Trip Review: Connoisseur Land & Sea (RB8) June 19 - July 4, 2018

[Worldtraveler 4727]

Leaving Mendenhall Glacier we headed out of town again on the Glacier Highway toward the Shrine of St Therese, the Arboretum, and Eagle Beach. As we drove, we saw too many bald eagles to count! Many were just sitting on top of the light posts lining the highway. Each of the above places looked like they had multiple and lovely hiking trails. Perhaps one day we will be able to return and explore a few of those.

 

When I asked the young woman at the car rental if she could give us some recommendations for lunch, she said The Twisted Fish nearby was very good but very pricey. She said if we wanted to eat where the locals eat and get a really good halibut fish fry, there is a bar called The Sandbar at 2525 Industrial Blvd. She marked the approximate spot on our map, but since my AT&T was working when we were close to town, we followed the GPS to the Sandbar. We pulled in for lunch about 11:30. The woman behind the bar greeted us, and we said we were there to try the halibut fish fry. She said, "Wonderful! Ours is great!" In talking to her for a few minutes, she shared that her husband is a commercial fisherman and halibut is currently in season, so they serve their own freshly caught halibut. We ordered the 5 oz portion of batter fried halibut and fries with tartar sauce. They also offer an 8 oz portion, but the 5 oz portion was more than enough and a great price at $17.50. It was DELICIOUS! It was everything we had hoped it would be. We'd had halibut several times at the various lodges and onboard the ship, but we still had wanted to try it as a traditional fish fry. The restaurant is well worth your time finding when you are in Juneau. It is very close to Mendenhall.

 

[Worldtraveler 4727]

We considered walking through some of the shops in downtown Juneau on our way back to the ship. Although there is limited to no parking in downtown Juneau, there is free parking underneath the library, which is easy to find and right in the downtown area. However, after lunch since we both knew we would not be buying any souvenirs, and certainly not be stopping in any of the multiple jewelry stores, we decided to head back, turn in the car, head to our cabin, and rest a bit this afternoon. DH was feeling unusually tired this afternoon, and that was my foreshadowing of things to come....

 

We drove up to Dock B hoping there would be a cab there and we could ask them to follow us up the hill and bring us back down to the ship after returning the car. There were no cabs there, but there was a small church tour van, and the driver kindly agreed to do that for us. We gave the driver a tip, grateful smiles, and boarded the ship.

 

Tonight is the second formal night, and we have invitations to go to the Captain's Circle cocktail party at 6:45 in the Universal Lounge. I had tried to make dinner reservations as we had the last couple evenings, but there were no available reservations. The only times they ever gave for reservations was 5:15 and 7:30. Having a reservation seemed to be the easiest way to go, but tonight we would have to play it by ear and by beeper.

 

After resting this afternoon, DH took a hot shower and got dressed, and we made it to cocktails, but he only ordered a Sprite. By the time he finished that and I had finished my first cocktail, he was having chills again. We needed to go back to the cabin, and our friends carried on without us this evening.

[Midwestoalaska]

Wow!! Your review is amazing with great information! We are doing a 4 night cruisetour in August.

[compozer]

We were at so many of the places you discribe. As I read your review, I feel like I am with you. With all your research, you should be a vacation planner. You are doing an excellent job of giving us great tips for our future trips.

[Id rather be diving]

Hi Kari,

The short answer is no, we did not see any wheelchairs or scooters on the land portion. We did see a few onboard the cruise portion.

 

None of the coach buses we were on had anything like a wheelchair/scooter lift. I would think that if you had a collapsible wheelchair and could make it up the bus stairs, that would work. Our tour buses only had our group of 26 onboard each time, so there'd be plenty of room for a collapsible wheelchair.

 

In addition, there are no wheelchair lifts on any of the small shuttles on the lodge properties, but again, with a collapsible wheelchair and being able to walk up the steps into the shuttle, that would work.

 

Also, The Tundra Wilderness Tour (included in the Connoisseur Tour) is run by the National Park, and they use school buses only inside Denali. The bus was full, so even a collapsible wheelchair on this tour might be an issue for you. Even the large shuttle buses used in the Denali National Park (at the Denali Princess Lodge) were all school-bus type, and they were always packed.

 

Hope that helps,

Kathy

 

Thanks so much. I’m going to need to call Princess and do some research with them. I’ve read that the trains have handicap cars but need to check other things. If I’m paying that amount of money for the connessiour tour I expect my husband to be able to participate in everything. He rides a small scooter that does fold. He can do one or two stairs with the help of myself and my siste, but not the five or six to get on big coach buses.

