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The information will be in your travel summary. This is want is included in our Heart of the Rockies Cruise Tour. I don't think yours will be much different: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada TIPPING INFORMATION Farewell to your Tour Director Today you will say goodbye to your tour director and motorcoach driver and conclude your Princess escorted tour. As traditions and customs vary widely across the globe, we often have guests ask what gratuity guidelines are appropriate for the region they are touring. It is our belief that gratuities are a direct reflection of the level and quality of service received. It is customary to extend gratuities as a sign of appreciation on the last day of your land tour. The following is the recommended industry standard for tour directors and motorcoach drivers in the Canadian Rockies: Tour Director: 5.00-7.00 USD per person per day Motorcoach Driver: 3.50-4.50 USD per person per day Extending gratuities is a personal matter and should be distributed on an individual basis without solicitation and not on behalf of any group.

I’ve gotten the shareholder OBC on comped casino cruises as well as casino discounted fares. Never been denied (7 cruises total). (Just as a FYI, HAL will not give the OBC on a comped cruise, only on a discounted cruise.)

Yes, cuddling with puppies was a hit with my girls! One of my daughters took this tour in Juneau: https://www.juneauwhalewatch.com/book-a-tour/details/32329/mendenhall-glacier-juneau-whale-watching-combo-tour/. She and her fiancé really enjoyed the whale watching and the visit to Mendenhall Glacier. They just wished they had more time at the glacier (there was an option to stay longer). Enjoy your planning!

So from your post, it sounds like you want to see/experience dog sledding, whale watch, ride snow mobiles and see a real igloo? I can make some suggestions on the first two items but don’t know of any place that has snow mobiles at the ports you are visiting. I know you can take a helicopter to land on a glacier but those are dog sledding excursions. Not sure what a ‘real igloo’ is but there are great cultural museums about Alaska’s indigenous people at Juneau, Ketchikan and Sitka. Dog sledding: there are a couple of different excursions at Skagway. There is a mushers camp close to town (https://alaskashoretours.com/excursions/skagway/skagway-sled-dog-and-mushers-camp/). I took my 23 and 25 year old daughters there this past summer after our cycling tour. They loved it. Or, as part of a White Pass Railroad excursion, you can visit sled dogs in the Yukon . There’s also a company in Juneau but I’m not familiar with them. These tours are summer tours—if you ride a dog sled is basically a wagon pulled by dogs. There are tours on a glacier where you ride a sled on snow/ice. Pricey but people I know who went on this tour raved about it. https://northstartrekking.com/treks/tours/juneau-glacier-dog-sled-adventure/ Whale watching: Of the ports you are visiting, I would recommend Juneau. Most tour companies guarantee seeing a whale or they refund part of your money. My two favorite companies are Harv and Marv, and Jaleen’s Whale Watching. You generally have a long port stay in Juneau so you could other things in Juneau after whale watching. If the weather is good, the Mt Roberts Tram is fun to do. There is a small museum at the top in addition to a restaurant/bar. And, I always recommend at trip to Mendenhall Glacier. Sitka: might be a good place for wildlife. There is the Fortress of the Bears (a rescue facility) and the Alaskan Raptor Center. Your cruise ship will probably combine a visit to these two places along with a wildlife cruise (seals, otters, maybe whales). Sitka is also great for history and culture of the area. Love the Totem Park (but it might be too much walking for you). Have fun planning! .

In Seward, we’ve stayed at Harbor 360, the Windsong Lodge and the Hotel Seward when traveling without a car. When we have a car, we like to stay in a cabin or AirBnB. Both Harbor 360 and the Seward Hotel are nice since you’re in Seward—walkable from the train station. We prefer Harbor 360–newer and some rooms overlook the harbor. As mentioned above, we’ve received a discount with Major Marine. We liked the Windsong as well but you are out of town. The hotel has a free shuttle to Seward and to Exit Glacier ($25 pp) so it’s doable if you don’t have a car. Limited food options at the Windsong but their restaurant is pretty good ( the Resurrection Lodge). We’ve stayed at the Inn at Whittier-good and comfortable lodging. Great customer service.

I remember watching the original Love Boat as a kid. We didn’t watch it often since my parents limited our tv viewing hours and my brothers never wanted to watch it! I do remember the song and some of the guest stars but I can’t watch the old series now! I cringe at the inappropriateness of that show! As a youngster, I certainly didn’t get all of the sexual innuendos, and now I wish I didn’t! Just ugh on the stalking and sexual misconduct of staff. I don’t think this show aged well. My opinion—which I realize posting on a Princess board will not be viewed favorably!

One could check out books from Guest Services. They had a limited selection.

You can request a Parmesan cheese bowl—I’ve gotten it a few times this past year (most recently on the Enchanted earlier this month).

I’ve arrived in Anchorage on this train numerous times and at times needed to get to the airport. A lot of people take the train so there will be lots of taxis, rideshares (Uber, Lyft) and hotel shuttles out front. Uber is always my first choice and there are usually a lot of drivers available. But you do have to wait for a ride. I have also pre booked a taxi through the Anchorage Yellow Taxi Company. Costs a bit more but then you are guaranteed a ride instead of trying to catch a cab or Uber. I just downloaded their app and made the booking.

Yes it was! Ward Cove doesn’t have a lot of transportation options—can’t walk anywhere (not even to the bus stop), some independent tour vendors won’t pickup there, a scarcity of Uber/Lyft drivers in Ketchikan, and a long (and expensive) wait for a taxi! We found it worse than having to tender to a port. Especially compared to how easy it is to visit Ketchikan on a ship that docks in town.

