cruisin0218

On 8/19/2022 at 7:25 PM, Lastdance said:

if you see another...it has been all over the news and creating havoc killing trees!  People are being asked to kill these types of bugs...sorry, I forgot the name!  Just do not bring one back with you!

I don't think that is a lantern fly because the lantern fly has short legs.

We like booking a motorhome in Anchorage. We have used both Great Alaskan Holidays and ABC with good service from both. We did not worry about making reservations for RV spaces except at Denali. In Alaska there are so many places to pull in for the night & we prefer to be able to take our time & not adhere to a schedule. We also purchased the Milepost book which has narrative of what is located at each Milepost including sights to see, places to stay, gas, restaurants, etc. I agree that taking your time to see the sights in Seward with maybe an overnight or 2 in Seward & then taking the train from Seward to Anchorage. You can then take a taxi to one of the rv rental places. If you prefer you can take a taxi to the airport then call the rv place for their shuttle service to take you to their location. Another option is a car rental from Hertz in Seward with drop off at the airport in Anchorage.

2 minutes ago, Nervouslyexcited said:

I usually cruise with my husband but have booked a cruise with a friend.  Can we have separate credit cards for purchases

Yes. 

11 hours ago, knbcruisers said:

I have a questioning  another variation of this cancellation issue.  We are booked on the 3/22 Grand Princess.  I give us a 50/50 shot now of this cruise being cancelled.  If I wanted to keep my air booking (booked through ez air) can I?  We are considering still flying in to CA and renting a car and doing a self guided tour.   The flights were very reasonably priced and are non stop.  

Thanks for asking this question. I would also like to know the same thing.

Regarding the timing of the dates, one thing which may impact your visit to Denali this year is the landslide that has occured within the park. There is only 1 road within the park to access the park. That road usually opens partway in May & completely early in June. The park service does not know at this time exactly when the road will be open completely but their goal is to have it open to Mike 43 in May & completely (mile 92) by June 15. You must ride park service buses to access anything further into the park than the first few miles. Going further into the park greatly increases your opportunities to see wildlife. So if you plan to maximize your time in the park, then you may want to plan your arrival after June 15. You can also avoid crowds with school aged children at the end of August & in September. Also in August you may see Salmon running & bears in the areas where there are Salmon.

We had already made our airfare reservations when the news of the landslide was announced and we are flying into Anchorage May 16. We will do 2 weeks in an RV followed by a southbound cruise leaving Whittier on May 30. We have toured Denali twice and been in Alaska during the Salmon runs so we will just focus on other experiences. If you are not particularly interested in exploring Denali park or seeing the bears going after the Salmon, then you will still find lots to experience in Alaska in May & early June.

Ah now I see. That makes sense🤔

7 hours ago, smplybcause said:

Well you have 4 ships to choose from in 2020. One does one-way and the other 3 do RTs out of Seattle. So that's the first question. Do you want to fly in/out of Seattle or do you want to fly in/out of different ports? And on the same thoughts do you want to extend the trip and do an Alaskan land tour (this means you'd need to go on the one-way cruise)?

 

If the answers to those questions don't make the decision for you - the next is do you want 7 days or do you want a longer cruise? 

 

Assuming your question to all those questions isn't "I don't know" it will have likely narrowed your options down to where you can then look at ship differences and itinerary differences and research which one suits you best. 

I must be misunderstanding your response because there are many more than 4 ships that cruise the Alaskan Waters in August of 2020.

In response to the OP I would suggest that you first read the cruise critic 2019 reviews. Based upon those you could list the places you would like to see. Also determine how many days you can spend on your trip allowing time to fly to the departure port at least 1 day prior to the day the ship sails. You may/or may not also need to fly home the day after you disembark from the ship due to airline schedules. Look at how much you are able to spend for the cruise. You can then determine whether you need to do a round trip cruise or can do a one way. Once these decisions have been made it should narrow down your choices. Then go back to your list of places to see and compare to the itinerary and port times for the ships remaining on your list. That at least becomes a more manageable task. Whatever you do and whichever ship you take you will have a wonderful time in Alaska.

Chicken Salad with apples and walnuts and cookies

Thank you for your review. I think that I was on the cruise on the Ruby with you. For the 2 people who are questioning if the original poster didn't know which ship she was on, I don't see anywhere that she stated she was on the cruise that embarked on April 8th. We were on the same itinerary as your friends but disembarked on April 8th.

I agree with doing a one way car rental from anchorage to Whittier. I would rent the car for the entire duration of my stay. You could go ahead with the reservation for the rental car now & make it for the maximum time you can possibly stay. You can change, cancel or modify it later on. This allows maximum flexibility and maximizes you time so that you are not duplicating areas you have already seen.

Another good alternative with children is rv rental. One of the rv rental agencies (abc rental) will allow you to drop off the rv in Whittier for an additional fee. Well worth the fee in my opinion.

I would also recommend the SB cruise with princess because if having both Hubbard & Glacier Bay. We really dislike the flight home from Anchorage but enjoy flying into Anchorage. Perhaps you could plan some days at the end of the cruise for Vancouver and/or Seattle. We have done that and really enjoyed not having to rush to the airport to catch a flight home immediately upon disembarking. Or you could plan to explore the Anchorage area or the Kenai for a few days precruise. Lots to see & do there.

No matter where I am traveling I like to carry about $100 in small bills to use for tips for tour guides/porters/ vending machine/small purchases such as snacks.

I would suggest renting a car one way through Avis. If you get to Anchorage around lunchtime drive downtown & eat at one if the restaurants in Anchorage or pick up some sandwich supplies & picnic as you drive through Turnnagin Arm stopping to view scenery at your leisure and spend the night at Alyeska Resort. Check out the Wildlife Conservation Center. Find out what time you need to go through the tunnel. It's not difficult to drive it and you aren't that far away if you stay at Alyeska. You could plan to see the Wildlife Conservation Center on your first driving day and then plan on booking the 26 glacier tour at Whittier.