 

Kari

[Id rather be diving]

Hi Kari

 

We had a lady on our tour that was in a wheelchair and it didn't appear to be issue. Our bus had a lift for her.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Thank you!!!

 

What about in Denali with the school bus type vehicles? Did one have a lift?

Edited July 9, 2018 by Id rather be diving
Forgot a question

[pisamoorings]

Thank you!!!

 

What about in Denali with the school bus type vehicles? Did one have a lift?

 

 

 

Sorry I don't recall if there was a lift on the Tundra Wilderness Tour bus as it was a few years ago now but I have just checked the website which states it is wheelchair accessible. The lady in the wheelchair definitely came with us on the tour (just checked my photos - she was in her chair on the bus) and I remember thinking how great it was that she was able to join in with everything.

Refer: https://www.princesslodges.com/excursions/denali-tundra-wilderness-tour/

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Edited July 10, 2018 by pisamoorings

[hokiefans]

Worldtraveler 4727,

 

What a wonderful review! I have read every post this evening and am looking forward to the rest of your posts. Thank you very much for taking the time and such care with your review. It will be a great reference as we prepare for our Connoisseur tour in May 2019! I will be printing it, getting out my trusty highlighter and referring to it often over the coming months

and, adding a link to it on our roll call

!

[nbist]

Yes, yes, we've all run into "those" people, and I have to agree--perhaps more often on a cruise ship when asked to share a table--but I must admit that it is actually not all that often. Most people turn out to be pretty good company. ;)

 

Thanks for the insight regarding dining. I don't want to turn this thread into a table for 2 vs. dining with others debate. Your experience has made me see that I need to do a little more research as to what is included in each land package and find one that best meets our needs and desires. Thanks again.

[montgomeryfamily]

Thanks so much. I’m going to need to call Princess and do some research with them. I’ve read that the trains have handicap cars but need to check other things. If I’m paying that amount of money for the connessiour tour I expect my husband to be able to participate in everything. He rides a small scooter that does fold. He can do one or two stairs with the help of myself and my siste, but not the five or six to get on big coach buses.

 

Kari

 

We did this same cruise tour in 2016 and our family member is a full time wheelchair user with a manual wheelchair. All of the transportation provided by Princess for the cruise tour was wheelchair accessible.

 

The train was wheelchair accessible. We were on a separate car from the rest of our tour (actually a Holland America Gold Star car), but had great seats and the wheelchair came onboard with us and in our case, went to the seat. Our family member elected to transfer to a seat, but the seats provided had lots of room in front to be able to use a transfer board.

 

Princess provided a bus for our highway travels which was wheelchair accessible with a lift. Our group had fewer participants than some of the other groups, so there was plenty of room for the wheelchair, which our family member stayed in during the bus ride. Since your family member can walk, it may be possible for your family member to transfer to a seat once the scooter gets onboard.

 

One of the shuttles at the Princess lodge at Denali was wheelchair accessible with a lift. There was also a wheelchair accessible shuttle at Kenai. I don't believe there was a wheelchair accessible shuttle at McKinley. We stayed in the cabin closest to the main building, so not necessary.

 

Very few shore excursions were wheelchair accessible at McKinley and Kenai. The only thing we did was take a lift equipped bus into Seward and visit the Sea Life Museum and eat lunch.

 

At Denali, most of the NPS tours were wheelchair accessible. The NPS bus did have a wheelchair lift for the Tundra tour and also we took a Princess bus with a lift to the NPS to see the sled dogs--transferred to a lift equipped NPS bus at the NPS center. Each time we had to specifically request the lift equipped bus. One time we ran into a glitch with the Princess bus to NPS returning to Denali, but another lodge driver was nice enough to take us back (after waiting over an hour for the Princess bus to show up)

 

At Fairbanks, the riverboat and gold dredge were wheelchair accessible. We didn't try to do anything else through Princess there.

 

We coordinated months ahead of time with Special Needs for a wheelchair accessible room with a roll in shower and also for the bus transportation. I checked back several times to ensure everything set up and no changes. The lodge room assignments are not made until May when the lodges open, so I followed up to make certain wheelchair accessible room with roll in shower asisgned (good thing I did because Princess special needs didn't put the roll in shower requirement--some regular rooms are set aside for disabled who can walk but require first floor, but no roll in shower)

 

So you should be able to book this tour with no issues, but you do need to coordinate closely with special needs. Also, realize that this trip requires patience on your part waiting for the lift equipped buses/shuttles which are not already pre-arranged by Princess. It will take you longer for the routine buses and shuttles to go somewhere as only there are only one or two lift equipped vehicles running.

