no1racefan1

@Anita LatteI remember reading your review a few years ago and just went back and re-read the whole thing (while it snows all day outside and I dream of being on vacation). I think we have very similar styles in terms of how we want to spend our time and money while traveling! I've got a lot of ideas now... thank you!

Thanks for all the replies so far! Our cruise departs May 18th so our DIY land portion would be prior to that. From the initial research I've done, it looks like we may be on the cusp of some NP services/areas being open. The kayaking sounds awesome and I'll definitely look into that! We are from Wyoming so we definitely have experience with long driving days and love to be outdoors. DH mentioned camping, but I'm more of a fair weather camper, so I don't know if that's something I want to do mid-May. But we are comfortable with rustic, no frills lodging if it saves us money to use on tours. We haven't made any decisions regarding rental car vs. train vs. other travel options. This will most likely be dictated by cost and availability to get where we want. I've definitely already got some good ideas here!

DH and I are in the early stages of planning an Alaska trip mid-May 2024. It's a Southbound on Princess, beginning in Whittier and ending in Vancouver. I'm thinking of flying into Anchorage 4-5 days early and doing some touring on our own. I'm looking for recommendations on visiting 1-2 national parks, if that would be possible. DH and I have a goal of visiting as many national parks as possible in our lifetimes, so I want to take advantage of our time in Alaska to cross a couple of our list. We'll sail through GB on our cruise. Wondering if anybody could give me information or insight into visiting 1 or 2 of the following: Lake Clark NP Katmai NP Kenai Fjords NP--maybe a Major Marine tour? Wrangell-St. Elias NP Denali NP--I was originally planning to definitely go here, but given time/budget constraints and the fact that it will be mid-May and also the fact that the road may still be closed...I don't know if it will be worth the time on this trip. I know we can't visit all of these in the short amount of time we have and I'm not looking to do that. Just looking for itinerary suggestions on how we could maybe visit one or two. We don't have to stay in Anchorage the whole time (although, I can get a few nights free at Hyatt, which is appealing). Budget is a consideration, i.e. we can't afford to do a flightseeing trip to every place....we'll have to save some of them for another trip 🙂

This is fun! I've never gone on a long cruise. But, I've seen people mention that they can get a discount from their auto insurance since their vehicle is parked in their garage for a period of time. This might apply more to even longer cruises, but maybe it's an option for cost savings. Gym membership or really any kind of auto memberships that can be paused (Netflix, etc.) Laundry/dry cleaning--unless you are paying for those on the cruise

This sounds awesome!

This is great, thanks! I was looking at that Chilkoot hike and you've sold me on it.

DH and I are thinking of booking Alaska in 2024 for our 15th anniversary. I'm wondering what is everybody's favorite Princess sponsored shore excursion in each of the Alaskan ports? I know a lot of people on these boards prefer independent excursions, and that's fine, but we have enjoyed every ship-sponsored excursion we've done and prefer to book that way for the convenience. Thus, I'm only looking for Princess shore excursion recommendations 🙂 Our very first cruise was to Alaska and we did helicopter/glacier dogsledding in Juneau, white pass railway in Skagway, and no excursion in Ketchikan. Looking for things that are different than those, and a bonus if they include being outside hiking, exploring, etc. We would probably be going end of May so I don't know if some excursions only operate certain time of year?

I was able to get tortilla chips on the buffet at lunch one day on my last cruise (4 years ago, mind you). I don't know if they were there all the time since that's the only time I visited the buffet, but I was pretty excited to find chips on the ship!

Which ships/cabins have bathtubs? What is the lowest category (i.e. cheapest) that I can book with a bathtub? Alternatively, which categories have jetted tubs and/or hot tubs for when I'm feeling rich some day? 😄 Not needed for accessibility reasons, DH just really likes baths and I'm sure would be delighted if I booked a cabin with a tub on our next cruise, whenever that is.

I live in Wyoming and the furthest I have flown to a departure port is Miami, approximately 2,400 miles. I have only driven to one (Seattle, approx. 950 miles). Haven't got to start checking off our non-North American bucket list yet.

Too many sea days. I wouldn't book something in advance with a lot of sea days, and I'd be super disappointed if multiple ports got cancelled. Granted, it would probably be something out of their control....but I'd still be rather disappointed.

Re-faring before final payment should be very easy and painless for everyone, regardless if you've paid just a deposit, full fare, or anything in between. I have always been able to re-fare before final payment with no questions asked. Sometimes multiple times for the same cruise. And I usually only pay the deposit up front so I don't even have to wait for them to give me a refund, it just lowers the balance due.

I want to do cooking classes! I've never heard of these either. Is this only on newer ships? Sign up in advance?

DH and I have both had massages (single and couples) on Carnival and we enjoyed them very much and would do them again. However, you are paying for the convenience of getting a massage while on a cruise. There is nothing that makes them stand out from getting a regular land-based massage as far as why they are more expensive. If I was in your position I would probably choose to get a couples massage just because we enjoy getting them on vacation. A lot of people will probably note that they try to sell you products at the end of the massage. I've never had them be very pushy with me and it really doesn't bother me to say no thank you. Also even if you get a couples massage, you can customize each one the way you want--DH got the Thai poultice massage and I got a hot stone massage. You don't have to get the same thing.