A few random questions...of course!

[tulips*n*truffles]

Cruising Princess. Vancouver to Anchorage. June. Balcony stateroom.

 

Any opinion on which side of the ship I just "have to have"?

 

How much do transfers cost? I'm looking Vancouver airport to ship (flying in the night before), then ship in Anchorage to airport.

 

My night before in Vancouver. The plan is to book a hotel with a free shuttle - shuttle to the hotel and then take the shuttle back to the airport the next morning, and pick up the Princess transfer from there. Is that right?

 

I'm booking with a travel agent - and have never done this before. Potential dumb question alert! Does this mean additional cost to me? Also, does she take care of everything? Transfers, excursions, the whole deal?

 

Okay I think that's it for tonight! I can't thank you all enough for taking the time to help me!!

 

Natalie

[kitty9]

Did you book your air through Princess? That makes a difference. I don't know why you'd go all the way back to the airport to get to the terminal. Why not just take a cab from your hotel right to the port? I just can't see the hassle of schlepping your bags from shuttle to airport to cruise line's bus to port terminal. Just take a taxi.

 

Your travel agent gets paid by the cruise line, not by you. She doesn't take care of booking your excursions, you have to do that on your own. You can either book the ship's tours or you can do some research and book tours on your own. She can handle your transfers, but I think you can do that on your own, for less money. You might also want to see if you can find a hotel that not only will pick you up at the airport, but can take you to the cruise terminal. Some will do that for you. That's something you can have your travel agent do for you. She can look around and find you a hotel that will provide shuttle service from the airport and to the terminal.

[tulips*n*truffles]

I booked airfare with airline miles. I didn't even think of taking a taxi. Is that less expensive than the Princess transfer?

[Caribbean Sunsets]

I booked airfare with airline miles. I didn't even think of taking a taxi. Is that less expensive than the Princess transfer?

 

In my experience, it is less expensive to take a taxi (or another private shuttle). Just remember that if you are making your own transportation to the ship, don't put your Princess luggage tags on your suitcase for your flight. Put them on once you arrive at your hotel for your precruise night.

 

Good luck and happy cruising!:)

[Teeara]

Cruising Princess. Vancouver to Anchorage. June. Balcony stateroom.

 

Any opinion on which side of the ship I just "have to have"?

 

How much do transfers cost? I'm looking Vancouver airport to ship (flying in the night before), then ship in Anchorage to airport.

 

My night before in Vancouver. The plan is to book a hotel with a free shuttle - shuttle to the hotel and then take the shuttle back to the airport the next morning, and pick up the Princess transfer from there. Is that right?

 

I'm booking with a travel agent - and have never done this before. Potential dumb question alert! Does this mean additional cost to me? Also, does she take care of everything? Transfers, excursions, the whole deal?

 

Okay I think that's it for tonight! I can't thank you all enough for taking the time to help me!!

 

Natalie

 

Hi Natalie,

 

1. It doesn't really matter which side of the ship you're on. However, on the trip north from Vancouver to Anchorage just remember that the islands of the inside passage will be on the port (left) side of the ship and the mainland will be on starboard (right). If you want to be on the side the ship docks on, my choice would probably be starboard since the Diamond Princess was docked on that side more often than not during our cruise. It won't matter during the glacier touring because when you go into the glacier areas you'll see one side going in and the other side going out!

 

2. Transfers usually run about $20-25 per person. If you're planning on staying overnight, why don't you just stay at a hotel which has a free shuttle to the pier? We stayed at the Landis Suites and they had a free shuttle which we used. It was big enough for 4 people and 12 pieces of luggage, but won't fit more than that.

 

3. You don't have to book with a travel agent if you don't want to. I usually book directly with the cruiseline. Unless you have a T.A. you know and trust or someone a friend or family member works with. I wouldn't just pick someone willy nilly out of the phone book. A T.A. can help you arrange hotel arrangements, but I'd just as soon do that myself with Travelocity.

 

4. I'm attaching the link to my CC review of my trip to give you an idea of what to expect on your cruise:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=42468

 

5. You didn't state which ship you're interested in or how many people are sailing so it's a little difficult to give you more specific information.

 

Have a wonderful cruise!

 

Theresa

[CPT Trips]

You willl have quite a distance from the ship to the Anchorage airport . . . http://www.princess.com/learn/ports/alaska/ports/WH1.html . . . based only on convenience, consider the cruise line shuttle.

 

You might want to visit the Princess board for info on disembarkation and the Alaska board (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=55) to get more info on shore exs. We went to Alaska on another line and did all our shoreexs independently . . . got a lot of info on the board and saved a bunch of money.

 

By the way, if you have a National Park annual or lifetime pass, take it with you.

[Fredr]

Natalie,

 

You have several options. There are many hotels in the vicinty of the Vancouver Airport that have free shuttles to their hotels, and back to the airport. Near the airport there is section of the Vancouver area called Richmond, which has everything...hotels, restaurants and shopping.

 

From here you use a taxi to take you to the cruise terminal in downtown Vancouver. MAKE SURE that you know which cruise terminal in Vancouver because there are two terminals - Canada Place, and Ballantyne.

 

Another option is that there is bus transportation from the Vancouver Airport to hotels in downtown Vancouver (i do not know the cost but go to the Vancouver tourism website and look up airport transportation). And if it is Canada Place cruise terminal, it is a short taxi ride (or you can walk it if the luggage has wheels) from most hotels downtown.

 

A third option is a little more complicated but stay with me. Check with car rental companies and rent a car at the Vancouver Airport, and make arrangements to drop off in downtown Vancouver. Find a hotel/motel that has free parking. This will give you the flexibility of seeing some of Vancouver (a beautiful city) and having meals at reasonable prices, and probably save some money on the cost of the hotel. The next morning drop the car off at the car rental agency in downtown Vancouver such as Avis and use the free shuttle to the cruise terminal.

 

The last option, renting a car would be very good for families as you can take the kids some fun places.

 

Fred