[caribill]

Question, do the Connoisseur tours include food or was it an option you selected? It sounds wonderful!

 

 

The Alaska Connoisseur tours include most meals. It is not an option. That is one reason the Connoisseur tours cost so much more than the non-Connoisseur tours. However with the cost of restaurant meals being high in Alaska, it was nice to look at a menu and pick food I wanted, not just food I could afford.

 

When we had six-days on an Alaska Connoisseur tour, there were about three meals not included.

[Id rather be diving]

Kathy, THANK YOU so much for the information about the handicap accessibility on the connessiour tour. I have been in touch a little with the special needs dept but will be folllowing up for sure. Your post puts my mind at ease more. We have traveled all over the world with his scooter. I just do a lot of research ahead of time.

 

I am always disappointed at how few HC tours cruise ships have. I wish they would have some semi- HC wherein the bus provided a lift and people could go on regular tours. If they could get into buildings great, if not they could choose to wait outside. Most of the HC excursions are just driving around in a van all day.

 

Thanks again for your response!!

 

Kari

[Worldtraveler 4727]

Wow!! Your review is amazing with great information! We are doing a 4 night cruisetour in August.

 

Thank you!

You will have a great time in August! :)

[Worldtraveler 4727]

We were at so many of the places you discribe. As I read your review, I feel like I am with you. With all your research, you should be a vacation planner. You are doing an excellent job of giving us great tips for our future trips.

 

Thank you! So glad you are reading along! :)

[Worldtraveler 4727]

Worldtraveler 4727,

 

What a wonderful review! I have read every post this evening and am looking forward to the rest of your posts. Thank you very much for taking the time and such care with your review. It will be a great reference as we prepare for our Connoisseur tour in May 2019! I will be printing it, getting out my trusty highlighter and referring to it often over the coming months

and, adding a link to it on our roll call

!

 

Thanks so much! I'm thrilled the review will help you and your group! :)

[Worldtraveler 4727]

The Alaska Connoisseur tours include most meals. It is not an option. That is one reason the Connoisseur tours cost so much more than the non-Connoisseur tours. However with the cost of restaurant meals being high in Alaska, it was nice to look at a menu and pick food I wanted, not just food I could afford.

 

When we had six-days on an Alaska Connoisseur tour, there were about three meals not included.

 

For us-- out of 8 days there were 6 lunch vouchers not included.

1. Day of Tundra Wilderness Tour (received box lunch)

2. Travel day between Denali and McKinley (When we got to McKinley, we sat on the deck to watch the mountain and had a beer and a snack. Full lunches were available)

3. Travel day between McKinley and Kenai (Stopped in Anchorage with lunch on our own)

4/5. The two full days at Kenai (people were on excursions) One of these days we were on the Kenai Fjord tour, and I neglected to talk about the lunch that was provided: It was okay but not very memorable. It was a box lunch that included a turkey wrap, chips and a granola bar. A bottle of water was supposed to be passed out as well, but we didn't see anyone get one. (We had brought water with us.) Later on the way back, they passed out a chocolate chip cookie. Many people took advantage of the food and drink available on the boat. $3 for a cup of coffee for example. They had a special with all-you-care-to drink coffee and specialty mug for $9.)

Note: There were some really cute shops near the Kenai Boat Tour place in Seward that several people wanted to go to, but there was very little time to shop--even in the Boat Tour gift shop. It was a tight schedule getting on the boat and then getting back on the bus to go back to the lodge. Now that I think about it, maybe those people we had to go back for had been shopping somewhere. :confused:

6. Travel day to the ship (lunch available onboard in Horizon Court and MDR)

 

The two included lunches were:

1. Day 1 in Fairbanks at Riverboat Tour

2. Day 1 in Denali. Got there about 12:15 from Fairbanks after the glass domed train, and we used the voucher at Lynx Pizza

[Worldtraveler 4727]

Day #13 July 2, 2018 Ketchikan, Alaska

 

DH was feeling okay this morning and we had a little later start today arriving in Ketchikan at 10 AM. We were ship number FOUR to arrive. Three were docked, and the Regent Mariner was moored on the bay and was tendering their people in. We were amazed that this small city could absorb the thousands and thousands of people fairly well.

