JT1962

It was open for lunch the first week of May when I was on Splendor to Alaska.

The only way they would know would be to test everyone prior to letting them off the ship. That appears to be what is happening in Australia, least on one ship: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11007377/amp/Coronavirus-cruise-ship-nightmare-100-passengers-stay-ship-test-negative.html

There are tour booths at the pier in Juneau and Ketchikan. I prefer to book a well-reviewed independent tour rather than taking a chance on what is available at the pier. I did the whale watch & Mendenhall Glacier combo tour when Juneau Whale Watch in May and enjoyed it. They do the whale watching first and give you flexible time at the glacier, with buses returning every 1/2 hour. The Deadliest Catch tour in Ketchikan is excellent, but sometimes the same price as booking it through the ship. We had a great experience with Southeast Kayaks a few years ago. You can also pick up a free walking tour map at the Visitor Center on the pier and tour on your own.

I would cancel since it is an issue for you. As fast as cases are spreading now, including on ships, it is possible they will add the mask requirement prior to your cruise even if they do not have it in place today.

A one-way from Vancouver to Alaska with Glacier Bay and a land tour for several days after the cruise to include Denali National Park. Glacier Bay is beautiful and the land tour will give you see there is a lot more to Alaska than the Southeast Coast.

Carnival decided in Jan / Feb to move Splendor to Alaska, relatively late to try and fill ships for the summer. They have been offering cheap rates to try and fill the ship. I went in May for $ 125 solo and was lucky to get r/t airfare less than $ 300 when booking in February. I received similar cruise offers for June & July, but airfares jumped to $ 800 - $ 1,200+, so I passed on the great cruise fare. I suspect many booked cheap rates, then saw the prices of airfare and canceled before final payment or forfeited their deposit rather than pay the high airfares. With the increase of Covid cases across the country, and numerous reports of positive tests after cruises, I’m sure many have canceled out of those concerns as well.

Thanks for the review. I was in the Meraviglia in January and am looking forward to cruising on the Divina in October.

You will get lots of opinions as to “best”. I have taken 3 cruises to Alaska (Princess, Royal Caribbean & Carnival) and believe the itinerary and times in port are more important than the specific ship or cruise line. I would start by reading trip reports / reviews on this and other sites to see what might be if interest to you in the ports, then try to find an itinerary that spends the most time in those ports. A one-way itinerary between Vancouver and Alaska will almost always give you more time in ports (and possibly an extra port or glacier day) than the roundtrip cruises from Seattle. Another upside to the one-way itinerary is that you can add a land tour in Alaska before or after your cruise and also spend a few days in Vancouver before or after the cruise. Glacier Bay is a highlight for many and is primarily visited by Princes & Holland America with some Norwegian Cruise Line itineraries as well. Hubbard Glacier is impressive and visited by several cruise lines. Tracy Arm Fjord with Sawyer Glacier and Endicott Arm with Dawes Glacier are visited by many cruise lines, but ships can’t always get close to the glaciers due to ice. The small boat excursions from the ship are excellent for a better experience. For us, the ship is primarily used for breakfast / dinner, sleeping and transportation in Alaska, so we don’t need the latest / greatest / largest ship. We rarely go to any entertainment / activities on a cruise to Alaska and prefer to watch the beautiful scenery. I have cruised Alaska with and without a balcony. A balcony is nice to have, but I would not choose a balcony at the expense of not being able to do some excursions I was interested in. There are plenty of places inside and outside to relax and observe the scenery and possibly wildlife. Being outside on an upper deck gives you the ability to quickly move from one side to the other if whales or other wildlife is spotted. Excursions in Alaska are expensive compared to what many are used to in the Caribbean, especially anything involving flights. Read reviews and watch YouTube videos to find those you want to do. Money is always a consideration, but I would recommend not skipping something you really want to do just to save a few hundred dollars. You will want to go back and do it eventually and the cost in both time and money to get back to Alaska will be much more than you saved by skipping it originally. The memories will last a lifetime.

I completed the survey and maybe read too much into some of the questions, but it seemed like they were wanting to see how many would be willing to pay for additional or certain programming. I can see them offering several levels of tv programming options, similar to the different wifi packages - Basic package, add movies / sports / kids programming for an additional fee, adult movies, etc. They need to increase revenue and charging for additional tv programming may be a way to get revenue from those that don’t spend money in the casinos, shops or bars.