cruisingrandy

Anyone know of any Matanuska tour guide discounts or really any discounts in any of the other ports going southbound.  Thanks for the post of the Major Marine 40% we used it. Looking at MICA or any good guide.  I assume I need a guide to tour it or can it be done on our own?  our ages are good health 71 54 and 13 yr. old. thanks in advance

We have done inland getting car ANC and dropping in Fairbanks but have you checked rental car prices for your time period? WE are going again in May and prices are Crazy

7 minutes ago, Ashland said:

OP any reason not to stay in Seward and drop your rental there instead of going back to Anchorage?

Thanks from me too. I just booked the 3 of us for the day before our cruise

On 11/9/2021 at 7:41 PM, Northern Aurora said:

 

 

Seward is a coastal community where Alaskans go for recreation, and we have been there a number of times.  

 

While we have stayed at the Best Western Edgewater we much prefer the Harbor 360.  And our favorite company for boat excursions is not Kenai Fjords Tours; our favorite is Major Marine.  Major Marine has a NPS naturalist on board and their sound system is excellent.  Major Marine also assigns you a table which becomes your territory for the day -- you are not "glued" to that table and it is best to move around the vessel.  But "your" table is your space to leave a backpack, jacket or whatever.  The owners of Major Marine purchased the Harbor 360 a number of years ago, and in the Harbor 360 large lobby is now where folks check in for their excursions.   So we often will check in before breakfast, after breakfast return to our room to pick up our belongings for the day.  The Harbor 360 is located adjacent to the small boat harbor, so it is just down a ramp to the boarding docks.  If your husband has difficulty walking this might be a consideration.  Also, Major Marine offers some packages combining hotel room and boat excursion.  In the past they have offered some great sales around Thanksgiving.

 

The Hotel Seward is composed of two wings.  The oldest part of the hotel does not have an elevator, and a number of the rooms in the old part have shared bathroom facilities.  

Is it ok to do the Major Marine tour same day as your cruise departs or should you do it the day before?

On 11/9/2021 at 7:41 PM, Northern Aurora said:

 

 

Seward is a coastal community where Alaskans go for recreation, and we have been there a number of times.  

 

While we have stayed at the Best Western Edgewater we much prefer the Harbor 360.  And our favorite company for boat excursions is not Kenai Fjords Tours; our favorite is Major Marine.  Major Marine has a NPS naturalist on board and their sound system is excellent.  Major Marine also assigns you a table which becomes your territory for the day -- you are not "glued" to that table and it is best to move around the vessel.  But "your" table is your space to leave a backpack, jacket or whatever.  The owners of Major Marine purchased the Harbor 360 a number of years ago, and in the Harbor 360 large lobby is now where folks check in for their excursions.   So we often will check in before breakfast, after breakfast return to our room to pick up our belongings for the day.  The Harbor 360 is located adjacent to the small boat harbor, so it is just down a ramp to the boarding docks.  If your husband has difficulty walking this might be a consideration.  Also, Major Marine offers some packages combining hotel room and boat excursion.  In the past they have offered some great sales around Thanksgiving.

 

The Hotel Seward is composed of two wings.  The oldest part of the hotel does not have an elevator, and a number of the rooms in the old part have shared bathroom facilities.  

We are cruising on NCL on may 23 and arriving in ANC 4 days early.  Is it better to book the Major Marine tour the day before the cruise or is it OK to do it same day as cruise departs?   They have their 40% Cyber Monday sale going on now

we are cruising on NCL May 23 and have 4 days in Anchorage before.  Is it better to do Major Marine tour the day before or is it ok to do same day cruise leaves

What is the cost of soda pck for a teen on a 7 day and what are the internet options available

ACT has a Special right now.  Book before Oct.1 to save for next year and they won't charge until later.  I just booked for 3 of us ANC to seward for May 23 for $45 each seems like a really good price.  Got my confirmation email and # and says need to pay 30 days before departure

1 hour ago, ericfromri said:

i am pretty sure you will need electronic confirmation. all of these vaccines are entered into health databases.  in fact everyone i know, there shot dose,serial #, date and adminster's name is on apple health in the app.

I agree totally. When you get the shots they are listed on your medical record(your Dr. can see you got the shot)  and with your insurance co.  It will be no problem to make sure you have had the shots.  A fake card will not work

We did a 10 day self tour a few years ago and our then 5 year handled the 8hr bus trips fine.  Don't know if they still do it but back then you got 3 days for the price of 2.  We only used 2 of days because we got see Bears and plenty of wild life and also Mt Mckinley was very visible the 2nd day. We stayed 3 nights near the park, 3 nights Anchorage, 1 in Wasilla and 3 in fairbanks. Rented car in Anchorage dropped in Fairbanks.

See if your Credit Card pays for it.  I just renewed my Global Entry for the 3rd time and it was a free benefit with one of my Chase CC's. I paid the $100 got refunded on CC within hours.  The renewal process is very easy and is totally online.