 

It is a beautiful day! For a city that receives 141 inches of rain per year, we had brought some rain gear for this port in particular. But we lucked out again, and the weather forecast is 0% chance of rain. Temps in the high 60's. We walked out to the forward deck and watched the ship come into port. DH decided it was warm enough for shorts today, and I will wear capris.

 

At this port I would have loved to have taken the Misty Fjords flight, but DH is not a fan of heights. They sure get great reviews, and it's a perfect day for it.

 

The Patter states there is a free shuttle that runs from the ship into town every 15 - 20 minutes. We never saw it. Ketchikan is right on the dock, and it was all close enough for DH and I to walk to what we wanted to see. We began at the Tongass stores on the far end of the dock. There are a couple Tongass stores, and they had great prices on t-shirts and souvenirs. From the far end at the Tongass stores, you walk into town and shortly see the Creek Street sign. This is a walk along the river--the one where most people take their photos. There are restaurants, the Lumberjack show, souvenir shops, and LOTS of jewelry stores. (This is a THING in Alaska, to be sure. Every town has MANY of them. Most are owned by the cruise companies. I don't get it, but apparently there has to be a lot of people who buy jewelry onboard and in the 3 ports.) We enjoyed ourselves just walking around on this beautiful day, found a few treasures to bring home, and headed back to the ship early afternoon, having lunch onboard and were in our cabin before the 5:15PM all aboard.

 

We met our friends for cocktails and had dinner in the MDR. Dinner this evening included Beef Wellington and lobster. It was all very good.

 

DH's situation with redness and some swelling on the left side of his face was slowly becoming more prominent. We thought perhaps Benadryl might help. Wouldn't you know it--in my big box of meds I carry, I had no Benadryl. After sailing, we went to the ship's store. No luck. We had no idea what this could be. We made it an early evening.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Worldtraveler 4727]

Day #14 July 3, 2018 Sea Day

 

DH woke this morning looking awful. Very red and swollen. Sick Bay opened at 9, and we decided to he needed to be seen. We arrived shortly after they opened. The nurse at the desk asked if we wanted something over the counter or if we wanted to see the doctor. We opted to see the doctor. The doctor was a young man who asked various questions, examined DH and then took his best educated guess: a mild case of shingles (even though we've both had shingles shots, you can apparently still get them). He prescribed an anti-viral pill and an anti-bacterial pill hoping to catch whatever was happening here. We returned to our cabin, and DH climbed into bed and stayed there. We had nothing planned for the day anyway, so it was no biggie. I was grateful for all the room in the mini suite, and I sat in a chair at the window, read, watched a bit of TV and looked out on the of last Alaska and British Columbia passing by, keeping my fingers crossed DH would feel better in the morning and be able to travel home comfortably. I did regret not being able to have a final dinner with friends and enjoying the Baked Alaska in the MDR, but those were small things, to be sure.

 

It has been a great vacation with wonderful weather, spectacular scenery and adventures, and making new friends, but it certainly feels like it is time to head home.

 

For those of you who might be curious (I would be having never been to Sick Bay before):

Dr. consultation: $95

Two meds: $150

All billed to our ship account.

[Worldtraveler 4727]

Day #15 July 4, 2018 Vancouver, BC

 

We are self-disembarking today with our luggage and were instructed to meet on Deck 6 at 7:45AM. Thankfully, after a full day in bed, warding off chills here and there and taking his meds, DH was feeling pretty good. His face was still quite red and swollen. At 7:40 they announced we could disembark. However, we were told we all needed to to up to Deck 7 to disembark.

Wait. What??

On the way to the theater, we just passed a gangplank that was manned by staff, why in the world are you sending ALL these people with ALL these pieces of luggage on elevators and up one floor??

Of course, the nearest elevators were a madhouse scene. DH and I walked down the hall a bit further to another bank of elevators, got on one, and went up to Deck 7 to disembark. It was a ridiculous way for Princess to have "organized" self-disembark for people with tons of luggage in tow.

 

The walk was really quite a long one off the ship and into the building towards customs. Along the way there were many workers all holding customs forms and making sure that you had yours and that it was filled out. We had filled out our form the evening before ad had it in hand. Going through customs was simply a matter of handing an agent the form and moving on. Next up immigration and security. We were happy to see the Global Entry machines. We placed our passport on the machine, placed our fingers on the pad for fingerprints, and a photo was taken and it was spit out of the machine. All we needed to do was hand it to an agent. However, the agent took the paper receipts and our passports and went through the same routine he goes through with everyone else. What has been your business in Canada? How long have you been in Canada? Etc. Apparently Global Entry makes no difference here. Oh well.

