In Alaska now then sailing Millennium Southbound

[Annrob40]

Thanks, no young ones but we want to see as much as we can

[Dawg67]

We only stopped for lunch. Not enough time to really explore. There is one store across the street and around the corner from where you get off the bus that sells Alaska Art (carved antler, walrus bone, Alaska ivory, etc.). It is on a side street and downstairs. Don't remember the name but great buys. Beats the prices of any of the port shops by a great amount.

[Annrob40]

Good to know. Thanks

[Annrob40]

I know the dress code has changed. Do men need sports coats?

[fancynurse]

Can someone tell me about the procedure in Vancouver and how much time you need to get to the airport for flights home? TIA Cruise is July 15-22.

Amy

[lovetotraveltx]

What is TWT that you said you upgraded to? Thanks

 

That is the tundra wilderness tour. It is 8 to 9 hours long and goes much farther in to the park. I highly recommend it, we saw many animals

[lovetotraveltx]

I know the dress code has changed. Do men need sports coats?

 

Not nightly but on 7 nights there are still two formal nights and you needed a sport coat in the specialty restaurants.

[Texed]

Not nightly but on 7 nights there are still two formal nights and you needed a sport coat in the specialty restaurants.

 

This is not true any longer. There are no formal nights, and the specialty restaurants do not require a jacket. :)

[Annrob40]

Thank you

[TeaBag]

Can someone tell me about the procedure in Vancouver and how much time you need to get to the airport for flights home? TIA Cruise is July 15-22.

Amy

If you are able to handle your luggage, the skytrain is cheap and fast. It will take about 25 mins. Just make sure you get the airport train, (Canada Line). We have a new Compass card now that costs $6 (like the Oyster card in London), which you must buy to ride the train. However, you will just be using it for one ride and the $6 will pay for that and leave some over. Each person must have a card. A taxi will run about $35 - $40 plus tip and depending on traffic will take longer. Millennium will be the only ship at Canada Place on July 22, so if you prefer a taxi, there will not be a stampede!! HTH.

[Annrob40]

What is the best way to get around Vancouver. Some say hop on, hop off and some say the transit system. Any thoughts on this?

[TeaBag]

What is the best way to get around Vancouver. Some say hop on, hop off and some say the transit system. Any thoughts on this?

As mentioned above, the Skytrain is great for getting around town.

https://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowUserReviews-g154943-d591259-r365693212-SkyTrain-Vancouver_British_Columbia.html

 

I believe Hop-on Hop-off is about $45/day.

[martincath]

If you are able to handle your luggage, the skytrain is cheap and fast. It will take about 25 mins. Just make sure you get the airport train, (Canada Line). We have a new Compass card now that costs $6 (like the Oyster card in London), which you must buy to ride the train. However, you will just be using it for one ride and the $6 will pay for that and leave some over. Each person must have a card. A taxi will run about $35 - $40 plus tip and depending on traffic will take longer. Millennium will be the only ship at Canada Place on July 22, so if you prefer a taxi, there will not be a stampede!! HTH.

Actually you do NOT need to buy a Compass card. Single ride tickets are still available, and cheaper than the cards at $4pp/$2.75pp on weekends and evenings.

 

Further, SkyTrain is actually not very useful at all for getting between the touristy downtown parts - stations are often so close together that you can walk between them faster, or you have to go the wrong way and change lines to get somewhere, or there are simply no SkyTrain stations near where you want to be (Stanley Park & West End, even Chinatown despite a station being named after it!)

 

Fortunately our transit system uses the same tickets (or Compass cards - they are worthwhile if you're going to make multiple trips as they save you money compared to single fares) for all modes of transport, Seabus to/from North Vancouver and buses (which are definitely the most useful downtown-to-downtown) as well as SkyTrain.

 

HOHOs obviously have someone describing stuff to you, so they definitely have their place especially for tourists, but they loop in one direction and stop running before dinner so if you want to go point-to-point transit buses or cabs are the most convenient. With 3 or 4 people, a cab is going to cost you the same or even less than transit for each trip (downtown to downtown cab fares rarely break $10).

 

Personally I'd say that the best way to get around is on foot or by bike unless you have a pressing time issue. If you can walk a mile you can get from the pier to just about anywhere around downtown.

[Patty Kott]

Just booked a cruise with Celebrity for Alaska while just on cruise to Bermuda. Booked on cruise cause they lead you to believe your getting a great deal. After talking to different people on my current cruise, I was told I could get much better prices. Is this true? We booked for Aug. 2017 the land package for four day's and the 7 night Alaska Southern Glacier. Without airfare the land and cruise is just under$8,000. Is this high? When I looked at different sites on - line for a Balcony for two in Aug of 2017 it seemed a lot cheaper. So when I questioned this to the booking agent she said the land package was over 5,000 for two? I know it's not a cheap trip but thought this was a lot considering I still need airfare from Philly to Alaska and then from Vancouver to philly? Any help or info. Would be greatly appreciated. Or any suggestions on good travel agency who deal with Alaska land and sea packages.

[Annrob40]

Thanks for your great info

[BOBfromNJ]

On a celebrity cruisetour then boarding millennium later in the week!

 

Love Alaska so far!

 

Any questions about the land or sea part I can help with??