The passport card is valid for land & sea but not airline travel so you will have a problem flying from the us to vancouver. There will not be a problem from Anchorage to Atlanta.

first thing this morning you could call the cruise line and request wheelchair assistance with boarding & disembarking. At the same time you could ask them which vendor they use for rental medical equipment. You could then call that vendor to see if they could possibly deliver a scooter for you to rent for the week. Even if they cannot deliver on such short notice you could ask if you can pick one up from them today. Tell them which ship you will be on & they will be familiar with the width of the door opening into your room. The scooter you rent will need to be narrow enough to ride it into the room because you cannot leave them in the hallway. One of the scooters they seem to rent frequently is the gogo which fits through many of the doorways and if it doesn't fit it can be taken apart fairly easily to place it in the room or in the trunk of a vehicle. Your weight would also determine whether you could use a small scooter like the gogo. A scooter would allow you to enjoy your vacation and help you keep from increasing your pain.

Oh and by the way you mentioned huskeys. You will find that the dogs are not the Siberian Huskeys that we usually think of.

You're welcome. We just were not willing to pay the price for the helicopter ride with sledding on a glacier. I'm sure that would be a neat experience as well. The cart ride with the education about running the Iditarod and the care of the dogs as well as petting the dogs was fun for us. Hope you enjoy it!

We did the sled ride with Seaveys and thoroughly enjoyed it. I believe they offer both the cart ride and the glacier one. We did the cart. They put the clothing they wear during the Iditarod on one person in our party. They explained how they care for the dogs & train the dogs and we were able to pet the dogs. The Seaveys took 1st & 2nd place in the Iditarod this year. They are located in Seward.

I would recommend looking at renting a car(and purchasing a cheap cooler for snacks, drinks & sandwich fixings) or motorhome. It's a great way to tour Alaska & easily done on your own in Alaska using a book called "Milepost". You then have lots of flexibility & can stop as desired for stretch breaks and scenery viewing as well as wildlife sightings.

I purchased a Travelscoot & I love it. I don't need any accessory to be able to transport or load the scooter because even assembled it is light enough that I can lift it fully assembled and place it in the back of my minivan. I also have the option to take off the seat and remove the battery & then no piece of it weighs more than 20 lbs. When folded it fits easily in the trunk on my daughter's Ford Fusion. The main difference that I see in the 2 you have asked about is the travelscoot has 2 bars beneath your feet that create a v shaped area for carrying items that is very convenient & in an airport you can place your carry on case across the bars for easy transport. The other scooter does not have this feature. I am also fluffy and have had no problems with this issue. There are many people who are 350-400 lbs who report successfully using the travelscoot. I can zip along faster than most people can walk while I am shopping in the mall (something I was unable to do at all before the scoot). I have the newer model & I can not imagine needing to go any faster. Depending upon your weight & the amount of charge left in your battery you may have a problem going up a very steep incline. I am able to go up any ramped area that I have tried including a fairly steep ramp to access a fishing pier. I did have a little problem when sightseeing in the historic area of Montreal due to the very steep hillside old town is built on. My husband was with me and a bit of gentle pressure from him on my back kept us going uphill.

It looks good. The only concern that I would have would be that you may be cutting your time too close to try and do the shuttle and be back in time for the 5:45 pm wagon tour. You never know how many stops the shuttle will be making for wildlife, etc. I would suggest eating that night at one of the restaurants just outside the park. We called restaurants when we got off the shuttle at the WAC and did not have a problem being seated.

We have taken 20 year olds & their friends with us on RCL, Carnival & HAL. They had a great time on each cruise and surprisingly really enjoyed the elegance with HAL. They loved the movies, shows, dance lessons, pool and excellent food. On HAL they loved the variety available from room service especially being able to order from the dining room menu for room service. They liked the availibily og the dvd players in the cabin and theability to check out dvds on board ship. Carnival was their least favorite. They are not late night partiers. RCL & HAL were neck & neck in their oponion. If they were into late night partys they would probably have prefered RCL but for the price difference they will have a great time on HAL.

I believe this itinerary does include glacier bay

Since you say that you cannot walk very far I would recommend that you consider rental of a scooter for each of you. Each of the cruiselines have a vendor that they work with which would mean that your scooters would be delivered to your room on the cruise ship. You can also rent a scooter at home and have the use if it in transit for the airport and your arrival and departure cities.

There is a lot if walking on the cruise ships. The ports are very scooter friendly. In Juneau Orca Enterprises is handicapp accessible and is a great whale watching excursion. The train in Skagway is also a great tour. Ketchican is a great place to just cruise along on a scooter as you browse the shops, creek street, the museum, etc. and there are also some accessible tours and shows as well as airplane tours.

You can do these tours without a scooter but the scooter gives you much more freedom to explore the ports at your leisure.

I would recommend reserving a handicapped cabin on the ship if you decide to rent the scooters because you would then have space to park 2 scooters in your cabin.

When we rented through Great America it was just our immediate family in 1 rv. We changed to abc for the larger group because we also wanted to explore the Kenai and did not want to drive back from the Kenai to Anchorage to return 3rvs and did not want to pay a drop off fee for each of the 3 rvs. ABC allowed us to return the rvs and rent a 15 passenger with luggage trailer from them. We then drove that to explore the Kenai. We choose to stay at Red Fish Lodge and rented 3 cabins there. We were able to relax, do laundry, visit the Seavy iditerod dog sledding operation in Sterling & fish the Kenai River. We then drove to Seward, did sightseeing there and dropped the van & trailer off in the parking lot at the cruise ship terminal.