On to security. I guess there is also no TSA pre-check here either. We were required to remove our shoes, belts, necklace, and empty pockets.

 

Once through security, and still inside the building, there were signs for various ways and means out. We were looking for a taxi, and there were many helpful workers directing people. We saw Area A to our left--the exit for taxis--and headed that way. I had read that if you are one of the first off, there will be plenty of taxis, but they do run out. We grabbed a taxi, and it was about 25 minutes to the airport. Cost was $31 Canadian. Taxis in Vancouver take credit cards, and that was easiest. They also take US dollars, but any change will always be in Canadian. (This was much cheaper and faster than the Princess transfer, and it was easy to do.)

 

We walked up to the Delta counter, received our tickets and left our luggage. Vancouver airport is much smaller than I expected. There are not a ton of places to eat, no water filling stations, few to no electronic boards for arrivals and departures and no free WiFi we could detect. We were the farthest gate in the airport and walked to the gate to await our first flight.

 

Two flights home with no hiccups. Our last flight was after dark and since it was the 4th of July, there were a lot of fireworks we could see out the plane windows. It seemed fitting that this wonderful trip ended with fireworks.

[nukesubsailor]

Thanks for the detailed review. It will be of great benefit to a group of us taking a similar tour next year.

[Worldtraveler 4727]

A few final thoughts:

#1: People often ask about which is best--the land tour before or after the cruise. We were very glad we took the land tour first. It was intense, and we were very glad to board the ship and have two seas days at the beginning to rest and regroup. Similarly, people often ask whether it is best to sail north to south or south to north. South to north has a "building up" effect in that you begin with the ports and end in Glacier Bay. We were very happy with the north to south cruise--again two sea days in the beginning and excursions later in the week in the ports. Also, our flights home (when you are anxious to get there after 15 days away) were much shorter going home from Vancouver. The flights were longer getting up to Fairbanks, and that was fine on the way up.

 

#2: I think that you got the idea from the review that the $79.99 "unlimited" Internet pkg wasn't worth the money. If I were to do it all over again, I would simply depend on my AT&T and free WiFi when available and let it go at that.

 

#3: We were certainly spoiled by having the mini suite on this cruise, and having a room so close to the bow of the ship was a real plus for overall outdoor viewing (not so much when getting to the MDR etc), but it was a plus to have the deck available and uncrowded. I was very glad we gave up our aft cabin. Viewing from the front of the ship was best.

 

#4: We were definitely glad to have had a cabin on the port side. For this particular north to south cruise, most of the land and glacier viewing is port side.

 

#5: I had taken notes on various sailaways as I was researching this trip and noting various comments. The sailaway from Skagway was supposed to be one of the best, and the sailaway from Juneau is supposed to also be great. I read they release salmon around Sheep Creek ,and there is great eagle and humpback whale sightings possible. Unfortunately, we were busy with other things at those particular times, but you might want to note them and give them a shot, if possible.

 

Finally--DH saw his dr the day after we returned. Fortunately, it wasn't shingles, but a skin infection introduced through some (mysterious) break in the skin. His dr said the ship's dr did exactly as he would have at the time. DH is all cleared up now and handsome as ever.

 

I sincerely hope you have enjoyed reading my review but hope even more that the information in it has or will help you make decisions and plans for visiting Alaska. It is an absolutely stunning state with so much to offer visitors. It is easy to see why there are people who say, "We're going on our 10th trip to Alaska..." It gets under your skin. Its beauty is unparalleled, and its people are some of the kindest you will ever meet. Lisa, our TWT driver remarked, "People come to Alaska and then never leave. It draws people who wish to live freely, and most have the live-and-let-live attitude and are very accepting and welcoming." So true. Happy Travels, everyone. Let me know if I can answer any other questions you may have. For now, over and out, and thanks for reading along.

~Kathy

[Worldtraveler 4727]

Thanks for the detailed review. It will be of great benefit to a group of us taking a similar tour next year.

 

Great! Thanks! Have a great trip! :)

[moresun]

Once again THANK YOU for great review and wonderful read.So glad your DH is ok.:D:D

[Worldtraveler 4727]

Once again THANK YOU for great review and wonderful read.So glad your DH is ok.:D:D

 

Thanks so much! :)

[katrina915]

Thanks so much for writing this review. I really enjoyed it. It sounds like the cruise tour was well organized and enjoyable. I may have to rethink doing one. I agree with you- you go to Alaska and it keeps calling you back.

 

Sent from my SM-G930V using Forums mobile app