 

Doing the 10 day cruise tour on August 9th (1B) southbound. We are doing the tour first and trying to get some info on the hotels. Do you know the exact name of the hotel in Denali?

 

Did you enjoy the trip.

Thanks,

Bob

[K.T.B.]

Doing the 10 day cruise tour on August 9th (1B) southbound. We are doing the tour first and trying to get some info on the hotels. Do you know the exact name of the hotel in Denali?

 

Did you enjoy the trip.

Thanks,

Bob

 

Bob, I know you did not ask me the question, but when we did out cruisetour (land part after the cruise), we stayed at a place called Denali Park Village. The place is horrible. Bad service, bad food, and just unclean. And don't let them tell you otherwise, but there is a shuttle that takes you to the small downtown area. It runs from 4:00PM until 10:30PM. It's $5 per person each way. It's an 8 mile trip one way.

 

However, wherever you're staying should be shown on your documents. On my documents, it was on page 9.

[BOBfromNJ]

Bob, I know you did not ask me the question, but when we did out cruisetour (land part after the cruise), we stayed at a place called Denali Park Village. The place is horrible. Bad service, bad food, and just unclean. And don't let them tell you otherwise, but there is a shuttle that takes you to the small downtown area. It runs from 4:00PM until 10:30PM. It's $5 per person each way. It's an 8 mile trip one way.

 

However, wherever you're staying should be shown on your documents. On my documents, it was on page 9.

 

Thanks for the info,

Bob

[K.T.B.]

Just booked a cruise with Celebrity for Alaska while just on cruise to Bermuda. Booked on cruise cause they lead you to believe your getting a great deal. After talking to different people on my current cruise, I was told I could get much better prices. Is this true? We booked for Aug. 2017 the land package for four day's and the 7 night Alaska Southern Glacier. Without airfare the land and cruise is just under$8,000. Is this high? When I looked at different sites on - line for a Balcony for two in Aug of 2017 it seemed a lot cheaper. So when I questioned this to the booking agent she said the land package was over 5,000 for two? I know it's not a cheap trip but thought this was a lot considering I still need airfare from Philly to Alaska and then from Vancouver to philly? Any help or info. Would be greatly appreciated. Or any suggestions on good travel agency who deal with Alaska land and sea packages.

 

Not exactly which cruise you picked nor what category, but if it's either a veranda or Concierge, then $8,000 is about right with taxes and port fees. The only way it's $5,000 is if you booked an interior room.

 

IMO, the extra spent for a veranda is worth it in Alaska.

[Dawg67]

For the cruise part I think we paid about $7,000 for Aqua class. Well worth this price as the food in Blu is great. If you Stay in Fairbanks I would not recommend the Salmon Bake. Find a local restaurant. We went to the Salmon Bake and it is a crowded buffet. Some of our friends went local and really enjoyed. The hotel in Fairbanks is average at best. Clean. Agree with the above ratings about Denal Village. Take the shuttle to town. The Overview Restaurant was excellent. The Prospecters Bar is also great with good bar food.

[GottaKnowWhen]

Just booked a cruise with Celebrity for Alaska while just on cruise to Bermuda. Booked on cruise cause they lead you to believe your getting a great deal. After talking to different people on my current cruise, I was told I could get much better prices. Is this true? We booked for Aug. 2017 the land package for four day's and the 7 night Alaska Southern Glacier. Without airfare the land and cruise is just under$8,000. Is this high? When I looked at different sites on - line for a Balcony for two in Aug of 2017 it seemed a lot cheaper. So when I questioned this to the booking agent she said the land package was over 5,000 for two? I know it's not a cheap trip but thought this was a lot considering I still need airfare from Philly to Alaska and then from Vancouver to philly? Any help or info. Would be greatly appreciated. Or any suggestions on good travel agency who deal with Alaska land and sea packages.

 

Is that $8000 total for two? Or $8000 each? If that is the total for two, then the price doesn't sound too far out of line.

 

In our case, I booked b2b cruises in April of 2015, so about 15 months prior to our cruises this August. I looked at doing a Celebrity land package before or after and for my tastes I thought it was too much money for too short an experience. I did some internet browsing, found a few Alaska Vacations sites, looked at ads in Alaska Magazine and Mileposts. Found several agencies that would do various sorts of tours of different lengths. In the end I chose none of them, made our own plans, made our own hotel and train and car rental arrangements. In addition to the 14 nights aboard, we will have 14 nights on land in Alaska. The cost will come to about $1000/night for the two of us. Which sounds about what I would have paid and which you'll be paying with your Celebrity package. I didn't try to look for bargains, I am sure I could have cut costs (every train ride didn't need to be Gold Service, every trip didn't need to be via train, could have used bus or rental car, could have found less expensive places to stay) but I treated this as a once-in-a-lifetime trip and though I may have no money left at the end, I will also have no regrets.

[BOBfromNJ]

Bob, I know you did not ask me the question, but when we did out cruisetour (land part after the cruise), we stayed at a place called Denali Park Village. The place is horrible. Bad service, bad food, and just unclean. And don't let them tell you otherwise, but there is a shuttle that takes you to the small downtown area. It runs from 4:00PM until 10:30PM. It's $5 per person each way. It's an 8 mile trip one way.

 

However, wherever you're staying should be shown on your documents. On my documents, it was on page 9.

 

Thanks.