My go to dinner on a long cruise is the shrimp cocktail with an appetizer portion of gluten free fettuccine. Always good! I had the gf Twice Baked Goat Cheese Soufflé for the first on my last cruise. OMG!! Fantastic! I will order every chance I get!

I also am the planner for our trips! I do lots of research prior to any visit. Not sure I would classify myself as an OCD planner but my hubby probably would! Enjoy your planning! Seattle is a beautiful place to visit! It is to navigate and there are always very helpful people to help out.

Didn’t see it on the October 8th sailing of the Enchanted. Had some sort of sale on apparel (20% off?) and a drawing.

Hmmm. Well, I have shareholders OBC on all my cruises in 2023 and 2024. One is a Hawaiian cruise in 2024 and a Mexican Riviera in April 2024. On both HAL and Princess. Maybe it's a question of who processes the request? I thought it was early but went ahead and submitted the paperwork for all of our cruises. Within a week (on both cruiselines), the OBC appeared in our booking documents.

Just applied the Educator OBC to my November 19, 2022 cruise. Wasn’t sure if I’d be able to get it on a cruise booked six months ago but got the confirmation via email. HAL rep told me that I could only get the OBC on my closest cruise. Not like the Shareholders credit. She told me to call back and apply this OBC on my next cruise—you have to complete a cruise with the OBC on it before applying it to the next one. Asked her about what cruises were eligible for this OBC—said as far as she knew all cruises were eligible…. And it is one per cabin. I’m still teaching at a college, hubby is retired from the university—only one of us got it.

In addition to my above post, we’ve had the hotel shuttle just drop us off at the station. We take the elevator up and get on the train. No problem with luggage—there will be others with luggage and lots of storage during the ride.

Pretty easy to find and use. I download the app for our Seattle visits to map routes and buy tickets. You can plan a lot ahead of time. Map of the airport stop:

This past summer, I was on the Koningsdam RT from Vancouver, the Royal Northbound to Whittier and the NCL Jewel Southbound ( and two other cruise itineraries that aren’t on your list). Our favorite was the Koningsdam —love the ship, the Alaskan enrichment programs and the food. There were Alaska specialties in the MDR and bars, a naturalist who was onboard throughout the cruise and as well as an indigenous woman gave some very good talks. And, getting a cup of pea soup on glacier viewing days is fun! We’ve cruised enough to Alaska that we’ve been on most excursions/trips so we tend to enjoy the cruise aspect of a trip (still go DIY or rebook with independent vendors). Our least favorite was the NCL Jewel. Loved cruising from Seward (did a DIY land tour prior to boarding) and glacier visits but that was about all. The food was the worst we’ve ever experienced on a ship—we had even purchased specialty dining packages. Le Bistro was so bad we sent food back and went to the buffet. I have dietary issues and numerous times was served unsafe food. No premium coffees included in drink package (Starbucks/Atrium Cafe was pay) and NO emphasis on Alaska in food offerings, enrichment programs or in decor. We’re Platinum on NCL but we’re done with them now. And, Ward Cove, for us, was the deal breaker! Very inconvenient and a waste of time in visiting Ketchikan. Yes, going to the Asylum is fun and you can’t beat the burgers, but to get there and back is a nightmare. NCL has buses at WC but they won’t send them to town until they are full! Lots of dead time. We went to Asylum on our other cruises who docked in town.

This is pretty much what we do now when cruising out of Seattle. Have been there many times so don’t need to much anymore downtown. Hotels are much cheaper near the airport! If we do have an interest in going downtown, we take the light rail into the city. We’ve taken the hotel shuttle to the airport, hopped on light rail, had breakfast and then Ubered to the pier. We travel with just a backpack and carry on so we’re pretty mobile.

Not nuts at all. As working parents, we loved cruising with our kids. It was such a great opportunity to spend quality time together. We always signed up for the kids club but most sea days were spent playing board/card games together. Port days were spent at science museums, zoos, parks, etc. My kids (who are now mid 20s) still talk about those cruises and much fun it was ‘camping’ in a cabin!

Just off the Enchanted on the 15th. No library. Guest services has some books and games to borrow. Hubby has books on his iPad but prefers a hard copy. He looked through the selection but didn’t find anything. Didn’t see what games they had. You can find the daily crossword, sudoku and trivia games at Guest Services as well.

I also was on the Enchanted the week before (October 8). The only time I noticed the crowds was the return tendering (especially in Newport!) and getting into the MDR on the first night (the Capri). Don't take the elevator so can't comment on that aspect but even though it was a full ship, we were able to avoid most of the crowds. We're early risers so the buffet and IC were generally not crowded. To the OP, thanks for your review! It brought back fond memories of our trip. We loved our cruise on the Enchanted and are looking forward to sailing her again!

Book casinos cruises a lot and have never been able to use our Future Cruise deposits. My understanding: On a casino-comped cruise, you have to pay taxes and fees as well a refundable $200 deposit. You're not putting a deposit on those cruises. On a reduced-fare casino cruise, I have been able to use FCD. On these cruises I just get a reduction in the cost of cruising, not a free room.

The CP does not require a three night minimum stay. I’ve stayed there numerous times and on holiday weekends. $400/night seems very high! I’m staying two nights in January 2023 for a total of $415 (tax included). My stay in April includes one night with 8 days of parking—$300.96.

The November 19th cruise on the Koningsdam is sold out. It’s a holiday cruise so not too surprising.