tours in Icy Strait Point that would be worth looking into. Bears should be out mid to late July.

7 hours ago, Aquahound said:

 

Nope.  That's not what I said.  I said nothing about ports.  But hey, keep making stuff up to justify yourself.  

I will take Coral's helpful ALASKA information on this board any day over your ship's entertainment commentary. I appreciate everyone on this board who talks about Alaska and who has been to many of the ports and glaciers. We don't need negative comments on this board.

I am also in the camp of doing an entire day split between van and train. Definitely go beyond the Summit. The scenery you see in the Yukon is different than anywhere else in Alaska (well you are in Canada) that you will go. For example - you will see a desert and beautiful Emerald Lake. To go the entire distance you will get a better feel for the Gold Rush and the distance individuals went. This is an extremely gorgeous area scenery wise. Different than your other ports. If you don't plan on coming back-- take advantage of the long day you have here to see the area.

17 minutes ago, Coral said:

There are only a few places in this world with glaciers like there are in Alaska. It saddens me that someone would only spend 15 minutes looking at it and then they would leave.

 

For example - Glacier Bay, the entire day is gorgeous sailing into GB and then sailing out. Tracy Arm and College Fiords are also gorgeous days all day. 

 

If you get close to a glacier like Hubbard - and hear the thunder and watch it calve is amazing. Something people will miss if they "go outside and say they saw it and go back inside" or "spend 15 minutes looking at it". I wonder why these individuals even go to Alaska?

 

So many people these days have no clue how beautiful nature can be. They would rather play video games than enjoy a once in a lifetime (for many) opportunity to see glaciers and their activity. I have seen most glaciers in Alaska a dozen or so times and each time, they seem new and different to me because they are constantly changing. 

 

To each their own but I would put glaciers at a priority and make it a family event enjoying it. It will be remembered for years as opposed to some game on a cruise ship that can be done anytime of the cruise or regardless of where the cruise is.

Probably the same people who would take their kids to Rome and encourage them to stay in the hotel room and play video games as opposed to seeing the Colosseum and other Roman sites. They might as well stay home.

I agree with those who would recommend avoiding RCCL and NCL. 

We like Princess and Holland America. We put Alaska ports and itinerary first and not the ship. We love Alaska more than the Caribbean. I also never thought I would say that. We would love to do Un-Cruise in the future.

I would recommend doing a 1 way cruise and not round trip Seattle trips. You will get better times in ports, longer port days and more glacier days.

I recently planned a river cruise for a bunch of friends. They like high-end cruise experiences. They're only requirement was that was not on Uniworld due to the decor. We have walked through several of their ships. We ended up going with Tauck. Uniworld really needs to re-think their design philosophy.  

We went with Glacier Wind a few years ago with Captain Shawn. It was an excellent whale watching day. I also recommend them. I hope to go back next year.

Keep the pics coming! What excursions do you have planned?

I think I need to add Whistler to my pre-cruise stay. Thanks for the pictures.

If you can post menus - that would be great! I have the same cruise booked in July.

Thanks!

2 minutes ago, voljeep said:

a 'win' for Princess - see how it goes ... refunded back to original payment? - fine - then pay full deposit on no OBC on next booking.

 

got a booking - great - need to change that booking - oops - FCD gets refunded as above and you get to pay the full deposit with no OBC on the new booking

 

maybe

Or people go elsewhere and they lose the booking all together.

This may be the change that stops me from cruising Princess - after dealing with several other changes. I do cruise yearly with Princess but every cruise lately has been beyond disappointing. And I am close to retirement where I will be spending more of my money traveling more. Stupid move Princess.

I am one that also thinks RCCL does a poor job in Alaska. HAL and Princess are superior in Alaska. And they do Glacier Bay. I would look into other lines. The smaller ship the better in Alaska.

I have done Misty Fiords via boat and it is over-priced and just ok. You spend a lot of time getting to the monument and then are only there for a short time. Not a tour I would recommend or do again. Plane is much better.

1 hour ago, Coral said:

For those who get on the ship this weekend - let me know how things go with buying Plus (is it $60 a day total - no additional fees) and also can you use OBC?

 

Thanks!

I am curious about this also.

There are better things to do in Juneau than Mendenhall glacier (canoeing or visiting the face). It has retreated so much. The hatchery is not that exciting either.