7 hours ago, farmersfight said:

 

Cool 😎, good to know. Yeah, the airport in Punta Cana doesn't look too big. Basically a grass hut terminal with a runway, lol. I could be wrong though...

I have flown in and out of Punta Cana several times and no it is not a grass hut with a runway.  It is not a bad airport at all and they have several flights a day from different cities in USA and several from Europe

Did U rent a car in Anchorage and drop it off in Seward?

I have always booked cruises directly with the cruise line NCL, CCL , etc. I found what seems like a lot better deal with an online TA oferring on board credit and free gratuities.  Is there any reason not to book with them?

21 minutes ago, ziggyuk said:

 

With the risk involved, as a buyer that's the minimum discount I would expect otherwise there is no point in taking the gamble.

I totally agree with you but some think they should get full price even with the extra 25 % they got free. I have seen some sold for as much as 40% discount.  Cruisenext are only be sold for what you paid or less since you got the onboard credit when u bought them

On 1/27/2021 at 8:13 PM, TheFinalWord said:

I understand it is not allowed to sell on this site, but is there a general site or place that people buy and sell these credits?

 

Thanks

 Facebook has a page for both  NCL Cruisenext and  NCl Future cruise credits. many have been bought and sold there but most want a discount of 25to 35% of total value of the FCC

8 hours ago, MoCruiseFan said:

Bankrupt or out of business.  Two completely different things.

Your right Backrupt is a really probable but going out of business is NOT . BR clears a lot off of their books and they keep operating

On 1/22/2021 at 8:04 PM, lidoplease said:

I am from SC and I see absolutely no one without a mask anywhere. You aren't allowed inside any building without a mask. Am I sick of it? Yes. Do I wear one. You bet I do. And I have never seen anyone without a mask. Not in any store or restaurant, unless you are at your table eating. People here are compliant and caring of others. I don't know where rs45 is from, but I live in a suburb of Charleston.

You don't want to come to the upstate of SC then. Grocery stores and Walmart maybe 60% with masks on. Many people think masks are a joke here.No enforcement at all,  Even store and restauant employees just have masks on down on their neck not covering there mouth or nose, we just go in a store or restauant for to go and get out fast.

1 minute ago, bbtondo said:

Is everyone on the Rotterdam healthy with no sickness on board?  If this is so, it's not fair to the Rotterdam passengers to bring other people from the Zaandam aboard .  Even if the some Zaandam passengers don't have any symptoms now, there's a good chance they will in the future and put the Zaandam passengers in danger.

There were no passengers on the  Rotterdam, only crew to bring the supplies to Zaandam

here is the link

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/12/carnivals-princess-cruises-to-pause-global-ship-operations-for-60-days-over-coronavirus.html

Restart date is May 11, 2020

13 minutes ago, Farts said:

Thanks!

 

It is currently -6%. if it hits -7% again, does it go for another 15 minute stoppage? Or is the next stoppage at 13%?

It wont stop again until it hits 13%

34 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

With what is happening in Italy right now, if the Greek Isles get hit the Med season will be in shambles and there is going to be a free fall.

I bought my shares back in Feb. 2009 for 6.25 per share.  I doubt it goes that low again

38 minutes ago, Tak8 said:

35% of base fare in future cruise credit seems more than  fair to me.  Sure it's disappointing to miss ports, it does happen.  It happened to me on my British Isles cruise.  I lost only 1 port, but one never knows if or when they will get back there. 

Can the 35% off be used on the best price you find or only off of full fare?

On ‎1‎/‎27‎/‎2019 at 1:20 PM, Roo said:

Similar but different question for y'all re: DIY.  We are flying to Anchorage and then to Fairbanks to begin our southward cruise tour.  We were thinking of DRIVING from Anchorage to Fairbanks, instead of flying (we have as many days as needed to do so).  Since we will be staying in Fairbanks, Denali and Mckinley during the official tour, can anyone advise what else there is to do/see along the way that we wouldn't necessarily do on the escorted tour portion, if we take a few days to do this appx. 6 hour drive [I know, I know, it depends on many factors in terms of driving time ;-)]. Thanks.

We did this trip 3 years ago with my wife and 7 year old son.  We flew to Anchorage from Lima, Peru and got a rental car for 10 days one-way to Fairbanks.  we stopped the first night in Wasilla at  a very nice small motel.  We took our time driving to Denali and saw several Moose and Elk on the way up.  We stayed in a motel near entrance to Denali for 3 nights.  DNP had a deal if you booked the shuttle for 2 days you get the 3rd day free so we did that.  We got lucky and got a good view of Mt. McKinley on the first day and saw all the wild life we hoped to see on the 2nd day so the 3rd we just went back in the park a little ways and got off and hiked some.  After getting to Fairbanks we went to the North Pole to go to Santa Claus house which was the best part of the trip. Santa and the reindeer were Great. Our son is tri-lingual and Santa spoke to him in English, Spanish and German.  They let you take photo's and videos and there is no charge,  Any way I highly recommend getting the one way rental.  We flew out of FAI